COACH OF THE YEAR
Todd Boyer
School: Shawnee, Okla. By the numbers: Boyer led the team to a 40-0 record, its third consecutive 5A state title and the No. 1 spot in the Super 25 baseball rankings. He has an overall record of 277-130 as a head coach. In 19 years as Shawnee’s head coach, he has taken the Wolves to the state tournament 16 times. Unusual skill: I can sing. Up until the ninth grade, I was in my school choir. It got to the point where I would have to be in the choir full time or be in athletics, and I chose athletics. I’m really good singing in the shower. Best advice a coach gave me: Just to be honest with your players. Don’t tell them what they want to hear. If you are honest with your kids, they respect that and they just want to know where they stand. Biggest accomplishment: For me, the greatest accomplishment is the lasting relationships I’ve been able to create with former ballplayers. I get the phone calls all the time from former players: “Hey, Coach, I graduated from college. I’ve gotten this job. I’m married. I’ve got children now.” Those are the things, the relationships I’ve been able to build with former players. Mistake I learned from: Probably being too hard on my kids. Our expectations are so high and learning that kids are going to make mistakes and back off and not be so hard on them in the moment. That doesn’t do anybody any good. The kids already feel bad enough that they’ve made a mistake. They don’t need a coach getting on them in that moment. Save it for later, and let’s visit after the game or the next day, (and figure out) why we made that mistake.
Phrase I always say: Play hard. That’s the one thing that we preach to our kids. If we are going to make a mistake, let’s make a mistake playing hard. Toughest part about coach
ing: All the different backgrounds that your kids come from. We have kids who have very little and kids who are well off. It’s just getting all those guys on the same page, to pull for one common thing.