Grove City’s Alexander named coach of the year
From the time he was a sophomore in high school, Ryan Alexander knew when his baseball playing career ended, he would go into education.
His own coaches, from the youth level through high school and college, were deeply influential and fostered that desire. Alexander al- ways loved school, making teaching and coaching a natural fit.
After leading Grove City to its fifth state tournament appearance and first state title game this spring, Alexander is
the Dispatch’s All-metro baseball coach of the year. The Greyhounds lost to Sylvania Northview in the championship 6-1 to end as the Division I runner-up, and the Greyhounds posted a record of 26-8.
“Growing up, a lot of my coaches were like second fathers to me,” Alexander said. “Just growing up in the environment that I grew up in, it was another outlet to have great people in my life. I knew that I wanted to give back and be able to do that for kids that I truly cared about as well.”
Alexander’s care for his players is evident in how they speak about him.
“Not many people better, that’s for sure,” sophomore Keegan Holmstrom said. “That dude will do anything for us, so we’ll go do anything for him. He knows that and we know that.”
When Liberty Union, a fellow state tournament participant, couldn’t practice on its own field roughly a week and a half ago due to the rain, Alexander extended an invitation for the Lions to use Grove City’s field — and brought his entire team to their semifinal in support.
Alexander’s goal as a coach is to push his players without losing lose sight of the positive and always make sure they know that the coaching staff loves them.
“I love to give our guys the freedom to play the game,” Alexander said. “As much as that might be (considered) ‘a player’s coach’ or something along those terms, I definitely push our guys very hard. We coach our guys very hard at Grove City, but at the same token, I think all of them know how much we truly love them and would do anything for them. To me, those two things usually work hand-in-hand.”
His practices are notoriously challenging; Alexander said it regularly teeters on the edge of a fight breaking out because of the competitive environment he creates. But having that level of competition on a daily basis means that in games, the Greyhounds know how to respond in the most highly charged moments.
Alexander is reluctant to take the credit for his teams’ successes, praising his players and the rest of his coaching staff while minimizing his own role. But it’s Alexander’s philosophy and attitude toward the game that permeate Grove City’s dugout, creating the environment that produces success.
“The main thing that we try to preach is there’s gonna be good days and bad days,” Alexander said. “You have to try to learn to have as many consistent good days as possible in a row . ... We have to coach positive in baseball. In baseball, the number one thing that’s going to allow you to be successful is confidence. We talk about it all the time.
“There’s a million kids we’ve coached that have amazing swings during practice and then just never get it done in the games. We definitely know that the positive piece has to be what our focus is as a coaching staff. Our coaching staff does an amazing job.” bjohnson@dispatch.com @baileyajohnson_