By Chase Porter
Staff Writer
For years the Coppell High School baseball team has been a force to be reckoned with, but unfortunately it has not advanced as far into the playoffs as expected. However, with a new head coach, the team feels determined to show the state what they have.
Over the past years the team has been under the direction of the coach Don English, who is now coaching for Plano West. Last year was English’s final year with the Cowboys because of repetitive seasons with less than productive runs.
“We had some many good players and a lot of good talent last year,” senior pitcher Holden Novak said. “They couldn’t produce when it mattered even though we were predicted to go really far in the playoffs.”
Coach Kendall Clark, who previously coached at Plano West, is now taking the reins for the Cowboys. Clark has spent his 22 years of coaching at many different schools and levels of play. Before coming to Coppell, Clark coached at Pottsboro and Plano West. Clark has led two teams from Plano West to a 5A state championship in the past four years.
“The transition from Plano West to here has been extremely easy,” Clark said. “Both of the schools are very large and similar in student body, so the switch has been pretty smooth.”
The team agrees that Clark is very different from English, not only in personality but in the way he leads the team.
“We all liked coach English, but we really like coach Clark; he’s different from English in a lot of ways,” senior right fielder Clayton Dalrymple said. “Coach English was really old school in the way he coached because he wanted every detail right, and coach Clark is really player friendly.”
The way he motivates the team is somewhat different from most coaches you will encounter. He allows the team to self motivate and look for everyone to step up and pump up one another.
“We motivate ourselves because of the way he coaches so we are forced to become closer together as a team,” Dalrymple said. “He makes us feel like we are playing for ourselves.”
Clark agrees that the team needs to be motivated through each other, but he will step in here and there to push the team.
“They are very self motivated to win. They work hard, and they want to win,” Clark said. “I haven’t had to motivate a lot which is good because it shows that the guys want it.”
In practice, Clark focuses mainly on the infield players. He likes to incorporate both the junior varsity and varsity teams in drills together so that he can build up the program from the bottom up. This being his first year, he is already trying to increase the team’s depth and the team is on the same page.
“I get both the teams to workout together so that everyone can be on the same page about the signals,” Clark said. “I do try to help out with all of the specific positions, but I mainly focus on the infield guys.”
As the team enters the final stretch of its season, Clark will face his toughest opponents yet such as Saginaw, Denton Guyer and Southlake Carroll. Clark and the rest of the team feel confident that they will be able to take care of the remaining competition and earn a seat in the playoffs.
