All the skills with getting games going

Baseball coaches, especially in this area, need to have a special set of skills that set them apart from the crowd.

And no, they’ve got nothing to do with how to throw a baseball, hit it, or when to try to put down a bunt at a key moment in the game.

WHEN RECALLING former North Idaho College baseball coach Jack Bloxom — who passed away Tuesday at the age of 80 — Paul Manzardo noted just how smart Bloxom was when it came to maintaining a baseball field.

“(It was) in the summer, right before the Prairie American Legion baseball team would use it all the time,” Manzardo said. “(Former Prairie Legion coach) Darren’s (Taylor) teams would use the field all the time. After our season, we’d try to get the field ready for the following year and would load the dirt bins for the following year.”

In 2002, when NIC cut its baseball program, the Edminster Student Union Building and Meyer Health and Science Building were built on the site of the baseball field.

Bloxom had a special skill that came in handy. Bloxom started the baseball program at NIC in 1968 before Manzardo took over the program in 1997.

“Jack was always good about going around to developments in the area, and knew were the best dirt was,” Manzardo said. “There was a place on Best Avenue right across from the gas station on the corner. Jack always claimed they had the best dirt. We’d use a coffee can and some chicken wire and sift through the dirt.”

At first, Manzardo just thought it was going to be a short project.

“When he told me about it, I thought we’d be out there for an hour,” Manzardo said. “The next thing I know, we’d be out there five hours and had loaded all the bins. We saved so much money over the years doing it that way, but it took a lot of time to do. Jack was a real go-getter and was always doing a project. He was really something else.”

A LITTLE closer to home, the memories of seeing Wallace High baseball coach Bob Schreiber and his longtime assistant coach Dennis Wick, as well as others in the community have that place in prime shape from April to early August every year.

When the field needed mowed, they mowed.

When it needed some water during a brutal summer day, they took time to get that done as well.

On Friday, as the weather had other ideas, coaches were trying like crazy in Post Falls to get the state 5A softball tournament underway.

Credit to them, an hour later than scheduled, teams were on the field and two games ACTUALLY were played on Friday in Post Falls.

Believe it or not — and organizers didn’t plan it that way — but teams will make a mad dash to get the games finished by this evening.

Somehow. Some way.

For those that traveled to get here, have faith.

The folks around here know exactly to get these games in today.

Your kids will get their chance to shine.

As long as the grounds crew gets their chance to do the same before the games begin.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.