Courtesy photo
Coach Ronald Vincent is far and away the winningest coach in North Carolina baseball history. Part of the reason for his success is letting the kids just play.
Rose (Greenville, N.C.) coach Ronald Vincent points out that the umpire starts a baseball game by shouting "Play ball!" and not "Work ball!"
"That's a thing we really believe in," Vincent said. "We get a lot done but our practices are not terribly stressful."
Yet Vincent proves it's possible to win without being a taskmaster. North Carolina's winningest coach owns six state titles and recently won his 800th game in the state playoffs. "R.V." reached the milestone when Rose defeated Scotland (Laurinburg, N.C.) 8-3 in the first round.
"It was one of those things, I didn't even realize it until my grandson told me," Vincent said. "We were more focused on just trying to advance in the playoffs."
The Rampants lost 2-1 to Clayton (N.C.) in their next game, so Vincent enters the offseason with exactly 800 wins — 182 more than Charles Howell, who is second on the state's career wins list.
"You have to be old and you have to have a lot of good players over the years," Vincent said.
After graduating from East Carolina, Vincent's first coaching job came at nearby Farmville (N.C.) in 1971. He moved to Rose in 1974 and has never considered going anywhere else since.
Griff Garner was on Vincent's first state championship team in 1975, and his son Gray was on Vincent's most recent state championship team in 2008. They both described their coach as "player-friendly."
"He tries to make it enjoyable," Griff said. "I know we all enjoyed playing for him and that's still true today."
His in-game coaching tactics haven't changed either.
"I don't micromanage the game," Vincent said. "I let the players play because in the long run the players are the ones that have to make it happen in big games."
Gray, a rising senior at Wake Forest, said Vincent sticks with players even when they're struggling, and that patience pays off.
"He really believes in the players and he's able to transfer that faith to the players, so they're able to have the confidence they need to succeed," Gray said.
Like all successful coaches, Vincent emphasizes pitching and defense, but his offensive philosophy has evolved because of technology.
"Over the years we've done less small ball because of aluminum bats," Vincent said. "We believe in taking hacks and letting the players swing most of the time."
Still, he said that the biggest difference in his job has been administrative.
"You have so much more paperwork over the last 6-7 years," Vincent said. "Attendance verification, where a guy lives, physicals. It's just a lot, but it's probably for the best in the long run."
Another improvement is the quality of the product. Vincent said that the fields are a lot better and coaches are attending more clinics and becoming more professional. And players come more prepared. When Vincent started, there might be two aluminum bats total — one 33-ounce and one 34-ounce.
"Now everyone has two or three bats and everyone's got tons of apparel and gear. The days of riding to practice with your bicycle and putting your stuff on your handlebars are over," he said.
Still, Vincent says that players haven't changed. But parents have — they have much higher expectations, and aren't shy when it comes to complaining about playing time.
But even with those new challenges, Vincent isn't considering retirement. The 64-year-old is a fixture at Greenville Little League, where this month he's running summer camps for players ages 8-15.
"We've got some great young players that like to practice," Vincent said. "As long as they keep the kids coming along, it's impossible to predict how long I'll be here."
Harold Gutmann covers the state of North Carolina for MaxPreps.com. He lives in Durham and can be reached at haroldgutmann@gmail.com.