“Coaching is a two-way street,” says Bill Sturwold. “You have to have players to win, and I’ve had some good ones.” (Press Pros Feature Photos)
His career has been marked by both respected success and a legacy of competitive values passed on. And this week, Versailles baseball coach Bill Sturwold achieved a notable milestone.
On the occasion of his 500th coaching win in high school baseball this past weekend – a Saturday win over Ben Logan – Versailles’ Bill Sturwold stands as the epitome of a modern cultural conundrum in sports.
He’s a paradox. And in modern culture here’s what that amounts to.
He wins. He’s always won…a two-time state champion in 2007 and 2010 when then he was the coach at Fort Loramie High School.
Publisher Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA and Ohio State sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
And he plans to win more – a fact often underappreciated by the culture of participation over last man standing!
Bill Sturwold is a throwback to the days of coaches from whom he learned – Steve Partington, Jim Hardman, and Rick Gold.
He plays the way that gives him the best chance to win. He develops the people who give his teams the best chance of winning. He’s honest, open with his players. He teaches competition. What you need to know. And what you might not know, yet….!
It makes him different in culture of equal recognition for unequal achievement.
There’s a single-mindedness about being prepared, mentally and physically. Those who have it, and work to benefit – benefit for life. That’s what he believes, and that’s what he coaches. He always has…500 wins worth, and this week’s ‘Who’s Hot’ honoree on Press Pros.
His list of former players who’ve benefited is notable. And some of his more notables include:
Jared Hoying…state champion at Fort Loramie in 2007, college standout at Toledo, and former major leaguer with the Texas Rangers.
Justin Hoying…brother of Jared, and state champion at Fort Loramie in 2010, college pitcher at Capital University, and practicing professional in the field of dentistry.
Kyler Ludlow…state champion at Fort Loramie in 2007, college player at Cedarville University, and a current Sports Information Director for men’s basketball at the University of Dayton.
Their shared benefit from time spent with Bill Sturwold?
It’s a single-mindedness for success, and the belief that patience and hard work are the parallels to success with any pursuit.
Bill Sturwold (third from right) upon his induction into the Miami Valley Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2013.
“But, it’s a two-way street,” said Sturwold Saturday. “You have to have the players to win. And I’ve had some really good ones.”
And yet, sometimes it’s not enough in coaching. Sturwold left Loramie after amassing 400 career wins…and for a brief time, coached at Bradford, before taking the Versailles job last fall.
The early returns have been heartening.
Ask his current players and, without exception, they reference the positive competitive experience of playing for Bill Sturwold.
The fun of coming to practice on a daily basis.
The anticipation of the next game, the next challenge, and that one nuance in high school baseball never before experienced, or implemented, that might help you win a game.
The sense of accomplishment as a team, and the realization that 95% of high school players get just that one chance to experience organized baseball. And how a guy like Bill Sturwold, a retired machinist who made brakes for jet airplanes as a career at B.F. Goodrich, could make their short time in baseball a lifetime memory and benefit.
“I’ve been lucky,” he says. “There are coaches, and a lot of them, with more wins than I have that would trade a few for a state championship.”
And that’s true. But Sturwold shows no signs of slowing down. And ultimately, in a place like Versailles, where winning is legacy, he may someday have both.
Our congratulations to the Tigers’ Bill Sturwold for eclipsing a notable career milestone…this week’s ‘Who’s Hot’ honoree on Press Pros.
Peace of mind is as easy as the relationship you have with your local bank, and the St. Henry bank is small enough to know you, and big enough to serve you. The St. Henry Bank joins Press Pros Magazine in recognizing this week’s “Who’s Hot” honoree…baseball coach Bill Sturwold, from Versailles High School.