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Long-Time Perrysburg Mentor Picks Up 700th Victory

PERRYSBURG - Baseball success at Perrysburg has become expected since Dave Hall took over as the head coach back in 1986.

“We haven’t changed a lot as far as philosophy,” related Hall, who currently has a 705-362 career coaching record, including a 9-5 mark this season. “We have players that bought into the system. We play fundamental baseball and try to teach them the right way.”

The results have been spectacular for the long-time mentor, who picked up his 700th career victory earlier this season while the Yellow Jackets were playing five games down in Florida.

“We have a great community with good support all the way through,” Hall pointed out. “We’re not always the most talented.”

But the coaching staff at Perrysburg has done its best to get the most out of the talent that is there.

“We had not been good at Perrysburg when I first came here,” Hall reflected. “We started six sophomores my first year and went 18-10. We had some good D-I kids and we just kept building from there. We were okay, getting to districts, but then in the late ’90s I figured out a secret. We needed three good pitchers. After that we started winning 20 games consistently.”

FAMILY AFFAIR

It was during that time in the 1990s that his son Jeff was in high school and he remembers his father’s coaching ability very well.

“His camaraderie with all the players stood out,” noted the younger Hall, who played from 1995-98 before taking his game to Oakland University. “He loves the game and it’s always about the players. He’s also one of the hardest working people I’ve ever met. ”

That love of the game was passed on to Jeff, who is now the head coach at Rochester Adams.

“I was lucky enough to grow up in the dugout and get to know the players and the coaches,” Jeff said. “It was a great experience.”

Now 43 years of age, Jeff began as an assistant coach in 2004 before taking over as mentor of the high school in Michigan in 2011.

“I probably fought it for a few years,” Jeff said of following in his father’s footsteps as a baseball coach. “When I was done playing at Oakland I had the opportunity to be an assistant at Rochester Adams.”

Soon after a rivalry began.

“We’ve been playing against them for 17 years now,” related the elder Hall. “We play them in a doubleheader on April 29. We’re 10-10 against him which makes my wife happy. My grandkids used to root for me, but now they root for dad.”

That matchup is something that Jeff treasures.

“It’s awesome,” the Rochester Adams head coach said. “I go out and coach third base and half the time I’m in their dugout. I try not to steal their signs because I know them. But when you play them, you know you have to play your best. They’re always so good.

“He’s still old-school. They play small ball and they get a big three-run home run. They execute. You know they will come in and do things the right way and play hard. Even when they’re ‘down’ they still win games. It’s been really cool to be along for the ride.”

PLENTY OF MEMORIES

It is a ride that has had a lot of memories.

“Obviously the highlight was the 2011 state runner-up team,” explained the Perrysburg mentor. “We had three pitchers that could throw 89-plus and we had seven guys go on to play college ball.

“Another memory is the 2003 team. That’s the first one that got us to the state Final Four. We also had Bryan Vickers getting drafted out of high school (by the Mariners in 2001) and we had Burke Badenhop who pitched in the majors (from 2008-2015). I also coached my son who was a four-year starter and we had a good team in 1999 that went 27-3.”

Admittedly, it has been what he expected.

“I thought I’d be a lifer coaching,” Hall said. “I’ve been on the baseball field since I was five. After I graduated at Toledo I went to Law School but dropped out because I missed baseball. I always knew I wanted to be on the ballfield coaching. I’ve always wanted to be a coach.

“I like being around kids that age and, hopefully, can teach them to have the right values and a good work ethic and have fun playing the game.”

THE GAME OF BASEBALL

So what does Hall try to bring to the game?

“Play hard every day, play pitch by pitch, try to get better and understand the process,” Hall explained. “Try to take things one day at a time. I always tell kids, get better every day and in the last week of the season try to have a shot at winning the league or at least deciding it.”

The 67-year-old feels there has been little that has changed during his time as a baseball coach, which began in 1979 at Whitmer before coming over to Perrysburg in 1982 to teach. There were three years coaching JVs before taking over the varsity program.

“Kids have not changed much,” Hall said. “They still want discipline. You’ve got to reason with them a little more now as to why to do things, but they’re not questioning in a bad way.

“Parents will always be parents and they look out for their own,” Hall added. “That’s the nature of the beast.

“If I had to pick out one thing that’s hurt us, in the last four years the kids aren’t hanging out in the summer. We could always rely on them playing 40-50 games together in the summer and we’d know what we were going to do the coming season. Now they’re playing all over and it takes longer for the team to gel. They’ve not played with each other and it takes time to get that built in.”

LEARNING PROCESS

With age and experience comes intelligence.

“I don’t throw much BP any more,” Hall pointed out. “I have great assistants and I’m a little spoiled. I don’t have to do too much hands on. I’m a firm believer that you hire good people and let them coach.”

There’s more that Hall has absorbed along his baseball coaching journey.

“I’ve learned to be calmer,” Hall admitted. “I’m nicer to the umpires. I was a hothead when I was younger, but I think I figured out you’ve got to be patient.

“You also have got to have good assistants. Early on I tried to micromanage, but you have to let them coach. I have great assistants right now and you just let them coach.”

One steady part of it all has been his wife Deborah, who taught for 35 years in the Toledo Public Schools.

“She is one of the greatest wives ever,” Hall said. “She came to so many games and has always supported me, even when I’m grumpy.”

Family has always been a big part of it according to Hall.

“My dad loved the game but he never got to play it,” Hall noted. “He grew up a coal miner in Kentucky. But he made sure me and my brother had the opportunity to play.”

LOVE OF THE GAME

Now 10 years retired from teaching, Hall has not lost his passion for the sport of baseball.

“I like the competition,” Hall explained. “I coached football for 25 years, I just like competition. Coaching is just something I always enjoyed doing. I’m a guy who in the winter can’t wait until spring.”

It is something that Hall does not see changing in the immediate future.

“I don’t have any hobbies, this is it,” Hall said. “I have the passion for it. I think I can go on for four or five more years. As long as it’s fun and so far it’s fun. The turf has made it much easier. I don’t have to spend six hours getting the field ready now.

“I have great assistants but none have expressed an interest to be the head coach, so I’ll keep on doing it,” Hall continued. “I don’t golf or fish, I just love baseball and family. About the only thing that will get me out is when my grandkids (currently in grades four and six) start playing in high school. If my son’s kids get there and are playing, that may get me out.”

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