Eastern View turning into a baseball factory

There are many measures of success.

Wins and losses may be the most telling indicator, but they certainly aren’t the most important. Just ask Eastern View baseball coach Danny Nobbs.

“Winning in high school isn’t everything,” he said. “As a coach, you want to give the kids the skills they need to get to college.”

Nobbs has led the Cyclones to one of the most successful seasons in Culpeper baseball history, but 12 wins and a second-place standing in the Battlefield District aren’t his most impressive stats.

More notable is the fact that after this week, at least five of his current players will be on their way toward earning college degrees. That brings his total of college-bound baseball players to somewhere around 15 in seven years of coaching in Culpeper.

“If a kid has the desire and the want to play college ball, it’s your duty as a coach to get that kid noticed any way possible,” Nobbs said.

Cyclones third baseman Brandon Mack (Chowan) and shortstop Trevor Funk (Alderson-Broaduss) have already signed their letters of intent and this Friday, pitcher Cody Whitlock will officially join the fold at Patrick Henry Junior College in Roanoke.

“We call Cody ‘Joe Cool’ because nothing seems to bother him,” Nobbs said. “That’s important because in college, guys are going to get their numbers and you can’t let that bother you. That and his competitive nature are going to translate well to the next level.”

Catcher Allen Beall and pitcher Sillas Shaw will also be signing letters of intent this week. Both will be taking the field at Delaware Tech Junior College next season.

“Allen is a solid defensive catcher, which is something colleges look for,” Nobbs said. “And Sillas is basically every college’s dream because of his size and because he’s left-handed.”

Delaware Tech and Patrick Henry may not sound very familiar to many fans, but they’re no pushovers when it comes to baseball. Patrick Henry is currently ranked 11th in the country among JUCO schools and Delaware Tech was crowned national champions as recently as 2001.

There are those that don’t seem to think sports should get as much attention as they do unless division-I athletes are consistently being produced but if you ask me, that’s a complete fallacy.

In terms of education, the students themselves are the sole deciding factor. It’s not the size or reputation of the school and it’s not the student-to-teacher ratio.

And if it’s athletics at a small school you’re worried about, just ask Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley St.), Steve McNair (Alcorn St.), Marques Colston (Hofstra), Tim Hightower (Richmond) and Justin Verlander (ODU) how it turned out for them.

On top of that, in these uncertain economic times, the idea of cutting high school sports programs has been tossed around more than once.

Well how about this stat? Even though two of the county’s major-revenue sports teams finished the season winless, 11 athletes from CCHS and EVHS combined have already signed on to play college ball next year. And that’s only counting football, basketball and baseball.

That’s 11 young people that benefited from the tutelage of coaches who have their priorities straight and may not have had the opportunity to go to college without sports.

So the next time you start to judge the merit of a coach or a team by their win-loss record, try to take a look at how they have improved the lives of their players on and off the field. You might just be surprised.