Q&A with Heritage Baseball's Ryan Price
Gameday Magazine: How long have you been coaching baseball, how long in the Dulles District, and how long with the Pride?
Ryan Price: I have been coaching baseball for seven years. Two years of youth league, five years in the Dulles District (four years at Potomac Falls) and one year with the Pride.
GM: What are some thrills and challenges with coaching a relatively young school, but with a great young team?
RP: We have the chance to set team and individual records every night we play, which is thrilling. We doubled the schools season win total last season with 18 wins. Instilling a winning mentality with players who have not won very much at Heritage was difficult, but once we had some success the players kept it going.
GM: What or who got you into playing baseball, and why did you decide to coach high school baseball at Heritage?
RP: My dad started me out in Tee ball and I loved it as soon as I picked up a bat. Many coaches along the way kept me going. Coaching is totally different than playing, but the intensity and the drive to win is still there. I really enjoy coaching and wanted to be a head coach someday. I had to jump at the opportunity to coach the Pride.
GM: What are your expectations for this year after such a successful campaign this past season?
RP: I expect us to form a new identity as the 2007 Pride, and leave what we did last year on the field. I think we are going to battle each day and find ourselves in a position to upset some teams in the tournament.
GM: Last season, Heritage and Loudoun County were dead even throughout the year. Do you expect the same results this season and who do you expect to give the Pride a run for their money?
RP: I think the district will be wide open this year. No team is going to run away with it like County did last year. Park View and Potomac Falls are teams to beat, but County and Broad Run are going to be right there in the mix. Every game is going to count and I hope we can keep pace.
GM: How many returning players and starters do you have this year? How will you replace a great player in Scott Van Düsseldorf?
RP: I expect to have 9 or 10 returning players, 5 or 6 of them starters. We certainly lost one of the best pitchers in Virginia last year. Scott Van Düsseldorf was dominant in the league last year, and we hope we can get some good starts from our guys this year and hope our bullpen can hold some leads. We are going to pitch by committee, but his bat will also be hard to replace.
GM: How hard is it to lose seniors, and on top of that trying to replace them?
RP: It is not easy to replace the maturity of seniors, and we hope to have some guys step up and fill those roles. Some guys will replace those who leave, but it is tough to fill vacancies left by all district, all region type guys.
GM: What seniors do you hope will step up this year and be a leader, and what do you expect these leaders to show?
RP: Joey Donofrio was a statistical leader last year; we hope he can become more of a vocal team leader this season. Joe Laura has to step up behind the plate and continue to hit as he did last season. We need to have a senior step up on the mound, and hope Jacob Martinez or Andrew Crane can come in and be the #1 on the hill.
GM: Joe Laura is coming off of a broken collarbone, how will not being able to throw for a couple of months affect how he plays?
RP: He should be fine, he has been rehabbing it and many players take the winter off, so I expect him to have a full recovery.
GM: How much respect do you receive from this school and school administrators? Does the players respect for you, show on the field with each other?
RP: I am fully supported by the administration and couldn't ask for any more.
My players and I have very good relationships, and respect is very important to us. It shows on the field with how we respect other teams, each other, and the umpires.
GM: How have your teams grown and developed over the years? Do they act and play more mature as the years go on?
RP: They all come in pretty small and anxious to play, but by the time they are seniors they are mature and prepared to play and win. Most of them are pretty mature by the time they leave.
GM: Coaching any High School sports takes a lot of time and commitment, how has your family supported you with your decision to coach?
RP: My parents live locally and have always supported me.
