Q&A With Menchville Baseball's Phil Forbes
Coach Phil Forbes congratulates his players immediately after they claimed the 2009 Group AAA Baseball State Championship Title. Forbes' Menchville Monarchs were at one point this season ranked #1 by Collegiate Baseball...
Photo By: Marc Gold / Gameday Magazine
NEWPORT NEWS, VA - 757Gameday.com's David Ludi caught up with Menchville's Phil Forbes shortly after his team won the Virginia state baseball championship earlier this month. Forbes shared his thoughts on the magical season and the journey to the top.
757GAMEDAY: How did the emotions hold up with the two day delay and all the traveling verse Stafford?
COACH PHIL FORBES: "Well, what was good about the two day delay is we became a more bonded team. We figured that, in those two days, we traveled on a school bus 16 hours, and then we were in the locker room for over 2 hours and 36 minutes on a game delay. As a coach you get pretty nervous because you don't want your kids getting stale and too rested or want to sleep. So we played cards, the kids joked and rapped and listened to Ipods. We coaches talked with the players and we found out a lot of things we didn't know over the 2-3 years, which kind of bonded the staff and players together. This whole delay with the Stafford game not only made us a good team but also made us brothers."
757GD: How much pressure, if any, was on Mr. Ethan Carter's shoulders, after his tough loss two years ago, and putting him on the mound in the final?
COACH PF: "Well, putting him on the mound in the final was because that was our rotation of days of rest. And that was his time and his game, and we did not really realize or know that he was going to be able to go all 7 innings. We just told him to give us a good 4 or 5 innings, and he had junior Austin Chrismon, who has signed with East Carolina, committed to East Carolina, ready to go after that. Matt Armstead and Jharel Cotton both told me, that they give me one or two innings if I needed them."
757GD: After putting up 5 runs in the first inning, what thoughts were going through your head, knowing you had such a stud on the mound in Cater?
COACH PF: "Well, I knew it would be hard to beat us because what we had behind Ethan Carter, with Chrismon, Armstead, and Cotton I knew it would be hard to beat us. But before that game started, our guys were energized and juiced up and ready to go. They were confident about it, and nobody was really tight. They were out there loose as a goose and ready to play baseball."
757GD: Talk about how much the hitting picked up in the state playoffs, compared to the regional playoffs?
COACH PF: "Well...as you can see by not having anybody on first or second team all-state in the state of Virginia team, we were a team, and anybody that we put out there from 1 to 9 in the batting order would come through. Every game, it would be someone else. I had said to the team all year long, especially when we got to what we called our 4th season which was the state championship, that if we ever come together offensively and have collective hits together as a group, we were going to destroy someone. It happened to be that first inning, which would make a coach smile."
757GD: Your clean-up hitter, Mr. Lake, and your 5 hole hitter batted very well. Tell me a little about that.
COACH PF: "Well, those young men are energized, juiced up kids who help our team get excited, motivated and intense for the game. And those two just came through, not only hitting the ball long but spraying the ball to the opposite side of the field. That helped energize our team and helped us to do well."
757GD: What was it like for the team to play a double-header on Saturday, a day before the state final?
COACH PF: Well, we wanted to play the double-header. They gave us a choice of playing around 9 o'clock in the evening at another site, and we decided that we would rather play two games in a row. We will carry that energy right over to the next game with high momentum."
757GD: What were the feelings after that final out?
COACH PF: "After that final out, it was ear to ear smile. Watching these guys celebrate, it was a sigh of relief. Being ranked #1 in the Country by Collegiate Baseball, and #2 in the Country by USA Today, put a target on our back through the whole tournament. It was very much well deserved from a great bunch of boys, who were not big in stature but very big in heart."
757GD: Winning states, what does that do for your team and returning players next season, also how many starters are returning?
COACH PF: "Well, first of all, we have 4 starters coming back, and 8 returning players. We are also coming off 4 years in a row JV championship teams. Winning the state championship should motivate these young men to work as hard as they did last year and reach that much higher. They need to be focused to try to have goals that we can accomplish, which we did this year. We went season by season, we made it out to have 4 seasons, Peninsula District, Peninsula District tournament, Regional, and State tournament. We took those game by game, and I believe these young men will do the same thing for next season."
757GD: What was it like when Collegiate Baseball had you ranked #1 in the country for that week?
COACH PF: "When they had us ranked #1 in the country, I tell you what, there was a lot of excitement. It was a special moment, and we knew at the time that we still had to go game by game. I told my kids to enjoy the moment now and let's move on and take care of the next Peninsula District game."
757GD: Did that bring extra pressure on you as a coach, and did you do anything different to change your approach?
COACH PF: "We didn't do anything different, we just went game by game and tried to be normal with these young men. Yeah, there was added pressure, put a little weight on my shoulders, put a bigger target on my back. I could handle it; the kids could handle it. That's why we are state champs!"
757GD: Winning a state championship, what does that do for the team, Menchville HS, and Newport News as a whole?
COACH PF: "Well, I think we energized Newport News totally, and I think it also brings a community together. There is a lot of excitement in the school. I think the student body sees that hard work pays off. Also being the first state championship baseball team in the Peninsula District, I think, has to say something about our program and the type of baseball being played in the Eastern Region."
