SHP s Shep Jr. Earns His 700th Career Win But Tradition Of Program Means The Most

Transcription

1 SHP s Shep Jr. Earns His 700th Career Win But Tradition Of Program Means The Most Seton Hall Prep head baseball coach Mike Sheppard, Jr. (right) hugs his longtime assistant coach Frank Gately moments after the final out is recorded in Wednesday's 2-0 win over West Essex which was 700th victory over Shep Jr.'s career. (Photo by Richard Morris/SHP) By Steve Tober For sidelinechatter.com WEST ORANGE- The 13 Greater Newark Tournament titles are certainly worth relishing in addition to the six Non-Public A state championships and the fact he has sent 40 players to the Division I college level and 17 have gone on to play professionally; and now with the 700th career victory in the books with Wednesday s 2-0 win over West Essex it couldn t be much better in terms of on-the-field achievements for longtime Seton Hall Prep head baseball coach Mike Sheppard, Jr. But, there is something more special in his mind beyond wins and losses and that example is evident in the fact that all his coaches are former SHP players and when occasions such as the annual pre-thanksgiving reunion at McCloone s Boathouse in

2 West Orange is held each late November, more than 100 former players show up to reminisce and break bread together. It is after all about the relationships built through a program that has strived to be the best it can be for the past 30 years with the architect overseeing it now firmly aligned alongside other legendary names such as Toms River South s Kenny Frank, Christian Brothers Academy s Marty Kenny, Memorial s Tony Ferrainolo and Morristown s Harry Shatel as the winningest coaches in New Jersey high school baseball history. Ferrainolo and Shatel have both passed away. To have my name mentioned with those guys means so much to me, said Shep Jr., who is fifth on the exclusive statewide career win list with a record in 31 seasons, including 10-0 so far this spring. I have such tremendous respect for Harry Shatel, and to have my name up there with him means I must be doing something good. Most of all, I just continue to tell our boys to not even play the opponent as much as challenge the game. I d like to think we re playing the game of baseball to try and win against the game and do it one at a time, but the most important thing is to just go out and play. The wins are secondary. It s the relationships you form thanks to this great game which count the most!

3 Coach Mike Sheppard, Jr., is joined for a happy moment with son Ryan, a Seton Hall Prep junior varsity player, as the family enjoys the post-game festivities after the longtime Pirates diamond mentor earned his 700th career win with Wednesday's 2-0 victory vs. West Essex at the Kelly Athletic Complex. (Photos by Richard Morris/SHP)

4 Msgr. Robert E. Harahan, the headmaster at SHP (left) congratulates Shep Jr. on victory No. 700 as Pirates gather for post-game celebration of great achievement. Coach Sheppard gets to cut the commemorative sheet cake to celebrate 700 wins

5 Shep Jr. is greeted by mom Phyllis and dad Mike Sheppard, Sr. after 700th win Shep Jr. gathers with his team during Wednesday's momentous game at the KAC

6 Family, friends and many devoted SHP baseball fans came out to the beautiful new diamond at the Kelly Athletic Complex on a beautiful 65 degree spring day to share in the moment of what is certainly a milestone victory, even if the coach himself prefers not to focus so much of the attention on himself. Yet, as evidenced by the respect shown all around him, it s obvious his three decades of coaching at the Prep have had an immense impact on the entire Pirate Nation. I had the opportunity to coach Shep when he was a high school freshman and I didn t teach him anything, he learned it all on his own, said a smiling Monsignor Michael E. Kelly, the president of SHP. It s been a pleasure to watch him coach his teams through the years and what I really like is the dedication he has for the kids academically. He checks up on all of them weekly at all three levels of the program and keeps abreast of what they re doing with their studies. All his players come back to see him and the team and it s just a great tradition he has developed here both on and off the field. For his longtime right-hand man, 26th-year assistant coach Frank Gately, the last quarter century with Shep Jr. simply continues to be incredibly impressive to see, even for someone who has been so close to it all for so long. His commitment to the team, the players and the school is simply unmatched, said the longtime Pirate assistant coach. He is just a class act and if anyone deserves to reach 700 wins it s him, because he puts so much into this game and especially his kids in the program. For Marty Berman, SHP s 36th-year soccer coach, just being witness to such a strong SHP tradition that Shep Jr. personifies is a daily thrill. No one is more dedicated to his profession and no one puts in more time in terms of preparation than Shep, and that includes putting together practices planned out months in advance down to the most minute detail, said the Pirates soccer head mentor. When you walk the halls of the Prep each day you feel so much greatness around you and it s pretty humbling and inspiring and that s because of people such as Shep, Bobby Farrell and John Allen. As far as Wednesday s game itself was concerned, it was a terrific pitching duel between the Pirates senior right-hander Gerard DePhillips (1-0) and West Essex s impressive junior righty Oliver Ortman, who matched each other for six innings. SHP turned to Dwayne Marshall to close the door with a perfect seventh inning that included two strikeouts.

7 DePhillips allowed just three hits while issuing no walks, hitting one batter and striking out six. Ortman gave up just two hits, walked three and struck out seven while allowing just two second-inning unearned runs that scored with the help of two Knights errors. Coach Shep always stresses getting that first strike and staying ahead of batters and I was fortunate to do a pretty good job with that today plus we played solid defense which coach always stresses as well, said DePhillips. It was a beautiful day to have coach get his 700 th win. Most of all he emphasizes to us to continue to take it one game at a time and never look too far ahead. We try to never lose our focus of what s in front of us, and I think that Seton Hall Prep philosophy that he has instilled in us has helped keep this program always striving to play good, sound baseball for all these years. Pitching, defense and something else as well comes to mind as far as Coach Shep Jr. s time-honored approach to the game he loves and has been such a rich part of his own family through the years, including his dad, legendary retired Seton Hall University coach Mike Sheppard, Sr., and his brothers, Rob, who is the current SHU head coach, and John, the longtime coach at Morristown-Beard. It s really about the work ethic and hustle with coach Shep, said SHP senior outfielder John Savino. He stresses hustling to the bag, hustling to the field, simply never stop hustling. Plus, he teaches us so much away from the field, like doing community service, whether its holding clinics for kids with developmental disabilities or other outreach programs he has us involved with all year round. Doing those types of activities to help people or just try and make them enjoy the moment are really some of the more rewarding experiences I have had here at the Prep. Most of all, for the players who put in the hard work on and off the field there is the reward of knowing that the SHP coach might give you an opportunity to perform, or redeem oneself, at any time. For Marshall, who did not have one of his strongest appearances in a recent 2-1 win vs. Old Bridge, there was the opportunity received to get right back at it to earn the save with an impressive seventh inning performance in Wednesday s game vs. West Essex as his coach notched his 700th win.

8 The opportunity will be there if you continue to work hard and keep your head up, said Marshall. Coach always stresses being ready to be called upon and never taking a day off, and I think that s what comes to the forefront when you think about him earning his 700 th win. For the young, opposing coach like West Essex s first-year head man Eric Johnson, the opportunity to coach against a legendary figure like Shep Jr. is the pinnacle of his chosen profession. Coach Sheppard is a mentor of mine and we know each other s family well, said Johnson, the former Whippany Park standout player who took over the reins of the Knights diamond program this spring after serving as Scott Illiano s assistant for the past four seasons. I prepared as an athlete to face his teams because I knew they had the highest caliber players and now I coach to play his team because he has the highest caliber team in New Jersey year in and year out. I have more respect for him than I can even describe in words. If there is anything such as a good loss than I ll take this one because our kids competed well and Oliver pitched the type of game we knew he was capable of and now we ll take this one into MKA tomorrow and go out and play as hard as we can to earn a win because this is a game where you have to just try and focus on the next day at hand, and that s what Coach Sheppard has done so well for so long. For Shep, Jr., standing on the beautiful, new diamond built at the KAC, which was financed in great part through the generosity of former SHP all-state pitcher and current Boston Red Sox starter Rick Porcello, the smile came easily as another victory was in the books and he was asked about how long he might keep coaching the game that is at the very fabric of his family for generations. I just take it season by season and as long as I m healthy and have a passion for the game and I m not cheating the kids, I ll keep coaching, said the 57-year-old Pirates head diamond mentor. I have no set number of years left that I point to. I do know that I continue to love coaching these kids and working hard to make sure we continue to challenge this great game, and that s still a joy to me each and every day! SHP NOTES- The SHP baseball parents arranged for a hot dog truck to arrive in the parking lot outside the outfield fence at the KAC after Wednesday s historic game plus had a banner commemorating 700 wins plus special sheet cake prepared for Shep Jr.The Pirates longtime head baseball coach is in his 30th season at SHP ( ) and also coached one season in 1986 at West Orange where he was His

9 SHP teams have won 12 Iron Hills Conference-Iron Division crowns and five Super Essex Conference-American Division titles in addition to nine Non-Public, North A state sectional crowns Shep Jr. has been inducted into four Halls of Fame (Seton Hall University-1991, Newark, N.J.-1995, SHP-2005 and NJSIAA-2006). He has also earned national honors while being selected as the American Baseball Coaches Association Region 2 and National Coach of the Year in both 2003 and 2007 His teams have been nationally ranked during or at the end of the season in nine different seasons by USA TODAY.He also played and coached for 15 years in American Legion Baseball for Vailsburg Post 395 and continues to send SHP players to be part of the Post 395 Senior and Junior Legion teams each summer. WINNINGEST NJ BASEBALL COACHES: 1- Kenny Frank, Toms River South Marty Kenny, CBA Tony Ferrainolo, Memorial (WNY) 754 wins 4- Harry Shatel, Morristown 752 wins 5- Mike Sheppard, Jr., SHP *** MAJOR & MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS WHO PLAYED FOR SHEP JR. 17: Matt Lasher California Angels Marteese Robinson Oakland Athletics Brian Bowness - Chicago White Sox Jeff Miller San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates Casey Grimm St. Louis Cardinals Eric Duncan N.Y. Yankees 1st round draft pick, 27th overall Joseph Martinez San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Indians, Arizona Diamondbacks Rick Porcello Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox 1st round draft pick, 27th overall Steven Brooks Chicago Cubs Evan Danielli Atlanta Braves Jake Porcello Detroit Tigers Joe Spano Toronto Blue Jays Robert Fonseca Seattle Mariners

10 Nick Ammirati Seattle Mariners John Norwood Florida Marlins Dan Merklinger Milwaukee Brewers Javier Martinez Seattle Mariners Follow Steve Tober on The entire Seton Hall Prep baseball team gathers with Shep Jr. as he displays special cake presented him by the SHP baseball parents after he earned his 700th career win. Copyright 2005 Sideline Chatter - comments - contact the webmaster