Just Your Average Guy

Page 3 • March 2019

Just Your Average Guy

By Jody Norwood

At 5-feet, 7-inches with a few spring trainings behind him, Ron Polk appears to be just as he advertises: an average guy. A guy from a typical family (he and his brother grew up the sons of a mailman in Arizona) who loved America’s pastime.

On March 2 at Marshall County High School, Polk met with dozens of area baseball players, discussing the mundane parts of coaching: recruiting, public speaking, getting thrown out of games for arguing with officials. Baseball fans — especially those of the Southeastern Conference — know Polk is anything but an average guy with an average story to tell.

A baseball legend, Polk has been included in six different halls of fame (Georgia Southern University, American Baseball Coaches Association, State of Mississippi, Mississippi State University and National College Baseball). Polk is recognized by many as one of the most successful coaches at the college level, and the winningest coach in SEC history with a 1,373-702-2 record.

Of course, Polk — whose name graces Mississippi State’s Polk-Dement Stadium — is quick to point out that not every game was a success.

“I’ve got more wins, but I’ve also got more losses than anyone in the SEC,”

Polk said. “Not many coaches last for 31 years in the SEC. When someone likes to say they have more wins, I always like to preface it that they have more losses, too. And that’s what’s going to happen: you’re going to win some, and you’re going to lose some.”

The 75-year old still coaches athletes, continuing to make an impact on college baseball. As a volunteer coach at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Polk said he is prohibited from recruiting players.

And that’s ok with him, as he spent plenty of time on the road courting the country’s best athletes during his time in the SEC.

March 2019 • Page 4

“I hate traveling now,” Polk said. “I’m bored to death with it. With the 1988 U.S. Olympic team, we were on the road for five months because of the weather in [host] Seoul, South Korea. Cuba wasn’t invited to that particular tournament — they were boycotting — so we won the gold.”

Polk was head coach of the U.S. National Baseball in 1991 and 1998. He was assistant coach for the 1988 gold medal team and 1996 bronze medal team.

During his 35-year career, Polk coached in the College World Series eight times.

He coached at Georgia Southern from 1972 to 1975, leading the team to the College World Series in 1973 as part of an overall 155-64 record.

Polk joined Mississippi State University in 1976. He led the Bulldogs to the College World Series in 1979, 1981, 1985 1990 and 1997. MSU won the SEC championship in 1979, 1985, 1987 and 1989.

Rob McDonald — Marshall County’s head baseball coach — worked under Polk, bringing him to western Kentucky to meet with players.

“I coached for Coach Polk for two years about 30 years ago,” McDonald said. “Ever since then, I’ve gotten a Christmas card, birthday card,

anniversary card from him every year for almost 30 years,” McDonald said. “[He sends them to] his hundreds of former players and dozens of former coaches. He must send out thousands of cards with personal notes each year.”

More than four decades of coaching have made Polk a venerable voice in sports. But, as McDonald noted, it’s his drive to treat others with respect and purpose that make him stand out.

At MCHS, Polk spoke on both the chances and choices available to today’s youth.

Page 5 • March 2019

“It’s a fantastic opportunity we have in this day and age with the facilities we have going up,” Polk said. “It’s amazing how nice the stadiums are right now around the country.

“But what happens is, there’s a lot of recruiting going on. Some [coaches] are even recruiting kids in the eighth grade now. As the past president of the National Coaches Association, I’ve told them I’m not particularly proud of that.”

Polk said many coaches feel pressure to make players feel obligated to their program. He encouraged young players to explore their options.

“Guys, that handshake means nothing,” Polk said. “You go backwards, or get hurt or that coach leaves that school, it means nothing. Enjoy the recruiting aspect. Take your five visits. Take an opportunity to ask people questions about the school you might be choosing to play your college baseball.”

Polk has authored two books, The Baseball Playbook and The Baseball- Softball Playbook. His first book has out-sold every other similar manual by more than 4-to-1. He pre-autographed a number of books that were available for purchase Monday night. For those who wanted, Polk stayed afterward to give a personal inscription in each book.

High school baseball teams attending Monday were: Ballard Memorial, Caldwell County, Christian County, Crittenden County, Dyersburg, Tenn., Graves County, Hopkins County Central, Hopkinsville, Marshall County, McCracken County, Murray, Paducah Tilghman, St. Mary, Trigg County and Union County.

But his message throughout the night was the same: an average set of circumstances can be overcome with dedication and hard work.

“Discipline is what it’s all about,” Polk said. “Nothing is given for free.... You heard Coach McDonald introduce me and the picture you had after hearing those accomplishments, was probably something more.”

Polk described coming from an average background, noting that he wasn’t sought after as a player following high school. That led him to the University of Arizona where he worked on a teaching degree, and tried to build up the courage to ask coach Frank Sancet for a job as a volunteer. At the time, the Arizona Wildcats were the kings of college baseball under Sancet.

When Polk finally approached the coach, a lack of experience was less important than good timing. Sancet noted his pitching coach would be better in the bullpen, and offered Polk a chance to take over duties at third base.

“Guys at 21, half the team was older than me,” Polk said. “I was the third base coach for the Arizona Wildcats, playing UCLA and Southern Cal. We go to the College World Series in 1966 and there’s all these television cameras, and I thought

‘Look at me.’

“But I didn’t do a thing, besides having the guts to go up the staircase and ask [coach Sancet] if he needed any help.”

After the tournament, he decided at age 22 to dedicate himself to coaching.

“If I was going to do it, I didn’t want to just be a coach,” Polk said. “I wanted to be the coach.”

He challenged players to avoid distractions and bad influences, and to dedicate themselves to their goals.

Polk also encouraged players to celebrate living in their respective communities.

“Living in a small town is a great thing,” Polk said. “You hit four home runs in a game, everybody’s going to know it. You do something academically, everybody’s going to know it. You hit five or six home runs in Chicago, it’s not going to be in the Chicago Tribune. Nobody cares. There’s too many people there.”