Dr. Krop Intent On Returning To District Playoffs

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Control what you can control, and don’t worry about anything else. This is the mindset that Dr. Krop Manager Scott Olsen has implemented with his team this season. Olsen tries to get his players to live in the moment, to focus on each play as if it is the only thing in the world that matters at that point in time. The Lightning skipper does not want his guys to dwell on the past, not even for one pitch. If a pitcher throws a ball, then they accept the count is 1-0 and they move on to the next pitch.

The result of this approach is that players are staying more focused within the games, and not allowing themselves to be distracted by what happened at any other point during the game or the season. Players are accountable for their actions and they are hungry for the chance to make plays and help the team.

After taking over midway through last season, Olsen has returned for his first full season at the helm. The former Marlins pitcher began last year as an assistant, and then stepped into the lead role with about a dozen games remaining on the schedule. Rather than make any changes at that point, Olsen used that final stretch of games to evaluate players and prepare for the future ahead. He was able to get a summer and fall program in place so the team would have something going for them by this spring.

Now the Lightning is ready to charge forward with new resolve, and the drive to end its drought and get their club back into the district playoffs.

“When I was hired as an assistant it was the first time I tried coaching,” said Olsen, who previously pitched for the Florida Marlins and Washington Nationals during a six-year MLB career. “After playing I didn’t want to get too far removed from the game, and the school gave me a great opportunity to come and get my foot in the door to see if it is something I want to do down the road. I live local, so for me it couldn’t have worked out any better.”

Olsen has helped bring some stability back to the program. The club is full of players who work hard and have plenty of motivation, and Olsen admits this is something built into their own chemistry and has little to do with any extra motivation they may get from being led by a former Big Leaguer. The roster returns never all of its guys from a season before, and they are all anxious to be a part of the turnaround at the school.

“There is only one thing on my mind, and that is winning championships,” senior captain Diego Rodriguez said. “I want to win a district championship, and that is something we haven’t been able to do in my four years here. The key is family; we have to stick together through the bad times. My sophomore year we had the best chemistry and that is what I am trying to teach these guys about. We hang out after school, during player meetings and we go out to eat a lot now. You always do better by staying together.”

The Lightning players are united in their drive to earn a spot in the district playoffs, after having missed out on that chance over the past several seasons. Once they can get in, the goal is to win and then take each game from there. Going into the start of the season the team is determined to get off on the right foot, to be competitive in all the games. Early on last year there were many games that they were flat and simply not ready to compete, and Olsen works now to remind his guys that if they stay in the game of baseball anything can happen.

“The hardest challenge is to focus on every play and every pitch, to maintain that intensity every day,” Olsen said. “We can’t worry about other teams in the district; we have to do what we’re supposed to do. If we do that then everything else will fall into place.”

The squad only graduated three guys this year, and the majority of the team returns. A lot of them are seniors who have had the practice time and game experience, and that is something that could go a long way in turning things around for them. The group has good leaders in place, and Olsen is counting on a system where he does not always have to be the one who is responsible for telling them where they have to go. He is hoping guys will take a cue from the team leaders and follow their example.

At the front of that group is Rodriguez, a fourth-year starter who is the team’s workhorse. The senior splits time on the mound and also as the club’s primary backstop, and also hits in the middle of the lineup. Olsen feels that the team is going to go where Diego Rodriguez goes.

While Rodriguez admits he is not crazy about being the main leader on the team, it is something that he takes seriously and uses to set the right tone throughout the clubhouse.

“Ever since my freshman year my coach has always worked me like a horse,” Rodriguez said. “Now I’m just trying to make an example for these guys to work hard and try everyday as hard as possible. I keep myself on the field and in the weight room to set that example for these guys.”

An area that everyone has stressed to improve upon is in the defense. Coach Olsen always reminds them that defense wins games, and Rodriguez reiterates just how crucial defense is to their success. The team has made major improvements this year, and Rodriguez has lots of confidence in them. Since he has an advantage of seeing the entire field from behind the dish, Rodriguez takes pride in calling the plays and making sure guys are lined up where they need to be. From his position, the catcher has also had the best view in watching this Lightning defense turn the corner and become one of their areas of strength.

The left side of the infield defense is growing into one of the team’s strongest areas. Third baseman Manny Talavera has grown immensely over the past 12 months, combining good soft hands with great instincts for the game and the third base position. Shortstop Jordan Landman has also shown a lot of potential for growth and improvement this season.

The outfield defense is anchored by what the team refers to as “Jason Range”, which is the expansive zone in which center fielder Jason Girardi roams the field. Girardi has excellent range and has shown a knack for getting under everything and making the catches. Girardi has solidified the outfield corps and added more overall confidence for the defense in general.

The area where the club figures to be the strongest is on the mound, where Rodriguez and Wes Foster have stepped up to lead the way. Olsen is counting on his pitchers to keep the ball down in the zone and force hitters to put the ball on the ground so the team can take its chances with their defense. Rodriguez and Foster have shown quite the knack for following this game plan.

“I love having my team behind me, and I love knowing that when the ball is in play they will make the plays to get us out of the inning,” said Foster, a second-year varsity starter who has come a long way over the past year. “I like being in control of the game and working with my catcher. When I am up there I am not worried about anything else; all that matters is pitching.”

Foster began to focus more on his pitching after Olsen took over last season, as the Lightning skipper took Foster under his wing. Together they have worked on getting his arm stronger and grooming him for some big innings during the upcoming season. The right-hander had a strong fall and looks forward to helping his team to make it out of the district playoffs this year.

“It makes me feel good to have a coach that trusts me so well to put the team on my back,” Foster said of his relationship with Olsen. “He is the greatest guy and the best coach I ever had. He has the MLB experience from pitching for the Marlins all those years and he is a big part of this. We all have a really good relationship with him; and he is more than just a coach but like a friend also. We’re all family, we’re all a team and we all love each other. When we step on the field nothing matters except baseball.”

These sentiments are shared right back by Olsen. He knows it is a tough task to teach them how to believe in themselves and how to have a winning mentality, but he also appreciates that this is a group that is beginning to understand how that all works. Opportunity has brought them all together and already they have made a ton of progress together.

“They are a very coachable group, and a great group of kids,” Olsen said. “Good kids don’t always win baseball games, but I have such a good group and it is encouraging. Guys can play multiple positions and do multiple things. It definitely helps in high school when you are moving guys all around. I believe everything will fall into place.”

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