Sunday Morning Chat: TERRA Manager Ernie Padron

First-year TERRA Institute Manager Ernie Padron has been a staple in the dugouts in Miami-Dade County over the past two decades. After taking over at TERRA this year, the fire burns stronger than ever in Padron. Today he sat down with HSBN’s Anthony Uttariello to discuss his past, his present, and his future. Enjoy!

Anthony: Alright, let’s start off by giving readers a little background into your coaching career.

Coach Padron: I started coaching in a small Presbyterian school. I coached there in 1990-91. We had a team with about 13 players in ’91 that we actually went to the state finals in 1A on a team that basically everybody had to pitch.

A lot of those guys have gone on to be productive citizens. In fact, Javy Perez, who was our catcher that year, is now the principal at South Dade. So that is definitely a proud thing to see a young man become head of a school.

Then in ’92, ’93, ’94, I was an assistant coach at Dade Christian and then I took over in ’95. In ’96 we went to the state finals, and then in ’97 was my last year at Dade Christian. So in ’98, I took over Florida Christian, where I was until 2012. And there, we had a good run; 6 years in a row, from 2001-2006 we were in the state finals. We won a couple, and we were runner-up a few other times. We had a good run of a lot of college and professional players that passed by there. Ricky Orda, Sean Watson, Owen Rodriguez, Brian Arragon, Brian Morgato, Shane Hill, Danny Lima, David Hernandez, Marco Batista and so on. I know I am leaving some out but as I get older, I start forgetting.

Anthony: Because you were part of Florida Christian for a long time, and the past two years you spent at public schools here in Miami, tell me the biggest differences between coaching a public and private school down here.

Coach Padron: Definitely coaching in a public school sometimes you are limited with stuff you do as far as fundraising. There are stricter rules with what you can do and what you can’t do. But, as far as the makeup of the kids, the kids are kids whether they are private school kids or public school kids. I feel like all the places I have been coaching at, we have always had the parents’ support. It’s always been positive everywhere that I have coached. So really the biggest difference has been from a fundraising standpoint and not so much the ability, but the limitations sometimes you have.

Anthony: You had Florida Christian at a championship level for many years. What are the keys to getting TERRA to the level where it can compete for a title year in and year out?

Coach Padron: I think one of the things is hard work. Definitely hard work and practice, making sure you practice the game. The way you practice is how you play. If you practice hard, you are going to play hard.

I think another element is having a tough schedule. Getting yourself ready. Team unity is another thing, understanding everybody’s role on the team and playing together as one. One of the biggest things that we are talking about here is that it is going to take all of us for one of us to be successful. So, I think the comradery, these guys are really close right now, but I think one of the biggest things as a coach is that you have to try to get teams to mesh. And, it has been proven that teams that mesh and have that chemistry makeup are definitely going to be successful because no matter what the situation is, whether you are up 10 or down 10, you are not going to give up because you are pulling for each other. So, I would say in order: chemistry, hard work, and definitely an attitude.

Anthony: You have seen a lot of coaches come and go in your time managing here in Miami. Give me two or three guys that you consider to be among the best of the best and why?

Coach Padron: Fred Burnside, off the top, without even thinking. Coach Burnside’s teams are always well-coached and fundamentally sound. They play the game the right way.

Definitely the coaches in our district, everybody has a reputation of being guys that are going to prepare teams to grind out the season.

Obviously Coach Hofman is another one. It definitely was an honor coaching in many games against him when he was in Westminster Christian and at Westminster Academy. Luckily, I have had a fair share of success against him, so I have been lucky but, nevertheless, his teams are always going to be in a dog fight.

Angel Herrera’s guys always hit no matter who they’ve got. I feel like they are always going to be prepared to come after you.

Javy Rodriguez at Gulliver. His guys play the game a different way; just a lot of emphasis on small ball. Especially running the bases.

Joe Weber, another guy that when you play against him, you know you are going to be in for a battle because he does a great job with his teams. There are a lot of good coaches in Miami.

Anthony: Are there any young guys you see coaching right now that make you look and say, ‘Hey, that guy reminds me of me 20 years ago?’

Coach Padron: Man, I know Mike DeRosa. When I saw his guys play against Columbus, I came back and practiced and told my guys, ‘Hey we are going to be in for a dog fight with these guys. These guys are good.’ I feel like he brings a lot of young energy as a coach. He is going to, he has already had success, but I feel he is going to be successful at anything he does.

There is another coach, Steven Suarez, he is an assistant at South Dade, who is also a younger guy, who when given the opportunity, he is a great coach right now, but I think he is going to be a great leader.

And Tino Burgos at Hialeah Gardens. I coached him at Dade Christian, and he really is a good coach.

Anthony: Tell me a time over the years when a player did something during the game that was so extraordinary that you were just kind of blown away, in a positive manner?

Coach Padron: I would say Bryan Morgado in 2005. He pitches against Cardinal Newman and goes on and pitches a no-hitter, striking out 14 guys. That was in the 2005 Regional finals to get us to states. Then, the following year, as a senior, in 2006, he faces Westminster Academy with Hofman, and he walks Kevin Chapman, the first guy. And the proceeds to mow down the rest of the lineup. He struck out about 14 guys there, too. So two no-hitters, two regional finals with 28-29 strikeouts. That to me, I was blown away by that.

And then there was another time, I think, in 2011 or 2012, the bases were loaded and the ball was hit in the gap by Roger Gonzalez and I think there were two outs, and we ran on contact. The guy from second was coming around and the guy from first was following the guy from second and we scored both guys at the same time in one play, and when the catcher went to tag the two guys. he couldn’t tag anybody. That was something I have never seen. But, Bryan Morgado’s performances in the playoffs, to me, were remarkable.

Anthony: On the flip side, give me a time when a player did something so crazy you just shook your head in disbelief. You don’t have to name the player’s name, but just the situation.

Coach Padron: Man, I don’t remember that. I mean, I know at times that we lost as a team because we hadn’t executed, but to see any kid like that, I don’t really recall, to be honest with you.

Anthony: Looking back, if you could do one thing differently from your career, what would it be?

Coach Padron: Make smarter decisions in life in general.

Anthony: Most coaches have their lives wrapped around the baseball field. Tell our readers something you like to do in your time away from the field.

Coach Padron:I love listening to country music. I love hanging out with my family; my son and my two girls and my wife. I am not that exciting of an individual (laughs). I love to cook. That is one thing I get harassed about on Facebook by some of the umpires that are friends of mine saying ‘When are you going to cook that for us?’ and this and that. My girls would rather me cook than my wife! That has to be good for something. So, listening to country music, cooking, and just hanging out with the family.

Anthony: If Ernie Padron, the coach, could go back in time and give Ernie Padron the player, one piece of advice, what would that advice be?

Coach Padron: Man, I was not that good of a player. I barely played high school baseball. I just had a passion that my father instilled in me to do things. He was the one that introduced me to the game. I’m getting emotional. My dad passed away in 2002. But, I think that one of the things he always taught me was to pursue whatever you are doing, do it with passion and do it with all of your heart. And let the chips fall where they may. And I think that is an attitude and a life philosophy that I like to instill in my kids, as well.

Anthony: What gives you the ultimate satisfaction during the course of the game, something that every time it happens, you just are overcome with joy?

Coach Padron: The execution of a certain play. The execution of the guys understanding what it is we are trying to do and then communicating to me why we are doing things. Just the passing of knowledge. That, to me, is the ultimate. Because we know we are passing down the information and they are doing what they need to do.

Anthony: Do you think about what your life will look like after you are done coaching?

Coach Padron: I talked to my wife. I told my wife that I don’t think I am retiring ever if God allows me the opportunity. I joke with my son; and my son just got married in April. He’ll be a year married and I told him, ‘You need to hurry up and have a son so I can coach my grandson!’ Then I start doing the math and I thought, ‘Holy cow! That’s a long time away!’ (Laughs) I don’t know. Right now, at this point, sometimes you get into the grind and the team isn’t doing things the right way or they are not listening or you tend be frustrated in the moment because it is not happening when you want it to happen and you say, ‘Man, why am I doing this? I think this is it.’ But I love this game. This is all I know. I can’t really imagine being away from the game.

Anthony: If there was one thing you could change about high school baseball today, what would it be?

Coach Padron: All the inconsequential rules that have nothing to do with the play of the game. For instance, the hybrid position. When I was pitching, you couldn’t do the hybrid position. I know they try to do stuff to speed up the game, but I think they do these things to nitpick. But it’s not the umpires fault, it’s somebody sitting in a room saying, ‘We are going to change this.’ But, at the end of the day, it’s still baseball.

Anthony: Alright, last question. Give me the best memory baseball has ever given you.

Coach Padron: Being able to have my son on the team. In 2006, he was a junior at Florida Christian on the JV team. And then he was on our varsity team in 2006. He didn’t play much, but having him there…I tell you what, he was the best one at stealing signs. We knew what the other team was doing just because he was so smart. That’s a memorable thing and definitely winning the State Championship in 2004.

Anthony: Alright. Thank you, and good luck the rest of the season.

Coach Padron: Thank you.

Leave a comment using your facebook account!