Ocean Man Volunteers Every Day for Baseball Class
By TOM SHORTELL
 Coaster Photo: Four of Coach Smittys students, Ryan Ribeiro, Dillon Yasser, Dylan Tyrrell and Tom OGorman, all of Ocean Township, play Pepper, a game where fielders toss a ball at a batter who must bunt it back to the fielders. |
Storm clouds loomed over Joe Palaia Park in Ocean Township Monday morning, but that didnt bother the six children in baseball gear who had infield practice.
While the kids may love the game, theyre on the field because of the passion of one man: Coach Smitty.
Thomas Smith, more commonly known as Coach Smitty, has run a free baseball class whenever the kids are out of school for the past 16 years, 14 of those at the current site across the street from Ocean Township Elementary School. Smith said he ran a similar program in Minnesota, where he lived for 22 years before moving back to New Jersey, a native of Livingston.
 Coaster Photo: Coach Smitty and Ryan Bug Ribeiro demonstrate the two ball drill in Ocean Township where a person must quickly field a ball and then dish it to the other person. |
I painted one side of the ball orange so they could see the ball in the snow, he said. Its a fine, powdery snow up there, not the thick stuff we get down here.
Smith, 75, shows up at the field at 8 a.m. each morning to carry out the baseball equipment a pitching machine, bats, balls and bases, among others and to rake the infield. Then hell wait in his fold-up chair for his eager young baseball players, usually between the ages of seven and 14, who start to arrive around 9 a.m.
Once the kids show up, class begins. Coach Smitty has the boys perform several drills like the dead ball drill, where the boys have to field five balls placed on the infield in a specific way, or the wide receiver drill, where the players run straight into center, then cut into left field where they have to make a diving catch on a ball.
Smith said the kids need to work most on their hitting.
They try to kill the ball, he said.
He has the boys hit off two tees, one on the outside part of the plate and one on the inside, so the boys learn how to handle pitches.
Helping Smith are his assistant coaches, older boys who have showed up for their lessons for several years.
Im an old man, he said. Ive got to sit down once in a while.
The boys run the lessons when Smith takes a break and do throws Smith cant make. Ive got two speeds, Smith said. Slow and dead slow.
On days when the weather doesnt permit them to take the field, Smith has the boys watch baseball videos on his portable DVD player or play baseball card games in the shelter of one of the parks small buildings. I want them eating, sleeping and dreaming baseball, Smith said.
Smith is deliberate in calling his sessions classes because he gives the boys homework. He sends the boys home with general questions like, Whats the next best thing to a hit? (Answer: a walk) and Whats rewarded more than power or speed? (Answer: Technique), or about old time players such as Ron Guidry, Cool Papa Bell and Carl Furillo.
I just love to teach the kids, he said.
The kids enjoy it, too. Its fun. Its addicting, said Tom OGorman, who was fielding first base.
Shane Gopher Kelly, an 8-year-old who Smith plays at an 11-year-old level, appreciates the classes. Smith nicknamed him Gopher because he spends most of his time in the dirt fielding ground balls. He makes it fun for us, Shane said.
Ryan Bug Ribeiro, one of the assistant coaches, pointed out another added benefit of the classes. We make a lot of new friends because were in different leagues, he said. Ryan got his nickname because balls stick in his glove like bugs stick to a wall.
The boys are rewarded for their efforts, too. Smith doles out star cards for impressive plays the boys make during class. Each star card is worth an old baseball card that Smith carries in the trunk of the car. Ryan said he earned 378 cards on his first day, but that fell well short of the record 482 star cards in a single day. At the end of each week, Smith also awards a prize to the child who showed up every day and made the best effort. The prizes range from baseball cards on plaques to gloves and bats. All of the rewards are memorabilia that Smith has collected over the years.
My sister says that when my time comes, shes going to put a dumpster next to the window and just start tossing everything, Smith said with a laugh.
Between the prizes and the equipment, Smiths Cadillac feels the pain.
My Cadillac gets 15 miles to the gallon, but with all that equipment in there, it only gets eight, he said. With gas prices around $4 a gallon, Smith said he may have to start charging a few dollars a week to afford the fuel.
The classes are a boon to the boys parents as well.
 Coaster Photo: While Coach Smitty watches, Dillon Yasser winds up for a throw to first base in the dead ball drill, where a player must field a stationary ball in a certain manner. |
Donna Yasser has known Smith for about five years. Hes a legend, she said. Her son Dillon (AKA Badger) is another one of Smiths assistant coaches. If Dillon wasnt here, hed be in my hair. I have to drag him to the beach because he wants to be here, she said.
Eugene Tyrrell watched the boys practice from the parking lot after running around the park.
Look at that. Thats pure baseball right there, Tyrrell said, waving a sweaty hand toward the field.
His son Dylan started just a week ago, and he already loves it, Tyrrell said. He comes home, and he comes home tired, Tyrrell said.
Aside from Smiths classes, Dylan also is in a three-week baseball clinic. We cant afford more than that, he said. Many of the boys prefer Smiths classes to the expensive baseball clinics. Many of the kids said the clinics have too many kids to get personal training from the inspectors.
Smith stays at the park until about 2:30 p.m.
It used to be to 4 p.m., but they tire me out, he said.
Smith is an assistant coach to the Little League Yankees, and lately hes an assistant coach to one of the All-Star teams. He once assistant coached five teams at once, but the league has since passed a rule limiting coaches to one team.
The lessons will continue and kids will have the chance to earn star cards for a while yet.
I wont give it up until they put me in the box, Smith said.
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