Pirates name new coach

BRADEN RIVER — Two weeks ago, Mike Verrill approached his players for the first time this season and asked them to look up two players: Pete Rose and Ty Cobb.

Both Rose and Cobb exemplify the discipline and competitive spirit Verrill hopes each of his players bring to the field every day.

“Those guys played as hard as they could and were both extremely competitive and would leave it all out on the field,” Verrill said. “That’s the mentality I want to bring to Braden River if they don’t already have it.

“I hope to bring that bulldog type of mentality to playing,” Verrill said. “I want them to play hard each and every day even in practice. I want them to play hard, have great sportsmanship and leave it all on the field.”

On Dec. 2, Verrill, The Out-of-Door Academy’s former coach, was named the Pirates new varsity baseball coach.

“I was extremely pleased,” Verrill said. “It’s a big school. The baseball is different in the sense that you’re 15 deep instead of four or five deep. You’ve got bigger, stronger and faster athletes, and it’s geared more toward completive baseball.”

Verrill replaces former coach Ryan Hilton, who resigned earlier this year after his wife received a job offer that was too good to pass up.

“Ryan did a fantastic job for us, and we all hate to see them leave,” Braden River Athletic Director Bob Bowling said. “But he has to do what’s best for him and his family.”

Verrill learned about the opening about six weeks ago; and looking to coach in a larger public school setting, he jumped at the opportunity.

“It’s a big program — it’s 7A,” Verrill said. “I’d been in the private school setting for eight years, so I was looking for a more public type of school setting. I was waiting for opportunities. I wasn’t going to apply for (anything).

“I decided to apply for the (Braden River) position because it’s much bigger and it’s a public school,” Verrill said. “The school has a strong athletic director, who is very disciplined and expects the same from his coaches. It just seemed like a good fit.”

Verrill was one of 25 coaches to apply for the position. After narrowing the field to two, Bowling chose Verrill for his experience in working with various levels of athletes.

“Mike has about 40 years of coaching baseball from the college level to Little League,” Bowling said. “He has been able to work with various levels of talent, which was very important, because with high school baseball that is what you’re dealing with.

“Mike is a people person and has a great passion for coaching baseball and seeing young people improve,” he said.

Verrill is in the process of completing his paperwork, which he hopes to have finalized by Jan. 16 — when the Pirates can officially begin practicing for the season.

This season will mark Verrill’s 33rd consecutive year of high school baseball. Prior to Braden River, Verrill led the Thunder to the Class 1A regional finals in 2009.

Verrill also has served as an assistant coach for Bowdoin College in Maine and has run college baseball camps for the University of Southern Maine.

This past summer, Verrill served as the director of baseball for Bridgton Academy, a one-year preparatory school in Maine, where he runs the school’s summer baseball program and also coached Auburn, Maine’s legion baseball team.

In addition to coaching the Pirates, Verrill also works fulltime at Extra Innings in Sarasota, where he helps in travel team development.

“When I (left) ODA, my wife said, ‘What do you think? Is it time to retire?’” Verrill said. “I still have a tremendous fire and passion to coach. My mentor, John Wanking, coached for the University of Maine until he was 88 years old. I want to try to beat his record.”

This season, Braden River finds itself in a district with Manatee, Venice, Sarasota and Port Charlotte, ensuring the Pirates will face quality competition every time they step out onto the diamond.

“It’s going to be tremendous baseball for us day in and day out,” Verrill said. “As a coach, you really couldn’t ask for anything better than that type of situation. I couldn’t think of a better situation than Braden River for competitive baseball.”

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].