7 July 2009

Kansas Coaches Keep Commodores on the Road

FALMOUTH, Mass.—As Brad Stoll hits ground balls to the Commodores’ infield, it’s clear that he’s not in Kansas anymore. Stoll is a rare breed in the Cape League. He is a high school coach in a world populated almost exclusively by college coaches.

     “It doesn’t matter what he does in the spring,” said Commodores G.M. Dan Dunn of his young assistant coach. “He is a great coach, and we’re lucky to have him.” Stoll’s resume certainly makes him worthy of being in the Cape League, and will likely make him the subject of college coaching searches in the near future.

     Stoll is a humble man. His recent accolades are certainly noteworthy, but he would be the last person to mention them. “You mean Mr. Coach of the Year Brad Stoll?” Coach Eric Thompson said of his friend and colleague. “Brad is a humble guy, but it’s really impressive what he did this year, winning a state championship and the Coach of the Year award with his alma mater.”

     Coach Stoll had an incredible year with his alma mater Lawrence High School in Lawrence, Kansas. His team won its last 16 games, including the State Championship in Kansas’ top division. “I think Brad might have told his wife that he won [the Coach of the Year award] but that was about it,” said Commodores coach and Kansas man Shane Wedd. “He doesn’t talk about his accomplishments, but we do. We give him a hard time about it sometimes, but he knows it’s all in fun.”

     But the man from Lawrence is a team first guy. “The team championship meant a lot more. It was nice to be recognized personally, but we won a championship, and that’s what you set out to do every spring,” said Stoll of the award.

     Regardless of who has won which awards, Falmouth’s ‘Kansas Men’ have become as certain a thing as strange weather on Cape Cod. “It’s been great,” said Dunn. “We’ve had coach Thompson and coach Wedd around for a few years and some other coaches from Kansas have come here and gone on to MLB scouting jobs.” The continuity has been good for the Commodores. “Friends from that same coaching circle come in and help us out. They’re all friends; they live in a house together and just eat and sleep baseball all summer. We are lucky to have all these coaches from Kansas.”

 

By Jim Chandley CCBL PR intern (Chandley@capecodbaseb
 

Interns: Chris Blake, James Chandley, Ashley Crosby, Phil Garceau, Michael Campbell, Katy Ann Fitzpatrick