Melissa McClendon
From little league to legion, Rick Condit and Mike Houser have been coaching baseball together for nearly 20 years. Once again, the two Locust Grove men have teamed up and will voluntarily coach the Locust Grove High School baseball team.
Their time together has resulted in successful seasons and a 1991 American Legion state championship. Like many times before, they are helping coach the community’s children and their own. Houser’s son Adrian and Condit’s grandson, Trenton Hooker, are members of the Pirate team.
By volunteering their time, Condit and Houser are saving the school thousands of dollars. The estimated salary for two full-time teachers/coaches is $80,000. Houser and Condit are not only volunteering their time as coaches but they are pitching in to do grounds maintenance and give the ball park a face lift.
“Without Mike I don’t know that I would have done it, or could have done it,” Condit said.
Two of the reasons Condit has stepped up to help is for his, “love of the game and to be an example to other people. If you have time to volunteer your services you should, especially with the economy like it is and the school budgets.”
Condit, who is retired, led the revamping of the ball park, while Houser, who still works full time, has been handling all of the sponsorships.
“Mike is going in (to work) early to get off early. It puts a strain on him,” Condit said. “I can’t say enough about how I appreciate what he’s done.”
At the park, Condit, along with the help of other baseball parents, has repainted the outfield fence red and black to match the school’s colors. A new perimeter fence with brick work at the entrance has been added and hours of work on the field itself have been completed. The finishing of the brick work, including an archway at the entrance and painting the concession stand are projects that weren’t finished before the Pirates first game but should be done by the end of summer.
Team work days have also helped with the improvements. Several parents have volunteered their time working side by side with the team to get ready for the spring season.
Condit, who is president of the school board, estimates the school has saved about $100,000 with volunteer hours, donations and sponsorships. As a school board member, Condit admits by volunteering his time as a coach, he is able to see what coaches face every day.
He hopes the boys will have a successful season but will not make any predictions. Condit and Houser share the same coaching style and expect their team to give all they’ve got.
“A lot of coaches measure success on wins and losses,” Condit said. “I measure on how well the boys respond and how much they learn. During the course of the season, if they respond and learn we’ll be successful whether we make the playoffs or not. The rest is icing on the cake.”
Locust Grove opened their season Monday with a 3-2 win over Inola and traveled to Tahlequah-Sequoyah Tuesday. With many more games ahead, “I invite the public to come out and support the boys,” Condit said.
