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April 19, 2012

Of coaching inspirations and lights out

Sports Editor Terrell Lester

Scouting around … Mention in this space last week of Okmulgee’s decorated baseball coach Danny Morgan prompted a warm response from Tony Thomas, superintendent of Salina schools.

Morgan is in his 38th season as head coach of the Okmulgee program and Thomas played for the Hall of Famer before entering coaching himself.

“Playing for coach Morgan was special,” Thomas said this week.  “Coach Morgan taught me so much about baseball and so much about life.

“Attention to detail, hard work, intensity and the ability to be a part of a team and to know your role and to accept your role for the betterment of the team were the rules that coach Morgan lived by.

“Coach Morgan was the biggest influence for me getting into education and coaching. Coach Morgan was like a father to me. I was around coach Morgan during football, offseason and baseball. 

“Coach Morgan took a special interest in all of his players and related well to kids. I knew he always had our best interest at heart even though he was a tough and demanding coach. I knew that all that he expected from us was going to help us be better players and more important, better fathers and husbands. That’s what coaching is about to me, being able to reach kids through sports and helping them to deal with life situations and for them to have a passion about something and to be a part of that team.

“Lessons that I have learned from coach Morgan have helped shape me in my career, and I am so very thankful to him and his love and support. Coach Morgan was a tough coach and there were times that he had to line me out and get my attention, and I am just thankful that I had that person in my life that took the time to do that for me, for that, I love coach Morgan and will be forever grateful.” …

Baseball people often use the term “power outage” when a team’s offense falters. Rogers State’s Hillcats experienced not one but two power outages Tuesday, but that did not deter them from scoring 15 runs against Oklahoma Wesleyan.

The four-hour-plus game started out at the Hillcat Complex in Claremore. It wound up across town at Legion Field. In between, the lights went out twice.

With the score tied, 4-4, after two innings, the stadium lights malfunctioned. With no quick fix available, officials moved the game down the road a couple of miles to the home field of the high school and American Legion.

RSU was having no power shortage and moved out in front, 8-6, in the fifth. In the sixth, a power surge caused an interruption in play that lasted some 30 minutes.

When play finally resumed, the Hillcats pushed across six more runs in the home half of the inning.

And, turned the lights out on Wesleyan.

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