ABCA Coach of the Year Credits Recent Success to Players, Staff and FieldTurf
Ricky Griffin, head baseball coach at Argyle (Texas) High School, was among the 11 men honored as 2019 American Baseball Coaches Association/Diamond National Coaches of the Year at the annual ABCA Convention in January.
Griffin guided the Eagles to back-to-back Class 4A state championships in 2018 and 2019, and he credits the installation of FieldTurf’s DoublePlay at the school in 2015 with helping him develop versatile players capable of winning on multiple surface types.
“Having FieldTurf allows us to be successful on turf or grass,” explains Griffin, who took over Argyle’s program in 2007 and won the 2019 Coach of the Year title in the ABCA’s High School Division II category. “The turf plays just like a perfectly groomed grass field. We play a lot of small ball in Argyle, so the fact that ground balls and bunted balls react just like they do on grass is a big plus.”
The Argyle Eagles are the first team in the history of Texas’ University Interscholastic League to follow up an undefeated state championship season (37-0 in 2018) with another state title.
“Due to the talent of our players, and me having some really good assistant coaches, we were able to win our second consecutive state championship this past year and go 76-1 over the last two seasons,” says Griffin, who also is a special education teacher at Argyle High. When asked what advice he’d offer to other coaches who strive for success both on and off the field, Griffin doesn’t hesitate. “Make sure you create positive relationships with your players,” he says. “High school baseball should be one of the most positive experiences of their lives.”
The ABCA/Diamond National Coach of the Year award recognizes coaches from the high school level all the way up to NCAA Division I. The 76th annual ABCA Convention was held January 2-5, 2020, in Nashville, Tennessee, and the complete list of 2019 National and Regional Coaches of the Year can be found here.
The ABCA, founded in 1945, is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. More than 11,000 members represent all 50 states and 25 counties. Since its initial meeting of 27 college baseball coaches in June 1945, association membership has broadedned to include eight divisions: NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA, Pacific Association Division, High School and Youth. Diamond Sports designs and manufactures baseball and softball products for all levels.
WHY FIELDTURF FOR BASEBALL?
- Consistent playability and true performance
- Significant reduction of maintenance
- Reduced cost per hour cost compared to natural grass – See the data
- Less rainouts = more practice time, earlier season starts and reduces game cancellations
- Attracts outside tournaments and events
- Beautiful aesthetics and customization possibilities
Baseball teams at all levels are reaping the benefits of FieldTurf’s DoublePlay synthetic turf, which comes in a variety of custom colors and offers reduced maintenance, superior drainage, and consistent ball bounce and speed — allowing for a true home field advantage. The list of teams that have all chosen FieldTurf’s DoublePlay series is growing rapidly and currently includes premier collegiate baseball programs showcased by installations at the University of Tennessee, Rutgers University and most recently, the University of Southern Mississippi.
For more information about DoublePlay, click here.