Mehlville Baseball coach and history teacher Tim Ode has high hopes for the up-and-coming Mehlville baseball season and is excited about the new additions to the program. For the past 2 months, he’s been making developments in order to help the team reach their goals for the season. Compared to last season with the loss of 7 seniors this year looks very different from last year. When asked about where he plans to go with the team this year he said
“We’re gonna reinvent the team this year, we only have 2 seniors this year, so this is a rebuilding year for us.” Ode addressed what the future looks like as well, he explained “We know a lot of the guys coming in the next 3 years we have a lot of hope for the future,”
To succeed it starts with Ode being ahead of the game and ready and he sure is. Along with new young faces on the scene, we have a new, young field, this season being its first-ever season in use. When asked about what this new field means to him he explained to us
“It’s definitely nice playing on a grass field for the first time ever but more importantly it’s a big point of pride for Mehlville, it’s something we’ve deserved for a long time, and we’ve been criticized and looked down upon in the past for our field, but now the playing field is leveled”
For Ode, the new field has been a big achievement for him and the program as a whole and he has a lot to look forward to for years to come. However, a big question for Ode is who gets the honor to play on this new field. When inquired about what he looks for in players he says
“Commitment, playing for this team is not just showing up and getting your reps in and leaving, you have to commit to playing for this team, getting work in outside of practice, doing things on your own, a lot of guys just wanna come in and play and leave but that’s not gonna cut it,”
Ode holds his team and players to a high standard, his message to freshmen coming into the program is simple.
“Hit the weight room,”
For Ode, the most important thing for his players however was according to him
“Coachability, are kids trying to do the things I’m asking them to? A lot of guys come in and think they know everything, it’s how teens are but a lot of them lack Baseball IQ which is a skill that can make or break a player, we’re trying to help these kids get better but they have to listen first,”
For Ode baseball means a lot and the beginning of the new season is exciting for him,
“I’m always excited for the new season, a lot of people don’t realize it but a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff goes on way before you guys are even thinking about the season, Jerseys, Hats, the list goes on,” said Ode.
Ode puts in a lot of work to make the most out of each season and will continue to do so for the rest of his career here.
