When Greg Blanchard signed on at Lorena High School in Texas 35 years ago (or so), he did so only when the school agreed to let him start up the long dormant baseball program. As with most coaches in Texas, it seems like they’ve at least got a foot in the football program. Coach Blanchard was no exception. In fact, he coached sports in most every season at both the junior high and high school level for a long time. For a school that had at that time less than 300 students, it was almost a necessity. Even now, with the school having grown a bit from Class 2A to Class 4A, he still found himself coaching the defense of the football program in the fall.
Coach Blanchard and Lorena High School have come a long way in that time. From the homemade field maintenance and backstops (thanks to an Ag teacher with a welding torch!) to a Texas high school baseball championship, Coach Blanchard has seen a lot of players pass through and a program mature — and a pretty good looking baseball field.
In this episode, Coach Blanchard talks about the importance of clinics and conventions, trying to maximize your effort when you have the ability to do so, the importance of extra-curriculars and mutiple sports in a smaller school, and some great mentors he’s had along the way, like former Baylor coaching legend Dutch Schroeder. He also talks about his duties for the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association.
Photo credit:Â Lorena High School Athletics
Intro Music: Matt’s Blues, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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