By By Tim Cottrell
(Editor's note: This is the third in a ten week series of candid interviews with head coaches of youth baseball here in Atmore. The series will appear weekly on Sundays.)
A common theme among youth baseball coaches is a desire to instill discipline and character into the young men they coach. Coaches can have quite an influence on their players, and almost all coaches are sincere in their hopes to make their young men better people. But Richard Drew, manager of the Pepsi-Cola of Atmore team and assistant coach for the Atmore Advanced Babe Ruth baseball team, sees examples every day of why he should help his young men grow into responsible adults.
Drew is employed with the Alabama Department of Corrections in Loxley.
"By working with the Department of Corrections you really try to teach them more responsibility," Drew said. "I don't want these kids to turn out that way. You always want what's best for the kids."
Drew, whose son, Jordan, 19, is currently playing for the Advanced Babe Ruth team, and whose daughter, Megan, 16, is a cheerleader at Escambia County High School, has been involved coaching youth sports for 11 years.
"In 11 years, between me and Scott Brooks, we've won about seven city titles," Drew said. "And we always had fun doing it. The most important thing to me is to be fair to everyone. We want to teach them right and wrong, and we want to instill discipline. But at the same time we want to have fun with it."
When not working or coaching, Drew does have a few hobbies.
"I like to fish, hunt, and play golf," Drew said. "Between working and coaching I really don't have time for any of it. I guess it's that way for a lot of us, though."
Brooks said that even though his son was out of Babe Ruth, he couldn't see himself getting out of coaching.
"I started 11 years ago," he said. "I started down there on the pitching machines and worked my way up. Started up like everything else. Me and Scott Brooks started at the same time on that old pitching machine down there. We've won a state title, and won a few area titles and districts. I've been around a while and I've enjoyed every minute of it. Jordan's been out for five years and I'm still here. I might not ever leave."