By By Tim Cottrell
(Editor's note: This is the 15th in a series of 17 candid interviews with managers of Cal Ripken and Babe Ruth Baseball. The interviews will appear in each issue of the Advance through mid-August.)
Discipline is a word that has been oft-repeated in the Atmore area in recent months.
From elementary school students all the way to high school football players (and beyond), discipline has been the operative word.
Many feel that young people in Atmore lack it; but Shawn Linam is aiming to make sure his players learn it.
Linam, who managed the Lions Club Cardinals to a second-place finish in Cal Ripken Major League Baseball, said that it is the most important trait he wishes to instill in his players.
This season, however, Linam had been very pleased with the group of young men he was entrusted with.
Linam has two children, Alisha, 17, and Nicholas, 11. He coached Nicholas on the Cardinals and was an assistant for the 11-year-old Cal Ripken All-Stars. He is self-employed as a general contractor.
Much like many of his counterparts, Linam saw coaching youth sports as a way to spend time with his son.
In what had been one of his first winning seasons as a manager, Linam said he had been very impressed with how competitive the league has become.