Sunday Morning Chat: Palm Beach Gardens’ Joe Russo

Today, HSBN Senior Writer Rick Duteau sits down with Palm Beach Gardens Manager Joe Russo, who shares his thoughts on the tough teams in the area, how long he seems himself coaching and his approach to coaching girls softball.

Rick: Coach, you’re all the way up there in the northern end of Palm Beach County and you guys seem to have your own little society up there. Tell me the challenges of being so far north.

Coach Russo: Actually, I’ve never thought about that before. That’s a good question. We obviously have a lot of good teams up on the north end, in Palm Beach County in general. Even some of the teams we play in Martin County are really good. I’ve never really considered it to be a challenge, to be honest with you.

Rick: Even though you are north, you seem to always travel to face some of the better teams in Palm Beach and Miami. Tell me what you see is the difference in the style of play between these three counties.

Coach Russo: That’s another good question. We make it a point to try and play the good teams that we know year in and year out are going to have a good club. We obviously hope that we get a chance to see good pitching. You know, that really what it’s all about. Tom Duffin runs a great program there at Monsignor Pace. We’ve been playing home and away for, gosh, over ten years now. So it’s great! A lot of times we know we’re gonna have to win a game on the road, probably in Broward County, to get to a state championship. So we like coming down there and playing some of the better teams, no doubt.

Rick: What is the most broken that baseball has ever made you feel?

Coach Russo: The most broke that baseball has ever made me feel? Man, I don’t think I’ve ever felt broken. Every year is a different challenge. I’ve been very, very fortunate enough to have a lot of great people that have been surrounded by at Palm Beach Gardens. Between the players obviously, we’ve had some really great, talented players and great kids in general. The administration has always been very supportive. The parents have been great. You know, you hear all the horror stories about the parents and I feel like I’ve been shielded from that. Over the years I’ve been very fortunate to have a great group of parents year in and year out. And of course we’ve got a great coaching staff too. So, I don’t think I’ve ever really felt broken.

Rick: No, you’re really not a broken kind of guy. I guess really with that, the question would be; how do you manage to stay so even-keeled? I’ve seen it in all of the years I’ve known you and covered your team.

Coach Russo: I’ve never really thought about it. There are certain things that you know you’ve got to do and get better. And we have a routine that we kind of go though every year. After twenty-one years you kind of figure some things out and it gets smoother and smoother. I’ve been blessed, really and truly, I’ve been blessed I think.

Rick: On the other side, what is the most elation you’ve ever felt on a baseball field?

Coach Russo: Well obviously that state championship has eluded me, so I hope to feel that elation at some point in my career. To be the last team playing the last game of the year and you win that game. But, you know, a lot of great wins over the years. A lot of championships. A lot of state appearances. There is a lot of elation. Every year you have your ups and downs. I don’t think there’s really one that stands out. Unless of course there was a state championship. [Laughing] I think that’s one I’m really hoping for.

Rick: You were there a couple of years ago.

Coach Russo: That’s our goal every year, you try to win the state championship. It’s tough. At the high school level I think it’s probably harder than any other level of baseball because it’s kind of a one-and-done kind of playoff scenario. You don’t get a three-game series or a five-game series, or a double-elimination series to win it. You make a few mistakes and you’re gonna be done.

Rick: You’ve been at this a long time, what’s the biggest regret you have in your coaching career, if you have one?

Coach Russo: Not winning the state championship, of course. And that’s going to be the big one. You obviously have some disappointments. You have years where you felt you had a team that could go and compete for a state championship and you come up a little short. So a lot of disappointments, I wouldn’t say regrets. Definitely key disappointments.

Rick: Which coach in the county is your closest friend, and why?

Coach Russo: It’s tough to say; I’ve got a lot. I couldn’t say just one. I couldn’t say just one, because I think I have a history with a lot of the guys. I mean obviously Andy Mook and Frank Torre were guys that I coached when they were still in high school. Scott Benedict is a guy, we both grew up in Palm Beach County; we both played for Bob Shaw, and he has a lot of characteristics of coaching that Scott has, that I have. We’ve got Trent Pendergast and Scott Riddle, those guys. Scott’s a Jupitor High School graduate just like me and I’m very close with his family. His brother, I went to school with and I was really close with his mom and dad, and the Riddle family. So of course they have a soft spot. Gosh, the list goes on and on. There’s definitely a coaching tree in Palm Beach County that we all kind of have a bit of connection to. Bill Harvey at Spanish River coached me in Legion ball, so there’s quite a few. There’s quite a few that I feel that I’ve got a history with.

Rick: Give me one thing that a player would do that infuriates you every time.

Coach Russo: Just one thing, huh? [laughing] I’m stumped.

Rick: [laughing] It doesn’t have to be just one thing.

Coach Russo: I guess I would say just not hustling on a play. It doesn’t take talent to hustle. We try to instill that in our guys. Do the easy things, hustle, respect the game, respect the opponent and everything else is just part of the game. Do the easy things, get your work in, don’t be lazy, don’t be late. We try and teach them a few things besides baseball obviously. Pick the right woman to marry, stuff like that. Be respectful to their parents, all those things. There’s not one thing that would infuriate me, there’s probably a few.

Rick: Coaches tend to do this a long time at the high school level. How long can you see yourself coaching before you hang it up? It’s twenty-one years now, right?

Coach Russo: Yeah. I mean, as long as I still have fun and I’m still enjoying it, it’s not a grind, I could see myself doing it for a lot more years. I love Palm Beach Gardens High School and I’ve got so much to be thankful for to be there. As long as we get the same type of kinds going to the school that want to play baseball and love the game, I think that will just feed itself every year. I think it’s hard to say and pick when you’re going to retire, but I don’t see it anytime soon.

Rick: Good. On what occasion would you apologize to a player?

Coach Russo: Well, that’s a good one. That’s a good one. I think if I haven’t given my best effort as a coach, if I failed them in terms of not putting in an effort to work hard and to get better I certainly would feel apologetic to a guy. I feel like if we’re going to ask them for their best effort then we’ve got to give them our best effort. We try really hard to respect the kids and not treat them like them like their a few rungs down. We try and talk to them like men and treat them like professional baseball players. If I feel like I’ve failed in that respect I would have an apology coming.

Rick: Was there ever a situation where you felt your absolute worst in a case like that? Where you said, ‘Aw man, I really owe this kid an apology’?

Coach Russo: Yeah, I think there have been some times over the twenty years where maybe I rode somebody a little too hard. And you certainly feel badly about that. You try and be firm with the kids. Some kids you can ride a little bit, some kids you have to treat a little differently. It’s definitely something you gotta be careful. You definitely don’t want to ride them too hard. At the end of the day, it’s still a game, it’s high school baseball and most of them are not going to the big leagues. Most of them are going to be parents, they’re going to be dads. You try and instill some things they’re actually going to be able to use in there life, I hope.

Rick: Tell me something you do off the field that your players and coaches would be shocked about because your demeanor is so different then when you’re on the field.

Coach Russo: I think if they ever saw me coach my daughter’s travel softball team, I think most of my players would probably be a little upset at my demeanor with the girls as opposed to the way I am with them. Obviously I’m very close to my daughter and we’ve been on the same travel team for the last six years now, and all those girls have a soft spot in my heart. I’m definitely different with them. Some of my coaches have seen me coach softball and they get after me a little bit. I don’t think the kids have ever seen it. They’d probably be shocked.

Rick: Would you let them?

Coach Russo: Yeah! If they want to come watch a game, yeah. Absolutely, I’d love it.

Rick: All right, last question. I think I already know the answer. But do you still want to accomplish before you leave the game as a coach?

Coach Russo: Well, I’d be lying to you if I said it wasn’t winning a state championship. It’s definitely something I’d like to accomplish. I don’t think it defines who we are, who I am, but certainly I sure would like to, not only for myself, but for my coaches who put in so much time with me. And certainly the kids. You ask for their best for five months, to have the privilege of winning a state championship and for them to have a moment like that for the rest of their lives. I think would be very, very special.

Rick: I mean in your guys case, just as you had said before with the support you get from parents and the administration. Having seen it myself, Gardens, there really is a special buzz about the baseball team, about yourself, your coaching staff, even the players. I remember just a couple years ago when you went to states, it was such a privilege for everybody. If you can just talk a little more about being able to give them that ultimate reward. Because I know that’s what’s driving you guys.

Coach Russo: You get a lot of enjoyment out of watching the guys get better and move on to the next level and be successful at the next level. Earn a college scholarship, help the parents out financially, we certainly get a lot of enjoyment from that. For the kids to come back, even the kids who have graduated ten years, fifteen years ago, and they come back and they remember some of the things you taught them, and not just baseball stuff, but things that you taught them. You can’t put a value on that. That in itself makes all the years and hard work and everything, that in itself makes it worthwhile. We always joke around with the kids, you’re only really having fun if you’re winning. If you’re having fun losing then there’s probably something not perfectly right with you. Winning some games and certainly winning that state championship. I hate putting pressure on the coaches or myself or the players to win a state championship, but at the end of the day there is pressure in this game and there’s pressure to win. If you can’t handle pressure than baseball is not the sport for you to be in. There’s pressure to win that state championship. God willing, hopefully one day we’ll be able to do that.

Rick: Well Coach, I appreciate you taking the time.

Coach Russo: You’ve got it man.

Rick: God willing this will be that year for you guys. Best of luck for the rest of the season.

Coach Russo: Thanks. I appreciate you guys.

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