9A District 9 Preview

John I. Leonard is willing to go to any lengths to prove it can contend in this tough new district.

Although the teams have shuffled around from one state realignment to the next, this district has consistently proven to be one of the toughest in Palm Beach County. The 2016 season represents another example of such, as all four of these teams return veteran teams with a lot of experience. There is no clear favorite and it is anyone’s best guess which among them will seize their moment and raise the district championship trophy in the end.

“I like the districts how they are,” said Jupiter manager Andy Mook. “It is a dogfight every time. It is tough thata there is always a third or fourth-seeded team that may not go on in the playoff setting into regionals. The one big change now that we are in 9A is that we only play one district game a week. This helps a lot of teams because every district game you are going to see an ace. So we have to prepare for that, and if we come out of this then it will prepare the kids for their goals of getting through regionals and getting to states.”

Even with an ace on the mound each time they square off, these teams will not be intimidated. Besides knowing what they have on their side of the field, they also have experience facing one another for so long. The exception is John I. Leonard, which finds itself in with the other three squads for the first time.

“We are there to compete, and if people want to look at us as underdogs that is fine,” John I. Leonard manager Doug Magaw said. “I know those coaches are not taking us lightly. They know we are going to come and compete.”

John I. Leonard – Team Page
2015 Record: 7-20
Manager: Doug Magaw
Coaching Staff: Ron Beelsey, Kyle Dahl, Marcus Beesley, Tate Rowan
Key Returners: Jason Angulo, Nestor Valdes, Diego Suero, Jose Garcia, Kyle Lamb, Moise Carrasco, Damian Soto, Jordan Santiago-Brown, Manuel Mathieu, Jorge Rivera, William Anglin, Geraldo Soriano, Jose Garcia, Danny Hernandez
Newcomers: Angel Hoyos, Orlando Hernandez, Kevin Padron, Michel Cuellar, Brantley Knapf, Orlando Ortiz, Austin Rambo
Team strengths: Chemistry, Toughness

Lancers manager Doug Magaw has always had a unique relationship with his players. Rather than call instructions from the mountaintop and simply expecting the team to follow step by step, Magaw communicates with his leaders and gets their input too. The veteran skipper has enjoyed plenty of coaching success in his career, but he has learned that the best way to develop a team is to let them help be a part of how that molding takes place.

“It feels good knowing that the coaches want to know what you think,” said co-captain senior Nestor Valdes. “I wasn’t a captain last year and if I wanted to say something I would tell the captains from my heart that hey you’re doing something right or wrong.”

By establishing his leaders and allowing them to have a voice in what they do throughout practice and in the course of preparation it allows the kids to accept a level of authority. Valdes and fellow senior Jason Angulo are this year’s captains, and they appreciate that their opinion counts for something. This process creates cohesion as smoothly as possibly.

“I am all about giving young men the chance to be empowered and to be a leader,” Magaw said. “If they want to be a leader they are going to be given that opportunity. but a lot of responsibility comes with that. Our mantra as a coaching staff never changes, and that is that we are putting ourselves in the best possible scenario to compete both mentally and physically. Everything we do is to set us up. We know we are not going to win every game, but at the end of the day we are going to go out and compete. We didn’t win very many games last year but we never quit.”

The team took its lumps developing a pitching staff last season, and now that is starting to pay dividends. The commitment from the coaches is there. The team spent 34 days together this fall in conditioning and training, and now the group is focused as a team. The individuals understand what their role is and how that helps the team concept.

Jupiter – Team Page
2015 Record: 19-9
Manager: Andy Mook
Coaching Staff: Alex McCall, John Ober, Eddie Gaillard, Matt Smith, Kyle Young
Key Returners: Brett Carter, Zak Sprankle, Tyler Ward, Brandyn Ward, Kyle McMullen, Mitchell Hartigan, James Reynolds, Mason Doolittle, Blake Disher, Andrew Martinez, Reese Albert, Anthony Servideo, Ramon Machado, Samuel Fockler
Newcomers: Noah Otero, Dylan Weiss, Zachary Wilbanks, Shane Shuba, Jarred Perry, Carson Price, Joe Serpa
Team strengths:

Since making the program’s first trip to the state Final Four three years ago Jupiter manager Andy Mook made it a point to schedule some of the toughest competitors across South Florida. The team has traveled more than usual and has gone to tough road environments to take on the best of the best. The experience they gain from those meetings has helped shape them into serious contenders every season.

“The whole mindset is that we want to play the best,” said Mook. “I want to go after the number ones, the Archbishop McCarthy’s, Christopher Columbus and Westminster Christians. We have been playing them now for three years and you want that type of competition because in the end if you’re fortunate to go to regionals and to states you play those types of teams. If you are not prepared and have not put your guys against those types of challenges you are not going to get success.”

The team practices as hard as any, and practices tend to be very rigorous and productive. Guys tend to show up early to practice and most of them stay late. The guys are unselfish and they play for one another, and it especially shows during practice.

“They are high-intensity and we always have each other’s backs,” said junior Mason Doolittle. “When it is crunch time and you are stepping up into the box with runners in scoring position you just feel that it is just like practice. Then you knock them in easy.”

Palm Beach Central – Team Page
2015 Record: 8-18
Manager: Scott Benedict
Coaching Staff: Louie Todaro, Matt Oxendine, Fred Manriquez, Walt Pope
Key Returners: Austin Burke, Anthony Gallicchio, Daulton Gunn, Hunter Gunn, Cameron Lauer, Kameron Ouellette, Brendan Power, Jacob Shue, Brandon Whalen, Connor Power
Newcomers: Havier Sans, Anthony Maldonado, Zane Argott, Brooks Aristy, Christopher Armas, Jameson Bouchillon, Jonathan Fortunato, Robert Herrera, Zachary Lampton
Team strengths: Pitching

After a season below their own standards in 2015, the Broncos are happy that they can see the daylight again. A young and relatively inexperienced team from a season ago returns as a deep and battle-tested group of veterans. The team returns 14 seniors and the players are healthy and able to play their natural positions. Now there is depth everywhere and guys are eager to get things back on track.

“We’ve got some good pieces and experience should be a strength,” said manager Scott Benedict. “We have some pretty good depth and especially in the pitching area. We’re pretty deep there and pitchng is paramount to winning ball games. Another big thing about our pitching is our pitching coach, Walt Pope, is back with us. He was here with us back when we opened the school and he was my pitching coach back when I was at Wellington and we had four first-rounders. He is tremendous and he’s going to be a tremendous asset to our pitching staff.”

There is so much depth at the pitching position that the team may have to send some guys to the JV squad just so they can throw regularly and keep the rust off. Guys are working to earn their time on the mound and the competitive atmosphere is exactly the type of scenario Benedict could hope for.

“Tomorrow I think all nine positions will be open, because everyday rests on its merit,” Benedict said. “Obviously we are leaning on certain guys, but this game tests your dailyness. There are some battles in the outfield in regards to who will play in center, left or right, and of course everybody wants to play center. But they have to be unselfish and let it figure itself out. I think we have enough depth to move guys around and still be very competitive.”

Palm Beach Gardens – Team Page
2015 Record: 18-10
Manager: Joe Russo
Coaching Staff: Mike Rowland, Daniel Prieto, Matt Jebkins,
Key Returners: Mason Hatch, Ronald Throop, Kody Gardere, Hunter Holland, Nick Kashuba, Michael Panczak, Samuel Prince, Andru Summerall, Joe Alessio, Sendle Jean, Grant Patterson
Newcomers: Noah Hague, Preston Colp, Austin Eassa, Tucker Weindorf, Jorian Rivera
Team strengths: Offense, Pitching
*Due to equipment malfunction, full report is unavailable.

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