Getting Back to Tradition

It was 75 years ago that the Redondo Union High School baseball team first made it into the playoffs, its storied post-season history forever on display at Memorial Field.

On the wall in left center field of their ball park is a sign commemorating the Sea Hawks' 20 league championships, as well as a magical run of 22 consecutive playoff appearances from 1977 to '98.

"A lot of people from that era put that up there," said Bradey Thurman, the Sea Hawks' first-year coach.  "That's what I want to try and do is bring that back to Redondo Beach. Get back on a winning track."

It was legendary Coach Harry Jenkins who spurred the Redondo Union program to its peak, winning 10 of those league titles, including three in a row from 1977 to '79 and four in a row from 1985 to '88, his final season. Tim Ammentorp, who succeeded Jenkins, kept piling up the post-season appearances and coached four more league championship teams before stepping down at the end of the 2008 season.

Thurman, an assistant to Ammentorp for nine years, now gets a chance to push the Sea Hawks toward a similar path — starting from a low point for the program that involved his controversial hiring and a great deal of losing.

Over the past four years Redondo Union has had only one winning season, compiling an overall record of 47-66 including a grueling 19-loss campaign last year — a far cry from the championship-caliber teams Redondo fielded in the past. The Sea Hawks were just 1-9 in Bay League play in 2009, in a tie for last place, and have not won a league championship since 1996.

"What I'm trying to do now is make baseball fun again and make it enjoyable to come out to the field," Thurman said. "My philosophy, they're allowed to make mistakes and I'm not going to jump all over them and yell at them. Let them learn from their mistakes and really create an open competition."

There are 11 seniors on the team, but only a few have varsity experience, which has opened the door for underclassmen to get significant playing time. So far, stoking the competition level seems to be working and the squad has been hovering around the .500 mark all season — the Sea Hawks are 7-8 heading into their April 14 Bay League opener against Leuzinger.

"The expectation I set out for this year was that every position was open except for our ace pitcher," Thurman said. "I've moved guys up and down a lot either to motivate them or let them not rust on the varsity bench. They need to be playing. They have to play, that's the only way to get better."

To prove his point he sent promising sophomore Dylan Hatch down to the junior varsity, as a learning experience.

"He was kind of dogging it and his work ethic wasn't there," Thurman said. "And boy, that motivated him. He listened to what we had to say about his approach to his game."

Hatch rejoined the varsity and hit his first home run of his varsity career in a Sea Hawks' victory a couple weeks ago. That is the approach Thurman is taking, his game plan — to adjust negative attitudes, instill a work ethic, and create a culture with a winning mentality.

"He's doing a great job," said Les Congelliere, the athletic director at Redondo Union and a long-time friend of Jenkins and Ammentorp. "Bradey learned a lot from Tim. The kids trust him and the parents like him."

Thurman returns that trust, not only to his players, but also his assistant coaches. A former pitcher, Thurman spends the time between innings guiding his pitching and catching tandem, and has given a great deal of freedom to the team's offensive coach, Mike Whitcher.

Whitcher, a former Sea Hawks standout, who Thurman coached less than a decade ago, is responsible for the offense. He has adopted a small-ball, scrappy style due to the lack of size and power on this year's squad.

Bob Martin, who was graduated from Redondo Union in 1970 and played for Jenkins, rounds out the staff as the team's hitting coach. He helps the kids break down their swing, understand hitter's counts and the importance of patience at the plate.

"I have a great coaching staff," Thurman said.

Thurman, however, remains at the heart of everything that is done at all levels of the baseball program, from selecting all of the coaches, to instilling his "aggressive, yet forgiving" approach, to guiding the development of the young pitchers.

Success or failure will ultimately be laid on his shoulders.

Thurman takes it in stride, knowing cultivating a winning culture is the first step, whether that means humbling a player by sending him down to the junior varsity, rewarding guys with playing time for hard work or putting them into tough situations in order to learn for the future, Thurman is committed not only to this season, but for seasons to come.

"I'm trying to grow these guys," he said. "Not only on the field but off the field too. Understanding what hard work is, trying to groom them for the real world."

At the end of this year, Thurman said he's not looking for an undefeated league season, just that winning culture.

"We play in the Bay League, one of the toughest out here in the South Bay. I would like to see us match up and beat up some of those Bay League teams."

"We're going to go good this year," said Jake Jimenez, who is the starting catcher and a sophomore and who is a perfect example of the type of player coach Thurman is helping to shape. "A lot better then last year. Not a lot of things were falling into place last year. I think this year, we're gelling together, we have more team chemistry."