Tony Haley tabbed as Fairfield varsity baseball coach

LEESBURG — Baseball isn't just on the mind of those in Kansas City and San Francisco this October as the World Series is currently taking place … baseball is also on the mind of those in Leesburg, as the Fairfield Lions announced their newest baseball head coach.

The Fairfield Lions varsity baseball program is getting a "baseball man" to lead their team for the 2014 season in former Wilmington College head coach Tony Haley.

Haley, who coached at WC for 13 years, is also known in the area for being a high school and collegiate umpire during the spring and summer months.

"After retiring as the head baseball coach at Wilmington College and taking off a year, I missed coaching and teaching baseball," Haley said. “I am looking forward to returning to the baseball field and the opportunity to work with younger baseball players who are eager to learn.

“Fairfield historically has a good baseball program and a very strong feeder program in Leesburg Little League. I am familiar with both and look forward to the continued success of the baseball program.”

Haley, who was officially hired Monday by the Fairfield Local Board of Education, replaces former FHS head coach Matt Garman, who resigned to take a teaching position at Hillsboro High School. Born and raised in Wilmington, Haley will be the fourth head coach for the Lions in the last four years.

"I'm a big kid at heart," Haley said. "I love baseball. I love all sports, but I have a passion for baseball, and I expect my players to love baseball. It is the greatest game going, but I think to be competitive, and to be good at what you do, you have to love what you do."

In the 13 seasons at WC, Haley won 191 games as the skipper of the Quakers, the most in the history of that program. Those wins led to him being the Ohio Academic Conference Coach of the Year in '05, a season where WC went 22-15 to earn a spot in the OAC Tournament.

Having that experience will be a big help for Haley as he makes the transition from the collegiate level to the high school level, because there is a difference in how he'll teach the game to be played the correct way.

"I'm a stickler on knowing the game, and in high school it is different, and at the grade school level (for various reasons) grade school players don't know some baseball situations anymore," Haley said. "This will be more teaching, compared to the collegiate level.

"I want my players to learn the game. I want us to be aggressive and put pressure on the defense."

Fairfield Athletic Director Denise Vilvens spoke about the addition of Haley at FHS.

"We are very pleased to add Tony Haley to our league of coaches here at Fairfield High School," she said. "It is a rare opportunity to be able to add a former college coach of Tony’s stature to our staff.

"We found Tony to have a passion and a love for the game of baseball. He is a lifelong student of the game and has a reputation as a great teacher of baseball.”

Being that he has the passion for baseball, Haley said he had two baseball coaches he looked up to more than anyone … his father and Richard "Dick" Shaffer.

"I'm sure many of you looked up to your dads, and I'm the same," he said. "My dad was drafted by the Reds in the '50s, and just listening to him talk baseball and about the simple stuff … baseball is a simple game. We're just going to hit, throw and catch, and that's the way he taught the game.

"We'll fine-tune it a little bit. We'll keep it simple. Another coach I had was Dick Shaffer. I got to play for him and learned a lot. Under Dick Shaffer, I learned that everyone will make an error, but with Shaf, he wouldn't get excited or mad ... he just wanted you to hustle."

Having those influences in baseball helped mold his passion for baseball and coaching the game, one reason he wanted to return to the diamond at the coaching level.

"There is something … it is hard to explain. Baseball is just a different game," he said. "Baseball players are different. After I retired from coaching at WC, I got right back into umpiring college baseball, but it just wasn't the same as coaching.

"What I missed the most about coaching was the one-on-one with your players. When you umpire, once the game is over, you are done and go home. With coaching, I still have ex-players, and they are coaching and they call me now.

Last season, the Lions won the Southern Hills Athletic Conference Division II championship with an conference mark of 11-2. The team from '14 had 12 seniors, leaving just one player, catcher Mitchell Rose, returning to the roster for the '15 season.

In the history of the FHS program, the Lions have seven SHAC championships, 19 sectional titles and four district titles, last coming in 2002.