Building from the ground up

By Justin Graves
jgraves@cullmantimes.com

May 07, 2008 12:08 am

— While a group of Cullman High baseball players came in to take batting practice Tuesday, another small group of players was busy throwing in the bullpen.
At the other end of the field, there was another group of players doing defensive drills.
Baseball practice may have started two hours earlier, but all of Cullman’s players were still busy doing something — and there was still over an hour of scheduled practice time remaining.
Tuesday was just another typical practice day for Cullman — which is something Bearcats coach Bryan Bowen takes pride in.
Anyone who has ever played baseball for Bowen will tell you practice sessions are intense. There is rarely any idle team, and the coaching staff is almost always teaching.
According to Bowen, good practices are the key to success.
“Practice is something we take pride in,” said Bowen, whose team hosts Hartselle in the Class 5A semifinals Friday at 5 p.m. “We work on everything. The players know what they have to do, and they’re willing to do it.”
Bowen had a vision when he took over the baseball program at Cullman: He wanted the Bearcats to compete for state championships on a yearly basis.
Now 10 years later, Bowen has finally gotten his baseball program where he wants. But the Bearcats coach admits he had some help along the way.
“Our assistant coaches do a lot,” Bowen said. “And I’ve been really fortunate to have some of the same coaches for most of the time. They put in a lot of time with our players. That makes a huge difference.”
According to Bowen, having a knowledgeable staff of assistant coaches has been one of the keys to Cullman’s recent success.
Cullman currently has seven assistant coaches on staff. Brent Patterson coaches the Bearcats’ infielders, while Jonathan Romine is in charge of the outfield.
Ty Campbell helps Romine, while Aaron Sparks, Patrick Britton and Matt White help Patterson.
“We’ve got some great assistants here,” Bowen said. “That’s one of the reasons were able to have good practice sessions. They’re all great with the players, and that’s something the players appreciate.
“All of our assistants understand the game and what we want to do here. That helps out tremendously.”
In order for Cullman to stay competitive on a yearly basis, Bowen believes it’s important for players to be taught the fundamentals at an early age. And according to the Bearcats coach, that’s something his assistants have done well.
“Coach Patterson has the JV team and Coach Sparks has the ninth grade team,” Bowen said. “All of the other coaches help out, too. They’ve done a great job working with our younger players.
“When those guys get to the varsity level, they understand what’s going on. They know what’s expected of them. That’s helped our program stay at a high level.”