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Held: ‘Time Flies When You’re Having Fun’

DEFIANCE - The initial plans were to be a high school basketball coach.

Now more than 800 wins later, the decision to coach baseball has worked out pretty well.

“Basketball was the goal,” reflected Defiance mentor Tom Held, who last week became just the second baseball coach in Ohio High School history to record 800 wins. “I was in the gym all fall and only went to basketball clinics. I did nothing in the summer with baseball. Basketball was my passion.”

That is … until he took over the head baseball coaching position at Bryan in 1991 after three years at Elmwood.

“There was a teacher’s opening in the fall of 1990 and Cliff Hite, the baseball coach at the time, said he’d step down if I’d take the head job,” related Held, who also was hired as the junior varsity basketball coach at Bryan.

Soon, his passion turned to baseball, a sport he excelled at in high school at Edon before playing at Defiance College and eventually being selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 21st round of the 1983 MLB Draft, playing in the minors for three years.

“My first season we had a great year,” Held said about his initial year as head coach of Bryan. “We made it to the Final Four.”

That team included center fielder Rick Weaver, Held’s long-time assistant coach, and shortstop Tim Held, his cousin and the current Moeller head baseball coach. Also on the team were Jason Brown and Scott Huard, both of whom eventually followed Held as a head coach at Bryan when Defiance became his home in 1999.

“My passion came from them,” Held pointed out. “They took a young coach to state. After that I was thinking, ‘this is easier than basketball.’”

THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF 800

After going 39-29 in three seasons at Elmwood and 164-44 in eight at Bryan, Held moved on to Defiance where he is now in his 24th year at the helm.

“Winning 800 just means I’ve been doing it a long time,” noted Held, whose current squad is 23-4, ranked sixth in the state in Division II and headed to the district semifinals this week. “You have to be in a good position with a lot of good people around you. Support and a good community, so many things go into longevity and I had all of that. I’ve been in three good communities and that has helped bring success. All my bosses were supportive of baseball and sports as a whole.

“Obviously, I love what I’m doing,” Held added. “If you don’t love what you’re doing, it’s not the right thing to do. For me it’s about the kids and the love of the game.”

Nobody knows more about Held as a coach than Weaver, his long-time assistant coach.

“The relationships he builds with his players is the number one reason why he’s so successful,” Weaver said. “Secondly, he demands excellence. He’s really good at getting the best out of every kid and showing them their potential. He’s also a guy the kids like playing for. He’s positive and believes in them. We have a lot of fun and get better while we’re doing it.”

Success has followed Held wherever he has gone, with six state tournament appearances, five of those at Defiance including three state titles.

There were seven NWOAL and six sectional titles at Bryan and to date have been 16 Western Buckeye League and 21 sectional crowns at Defiance as well as 13 district-final wins.

“Our program has believed in building velocity on the mound,” Held explained. “One selling point we have had is telling the kids that this is the best chance you will have at playing at the next level if you can get on the mound and throw hard. Velocity is the main ticket to get drafted.”

MLB DRAFT

In his time as head coach Held has had 10 players drafted, nine of those at Defiance. Additionally, one other player played in the minor leagues as a free agent.

“It’s always a good thing as a coach to have good players and with it a chance to win,” Held said. “A lot goes into it. To play at that level you have to be a good athlete and we were fortunate enough to keep them in our sport. It also takes a lot of hard work and all of them were willing to work hard.”

Three players have gone on to play in the major leagues, including Chad Billingsley and Jon Niese who were in the MLB at the same time. Billingsley, a 2003 Defiance graduate, was a right-handed pitcher for the Dodgers while Niese, a 2005 alum, was a left-handed hurler for the Mets.

“The most rewarding part for me was to watch them all evolve and learn from each other,” noted Held, whose other former player to reach the majors was Justin Hancock. “Every two or three years we had someone drafted and they each taught the other how to work and they passed it on. Bills taught Niese, Niese taught (Tyler) Burgoon, Burgoon taught Hancock and so on.”

Seeing Billingsley and Niese pitching in the Big Leagues in the same time frame was a joy according to Held.

“The most fun era as a fan was when Jon and Bills were in the starting rotation in the majors,” Held reflected. “No other high school in the country had that. Almost three nights a week a local Defiance kid was starting in the Big Leagues. I got more nervous watching them than with anything else.”

Niese, who paid back to the baseball program with a donation to the field house now known as the Jon Niese Training Facility, was on hand when Held won his 800th game, a come-from-behind 8-7 victory over Clay. A large number of youth in the city were there as well, many excited to see a former Major League Baseball player.

“We’ve been lucky here,” Held said. “The kids seeing players drafted and playing in the majors has really helped the program. But what’s really helped the program grow are the parents. They want their kids to be college players and pro players like these guys and they keep them playing the sport of baseball.”

RIGHT-HAND MAN

While good players have made winning 800 games possible, nobody has meant more to Held’s success than Weaver, his assistant coach at Defiance since the spring of 2000.

“He’s been part of 500-some wins as an assistant, plus wins as a three-year starter at Bryan,” Held said of Weaver, the hitting coach and first base coach of the Bulldogs. “He also was an ACME coach when I was at Bryan. We’ve been together every year except my first year at Defiance at some level, coaching together or him as a player. We have a father-son relationship, a friend relationship, a brother relationship. We fight like brothers. He has options to make opinions. You never want an assistant who is a yes man.

“The kids love him,” Held added. “He’s been that pillow for them. They go to him for a lot of things. We would not be where we are without him. There is this continuity with him, and the kids know what to expect. It makes it easier.”

Weaver gives credit to Held for having the opportunity to be where he is now.

“Tom and I have a great relationship, he’s the reason I’m at Defiance,” Weaver said. “My whole goal was to coach at Defiance for five years and then go be a head coach somewhere else. I had some opportunities but they fell through. At that point I felt the program was trending in a good direction and I like what I’m doing. Defiance is special. It’s known not only throughout the state but the country and I didn’t want to leave. I love the kids and I love Defiance.”

While Weaver has stayed on with Held for more than two decades, many others - both players and coaches - have come and gone. Moeller, Olentangy Berlin, Napoleon, Bath and Patrick Henry are some of the schools that are now coached by someone that had an association with Held.

“It’s not fun playing against former players,” Held admitted. “It’s not just players, but assistants as well and a lot of the assistants that have been here have gone on to be a head coach in  other sports. It’s cool that so many go on to give back to sports.”

HIGHLIGHTS

Having strong coaches in the program is a big part of the accomplishments Held’s teams have obtained over the years and something the 61-year-old cherishes.

“Sharing the success with players and assistants is one of the biggest highlights for me,” Held said. “Coaching with Rick for so many years and to have this success with him .. we know each other so well. Relationships are what keep you in this and I’ve had so many great ones.”

But when you win more than 800 games, there are certainly many more highlights.

“You can always say the state championships,” Held said in reference to the Division II state title wins in 2013, 2015 and 2016. “Guys getting drafted. Guys accomplishing their goals of going D-I. Winning 72 league games in a row. That’s unheard of, especially in baseball.”

There is more that stands out to the long-time mentor.

“The program being consistent,” Held continued. “My goal was never to win a state championship. It never crossed my mind. It was about developing players. But when you get it, and win one, that was a different feeling. It was an accomplishment of a team.”

There was one other big memory.

“The day Justin Hancock signed his pro contract in my kitchen with Josh Knipp as his agent and Ryan Mumy as his advisor is so memorable for me,” Held said in reference to three former Defiance High School players. “It was Josh and Ryan’s first client.”

A DIFFERENT GAME?

When you are in something for more than 30 years, you can appreciate the subtle changes along the way. But is the sport really that much different?

“The game hasn’t changed a lot at the high school level,” Held said. “There was getting used to the pitch count, but that didn’t make a big difference. The talent level of the players hasn’t changed, though the numbers of kids at a younger age are not there as much anymore.

“What has changed is summer baseball. Before, you stayed with your high school in the summer. But in 1993 everything changed with the beginning of travel ball. It didn’t really take off for seven or eight years, but that’s when it started. They put in the 10-day rule and that changed staying with your home team in the summer.”

Social media is another aspect that has brought along adjustments.

“You have to promote your program, promote your kids,” Held explained. “You have to do that so the kids come out for the sport. That’s important, especially with non-revenue and spring sports.”

One area that brings dismay to Held is the baseball IQ in recent years.

“That’s the number one thing that’s changed,” noted Held, pointing to the younger generation’s love of video games as a big reason. “Skills, work ethic, strength … all of that has, maybe, gotten better. But the baseball IQ is the biggest change that’s taken place over time. They don’t understand the game. So you have to spend so much more time on the mental part of the game.”

TEACHING LIFE

So what are the most important things that Held tries to bring across to his players?

“The bottom line is that sports is just a piece of teaching them about life,” Held explained. “Other sports say that in different ways, baseball does it from a failure part. If you want to make it in life, you’ve got to be able to handle failure.”

Understanding those failures and learning from them are a big deal to Held, and nothing pleases him more than seeing former players find success later in life.

“All but a handful of our kids have gone on to college, on to the military or to trade schools,” Held proclaimed. “If we are just a piece of that, helping them to achieve a degree or going to the military, then that’s a success.”

THE PROGRAM

So how does Held describe a program that has achieved so much in his time as mentor?

“I hope people look at us and say they play hard,” Held noted. “They sprint to their positions. They play with class. I hope they say that. I know they really want to beat us, but I don’t know what they think.

“I feel you want to be like the teams you admire,” Held continued. “When I was a young coach I wanted to be like Whitmer with coach Rob Rose. They dove for everything. They were dirtbags.”

Another mentor that Held has high praise for is Greg Inselmann, who he replaced as head coach at Defiance.

“I learned a lot watching coach Inselmann’s teams,” Held said of the former mentor who led Defiance to the Division I state title in 1992 and later took his alma mater Patrick Henry to two state championships in 2008 and 2009. “They played with discipline and acted in a professional manner.”

LESSONS LEARNED

While coaches like Inselmann have stepped away from the game, being in the dugout or in the third-base coaching box remains fun according to Held.

“I still enjoy it, but as you get older and slow down you get more tired so that’s different, but I still throw BP every day and hit fungos,” Held related. “The love for the game is still there. I don’t think I’ve really changed much, but the older players say I’ve mellowed out a ton.”

So what has he learned along the way?

“A lot,” Held said with a laugh. “I would never do it again. When you put all your life into and all the sacrifices you make, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I’ve loved every minute of it, but I’m not sure I would do it again.”

With that love comes the desire to keep improving.

“I’m constantly learning the game and how to motivate,” Held related. “There are a lot of young coaches out there and I love picking their brains. You have to stay up with the game.”

Weaver points to Held’s ability to evolve over the years.

“Every coach looks back and says, ‘I can’t believe I did that five years ago,’” the 48-year-old assistant coach said. “In my mind Tom is always one or two steps ahead of everybody else. He’s always learning. He loves clinics. He calls me in the middle of the afternoon and says ‘you’ve got to check out this drill.’ He always wants to get better.”

There is more that Held does that Weaver feels is beneficial.

“He’s good at giving assistants a say and incorporating what they want to do,” Weaver explained. “That’s helped us, that plus with him being one step ahead. He always wants to learn and get better.”

HOW MUCH LONGER?

So 20 wins a season for the next 10 years … that would mean Held could surpass the all-time Ohio record for baseball coaching wins of 1,011 held by Don Thorp of Hebron Lakewood.

“No, that’s not even an option,” Held said of staying around long enough to break the all-time mark. “It’s getting closer, I can tell you that. Next year will be my last year teaching.”

So what then?

“I’ll still do something in the game or I’ll spend all my time in the wrong place,” Held said of what he plans to do once he retires from coaching, whenever that time may come. “But I will not be around for a record. That’s not on the horizon. That’s not why I coach.”

After all, success like he has obtained was never really expected, especially in the sport of baseball.

“No, no, no,” Held said when asked if he ever imagined coaching so long and winning so many games. “Time flies when you’re having fun. You wake up, and holy smokes, what just happened? I could have been out of this after five years if I wasn’t put in a good situation.”

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