Continuing To Right The Ship
September 21, 2007 | Baseball
Sept. 21, 2007
This is a feature story originally published on CSTV.com. For more CSTV baseball coverage, click here.
By Douglas Kroll
As many fans know, a coach's word sometimes is not the most honest.
Some can be in the midst of a long-term deal and bolt for a better job that pays more money. Others can be in the same situation only to have their dream job open.
The point is, contracts don't always mean so much. But for East Carolina head coach Billy Godwin, one gets the feeling it means a whole lot.
This July, ECU locked up Godwin through the end of the 2011 season as he continues the coaching legacy left by former head coach Keith LeClair, who passed away in the summer of 2006 nearly a year to the day of Godwin's extension.
It has been documented plenty of times how much LeClair meant to Pirates baseball, putting them on the map nationally during his tenure. Godwin has continued that march towards the program's first birth in the College World Series.
"I think the key to any successful program is stability," Godwin said. "It starts within your coaching staff and I don't want to take a ton of credit for what we accomplished last year because we have bigger goals, but it's a direct credit of the players we have in this program and the coaching staff that I have in place."
Entering his third season at the helm in Greenville, Godwin has posted a 73-49 record in his first two years, and took East Carolina to within a game of the Super Regionals after earning a No. 2 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional last season.
All of this from a guy who started humbly in the head coaching ranks in North Carolina, with his prior stop being the head coach of Louisburg College.
"Having grown up in Eastern North Carolina," Godwin said, "I always have made the joke that there are two places I wanted to play at, Louisburg and East Carolina, but I wasn't good enough to play at either one. Looking back at my career starting as a high school coach, it goes back as a journey. I never set out as a self-promoter saying that I wanted to be a Division I coach by a certain age. I just wanted to share my passion with guys and help players get better."
And it is his players that couldn't ask for a better coach. The family atmosphere that is ECU baseball, extends from the top all the way down to the last man on the roster. Whether it is asking how their families are doing to how class is going, Godwin makes sure to keep focused on that. It is something that seniors T.J. Hose and Stephen Batts say goes a long way.
"He's just such a personal guy," pitcher T.J. Hose said. "He'll ask you how your family life is and how school's going. He's real big on academics and he tells us that as student athletes, it's great to be a baseball player, but my first goal is for you to leave here with a degree.'"
"[Godwin] brings more of a blue-collar approach," said Batts, who, with 29 consecutive games with a base hit, will be tied for the second-longest active hitting streak when the season opens in 2008. "He had everyone together as one, and just does a great job both on and off the field."
Godwin will receive a $10,000 raise, bringing his salary to $102,500 a year, not too shabby at all compared to his beginnings in the sport.
For incoming recruits, East Carolina has become a very nice destination to play collegiate baseball. A state-of-the-art facility, a strong fan base and consistent winning make it an easy choice. And when you throw in the fact that recruits know the head coach is going to be there for their whole career, it definitely helps.
"It's a big recruiting plus for guys looking at four-year schools," Hose said. "When they take their visits, first of all they fall in love with the program, and second of all they fall in love with the coach, knowing that he'll be around for their four-year tenure here is just a big plus for themselves."
And for Godwin, it is something that is priceless while out on the recruiting trail.
"I think it helps," Godwin said. "I think our administration is sending a clear message to everybody that we have stability in our program so I think that certainly helps. With recruiting, one of the big things we sell is our program and our university."
The goal for ECU has been Omaha for the last few years, even printing up shirts a couple seasons ago with "We're Goin'!" on the back. Picked to finish near the bottom of Conference USA in 2007, the Pirates surprised many by finishing second behind Rice and nearly knocked off North Carolina in the deciding game of that Regional.
With lots of talent back for 2008 and a long playoff run so close within their sights a year ago, the Owls may have a contender for the top spot in the conference.
"I think our team is better and deeper," Godwin said. "One thing that kind of rejuvenated me was when I sat down with our players at the end of the year after the Regionals at our meetings, I walked away jacked up because they realized how close we are of taking that next step. Teams that are so close, sometimes it's the toughest step to take."
For a guy that preaches family, Pirate fans don't need to worry about him taking off any time soon. He's right where he wants, and needs to be.
