Coach Gomez brings out the best in the Grizzlies

Mike Sims

Wednesday, April 20, 2005 | 9:19 a.m.

Spring Valley baseball coach Mike Gomez stood in front of the dugout last Thursday, yelling out instructions as his team took infield practice before its game against Western. Gomez had already put his team's biggest win behind him and began to focus on the Western team across the field.

"We have a young team, and game experience is what we are trying to gain," Gomez said. "I want to make them understand that we can be successful, but playing games is the way we are going to gain that knowledge."

Spring Valley has only a couple of players with varsity experience -- Jeff Gonzales and Austin Chatterley. The inexperience has not stopped them from gaining a 15-6 overall record, 2-2 in the tough Southwest Division. After an 0-2 start in their division, back-to-back wins in the past week have put the Grizzlies in a tie for third with Durango, and Bonanza.

Gomez was on a two-year hiatus from coaching when his friend Jimmy May, the Spring Valley athletic director, asked him to coach another team.

"A good friend of mine convinced me to give it one more whirl," Gomez said. "I spent nine years at Durango as their head coach and before that seven years at Eldorado."

It wasn't hard for Gomez to come back and coach Spring Valley. The location of the school was close to home and a good group of kids made the transition a bit easier.

"We have a great group here," Gomez said. "Our goal is to make the playoffs, but to do that we have to find away to beat the big four (Durango, Bishop Gorman, Sierra Vista and Bonanza)."

Thirteen of his players are freshmen or sophomores and the rest are juniors.

In the Grizzlies' first test this year against Bishop Gorman they didn't show up. The Gaels easily handled Spring Valley 10-1.

"We played scared against Bishop Gorman," Gomez said. "we backed down."

But in their next big game, against third-ranked Durango, the Grizzlies prevailed 6-3 behind a solid performance from freshman pitcher Tyler Anderson. He pitched a complete game, allowing five hits and striking out six batters to stay undefeated at 4-0.

"They played great considering the environment they were in -- at Durango, under the lights. It was a good win for us," Gomez said.

Gomez has convinced his players they can compete with the tougher teams of the division.

"I have gained a lot of experience from playing here this year," junior right fielder Kenny Mickens said. "It's more laid-back over here; you play a lot of small ball."

Mickens said Gomez has taught the team how to do the little things it takes to win games, like bunting and stealing bases. He said the team is closer and more like a family compared with his old school, Bishop Gorman.

"The staff is great here. I don't see us losing too many more games," Mickens said. "They put us through tough practices, which helps us in game situations."

The head coach doesn't take all of the credit.

"I'm more like the manager around here," he said. "I have a great staff. We break everything up and each coach has a different area that they concentrate on. I'm a big believer in fundamentals."

Gomez said baseball is so competitive in the Las Vegas Valley that it's not hard to find solid players. He believes his team, though young, has a shot at making the playoffs and anything after that would be gravy.

"If we can limit our mistakes and improve ourselves we could be in the playoffs," Gomez said.

Like all players, Mickens would like to win state this year, but he knows the Grizzlies have a lot of hard work ahead of them.

But Mickens has good reason to think Spring Valley will contend with the state's elite soon -- if not his senior year, at least the year after he leaves.

Just look at Gomez's track record.

The Spring Valley coach has been successful at all his coaching stops, winning two state titles. In his third year at both of his previous schools he was playing for the state championship and won it once.