Celebrant Pam Vetter


	Celebrating Life Everyone Has A Story...

Generations dedicated to the dugout
Contributed by: Pam Vetter

5/12/07 Valley News Article

"Baseball was, is and always will be to me the best game in the world."

Baseball hero Babe Ruth delivered that sentiment, but the Wolf and Geier families have honored that spirit by coaching youth baseball across the Valley.

For more than 20 years, Doug Wolf and Barry Geier coached youth baseball players in the Knapp Ranch Baseball League. Now, their sons are following in their footsteps.

"I was in law school and looking for something to do when I was offered an opportunity to coach a T-Ball team at the Van Nuys-Sherman Oaks Park. It was a diversion from law school. I wasn't married, I didn't have a kid on the team, and I knew nothing about T-ball," Family Law Attorney-Mediator Doug Wolf said with a smile. "We lost the first seven games and then we won the last seven. Every spring after that, I coached little league teams."

Barry Geier, who negotiates international contracts for a living, started his volunteer coaching career at Shoup Park in Woodland Hills.

"In 1985, Doug and I teamed up to coach at Parkman with our kids," Barry Geier said. "All the years of coaching were great, but the best moment happened on the Knapp Ranch Minors field. We went 3 and 14 for the year, but every team made the playoffs. It was a double elimination and we were 4 and 0. We worked hard and we walked away with the title that year."

"Our team parents were great on the Minors field. The parents set up party food before every game. They just loved baseball and turned it into an event. Getting the parents involved is so important," Doug added.

"We'd have a team meeting with parents and tell them our philosophy on baseball," Barry said. "It's about sportsmanship, winning and losing. Life is about winning and losing. At the end of the season, we wanted the kids to walk away with love and respect for the game."

"With supportive parents, it creates a good atmosphere for the kids and makes coaching easier. Honestly, it was fun to coach. We love baseball," Doug said."We never had the best players on our teams, but every year our kids came together and played good baseball. Now, it's incredible to see our sons coaching the next generation."

"We're very proud of Mike, Josh and Jordan," Barry added with a proud smile. "They're doing a terrific job with the kids."

Doug and Barry's sons are following their rich history of baseball by coaching their own team at Knapp this year. Even though they don't have any kids of their own on the team, they make the time to practice and teach baseball to the kids.

"To have our two families together coaching this year is incredible. Growing up in Knapp Ranch Baseball, we learned from our father's commitment to the game," Coach Josh Wolf said. "My dad taught us that while baseball is a fun game, it's only a game. Winning is fun, but there's more to it than the final score."

"Whether they're your own kids or not, it doesn't matter. This is about teaching the perfect game of baseball," Coach Mike Geier said. "Dad taught me this is a game that should be fun for all kids. On the field, the best advice my father ever told me was: 'Stay down on the ball.' In terms of coaching, he taught me to have patience, because every child does not have the same talent level. Kids can be fragile and we want them to find success."

"Dad taught me that being able to communicate with people is so important in the game of baseball," Coach Jordan Wolf added. "We picked up so many things that our fathers did with us during our many years of baseball. Now, we're doing a lot of the same things in practices and on the field. They shared their passion for the game with us and we really love coaching. Our goal is to share what our fathers taught us and pass that along to the next generation of players."

"Our fathers were truly our model figures in coaching. Now, they watch our games from the stands and afterwards, they ask if we want their advice," Coach Josh said. "It's nice to have a little advice from your father who has so much experience with baseball."

"Baseball is the best when we see a kid who doesn't hit that much come up to the plate during a game and connect with the ball," Coach Mike explained. "When that kid gets to first base, he's smiling. Baseball is really about reaching little goals. One by one, strung together, those little goals turn into the bigger game. To put a smile on a kid's face, it reminds you of the importance of the game."

"The nice thing is that the game of baseball never changes," Doug said. "It's the game we all love!"

Like fathers like sons, dedication to the dugout through volunteer coaching is a job well-done!

Thank you to all of the volunteer baseball coaches around the Valley this season!

For more information on Knapp Ranch Baseball link to www.KnappRanchBaseball.com.

Go back to top