It’s Never Too Early To Prepare For Baseball Season

By VERNON ROBISON

Moapa Valley Progress

It is still more than six months before the high school baseball season gets underway. But a group of Moapa Valley High School athletes and their parents are already looking forward to that time with great anticipation.

A group of more than two dozen people gathered at the MVHS baseball field to begin the process of getting it ready for the upcoming season. The kids went to work mowing grass, cutting weeds, edging around the diamond and doing other general maintenance to the field. They also opened up the team’s storage shed, which is adjacent to the field, and cleaned it up.

The new MVHS Baseball coach Ed McCann said that the project was not just about getting the field ready, though that was important. It was also about unifying the team.
“A project like this where the kids are working on the field themselves, encourages them to take pride in the facility and in the team,” McCann said. “I think it also unites everyone and helps them to be on the same page.”

McCann is coming to MVHS from a long career in coaching college baseball. Most recently he worked as head coach for Alabama A&M.
But he welcomes the new position at MVHS as a return home. McCann is a 1974 alumnus of Moapa Valley High School, where he, of course, played on the baseball team; among other sports. McCann appreciates the long tradition of excellence in athletics at MVHS.
“When I was going to school here (principal) Grant Bowler was here and he put a tremendous emphasis on athletics programs being successful,” McCann said. “Now I’ve been gone for 40 years and coming back I’m glad to see that tradition is still strong. The fantastic football program is a reflection of that tradition.”

Upon his return to the community, McCann immediately began making visits to the homes of the school’s baseball players, introducing himself to them and their parents. He explained what his plans were for the baseball program. Parents said that this generated a lot of excitement among the kids.
“It was really a good way for him to start,” said Susie Guesman, mother of MVHS baseball player Chase Guesman. “The kids are really excited about the upcoming season and they are showing a lot of dedication already.”

McCann said that this will be the first in a series of work projects to improve and maintain the baseball field through the fall and winter. He also plans to hold informal practice sessions at the field, just to keep up on the basic skills.
“I’d like to change the culture and have it become a winning tradition in baseball, similar to football,” McCann said. “The team had a decent year last year and I think that we can really build upon that. I have gotten to know the players and they are good kids and good athletes. I think that we are going to be very good.”