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Tom Sheridan UMW coach leaving to become the associate head coach at GWU

V VirginiaBsblDad100+ posts
Free Lance Star

Newspaper Article:

Tom Sheridan, the only baseball coach the University of Mary Washington has ever known, is leaving to become the associate head coach at Division I George Washington University.

George Washington fired head coach Steve Mrowka in May after a 20–35 season, its seventh-straight sub-.500 record. The school plans to name a new head coach in the fall, so Sheridan is essentially the Colonials’ interim head coach.

Sheridan, 56, called the new job “a great opportunity for me.” But citing the “uniqueness of the situation,” he declined further comment aside from a statement issued by the school.

A G.W. athletic spokesman declined to say whether Sheridan is a candidate for the head coaching position.

A former assistant at James Madison University, Sheridan started the UMW program from scratch in 1988 and led the Eagles to a 588–287–3 record, with 22 winning seasons in 25 years. They finished 13–20–1 in 2012.

Sheridan’s teams won seven Capital Athletic Conference titles and earned 11 NCAA Division III tournament berths, most recently in 2010. He won or shared CAC coach of the year honors nine times.

Sheridan missed the second half of the 2000 season with an unspecified medical condition but returned in 2001. He also had served as UMW’s assistant athletic director for compliance since 1998.

“While we are sad to see coach Sheridan go, we are very pleased that he has earned this outstanding opportunity at George Washington,” new UMW athletic director Ken Tyler said in a statement issued by the school.

“Coach Sheridan literally built the UMW baseball program from scratch, and, over the last 25 years, has turned it into a consistent winner on the conference, regional and national level. More importantly, he has made a real difference in the lives of the countless young men he has mentored and coached. We are grateful to coach Sheridan for his many positive contributions to Mary Washington and we wish him nothing but the best.”

UMW will begin a national search for Sheridan’s successor immediately.
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C CollegeCoach1Member
Sorry, Didnt want to sound like i was insinuating anything with Coach Sheridan. At 56 years old this might be something he wanted to give a go and see how he could do at the D1 level.

Does Foeman want to be a college coach? Or is he just keeping things going while they figure things out. Sorry for the questions. I just follow college pretty close in the mid atlantic region on all levels. I know some guys that will apply for this that are great canidates but if the Foeman has the fall to "prove" himself they wont put in for it. I know I've always felt coming off a losing season (despite Sheridans body of work being great) you never higher from within...you need a shot of energy and sometimes an outsider can be a huge spark.

Plus if its not Foeman a new coach misses a huge chunk of the recruiting cyle.
Last edited by CollegeCoach1
V VirginiaBsblDad100+ posts
Free Lance Star

Pittsburgh Pirates batting coach Gregg Ritchie said he is not a candidate for the coaching vacancy at his alma mater, George Washington University.
“I’m a Pirate,” Ritchie said in a phone interview Monday. “I have nothing on my mind except the last 40 games and to continue what we’ve been doing.”
Ritchie, a Stafford County native, was an All-America outfielder at George Washington and led the nation in batting average as a senior in 1986. He was inducted into the Colonials’ athletic hall of fame in 1999.
The Colonials fired Steve Mrowka in April after eight seasons and hired former University of Mary Washington coach Tom Sheridan as associate head coach 11 days ago.
Collegebaseballinsider .com reported at the time that G.W. plans to fill the head coaching vacancy this fall. The website said the school is negotiating with a coach currently involved in professional baseball—leading to speculation that Ritchie might be that man, especially since he and Sheridan are longtime friends.
Instead, Ritchie said he’s focused on helping the Pirates reach the postseason for the first time since 1992. Entering play Monday night, they held a one-game lead over San Francisco for the National League’s second wild-card spot.
Echoing a report in The Pittsburgh Post–Gazette, Ritchie said he’s spoken with G.W. athletic department officials in an advisory capacity but hasn’t interviewed for the job—and doesn’t plan to do so.
“I have one job,” Ritchie said, “getting to the playoffs and winning in the playoffs.”
C CollegeCoach1Member
Saw they posted the job on the NCAA website.

Still interested to see the direction they go..does Foeman want it (i heard he has a pretty good job as it is) or do they go outside the program.

I know a couple young guys that would die for that job that would do great there, ties to the Mid Atlantic region and could open up some new recruiting doors, and not as a stepping stone but settle down and stick around for awhile.
Flying DutchmanFlying Dutchman100+ posts
quote:
Greg Ritchie has FINALLY been named head coach.

From what I hear he is a great guy and great baseball coach.


This is absolutely GREAT for George Washington University.

Coach Ritchie will certainly improve the program, but I just pulled and pasted the tuition at GW and man the cost to attend is outrageous (at least to me it's outrageous!).

TUITION AND EXPENSES
Cost of Attendance: $59,985
Tuition and Fees: $45,780
Room and Board: $10,530
Books and Supplies: $1,275
Other Expenses: $2,400

Wish him the best of luck, he is an awesome coach.

Good info on this story:

http://www2.insidenova.com/spo...-head-ba-ar-2275384/
Last edited by Flying Dutchman
NB North Bay10+ posts
Karma is, well, you know.  Sheridan recruited my older son as a catcher, then burned his red-shirt as a substitute in two games in which he didn't even get a plate appearance. One transfer later, he was a two-time nominee for the Johnny Bench Award as the best catcher in Division I, not that Sheridan would know anything about that.  His final year he captained his team, was voted its Most Outstanding Performer by his teammates, and finished second in D-I in runners caught stealing.

Did I mention he has a younger brother?  Last spring as a true freshman he threw a complete game 4-1 win against --- wait for it --- GWU.  He only used 91 pitches.

That Sheridan guy sure knows his baseball. *sarcasm off*
RJMRJMHSBaseballWeb member since 2007

This Sheridan guy most be the first college coach to misjudge a player's abilities. Is it "Bitter Month" on hsbaseballweb? Something a very wise man told me years ago is ... If you're happy where you are there's no reason to dwell on the past and second guess as long as you didn't harm anyone.

PISPIS1,000+ posts

For what its worth I think Coach Sheridan is one of the classiest guys around.  He recruited me out of HS.  I didn't end up playing for him but all these years later he is always super nice.  And oh by the way, he's a pretty darn good baseball guy.

 

Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe your kid was not ready to play as a freshman and then maybe, just maybe afterwards he improved, like many sophomores & juniors do, in order to earn all of those accolades?  

 

These boards should be kept as positive as possible.  If there were any real issues that needed to be discussed about a coach (like abuse) then lets discuss.  But playing time is not an issue.

 

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com

www.twitter.com/PlayInSchool

NYdad2017NYdad201710,000+ posts
Originally Posted by PIS:

 

These boards should be kept as positive as possible.  If there were any real issues that needed to be discussed about a coach (like abuse) then lets discuss.  But playing time is not an issue.

 

 

 

Not to mention you made it pretty damn easy to figure out who your kids are.  It was THEIR fight, not yours, and it appears they overcame any struggles.  But by putting THEIR info out there, not yours, you could effect how they are looked at in the future.  

I never liked the possibility of being embarrassed by my kid, and he knows that.  I've always made sure to never embarrass him.

 

I'm just saying... 

NB North Bay10+ posts
I made no accusation of abuse, just an inability to judge talent.  When your starting catcher averages an error or a passed ball per inning, maybe you should look somewhere else, especially when the kid barely hits his weight. And why on God's green earth would you burn a red-shirt for one meaningless inning in each of two meaningless games in which the catcher recorded all six outs but didn't have a plate appearance?  That's a "darned good baseball guy"?  The kid calls the pitches to get six strikeouts for his pitchers, then holds a clipboard for the rest of the season.  And people wondered how Doug Fleetwood could own the CAC.

Of course I made it easy to figure out who my kids are.  Otherwise someone would be claiming I'm just a disgruntled parent --- kinda like you. Embarrassed?  The only embarrassment is falling for the T.S. B.S. the first time.  As positive as possible? I wish GWU all the best.
NYdad2017NYdad201710,000+ posts
Originally Posted by North Bay:
Otherwise someone would be claiming I'm just a disgruntled parent --- kinda like you. Embarrassed?  The only embarrassment is falling for the T.S. B.S. the first time.  As positive as possible? I wish GWU all the best.

 

North Bay, you have the wrong person.  I have no affiliation with GWU or your kids. I'm not even a disgruntled parent.  I have a 2017 who has just entered HS.

 

I understand why you're pissed, but it sounds to me like your kids did fine for themselves.  I'd just leave it at that.

RJMRJMHSBaseballWeb member since 2007

Yep! Sheridan is definitely a poor coach. ...

 

Prior to arriving at George Washington, Sheridan spent 25 years as the head coach at the University of Mary Washington, building the Division III program from scratch and turning it into a national power. Throughout his time at UMW, Sheridan compiled a 579-275-4 record while leading the Eagles to 11 NCAA Division III Tournaments. Additionally, he is one of just a handful of coaches in the history of Division III baseball to earn 500 career victories. 

 

Our disgruntled poster looks foolish. Many baseball players don't work out at their first choice. It's just the nature of playing at the next level. (relative to high school).

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