By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
As an athlete, TJ McGreevy was one of the most successful athletes in Topeka history, helping Hayden win state championships in football, basketball and baseball before going on to a solid pitching career for Wichita State.
Former Hayden three-sport state champion and Wichita State pitcher TJ McGreevy, now the head baseball coach at Topeka West, is focusing on trying to develop the Chargers into a competitive team in the city and United Kansas Conference. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Now in his second season as head baseball coach for Topeka West after taking over for another former Hayden and Shocker standout, John Tetuan, McGreevy's biggest objective these days is trying to remain patient while trying to help the Chargers develop into a competitive team.
"It's extremely tough,'' McGreevy said. "Luckily I've been around the program for awhile, and being with John Tetuan and kind of talking to him throughout the years and seeing how he did it, it's just a lot of trying to develop.''
After suffering 11-0 and 11-1 non-league losses at Hayden on Tuesday, Topeka West is now 1-8 on the season, with the Chargers' lone win a 16-1 non-league decision over city rival Highland Park.
"We've got, I think, six sophomores playing (against Hayden) so we're trying to keep it positive and hopefully in the next couple of years we'll be able to compete at a little bit higher level,'' said McGreevy, named the Topeka Shawnee County Male Athlete of the Year for the 2008-2009 school year.
"We're just trying to preach to come out every day and just keep getting better at your skills.''
McGreevy is hoping to get more West athletes excited about baseball so they might be inclined to spend more time on the sport in the offseason.
"The kids don't play as much during the summer as some of these schools, so we're trying to play catch up and we're trying to get them to where they are on teams during the summer,'' McGreevy said. "I think that's really important, just getting more innings in, more at-bats. That's huge for a program like us.
"The big thing is just trying to keep it positive and fun and try to keep them engaged.''
Topeka West baseball coach TJ McGreevy talks to his Chargers after Tuesday's first-game loss to Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
McGreevy said Topeka West has its positive moments, but just not enough at this point to challenge for victories on a consistent basis.
"I feel bad for them because they're good kids and they come to practice every day and they're working hard,'' McGreevy said. "We've got some good leaders on the team and I talk to them about if we do a few more little things we're going to catch some breaks.
"We cut down on half of our mistakes today (against Hayden) and we're right in the ballgame, but it's just trying to get past that.''
The goal now for the progam according to McGreevy is to take more and more little steps with the hope that someday those baby steps will transform into bigger advances.
"That's what we're trying to do,'' McGreevy said.
