Booth watched team grow

By By Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
William Booth was optimistic when he spoke in March about Hartselle’s prospects for the upcoming season.
Cautiously optimistic.
The past year wasn’t exactly a banner season by Hartselle standards, especially when the team is coached by the state’s all-time winningest baseball coach.
Hartselle was coming off a difficult 25-23 season that ended when the Tigers were eliminated from the Class 5A state playoffs in the second round.
The 2008 team came into the season with plenty of talent, but few proven players. Certainly J.C. Bates would again be one of the state’s top pitchers, but Hartselle had just one returning starter in the field: shortstop Tony Weaver.
So Booth, this year’s Hartselle Enquirer coach of the year, and assistants Chris Heaps, Jerry Childers, John Hall and Chris Wimberley went to work.
Hartselle players went through a summer workout regime that included plenty of time in the batting cages and even more time in the weight room.
The efforts paid off with a fourth appearance in the semifinals in the last six seasons.
The Tigers finished the season with a 39-12 mark, the second-most wins of any team in the state.
Of the team’s 12 losses, three came to rival Cullman, the team that ended the Tigers’ season on the way to the Class 5A state champions.
The Tigers also lost to Class 6A state champion Hoover once and to Christian Brothers, a state semifinalist in Tennessee.
But wins and losses aren’t what programs like Hartselle are judged by any more. The price of consistent success is that anything less than state championships are viewed by some as failure.
It’s hard to overlook the long shadow cast by the names of the players on Hartselle’s six state championship teams at Reuben Sims Field.
Those six championship teams set an incredible standard for Hartselle players.
And that is why the players spent long hours at the Tigers’ indoor hitting facility over the summer developing as a team.
Those summer workouts were what made Booth optimistic. And they also led the Tigers to 39 wins.
Sports editor Todd Thompson can be reached at 773-6566 or by email at todd.thompson@hartselleenquirer.com