Team Preview: Helmuth-Ingalls Post 232

Manager Steve Corney, Coach Ryan Luley, Coach Sean Luley, Coach George Corney.

Losses: George Corney, Anthony Gurdo, Victor Selyuzhitskiy, John Spinella.
Returning Players: R.J. Baumgarten (P/3B), Mark Coleman (P/1B/OF), Justin Corney (P/3B/OF), Cory Gogola (P/2B), Chris Hughes (C/OF), Wes Roberts (P/SS/Util.), Jack Sullivan (C/1B), Sean Wooldridge (1B/OF), Brandon Wrobel (P/IF/OF).
Newcomers: Jordan Doroshenko (P/OF), Lee Foxton (P/2B/SS), Tyler Heck (IF/OF), Taylor Jaquays (P/OF), Matt Martin (P/SS), Mark Vaughan (3B/OF), Tyler White (P/IF), Alan Dellers (C/OF), Jeff Ostrander (OF).

I met up with the Helmuth-Ingalls manager Steve Corney, coach Ryan Luley and coach Sean Luley last weekend to get their thoughts on the upcoming season. This is the staff’s third year together and it is clear that they are determined to turn Helmuth into a perennial winner and Oneida County contender. Take a look at some of what they had to say below. To hear more from the Helmuth coaches, listen to the complete audio interview here: http://www.uticaod.com/sports/legionbaseball/x765550528/Legion-Baseball-Audio

AD: You lose two all-stars in George Corney and Anthony Gurdo. What’s it mean to the team to lose two guys like that?
RL: Well the biggest thing is the leadership. They both have been there…They’re veterans. They know what the team’s like. That we will certainly miss. But I think we’ve had guys in the program that have done things in the past and stepped up and been leaders at times so I don’t think we’re going to have a void in leadership, but definitely their experience and leadership will be the biggest thing.

AD: How do you feel about the group of players you have coming up?
SC: I think it’s a good group, a very good group. I think what they need to be seasoned a little bit more and they need some leadership.

AD: What do you see for Helmuth this year in terms of your success?
RL: If you look at what we have left over from last year, we’ve got some depth definitely at pitching, which we haven’t really had in the last two years. We also have a lot of flexibility, guys playing different positions. So we get some things that we haven’t had necessarily in the last couple years, particularly the pitching depth.

AD: Tell me about the tournament in Saratoga. Is the first year you guys are doing that? What teams do you play?
RL: We did it last year as well.
SL: This year we’re playing the Saratoga Stampede…Saugerties, Rondout, Trumbull Post (Conn.) and South Kingston, it’s a Rhode Island team. It’s top competition. It’s one of the better tournaments that I could find when I looked. We got in with Saratoga last year. We didn’t do too well out there last year. We went 0-5, but it brought the team even closer…It got us ready for what Oneida County would be like and continuing to go there these kids will play against better competition and get that competition and come back and be able to play Oneida County teams at a higher level.

AD: What might you have to work on from last year in terms of an improving area?
SC: Learning to win. We were in a lot of games last year where it was one-run, two-run games and we just have to find ways to piece little things whether it’s a bunt, sacrifice, advancing runners, getting runners in scoring position, we have to find ways to win this year.

AD: The guys that are returning from last year – who are you looking at to be leaders and who you’re excited about?
RL: Really the older kids; the guys who have been here two, three years. I’m thinking of seniors – Justin Corney, Chris Hughes, Cory Gogola, Wes Roberts and Brandon Wrobel. Those guys, they’re older, they’re all seniors in high school this year. The three Clinton guys have been with us since they were sophomores so they’ve been around. And the two guys from Waterville, Wes and Brandon, they were part of that kind of bridging the gap last year, bringing the team together. Like Sean said, they’re guys that will play all over the field and not question it…That’s just from the leadership point, not necessarily performance-wise. We’re just looking strictly from their character and personality and stuff like that.

AD: Having (Ryan and Sean) around, how much does help you?
SC: I’ve been blessed by find the two Luley brothers to come in and help me out. They come from an established program with tradition, tradition in winning from New Hartford. Their love and desire for the game has helped this program tenfold.

AD: What is an ultimate goal for this year’s team?
SL: My goal would be to make it back to playoffs.
SC: My goal is to get through the counties, get to the counties, and make another trip to the districts.
RL: My goal always is winning. To start off the season I’m setting my goal high, so the state would obviously be up there. But, you re-evaluate constantly. The most important thing is winning the right way. Since we took over this program, we’ve put our image, not just internally, but our public image is first and foremost on our mind.
SL: I think the main thing also is to make sure the kids are having fun. You know from playing that you can’t win a baseball game if you’re not having fun. And if a kid’s not having fun all summer long, as coaches we’re doing something wrong.

On the divisional breakdown:
SL: Oneida County baseball, it’s never weak. Whether you’re in the blue or the gold, it’s always going to be a fight…Anybody could win on any day. That’s the biggest thing about Oneida County baseball. It’s a very balanced league. It’s not always going to be dominated by one team. The names up there at the top are always up there at the top…But every one else is always going to fight.

AD: It seems like you guys are really set on turning the Helmuth program into a year in, year out contender and doing it the right way. How focused are you guys on doing that?
SC: I would say very focused. Since day 1 that’s been our number one goal. When we took the program over three years ago, Helmuth was probably the doormat of the league as far as respect. We’ve gone out, as Ryan has said earlier, tried to establish with everything we have possible, teaching these young men how to play baseball the right way and gain that respect…That is what we’re about.