Speculation growing on Coach A headed to ORMA

Coach A heading to ORMA?????

Speculation is growing that Alan Ashkinazy will become the baseball coach at Oak Ridge Military Academy……

This would all have to come down some time soon and Coach A would start his program up at ORMA next season.(2010/2011)

We have been getting reports and E-mails that Ashkinazy has been in discussions with Coach O and Coach K at Oak Ridge and that he is giving heavy consideration to taking this job….

Not sure how this would effect the future of high school baseball in Guilford County, but one thing is for certain, Ashkinazy knows how to win and he knows how to build a winning program…..He even found a way to have a winner when he was at Smith and he also had much success at Greensboro Day School and at Grimsley….

If we get more details, we will pass them along, but for now the word on the street is that Coach A is ready to play/coach and he may be at it again soon…….

31 thoughts on “Speculation growing on Coach A headed to ORMA

  1. He had a winner at Smith? I think that is quite a stretch… you may want to verify that one. Based on the sound of your post, it seems like you are saying all of the good baseball players in Guilford County will flock to ORMA. However, you may be right — schools like Wesleyan and ORMA that are not “public schools” do a great job of taking players from local programs. I guess the days are long gone when a player will play for his/her school and the coach at the school will coach “their own”. Instead, a strong group of talent is assembled at a particular school and suddenly the coach is something wonderful. I bet a lot of local high school coaches would love to have the opportunity to assemble a hand -picked group of players.

  2. he is not GOD give it a break. who cares where he goes i do know one player he want get and thats my son. he doesnt do anything different than any other coach in guilford county. this should not be a big topic once again who cares.

  3. To Rodger, all the local high school coaches could have a hand picked group of players if they knew anything about baseball. Families will pay unlimited amounts of money for there kids to learn from the best – if an existing high school coach is the best players would move to that school district to play for him. It is such a joke to say days are gone when players would play where they live. Rodger – have you never tried to better yourself, do you live in your childhood house, had the same job for 40 years, what are you talking about. If you are a good baseball player, you need to play for a good coach to learn the game. Just like if you are a future rocket scientist, you are not going to continue your education at Smith High School. I could name 50 players in last five years that had enough talent to play at the next level but because of where they played high school ball or summer ball, they do not get a chance at the next level.

    And lastly these private schools do not take players from Guilford County – it is free to go to Guilford County schools, the families that choose Wesleyan, Westchester, etc are paying large sums of money to go there, you blame the private schools, sounds to me like Guilford County is the problem.

    Whether you like it or not, it looks like the trend for baseball around here is going to be to go to private school, reclassify a year for a better chance at playing at the next level and the reason for this trend is the way Guilford County is handling athletics. Instead of cutting teachers, etc, Guilford County should cut out sports, let the AAU Programs and other programs handle the sports, the schools could rent fields to these programs – these programs specialize in athletics and everyone would be much happier and Guilford County Schools would have more money and less headaches – wake up GCS!!

  4. Great points i agree, i would love to see Al over at orma with stan, what a dynasty they will build over there, great for local sports junkies!

  5. I can’t take it anymore. Your child will be seen if they are good players. The AAU type circuit for all sports gets them there exposure. The summer ball is what matters. If a coach sees you in the AAU showcases, they will come watch you where ever you play high school ball. There is no need to change high schools multiple times. Changing for academic reasons is fine, but the landscape of athletics doesn’t require it. Take the money you would spend on private school and invest it and you child could go where ever they want. The parents and the over zealous coaches are trying to create these athletic dynasties.

  6. I know a lot of guys in Guilford County and from Guilford County that played at a higher level than A.A. Some of them even help kids and coach at local high schools but because they don’t flash their name and take credit for everything a kid does no one knows about them. If he were so great them why do the players that go to him often times play at a high level before they get to him? Who do you think gets the credit not the previous coaches but the guy who claims their success, none other than Double A!

  7. All the best to Al whatever he decides. I like the guy. He tries to get the boys to give it their all. He teaches the game well. Totally up to the player and the player’s parents if they choose to go play for Al in a private school setting. The old school is making head way in trying to get the financial situation under control. I’m pulling for the old military school. I think this is a win all the way if Al wants to coach baseball at the school.

  8. I feel that anyone who wants their sons to improve in athletics and academics should go to any school of their choosing. This years baseball season at our local high school has been a total joke. To me its obvious that the current coach doesn’t know anything about baseball and his two flunkies no even less. But since politics plays a big role at our high school, unknown talent just sits in the bench. It just makes me sick. But thats what u get when the coaches have to b part of the faculty.

  9. well here we go again. once again he doesnt do anything different than the coach at southeast guilford, western guilford , ragsdale, southwest guilford, page, dudley, grimsley. so what does he do better? give me 12 guys with baseball talent you can win with them to. if you know how to coach like the coaches at the schools i named above then you can win to. if your kids can play and they have some skills then your coaching takes over. you dont have to do to much coaching when all your players are pretty darn good. it doesnt take a genius to call hit and run , or steal , or bunt or whatever the case maybe in a game situation. some of you are blinded by light , no one should take credit for a kids talent if you can play they will find you. there are a few high school baseball coaches that played professional baseball and their teams are doing pretty dang good . you coach with what you have, you define a kids talent , when you define a kids talent and you teach them the game with the talent they have it slows down to them and becomes easy to that player. its simple people , its called pitch ,hit , catch. there are some that can do it really well and then there are some that cant , as a coach which one would you rather have if you could pick . i know the one that does it really well. and you call that a good coach. give me a break .dont waste your money.

  10. What the heck is wrong with coaches having to be on the faculty? It is up to the administration as to what they want to put emphasis on! I interviewed a few years back at a public high school in Guilford County and was told in the interview with the AD and Principal sitting in the room, that athletics was more important than academics. Hit me like a ton of bricks but at least the guy was a straight shooter. If you wanna coach go get your education degree, get licensed to teach, and do it the right way. Sorry to get off topic of the thread but ORMA is a private school let them do what they want. Win at all costs, pawn the kids so they get a piece of the pie, whatever! If a parent wants to spend their dollas to go to a private school, let em go!

  11. r u kidding me,
    Can you give us names of the few local highschool coaches that played pro baseball please? I can’t think of a one. Just wondering.

  12. Emphasis should b on academics. But rules are already set in the school system that if u don’t do well in academics, u don’t play. Let the teachers teach and let the coaches coach. That why i believe any school should have the choice of having any baseball coach instead of a faculty member coach their team. Same with any other sport.

  13. Like him or not, Alan is a very effective coach and knows the game. Having a kid play for him and a well hyped HS coach we would know.

    All HS coaches are not the same. If you have ever played for a bad one then you would know. Everyone complains when a kid transfers to a new school/coach. Maybe you should look deeply at why they are transferring.

    Private schools do have the option of using scholarships. Not everyone pays ‘large sums of money’ to go to private schools.

  14. Very few coaches in the area have even played successfully @ the college level— the ones i can vouch for are
    Simmons @ Grimsley —Elon
    Harden @ Page—-Elon @ a pretty successful level ( maybe played for a national championship team @ Louisburg
    Smith—-maybe HS
    Dudley—-maybe youth bseball @ some level
    NWG—tried @ UNCC and HP but not sure if he ever crossed the white lines
    Wheatmore—ECU and A ball
    SWG—-HS
    Western—Football @ Carolina
    SEG—HS I think
    Northern–HS maybe ( Johnny Smith played professionally @ 4-5 major league fantasy camps)
    NEG—HS
    Southern—-HS
    Ragsdale—-Barton (started 3-4 years when they were NAIA I think) Brother played in Appalachian league one summer
    HPC—-None from what I was told
    Andrews—-HS maybe
    Wesleyan—not sure
    GDS—-HS maybe but I doubt it
    Trinity—-HS
    West Forsyth—college football
    East Forsyth—-UNCC maybe for a tryout

    I welcome corrections and other input—please remember that this is what some of them ahve told me, so it may be bogus—

  15. one of the two varsity baseball coaches at Bishop McGuinness played a couple of years minor league I think for the Angels.

  16. Just want to wish Al the best if that is the direction he desires to take.

    I do want to make one comment about something in one of the posts above. There was some mention of it a while back also. Anyway, I feel that the success or lack of at several of the area high school baseball and softball programs is not a result of having the best coach or coaches. I sincerely believe that it is a direct result of the programs that feed these teams. Yes, a good coach does help. Arguably Pleasant Garden is one of the best Rec. programs in the area and has been for years. SEG is reaping the benefits in both baseball and softball. The SE Sharks program has helped build the football also. Go watch a 7/8 year old coach pitch game at PG and you will see what I am talking about.

    It has been a pleasure to see the kids on our team and other teams that came through the PG program doing well. So support your local Rec. centers like Jamestown, Colfax, Summerfield, Oakridge, Stokesdale and Liberty. These are all good programs and need good coaches and volunteers to keep baseball and softball thriving in our area.

  17. Southern – the coach there played football and baseball at Mars Hill
    Causey at Western played baseball and football in high school and football at Carolina
    Wesleyan – Think he played minor league baseball

    Honestly, what difference does it make? Just because a person was a good player–it does not mean that same person will be able to teach an athlete that does not possess the same skill set. This is one reason that so many people like to “name drop”–my son/daughter is going to so and so for this lesson or that lesson…often people have the notion that it must be better instruction if I am paying a big name for it. Give me a break! There are plenty of excellent high school coaches and role models in Guilford County–to the person who feels AAU should take over high school baseball–you are delirious! If a kid is really that good–they WILL BE FOUND! By the way–I don’t think anyone from Guilford County has been in the majors since 1953-54(yes, I know Mitch Atkins was with the Cubs for two games last year), however, he is the exception. So, quit worrying about the playing experience of high school coaches –most of you “AAU Dads” probably didn’t play past about age 10. Coach Gaski at UNCG didn’t play college baseball–he is a D1 baseball coach–and seems to have done a decent job during his tenure. People are getting rich off of lessons and AAU tournaments–seems like the hype is selling well.

  18. I will throw another name in the hat that would be one very good coach anywhere he goes. Joey Hammond played at the 2A and 3A level for 11 years in the pros. If you have ever seen him teach the game, you will see that he really knows his stuff and is great with the kids. Joey is helping out at Westchester Academy and they are very fortunate to have him.

  19. Danny Shutt is correct. HS programs win based on good feeder programs. Some HS coaches are over-rated.

    Pleasant Garden – Southeast Guilford
    Jamestown Youth League – Ragsdale
    High Point LL – Southwest Guilford
    Oak Ridge/Colfax/Summerfield – Northwest and Northern
    Kernersville LL – Glenn

    And look at the struggling youth programs

    Greensboro Youth Baseball – Grimsley and Page

    Eddie Willis knows his coaches.

  20. There has not been one PUBLIC highschool coach named that ever played at the pro level. The only one that I am aware of was Ashkinazy. This indicates one of two things 1 guilford co doesn’t want excellence
    2 they can’t afford excellence

    It is a fact that if you are exposed to play/practice at a higher level you will have those experiences to pass on to those under your tuteledge. Any player that has ever played for Ashkinazy has come away a better player,period!

  21. First, let me say, Good Luck to Alan. He will do well no matter where he coaches. He is a good coach who cares about the kids. If he coaches, kids will come.

    Now, to the comments about GCS/coaches/programs….There are some good coaches in the area. There are also coaches that know a lot about baseball but have no business coaching high school baseball. Having had a taste of both GCS and private school baseball programs, it is an individual decision. Parents should decide what they want their kid to get out of their high school baseball experience, then pick a school that will fit the bill.

    Different strokes for different folks. Never understood why some get so upset about AAU, private schools, etc. If it is not your kid and not your money, why is the decision of where a kid plays high school or summer ball of interest to you?

  22. That’s why it’s hard to believe that any of these coaches ever played at any high level, like Hardin, Simmons, Davis from Wesleyan, Maness or any others that claim they played at a high level. THEY DO NOT KNOW HOW TO PRACTICE. Just ask their players! That’s one of the problems with GCS. They keep saying everything they do is FOR THE GOOD OF THE KIDS…yet no one ever asks the kids. Administrators just want as little controversy as possible so they can get to the end of their tenure so they can collect their benifits. Parents just want what;s best for THEIR child meaning playing time. I guarantee most kids want to be a role player on a winning team then a starter on a crappy team. Parents are different. They just want playing time for their kids. You have to give credit to these high school coaches for putting up with all the problems thewy put up with for close to no money. Let the kids go to whatewver school the parents think is best for their kid. If GCS is truly doing WHAT’S BEST FOR THE KIDS, who would know better what’s best then the parents.

  23. Rumor also has it that he is the new head coach at UNCG, too. Funny how everyone knows about these things EXCEPT Ash (straight from his mouth, not mine).

  24. bigstick i can bet you money there is a coach in guilford county that has played on the professional level and they were pretty good to. you should do your research and see what you come up with.

  25. do your research,
    what local,public highschool coach with pro experience is presently coaching. give us a name, i can’t think of one

  26. everybody up here or should i say some of the people on here knows so much about nothing. why dont some of you who know all the answers and know who can coach this and who is the better coach in guilford county do some serious research on who and what you talking about. because if you knew all the answers you wouldnt be asking some of the questions that you ask on here. i have read on here about 4 coaches simmons, davis, hardin, and maness. now tell me mr.live and let live they dont know how to practice , google them and see what you come up with. all played at a high level in college and they all know how to coach. practice we talking about practice , well guess what they know how to run practice and they get the most out of their practices. so stop hating on these coaches. they play with what they have and if some wants to leave and go to a private school , they have that right , more power to them.the grass is not always greener on the other side. you still have to play the game. so live and let live get over it . cant we all just get along and stop hating on people that can do a job just as well as others? they know how to play baseball , you dont have to teach them anything they know already .

  27. Hey, it is lot like the man said a post or two back…We have some very good coaches out there in Guilford County and we need to let the coaches coach and players play and at the end of the day, we have to find some postivies, so we will be ready to get back out there tomorrow/the next day…….

    We’ve got to find a way to pull together and we can’t go backwards…..

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