In the summer of 2002, Coach Bob Bralley was interviewed by Ivan Alzuro for NEIGHBORHOOD SPORTS magazine. The good folks at NEIGHBORHOOD SPORTS and Ivan Alzuro have been nice enough to let us post this interview. We highly recommend their magazine. Please grab a copy at your local Ukrop's store, and check out their web site at www.neighborhoodsportsmagazine.com

COACH BOB BRALLEY coached baseball and basketball at Fairfield Junior HIgh School, and later moved to Highland Springs High School to become coach of the baseball team. After that he became the Director of Athletics at "The Springs", and oh, yeah, taught P.E. too.

Coach Bralley is a great guy that absolutely LOVES to teach the game of baseball. And it hasn't changed. Coach Bralley is still THE MAN when it comes to baseball.

By Ivan Alzuro
Neighborhood Sports Magazine

Bob Bralley was born and raised in Austinville, Virginia, in Wythe County. As a young boy, he had rheumatic fever, which kept him from playing baseball until the 7th grade. At Jackson Memorial High School, Bob played baseball and basketball all four years, and football his last two years. He was his school’s baseball MVP his junior and senior years.

GROWING UP

Growing up, Bob had several mentors, but his father made the biggest impact.

“He taught me so much about the game,” remembers Bob about his father’s strong influence. “But the biggest thing I guess he taught me was when he came to my games, he could never find anything bad or wrong. I remember one game, I might have made three errors, struck out twice, and my father could always find a positive thing. Like ‘that great tag’ I made on the guy running to second base.”

After high school, Bob attended Emory & Henry where he led the baseball team in pitching ERA all four years. After college, Bob spent five years in the minors with the Angels and the Mets organizations. It was during this period that he gained a reputation for his trademark swing - the quick bat speed and the relaxed muscle that made that ball go. Bob later was able to coach that same success at Highland Springs High School.

LIKE A PUZZLE

“Every kid is like a puzzle,” Bob says. ‘When it comes to teaching, the pieces are there, you just have to find them.” For Coach Bralley, his love for the game translated to his kids, not only on the field, but also in the classroom.

Jimmy Hawthorne, owner of Hawthorne Cleaners, and former Springer ballplayer, fondly recalls, “On rainy days, we would go inside to the classroom. And we would study baseball fundamentals. ‘Hawthorne, you’re playing right field, there’s a man on first, base hit to you. What are you thinking?’ And we would go through situations.” Coach Bralley’s coaching style was so effective, the kids literally didn’t want to leave practice.

Bob took over a great Highland Springs club from the master, Gilly Sorrell, who had started the team in the ’50s. Coach Bralley also inherited the consummate assistant, the man Bob says would make any head coach look good, Gene Bazzrea. Gene remembers, “Bob believed that to be a good coach, you had to be a good teacher.”

“I always tell the kids I teach, if you can go teach somebody else the skill, you’re going to learn more by teaching it than the person you taught,” professes Bralley.

LONG DAYS

With his wife, Lib Bralley, at home with their two children, Bob was able to concentrate on his life’s calling. And sometimes that call would be so loud, he couldn’t hear the one that came from his own home. “It would be 9:00 P.M.before he got home. The kids would usually be awake just long enough to kiss him goodnight and watch him have his dinner and sometimes he would bring five or six kids home with him for dinner or to study” saysLib.

With his dedication to his students and to Lib, Bob had all the ingredients to become a champion. In his tenure as coach, he amassed a record of 157-54-1 in his 14 years of coaching, earning eight district titles, four regional titles, and two state final appearances. His 1970 team won the state title, with a record of 17-2-l.

After stepping down as coach, he stayed on another 14 years as the Highland Springs athletic director, until his retirement in 1993. Coach Bralley hasn't given up baseball - he is now a pitching and hitting instructor.

“I’ve given up a lot to be able to do this, and sometimes maybe I’ve been giving up too much. I’m very fortunate my wife raised the kids. And I hope that I’ll be able to see my grandkids more. We’ve got four great grandkids.” admits Bob.

Since the 7th grade, Coach Bralley has devoted his life to the game of baseball. Along the way, he won a state title. He’s admired by his former players and peers, and loved by his wife and family who understood. We should all be that lucky.