Sports, as most have come to realize, can be very fickle.
One minute, you’re hot, the next, not so much.
It’s very easy to talk about the wins. The losses? Not so much.
Heritage baseball coach, Scott Hormann, just went through his first-ever losing season as a coach, and yet, he had no issues talking about the experience.
In fact, he was more than willing to discuss how the Eagles, who entered the 2012 season with pretty high expectations and got off to a 4-1 start, suffered through an 11-game losing streak and finished the year with a 6-12 record.
“It’s a great life lesson for the kids,” Hormann said. “Baseball has long been a great utility to teach life lessons. For these kids, they got to learn about failure and how to overcome adversity.
“There’s going to be times in your life when you fail at something, or where you have to face some type of adversity. Learning to overcome and work through those situations makes you a stronger person.”
While Hormann was able to put a positive spin on a difficult season, he admits that the sub-.500 record was a difficult pill for everyone involved to swallow.
Heritage had finished the 2011 season a game shy of qualifying for the Class 5A state tournament. With a healthy amount of returning talent, Hormann figured he had the pieces in place to make a deep postseason run in 2012.
As stated, the season started off just fine for the Eagles, as they rolled to a 4-1 start. Then came the team’s Spring Break trip to Arizona, and that, according to Hormann, is where the back slide began.
Leading 6-1 against Apollo High School, the Eagles squandered the lead and lost 7-6. The next day they fell to La Jolly Country Day 13-3 and wrapped up the trip with a 10-7 loss to Oregon City, a game that they had led 7-3.
“In 48 hours we go from 4-1 to 4-4,” Hormann said. “We had a week off after that and I thought we were ready to go, but then ThunderRidge beats us (11-1) and the doubts start coming in.”
The whispers grew louder after a 5-2 loss to Castle View.
“The wind was blowing in all game,” Hormann said. “We hit a lot of balls right on the screws, but they seemed to find a glove. At that point, you start to think you’re snake-bit a little and wonder what is actually going on?
“I wouldn’t categorize this as a bad baseball team. We have a lot of talent. Things just didn’t go our way for whatever reason. As a coach, you start wondering if there are things you can be doing differently. Should I work them harder, or lay off? Should we take batting practice or not?”
Playing in one of the toughest leagues in the state didn’t make things any easier, as the Continental League featured Highlands Ranch, Regis and Legend, who all reached the state tournament.
“There are no easy games in our league,” Hormann said. “That also played into it. Teams aren’t going to just roll over for you. You have to go out and earn every win and if you make a few mistakes, it can get away from you in a hurry and cost you the game.”
To wit, the Eagles experienced first-hand just how quickly a game can spiral out of control. Facing Regis, the Eagles were hanging right with the Raiders, as the game was tied at 3-3 after three innings. A couple of errors later and all of a sudden Regis had put 20 runs up on the scoreboard and won the game 20-4. After the game, Hormann had a brief, but stern, meeting with his players.
“They were embarrassed, and so was I,” Hormann said. “That was without question the low point of the season.”
And, while the Eagles would go on to lose three more games; they did finish the season with a glimmer of hope as they defeated Chaparral and Littleton.
“The kids never stopped working,” Hormann said.
Hormann said that the 2012 season was an eye-opener for him.
“I’m a true believer that everything happens for a reason,” Hormann said. “This season taught me humility, patience and to not take anything for granted.
“This season was difficult, no question about it. But, I truly believe it’s made me a better coach. I received so much support from my administration, other coaches in the league and my family, and that really meant a lot to me to have that support system.”
The one bright side for Hormann, a former collegiate athlete that has had six knee surgeries and four bouts of kidney stones, was that the losing season allowed him to spend more time with his family.
“I was able to see my daughters’ soccer games,” Hormann said. “That was great and it was nice to get away from baseball for a little bit.”
He’s already back at work, though, as he coaches Team Colorado, as well as the Heritage summer league baseball team. Hormann also has his eyes on what the future holds for Heritage baseball.
“I’m excited about it,” Hormann said. “We’ve got a lot of talented kids coming up and I know that the guys that will be returning from this team will be very eager to put this season behind them and get back to winning baseball games.”