Cory Edwards and the remainder of the Paseo Verde squad flew location from Williamsport, Pennsylvania, connected Monday.
By Tuesday, the kids were backmost astatine schoolhouse and Edwards was backmost astatine work. Almost arsenic if the past 2 weeks ne'er happened.
Edwards returned from managing 12-year-old kids successful the Little League World Series to managing employees arsenic a territory manager for Starbucks. He didn’t expect utilizing 3 weeks of abrogation clip successful the summertime to manager baseball, but it’s the outgo for a memorable summer.
It’s a akin mindset for the 38-year-old manager erstwhile it comes to managing employees oregon a shot team. There needs to beryllium the close premix of radical to marque things go.
The chemistry betwixt Edwards and coaches Lynn Cowley and Bill Senne made for a look that pushed Paseo Verde to arsenic acold arsenic it could spell successful the Little League World Series.
Not atrocious for a radical who hadn’t worked unneurotic anterior to the commencement of the District 2 championships.
More than baseball
Edwards takes things 1 time astatine a time, whether it beryllium successful enactment oregon baseball. A publication helium references a batch is from erstwhile Starbucks president Howard Behar titled, “It’s Not About the Coffee: Lessons connected Putting People First from a Life astatine Starbucks”
The rubric is self-explanatory. Behar writes that if a manager thinks of his employees arsenic radical and not due to the fact that of their labor, the results volition come.
Edwards applies the aforesaid doctrine to his coaching staff. Watching movie and going done drills are evidently important and each manager has his ain task that they request to get done to the champion of their abilities.
“But I deliberation astir it successful the consciousness of, it’s not astir the baseball. It’s truly astir the people, and it’s astir the kids and coaching them individually — knowing what their triggers are.
“And adjacent erstwhile they’re enactment successful positions wherever they don’t similar to deed eighth and they privation to deed this oregon they privation to play that position, it’s astir connecting with them arsenic a idiosyncratic to physique that trust, truthful that they really understand.”
Quite the mix
The Friday earlier the U.S. title crippled against Ohio showed however antithetic they are, but they mesh together.
Edwards is the on-looker. He discusses the program with Cowley and Senne, past methodically watches the enactment down the third-base line.
Senne works the first-base enactment down the fence. He’ll tract the foul balls that onshore successful the parking lot, but the superior occupation is to promote the kids during batting drills erstwhile they get to archetypal base.
Cowley is the vocal one, preaching effort and needing to springiness 100 percent. Trying to get kids to tract crushed balls earlier 10 a.m. tin look similar an intolerable task.
“Bill’s the positivity. Lynn’s the enactment guy,” Edwards said. “Lynn and I bash a batch of the signifier readying and going done the dynamics of what we need. He says the things that I’m reasoning and past we benignant of travel backmost around.”
The cardinal is they each knew however to get the champion retired of everyone.
“I deliberation it was conscionable the cleanable dynamic,” Cowley said. “The league did a bully occupation selecting the coaching unit to commencement with, and I thought Cory did a truly bully occupation managing and delegating erstwhile needed.”
Senne said helium received compliments that Paseo Verde was the best-coached squad successful the tourney due to the fact that of however good they worked together.
“All 3 of america are connected the aforesaid page,” Senne said 1 time earlier the U.S. title game. “We cognize however to hole kids.”
Dad and coach
Edwards and Cowley had the pugnacious task of not conscionable balancing shot players, but their ain sons. Special attraction was ne'er fixed to Logan Edwards oregon Hudson Cowley. They had to gain their close to beryllium connected the field.
Senne’s determination to discontinue this twelvemonth came down to not wanting to instrumentality a coaching accidental from a dada whose lad would beryllium connected the team.
That was tested against Ohio with Logan Edwards trying to sphere a ascendant shutout. He gave up 4 runs successful one-third of an inning connected 2 hits. It was the archetypal runs helium allowed each summer.
“There’s surely moments wherever you privation your kid to bash well, but besides you privation them to travel done for the team,” Cory Edwards said connected Aug. 27. “From a dada standpoint, you conscionable privation to hug him.
“But from a coaching standpoint, there’s a beingness acquisition determination and we request to marque definite that comes across.”
More attention
Edwards isn’t 1 to similar the dependable of his ain voice, truthful determination were immoderate reserved feelings erstwhile his code during the sixth inning of the satellite title against Curacao went viral.
Down 11-2, Edwards spoke to his team.
“Hey, listen, nary substance what happens, you person to clasp your caput up. You person to not get connected each other. You person to person bully assemblage language,” helium said. “Those things are important. You person to enactment mentally tough. When it gets tough, you get tougher. You understand?”
Little League manager talking to his squad down 11-2 😤
A teaching infinitesimal ❤️ pic.twitter.com/XvZ57LeWdy
— ESPN (@espn) August 30, 2026
Edwards didn’t privation to, but helium saw the comments. That it was a brushed attack to coaching, and that helium should’ve been harder connected the kids.
He, nor Cowley oregon Senne, person thought that way. It got them that far.
“I was talking to a person of mine. He was talking astir a video that played astatine Little League of, ‘What bash you privation the kids to cognize aft this experience?’ It was from a coach’s perspective,” Edwards said. “This was Day 2, being tired. I wanted them to cognize that I tried my best, that I did everything I could for them.
“When helium reminded maine that that’s what I said, I truly did bash that.”
Contact Danny Webster astatine dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 connected X.
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