Over the course of the 2011 baseball season, Redmond High head coach Dan Pudwill gained a full understanding of the difference between the roles of manager and coach.

With the Mustangs being unbelievably deep and talented this past season, having three players committed to playing D-I baseball and a number of contributing varsity returners, Pudwill’s role with the club was far different this year than in the past.

“This year I feel like I did a lot more managing than I’ve done in previous years compared to coaching,” he said. “This year’s kids had those skills, talents and abilities in place, and we’ve done the same things for over three years. I just had to make sure they were in the best position to succeed, their mentality was right, and that they were building as a team.”

Pudwill’s team was ranked No. 1 in the state going into the season, and the Mustangs were the center of a considerable amount of media hype. Instead of downplaying it, the sixth-year coach decided to meet those expectations head-on, to see if his kids could stand up to the pressure.

While it was far from smooth sailing during the Mustangs’ long, 29-game season, the team achieved when it mattered most, winning six consecutive loser-out games to make the state semifinals for the first time in 18 years and eventually placing fourth at the state tournament.

For his instrumental role in guiding the Redmond High baseball team to Cheney Stadium in May, Pudwill has been named the Reporter’s Coach of the Year.

TAKING A ‘THUMPING’

For the Mustangs, the first roadblock in their quest for a state title occurred during a road trip to eastern Washington, where they took on 3A powerhouse Southridge in a doubleheader.

The Suns ended up walloping the Mustangs for 35 runs in the two games, beating their beleaguered visitors 20-2 and 15-5.

“That was really a godsend, but it was humiliating to be honest,” Pudwill admitted. “That eliminated our state ranking, got the national ranking out of the way… from that point forward, our kids realized we would have to work in order to achieve what we wanted to achieve.”

From there, the Mustangs went on a tear, winning 10 straight games and were never in doubt of making the 4A Kingco tournament.

But once they got there, it was a different story.

In the first game of the tournament, Inglemoor High ace Dustin Doucette, who handcuffed the Mustangs in a previous meeting, did so again in an 8-1 Viking win, putting the green and gold in a precarious situation.

At that point, Pudwill knew that if they were to make the state tournament, the team’s seniors would have to take the reigns and realize that they did not want the season to end.

“I put it in their hands, on their plate – I told them, ‘it’s your game, it’s your season, go take it,'” Pudwill said. “I didn’t want to magnify the situation too much, just wanted them to understand the position they were in. We made it a day-to-day type scenario, just go out and play. And to their credit, they did.”

He credits a couple of bloop hits falling in against Issaquah, leading to a 15-3 win, as the spark that got the Mustangs going. Over the next six games, the team outscored their opponents 53-7, including a 15-2 rout over Kentwood which sent the Mustangs to the state semifinals for the first time since 1993.

“That was a pretty emotional moment,” Pudwill recalled. “That group of seniors saw us in their freshman year, go to that spot… and their junior year we got to that same game and lost. The excitement on the field after we beat Kentwood was a thrilling moment that I won’t forget.”

GOOD KIDS, GOOD PEOPLE

Pudwill’s senior class was unique in that he had three athletes that had been contributing as starters at the varsity level – Michael Conforto, Dylan Davis and Zach Abbruzza – since they were sophomores.

In addition, the team’s other upperclassmen, T.J. Whidby, Jake Levin, Nick Rothermel and Colin McBride, each played a role in helping the Mustangs reach their goal.

“Top to bottom, our senior class was comprised of good kids, good people first and foremost, which is important,” Pudwill noted. “Watching Dylan mature as a player on the field, watching Michael progress as a hitter, and watching Zach become the complete player be became was certainly fun, but seeing the young men they grew into was probably more enjoyable than the baseball part.”

And from those seniors, respect for Pudwill runs rampant, marked by his incredible record of 121-31 (.796) since he took over the program in 2005, making the postseason every year.

“Coach has done an amazing job over my three years,” Conforto said. “Our group of talent, I can imagine it’s a tough group to coach, with so many different personalities on the team. He did a great job of keeping the team together… keeping the chemistry good. That’s the one thing that he can really be proud of.”

While next year the Mustangs will certainly have a different feel, Pudwill says the “talented young kids” in the program will have to step up and find ways to scratch across runs instead of relying on three-run home runs which seemed to be a regular occurrence in 2011.

As a team, the Mustangs hit 39 home runs, a number that Pudwill described as “ungodly,” and one he believes is a school record.

But as good as the team was at the plate, he believes the difference was made on the mound.

“Our pitching, it was so good,” Pudwill said. “That’s really the difference, with Zach and with Dylan, T.J. (Whidby) as well, and Michael closing, it was a deep, talented staff.”

Pudwill will take a well-deserved break from coaching summer ball this year to spend more time with his eight-year-old son, who will hopefully one day get to play baseball for the Mustangs and achieve great things like this year’s team did.

One thing is for sure, Pudwill loves to coach — and manage.

“It was absolutely a joy,” said Pudwill on coaching this year’s team. “To watch (the seniors) leave the program, through their parents and through themselves, as young men ready go to on to college… it’s a fulfilling experience. It brings a sense of pride and joy to see them do that.”