Guest column: A tribute to Coach Wally Jones
When I was 15 years old, I was fortunate enough to become a member of the P-15's baseball program, coached by one of the finest leaders I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, Coach Wallie Jones.
Other than marrying my wife, raising my boy and Jesus finding me, playing American Legion baseball under Coach Jones was the single most impactful experience of my life.
Being coached by Wallie Jones was much more than being coached in baseball but truly being coached in life. Discipline like the world is losing touch with - integrity modeled after Jesus and taught in his name. He taught wisdoms of leadership, tenacity, forgiveness and grace, humility in victory and dignity in defeat.
Life lessons hinged on taking a day off when it's hot, and you might need a day off but always showing up when it's raining, and you don't need a day off - your opportunity to "lap" the competition while they're at their unnecessary pit stop was how he articulated it.
Rainy days were when the real life lessons were doled out. Wallie had community leaders on retainer to show up at an afternoon summertime thundershowers notice to teach us lessons of how to play life and sometimes how not to play it. Those were the days that stuck with us.
The culture of analyzing in planning, practicing for preparedness and persevering through execution are lessons that are woefully hard to find much less to have the opportunity to be part of learning. He instilled in us a sense of urgency for improvement.
These are the tenets for successful marriages and fatherhood, business prosperity and recovery from failure, the faithful following of God and survival in the world we live in.
CANI: continuous and never-ending improvement. That acronym was on the back of our hats. I recently hung that in my office as a fresh reminder of what greatness requires. What a motto to have printed on the back of your hat as a teenager.
Before every game or practice, we had an entire session of practice before any coach arrived. Normal practice started at 5:37. 5+3+7=15. You were expected to be ready to play at that time. Brandon Kinder reminded me of hearing Bernie Jones saying, "Coach, last one got to practice 27 minutes early today." Coach Jones expected that of us, and we expected that of each other. I remember the first day of practice I attended. No one told me that everyone came to practice up to two hours early to start pre-practice without the coaches there. I showed up at a normal time, probably about 15 minutes early, and everyone was already soaked with sweat. In my four years, I never once heard Wallie ask us to do this; it just happened, even on the first day of the season. The older ones taught us younger ones the way of excellence, and we followed without hesitation. The second day of practice I was there two hours early.
Practices ended at the same time every day, regardless of how it might be going when it was time to stop. He understood that there was only so much juice to squeeze from the turnip every day and that eventually you start going backward with bad habits from fatigue. He was teaching the economic concept of diminishing returns and the psycho-socio framework of life balance without us even knowing it. Discipline regardless of circumstance.
If you made the same mistake more than twice you would hear "make an adjustment" followed by a suggestion - swing higher, jump sooner, throw it higher, lower, quicker, slower, start sooner. One of my granddaddy Hunter's famous wise sayings was "life is a series of adjustments." As Wallie famously said it - "swing higher!" What wisdom taught from an amped-up pitching machine.
When you won, you didn't boast until you'd shaken hands with the other team with humility and honor. When you lost, you didn't blame the umpire, anyone else or yourself - no one play loses a game. Rather than complain or yell we would immediately discuss in detail exactly why the loss happened, thereby establishing the first step for a plan for improvement.
If you struck out, there was no bat throwing or helmet throwing or even looking at the umpire, you hustled back to the dugout head up. If you made an error, you never threw your hat or glove, you kept your composure. The interesting thing was he rarely if ever had to address anyone on this, the older players did, and usually with a gentle "we don't do that here." He instilled in us such respect for the game just by being the man he is and the coach he was that we didn't do any of that. The players informally passed that instruction on to its new members every year.
That high-performing culture resulted in a cult-like relationship among the participants. We were family, closer than friends, closer than family, spending hundreds of hours together every summer in a surreal atmosphere.
That culture also resulted in packed stands of cheering fans; young and old; our contemporaries and community leaders; hundreds, sometimes over a thousand, attendees. It was truly a unique experience for young men.
I have the pleasure to get to visit with Wallie from time to time and often receive text messages from him. I expect one day to get a book in the mail with all these sayings published and bound. The one that really sums up and articulates his attitude as our coach he sent to me not long ago. It said, "I used to think they were playing for me, now I know I was coaching for them."
It is no surprise that he is being inducted into the American Legion Hall of Fame. He is probably the greatest American Legion coach that's ever lived. And don't forget, he did this while raising a family, being a husband and running his dentistry practice.
So to Coach Jones, from hundreds of boys turned men who are now leaders in our own lives, to him who we all fully expect to outlive most of us, thank you for the experiences, the lessons and the love, and congratulations on your induction. You deserve it!
I reached out to a number of past players and obtained these comments below. There are hundreds more who feel the same way. We love you, Coach! Thank you!
This column was written by John Hilton III, who lives in Sumter County in Cane Savannah. He is self-employed in the real estate business and as an attorney and played P-15's baseball from 2001-04 under Coach Jones.
"The P15 program under Coach Jones' leadership went well beyond teaching the game of baseball. His leadership reinforced the importance of discipline, hard work and game planning for success."
- Tom Price, president and CEO, Babcock Power (P-15: 2001-04)
"Growing up in Sumter, the lights, sounds and atmosphere of Riley Ball Park were nothing short of magical. It was my very own 'Field of Dreams' right here in our small town. Every summer night, the entire community would gather, and if we couldn't make it to the ballpark, we'd be glued to the radio, listening to John Quackenbush and Kevin Ireland call the games. Each morning, we'd search through The Item for the previous night's highlights. In my eyes, names like Ontrell McCrea, Lee Hatfield, Strat Stavrou, Bert Beatson and too many others to name were like big league superstars led by a Saben-like coach that I admired, Coach Wallie Jones. His drive, vision and the culture he built within the team and community were unlike anything I'd ever experienced, but it was something I longed to be a part of. That dream came true, and for five summers, I had the privilege of experiencing leadership like never before. Those five summers changed my life, and for that, I am forever grateful. Coach Jones, congratulations on your Hall of Fame induction. No one deserves it more. I love you!"
- Brandon Kinder, owner, Biopure Services (P-15: 2001-05)
"Wallie was a really good baseball coach. He also taught discipline, work ethic and expected his players to push themselves. My first year of P-15's he had me working a lot with Matt Talley, the hardest worker on the team, and that was a huge turning point in my life."
- Jordan Montgomery, MLB pitcher, Arizona Diamondbacks (P-15: 2008-2011)
"Playing baseball for the Sumter P-15 program for four seasons was one of the most special times of my life. By the time I came into the program, Coach Jones had established an unbelievable culture of success that permeated every corner of Riley Ball Park. He had assembled an excellent coaching staff that maximized the potential of each team every year. Coach Jones taught me so much about baseball and life that I have taken with me well beyond my playing days, and that I am currently attempting to pass on to my children. Never did I work so hard and have so much fun playing baseball at the same time as I did playing for the P-15's. Coach Jones had a significant impact on the success I had on the field and off during my time in the program and afterward, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to play for him."
- Strat Stavrou, attorney, Wilson Jones Carter & Baxley, PA (P-15: 1995-98)
"P-15 baseball with Coach Jones helped me to understand what it meant to work hard, be accountable and be a leader. Coach Jones made me understand the importance of meeting the expectations that are laid out for you as a player and a person."
- Curtis Johnson, teacher, athletic director, head baseball coach, East Clarendon High School
(P15: 2008-2011; coach 2012-2014, 2019-2020)