Ryan Milliken, left, Seth McGuire, center, and Drew Barr now coach for Chillicothe Post 757 after playing for the team when they were younger. Not pictured is Derek Milliken. (Photo: Jess Grimm/Chillicothe Gazette)
CHILLICOTHE - The young grasshoppers have quickly become the teachers in Post 757's baseball program.
The quartet of Seth McGuire, Derek Milliken, Ryan Milliken and Drew Barr once suited up in Colts uniforms. Now, they're still suiting up in the blue and gold, but in a different way.
Each of the four plays a different role inside the local American Legion baseball organization. And, luckily for the current and future players, they seem to know exactly what they're doing.
"We knew that 757 meant so much to us and that’s one of the things we really wanted to do; give back," Derek Milliken said. "Every year, parents come to us and tell us we're doing a great job. That means a lot. At the end of the day, that’s what matters to us. We're building character and teaching our guys how to play the game the right way."
Derek has teamed up with McGuire to head up the Colts' junior team, ages 16 and under. Over the past two years, they've had their struggles, but they hope a turning point is near.
"I just love being around our team in general," McGuire said. "It’s not always just about baseball with us. We teach them how to play, but you've got to have life lessons around the baseball. That’s something that (longtime Chillicothe coach) Marty (Dunn) preached to us. Baseball is a lot like the game of life. There's not another sport where three out of 10 times, you're successful and you're a good player. Play hard and do things the right way. If they do that, we can't complain about much.”
Derek Milliken and McGuire attend Ohio State and have roomed together over the past two years. Derek is a sports industry major, while McGuire is pursuing a degree in integrated social studies. Derek played in the 757 organization from 2010-13 after graduating from Chillicothe High School. McGuire paid his service from 2009-12 after graduating from CHS.
"Seth and I get along great," Derek said. "We've been friends since second grade and have been playing baseball together ever since. Off the field, I’ve lived with him over the past couple of years at Ohio State. We’re buddies and we love each other. It’s always a good time. We’re always able to relate.”
While the Colts' junior team is reaping the benefits of the pair's decision to coach, the Colts' senior team — ages 19 and under — has also gained a pair of valuable baseball presences.
Derek's younger brother Ryan, 20, and 757 head coach Tom Barr's son Drew, 19, recently joined the coaching staff as well. Ryan is acting as an assistant coach, while Drew takes care of the game-by-game statistics.
Ryan, a 2014 graduate of CHS, is a junior at Ohio State and is majoring in sports industry while Barr, a 2015 graduate of Zane Trace High School, attends OU-C and plays baseball under former 757 coach Bret Mavis.
The things they've learned from watching Barr in the dugout have already paid dividends.
"I want to coach high school ball after I graduate college," Ryan said. "I've learned a lot from just watching Tom. Little tricks to coaching at the high school level, at least I hope so. Things that I can do at both the legion and high school level. I learned just how different the coaching side of things is from playing. You're still watching the same game, but you're watching it in a completely different sense. It’s a lot more mental now. ”
But one of the biggest lessons all three now have experience in is the art of patience; a tool that doesn't come without wisdom.
"I've learned a lot of patience dealing with my kids," McGuire said. "You kind of expect to come into a season and everything goes exactly your way and that’s not the case. You deal with adversity between injuries and kids being on vacation and then it's also getting these kids to buy into what you're saying. It's giving them that extra little push to help them get better and then waiting on the results."
As the lessons continue to be taught, the young quartet of former baseball players will continue to transform their baseball minds, all in a positive way. That, they hope, will produce a correlation with team success.
Either way, 757's future seems to be bright.
"You're thinking about how you can help all of these guys do their best to help the team win," Ryan said. "It’s learning to deal with different personalities and trying to get them to come together. As we keep learning, I believe the team and the organization can only get better. If we do our job, our players do their job. And that is a recipe for success."
The Hilltoppers (14-13, 10-3 ORCC) beat OSU Lima at VA Stadium on Friday in the 2nd round of the ORCC tourney. OU-Chillicothe won in the bottom of the 7th with a walk game-winning RBI by Shane Pack.
OU-Chillicothe had seven runs on 14 hits to OSU Lima’s six runs on 10 hits. Tyler Hinty got the win pitching 11/3innings allowing one hit followed by GW Wallace pitching 52/3innings allowing six runs on nine hits and throwing three strikeouts. Eric Rhinehart was 2-for-4 while scoring a run, Ryan Houser went 2-for-4 also with two runs scored, Nolan Taylor was 1-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored alongside Dalton Floyd going 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored. Drew Barr was 2-for-4 with an RBI while Shane Pack went 3-for-4 with the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the 7th.
The Hilltoppers won in Game One of their Thursday doubleheader against Clark State at VA Memorial Stadium. Chillicothe had 13 hits to Clark State’s nine hits.
Chillicothe’s Tyler Hinty got the win. Tyler Spriggs went 2-for-5 with a triple and a run scored, Ryan Houser was 2-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored, Drew Barr went 2-for-5 with an RBI and Dalton Floyd was 3-for-4 with three runs scored, a double and an RBI. Nolan Taylor went 1-for-1 with the game-winning RBI in the 8th.
Clark State 5, OU-Chillicothe 1
The Hilltoppers (9-8, 6-0 ORCC) fell in Game Two of their doubleheader against Clark State. Chillicothe had four hits while Clark State had five hits.
Chillicothe’s Tyler McFerren got the loss allowing five hits and five runs. Ryan Houser was 1-for-3 with a double alongside Cody Hendershot going 1-for-3 with an RBI and a double.
11:31 p.m. EDT April 13, 2016
April 13, 2016
OU-Chillicothe 6, Ohio University Lancaster 4
The Hilltoppers defeated Ohio University Lancaster on Wedneday in Game One of a twinbill at Beavers Field in Lancaster. Chillicothe had six runs on eight hits while Ohio University Lancaster had four runs on six hits.
OU-Chillicothe was led by GW Wallace who got the win while Tyler Hinty got the save. Eric Rinehart was 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI, Nolan Taylor was 1-for-3 with one run scored, a double and two RBIs followed by Drew Barr going 2-for-3 with a run scored and a double.
OU-Chillicothe 4, Ohio University Lancaster 1
The Hilltoppers (8-7, 6-0 ORCC) beat Ohio University Lancaster on Wednesday in Game Two of a twinbill at Beavers Field. Chillicothe had fours runs on four hits while Ohio University Lancaster had one run on five hits.
Colin Swackhammer pitched the complete game and was awarded the win. Eric Rinehart went 1-for-2 with a run scored, a RBI and a walk. Shane Pack was 1-for-3 with a run scored and a double alongside Tyler Hinty going 1-for-2 with a triple, a walk and two RBIs.
