St. John head baseball coach Stephen Laurent knew what the Eagle program needed even before he accepted the job.
“This is a school where I had been trying to get a job a couple of times over the years,” the first-year head coach said. “I knew coming into it that was a lot of potential here and a lot of love and support from the community.”
He also knew the community wanted him to help the players fulfill their potential.
After leading the Eagles to their first district championship in several years, he accomplished his biggest first-season goal.
The students and the community already knew what they wanted from Laurent. They wanted the Eagles to beat Ascension Catholic, a school that has been a thorn in St. John’s side for years.
“I heard it from my first day here,” Laurent said. “It wasn’t just the students, either — it was people throughout this community, along with the parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents, so it’s become our main goal.”
Ascension Catholic and St. John will not be in the same district next year, which marks a break in tradition that goes back decades.
“We knew this was our last crack at beating them in district play,” he said.
Laurent eliminated weaker opponents on the schedule in favor of bigger schools that could test Eagles to their full abilities.
Frustration is a natural emotion during a losing streak, but Laurent urged the players not to dwell on the record.
“I kept preaching to the players that we’ve got to go out and play the game,” he said.
It meant the Eagles had to look past the team and not dwell on an opponent’s record.
“I emphasized that we had to go out every day and play to the best of our ability as a team,” Laurent said. “It took a while, and I told them it would not happen overnight.”
For Laurent, it has been more than the standard approach of wins and losses.
He knew his team needed confidence before they could compete against the larger schools.
“We went straight to the gauntlet, find our team identity and give some guys their first start on the mound so they could get those butterflies out,” Laurent said.
He now gets calls from other coaches, who have one question for him. They want to know how he managed to turn around the Eagle baseball program his first year at St. John.
“We simply out there with the goal to compete and grow,” Laurent said. “I’ve had seniors who have been the heartbeat of the team, and they really stepped up, which also strengthened their leadership.”
It’s all been about execution and creating a sense of urgency.
The team also had to put the losses behind them and look ahead.