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Hernando Today

One Door Shuts, Another Opens?

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By MARTY MILLER

Hernando Today correspondent

Published: July 11, 2008

People sometimes end up in a profession that they really do not like while others could not be happier at what they are doing.

That probably best sums up Spring Hill American AAA Minors (ages 9-10) Head Coach Al Sorrentino.

Sorrentino currently works as an assistant at River Ridge High School and during the summer, he coaches his two sons Thomas and Zach in Dixie League Youth baseball.

If the story stopped there it would probably be fine with the manager, but what he really wants to do is become a baseball head coach.

And that may happen in the near future as Sorrentino is one of the applicants for the vacant head coaching baseball job at Hernando High School.

But this past week, his mind was on trying to steer his team to winning the Florida state title during a 12-team tournament that was held in East Lakeland.

While his club managed a 3-2 record, it eventually lost out to Sebring Wednesday night by a score of 11-5. But Sorrentino believes his kids have done a lot more than that.

"They have a lot to be proud of and they are better baseball players now than they were eight weeks ago when we started practicing," he said. "I really like teaching fundamentals and when they have a breakthrough and you can see it. What you've shown them makes a difference and that's all that matters."

Sorrentino 101

Sorrentino grew up in Toronto and went to the University of Windsor for two years before moving to Florida and playing baseball for the St. Leo junior varsity.

But he later told his father Jerry that he was not going to keep playing ball.

"We talked about it and he told me he was a good ball player, but he was older than anyone else on the team and that he never would play pro ball," recalled Al.

Sorrentino remembers the talk with his father and the decision he made.

"I wasn't good enough and I knew it," he said. "I played in a summer league and I sat on the bench, so I decided I would go into coaching and being an umpire."

Sorrentino worked with the St. Leo J.V. and eventually ended up being a first base coach with the varsity before going to River Ridge, where he coached baseball and girls basketball.

"I would have liked to stay in college, but I was only making $3,000 a year and I wanted to get married," he said.

He also admitted that getting back into college ball is difficult.

"Once you leave its hard to get back into college," he pointed out. "You have to be a head coach and highly successful and I know that part of my life may have passed me by.

"But my ultimate goal is to be a high school coach and I hope it will be at Hernando. I've known Tim Sims a long time and Donnie (Whitehead) played at St. Leo when I was there."

An example of how determined Sorrentino is came from his father when he told the story of when his son was a 14-year-old umpire.

"He's doing the game and one of the parents is sitting behind home plate calling ball and strikes," said his father Jerry. "He turned around and told him to stop doing it. He didn't. Al turned around and threw him out of the park. The guy says 'You can't do that.' Al tells him, 'Goodbye, my dad's a taxpayer in this town and you're out of here."

Sorrentino says that teaching young ball players the game is the best part of coaching. His father summed it up best.

"He loves teaching the boys," said Jerry Sorrentino. "He spends time with them; he has them over to the house. He's into coaching for the kids, not for the glory for himself."

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