Vogan’s Pioneers win league with class

By PETER DiGIOVANNI

One of the responsibilities of being a coach and having young men in your care is having a belief that those young men can achieve what others may tell them is not attainable. It takes a very special, caring and astute individual to mentor and inspire these young minds to reach and attain a certain goal.
Coming into this season, the Conestoga baseball team was a bit of a mystery to those who follow District 1 baseball. Sure, Conestoga has had success in the past, but with only two starters returning from a Central League championship team, the questions were many. Consequently, no one picked the Pioneers to repeat as champions of the league.
Not only did ’Stoga repeat as Central League champions, it did so by clinching with four regular-season games left on the schedule, then won two Class AAAA District 1 playoff games and advanced to the second round of the PIAA Class AAAA state tournament and finished the season with 18 wins.
It is for these results and for the classy way his Pioneers acted on the field that John Vogan is the Daily Local News Baseball Coach of the Year.
“I think, in fact I know, that the reason for our success this season has to go to the kids,” Vogan said. “They bought into a the program and really listened to what we told them and they worked extremely hard at getting better and they did that this season.
“We had some tremendous senior leadership with Steve Richter, Max Kenan, Alex Hoffberg and Garrett Disssin. They took control and they led the way for the younger guys by showing them what it takes to have a winning program.
‘The kids have tremendous pride in the program and they wanted it to continue. they knew what was expected of them and they did the job. They deserve every accolade they receive.”
Vogan has long been admired for his modesty and the way his kids handle themselves on the field and one of his fellow coaches, Hal Ziegler of Coatesville, who has won four Class AAAA District 1 titles, thought Vogan may have done his best coaching job this season.
“John just did an outstanding job this season as he does every year,” Ziegler said. “His kids were well prepared and they always came ready to play and do the little things you need to do to win ball games.”
Vogan said there were some points in the season when he just had a feeling that this Conestoga team could prove some of the naysayers wrong.
“I think when we jumped out to a 9-0 start and beat Marple Newtown in an extra-inning game at Marple, that told us that this team could be something special and the kids really felt it,” he said.
Not only was this Conestoga team special, the word could also be used to describe how members of the team felt about their coach.
“Coach Vogan is something else,” Max Kenan, a senior pitcher said. “We really like to play for him and we play very hard for him.”
Anyone who has had the pleasure of meeting the Pioneers coach or watching his teams play on the baseball diamond or football field, knows that it is easy to see why Vogan is so good at getting young men to find more when they think there is no more to give. It is because the man does not demand respect, he commands it by his actions.
This year, the Conestoga baseball team may have been big winners, but those who had the pleasure of watching this team come together also felt like they had won something.
To contact staff writer Peter DiGiovanni send an e-mail to pdgiovanni@dailylocal.com