Teaching Has Its Rewards -- Little League Honors Issaquah's Gillard

ISSAQUAH

Larry Gillard won the way he has always tried to teach his baseball players to win.

"I believe in consistency. If you learn to do something good, stick with it," the coach said.

Gillard, 42, has stuck with the Issaquah Little League for 19 years, doing everything from coaching and managing to making league schedules and soliciting sponsors.

Someone noticed this year, and Gillard was named the Little League Volunteer of the Year in Washington.

"It's not just me," he said. "So many people are doing this. There are a dozen people who could have been honored in Issaquah, and then you figure how many other leagues have people doing this. . . . There's a lot of people that should be getting this recognition besides me."

Again, Gillard wins like he teaches his players.

"How to win gracefully. How to lose gracefully," he said. That's some of what he tries to get across to the 13- to 15-year-olds he coaches. "Losing's tough."

As tough as it gets, it's not the worst thing that can happen.

"Do your best all the time. Then you can feel good about yourself even if you lose," Gillard said.

It's a point that must be repeated.

He repeated it as recently as the end of this season, when one of his younger players made errors in back-to-back late innings of the league championship game to turn a one-run lead into a close loss.

"We talked for about 30 seconds, and there was a smile on his

face," Gillard said. "He didn't get down on himself. He didn't throw a helmet or bat. He didn't feel good about it, but he's not the kind of kid who was going to think he's not a good ballplayer because of it."

What's more, his teammates didn't get down on him.

"The only time I really discipline kids, make them run laps, is when I hear that kind of stuff: `Why did you drop that ball?' " he said. "I have a team meeting at the beginning of every year. One thing I want everybody to understand - parents and kids - is baseball's a team game, and you have to play it that way."

If you do, said Gillard, you will learn something about life.

"Throughout life, we have to work as teams, so they have to learn those skills," Gillard said.

"I think we're here to make better citizens. . . . I think we have to make an investment in the kids in our community."

Gillard has made a 19-year investment - a minimum of 15 hours per week during the season.

The return on the investment?

"I enjoy it, obviously," he said. "I enjoy the baseball, I enjoy the competition. I guess I'm a big kid. I'd rather be playing."

Gillard used to play Little League baseball. "I wasn't a real serious player, not all that good a ballplayer," he said.

About three years ago, he took up the game again, in an over-35 baseball league.

"It was a chance for the kids to come down and tell me what I was doing wrong. My son came down and was telling me to keep my mitt down, stay down on ground balls," Gillard said. "That's good though. It reminds you that being able to tell you what to do doesn't mean you can go do it."

His biggest headaches come from scheduling.

"Where are you going to put all these kids?" he said. "We're really maxed out."

The number of kids participating in Issaquah Little League baseball rose from 1,100 in 1990 to 1,400 this year, Gillard said, while the number of fields stands at 12, including playfields that are just corners of grass lots suitable for only the lowest age groups.

With 104 teams to schedule and competition for fields from youth softball leagues and adult leagues, finding a field for everyone becomes more difficult than finding the next Cody Webster for your roster.

Or finding the next Larry Gillard for your Little League charter.

LARRY GILLARD BIO

HOMETOWN: Issaquah. Graduated from Issaquah High School.

OCCUPATION: Data Securities Administrator for local bank (works on computer software systems to prevent access by "hackers").

LITTLE LEAGUE EXPERIENCE: The former Little League player has been a volunteer in the Issaquah league for 19 years as a manager, coach and league board member. As a board member, he has been the league's schedule maker (last year scheduling 1,000 games and 1,000 practices), has compiled league statistics, solicited sponsorship and been a public relations representative.

WHAT'S MOST REWARDING ABOUT THE WORK: "When you work with the kids and something falls into place and you see a smile on their face."

PERSONAL: Sons Jeff, now 22, and Jim, 18, both played on his teams. ... Wife Vickie is registered nurse and frequently contributes to Gillard's volunteer work. ... University of Washington graduate with accounting degree.