BASEBALL PREVIEW ’10: Akins the right fit at Kent-Meridian

Editor’s note: In the coming days, the Reporter will preview the upcoming baseball seasons at Kentridge, Kentwood and Kentlake.

He has seen coaches come and go.

But when Kent-Meridian shortstop Dylan Tanner first spoke with Tim Akins, the choice was obvious. Akins was the right fit.

“Yeah, I knew right away,” admitted Tanner, a senior who is ready to lead a young K-M team back to respectability. “He knows what he’s talking about, he’s an alumni here, he’s willing to put the time in to make the team better and he’s got a heart for the team.”

Akins, a 1996 Kent-Meridian, certainly has a heart for the Royals, but lacks the stomach for what has been the program’s recent past. Kent-Meridian has finished in last place of the South Puget Sound League North Division every year since 2005. During that span, the Royals have collected a grand total of three league victories. Last season the Royals reached rock bottom, going 0-16 in league, which included being 10-runned 15 times.

“It’s not acceptable to be the doormat of the league anymore,” said Akins, who’s in his first head coaching position, but spent the last six years assisting at Kentwood. “I doubt we’re going to see anybody’s No. 1 or No. 2 (pitchers). And I know everybody is going to take us lightly. All I am asking is that we stay competitive. And if we do get down big, we’re going to keep playing.”

Akins is Kent-Meridian’s third baseball coach in as many years.

The revolving door at the helm of the program, however, has stopped, he assures.

“I’m going to be here as long as they’ll let me be here,” said Akins, who played four years at Central Washington University after graduating from Kent-Meridian.

Akins is the right fit, Kentwood coach Jon Aarstad said.

“He has got a very good handle on the game as far as strategy, technique and I think he’s one of the better coaches,” Aarstad noted. “I think he’s the right fit there and will be around a while.”

Staring Akins in the face is an uphill – but not impossible – battle. The Royals haven’t made the playoffs since 1999, when former K-M star Jay Garthwaite was a senior. Garthwaite has since been drafted twice, spent five years in the minor leagues (Arizona, Cincinnati) and is now coaching at Diamond Sports Training Center in Sumner. The Royals, on the other hand, have struggled on a yearly basis with numbers, coaching turnover, being competitive in one of the state’s deepest leagues and simply believing.

However, a change is taking shape.

“It’s real upbeat and there’s a lot more competitive nature compared to last year,” said Tanner, who’s in his third year on varsity. “We’re getting there. I think we can compete if we’re at our best. We’ve had a lot of losing years, so there’s a mental obstacle. We just need to pick up our game.”

And picking up there game begins with changing the attitude around the K-M diamond and instilling a positive, can-do approach. It’s an approach that Akins believes will be imperative in reversing the Royals’ fortunes.

“I just want to get the kids excited about baseball again,” he said. “Just getting them to believe is a big challenge. I think (winning) can happen out here. I’ve been a part of it. Just getting them to buy into what we’re doing is huge.”

Early on, the Royals have bought in plenty. Nearly 50 perspective players showed up for tryouts, which is a far cry compared to what’s received at other schools in the district, but an improving number at Kent-Meridian.

There’s decent talent, too. In fact, the left side of Kent-Meridian’s infield – Tanner at shortstop and Taylor Whittum at third base – should be one of the best in the SPSL North this season while Kevin Clutter should provide some pop at the plate.

Yet competing in a league that annually places at least one – and often times two – teams in the Final Four at state isn’t going to be easy for the young Royals.

It’s a challenge the 31-year-old Akins is embracing with open arms.

A challenge he’s fully committed to seeing through for years to come.

“Playing against K-M the last six years and seeing them struggle … I thought I needed to come here and give this a shot,” Akins said. “I felt that maybe that they were so far down that it would take somebody who was really passionate about it to give it a shot. And, being an alumni, I knew that it’s something that I will be able to come out here every day and be excited about. It wouldn’t just be a coaching job. It’s my school.”

And now, it’s his program.

K-M BASEBALL: AT A GLANCE

• COACH: Tim Akins, first year

• LAST YEAR: 0-16 in league

• TOP RETURNERS: Dylan Tanner, sr., shortstop/pitcher; Taylor Whittum, jr., 3b/p; Kevin Clutter, sr., 1b/p.

• TOP NEWCOMERS: Dalton Holden, sr., catcher; Jacob Massie, sr., outfielder.

• K-M PLAYERS WHO’VE BEEN DRAFTED: Karl Best, 1977, 12th round by the Seattle Mariners. Spent from 1983-1988 in the majors. Jay Garthwaite, 2002, 14th round by Arizona Diamondbacks; Travis Knight, 1995, 73rd round; Darren Swanson, 1980, 4th round.

• K-M PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE OF NOTE: Red Badgro, who was a Kent native and went to Kent High School in the 1920s, played baseball for the St. Louis Browns in 1929 and 1930. Interestingly, he also played professional football and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981. In the NFL, Badgro was a wide receiver for the New York Yankees (1927-1928), the New York Giants (1930-35) and Brooklyn Dodgers (1936).

LAST FIVE YEARS IN LEAGUE

2009: 0-16

2008: 1-13

2007: 0-14

2006: 2-16

2005: 0-16