Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 7, 1994 TAG: 9404070308
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By RALPH BERRIER, JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Long
"I guess you always worry about going 0-18 in your first year," he said.
The new coach's concern was enhanced when his Blue Demons lost their first three games. The fact that the three losses came by a total of four runs wasn't much of a balm, even though the defeats came against Giles, Salem and Northside, three quality baseball units.
Christiansburg finally picked up the first victory of the Chris Lucas era Tuesday afternoon by beating Auburn 12-2. Even though they currently have a record of 1-3, the Blue Demons appear to be a strong contender for the New River District title.
With the 26-year-old Lucas at the helm, Christiansburg may be a contender for years to come.
The 1994 Blue Demons are a youthful, relatively inexperienced crew. They do, however, have quite a bit of talent and more than their share of verve and youthful enthusiasm. In a lot of ways, they resemble their first-year coach, who is one of the youngest varsity baseball coaches in Virginia. They also have many of the same interests. Must be an age thing.
A couple weeks back, Lucas and several of his players went trout fishing after a weekend workout. The next Saturday, Lucas and 12 of his players got together again for a fast-food breakfast at 5:30 a.m. then took off for the waters of the Roanoke River's South Fork at Alleghany Springs. Later, they fished Goose Creek and Burks Fork in Floyd County. After a barbecue lunch, the band of angling baseball players wet hooks in Little Indian Creek.
The baseball players spent the entire day concerned more with flyrods than flyballs. Lucas wants there to be more days like that.
"I want the team unity," he said. "We don't even talk about baseball when we go fishing. We just go out there as a team and have some fun outside of baseball. That's why things like wins and losses aren't that important to me. The most important thing is that the players have good memories after the season."
If Christiansburg keeps improving, there may be plenty of good memories to go around this year.
Lucas, a 1986 Blacksburg graduate, is trying hard to put his own stamp on a program that has consistently been one of the NRD's best.
Lucas was hired last winter to succeed Kirk Litton, who stepped down from coaching last year after guiding the Blue Demons to four NRD regular season championships and two tournament titles in seven seasons. Litton's predecessor, Roger Davidson, also fielded strong clubs in the early 1980s.
"I'd rather take over a program that is already established like this one," said Lucas. "I'd like to have the [likes of former Christiansburg stars] Randy Lawrences, Steve Campbells and Scott Lucases come through my program."
Make no mistake, this is definitely Lucas' program. Shortly after he got the job, he compiled his own coaching manual, which now is in the hands of every baseball coach at Christiansburg. Varsity assistants Chuck Stone and Reed Cooper have their copies, as do junior varsity head coach Mark Creasy and his assistant Jeff Lucas, and ninth-grade coach Scott Lucas. Chris Lucas isn't related to the other Lucases on his staff, but they all belong to the same baseball coaching family thanks to the big guy's coaching manual.
"I want to see the fundamentals taught the same way throughout the entire program," said Lucas. "You can apply those fundamentals any way you want, but I want us all on the same page as to how we teach them."
Lucas got into the coaching profession after graduating from Blacksburg, where he played both baseball and football. He worked as a volunteer coach for a couple of years, then guided Blacksburg's junior varsity baseball team to two district titles in three years before coming to Christiansburg as a baseball and football assistant last year. He also works as a teaching assistant in Christiansburg's special education department and plans to go back to college to get his teaching certification.
On the field, Lucas is high-spirited, intense and fully in control. He prefers a wide-open offense - Lucas probably has called for more stolen bases and bunt attempts in four games than a lot of coaches will use all season - and demands that things be done the right way.
That's why many of Christiansburg's early practices this spring surpassed the three-hour mark, about an hour longer than most other high school baseball teams practice. The Blue Demons stay on the field until they do things right, even if it means taking infield practice a half-dozen times to get one perfect round.
Lucas "likes things to be perfect," said senior outfielder-pitcher Denny Self. "That's the way I like it, too."
Self is one of the offensive leaders on a team that has surprised Lucas with its ability to score runs. All of the Blue Demons' first five hitters are batting above .400, with four of them above .500. Senior shortstop Donnie Tawney is hitting at a .639 clip, and Self, outfielder Brock Keister, and third baseman-pitcher Byron Gates were all at .500 or better.
Self, a lefty in the field and at the plate, has impressed pro and college scouts with his abilities at the plate, on the mound and in the outfield. Self has been contacted by Virginia Tech, Radford and Ferrum, and scouts from the Cincinnati Reds and Florida Marlins have called about him. He has run the 60-yard dash in 6.6 seconds and his fastball has been clocked at 84 mph on the Jugs gun.
"The word is out on him," said Lucas.
The word is probably getting out about Lucas and the rest of the Blue Demons, too. Talent and youthful enthusiasm could take them a long way.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***