First-year coach has Bishop Ford pointed in the right direction
BY MATT GAGNE
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Tuesday, May 13th 2008, 11:10 AM
Mike Hanrahan
It's a common refrain in Bishop Ford's dugout, the chorus to a broken record: "Make routine plays look routine."
It doesn't always happen.
Consider last Wednesday, when one of the most basic plays seemed anything but in the third inning against Xaverian, the top team in Brooklyn 'A'.
With runners on first and second and the Clippers looking to extend their two-run lead, Falcons catcher Chris Mallette carefully framed Terence Stubbs' outside fastball, then fired the return throw over the pitcher's head, sending both middle infielders scrambling to keep the ball out of shallow center field.
Nothing happened. The runners didn't advance, and fireworks didn't erupt from Bishop Ford's dugout, not even a casual get-your-act-together reminder to pay attention.
Don't think the broken record skipped a beat. It's just not blasted on full volume.
"It's a young player losing focus, but I try not to get on them when they're on the field," said Mike Hanrahan, the Falcons' first-year coach. "I'll wait to have a discussion with them when they get back in the dugout."
It's a new approach that's helped Bishop Ford turn its program around from last year's 2-15 finish, one of the worst in the CHSAA. The Falcons began the week 7-7 in Brooklyn 'A', a middle-of-the-pack club able to play with (and beat) some of the best teams in the city.
"The biggest difference starts with coaching. It really makes a difference," said Billy Cardona, the Falcons' senior shortstop. "The coach before, we bumped heads a lot because of how he was with us - a lot of screaming."
Hanrahan, a retired NYPD sergeant who works security at the school in Windsor Terrace, infused the program with greater intensity and increased expectations, starting with an off-season training regimen that emphasized weightlifting and conditioning.
"He did a great job getting us prepared, he worked our butts off," Cardona said. "Our attitudes have changed drastically. We want to win. ... Last year when we lost it was like, 'Fine. Whatever.' We got used to it. We accepted it. But we came into this year with high hopes."
Most of the players already knew Hanrahan, who coached Bishop Ford's JV team in 2006.
"They knew what my work ethic was and they knew they were going to have to step it up," Hanrahan said. "I knew if we put a lot of work in, they'd perform. There's talented ballplayers here; it was just a matter of preparation."
Hanrahan's pedigree also helped grease the transition: He was a three-year starter at John Jay HS from 1982-84, the team's best hitter and a Daily News all-star who led the Park Slope school (now called Secondary School for Arts, Journalism and Research) to a city title his junior season.
He went on to play at the College of Staten Island, where he was named a CUNY/Knickerbocker all-star. Last year, he was an assistant coach at Tottenville as the Pirates won their fourth PSAL baseball title in the past seven years.
After hanging with Xaverian through five innings and losing, 10-3, last Wednesday, the Falcons bounced back a day later and beat Tottenville, 6-4, with a come-from-behind victory at the Parade Grounds.
"We made the routine plays and got the easy outs," said Cardona, who went 3-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. "We made it a point to show our character and come back."
The Falcons are 14-13-2 overall and remain streaky at best. They've won as many as six straight, yet have lapsed into multiple three-game losing streaks. But it's an improvement from last year, the losses snowballing and the disappointment becoming routine.
"When you put hard work into something, you take more pride in it, and I think that's what happened," Hanrahan said. "The amount of work we put in became more important to them ... When we play our best game, for seven innings, we can play with anybody."
