BC's Nelson is C-N Coach of the Year

Burlington Central coach Kyle Nelson huddles with his team during a game this season. Nelson led the Rockets to conference and regional titles this year.
(Michael Smart/Staff Photographer)

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Expectations weren't exactly sky high for Burlington Central's baseball team coming into the 2009 season.

Only a handful of players with significant varsity experience were returning from a 2008 squad that failed to reach the 20-win mark for the first time in six years. On top of that, those returnees were thrown in the mix with a sizable group of underclassmen, several of whom didn't yet have a driver's license.

But what appeared at the outset to be a ragtag group of unheralded veterans and unproven youngsters had little trouble putting any preseason doubts to rest.

With coach Kyle Nelson at the helm, the Rockets stormed to an undefeated season in Big Northern Conference East Division play. Along the way Central built a 14-game win streak that carried the program to its fourth regional championship in seven years.

The impressive run came to an end in a loss to Oswego in the Rochelle Class 3A Sectional final. When the dust finally settled, the Rockets owned a 25-7 record and the look of a program that will continue to be a force for years to come.

For those accomplishments, Nelson is the 2009 Courier-News Coach of the Year. The 28-year-old also earned the distinction in 2006 following his first season guiding Central.

"I think coming in we knew we had talent, but we didn't know exactly how good it was going to be," Nelson said. "We only had a few players coming back who had any varsity experience at all. Those guys were really kind of leaders for us because they showed the ropes early in the year."

Those first several weeks of the season were critical, according to Nelson, who was busy shaping a lineup that would include a freshman, two sophomores and two juniors in the first five spots in the batting order.

With only three seniors in the regular rotation, Nelson had to strike the balance between keeping his veteran leaders vocal and getting his newcomers comfortable in their prominent roles. For that, Nelson had just the plan.

"One of the things we do is we take a couple-day trip down to Southern Illinois every year," Nelson said. "That's something that I've gotten real good feedback on, especially from our young players. That kind of makes them feel a little more part of the team."

The trip appeared to work quite well this year as freshman outfielder Tanner Scott and sophomore pitcher Nick Hahn enjoyed breakout seasons.

"Coach Nelson didn't treat us any differently than anyone else," Hahn said. "He kind of makes it easy because he doesn't put pressure on you. It's relaxed and you just feel like part of the team."

Aside from the emergence of young stars, Central's season will also be remembered for the team's perseverance. The Rockets mounted a number of comeback victories, including late-inning rallies in both regional wins.

A lot of that had to do with Nelson's positive approach as he and his coaching staff stressed the idea of winning every pitch.

"I don't remember one time (Nelson) said anything negative," Scott said. "He always would say, 'We've done this before,' and that always kept us positive when we were behind."

Added Nelson: "There were some games where we were down but we just simplified things. We took good at-bats, we made routine plays and we got ahead in the count on the mound. Just by doing those things we were able to make some pretty decent comebacks."

More success appears to be on the horizon for Central, which in addition to Scott, Hahn and sophomore Sam Klein will welcome back several talented juniors in 2010, including two-time All-Area catcher Austin Jarvis.

But this senior class will hold a special place for Nelson, who is 82-34 with three conference championships and two regional titles in his four years at the helm.

"The four years that (the seniors) put in really has kind of taken us from being a really competitive Class A team to being a really competitive Class 3A team," Nelson said. "We've got quite a bit of work to do in the next few years, but that's definitely a step in the right direction for us."