The Laker/Lutz News

Steve Winterling

PHSC launches new women’s soccer program

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In a time where countless other colleges and universities nationwide have dropped athletics programs amid COVID-19-associated budget cuts and other reasons, Pasco-Hernando State College (PHSC) is making plays to boost its sports offerings.

The institution added women’s soccer to its athletics roster beginning with the 2021 fall season in August. Home games will be played on the outdoor fields of the Wiregrass Sports Campus of Pasco County, 3021 Sports Coast Way, in Wesley Chapel.

The school’s athletics department made the announcement official in a March 19 press release.

Former Tampa Bay Rowdies head coach Stuart Campbell will coach the Pasco-Hernando State College women’s soccer program. Campbell, a Wesley Chapel resident, also played professional soccer for 16 years, mostly in England. (Courtesy for Pasco-Hernando State College)

The PHSC women’s soccer program will be a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA). It joins PHSC’s other intercollegiate athletics programs, known as the Bobcats, that include women’s volleyball, cross- country and softball, and men’s basketball and baseball.

Women’s soccer marks the local college’s first new sport since 2005 — when it brought on women’s cross-country, under head coach Jackie Wachtel.

Leading the upstart team is former Tampa Bay Rowdies head coach Stuart Campbell, a familiar face and widely known figure in the soccer ranks. He’s also a longtime Wesley Chapel resident.

The English-born Campbell played professional soccer from 1996 to 2013, before serving as the assistant coach for the Rowdies from 2014 to 2015 and head coach from 2015 to 2018.

As a midfielder, Campbell played for several teams in England, including Leicester City of the Premier League, the top division of England’s football league system. He finished his playing career with the Rowdies in 2012-2013. He also was a member of the Scotland U21 national team in 1998-1999.

The decision to launch women’s soccer made sense for myriad reasons, including boosting enrollment, PHSC athletics director Steve Winterling explained to The Laker/Lutz News, in a recent interview.

The undertaking, which was three-plus years in the making, came with the blessing of PHSC senior vice president Dr. Bob Bade, who Winterling noted has a “very athletic-inclined” outlook.

Aside from being another avenue “to promote our college even more,” Winterling said, women’s soccer also provides more athletic participation opportunities for PHSC’s overwhelming female population, which represents about 61% of the student body.

Moreover, Winterling highlighted the popularity and surplus of high-level girls youth and high school soccer throughout Pasco County and the Tampa Bay region, plus the opportunity to house the program on the county’s east side in Wesley Chapel. (All of PHSC’s other sports programs are based on the West Campus in New Port Richey.)

“We’re hoping to keep young women in our area that want to continue playing soccer because there’s not a whole lot of opportunities for them,” the athletics director said.  “There’s a lot of talent out there and I think this is going to be exciting to keep some people close to home, where they can play a couple more years and maybe go on and play at a four-year (school), and that’s always the plan of our program here.”

Having a recognizable name in Campbell to lead the way seems to be another bonus to generate buzz for the program and school from the onset.

“Everybody knows the Rowdies,” Winterling said, “so if that doesn’t get you excited about soccer and somebody wanting to come and play at our college, I don’t know what would.”

Remaining logistical tasks for the program, the athletics director said, include finalizing a first-year budget, schedule, and equipment and uniform needs, as well as familiarizing Campbell with NJCAA rules, regulations and compliance protocols.

The team will offer 11 tuition-and-books scholarships to start, with another dozen or so walk-on players. Campbell will host a tryout for interested athletes on April 11 at 5 p.m., at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus.

As for style of play, players and fans can expect lots of action and high-scoring affairs, under Campbell’s tutelage.

The coach quipped, “I’d rather win a game 4-3 than 1-0, because, at the end of the day, the product you put out on the soccer field, you’re there to entertain, and if you give the players that freedom, that license to go express themselves, I think they’ll be really, really productive.”

He added: “I want to excite the players and excite the fans to come to watch. We like to play a possession-based game that makes it exciting for the fans. In my previous role as a head coach (with the Rowdies), we always scored lots of goals.”

A place to play, develop
PHSC’s women’s soccer program — like the school’s other sports — creates another pathway for athletes who want to play college ball, but might need more seasoning and maturity before advancing to the NCAA Division I or Division II ranks, such as the University of South Florida, University of Tampa or Saint Leo University, to name a few.

Campbell cited “alarming” dropout and transfer rates among college soccer players in their freshman and sophomore years at larger four-year schools for various reasons, such as unhappiness with lack of playing time and homesickness.

Campbell explained, “They leave home at a relatively young age. They leave for college at 18 (years old), they’re in a different environment for the first time, they’re not playing and it’s a relatively short (soccer) season…so if we can give them that platform for them to grow and develop, and then if they can go onto another school, we’ve done our job, not just sending them off as soccer players, but more rounded young women.”

Winterling himself started the PHSC baseball program back in 1991 and also coached at Florida College and Florida State University.

He likewise emphasized the impact of junior college athletics serving as a launch pad for underclassmen athletes to seamlessly advance to more prominent four-year programs.

The junior college level, he said, helps younger student-athletes who may otherwise “get lost” by larger classroom sizes and increased demands of a Division I or Division II program.

“I have not heard or talked to a student-athlete that has ever regretted going two years at the state college here and moving on,” he said.

“We want our student-athletes to get their AA (Associate of Arts) degree, enjoy two years of sports, if that’s what they so choose, and then if they want to continue and go on, we work hard to find them another place to play to finish out their bachelor’s degree.”

Women’s soccer might not be the only new sport coming to PHSC, meanwhile.

Part of the athletic department’s future plans include adding men’s cross-country and men’s soccer in coming years, Winterling said. “We want to add more sports down the road.”

Published March 31, 2021

PHSC baseball stops just shy of World Series

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Last year, the Pasco-Hernando State College baseball team reached the World Series for the first time in the program’s 23-year existence.

This year, the team fell just short of making back-to-back trips.

When Pasco-Hernando State College’s baseball team takes to the field next season, Jordan Feist will be expected to continue the strong defensive play that defined this year's team. (Courtesy of Steve Winterling and Pasco-Hernando State College)
When Pasco-Hernando State College’s baseball team takes to the field next season, Jordan Feist will be expected to continue the strong defensive play that defined this year’s team.
(Courtesy of Steve Winterling and Pasco-Hernando State College)

PHSC reached the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II Southeast District championship game last month at its tournament in Martinsville, Virginia.

The third-ranked Conquistadors faced off against the top-ranked Catawba Valley Community College Red Hawks.

A win would have meant a tie-breaking rematch with the same team, with the winner earning a berth in the NJCAA DII World Series.

PHSC battled back from an early 5-0 deficit to cut the lead to 5-3, but couldn’t keep up with Catawba Valley and fell, 13-3.

They had lost to the same team by a 3-2 margin earlier in the tournament.

The Red Hawks would go on to finish third in the World Series, in Enid, Oklahoma, while PHSC went home.

But barely missing another World Series trip, while disappointing, doesn’t diminish what the team accomplished in coach Steve Winterling’s eyes.

“Besides just falling short of the World Series, I couldn’t have been happier with the way the guys played and fought all year,” he said.

They fought with defensive skills more than anything else, Winterling explained.

In some years, hot bats that compensate for average pitching define a team.

This season, the Conquistadors weren’t knocking everything out of the park, but their pitching and defense were strong and kept them in many games.

Some statistics tell the story: PHSC recorded a school-record .972 fielding percentage, and committed just 51 errors all season. Some years they’ve had twice as many errors, and the fielding percentage is normally a good 18 points lower or more.

While they didn’t have their strongest offensive year, Winterling said there’s no question which type of team he’d rather have.

“I’d definitely take what we had this year. It was a pleasure watching young kids pick it up, throw it over and make plays,” he said. “This club made the routine play, they turned double plays, they ran balls down. It was fun to watch them play and not worry if the ball was hit.”

Even when opponents hit the ball, it usually wasn’t enough to win the game. PHSC finished 32-15 on the year and had little trouble qualifying for the Southeast District Tournament, which required a .500 or better record during the regular season. The team started the year 11-3, and a particularly strong nine-game win streak in March saw PHSC score 75 runs while recording five shutouts.

Their record became just one of a handful of 30-win seasons the team has logged in their 24 years, and is better than last year’s World Series team.

Once the team qualified, the rest of the season was simply a tune-up for the tournament. There was a concern that the players would ease up and not take the games as seriously, Winterling admitted, but they remained focused and played hard despite facing tough competition.

Besides playing far into the tournament, the team also traveled far during the tournament: What began in Kinston, North Carolina was completed more than 160 miles away in Martinsville.

Tropical Storm Ana forced the games to be moved.

The team had to scramble to find lodging, and ended up staying in multiple hotels over the course of the tournament.

“That was an amazing trip,” Winterling said. “Definitely one not to forget.”

Now that they’re back home, Winterling isn’t wasting any time getting ready for next season. He recently signed a catcher from Indianapolis and is working on bolstering the pitching staff.

Those players will be needed, considering PHSC will only have eight returning players plus a red shirt pitcher as holdovers. With around two dozen players making up a typical team, that means a lot of new faces.

Despite losing three of the team’s strongest pitchers, Winterling feels good about next season.

Some of the returning players are part of that stingy defense, and he identified Jordan Ding and Jordan Feist as part of a successful left infield that will be intact next season.

The coach believes they’ll form the nucleus of a team ready to extend the team’s successful streak.

And while he already has his sights set on the school’s 25th baseball season, Winterling is proud of what the team accomplished in Season 24.

“We just had a good group of guys. it was all about winning and playing well,” Winterling said.

Published June 10, 2015

Rodriguez pitches into PHSC’s record books

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Pasco-Hernando State College pitcher Danny Rodriguez now has the most wins in school history after pitching PHSC’s first no-hitter last year.

The pitcher is excited to talk about some big accomplishments.

“It was the best thing I’ve ever experienced in baseball,” Rodriguez said.

Danny Rodriguez owns the Pasco-Hernando State College record for most career wins by a pitcher. He helped get the team to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II World Series last year, and is focused on a return trip this season. (Courtesy of Pasco-Hernando State College)
Danny Rodriguez owns the Pasco-Hernando State College record for most career wins by a pitcher. He helped get the team to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II World Series last year, and is focused on a return trip this season.
(Courtesy of Pasco-Hernando State College)

But he’s not describing his personal accomplishments, such as the no-hitter or setting the school wins record. He’s talking about a team accomplishment: The school’s trip to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II World Series last year, where they finished fourth in the nation.

Rodriguez is known as a team player, so that’s his focus.

But when asked about his own personal records, he’s more subdued.

“It’s nice. It doesn’t concern me as much as winning regionals and getting to the World Series,” he said.

While setting the record isn’t that big of a deal to Rodriguez, the Conquistadors have used those victories to full advantage, reaching a spot in last year’s World Series during his 10-win season. His current 8-2 record also has helped the team to qualify for their regional tournament next month.

Steve Winterling, who coaches Rodriguez, said the pitcher doesn’t rely on just one kind of pitch to get out of tough situations.

“Anybody can throw a fastball, but you’ve got to have the other pitches,” Winterling said. “He has those, and he throws them with confidence.”

That confidence didn’t come from his senior season in high school. He was a middle infielder and had just one pitching start, with 10 innings of work, in his final year at Steinbrenner High School. Though he had pitched more the year before, and got in more work with his travel ball team, Rodriguez never took pitching lessons. Instead, he would teach himself pitches, going over them until they felt right. He learned his curveball when he was young and added the slider in high school. He just got his change-up working last year.

That steady progress has made him a versatile weapon for Winterling, and one he used in different situations last year.

He became a regular starter about halfway through that season, yet still racked up 10 victories and developed a reputation for being calm and collected on the mound.

“I never really stress about the outcome. I just try to do my thing each pitch and with each batter,” Rodriguez said.

While he’s serene on the baseball field, he admits that’s not always the case when he’s off it.

He’s more of an animated guy, and lets his enthusiasm show.

On the pitching mound, though, he displays a calm presence, and doesn’t let the pressure of a tough situation rattle him.

“I like being in control and taking the pressure,” he said.

Other schools are taking notice of his control as well.

Rodriguez will have plenty of opportunities to continue his collegiate baseball career, and is already fielding offers from schools both in and out of Florida. He hasn’t made a decision yet, but said that the University of West Florida in Pensacola is a front-runner.

Beyond, there’s the possibility of a professional career.

If Rodriguez keeps the momentum going through his senior season, his numbers will be tough for scouts to ignore, Winterling said. It wouldn’t be much of a risk for a team to take a chance on a proven winner.

“The guy throws strikes and gets outs. What more can you ask for?” Winterling said.

Rodriguez said he’d try his hand at professional baseball “in a heartbeat,” but he’s not counting on that career path.

He’s studying business, and wants to make sure he has a useful degree to continue his winning ways, even if it’s not with a baseball in his hand.

For now, Rodriguez is focused on finishing the season strong and winning the regional tournament to take another crack at World Series play.

The team has fixed some of its weaknesses from last year and should be able to compete in the postseason, he said.

“As a team, we have more pitching, and defensively we’re better,” he said. “That’s really the two that we needed.”

While the coach also puts team goals over individual ones, he’s glad to see the school’s win record go to a deserving player like Rodriguez.

“He’s a team guy,” Winterling said. “You can’t ask for a better person to be a rep (for the team) on the baseball field.”

Published April 15, 2015

Coach of the year, again

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Pasco-Hernando State College volleyball coach Kim Whitney has been named Coach of the Year.

While that’s an impressive accomplishment, it’s not a surprising one.

In fact, it happens all the time.

Volleyball coach Kim Whitney, right, gets help from assistants Brian Kachurak, Chris Vergnaud and Kristen Wimer on game days and throughout the season. But it all starts with the coach, who has captured yet another Coach of the Year award. (Courtesy of Pasco-Hernando State College)
Volleyball coach Kim Whitney, right, gets help from assistants Brian Kachurak, Chris Vergnaud and Kristen Wimer on game days and throughout the season. But it all starts with the coach, who has captured yet another Coach of the Year award.
(Courtesy of Pasco-Hernando State College)

The National Volleyball Coaches Association named Whitney the Two-Year College Northeast-Southeast Regional Coach of the Year for 2014. They did the same thing in 2011. And in 2010, and in 2006, too.

She was named the District P Division II Volleyball Coach of the Year in 2014 as well, just like in 2011 and 2010. Going back in her career, the Suncoast Conference named her Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2007, and District H Division I Volleyball gave her the same honor in 2004 and 2005.

Then, there was the time she was named Coach of the Tournament for the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II national volleyball tournament. PHSC won the national championship that year.

With a career record of 316-119 at the school, 11 straight regional tournament appearances and five national tournament appearances, it might be more newsworthy if she didn’t win a Coach of the Year award from somebody. Everybody thinks she deserves frequent praise and recognition.

Everybody, that is, except the coach herself.

“For me, it’s strange to take an award for what your team accomplished,” Whitney said. When a team does well, it tends to follow that the coach will be seen as doing an exemplary job.

Her most recent team reached the NJCAA Division II national tournament and finished eighth in the country despite having 11 freshmen on the team.

But with several accolades throughout her 11-year tenure at PHSC, it’s not one team or one tournament run that’s getting her recognized for outstanding coaching. She attributes those accomplishments to getting better organized and prepared for success over her career.

“The planning part of it, the organizing part of it, the managing part of it — over the years I think that’s something I’ve gotten better at, and I just know what it’s going to take,” she said.

Whitney, 37, knows what it takes both as a coach and as a player. She played for the United States Women’s National Volleyball Team, as well as professional stints in the U.S. and Spain. That experience has helped her coaching career, she said. Being around great players and teammates and competing at a high level provided a blueprint for how the teams she coaches should perform.

Having a coach whose teams perform at a high level year-in and year-out is a valuable asset to Steve Winterling, the college’s athletic director.

“It makes my job a lot easier,” Winterling said. “She’s a very organized person. She’s a good team player, and I depend on her a lot because she’s also my assistant athletic director.”

Whitney is a talented recruiter, Winterling said. She is able to size up her team’s needs each year and find the talent necessary to keep them competitive. That’s a particularly important skill at a two-year college, which naturally has a lot of turnover from year to year. Good recruiting is essential for a coach to remain successful over the long term.

Whitney’s accomplishments also motivate her fellow coaches.

Winterling coaches the team’s successful baseball program, and has fallen behind the volleyball team in national tournament appearances.

“She went back again (to the tournament), so I’ve got to play catch-up,” he joked.

There’s a good chance Whitney will be keeping the pressure on with more tournament appearances. Her team will have a good mix of experienced sophomores and incoming freshmen, along with a high level of expectations to continue the success of the program. For Whitney, it’s the players that will determine that success.

“You have to have the right people to make that work. I’ve been very fortunate to have athletes who are able to buy into that system and to do well with the way that we run things here,” Whitney said.

With the way she runs things at PHSC, there might be another opportunity in the future.

Winterling sees a time when the assistant athletic director might not have the word “assistant” in her title.

“I’m trying to throw more stuff at her (in assistant athletic director duties) where she could one day, after I do retire (become the director),” Winterling said. “She would be a great replacement for the college.”

Published March 4, 2015

 

PHSC’s Winterling is Regional Coach of the Year

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When Pasco-Hernando State College’s baseball coach Steve Winterling found out that he was named regional coach of the year, he kept it a secret from almost everybody.

“I laid low about it,” Winterling admitted. “I’m not an egomaniac-type person,” he said. Even some of his friends got mad at him because he didn’t tell them about it.

Steve Winterling, PHSC's athletic director and baseball coach, wears No. 1 on game days. He's also tops in the region after being named the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II Regional Coach of the Year. (Courtesy of Pasco-Hernando State College)
Steve Winterling, PHSC’s athletic director and baseball coach, wears No. 1 on game days. He’s also tops in the region after being named the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II Regional Coach of the Year.
(Courtesy of Pasco-Hernando State College)

Aside from informing his superiors at the college in September, Winterling didn’t really talk about it until he was officially given the award last month.

But winning the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II Regional Coach of the Year award caps a great 2014 for the coach, who is now in his 24th season at the school.

Last season, the team reached the NJCAA Division II College World Series for the first time in school history, finishing fourth in the country.

Besides earning the coach some recognition, Winterling said it also put the school on the map for recruits seeking a school with a successful track record.

As a World Series-caliber program, he had an easier time finding interested athletes and can field a stronger team than he could before.

While he’s not wild about talking about himself, Winterling — who also serves as PHSC’s athletic director — said he’s changed a bit over the decades.

He’s slightly mellower now than his earlier days, when he was a bit harder on the players. He said he maintains that competitive fire, but is also focused on building a strong foundation of expectations and then finding players who meet them.

“My philosophy is now basically I teach them what I can, and get the good, quality kids who like my principles: Being clean-cut, follow the rules and regulations, do the job academically and be good student-athletes,” he said.

Those are the types of athletes that got the Conquistadors to the World Series last year, and the type Winterling hopes will help them get back this year.

The team returns two pitchers, three infielders and an outfielder from last year’s roster, and he believes the World Series experience will help the 2015 team.

The recruiting class also helped add more depth than he typically has had at his disposal. Overall, the team is more confident now that they’re building on the school’s best-ever finish.

As a coach, Winterling, of course, doesn’t get to play in the games. But he enjoys the strategy in baseball, and the challenge that different scenarios provide as the games and the season unfold. He credits Florida State University baseball coach Mike Martin, where Winterling served as an assistant for six years, for encouraging him to maximize strategic advantages.

“When I was at Florida State I learned from coach Martin so much. The discipline, and always trying to be a step ahead of the thinking process of your opponent,” he said. “The one thing about baseball that I’ve always enjoyed is there’s a lot of thinking to it. You can’t be distracted. I leaned from him that I can focus on the aspects of what’s going to give us an edge.”

Apparently, since there’s no edge gained by focusing on his award, Winterling chooses not to think about it too much. He’s appreciative of the acknowledgement, but prefers to save the reminiscing for the future. Now, his focus is on getting his team, whose season started in late January, back to the World Series. The team won four of its first five games in the New Year.

“It’s definitely a nice honor, and it’s attributed, obviously, to the players last year and what they accomplished,” Winterling said of the award. “I think once I retire, then I’ll be able to look back and appreciate it more.”

Published February 18, 2015

Pay college athletes? Saint Leo poll says no

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The topic of paying college athletes is a controversial one.

Yet a new poll by the Saint Leo Polling Institute suggests most people have already picked a side, and the answer is no.

Jerrel Harris, a guard with the Saint Leo University basketball team, attempts a free throw during a game last season. Like typical college athletes, Harris is not paid for his work, and a new survey says most people believe it should stay that way. (Courtesy of Saint Leo University)
Jerrel Harris, a guard with the Saint Leo University basketball team, attempts a free throw during a game last season. Like typical college athletes, Harris is not paid for his work, and a new survey says most people believe it should stay that way.
(Courtesy of Saint Leo University)

The national poll, conducted between May 28 and June 4, asked 1,016 people —including 802 likely voters — about the subject of paying athletes, specifically football and basketball players at high-profile schools, an undetermined amount of money above and beyond traditional athletic scholarships. A strong majority, 66 percent, agreed with the statement “Giving athletic scholarships and the chance to earn a college degree for free is fair compensation for college athletes, and they should not be paid.”

Just 21 percent of respondents agreed with the statement “College athletes deserve to be paid for the time they spend practicing, traveling, and playing, above and beyond the value of any scholarships they might receive.” The remaining respondents, representing 13 percent, said they didn’t know or weren’t sure.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent along with a 95 percent confidence level, which represents the degree of likelihood that the results truly fall within the stated margin of error.

While the pollsters at Saint Leo are mainly concerned with creating a scientific poll, collecting the data and reporting their findings, even they weren’t expecting such a lopsided result.

“It was definitely surprising,” said Drew Gold, executive director of the Saint Leo Polling Institute. “I don’t think anybody expected it to be that overwhelmingly against paying the athletes.”

With the Olympics now utilizing professional athletes, college sports is one of the last true high-profile amateur competitions, and people seem to want to keep it that way, he said.

While it was a local school, Saint Leo, that created the poll, the results have had global appeal. In addition to being discussed in the United States, the findings have been reported in countries such as France, Germany and India.

And even as the findings might surprise some people, Gold said the methodology is sound, and the institute stands behind the results.

Pasco-Hernando State College athletic director Steve Winterling wasn’t one of the people surveyed for the poll. But if he had been, he’d be part of the 66 percent against paying athletes.

“I’m definitely with the majority there. I just think you’re opening up a can of worms,” said Winterling, who also serves as the school’s baseball coach. “I’m in favor of them not getting paid.”

Getting a free education in exchange for athletic play is a good deal for students, he said.

And his philosophy doesn’t change when taking into account that some athletes generate a lot of revenue for their schools by playing popular sports in a big spotlight. In fact, he believes athletes seek out those opportunities knowing that an education and a big stage is their compensation.

“They know what they’re getting into with that,” Winterling said. “Athletes know going in they’re just getting the scholarship.”

Students often choose those schools so they can showcase skills at a program that gets wide media exposure and the possibility of playing for a championship, he said.

While PHSC is primarily a two-year college whose athletes play at the Division II level for the National Junior College Athletic Association, Winterling spent several years as an assistant baseball coach for Florida State University, and is familiar with its successful baseball and football programs.

Florida State’s athletes train in world class facilities, have access to top-rate medical staff, and travel in above-average accommodations, he said. In fact, baseball players from the school who went on to play professionally for Class A or Class AA Minor League Baseball teams told him how much better the school’s conditions were compared to their professional teams, from uniforms to locker rooms to equipment.

“One thing they always said when they came back was they didn’t realize they had it so good at Florida State,” Winterling said.

He believes paying players would create more disparity between bigger schools with popular programs and wealthy boosters. At the same time, however, Winterling said he understands smaller schools don’t generate as much revenue and that some athletes have trouble making ends meet while in college. He supports loosening college rules to allow students more freedom to hold jobs while they go to school and play sports.

The poll might not be used to actually affect policy, the National Collegiate Athletic Association could consider it strong evidence that most people don’t support paying players, Gold said.

In any case, the results show that while the topic generates interest and discussion, it’s not an evenly divided issue at this time.

“The public feels overwhelmingly that they should not be paid. That’s what the numbers tell you,” Gold said.

Published June 25, 2014

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PHSC finishes fourth in first-ever World Series trip

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The Pasco-Hernando State College baseball team didn’t have a great start to the 2014 season.

It was a slow beginning in February by going 1-6. By the middle of March, the Conquistadors sat at 8-11 with no momentum and the season slipping away.

Sophomore Brennan Allen was one of the athletes whose play helped the Pasco-Hernando State College Conquistadors reach the World Series for the first time in school history. (Courtesy of Pasco-Hernando State College)
Sophomore Brennan Allen was one of the athletes whose play helped the Pasco-Hernando State College Conquistadors reach the World Series for the first time in school history.
(Courtesy of Pasco-Hernando State College)

So when longtime head coach Steve Winterling made vacation plans for the end of May, he assumed there would be nothing on his schedule.

“I didn’t have the World Series marked on my calendar book. I haven’t been there in 23 years, so why would I have it on there,” he said.

Big mistake, coach.

The team went on a 10-game winning streak and eventually qualified for the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II district tournament. The Conquistadors qualify for the tournament on a regular basis, but this time they did something they had never done before: They were the last team standing and qualified for the first World Series berth in school history.

Winterling was happy to cancel his vacation plans and lead his team to Enid, Oklahoma for the Division II World Series last month. PHSC came to play in that tournament as well, winning a couple of games before being eliminated by regular World Series participant Madison College. The Conquistadors finished their run in fourth place and with a feeling that their success was a total team effort.

“We just had some clutch players. Like I told the guys afterward, as hard as it was losing, everybody at one point in the season did something to help us win,” Winterling said. “We had some guys who would get that key hit. We didn’t have one guy that really carried us.”

Sophomore Brennan Allen is one of the players who earned a key hit when the team needed it. In the district tournament, Allen hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to erase a 4-2 deficit and tie the game against Wake Technical Community College. PHSC would go on to win. But after that play, they never doubted the outcome.

“At that point, everyone thought this was our game no matter what,” Allen said. “We had all the momentum.”

Allen batted .311 during the season (.378 with men in scoring position) and said the team always had talent, but needed to get past early-season struggles and play up to their potential. As he considers options for playing baseball farther into his college career, having a World Series appearance on his resume should help attract attention from potential schools, he said.

The trip to Oklahoma should help PHSC as well. Winterling said athletes who want to be part of the program already are contacting him, making his recruiting job a lot easier.

“People want to come to a program that’s been to the World Series or won a regional tournament because that’s what everybody plays for,” he said. “E-mail and phone calls have been pretty heavy.”

The tournament run concludes a year of firsts for the baseball program and the school. In addition to their first World Series berth, the team registered their first no-hitter when Danny Rodriguez, a Steinbrenner High School graduate, threw one back in March.

And when the school raises a banner for the team’s achievements, it will be the first at the school to read “Pasco-Hernando State College.” The school changed its name from Pasco-Hernando Community College in January.

Winterling, who was also named the school’s athletic director last year, isn’t the type of coach to take much credit for himself or dwell on previous successes. He’s proud of his players and what they accomplished, but he’s already back to work, with a showcase coming up and some players to sign.

For his part, Allen said he recognizes the district title and World Series run as something he and the other players won’t soon forget.

“Going from such a small school, not being known by many people and now putting them on the map, and finishing fourth in the nation, is going to a pretty awesome thing to look back on for the rest of our lives, really,” he said. “It was a great experience. It was a lot of fun, and I wouldn’t change anything.”

Published June 11, 2014

Finally! PHSC gets first no-hitter after 23 years

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Steve Winterling has been coaching at Pasco-Hernando State College since the school began its baseball program back in 1992.

Freshman Danny Rodriguez, a Steinbrenner High School graduate, threw Pasco-Hernando State College’s first no-hitter in the 23-year history of the baseball program. (Courtesy of Steve Winterling)
Freshman Danny Rodriguez, a Steinbrenner High School graduate, threw Pasco-Hernando State College’s first no-hitter in the 23-year history of the baseball program.
(Courtesy of Steve Winterling)

He’s seen a lot of things on the field during that time, but on March 26 he saw something he had never seen before: One of his pitchers throw a no-hitter.

Freshman Danny Rodriguez struck out nine batters in seven innings of work in the Conquistadors’ 13-0 victory against Morton College. The game was seven innings long because it was part of a double-header, which is common at the collegiate level.

His efforts however earned Rodriguez National Junior College Athletic Association Pitcher of the Week for Division II baseball.

“It’s always exciting when you get those,” Winterling said. “We’ve had several one-hitters over the years. They (no-hitters) just don’t happen a whole lot.”

While he was excited for his player and team, Winterling isn’t obsessed with game statistics. He had to go back to his office and confirm that it was indeed the first no-hitter in school history.

The no-hitter itself also was special because it was executed so well, Winterling said. Morton College only had two men reach base all game, and both of those were due to PHSC errors. Rodriguez didn’t walk a single batter in the contest.

It also was an impressive accomplishment because the Conquistadors had a large lead, Winterling said, which sometimes allows pitchers to relax and lose focus since the game is likely in hand.

Because the school only gets its athletes for a couple of years, Winterling said he’s used to relying on freshmen for success on the field, and Rodriguez has the characteristics he likes in young players. Specifically, he prefers athletes who are able to keep cool under pressure and not let emotions dominate their play.

“He has a very good baseball mind. He’s got a good temperament,” Winterling said of Rodriguez. “He’s not an emotional kid, really. He’s in control of himself.”

Rodriguez hasn’t let his no-hitter affect that control or his focus on continuing his strong freshman campaign. He said it was a great moment, but he was just doing what he’s supposed to do.

“I wasn’t trying to (throw a no-hitter) at all. I was just trying to do my job and keep the ball down,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez showed prowess as a pitcher, but one interesting fact about his past on the baseball diamond is that he was a starter at Steinbrenner High School — at shortstop.

He didn’t see much time on the mound during his high school campaign. But with a 6-2 record in his freshman year for PHSC, and a no-hitter already under his belt, Rodriguez is feeling comfortable in that role.

However, he hasn’t abandoned his old position entirely.

“Now I think of myself more as a pitcher, but I still think of myself as a middle infielder, too,” he said. “I still practice with them.”

As rewarding as it was to record a no-hitter for the individual, the team and the school, both player and coach are on the same page regarding how long they allowed themselves to bask in the moment: Not long.

“I didn’t forget about it, but I know I have to work on my next start and keep focused on that, Rodriguez said. The no-hitter “was nice, but I have to stay focused.”

That focus paid off in his next start, a win April 4 against Clearwater Christian College.

After the no-hitter, Winterling didn’t spend much time celebrating, either, opting instead to focus on the team’s next game and their effort to reach the postseason. As the only NJCAA Division II school in the state, PHSC has to qualify for a regional tournament in North Carolina by playing at least .500 baseball during the season.

After starting the year 1-6, the Conquistadors found their footing and won 17 of their next 22 games. As a result, the team is on the cusp of the tournament despite a recent cold streak.

So while the accomplishment is one for the record books, both coach and player have moved on to the team’s goals.

“I let the kids enjoy it. That’s something for the kids to enjoy,” Winterling said. “I go back and do my work and get ready for the next game.”

Published April 16, 2014