Just two weeks before the Groton baseball team’s season opener, the Red Hawks were without a head coach. Jake Reitmeier had to step away from the program due to personal reasons. Someone needed to step up to take the reins, and a familiar name has risen to the occasion.
Justin Albro is the Red Hawks’ new head coach. As an assistant football coach in the fall and the head girls basketball coach in the winter, Albro completes the year-round trifecta. He was previously an assistant coach when he first arrived in Groton, and reuniting with a sport he loves and a plethora of athletes who he’s either taught or coached has added plenty of buzz to the program.
“The kids were excited,” Albro said. “Getting back into it was kind of fun and just getting my feet back under me. I think it’s going to go well. We were approached and just asked to take over, and I was able to do it this year, and I’m excited.”
One of the biggest things that stands out about this year’s team is that they have no seniors. But that doesn’t mean they lack experience, as most of last year’s roster has returned.
“They’re still young, but they’re a veteran team, in a way,” Albro said. “They already have a year or two of experience under them, so they’re ready to compete, and they’re excited for the opportunities. They’re helping me out just as much. They’re giving me scouting reports, too, so we’re working well together.”
Along with their youth, the two other aspects that have caught Albro’s eye is their intelligence and athleticism. The latter is no surprise since many of their athletes also play football, soccer and basketball. Paired with a strong work ethic, those tenets make up the identity of this year’s squad.
“If we can just get a bat on ball on the offensive side, you never know what’s going to happen,” Albro said. “If you hustle and you work hard, something good can happen in your way. Defensively, it’s the same thing. Get every ball, get it in as quick as you can… For us just to go out and compete is all I’m asking for. Use our athleticism, be smart with the baseball and go and compete. It’s going to be for fun, and we’re going to make some noise either way.”
The starting pitching rotation will consist of sophomores Colin Brockway and Timothy Forehand and freshman Jackson Portzline. Coming out of the bullpen will be sophomores Jency Paw, Logan Personius, Kameron McClain, Nicholas Hildreth and junior Breylon Nelson. Albro knows the importance of having pitching depth during the high school baseball season.
“We’re gonna have a bunch of guys pitching,” Albro said. “[In] upstate New York, you gotta have pitchers, because you never know how many games you’re going to get. Through practice and talking with the kids, we’re finding a couple kids here and there that can just get the ball over the plate, and if the ball gets put in play, we trust the guys behind them to make a play to get the out.”
All those pitchers will need a reliable mitt behind the plate, and McClain brings just that to the team. It’s also unsurprising to see him be the Red Hawks’ catcher given that he’s the quarterback on the football team and the point guard on the basketball team. He too has a trifecta of his own in terms of playing arguably the most important role in each sport he plays.
“I trust in him to lead the team out on the field and be smart and communicate,” Albro said. “It just fits naturally for him, so it goes well. He trusts the guys. I look to him a lot, too. He’s played ball with a ton of these kids for years, so he kind of knows the ins and outs of what each kid can do and what they can contribute at certain moments in the game. They communicate really well with me. I communicate well with them, and it’s been going well so far.”
As for the bats, Brockway is the Red Hawks’ leadoff hitter, while Forehand and Hildreth add some power to the lineup. They also have smart baserunners in McClain, Portzline and Personius.
Groton aims to show massive improvement following a 2-12 campaign last time out. They have their sights set high on an IAC South Small Division title, something they haven’t achieved since 1998. With Newark Valley not fielding a team, the Red Hawks have only Newfield and Tioga to beat to the punch.
“They just want to be successful,” Albro said. “They’ve told me in the past, they weren’t as successful, had some games that didn’t go their way the past couple years. They’ve had some blowouts. They don’t want those blowout games anymore. They want to be competitive. They want to be able to be in some games. And the ultimate goal is they want to win. It’s a very competitive group, and I’m just here to help hopefully get them to that.”
