East Nic's Deniz turns losses into gains

Dave Deniz was cruising along as an assistant softball coach for East Nicolaus High when the offer came to coach the boys. It was a no-brainer, no-trepidation, no-second thought type-situation for the baseball buff.

He said, "no."

And with good reason. The Spartans softball team was literally perfect. They had gone 19-0 and were bringing every single player back. The baseball team was a group of players with a .500 record who burned out in the first round of the playoffs.

At first the decision to stay was obvious. Then with each snide remark, he was pushed toward saying, "yes."

"I had a couple of softball parents tell me that I needed to stay with the girls because the boys were a bunch of losers," he said, before repeating the question that really made him mad. "Why do you want to coach the losing team?"

Because Deniz saw winners. He saw league champions. He was laughed at. He proved them all wrong.

His boys won the 2007 Northern Section Division V title. They would win it again this season. In his four years at East Nicolaus, Deniz has built a baseball program at a diminutive school known for multi-sport types who divide their time between end zones, free throw lines and diamonds.

"That's the main thing I wanted to do," he said.

This season, the Spartans went 24-3 and 10-0 in league, including an 8-4 win over Portola in the section championship game. For his success, Deniz is the Appeal-Democrat All-Area baseball Coach of the Year.

The Mid-Valley has no shortage of quality coaches. Yuba City High's Jim Stassi does enough to win the award every year. Eric Lay in Maxwell has practically drafted the blueprint on how to make small school baseball work.

Deniz found his stride in discipline and keeping it simple. The latter is especially true at practices. He'll be quick to tell you, "I'm no slave driver," and the Spartans practices attest to that.

"My guys will tell you that I probably run the easiest practices on the planet," he said. "We probably practice an hour and 15 (minutes) to an hour and 20 by the time were done."

Get in, warm up, take care of business, go home.

"My thing is do what we got to do and get out of here because, let's face it — I love the game, but baseball practice is extremely boring."

Unconventional, yes. But the results speak for themselves. A year after losing five standout players, Deniz helped guide his players to the top. Of course, he deflects the accolades, giving credit to pitchers like John Kukuruda, he of the four no-hitters, and Dylan Culp.

"The secret to being a good coach," he said, "is having better players than the other team."

It remains to be seen if the new Spartans coach will think the same way. Deniz is hanging up his coaching uniform, which isn't easy considering how much he loved wearing it, sometimes keeping the red, white and gray fit on for hours after games as he lounged around the house.

He's going to miss some parts of coaching, but there's one thing he would never miss to coach: His daughters' senior season. They're both softball players, and Deniz wants to be there, cheering them on from just beyond the fence in center field.

If he sits there, then he can crane his neck to the left, look over the at baseball field and cheer on his former team. It's his version of picture-in-picture, a way to root for Erica and Sierra Lehman while willing on his former players at the same time.

He may be saying good-bye to coaching the Spartans' baseball team, but he'll still be one of their biggest fans.