Tim Hill, Sr.

Bio

The 31-year Manatees head coach and 2005 NJCAA Baseball Hall of Fame inductee is the all-time leader in career wins by a Florida junior college head coach.

Hill, the all-time leader in career wins by a Florida junior college baseball coach, has a simple, yet successful, philosophy when it comes to coaching.

“We don’t try to do anything real fancy, like elaborate pickoff plays,” the College’s 30 year head coach says. “We try to play ourselves into a position where we can be successful by doing the fundamentals well. We play basic, repetitious baseball, but it has paid dividends over the years.”
Fifteen straight trips to the state/regional/district tournament, six state/regional/district cham- pionships, five appearances in the JUCO World Series and three top-three national finishes since 1991 (national runners-up in 1991 and 2002, third place in 1999)—those are the dividends reaped from Hill’s philosophy.

“My philosophy can be summed up in one word—discipline,” Hill says. “To me, discipline is doing what you have to do, when you have to, and doing it consistently to the best of your ability.
That’s what we try to get across to our players, whether it be in the classroom, on the field or in their life. If you give your best, things will go your way more times than not. In my way of thinking, it is better to practice one thing 20 times than it is to try to do 20 different things and only be able to work on them once or twice,” he says. “I guess you could say I’m a coach who doesn’t like ‘tricks of the trade.’ I’d rather teach the trade and forget about the tricks.”

State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (formerly Manatee Community College) has the most successful junior college program in the baseball-crazy state of Florida. The Manatees (formerly Lancers) have won 32 conference crowns, 13 state/regional/district titles, earned 10 trips to the JUCO World Series and brought four runner-up trophies back from the national tournament in Grand Junction, Colo.

The Manatees have captured 17 conference and six state titles, made five trips to the World Series and captured three top-three national tournament finishes since Hill assumed the program’s reins in 1982.

A significant chapter of the Manatees’ success story was written in 2002, when the team won 41 games, captured the state/regional/district championship and finished second in the nation.
Hill’s leadership ability has been recognized numerous times. Since becoming head coach in 1982, Hill has received 17 Suncoast Conference “Coach of the Year” awards and 20 coaching awards presented by other organizations.

The crowning achievement in Hill’s coaching career came in 2005, when he was inducted into the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Baseball Hall of Fame during ceremonies at the national Division I JUCO tournament in Grand Junction, Colo.

On March 24, 2008—when his squad beat Polk Community College by a 4-0 score for his 1037th career win—Hill became the all-time leader in career wins by a Florida junior-college baseball coach. He surpassed former Indian River head coach Mike Easom at the top of the wins list.
In recognition of that achievement, Hill was the recipient of a special FCCAA recognition award at the 2008 state tournament.

Hill also was a member of the inaugural class of inductees into the SCF Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006. In 1991, 1994, 1999 and 2010, Hill was honored by the Florida Diamond Club as the state’s junior college “Coach of the Year.” Hill received the Louisville Slugger Award as Florida’s top junior college coach in 1994, 1999, 2002 and 2010. He was the Florida Community College Activities Association “Coach of the Year” in 1982, 1991, 1994, 1999, 2002 and 2010. He also received regional “Coach of the Year” awards from both Rawlings and Diamond Sporting Goods in 2002 and 2010. Hill wins with style and grace, as epitomized by his being named as the 1999 recipient of the NJCAA Alpine Bank JUCO World Series Sportsmanship Award.

In October 2000, Hill was inducted into the FCCAA Hall of Fame. He also was named to the George Washington University Baseball All-Century First Team. Further evidence of the high regard in which Hill is held by his coaching peers was his selection as one of the assistant coaches for the 1991 USA National Olympic Trials in Homestead. Success and notoriety have not changed the easy-going, yet intensely competitive, Virginia native. He adheres to the premise that no man is an island.

“Coaching at SCF is the ultimate position for a baseball coach,” he says. “A lot of coaches wish they had these kinds of working conditions, facilities and support. “But the thing here is the program. No one—whether he’s a coach or a player—is bigger than the program. And we will always strive to uphold the tradition that has been established.”

Indicative of the level on which Hill has kept the baseball team since assuming the head coaching reins in 1982 is the fact that 262 of his former players have moved on to four-year schools and 190 of his former players have been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft. A major portion of that group (140) have earned a spot on pro rosters and 16 have advanced to the major-league level. Hill stepped into some big shoes when he succeeded Bob Wynn as head coach in 1982. As his record of success clearly shows, the fit was perfect. Taking over leadership of a program that had produced seven state championships in 24 seasons, Hill met the challenge head-on.

In 1982, his first season as head coach, Hill led the team to a 40-10 record, conference and state titles and a runner-up finish in the regional tournament. In 1991, Hill again guided his players to conference and state titles en route to a school-record 46 wins in 53 games and the College’s third national runner-up finish. The Manatees claimed their 10th state championship in 1994 and finished the season with a No. 6 national finish. Five years later, the 1999 squad again won the conference and state titles, reset the school record with a 54-10 won-lost ledger and earned a No. 3 national finish. That set the stage for the 2002 celebration of the College’s 12th state championship and fourth national runner-up finish.

Two seasons ago, 2010 Hill guided the Manatees to their 13th state championship and a state record 10th appearance at the JUCO World Series. In 29 seasons as SCF’s head coach, he has carved out an outstanding 1043-447 (.699) record. In 33 seasons as a junior college head coach—he served four seasons at South Florida Community College before assuming the SCF reins—Hill has compiled a 1127-513 (.686) record.

The success comes as little surprise to those who have followed Hill’s career. An accomplished player in his own right, Hill played three seasons at Luray, Va., as part of the Shenandoah Valley League while enrolled at George Washington University (GWU). After compiling the second highest batting average in the nation (.471), he signed a pro contract with the former Washington Senators. Hill played two seasons of pro ball before starting his coaching career at Yorktown (Va.) High School. His teams won five titles in six seasons. Hill’s resume also includes the 1999 AABC state and World Series championships as the manager of the Bollettieri IMG Sports Academy Summer Collegiate team.

Hill holds both B.S. and M.A. degrees from GWU, Hill is married to the former Genny Wells who are parents of three children—son Tim Hill II, SCF’s assistant head coach, and daughters Kimberly Martin and Whitney Corbeil. Tim and Genny also are the proud grandparents of seven: Will, Madison, Adam, Grady and Payton Martin; and Tim III and Leigha Elizabeth Hill.