[twitter-follow screen_name=’MikePitting’]
By Michael Pittinger
LoCoSports Contributor
Sterling (March 16, 2015) — Park View High School baseball second-year head man Ralph DiBari will look to take another big step forward this season in rebuilding his program as the Patriots finished their 2014 campaign with a 3-18 record in his first year as the coach — tripling their win total from the previous season. Park View opens up its 2015 campaign Monday, March 16 against Wakefield at Barcroft Park in Arlington.
DiBari is a native of Northern Virginia as he grew up in Springfield playing baseball. During high school DiBari at Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax. He currently lives in Burke.
Prior to coaching at Park View, DiBari coached at Annandale High, Lake Braddock Secondary and Langley High. This will be Dibari’s 42nd season as a baseball coach.
Dibari – who graduated from Robinson Secondary School in 1975 – sat down with LoCoSports contributor Michael Pittinger to give us the scoop: inside the huddle.
Michael Pittinger: In your first year as the Park View head coach, you won two more games than the previous season including a win over Wakefield who you open with this season. How do you hope to improve on a 3-18 season from last year?
Ralph Dibari: By emphasizing good mechanics, instilling a strong work ethic and building on the skills gain that players made in 2014.
Pittinger: This team struggled in the years before you took over, but the Patriots look to be on the rise. What is your plan to generate more interest in a rebuilding program?
Dibari: The best way to generate interest is to put a competitive squad on the field, creating an atmosphere that prospective players find attractive. [Conference 21 teams should worry about Park View’s] commitment to excellence and competitive spirit.
Pittinger: Of course when rebuilding it’s hard that you lose a group of student-athletes every season to graduate. How do you plan to replace your five seniors from the 2014 season?
Dibari: You can never replace people who graduate. All players that come through the program always have something to offer you. Consider yourself lucky to have had the opportunity to work with players but with each year you need to be ready to take the group that you have and work to be successful as you can.
Pittinger: This is your second year at Park View, but 42nd overall! How did you first get into coaching all those years ago.
Dibari: After our junior year [of high school], a friend and I got the idea to coach a Little League team. So we coached a AAA team in a local league. Then the next year I coached a Babe Ruth prep league team with current Park View assistant coach Jeff Hatterick.
Michael Pittinger is a graduate of Park View High School in Sterling and is currently a student at Northern Virginia Community College. Follow LoCoSports on Twitter (@LoCoSports) for up-to-date news and scores from around Loudoun County.
