Coach's Corner: Jeff Pierce

Jeff Pierce has immersed himself in Reading baseball.

After coaching in the town's Babe Ruth League for four years, he took over as president of the league in 2005. He also serves as the Chief of Operations for the Reading Bulldogs, which just wrapped up its' first season of Intercity League Baseball.

Pierce said he prides himself on being the president of a league with a tradition of high-level play.

"This season we had a repeat champion for the third time in the history of the league with the Royals sweeping the Padres who were making their first World Series appearance," Pierce said.

Reading also participates in the Middlesex Senior Babe Ruth League, which is composed of mostly high school baseball players. This summer the Rockets have shown their dominance and are playing in an upcoming Championship game for the first time in league history.

"We are very pleased with how the high school baseball players have embraced the spring league. Every high school player that was age eligible played in the spring, including freshmen, Junior Varsity, and even one Varsity player," Pierce said.

According to Pierce, the senior league has a lot of competition with players' year-round commitments to high school teams, and he is trying to accommodate the players by creating flexible schedules and rules.

Pierce takes the liberty of covering Babe Ruth and Bulldogs games for the Reading Chronicle. He has previously covered the Reading Memorial High School swim team beat for the Reading Advocate.