By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
High school sports are evolving quickly, and teams that want to build solid programs and attract talented players have to change with the times and offer student-athletes things they want, such as upgraded facilities, the chance to compete against challenging schedules, social media promotion.
Building a top-notch baseball program isn’t just carrying a few buckets of balls out to the field on March 10 and starting to take some batting practice anymore. Times have changed and coaches have to be involved with their programs all year in order to be successful. Private school coaches want to give solid players reasons to come to their schools, while public schools have to do just as much to keep their talent home.
Players have a lot more choice nowadays with non-public schools and choice schools. Knowing that, Paul VI coach DM Phillips — who is entering just his third season at the helm — wants to bring back a traditionally strong Eagles program that, for a while now, has taken a back seat to the likes of Bishop Eustace, Gloucester Catholic and St. Augustine Prep on the South Jersey non-public baseball scene.
Not that the Eagles have been bad — over the past nine seasons, excluding the 2020 covid lost year, PVI has gone 104-83, a .556 winning percentage. The Eagles have made the state playoffs every year, but have gotten past the second round just once, going 8-8 in the playoffs since 2016.
Phillips and his Eagles want more, and to that end the coach and several parents have gotten together to launch the “Friends of PVI Baseball” program, which helps raise money for things like the season-ending banquet as well as promoting the program any chance it can. That included a preseason “Media Day” — something that a lot more high school sports teams are putting together to help promote their athletes.
Several local media outlets, including representatives from South Jersey Glory Days and The Courier-Post, were on hand Saturday to get a first glimpse at the 2025 Eagles, talk to players and coaches, and take photos. Players were treated to a brunch in the school’s cafeteria, and there also was a guest appearance from 2014 PVI graduate Shawn Semple, a 29-year-old pitcher who has pitched more than 400 innings in the minor leagues and currently is playing independent baseball in Maryland. He shared his inspiring story of overcoming Tommy John surgery as a junior to having a solid collegiate career at the University of New Orleans that allowed him to become an 11th-round draft pick of the New York Yankees.
“We’re getting the tradition back here at PVI. We’re trying to build it up to where it should be,” Phillips said. “We should be one of the top teams in the area every single year, and that starts with buying into what we’re doing and everybody pulling in the same direction. And we’re getting there.”
Parents even put together a pamphlet that includes each varsity player’s jersey number, position, graduation year, career statistical highlights and even their social media handle on X, formerly known as Twitter, so that members of the media can take specific players if they are mentioned in coverage.
Phillips said he hopes his staff teaming up with parents to go the extra mile for the players will start to pay off in more — and bigger — wins on the diamond.
“When you look up at the banners in the gym, we haven’t hung a (championship) banner in a while,” he said. “It’s been since 2012, so it’s been a while. It’s about time (to get another one).”
