Sims Retires,
Schires Steps Up to the Plate
by Matthew Crumplar
Medallion Reporter

“Friendships and camaraderie were formed through athletics,” new junior varsity head coach Dave Schires recalls of his playing days at Robinson.

Dave Schires replaced former head coach Roger Sims as manager of the junior varsity baseball team. Mr. Sims had been associated with Robinson baseball for over ten years. Coach Schires is a Robinson alum that graduated in 1998. He moved to Virginia from San Diego during his freshman year and played baseball and football. Mr. Schires was a member of the 1997 Virginia State Champion Football team and played wide receiver. As a baseball player, Coach Shires was a middle infielder, playing both second base and shortstop.

Mr. Schires, who is the oldest of three children, has a younger brother and sister. His brother Garrett, who also attended Robinson and played baseball here, currently attends Harvard University and is a member of the Crimson football team. Coach Schires said his bother was a “natural athlete” and was also an all-star in Fairfax Little League. His sister, Katherine, is a senior at Robinson. In addition to being senior class president, she’s an athlete, too. Katherine plays lacrosse (three-year letter winner) and field hockey (two-year letter winner).

In his younger days Coach Schires recalls that little league baseball was played “purely for fun, the way this game was designed to be played.” As a twelve-year- old he was a member of an all-star team in San Diego and has kept in touch with his teammates over the years. More than half of his team went on to play baseball for various colleges around the nation. Three of his teammates on his little leaguer all-star team play professional baseball today- Brooks Conrad, Troy Perdue, and Tobias Herrerra.
Mr. Schires is currently a student at George Mason University. In addition to coaching at the high school level, he is a substitute teacher for Fairfax County Public Schools.

His inspiration to coach came from his former mentors, Coach Peterson, who was the manager at the time, taught Coach Schires about life. Coach Evers, Mr. Schires comments, “ taught me everything I need to know about baseball right now.” He adds “Coach Evers knows more about baseball and the little details of the game that I could hope to learn in three lifetimes.”

Mr. Schires says in working with primarily ninth and tenth graders, he has learned that he needs “patience, maturity, and communication skills.” He comments that his favorite part of the job is game day. He enjoys watching the players grow and watching them play like they were coached. Coach Schires plans to be managing the baseball team “till they don’t want me anymore.” He predicts that the junior varsity team will go undefeated and the varsity team will at least make it to Regionals this year.

When asked what it takes to be a Robinson baseball player, Coach Schires says, “have talent, show up with arms and legs in shape, and have dedication, preparation, and commitment.”