NASHVILLE, Ark. - Consistent winning is attributed to a successful program but consistently winning at a high level is a direct result of championship coaching. The Nashville Scrapper baseball program has had that for 18 years in Kyle Slayton.
The Scrappers have won three consecutive Class 4A baseball championships, only giving up one run to Shiloh Christian in all three contests.
"Well, it's been a tremendous three/-/year run," Slayton said. "To be able to do that, you have to have some really good players and we've had some. It's kinda been a unique three years. They've all been different. The 2017 team was senior heavy, we started seven seniors that year. To be able to get back there in 2018, and win another one back-to-back, with basically seven new players on the field was a huge deal.
"You can credit some of that to the younger guys getting a taste of what it's like in 2017. That 2018 team played so good all year. They went 30-5 that season. There wasn't any lows or highs with those guys, they kept themselves even-keeled the entire season. The 2017 team started the year 7-6 and then went 23-1 after spring break. In 2019, we had a good group coming back and we also had a good group of kids that stepped up for us. Everything kinda went right for us last season. We were pitcher heavy but we ended up winning the regional tournament. That gave us a bye and relief for our pitchers. We had a little rain mixed in there, so you have to have a little luck during that time of the year."
The Scrappers held a 6-4 record overall and a 1-0 conference record before the Arkansas Activities Association canceled play for the rest of the spring.
"It's embedded in our kids," Slayton said. "We've always been really good in baseball, but the last two or three years you can see it. When it gets time for baseball, all our kids kinda know what to do is win. They find a way to do that. Whether it's coaching or good players, it's probably a good combination of both. We also try to keep our kids occupied for four to five months. We give them days off and we try not to pound them in practice. I'll never forget these last three years of coaching as long as I live.
"Most all of my baseball players are football players. I coach football too. One thing I've learned the past 10 years is that you don't want to do too much. We spend our time on things that are most crucial in the everyday game. We can't spend 20 minutes of our practice time working on four different bunt defenses. You'll play three or four games and only have two bunts. I think we can spend five minutes and that's an extra 15 minutes we can spend on batting practice. It's been a great 18 years at Nashville. It's a great community and a great sports town."