Keith Glauber may have stumbled onto something by coaching the Shrewsbury 8U Jersey Shore Hurricanes.
Glauber, a former Marlboro High School baseball standout who pitched for the Cincinnati Reds in 1998 and 2000, enjoyed his stint with the travel team so much this summer that he now thinks he might like to coach at the high school level someday.
Glauber, who runs a family business, Young People’s Day Camp, is looking to get into teaching, and if that works out, coaching may not be far behind.
As a former major league player, Glauber obviously has a lot to offer, which was evident in the success the Hurricanes enjoyed this summer. The team won the United States Amateur Baseball League National Division championship and completed the season with an 11-1 record. The Hurricanes defeated the Oceanport Spartans, 6-1, in the playoff final to win the title.
In three playoff games, the Shrewsburybased team outscored their opponents 22-4.
“I loved being around the kids and teaching them everything I learned,” said Glauber, who excelled at Montclair State University before being drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals. “I thought we were the best team.”
All of the Hurricanes were able to catch and throw the ball well, Glauber said, and those skills gave his team an advantage over their opponents. He said his pitchers threw strikes, which at the 8U age group was an important skill.
The Hurricanes also had something else going for them.
“They really understand the game,” Glauber said of his team, which included his son, Andrew. “They get the mental side of the game.”
The coach said he kept things simple with the youngsters.
“We just talked abut the fundamentals, pitching, hitting, defense and sliding on the bases, the basics,” he said. “We got a lot better during the season. We did the same thing in practice every time. Baseball is a repetitive sport.”
In the end, all of that practice produced a championship.
“It was a great season,” Glauber said.
The Jersey Shore Hurricanes are Anthony Borriello, Taylor Chatto, Andrew Glauber, Brian Navitsky, Matthew Keegan, Sean McIntyre, Aidan Keale, Sean O’Mara, Paul Ventre, Owen Laughlin, Nicky Ferrogine and Chris Konefal.
Glauber will coach the team in the fall as it seeks to defend its division title.
Looking back on his own Little League days, Glauber said, “we didn’t have that [travel baseball at age 8].” He said at first he wasn’t sure if it was good or bad to have children that young playing travel baseball, because he thought there was a fine line between playing an appropriate amount of baseball and playing too much. With his son on the team, he decided to sign on.
“It was an opportunity to coach children and give them lessons,” he said.
Glauber, who has lived in Shrewsbury for three years, said coaching his son in competition was “different,” but it was made easier by the fact that Andrew is young and still learning the game.
Glauber still has ties to the major leagues. He recently participated in a players alumni association game that was a fundraiser for veterans.
“I pitched two innings,” he said, adding that he was right at home back on the pitcher’s mound. “It feels like I never left. I liked being around [the former players]; it’s a good time.”
Reflecting on his major league career, the former Marlboro High School standout said his only regret is that he got hurt and could not extend his stay in the sport.
Glauber has made a successful adjustment to life after professional baseball. He and his wife, Mary, have three sons, Jake, 11, Andrew, 8, and Caden, 3. Coaching has brought him back to the sport he loves and allowed him to give something back to baseball.