Ég veled, Magyarország

With some of the kids from our winter indoor youth program in Budapest.

The translation to the headline is at the bottom of this post. But, much like a ‘SportsCenter’ anchor leaving you hanging by saying, “And what potential trade could finally lift the Washington Redskins out of their residence in the NFC East’s basement? … More after this commercial break.” you’re required to read on and not just DVR your way to the bottom of the page.

And so it is, after seven months in Hungary working in several different capacities to help grow and improve the quality of baseball in the country, I’m heading north to the Czech Republic to coach with a club, the Tempo Titans Praha, in the capital city of Prague.

As those who have followed this blog already know, I’ve had some interesting adventures and experiences while in Budapest. From a personal standpoint, I’ve met some great people who I’ll remain friends with for years. Many have already expressed an interest in coming to visit me when I return to the states, and I told them I’d welcome the opportunity to return the hospitality.

From a coaching standpoint, I’ve been afforded the opportunity to work with local clubs in Budapest and Debrecen, the two biggest cities in the country, where I ran summer camps and introduced a winter program similar to what we run back in the states; I was able to travel to Barcelona with the senior national team for a European Cup qualifier, where the games were played at the Olympic Stadium; I

With Misi Bánkuti, the head coach of the Debrecen Tigers baseball club.

traveled with the local Budapest club to Nettuno, Italy, where we fielded a roster of many kids who had only played a handful of games in their lives against the national U-16 teams from Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and France, and watched the group mature as ballplayers before our eyes over the course of the week; And this fall, I was able to join the Szentendre Sleepwalkers, the top club in the country, for their run to championships in the Hungarian Cup and league playoffs.

I’d like to thank personally the efforts and hospitality of Attila Vamos, the president of the national baseball and softball federation and the local club, the MAFC Ujbuda Rangers, that I spent the majority of my time with. He was the one who originally recruited and then hired me to come over to Hungary. I’d also like to thank Janos Szilágyi, the president of the Debrecen Tigers, who along with his wife, Kati, and the club’s head coach, Misi Bánkuti, had me out twice a week to run practices for them. Others I’d like to thank are Terry Lingenhoel, an American who came to Hungary two decades ago and established what is now the largest club in the country in a suburb of Budapest called Érd and also serves as the cadet and junior national team coach; Anthony Bennett, another American who served as head coach of the Szentendre club this past season and served as a mentor and friend on and off the field; Duncan Johnson, yet another American who coaches with the Budapest club and on a number of occasions invited me to join his family for dinner and football games; Garret Shively, an American college coach who spent a few months in Érd and I became close with; and to guys such as Aaron Bubla, Ádám Latinovics, Domi Gintner, Hami Balázs, Alex Szabo, John Klasinski, Bottyán Pál and Tamas Katona – each of whom has made my life easier while serving as translators, coaches, tour guides and sometimes drinking buddies during my stay.

With Aron Bubla, shortstop for Szentendre and Hungarian national team.

And maybe it’s a bit cliché to say, but most of all, I’d like to thank the kids I had the opportunity to coach while in Hungary. The relationships I was able to establish and the stories I’ll take with me are invaluable. As I said in my last indoor practices with the clubs last week, I hope they learned as much about baseball from me as I was able to learn about the culture of what it’s like being a teenager in their country from them. The patience I’ve had to learn to overcome language barriers and their relative inexperience in the sport will not only make me a better baseball coach, but hopefully a better father should I have children of my own one day.

My experience in coaching baseball in Hungary was about as fulfilling a half-year as I’ve experienced, and has only wet my appetite to become more seasoned as a person and a coach during my time this coming year in the Czech Republic.

Thanks again to all of my Hungarian colleagues and buddies, and Ég veled, Magyarország! (Farewell, Hungary).