Owen McCall – Staff Writer
Tim Touma is entering season 18 as the head baseball coach at Daytona State College. Touma has led DSC to nine National Academic Team of the Year honors, 29 consecutive semesters of a 3.0 or higher team GPA and four state championships. He played college baseball at Palm Beach Community College before attending the University of Florida, where he played under head coach Joe Arnold and was named an Academic All-SEC performer. Touma briefly played professionally for the Montreal Expos before going into coaching. Before arriving at Daytona State, he coached with the Expos, along with stops at Florida, Oklahoma State, New Mexico State and Bethune-Cookman before landing in Daytona. Coach Touma sat down with In Motion for a one-on-one.
This is season number 18 for you as DSC head baseball coach. You’re officially the longest-tenured head coach at DSC. What do you think are the reasons for your success and longevity?
Touma: “I think it’s the people I work with every day. Starting with athletic director Will Dunne, but Alison Mohr and Cindy Iafanti and what they do. They really make it for me in the long run”
In the opening games of the season, who do you think will be the impact players for the year?
Touma: “Jack Nagy, the third baseman, he’s the first guy who comes to mind. He’s just Jack, he’s the same every day. The other guy to lean on is Keiji Parkhurst. They’re both Junior College All-Stars. They lead on the field and off, and those are the guys”
Based on the team’s performance in the early games what do you think the team is doing well and what areas could see improvement?
Touma: “I think developing the freshmen is always a big challenge. The quicker the freshmen can get comfortable with college baseball, the quicker we’ll play better. On the good side, I think the team cohesiveness, the freshmen have blended in well and the sophomores are good leaders. In a long season like baseball, you have to pull for teammates, whether you’re in the lineup or not”
What do you look for in a player when recruiting?
Touma: “There has to be a talent level there, but for us it’s the makeup of the player. We spend time on the background. A bigger part is who that person is, like Jack Nagy and Keiji Parkhurst”
In your bio it says you were a member of the Montreal Expos organization as a player and coach. What do you remember most about being with the Expos organization?
Touma: “The guys I coached with don’t even know who the Expos are! I played and went back coaching, but I prefer the college aspect as opposed to the pro level. The biggest thing at college is we impact their lives in so many ways. Being a coach and helping young people is so much more than baseball. I like helping the guys and watching them grow and seeing them transfer and continue their education, whether or not baseball is involved.”
When you began coaching, who served as your mentor and what advice did they give you that stands to this day?
Touma: “Joe Arnold was my coach at the University of Florida. He gave me the opportunity to start my coaching career at Florida under him. Without those opportunities, I don’t imagine I’d be doing this”
In the time you’ve been here, what has changed in terms of talent on the rosters and the level of competition against state opponents?
Touma: “Everything has gotten better. I’ve seen facilities get better, staff sizes have gotten bigger and schools in this state are committed to the athletics much more than when I started. State college baseball is fantastic in this state”