Doumit to coach BBCC baseball

MOSES LAKE - Pete Doumit has been hired as the new head baseball coach at Big Bend Community College (BBCC) for the 2012-2013 season.

"I am very excited to be back here and get some closure after the first time through," Doumit said. "I'm looking forward to a great opportunity and seeing what we can do with it."

Doumit brings plenty of experience and baseball knowledge to the Vikings program. He coached at BBCC from 1980-82, served two stints as the head baseball coach at Moses Lake High School (1982-90), was an assistant coach at WSU (1972), Linfield College (1974-75) and at Lower Columbia College. Doumit was also inducted into the Washington State Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2006.

"We are excited to hire Pete Doumit as our new head baseball coach," Preston Wilks, BBCC athletic director, said.  "And we are very pleased we were able to have a person with as much experience and accolades that Pete has. He has coached at all levels, and has been successful wherever he has coached. Pete has also demonstrated he has a deep passion for helping the student-athlete succeed in the classroom." 

So much so, that its his basic philosophy and approach to the game itself.

"That's first and foremost," Doumit said. "The guys on the team are student-athletes and that's the focus. Baseball is a laboratory for human development. Its an opportunity to train guys to be able to be successful people in life ... to deal with the travails and the successes. Games won or lost are soon forgotten, but the kind of person or team you are never will be."

All of the players currently trying out for the team as well as those he is recruiting, Doumit said, knows exactly what his stance on the matter is.

"I expect them to be here for two years and get their AA degree," he said. "If they get a chance to continue to play after that, that's great. And if not, they at least have their AA to build upon at a four-year school. I want them to enjoy the game and play as long as they can, but they have to recognize they are going to be baseball players for only a short period of life, and hopefully be very productive members of society  the rest of the time."

Doumit has been away from BBCC for a while, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been paying attention to what has been going on with the areas baseball programs.

"We moved here in the fall of 79 when I accepted the job as the baseball coach at Big Bend and have been in the basin every since," he said. "I've also been a head coach at Moses Lake High School a couple of times, and with the summer programs here, so I'm pretty aware of what's been going on and I think I have a pretty good pulse on baseball in the basin area and eastern Washington."

Doumit has hit the ground running upon his return to BBCC as he's been busy evaluating the current talent on the team.

"That's what we are doing right now with this week of practice," he said. "The guys had a week off after their season ended. I felt they deserved the opportunity to have more of a look than just the two hour tryout I held last Sunday."

The tryout drew more than 50 prospective players from Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

Approximately 23 players from this years team took part in the week long practice.

"We scrimmaged all week long so I'm getting a pretty good feel for what they can do and for what we need and don't need," he said. "The unfortunate thing is, there's just no way I am going to be able to keep all 23 of the guys and still recruit."

Doumit said he will only be able to carry 30 players on the team, and needs to have a balance of 15 freshman and 15 sophomores.

Telling someone they are not going to make the team, he said, is the hardest part of his job as head coach.

"It is tough," Doumit said. "There's no easy way to tell a kid there isn't a spot for him on the team. But you have to do it. I have a great deal of faith in believing that things work out the way they are supposed to, and when onedoor closes, another one opens some place else. I might be the guy who has to tell them they have to move on, but it might be the best thing for them. If I didn't believe that ... this would be an untenable job ... to try and tell a kid your career is over. If I didn't believe there is something else they are meant to do other than be here, I'd have a difficult time doing this job."

Guys on the team are excited Doumit is at the helm of the program and are looking forward to playing under his direction.

"There is an entirely different outlook now," Ian Davies said. "It's a great move for the team. He's going to make it fun to play again."

Doumit is married. He and his wife Faith have four children. Daughter Amy is a teacher at Lakeview Elementary.

Their oldest son Pat is teaching and coaching at Colton High School and has taken the team to state the last five years. His team is playing against ACH in the 1B state baseball championship game Saturday.

Peter is a geologist in Grand Junction, Colorado, and Ryan is playing pro ball as a catcher and DH for the Minnesota Twins.

"He's probably living a lot of people's dreams," Doumit said. "I think the move to Minnesota (formerly with the Pittsburgh Pirates) has renewed his vigor and enthusiasm for the game, which he really needed. He loves the Twins and the organization and I think its given him a new lease on life as far as his career goes."

Doumit is also a published author..

"I've written two books. One is called what I know about baseball is what I know about life, and the second is more of what I know about baseball is what I know about life," he said. "They are not exactly on the New York best seller list, but I have had some very positive responses from people who have read the books and have found that they align very closely with the philosophy I have with what we are doing out here is more than just learning how to play the game."

His books can be purchased locally at Hastings Book store.