Home >> Athletics >> Baseball >> Baseball coaching

Baseball coaching

Steve Winterling

Now in his 21st year as the head coach at Pasco-Hernando Community College, Steve Winterling has built one of the most respected programs in the state of Florida.

Winterling started PHCC’s first intercollegiate baseball team in March 1991. Prior to that, he served as an assistant coach at Florida State University for six years under Mike Martin. His tenure included three College World Series in Omaha, including a national runner-up finish in 1986. He coached several professional athletes that included Deion Sanders, Paul Sorrento, Luis Alicea and ESPN’s Eduardo Perez.

In just three short seasons, Winterling took PHCC to the first FCCAA State Tournament in 1994, where they finished state runner-up. In 1995, the program won the Suncoast Conference and made its second appearance in the state tournament. The team made its third state tournament appearance in 1997. One of his best teams was in 1998, when the team finished 31-12 and led the state with .361 team batting average. His teams have appeared in the Suncoast Conference tournament six times (1997, 1998, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2010). His 2009 team set a school record with 37 wins. Last season, in the college’s first year in NJCAA Division II, the team advanced to the regional tournament in Morehead City, N.C.

As a promoter of community college baseball, Winterling started PHCC’s first baseball web page and the first online FCCAA State Scoreboard in 2001. He also served as the Florida Community College Activities Association Statistics Coordinator from 2004-2006. In 2010, the baseball team received the Florida Collegiate Umpires Sportsmanship Award for the Suncoast Conference.

Winterling has built the PHCC program by recruiting quality student-athletes to play against top competition throughout the state of Florida. Over 30 players have signed professional contracts and many others have gone on to outstanding four-year institutions.

In addition to his baseball duties, he also assists with the girls cross country program that he helped start in 2005. The team has finished in the Top 25 nationally for the past three years. He also teaches Health and Wellness and several physical education activity courses.

As an avid runner, he promotes the importance of staying active and living a healthy lifestyle to all students. He has completed seven marathons and 37 half-marathons.

A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Winterling played two years of baseball at Florida College before moving on to the University of South Florida, where he received his bachelors degree in physical education in 1981. He completed his master’s degree from Florida State University in 1986. He has been a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association for 33 years.

He is married to the former Christine Pinto. He has two children, Dawn (30) and David (28). They are expecting their first grandchild this January.

Larry Beets

Larry Beets comes to us from Ridgewood High School in New Port Richey. Prior to starting the Ridgewood baseball program in 1983, he served as the head baseball coach at Hudson High (1981-83) and Gulf High (1979-81). In 2002, his Ridgewood Rams defeated number one Dunedin High School in the Florida High School Activities Association 4-A State Tournament, only to lose to Jacksonville Bishop Kenny in the finals.

A teacher and coach for 37 years in Pasco County, Beets retired on September 1, 2011. During his high school coaching career, over 100 student-athletes signed college baseball scholarships with seven signing professional contracts. Mike Rabelo (Ridgewood 1998) made it to the big leagues with the Detroit Tigers in 2001 after playing his college ball at the University of Tampa.

Beets received his MA and BA from Austin Peay University in Clarksville, Tenn. where he was a four-year letterman in baseball. Signed out of South High School (Knoxville, Tenn.) in 1969 as a pitcher, but he moved to second base where he started and was co-captain his final two seasons.

Coach Beets and his wife Donna have been married 39 years and have a daughter Bethany, who lives in Tallahassee with her husband Chris Fields and their dog Lefty.

Chris Seibert

The 2012 baseball season marks Chris Seibert’s sixth as a member of the Pasco-Hernando Community College coaching staff. Seibert serves as the third base coach and also instructs the outfielders.

A former assistant coach at his alma mater, McDaniel College, Seibert brings a wealth of knowledge to the baseball program. He played four years of baseball at Western Maryland College. In addition to his on-field assignments, Seibert plays a large role in recruiting and conditioning the team. He also helps direct the PHCC baseball camp and winter baseball leagues.

Seibert, a native of Littlestown, Penn. earned his bachelor’s degree from Western Maryland in Exercise Science and Physical Education in 2004.