McGrane takes the reins at St. Anne’s-Belfield

By Jay Jenkins

Published: July 31, 2008

Eric McGrane will always cherish what one local baseball coach did for him about a dozen years ago.

Longing to play college baseball and searching for a way to land that type of attention, McGrane’s world changed with one simple request.

Ron Tugwell, a legendary coach for three-plus decades in Northern Virginia, offered a platform to McGrane’s mom. A trip to a baseball showcase, which was Tugwell’s suggestion, and a strong performance got McGrane what he often debated was unobtainable.

“That one phone call put me in front of an assistant coach from Virginia,” McGrane said. “I got a scholarship offer the next week from UVa.”

McGrane, now the newly-appointed baseball coach at St. Anne’s-Belfield, will never forget how life’s doors were opened for him. During his tenure at STAB as an assistant coach under longtime coach Alan Swanson, it became imperative that the coaches reached out to programs nationwide.

“We have always talked and said we want to coach St. Anne’s-Belfield baseball the way that we wish we had been coached in high school,” McGrane. “A lot of decisions that we have made and that we will make are based on, ‘is this how we wanted to be coached.’

“Growing up it was hard to get extra batting practice. It was hard to find someone to send tapes or write letters or to really try and place a student-athlete in college.”

The top performers at STAB have not had those problems. The long list of standouts to play beyond the prep stage recently includes James Madison pitcher/designated hitter Trevor Knight, Florida State-bound pitcher/first baseman Kyle Long and minor-league pitcher Casey Lambert, a former UVa standout.

When the announcement was made official about McGrane’s hiring, while somber about Swanson’s departure, the players on the team were ecstatic.

“Eric McGrane is an inspiration to everybody,” Long said. “He is somebody that battled through injuries when he played in college, but he is someone that tried as hard as he could to perfect what he did. It goes beyond playing baseball — he is a great coach, a great teacher and a great role model.

“I couldn’t be happier and they couldn’t have picked a better guy to be the baseball coach at STAB. It is someone that I am proud to say is the coach.”

There is more to STAB baseball, which has been a traditional power in the private school ranks, than just its head coach, McGrane and Long pointed out.

Assistant coach Larry Mitchell works directly with the pitchers and brings the insight of having played professionally as a longtime member of the Philadelphia Phillies organization.

“We have had great pitchers and over the last few years Larry has helped with that tremendously,” said Long, who was The Daily Progress’ Central Virginia player of the year. “Coach Mitchell has been there and he knows what people are looking for. He knows the mental side of the game and the physical side.

“He has taught us all new things about pitching. He has actually taught us that there is so much to learn and even though we think we do, we know nothing about it. Coach Mitchell has been very, very beneficial to our program. I had a great time playing under him.”

McGrane echoed those thoughts, part of the reason he is excited about the future of the Saints’ program on the diamond.

“STAB is a great place and I am surrounded by the best assistant coaches in the area, we get great kids, wonderful parents and we have a very supportive administration,” McGrane said. “It just works well for having a great program.

“Coach Swanson created a roadmap for a baseball program that has an excellent winning tradition and high standards, both on and off the field. Our goal has always been to leave it better than we found it and that’s just what we will begin next year — trying to leaving it better than we found it.”