By ADEM SARICAOGLU
NEW Sunshine Eagles coach Earl Byrne is looking forward to his homecoming at Barclay Reserve.
Byrne had been enjoying his coaching stint with Division Two’s Werribee Giants but when the opportunity came up to take over the reins at his childhood club, he knew he couldn’t refuse.
“Sunshine got in contact with me and said they were looking for a coach and I said I’d be interested to have a chat,” Byrne said.
“I went and met with the board and we had a chat and they offered me the job, so I pretty much took it on the spot.”
Byrne had spent his entire baseball life at Sunshine before taking up the coaching role at Werribee five years ago.
And while he admits he was always an Eagle at heart, Byrne said he left the Giants on good terms.
“I’ve still got a soft spot for them but my heart was always at Sunshine as well,” Byrne said.
“To coach a club in Division One that you grew up at your whole life, it sort of just meant that little bit more to me.
“I’ve spent my whole life at Sunshine. I only left them five years ago to start my coaching career, but I played all my juniors at Sunshine right through to my senior days there – so I’ve probably been there 25 years.”
This summer looms as the biggest in the club’s history, as the Eagles celebrate their 75th anniversary.
And with a favourite son now at the helm of its senior team, Sunshine is hoping to go a long way this time around.
The Eagles were lucky to stay up in Division One after local rival and current Division Two premier Williamstown failed to meet the requirements needed for promotion into the top tier.
Byrne revealed the club has already secured the services of US pitcher Chris Prokupek, but is still hoping to inject some more depth into the line-up ahead of October.
“That’ll take a bit of heat off Adam Irons from last year, because I think Adam Irons threw well in excess of 100 innings which isn’t good for anyone, so that was one spot we had to fix,” Byrne said of Prokupek’s arrival.
“I’d think we only need another one or two more hitters in the side that could hit 300 or better.
“What they have got there is a bunch of guys that can play the game hard, but what I think the problem has been in the past there is we’ve had no depth.”
The club will be running a junior tryout day this Sunday.
