Scott Birchler takes over for Nick James

By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor

Again, Liberty High’s loss is Osceola’s gain.

Chargers athletic director and baseball coach Scott Birchler accepted the Osceola High baseball job Monday after former OHS Coach Nick James resigned to become the baseball operations director and head coach at Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale.

Birchler follows former Liberty football coach Doug Nichols, who took the OHS football job in April after Jeff Rolson moved to Springfield Rutherford.

“I talked to Doug about it, and he shared some of the concerns and thoughts he had when he was in that situation,” Birchler said. “I was like Doug. I wasn’t looking to leave, but it was an opportunity that I thought I should look into.”

Like Nichols, Birchler is returning to OHS after previously coaching there. Birchler, 38, was the Kowboys  baseball coach from 1994-2000. Osceola won a district championship in 2000. His career record at OHS is 96-110.

“I was a baby then, like 22-years-old, when I first took the job,” he said. “I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into.”

Birchler also played for OHS, where he was an all-county standout  before graduating in 1989 and playing at Lake City Community College and Nova Southeastern University.

“It’s an opportunity to go back and work with some of the coaches and people that I’ve known for a long time,” Birchler said. “The timing is right. I didn’t get accomplished everything I wanted to do at Liberty, but the baseball program is established to the point where whoever Mr. (Principal Robert) Studly brings in will have everything in place to build on.”

Birchler said he looks forward to just coaching after three hectic years as a coach and AD at Liberty.

“It’s an opportunity to spend more time with my family,” Birchler said.

He accepted the Liberty job in 2007, when the school opened, after seven years as an assistant coach at Dr. Phillips in Orlando.

Birchler will be reunited with OHS Principal Gary Preisser, who hired Birchler when Preisser opened Liberty before moving to OHS in 2008.

Birchler also worked with Kowboys Athletic Director Jim Bird when Birchler was at OHS a decade ago.

“It’s always nice to bring back one of your own. We’re excited about having Scott back because we know that he’s a great coach and a great individual who does things the right way. He’s going to do all the things necessary to run a good program for our kids, one that we know we’ll be proud of,” Bird said.

Bird said that he regretted losing James, who compiled a 34-19 record in two seasons at OHS after coming from Jacksonville Providence in 2009 to replace Hall of Fame Coach Jim Murphy, who stepped down after the 2008 campaign.

“Coach James brought tremendous energy and enthusiasm to the program, and we can’t thank him enough for his contributions here. He did everything we could ask him to do while he was here, both in the classroom and as a coach,” Bird said. “But, we understand that coaches have to do what’s best for themselves and their families, and we wish him well.”

James said he accepted the Westminster Academy position  primarily because several family members live in the Fort Lauderdale area.

“That’s an important factor. We have a five-month-old son, and my wife’s parents are in Fort Lauderdale and so are about 10 other family members,” he said. “It’s a good opportunity. I’ll be in charge of the tournaments and other activities that they run from the facility, in addition to coaching. It’s similar to what I did at Jacksonville, maybe on a little bigger level.”

James said he enjoyed his stay at Osceola and hopes that the program continues to flourish.

“We made the playoffs last year (2009) with a roster that only had a couple of returning seniors, and this year we started five sophomores and freshmen and went 16-10. I was proud of those kids and what they accomplished,” James said. “I know Coach Birchler is a good coach and he is going to come in and do a good job with those kids, and I think they are going to be very successful.”

Birchler’s Liberty squad eliminated Osceola in the opening round of the 5A District 5 tournament in April, and the teams met during the regular season, so he is familiar with his new players.

“We played them a couple of times, so I got a good look at what they were doing and I could see that they had good talent. Coach James did an excellent job with the program,” Birchler said.

Birchler talked to his former Liberty players Monday.

“I told them that it’s not my program, that all they had to do was to continue to work hard and keep doing the things that worked well for us, and they’ll be fine because I know Mr. Studly is going to bring in a good coach,” Birchler said.

“They are great kids, they did whatever we asked them to do. We tried to teach them to do things the right way and I’m proud of the way the baseball program, and other programs at Liberty like football and basketball and track, have developed and grown over the past three years.”

The Chargers were 16-9 under Birchler last season after going 5-17 in  2008, the team’s inaugural season.

Birchler, on vacation this week, said he tentatively spoke to a few people about joining his coaching staff.

“I may have to bring some people out of retirement because it is pretty late in the summer to be filling teaching positions,” he said.

Murphy and former OHS Coach Rob Beach, who coached Birchler and led the Kowboys to the 1991 state tournament, remain on the OHS faculty.

Studly was at a conference this week and was unable to be reached.