Kowboys account for 21 of his 29 coaching years
Scott Birchler, Osceola’s highly successful baseball coach over two stints and 21 years, is leaving the dugout after a stellar career that included eight district championships and a 2014 regional crown. Birchler announced his retirement to his team at the school’s annual baseball banquet on Wednesday night.
Birchler steps down after a 16-10 season where the Kowboys played one of the toughest schedules in the state, won then District 4A-9 championship and a first-round regional game before bowing out to eventual regional champion Park Vista.
“No one thing led up to this decision,” Birchler said. “It’s always tough to figure out when it’s the right time to leav
“. I started to think about this last year when my son Blake was a senior and after this season, it just felt like the right time. Being the head baseball coach at a school like Osceola is a time-consuming job and honestly there is more to my life than baseball. Trying to be a good husband, a good father and a good grandfather is extremely important to me and by stepping down it will give me more time to focus on those things.”
“This move is the right thing for Scott but leaves us with a huge void to fill,” Osceola Athletic Director Rick Tribit said. “Scott is a great coach but beyond that he is a much better person. He was on the same wave length with our philosophy of education first and athletics second and will be greatly missed.”
A 1989 OHS graduate and former player, Birchler played college baseball at Lake City Community College (now Florida Gateway) before transferring to Nova Southeastern. While serving an internship and being named an assistant baseball coach at Osceola High School in 1993, the sudden departure of Rob Beach resulted in Birchler taking over as interim head coach that same season.
He was named permanent head coach for the 1994 season, and remained in the Kowboys dugout through 2000, the season where he won his first of eight district championships before leaving to accept an assistant coaching job at Dr. Phillips.
“My wife was pregnant and I just felt that I needed to be more supportive of the family,” Birchler recalled. “Being an assistant at a program that played afternoon games, gave me more opportunity to be around the house.”
In 2007, Birchler became the head coach when Liberty High School opened – coaching there through the 2010 season. When the Osceola job opened after the 2010 season, Birchler returned to his alma mater. That started a run of 13 seasons where the Kowboys won seven more district championships including four in his final five full seasons (excluding the 2020 COVID-19 season cut short). His teams recorded 20 or more wins five times, won 242 games and never had a losing record.
After losing to Lake Nona in the district final, his 2014 team won three road playoff games to win a regional championship. The Kowboys battled with East Lake and lost a 1-0 state semifinal in 13 innings.
“There have been a lot of memorable wins in my career but some of the losses also hold a special place in my memory,” Birchler recalled about that team and that game. “We won a regional championship and that was special but that 13-inning loss to East Lake was special too. One of the greatest games I have ever been involved in.”
Other on-field memories that stand out for Birchler included battles that Osceola had with Gateway. “Back when their program was really good, we had some great games,” the veteran coach remembers. “It just seems that every game we played with them was a one-run affair that came down to the last at-bat. They were so much fun to be involved in.”
Many of his players went on to play college and professional baseball, including Edwin Rios who was part of the 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers World Series win.
Not surprisingly and keeping in character, Birchler says the family atmosphere of Osceola baseball is what he will miss the most.
“My sons Brett and Blake grew up as field rats around Osceola baseball and then I had the privilege to coach them both. I’ve always viewed my players as my adoptive sons and so many of those guys would come back to be around the program. When I announced my intentions last night, I saw Josean Sanchez – one of our former players – in the audience and he was crying and that caused me to well up a little. I’ve had former players come back and be assistant coaches for me. Things like that mean so much more to me than the wins and losses ever would.”
Tribit noted that replacing Bircher and his 367 wins will not be easy.
“We’re already posted the job and will be beating the bushes to find the right person to replace Scott,” Tribit said. “It obviously will not be easy as baseball is one of our high-profile sports. It’s imperative we select the right person to continue the legacy that Coach Birchler has built here.”
