WPIAL Coaches Corner – Bryan Cornell

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, April 30, 2017 | 9:10 PM

In this feature titled “Coach’s Corner”, I will be interviewing a different coach every week and asking them questions about their personal life and about coaching. Hopefully their answers will not only shed some light on how they coach their respective teams, but also allow readers to get to know the men behind the fields/courts.

This week features head baseball coach Bryan Cornell of West Allegheny high school. Coach Cornell is in his 15^th season as head coach of the Indians, winning 3 WPIAL championships in 2007, 2008, and 2014. He also won a WPIAL championship as a player at West A in 1994. Coach Cornell is just as busy during the Fall, as he doubles as the defensive coordinator for the Indians football team. Let’s take a look inside Coach Cornell’s corner:

1.       What are some of your pet peeves?

Players not being on time and not paying attention to detail.

2.       What is your favorite TV show?

Kevin Can Wait

3.       Who was your favorite sports player growing up and why?

I loved watching Ronnie Lott play football.  I thought that he played the game with passion and desire two characteristics I tried to play with.

4.       What is your favorite quote?

“There are no secrets to success.  It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure. ” – Colin Powell

5.       Along with being the head baseball coach at West Allegheny, you are also the long time defensive coordinator for Indians football (7 WPIAL titles and 1 PIAA title). Do you think you are a better baseball head coach or football defensive coordinator?

I fill two very different roles with being the head baseball coach and the Defensive Coordinator in Football.  The preparation and strategy of preparing a Defense for a Friday Night is pretty special and lots of fun.  With baseball, I am blessed to have an extremely good baseball staff which allows me to focus my attention to the planning and managing of our baseball program.  Without the coaches that I coach with in both sports we would not be as successful as we have been! 

6.       If you could take three things to a deserted island, what would they be?

This is probably not the answer you are looking for, but I would bring my wife Shannen and my two kids, Brock and Brodie.

7.       What is the most important thing you try to preach to your players every year?

Preparation and the ability to pay attention to detail.  More often than not the teams that pay attention to detail and work on the little things always seem to be successful.  I always tell our baseball team that teams that like each other and like to be around each other will find ways to pick each other up when it is most needed.

8.       What is it like to have been a part of all 4 West Allegheny WPIAL titles in baseball? One as a player in 1994, and 3 as head coach in 2007, 2008, and 2014.

I have great memories of all the players that I played with and coached with for every one of those WPIAL Championship teams.  As a player you really don’t realize how much goes into winning a WPIAL championship and how truly special it is.  In high school we expected to win and if we lost it was emotionally draining.  As a coach you internalize things more and realize how truly special that winning a WPIAL Championship is and what it does for not only for the coaches and players, but for parents, family members and the entire community.  I must be becoming soft in my old age because it almost brings me to tears watching videos of us celebrating our victory against Blackhawk in the 2014 WPIAL Championship game!

9.       What is your proudest moment as a high school baseball coach?

One of my proudest moments was when our bat boy Chris McGough hit a homerun against Shady Side Academy.  Coach Bob Grandizio and I set it up that Chris would get an at bat in the last inning and stage a homerun for Chris.  The Shady Side Academy players did a great acting job and Chris was extremely excited.  It was something special that I will never forget. 

10.   Did you envision yourself coaching the Indians baseball team when you graduated from there?

I have always wanted to be a coach so I knew I would be coaching somewhere.  It was always a dream of mine to coach for West Allegheny being that I graduated from WA as did both of my brothers and parents.  The head coach at West Allegheny at the time that I graduated from college was Dave Oddi who was a good friend of mine as well as my high school baseball coach at West Allegheny.  He gave me the opportunity to coach and I am extremely appreciative.

11.   What was your most embarrassing moment as a high school baseball coach?

Fortunately for me my embarrassing moment was not caught be anyone!  A few years back as I was coaching 3^rd Base I recall looking down the left field line at a pitcher warming up getting ready to pitch.  A few batters later we had a runner on second and our hitter hit a ball up the middle.  As I was waving the runner home from 2^nd base I felt a sharp pain in my calf.  I thought the pitcher warming up made an over throw and drilled me right in the leg.  I turned around quite mad only to realize there was no one there and there was not a ball in the area.  It turns out that I am old and apparently I can’t even send a runner home without pulling a calf muscle and injuring myself.

12.     In 2007, you led the Indians on a historic undefeated WPIAL championship run. Only a handful of teams have completed the regular season undefeated while also going on to capture a WPIAL title. What was so special about that year?

That was a memorable year!  I can remember not knowing that there were only three prior teams that won a WPIAL Championship while going undefeated until Mike White told me the night before the championship game.  I remember messing with him telling him that he was going to jinx us!  That group of juniors at the time was a special group.  4 of them started as Freshmen two years earlier so we knew that we were going to be good.  We had some close ball games that year and I remember our 20^th win coming against Ambridge at Ambridge.  Our team celebrated like we had already won the WPIAL Championship and I can remember telling our team that we did not accomplish anything yet and that we needed to play our best baseball in the playoffs because we had a target on our back. 

13.   How did you decide you wanted to coach baseball?

As a player coming out of high school I was fortunate enough to have options as to play either baseball or football in college.  I could not decide as to which one I wanted to do so I decided to do both in college.  When I got a teaching job at West Allegheny I just continued that role coaching both baseball and football. 

14.   As one of the top teams in 5-A, what do you think will be important this year for West Allegheny to make another WPIAL title run?

As any of the teams that have won WPIAL Championships in baseball at West Allegheny you need to be a little lucky.  Pitching matchups and weather and how the WPIAL steering committee seats you all play a factor.  I think the most important thing for us is we have to be playing our best baseball in May.  We have to come in with confidence and play with a sense of urgency.  Any team can win on any given day and that is why we prepare like we do.  The little things and attention to detail will be the key. 

15.   How important has your family been throughout your coaching career?

My families support is the only reason I can do this.  My wife and kids are without a doubt the best thing that has ever happened to me!  With coaching two sports it takes a lot of time away from my family, but I try to include my kids as much as possible.  From August thru May I am consumed with high school sports.  My wife and I are extremely lucky to have the summers off so we can take the summer and make it all about family and fun.