Penguin Baseball Club now led by big name

"He's immediate recognition to Clark County," says Clark College athletic director Denny Huston. "He's known throughout Washington and Oregon."

For the first time since 1992, Clark is back playing baseball this season, and has aspirations to morph into a NWAACC athletic program in 2011.

Coach Freeman's resume includes coaching jobs at Prairie High School (1979-2004), Hillsboro High School ('05-'07), and currently Heritage High School beginning in '08. He has worked with Major League Baseball as an envoy, bringing the game overseas to Germany, Sweden, and Slovakia; he has also been a part of two world championships for the USA Baseball National Youth Team, as an assistant coach in 2007 and the head coach in 2003. He is a member of the Washington (State) Baseball Hall of Fame.

Having Freeman on board is invaluable in many ways.

"You don't know how many kids that have gone to high schools in the area want to come back and play at Clark," says Huston, including players from strong programs such as Grays Harbor and Lower Columbia. "Students want to come play for Don."

"Hiring him was a no-brainer," says Heritage athletic director Leta Meyer, on her decision to bring him in as Heritage's coach. "Don Freeman is a Hall-of-Fame coach. He is someone with a lot of experience developing winning teams, and he has a lot of contacts in the baseball community who can help him find talent. He's done a great job at Heritage, and we're sorry he's leaving."

Freeman was an assistant to Gary Hatch (of Sehome High School in Bellingham, WA) for the 2007 USA Youth team who won it all. "The most dynamic trait that he brings to sport-athletics is his educated eye when making decisions about player commitment and skill," says Hatch. "He has a keen sense for what kinds of players will be successful and help win championships. Don is a master teacher and he knows how to balance fun with discipline. If I had a son that was a baseball player I would certainly direct him toward Clark College."

Freeman has also played a consistent role in the improvement of athletic facilities during his high school career. "He started various fundraisers that led to many field upgrades on our facilities," attests Steve Drake, athletic director at Hillsboro High School during Freeman's tenure there. "Clark has not had a team in almost 20 years," says Huston. "We have to refurbish our field and improve the sound system and scoreboard. (Freeman) has already done many of these types of tasks already."

So what does coach Freeman himself plan to bring to Clark Baseball? "The game of baseball is played the same at every level, just faster and with better fundamentals. In the junior college situation, you want to instill the basic foundations at a higher level. Beyond that, though, is being successful in the classroom; education is the most important thing." Hard to argue with a coach whose teams have won statewide All-Academic Awards, like his 2002 Prairie Falcons did (with a collective 3.47 GPA).

"I can't wait to get started," Freeman said. "I'm really looking forward to the challenge."