Pupil & Teachers: DAC Coaching Tree Links Trio
By Jim McCurdy
IRVING, Texas -- The pupil and the teachers.
In the Dallas Athletic Conference baseball coaching circles, there's a certain tree that branches together three of the six coaches. Dallas College Eastfield head coach Michael Martin and Dallas College Cedar Valley's Robert Dally both share a common vine with Dallas College North Lake rookie coach Lance Fairchild.
They were both his boss. Now he is an opponent.
Fairchild played for Dally at Cedar Valley in 2011 and 2012. He later coached under him from 2015-20. Upon his departure from the Suns, he coached with Martin at Eastfield, which made back-to-back national championship game runs.
"You could just tell his baseball IQ, he was more polished than half the guys already," Dally said of his former player and assistant. "No matter what you told him, it was always, 'No sir. Yes sir,' and just come in and get the job done."
That's what he did at Eastfield, helping the Bees build a roster that – just Wednesday – captured its third straight DAC title.
"As far as the success that I've had, I've always attributed it to the people I surround myself with," said Martin, whose 875 career victories date back to his five seasons at the University of Arkansas at Monticello prior to his move to Mesquite.
"I've been fortunate to have quality assistants throughout my career at Eastfield, and they have really elevated our program just as much as anything that I've ever done," Martin said. "And Lance is one of those guys who've come through my program, and helped do that."
Moving On & Coming Back
Fairchild occasionally returned to Cedar Valley during his playing days after he moved on to play at the University of Texas Permian Basin and professionally in the Pecos League. Along with Dally, the two would play catch and talk baseball.
The pupil and the mentor.
After Fairchild's playing days ended, he returned to Lancaster to coach with Dally. He took over recruiting duties, managed the pitching staff, and began to build a coaching resume.
"Over 100 wins comes from Lance Fairchild alone," Dally said. "The same thing he did for Eastfield, he did here. It's harder here. His baseball IQ and his work ethic is bar none. He will not be outworked by anybody. He's like my son. He's above the rest."
In this league, Fairchild's second boss is above the rest.
Martin, the most tenured of the DAC coaches, wrapped up his 769th career victory at Eastfield in a win over his pupil Wednesday when the Harvester Bees clinched their third straight league crown at North Lake.
That win gave Eastfield the right to host next week's National Junior College Athletic Association Division III South Central District Tournament double-elimination games May 16-18.
It will be another opportunity, if North Lake advances out of the single-elimination round Wednesday for Fairchild to return to Eastfield. Of course, this time, he'd be in the opposing dugout.
"It just makes you proud, just like with these kids, in hoping you've made some kind of impact with them moving on," Martin said, thoughts of his former assistant landing his first full-time opportunity. "Hopefully I've made some kind of impact with him moving on."
Dally remembers a hot summer day after a new sprinkler system was installed at Cedar Valley's field when the two Suns coaches went around filling in all the trenches in the 100-plus degree weather. It was an example of commitment.
"Who does that?" Dally said.
Fairchild does it now at North Lake. He spends hours on the field, navigating around the workarounds of irrigation issues and field conditions. Of course, the last couple years, he didn't have to push dirt around, nor line the field. That's because he was coaching under Martin at Eastfield's turf field – a plush luxury Fairchild was able to leverage to help bring in top talent that aided in the Bees' past two league titles before they advanced to the NJCAA Division III World Series.
"The first class recruited with the luxury of a turf field is the current one on field this year," Fairchild said. "It looks like it worked pretty well."
Years removed from those hot summer days filling holes on a field, Dally and Fairchild are coaching counterparts. As is Martin. This season, North Lake met Cedar Valley to open conference play. The Blazers won the first game, and then proceeded to sweep the Suns in the first series of the season.
"Our conference better watch out because this guy knows how to recruit," Dally said of Fairchild. "You give this guy a year or two to build his own program, you better watch out. I'm glad that good things happen to good people. It just sucks that it was against me."
Dally returned the favor the next time he returned to North Lake, busting the doors down in the second round series opener, winning, 15-5, in a seven-inning run-rule victory.
"I can't thank Coach Dally enough for giving me the opportunity to play college baseball and the opportunity to begin my coaching career," Fairchild said. "One thing that I really admire about his coaching style is how he instills accountability and discipline in his players. He prepares players for not just the next level on the field and academically, but also for the next chapter of their lives."
Martin hasn't been so gracious in offering up wins against his former assistant. In the first series between Eastfield and North Lake this year, the Harvester Bees swept the Blazers. To begin the final series of DAC play, the Bees raced out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning en route to a runaway 12-1 win at North Lake Wednesday.
It was the fourth win in as many tries for Martin against his former assistant.
Needless to say, the pupil has had no success with his last mentor.
"One thing I really admire about Coach Martin is how he never stops coaching," Fairchild said. "It doesn't matter if you're up 10 runs or down 10 runs, the best player on the roster or the last player on the roster, he's going to continue to coach hard, and demand your best. Players may not always understand in the moment, but when they look back at their time playing for Coach Martin, they realize that he made them better."
Elder Statesmen Stories
When it comes to Dally-Martin battles, it means something.
"When you play against someone like Coach Martin, those were always rivalries," Dally said. "When you compete against someone like that, it just raises your game. When you play someone like that, who's had a tenure for so long, when you beat someone like that, it's good for your program."
Cedar Valley won a series against Eastfield this year, claiming the first two games of the second round between the two ball clubs. The series clincher came two wins before Dally captured his 400th career victory. In years past, a couple of Dally's milestone wins – the 100 and 200th, or so Martin recalls – came at the expense of Martin.
"I thanked him for not beating me for the 400th win," Martin joked.
All kidding aside, Martin and Dally have shared many a moment outside being suited up in opposite dugouts to attend regional events together. They share a common bond from their longevity in the league together and the road trips to those baseball functions.
"I hope I have a good relationship with all the coaches in the league," Martin said. "But Coach Dally and I share, maybe, a different bond. We've had many opportunities to share stories on the road."
Fairchild has a long way to go to chase down his former bosses in terms of wins and losses. But both of them concede, he has the makeup to stockpile his own share of successful seasons in years to come.
"That just challenges us to get better, too," Martin said. "You want to win games. We try to stress to our guys, 'Hey, take one game at a time,' and then move on from that one."
Martin doesn't put a whole lot of stock into matchups against his former assistant. He simply considers it another opportunity to check another box in the goal of winning a title. He and the Harvesters did just that Wednesday. His win over Fairchild's team moved the needle a little farther to the right in a season the Bees have owned the Blazers to the tune of a 44-6 run differential. Martin has two more opportunities against his now coaching counterpart Friday and Saturday.
The pupil and the teacher.
Class is in session.
COACHING CONNECTIONS
Michael Martin (Dallas College Eastfield, 23 seasons) - 769 wins
Robert Dally (Dallas College Cedar Valley, 17 seasons) - 406 wins
Lance Fairchild (Dallas College North Lake, 1 season) - 24 wins