Spring Break
Childress sets goal to build on improvements, get to Omaha
By: Brad Cox
Issue date: 2/21/08 Section: Sports
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Following a rocky 25-30-1 season in 2006 under new Head Coach Rob Childress, Omaha could not have seemed further away. But Childress was the comeback kid in 2007, leading the Aggie baseball team to a 48-19 record, a Big 12 Tournament championship and a regional championship inside the concrete walls of Olsen Field.
Turns out, Omaha was far closer than anyone had expected. After taking the trophy at the College Station Regional, the Aggies faced in-state baseball rival Rice in a Super Regional in Houston, their first appearance in a Super Regional since 2004.
A&M went down in two narrow losses at Reckling Park, failing to advance to Omaha. It would have been the Aggies' first trip to Omaha since 1999.
"If you played Rice at Olsen Field in a Super Regional, what happens?" Childress asked about the possibilities of the 2007 season. "Maybe the same outcome, maybe not. But we have to put ourselves in the situation to play at home throughout the postseason, and we didn't do that."
Childress said that not putting themselves in the position to host a Super Regional during the season was a factor in the final outcome.
"We didn't take care of business in conference," he said about the Aggies' fifth place 13-13 conference finish. "We were seeded where we deserved to be seeded."
Even with the tough finish, the Gilmer, Texas, native is where he wants to be.
"I always knew I wanted to be a coach," said Childress, who is starting his 18th season as a collegiate baseball coach. "From the time I was in high school, I was blessed because two of my best friends were my high school coach and my college coach. Those guys helped shape my life in a very impressionable time and I knew that's what I wanted to do with kids."
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