Will to give it all
Hardgrove makes connection in first season

By Victor Drabicky
Senior Sports Editor

Quit your job, forfeit your income and volunteer to be a baseball coach.

While this is not something most men would expect their wife to suggest, TCU’s new assistant baseball coach Tom Hardgrove said his wife played a key role in his decision to take the job.

“We had talked about it for a while,” Hardgrove said. “Ultimately, I think she actually suggested it.”

Hardgrove said his family was more than supportive of his decision to quit his job as R.L. Paschal Senior High School head baseball coach to volunteer at TCU.

“People have dreams and goals, and sometimes you have to make sacrifices to make your dreams come true,” Hardgrove said.

Hardgrove spent six years at Paschal before quitting to join TCU for the 2001 season.

Erin Munger/SKIFF STAFF Assistant coach Tom Hardgrove spent six years at R.L. Paschal Senior High School before quitting to volunteer at TCU for the 2001 season. He played for the Frogs for a season before being drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies.

Hardgrove said TCU was the perfect place for him to go after Paschal.

“I had a few other options that just didn’t work out,” Hardgrove said. “I didn’t want to sell my house or move, and I had kept in touch with (TCU’s head) coach (Lance) Brown and knew he had confidence in me. Coach Brown said it would work out when the time was right, and it did.”

Hardgrove played the 1989 season with the Frogs before being drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies. In Hardgrove’s one season at TCU, he hit 23 home runs, tying him for most home runs in a season by a TCU player.

Brown said Hardgrove was a natural choice as a Horned Frog coach.

“We were short coaches and he wanted to coach (on the collegiate level),” Brown said. “It didn’t look like we would get any more assistant coaches in the next five years, and he was willing to volunteer. He has done well with the players.”

Junior shortstop Erick Macha said the players are responding well to Hardgrove.

“He’s a positive guy and brings a great attitude to the team,” Macha said. “He really cares about the team and really wants us to do well.”

Macha said Hardgrove’s experiences as a TCU player help him to relate with the current team.

“He’s a good hitting coach,” Macha said. “I think he’s had so much success because he knows exactly what we are going through.”
Hardgrove said after playing baseball all his life, coaching came naturally.

“I have been a part of the game for so long, and I enjoyed working with high school kids so (college coaching) was a natural choice,” Hardgrove said. “Young kids have to play for so many coaches that they don’t buy into a coaching philosophy right away. But the players here have been great.”

Macha said players see Hardgrove as more than just a coach.

“He’s brought a lot of energy to the team,” Macha said. “He’s easy to talk to, and he loves to talk baseball with us.”

Hardgrove said in addition to the players, Brown played a major role in his decision to rejoin TCU.

“I had a really positive experience when I was here,” Hardgrove said. “Coach Brown has always done well with the players, and TCU has always had a strong program.”

Hardgrove said now is the perfect time for him to join the TCU baseball program.

“It’s a very exciting time at TCU,” Hardgrove said. “The new stadium will be a huge plus.”

Despite the facility changes, Hardgrove said he tries to keep the players focused on playing the game.

“Facilities don’t make a great team,” Hardgrove said. “Whether it’s a $10 million stadium or the TCU Diamond, you still have to go out and play baseball, and that’s what we intend to do.”

Hardgrove said although the natural tendency is to try to see what the future holds for his coaching career, he is focusing on the present rather than the future.

“I’m going to try not to look too far ahead,” Hardgrove said. “I’m just going to try to rely on my faith (to take care) of my future.”

Victor Drabicky
vmdtcu@swbell.net