Glenelg baseball coach Steve Tiffany recently announced that he was stepping down after seven seasons leading the Gladiators. Tiffany led Glenelg to a regional title each of the last three years, the 2022 Class 2A state championship and a state finalist appearance in 2024.
In the latest edition of Varsity Q&A, Tiffany discussed his decision with the Howard County Times and reflecting on his time leading the Gladiators.
Note: Questions and answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.
When did you get an inclination that you would be stepping down?
We as the staff at Glenelg have been kind of talking about it. I’ve been discussing it with my family. It’s tough. There’s a lot of things that go into being a coach, but one of them, it’s just the relationships that you build with these kids. I’ve known a lot of these kids since they were in sixth grade at the boosters camp. I knew I needed to see Zach LaFountain and Logan Pusheck through. I’ve known them since they were in middle school and had really good relationships. It got to a point where I knew I was going to coach this year and then I had discussions with my family. I told people that after this season it would just be a year-to-year conversation, seeing what made sense and where things play out. A ton of factors went into it. Unfortunately, Glenwood Middle School where I teach, we had the time change. Glenwood Middle School got affected the most with the time change, so I was late to practice every day. I missed a lot of batting practice and luckily, I have an amazing staff, so it wasn’t a big deal. As the head coach, you feel like you need to be there at the beginning and end of practice.
My two little ones are getting older. My oldest is starting to get into T-Ball and sports and he’s asked about joining a different league, which will be more than just one day a week. So, all of these factors went into play. I kind of felt throughout the year just based on my work schedule and my wife’s schedule and getting home as late as I did that it was heading in that direction. Then after the run that we had; it certainly would have been nice to end with another state championship. It got to a point where I was able to sit down with my wife and family and talk to [assistant coaches] AJ Rosenthal and Austin Donmoyer and feel pretty content about where things are. Where I am with home and work, I just felt like it was the right time.
When you shared the news that you’d step down what were the emotions in that moment?
It was definitely tough, but a bittersweet moment, as I knew it would be the last week stepping on the baseball field for camp. It’s a tough time during the summer because it’s hard to get everybody there. We could have waited until the fall. But then whoever gets hired as the next coach, I want to give them as much leeway and opportunity to get things set up how they wanted to do it. Whatever coach it is, spring coaches if you step down in the summer, there isn’t really a time to get everyone together. That’s probably the one thing that has bothered me the most is I didn’t get the opportunity to be with everyone face-to-face because I got kids all over the United States playing baseball tournaments and kids are working. I only got to tell it in person to a handful of kids at the camp who come help out. There wasn’t a really good way to do it. Before people saw the open job posting and found out, I thought it was only right to try to get as many people together as we could. I wish I could’ve had an entire team meeting with all of the returning players, but the summertime wouldn’t have allowed for that. Made the best of it, I spoke to eight or 10 kids personally and a lot individually via texts and calls. Then we were able to send the message out to the community. I didn’t know what to expect. I got a lot of really nice emails and calls from past and present players, parents and people in the community, so it was nice to hear the love and support from them.
What are you going to remember most about coaching at Glenelg?
My first two years at Glenelg, we just weren’t very good. In the last four years, especially the last three, we’ve turned it around. Obviously, the state championship is going to hold a special place in my heart. We’ve had some pretty memorable games over the past really four years. Four years ago, we lost in the regional final in 14 innings on a walk-off home run. That’s how we close we were to having a really special four years.
When I started, our field wasn’t very good. We didn’t have any money in our baseball account and we weren’t very good on the field. What we’ve done to our baseball field, we have a fence. The playing surface is true, we have one of the best facilities now around. We have money to buy things and do things for our kids, which is awesome. I’ll really cherish what we’ve done there, the off-the-field stuff. Then we started getting really good players. Guys that bought into the system and what we were doing and we put together some wins. The Sparrows Point loss two years ago will still bother me. I was talking to Logan and DJ Stolba a little bit today, just the moments that we can remember and laugh and go back to.
What will you miss most?
Certainly, the state title win was phenomenal, but there were just so many awesome moments on and off the field with the guys. That’s probably what I’ll miss the most is certainly the camaraderie with the staff. I had an amazing staff. The two guys with me are absolutely amazing and put in so much work and time. They just bleed Glenelg red. Then, Tom Thrasher is just a legend in our baseball community and what he does for our JV team. He’s been doing it for 35-plus years. Little things like that and the relationship that I had with him, my staff and just the kids in general. I lot of the kids I teach at Glenwood I saw this week at camp and they’ve always been excited to play Glenelg baseball. I’ll certainly still have those relationships with them. Those are the things I’ll miss the most.
What do you hope your legacy is?
It was never about me. It was about the community. If I had to say one thing, I think that Glenelg baseball is in better shape now then it was seven years ago. That’s talking about the field, the players, our record, all things that go to Glenelg baseball. The community, the baseball program, is in better shape now than when I started and that was our goal. Certainly, producing on the field, but getting a fence, putting up banners, putting up the batter’s eye, working on the field, and make it a place where people want to come play and enjoyable to watch a game.
I didn’t tell anyone this but my wife, but when I took the job seven years ago, I jotted down personal things that I wanted to accomplish over the seven years. I was able to do that and more in my wildest dreams. All of those factors are allowing me to step down. To me, Glenelg baseball is in a better place now than it was seven years ago. So, that allows me to walk away knowing that, ‘Hey we’re in a good spot and we’ll continue to be.’
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