A coach is one of the most important relationships in an athlete’s development, someone that they can trust and depend on, almost like a friend or a father.
But what happens when your roommate becomes your coach? When the guy that you had been sharing the locker room with starts handing out the orders?
Senior first baseman Connor O’Brien knows the answer to these questions.
“It’s cool seeing him as a coach now, cause he had so much intensity as a player and he also matches that as a coach,” O’Brien said. “From a friendship standpoint, I still see him as the same dude I played with.”
Now serving as a volunteer assistant coach, Brendan Dougherty had an outstanding career at Bradley during his four years on the Hilltop from 2017 to 2021.
Dougherty was the first four-time all-conference honoree in school history, collecting first team All-Valley accolades in his final season with the Braves. With a batting average of .323, scoring 31 runs and driving in 29 RBIs in his final season, Dougherty finished off his career at Bradley having started 198 games.
“He was always way mature beyond his age, it was almost like having an extension of the coaching staff when he was a player,” Braves’ head coach Elvis Dominguez said. “He’s excellent at what he does. He’s a great communicator, great technician and he’s got a bright future ahead of him.”
After he swung his last bat as a Brave and stood next to third base at Dozer Park one last time during the 2021 season, he knew that the diamond was where he wanted to be.
“Coaching and teaching has always been something that I’ve been interested in,” Dougherty said.
Coaching the Ohio Sticks, a travel team from his hometown of Clive, Ohio, it was a team he knew well. Along with coaching his former high school travel team where he developed as an athlete, Dougherty also gave lessons to young aspiring baseball players. That was before a quick phone call from a familiar voice opened a new door.
“When Coach Dominguez and Coach [Kyle] Trewyn reached out to me to come back and join the staff I was stoked,” Dougherty said. “I didn’t take too much time to think about it, I jumped right in and wanted to get back on campus and coach some of these guys that I got the opportunity to play with.”
A second homecoming for one of Bradley’s most successful players, Dougherty felt right at home.
“Recognizing all the smells of the stadium and getting back together with the coaching staff and the guys was a lot of fun.” Dougherty said.
With this new role and as someone coming into a team that still had players who’ve played beside him, Dougherty couldn’t simply come back into the team as he left it. He had to adjust to being part of the coaching staff and no longer playing the hot corner.
“You have to make a decision to separate yourself, because now you’re on this side of the line,” Dominguez said. “One year you’re living in the same house, the next year you’re giving the orders, so it’s a different dynamic when it comes to that.”
Knowing the culture of the program was instrumental in Dougherty’s transition from player to coach.
“Everything that he has taught me I’ve carried throughout my playing years and into coaching, so there really wasn’t much of an adjustment once I came in,” Dougherty said. “Coming into the culture as a coach was different than as a player, but I loved it.”
With the baseball season now under way, and Dougherty trading the glove for the clipboard, Bradley aspires to surpass last season’s accomplishments and go beyond with one of their best player’s back on the Hilltop.“I’m hoping to win a Missouri Valley title,” Dougherty said. “I’m hoping to gain experience, be a sponge just soaking everything up, trying to learn as much as I can so that someday I can become a head coach of a collegiate program.”
