Succession: Norwell baseball coach Barrett Jacobs takes over for dad in Clippers dugout

ABINGTON − Like father, like son. That's the story of the Norwell High baseball program, which might have changed hands, as far as coaches go, but is still in the family.

The Jacobs family, that is.

Tom Jacobs guided the Clippers for 20 seasons, winning 200-plus games. When he decided to retire after last season he had the perfect successor in mind − his son Barrett, a longtime assistant (freshman and JV coach) who is now trying to build on his dad's legacy.

Dad, in this case, is quite proud.

"In a word, it's awesome," said Tom Jacobs. "I started coaching in Norwell in 1989. When my son was in college (at UMass-Amherst) he started coming as a volunteer assistant. Then when he got a job teaching (history) in Norwell he became the freshman coach. He did 10 years of sub-varsity before I retired, and that was great that we worked together for those 10 years. Now for him to carry on (the tradition), it's great. I go (watch him) on days when it's convenient for me. It's really enjoyable to watch him take over and have success."

"There will be comparisons, fair or not, with my dad," Barrett Jacobs, 33, said of continuing the family business, "but I was very excited (to get the gig). (Following my dad at) Norwell wasn't always the plan. When I was in school myself I knew that I wanted to be a teacher and I knew that I wanted to be a coach. It was part of my life as a kid (watching my dad coach) and it was also part of my experience playing sports.

"I went to Weymouth High and I had a great group of teacher-coaches and that was really important to me. But Norwell was hiring in 2012 or so and the opportunity just kind of presented itself and I ran with it. If I wasn't here I'd like to think I'd be somewhere else doing pretty much the same thing."

Bump in the road

The younger Jacobs' debut season has been a success by any measure. The Clippers are 13-7 and have assured themselves of their first winning season since 2016, when they finished 12-9.

It's true that Wednesday's regular-season finale did not go well as Norwell fell to Abington, 14-0, in a game that was halted in the fifth inning by the mercy rule. But the Green Wave (12-8) were probably overdue for a bust-out game, having lost four in a row.

"Oh, my God, it felt great," said junior DH Connor O'Donnell, who had an RBI triple in the second inning and was hit by a pitch to force in a run in the third. "It was mental mistakes (that hurt during the losing streak). We weren't in the game but today we stepped it up."

The bottom of Abington's order was particularly lethal with the Nos. 7-9 hitters − Cullen Crocker, O'Donnell, Ryan Solimini and pinch-hitter Jake Centrella − combining for 5 hits, 4 runs and 8 RBIs. Stephen Madden, A.J Nash and Spencer Merrick also tripled for the Green Wave, who pounded out 10 hits overall and drew six walks.

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"We've been struggling," said Abington coach Steve Perakslis. "We had lost four in a row before today and we hadn't been swinging the bats. We tried a different approach, tried to loosen them up a little bit and they came through today. Hopefully this is a good thing to (build on) for the tournament next week. This is a good feeling for them."

Norwell's had mostly good feelings this season. The Clippers had won nine of their last 12 coming in, including a big 6-2 conquest of East Bridgewater last week.

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"It's been a great year," junior first baseman Ky Princi said. "We're now 13-7, much better than last year. (Barrett Jacobs) has gotten a lot of experience with the JV team under his dad and it's shown. He knows what he's doing. Team chemistry is off the charts. The record speaks for itself. I love showing up for baseball every day, every game."

"Except this one," he added with a laugh.

'It's not an easy job'

Perakslis, who used to coach sub-varsity for Abington with Tom Jacobs, knows all about fathers and sons and baseball. He has one of his kids, Tyler, on his staff, while Stephen Jr. is the head coach at Cardinal Spellman. Stephen actually had a hand in Abington's four-game slide − the third game in that slump was a 7-6 Cardinals home win last week.

"It's not as nerve-racking as it is when you're coaching them (as players) because you live and die on every pitch (then)," Perakslis said of having sons in the profession. "You want them to do well (as coaches), but you also know the pitfalls of this job. It is not an easy job coaching high school, especially in the age of social media, all these things you have to worry about. You feel for them and you want them to do well and you're happy for them when they (succeed) but their losses hurt (you) too."

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Tom Jacobs wasn't in attendance for Wednesday's loss − he had a good day on the golf course, he was happy to report − but as bad as this one was, Norwell at least has time to flush it out of its system. The Div. 3 playoff bracket won't be announced until next Wednesday.

"In an ideal world it would be great (to get right back out there)," Barrett Jacobs said, "but it does give us a chance to step away and get some distance (from this game). We're looking at a week and a half of practice here."

Said Princi: "We have a long week of practice ahead of us. Those practices are going to make or break us for the playoffs. With the long layoff I think we'll be able to forget about this game pretty easily."

Playoff memories

When the playoffs do finally roll around, Norwell will be counting on a deep lineup. Although the Clippers were muffled by Abington junior left-hander John Sellon, who allowed just 3 hits over 5 innings to improve to 4-1, they have a fine collection of hitters, including Garrett Fisher (.403, 22 runs, 10 RBIs), Jamen Durka (.397, 21 runs, 17 RBIs), Pat Higgins (.392, 14 runs, 14 RBIs), Eli Walsh (.370, 17 runs, 17 RBIs) and Colin McCarthy (.368, 11 runs, 16 RBIs).

"They have a great lineup, they really do," Perakslis said. "They have great hitters. I didn't expect this (blowout) to happen, but I sure am glad it did."

Barrett Jacobs points out that he has two .300 hitters (Jake Horwitz and Will Corbin) platooning in left field.

"There are years where you can be a .220 hitter and you can find yourself out there," he said, "but you can be hitting .300 (this season) and find yourself on the bench."

That amount of competition could lead to problems, but the Clippers are harmonious.

"The culture of this team is really, really good," said Barrett Jacobs, a father of two who lives in Weymouth. "These guys say it over and over again: 'We just want to win baseball games.' Obviously, everybody wants to be out on the field, but the culture and camaraderie, I'm super-impressed with how positive it is."

Norwell also boasts a strong 1-2 punch in the rotation with Jack Birtwell (he was 4-2 with a 1.72 ERA before getting roughed up by Abington) and McCarthy (5-2, 3.11 ERA).

Norwell's preliminary round playoff win over Dover-Sherborn last season was the program's first postseason victory since the 2015 club made the Div. 3 South quarterfinals. Barrett Jacobs was around for that one, but he says his favorite Norwell playoff memory came when he was a college-age volunteer coach in 2011. That team advanced to the Div. 3 South semifinals, losing, 1-0, to Middleboro (and future Major League pitcher Sean Newcomb) at Rockland Stadium.

"I'll admit, that game was part of building my desire to coach," he said. "To be in that kind of environment, I loved it as a player and then seeing it from the coaching side (was exciting). That was the first time I really sort of coached in a big-time game. Not that I was making the decisions, but just being part of that atmosphere on the other side was different and unique and just really fun."

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Norwell baseball a family business with Barrett Jacobs now in charge