Do What You Love

Coach Cronk's Inspiring Interview

Daryl Cronk is the head baseball coach here at Avila University.  This year marks his third year here at Avila and he already has a HAAC Conference Championship under his belt with the Eagles.  But, it obviously did not all start at Avila.  Coach Cronk had to have some qualifications to get a head coaching job just the same as any other line of work.  Coach Cronk’s college career as a pitcher, at Pitt State University in Pittsburg, Kansas was a very successful one.  Daryl Cronk was an all conference pitcher three straight years, a two time all-region pitcher, and an All American.  He was also voted top one hundred greatest athletes in Pitt State history in all sports.  In the Ban Johnson summer league in Kansas City, he received the Championship Tournament MVP.  As a coach at Pembroke Hill High School he got Missouri High School Assistant Coach of the year and then of course at Avila, he in his first year led the team to a Conference Championship in his first year as a head coach.

After Coach Cronk’s successful career at Pitt State, he was asked by his coach to stick around and be the pitching coach.  Cronk says, “I never really thought I wanted to coach as a profession.”   He loved the game of baseball but did not really give a whole lot of thought to coaching; however he had one more year of school left to finish his degree, so he accepted that role with the team as the new pitching coach without hesitation.  He played independent pro baseball with the River City Rascals in the St. Louis, Missouri area during the summer for two years and coached at Pitt State during school.  After that he moved back to Kansas City, got married, and bought into a franchise in the gas business.  He worked that business franchise for two years and was not coaching anywhere.  Cronk says he really missed coaching,  “The itch to coach really in that two years was really getting at me and so I really wanted to get into coaching at some level.  I never really dreamed that I would be a head college coach at some point.”  He would not rule any opportunity out so he got an opportunity and took it Pembroke High School in Kansas City as the pitching coach there for four years.  After that, he got another opportunity to be the pitching coach and get his Masters degree in athletic administration at the University of Central Missouri.  Cronk was at Central Missouri for two years.  After those two years and finishing his Masters degree, Rockhurst University called later and brought him on as there pitching coach.  Avila University was looking for a new head baseball coach so he heard about it, applied and got the job.

Coach Cronk would not have been able to start his coaching career if he had not had his franchise and contracting opportunity with Kansas Gas Service.  He has a family to support and being a pitching coach does not pay enough to do that.  His work in the gas industry snowballed into more work than he could handle on his own, so he was able to hire extra help to run a successful business. That allowed him to have enough time to continue coaching. Up until three years ago Cronk did all the work as an owner/operator with the help of a few others as well. The business has gotten even more successful and he doesn’t have to physically do the work because he has hired several people to do the work with him overseeing everything. 

Coach Cronk had a desire to coach because the game of baseball is what he loves and coaching was the way to be around the game by helping young players play.  Cronk’s advice to young students is to right your dreams and goals down.  Make your dreams known and do not be afraid to talk about them no matter how big or small you might think they are.  Secondly he says to look at those who are in the profession that they dream about and study them.  Do whatever it takes to find out how they made it to where they are, and find out as much as you can about it.  Have specific goals and move towards them one day at a time.  “Have a five year goal, have a ten year goal, and then figure out what you gotta do today to make it work.”

Coach Cronk has a great reputation with his players.  He is refered to as a “Father figure,” ‘a great coach’, ‘really respectful guy who knows what he is doing,’ by his players.  It is fair to say that Daryl Cronk has found his niche in life all because he followed his dream and set out to do what he loves by coaching baseball.