CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Two-time VBL Champion Jim Darin returns to the Tom Sox coaching staff this season after being a part of Corey Hunt’s teams from 2017-19.
“If you take care of the journey, the destination will arrive,” Darin said, rejecting my question as to if baseball is solely about the wins and losses.
Darin’s role on the coaching staff is unique, but makes a major difference to the success of the players and coaches daily lives. A licensed physical therapist for over thirty years, Darin has used his expertise to stay connected with the game over baseball.
His role in maintaining the physical and mental well-being of Tom Sox players includes conducting preseason health checks on both their mind and body, maintaining a strong camaraderie with every player and staff member at the ballpark on a daily basis, and stretching each athlete to their specific routine before and after the game.
“If you don’t pay attention to details and you don’t pay attention to the little things, you’ll be sitting on the bench,” Darin told me.
He has been a coach at the high school ranks in the Charlottesville area for nearly two decades, first at Albemarle High School and now at Monticello High School. He enjoys being able to watch boys grow into young men, but after spending a few years with the Tom Sox, there is one key separator he sees between student-athletes at the collegiate level versus at the high school level: their focus and preparation.
That’s what he saw in Valley League MVP and Perfect Game All-American Michael Wielansky in 2017 en route to the franchise’s first league title. Darin said Wielansky had a fierceness to his demeanor on the field, but a sense of humility off of it that molded him into a great human being, as well as a great ballplayer. Vinnie Pasquantino, the first MLB Draft pick in Tom Sox history, was a surefire professional on that team too.
The reason why that team won is one that Coach Darin is trying to instill in this year’s team: constant improvement. “You’ve got to look at your approach at the plate… learn from your mistakes… make those adjustments. If you start to dwell on the mistakes and don’t make the adjustments, then they just become more mistakes.”
In 2025, Darin said he looks for commitment and accountability from players up and down the roster. Winning back-to-back championships will require a lot of effort, he said, but he believes the team chemistry is already building what it takes to be successful in the challenging summer baseball setting.
His passion for baseball intertwines with his passion for creating the best life for as many people as possible. Sports are not only an escape, but also a metaphor for life to Coach Darin.
“What all sports will teach you is something about winning and also something about losing,” Darin said. “Baseball, in particular, is a game truly of failure. And I can tell you, in life, everyone’s going to experience failure, and I think all sports will teach you that to some degree, and I think that helps you better deal with the failures that will come into your life. And I assure you, everyone experiences failure, and it’s just to know how to cope, develop those coping mechanisms, I think that are really important, and understand that at the end of the day, it’s a game, and it’s not life or death, and win or lose, the sun will come up tomorrow and it’s a new day.”
To listen to the full conversation with Assistant Coach Jim Darin, subscribe to On Deck with the Tom Sox, the official podcast of the Charlottesville Tom Sox. Hosted by Ben Rekosh, it can be found on all major podcast platforms and Youtube. New episodes are available the morning of every home game.
