Baseball principles carry over to life

If you can hear the sound of a baseball bat cracking after striking a ball, you'll probably find John Bemis nearby.

Bemis spends a tremendous amount of time around Kalispell's baseball fields, helping coach his sons' teams and watching various games.

A member of the local baseball board for three years, he's thrilled sons Andy and Connor both enjoy baseball, so he can continue his lifelong involvement with the sport.

"You'll likely find me roaming the baseball fields," he said of his spring and summer hangout.

Bemis said being involved in sports with his 10- and 15-year-old boys "is a pleasure."

Bemis and his wife, Karena, wanted their sons to be involved in sports, but left it up to each child to pick his sports. They ended up gravitating toward the same sports - baseball during the spring and summer, football in the fall and basketball and skiing during the winter. Skiing is a family affair in the Bemis household, with all four family members heading to the slopes together.

Bemis believes that participating in sports help youths learn to help one another, learn teamwork and learn respect.

As a coach he has his players focus on four principles and how those principles "relate to life in general." Those are discipline, attitude, team and effort - DATE in the abbreviated form.

Bemis freely admits he stole the four-principle concept from another Kalispell coach, Mike Rauthe, because he believes it works and he finds that "kids get it." The two men were coaching together and adapted the concept so it could be used "in every sport."

"As coaches, we give them simple definitions of the four principles," he said. "Like discipline, it's staying on task. Then we ask them how staying on task relates to home and school, not just the game."

Attitude is explained to players as "respect for yourself and others and how that translates over in life," Bemis said.

"A team is any group that works together to accomplish a goal. And effort means giving 100 percent every time, no matter what you're working on," he said.

He and his fellow Kalispell coaches always encourage parents of their players to reinforce the DATE principles away from the various playing fields, too. He sends the information home in a parents' letter at the start of every season and has shared it with many other local coaches "to use as they wish."

He reinforces the concepts with kids by having one of the four concepts be the "word of the day" at practices.

"Inevitably, we have a coaching moment," Bemis said, "and they almost instantly remember that day's word."

BEMIS CONSIDERS the four principles to be basic life skills that kids will use every day of their lives. He carries them over into his job as a market development manager for CenturyLink in Kalispell.

He oversees public relations, market development and community outreach throughout most of Montana.

His is "a fairly new position," and is "being defined as we go," he said.

He moved into the marketing job about a year ago, when CenturyLink acquired Qwest. He had worked for CenturyLink for six years at that point.

Maintaining a solid relationship in the communities where CenturyLink does business is a primary goal of the company, Bemis said.

"We want to have our finger on the pulse of our communities and figure out what each community needs," he said.

"Our industry has to change and adapt daily to meet people's needs and demands," Bemis said. "We're always changing, growing and learning in our business."

Bemis worked in the sales department at CenturyLink as a business account representative handling small to midsize businesses in an area from the Flathead Valley south to Polson and west to Idaho for three years. He was then promoted to area plant supervisor where he supervised 10 technicians, a job he also held for three years.

Bemis said his sales background proved helpful in working with technicians.

"I knew the products that the technicians were installing and maintaining because I sold them for three years," he said.

While not quite a Flathead native - his parents moved here when he was 1 - Kalispell is home to Bemis and his family. He's a Flathead High School graduate. His father has been a pastor at Bible Baptist Church for 38 years. Bemis is a youth leader at the church.

His brother teaches at Glacier High School and coaches girls softball.

"We have plenty of conversations about softball and baseball and the differences and similarities between the two sports," he added.

Reporter Shelley Ridenour may be reached at 758-4439 or sridenour@dailyinterlake.com.