You can’t accuse David Yeager-led search committees of running the bases slowly; in all of two days it decided on a successor to Chad Krempin as head coach of the Llano High School varsity baseball team, and Brad Harman said, “yes.”

Harman has been head coach at Class-2A Coahoma (east of Big Spring in west Texas) for the last five years. His teams have made the playoffs all those years, getting as far as the region semifinals. He’s won 112 games in half a decade and lost 48.

“I’m pretty excited,” Harman said, “because I know the folks and the kids have a lot of baseball knowledge. I got to know more about Llano when I brought my team to the Hill Country Classic in 2007 and again this year. I was really impressed with the support of the parents and community.”

Harman (pronounced HAR-mun) is coming home--almost. He graduated from Marble Falls High in 1994. He was a first baseman and outfielder for Ronnie Scearce, and he played football for David Denney.

The group which chose Harman was comprised of: Yeager, the athletic director; high school principal, Daniel Vera; parent Cindy Compton; faculty member and parent, Joe Dan Tarter; and former baseball coach, Ken Barington.

“Harman came across as a good fit in the interview process,” Yeager pointed out. “I think he’ll have a good rapport with the friends of the athletic program.”

Krempin had problems with parents this year, and the subject was brought up as the candidates met the committee. “If you work with them, you can head off a lot of trouble,” Harman said. “We’ll have a meeting with the moms and dads before the season, and I think they’ll see I’m an approachable person. I want them to know me; parents can work for or against you, and I’d much rather have them on my side.”

Some baseball thoughts from the new coach: “I believe in the importance of small ball: bunting and speed and being very aggressive. We want to cause the other team to make mistakes.

“Defense is critical, of course, and so is pitching. It’s not that our guy has to throw the ball 90 miles an hour, but he should throw strikes. Eight guys can help him in the field, and if we limit the other team to a few runs, we’re going to be fine.

“I want our kids to have a great attitude; I’ll push them to the limit, but it can still be a fun game. If they’re ready to work, they’ll get things done.”

Hopefully the printed word brings out Brad Harman’s enthusiasm. It’s not something missing from the resume of his heart. “I want to stay in Llano for a long time,” he muses, “and I don’t just want us to have a winning year--I want us to have a winning program.”