By Gary Curreri

Charlie Pal lines a double to centerfield in a game Friday night against Coral Springs Charter at Cypress Park in Coral Springs. Photos by Gary Curreri

George Petik has made a name for himself in Broward County High School baseball and actually thought about retiring until he was coaxed into returning one more year.

The 58-year-old Petik, who has been a staple in dugouts around the county at Cardinal Gibbons, Nova and now at Pompano Beach High School, entered the week one victory shy of a milestone 400th win.

“It means you have been around a long time,” Petik said with a laugh. “It means you have had a lot of good players and you have had a lot of good assistant coaches because without the players and the assistant coaches, you are nothing.”

Petik said he planned to retire this season, but returned for another season.

“My daughter Shelby said at the beginning of the year, ‘Dad, this will give you a chance to win 400,’ and I thought, ‘I got to be able to win nine games,’” said Petik, of Ft. Lauderdale. “I would like to think I made some positive impact on some kids’ lives, I hope so. It is a meaningful thing.”

“You don’t coach to win X number of games. I coach because I enjoy seeing a player go from here to there,” said Petik, motioning his hands from a few inches apart to a foot apart. “If we teach him as much as he is willing or capable of absorbing and then he goes out and does it, that’s fun!”

Pompano Beach was slated to play Ft. Lauderdale on Wednesday night and North Broward Prep on Friday. The Tornadoes defeated Ft. Lauderdale, 5-4, earlier in the season.

This is Petik’s fifth season as head coach at Pompano. He was head coach at Cardinal Gibbons for 17 years where he became the first Broward County team to win a state championship in 40 years in 1987. Petik is 399-194-2 and went 26-4-2 the year Gibbons won the state title.

He was an assistant under Pat McQuaid for four years at Nova before leaving for Pompano. Petik works at Margate Middle School and has been in the Broward County School system for more than 30 years.

Petik’s squad dropped a 7-2 decision to host Coral Springs Charter on April 1. The Tornadoes are 2-4 in the District 14-3A race having split with Coral Springs Charter and Pine Crest and also lost to American Heritage-Plantation and North Broward Prep.

Pompano Beach has had some lopsided victories this year over Coconut Creek, 14-0; Coral Glades, 18-4; Northeast, 20-0; Stranahan, 20-1, and Pembroke Pines Charter, 15-5. The team also trailed Pine Crest by seven runs after five innings on March 25 before rallying for a 20-14 win.

Pompano Beach had been led by seniors – Kenny Sanchez (LF), Jarod Sundook (3B), Charlie Pal (2B) and juniors – Kenny Harrell (SS) and Ryan Richman, who has tossed two no-hitters this year.

The Tornadoes (8-4) haven’t reached the postseason since 1971 under coach Herm Hatfield when it lost in the first round to Miami Beach, 4-0. It is something that Petik would like to do, but knows it is a very tough district.

“We need to be on our ‘A’ game and they need to be a little flat for us to be able to compete,” Petik said. “That can happen. We just need to do everything right.”

Tyler Keller fires a pitch in a game Friday night against Coral Springs Charter at Cypress Park in Coral Springs.