Evans: Devoting a life to coaching Havre students

Sunday, Havre High School will be hosting its 29th Annual Salute to Senior Citizens, a salute to people who support the school system and volunteer to help children and the community - like Bob Evans Sr.

"I've always been involved in Blue Pony sports," Evans said.

The Salute to Senior Citizens event will start at noon at the Havre Middle School cafeteria with brunch at 12:30 p.m. After brunch the Havre High School Hi-Liters, Woodwind Choir, Belles Voix and Flute Choir will perform. All the table decorations and placemats were made by the elementary school students.

Evans said he moved to Havre at the age of 18 after graduating from high school in Minnesota in 1955. He moved so he could work on his cousin's farm for the summer, but he never moved back. Instead, he stayed in Havre, starting a new life.

When he first moved to Havre, he said that he remembers telling his aunt he couldn't wait to move back home.

"She told me, 'Bob if you stay for the rest of the summer, you'll never go back,'" he said.

He said he didn't believe her at first, but when the summer ended he decided that he wanted to stay.

"I liked it so much I decided to stay," he said. "So I've been here ever since."

In Havre he met his wife of 62 years, Cheryl, who he said puts up with him and let him do all the things he does. He added that she encourages him a lot with his volunteer work and he wants to give credit for his years of service to her. Together they had five children.

After moving to Havre, he got a job at Havre Ford, working in the garage for number of years before moving to the parts department then management sales. He then left that job to start his own business, Master Sports, in 1972, which is still operating today and run by his eldest son, Bob Evans Jr.

He said he coached little league baseball and Babe Ruth League for a number of years during this time. In 1997, he quit coaching the Babe Ruth League and became the assistant coach for the American Legion Northstars baseball team with Micky Williams. Eventually, he and Williams broke the Legion team into two different teams, with Evans becoming the head coach for the Commits team.

After he retired in 1999, he said he became more active in coaching in the community, even playing on a few teams himself. Evans said that, in 2005, Havre High School started their girls fastpitch team, which he started coaching. At the time, he was a Blue Poney Booster supporter, being active in the club for a number of years. He said when he asked to coach the girls fastpitch team he thought it was funny.

"I was the oldest coach they ever hired," he said, adding that he was 67 years old at the time.

He said he loves being a coach and developing young players into great athletes.

"It's like a hobby to me," he said. "Rather than working, it's a hobby. Somebody else might like fishing, I like trying to develop young players."

Evans said that he likes coaching because his love of the sport. In his own high school years, he said, he played football, basketball and baseball, but baseball was his family's sport.

He said that Havre has a strong program and he likes to work with the pitchers. He had nine brothers when he was growing up, and all of them played baseball.

"I love the sport," he said. "I really enjoy working these young kids, trying to make them better players."

Evans said that they start grooming some players as early as fifth grade, and he personally training them over the winters and summers. He said that some of the players go from barely knowing how to play catch to becoming pretty good athletes.

"It just makes you feel good to be able to watch some of those kids develop, and they, in turn, love the game as much as I do," he said. "The kids are fun to work with."

He added that he knows this helps the children become better plays as well as makes the softball program stronger. The program is getting better all the time, he said.

He said he looks forward to the team having a good season this year, adding that they also have a got good crop of students coming from eighth grade. There are also some new pitching prospects coming from the seventh and eighth grade as long as they keep working. He added that the high school program should stay strong with pitchers over the next few years.

There are great memories of every year, he said, such as when his Babe Ruth team won the state championship in 1997 or when his legion team won the state championship. He said one of the more recent memories is when the Pony fastpitch team beat Lewistown last year in the District Tournament.

At different times in the year, he enjoys seeing the joy in the girls throughout the big games and big wins, he said - it feels good.

Evans said that what is key in his ability to coach is his ability to get along with all the student players and he has been able to get along very well with them and their parents over the year.

"Everyone's happy," he said.

Over the years that he has coached, he said that the majority of his player enjoyed his coaching.

At the end of practice, he wants his players to leave with a good attitude and to be happy with the way they practiced, he said. He wants them to look at the things they've accomplished throughout the day and be proud of themselves. They worked hard and they are out there trying to get better.

Many of his athletes, after they have graduated, still keep in contact with him.

"We're good friends," he said, adding that a few of his former players, even if they don't live in Havre, will still visit with him when they are in town.

"It makes me feel good that they like coming back and making sure to see me," he said. "... It make me feel good that those kids over the years respect me and I respect them."

Evans also volunteers to take care of field.

"I like to do it. It gives me something to do," he said, adding that when his team practices he wants them to have a nice field.

At 82 and having coached for more than half a century, Evans said that he looks forward to coaching in the future.

"God's been good to me, I can't complain," he said.