My name is Mark Gallion,  I have coached select level baseball in St. Louis for a number of years, primarily teams in the 12-16u age groups.

 

 

My father, Arlie, started his career as a teacher and football and basketball coach.  He was an incredibly positive role model.   My earliest memories are being on the sidelines of football and basketball games.  

 

When I was a teenager,  a baseball coach named Roger Hedrick, had an enormously positive impact on my life - teaching me the importance of hard work, positive thinking, and believing in yourself.  During high school, an English teacher, Bettie Brakebill, reinforced these lessons and added in the responsibility of having an impact beyond the playing field.  Those lessons have lasted a life time.

 

I feel a strong obligation to pass these lessons on through the sport of baseball.

 

In this pursuit, I have dedicated a lot of my time over the past five years researching and learning about coaching youth baseball.   I want to be the best coach that I can be, and am willing to put in the hard work to get there.   This has been a rewarding experience. I also feel a strong obligation to share what I have learned with other coaches.  

 

I love the game of baseball, at all levels.  I am an avid Cardinal fan, whose baseball heroes include Brooks Robinson, Tom Seaver, Pete Rose, Nolan Ryan and Mike Schmidt.  Most recently, David Eckstein has been added to my list of heroes.

 

After my high school glory days in sports, I earned a BS degree in Engineering from the University of Tulsa and a MBA from Harvard Business School.  I have spent years working for large companies (Emerson Electric, British Petroleum) and in management consulting with Booz, Allen & Hamilton.   My wife, Lauree, and I were married in 1981 and have two sons, Elliot and Nicholas.  Both played select baseball.