As I'm walking out, I run right into Bellaire head baseball coach Rocky Manuel. The first thing I noticed was Rocky was with his beautiful wife.
The second thing was he was wearing shorts with a Bellaire sweatshirt, that's Rocky.
Love him, or hate him, with Rocky Manuel, what you see is what you get. He is one of the most straightforward guys you will ever meet.
His players love him, and love playing for him. When talking about his team, Manuel can be honest to a flaw.
What he's saying is usually accurate, but it's how he says it that rubs opposing players and coaches the wrong way.
Rocky believes it's not bragging if you're telling the truth. And he usually is.
During his 18 seasons at Bellaire, the Cardinals have won 15 district titles and 2 state championships.
His teams have averaged more than 30 wins season, and they've been ranked number 1 in the country numerous times. The problem is a lot of area coaches and players would prefer to hear about it from someone else besides Rocky. But Manuel told me, "I don't have a P.R. person like the University of Texas, I have to get the word out about my team."
He added, "If someone asks me about Bellaire I'm not going to be falsely humble, I'm going to be sincerely confident."
Bellaire players like All-State catcher Jeremy Schaffer get a kick out of the way the fans react to Rocky, "We hear them yelling at him and I start laughing every time I here what they are saying but it's not something I can repeat."
Bellaire will open a best of three series vs. Westside starting on Friday.