Dreher's volunteer mission is Little League baseball

John Dreher talks with members of his 2021 Storm baseball team after a Little League game. (Photo by Lynn Dreher)

 
By Doug Spoon, Editor

It was 1996 and John Dreher was still fairly new to Menifee, having moved here three years before. Looking for a suitable activity for his young son, he enrolled him in the Menifee Valley Little League T-Ball program.

“I wasn’t a coach or anything that year,” Dreher recalled. “One day the coach said he was moving to Hemet. He looked at me and said, ‘You’re the only guy I see here at every practice and game. Here’s the equipment. You’re the manager.’ And I’ve been doing it ever since.”

Has he ever.

Now in his 27th season with MVLL, Dreher represents all that is good about the league, and youth baseball in general. He patiently works with the players, whether it be at the T-Ball level, Majors, or the Challenger League for special needs kids. He sternly defends the integrity of the game, yet his positive attitude is unmatched.

But Dreher doesn’t want to talk about himself. He wants to talk about the kids.

“It’s not only learning about baseball,” Dreher said about the purpose of the program. “It’s learning to be a team member, the whole experience. We want the kids to congratulate each other, maybe be lifelong friends.

“We’ve had some tough times, but you just keep going. The smiles on the kids’ faces when they win a game, the smiles on their faces when they lose a game … what we try to teach is, win or lose, you’re getting lifelong friendships, and you’re out in the grass and the dirt. What is better than that?”

In addition to managing a team every season, Dreher is a longtime board member with the league and has served as its president twice. This season, he and his wife Lynn serve as Safety Officers, ensuring the fields, equipment and player conduct are up to standards.

John and Lynn met in Huntington Beach in 1976 and have been inseparable ever since. Lynn is as involved as John in virtually every aspect of the game. The two have made MVLL their volunteer mission in life.

“I couldn’t do anything without her,” John said about Lynn. “With the safety program, she’s doing all the background checks, the paperwork. When I was the president, same thing.”

Lynn said she enjoys getting to know the kids and seeing how they develop. Every player but one on John’s current team, the Major Yankees, has played for him before – some ever since T-Ball.

“We didn’t win a game in fall ball last year, but every kid wanted to come back, and they’re all having a good time,” she said.

The Drehers both remember key moments of their volunteer dream life. Memories like the time a 13-year-old Junior League player who hadn’t been on base all season walked and ended up scoring a run that turned the game around.

“He showed up for every practice, played every game, but he never got on base,” Dreher recalled. “We were like 10 or 12 runs down and getting close to losing by a mercy rule, but he worked the pitcher for a walk. He got on base and said. “Coach, you can put a pinch runner in.’ I said, “Why? You earned it. We were down to our last out and you got on base to keep us going. You’re running the bases.’

“It ended up that he scored so we could play another inning, and we ended up winning. And he just danced around the bases, arms swinging, having a great time.”

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As positive as he tries to remain, Dreher admits it is sometimes difficult to deal with negative aspects of Little League, such as angry parents and coaches that tend to get out of control. Dreher remembers only one really serious scene years ago, when a parent came into the dugout and threatened him. In order to ensure the success of the league, he is willing to take the bad along with the good.

“I figure somebody has to be on that side of it,” he said. “When I was president of the league, I handled the parents and our player agents handled the kids. I was the buffer zone. You just learn to deal with it, You tell the parents it’s all about the kids. We’re not here so you can get all the glory.

“Everything these days is instant information. Everything is at a quicker pace. Parents want instant gratification. Hopefully we put that aside and let the kids experience the whole thing Little League has to offer.”

Watch Dreher interact with his players and you will see someone with an even temperament. Whether his team wins a game easily or loses by a mercy rule, his postgame chats with the players are upbeat.

“I don’t berate; I don’t single out anybody to put them down,” he said. “I try to recall every kid and what they did [positive] on the field. Usually my first question is, “What do you think we need to do better for the next time?’ They know what they have to correct and they work at it.

“It’s rah rah. I always give out a game ball. We plan it so everybody gets a game ball, and at the end of the year we give them a ball holder with the team and year on it. It’s all positive. It’s all about building their esteem and confidence.”

“All I ask is, give me 100 percent. If you’re only at 75 percent, give me 100 percent of that.”

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Many adults who coach a team or serve on the board leave Little League when their child graduates. John Dreher is the exact opposite.

“I just love it,” he said. “I decided my lot in life is coaching the kids. I’m not the best coach. I probably don’t know everything. I do know quite a bit about Little League. This is what we decided we were going to do. We wanted to volunteer for something and Menifee Valley Little League was it.

“There’s the 20-year-old that still sees me and says, ‘Hey coach, how you doing?’ When the kid was 9, he was an all-star. And I still remember him being pushed around in a basket at the grocery store as a toddler.

“I have no personal agenda in this. I just want to see the kids play baseball. Let them forget everything else that goes in life. For two hours a day, there’s nothing but smiles on their faces.”