Tim Koerber - Coach

Year Inducted: 2012

Tim’s forty year coaching career began on the Little League fields of Port Huron, highlighted by City Championships with Dawn Donuts in 1968 and Local 44 in 1970.   The 1967 graduate of Port Huron Catholic High School led Smith Funeral Home to two Red Division championships in the Port Huron Babe Ruth League and formed and played for the Platzers/Cummings modified softball team.   He was also the Varsity Softball Coach at Port Huron Central High School winning district titles in 1978 and 1980 and assisted with the varsity basketball and baseball programs.

In 1974 he founded and coached the Port Huron Shamrocks baseball team in the Blue Water Baseball Circuit, a league for 16-19 year olds.  The Shamrocks league record was 132-24 and included 6 championships in seven seasons in the BWBC.  Overall, including one year in the Macomb Connie Mack League, the Shamrocks posted a record of 188-52.

In 1984, Tim began a successful coaching career at Pope John Paul II High School in Boca Raton, Florida.   His head coaching roles included 14 years in baseball, 5 in softball and 5 in girls’ basketball.  His baseball teams posted 252 wins, averaging 18 wins a season in the tough Palm Beach County Athletic Conference.  His softball teams won 104 games and the basketball teams 88.  In all three sports Tim was recognized with Coach of the Year honors by local, regional and statewide media organizations.

During his 14 years as Varsity Baseball Coach, Tim’s teams won 5 Conference, 2 District and 1 Regional Championship.   His 1986 team made it to the Florida State Baseball Finals.   Tim was a 5-time Palm Beach County Athletic Conference Baseball Coach of the year and a 6-time Florida Athletic Coaches Association District 17-3A Coach of the Year.  The Florida Sports Writers ranked 4 of his teams; number one in the state polls.

Forty of Tim’s players went on to play at the collegiate level; 7 played professional baseball, with one playing in the Major League.  Two of Tim’s former players are head Coaches at Division 1 colleges; Florida Atlantic University and the University of Cincinnati.

In 1992, Tim was selected to be one of the coaches for the FACA All-Star Baseball Game featuring the best high school seniors in Florida.  One of the players on Tim’s team was future Tiger, Johnny Damon.   Tim also had occasion to coach against other future major leaguers including Alex Rodriguez and Prince Fielder.

In girls’ basketball, Tim’s teams won 2 Conference Championships and a District Title.   He was a 2-time PBCAC and a 2-time Boca Raton News Coach of the Year.   His softball teams had a 104-35 record during Tim’s 5 year tenure.   They won 3 District and 3 Conference Titles and were a Regional Finalist in 2006.   Tim was a 3-time PBCAC and Boca News Coach of the Year.   In 2006, he was named Softball Coach of the Year by the Sun Sentinel.

Under Tim’s guidance as Athletic Director, Pope John Paul II High School won the Dodge Cup signifying the top 3A Women’s Athletic Program in the state of Florida.   His school was also recognized by the Sun Sentinel as the most improved and best overall athletic program in Palm Beach and Martin Counties.

In the fall of 2011, Tim was awarded his school’s prestigious Outstanding Eagle Award for both his coaching accomplishments and his dedication to the school and the many students whose lives he touched.  Tim and his wife, Sue, reside in Boca Raton, Florida during the winter and in Port Huron in the summer.  Their adult son, John, lives in Port Huron.