TAMPA, Fla. — For 20 years he called the shots from behind the dugout for some of Tampa’s best baseball teams.
Pete Mulry is now retired, but his passion for the game is as strong as ever, continuing to help players reach their highest potential on and off the field.
“Baseball is a funny thing once you get it in your blood it’s just hard to get it out of there,” said Mulry.
Mulry won four state championships with Tampa Catholic High School before coaching the University of Tampa.
After retiring he wanted to keep making a positive impact on young players' lives so he created the Peter J Mulry Foundation. Every year the foundation hosts the "Stars of the Future," life skills through sports clinic.
“This is kind of a calling in life for me, it's my mission statement to figure out a process to help parents and kids develop life skills,” said Mulry.
Designed for students ages 7-13, Mulry brings in past and current major league players and managers to teach valuable lessons.
“One will do teamwork, one will do accountability, responsibility, discipline,” said Mulry. “We’ll also have some pitching videos and hitting videos.”
Jan. 9 marks the 20th year of the clinic which is free to participate in and for the first time will all be done virtually due to the pandemic.
Mulry has also written a children's book series incorporating the same skills being taught at the clinic.
“Every position has a character, like Cathy the Catcher is accountability, and we tell a story about Cathy,” said Mulry.
Jefferson High School baseball coach, Spencer Nunez, said seeing Mulry return to the diamond not to win games, but to offer guidance, is an inspiration.
“You have to manage so many different things when you are an athlete when you are in high school and college, and it’s tough to do, and coaches like Coach Mulry make that process a lot easier for these student-athletes,” said Nunez.
For more information on the clinic and how to sign up go to peterjmulryfoundation.org.
