Alex Morales is used to winning.

So it’s sometimes been hard for the new head coach of the Three Rivers Sandblasters AAA American Legion ballclub as the program, now in its fourth year, goes through the inevitable ups and downs required to establish a premier team.

“(Morales) knows the personnel, he has a system. He gets a little frustrated because he’s used to winning. But it’s about developing a program,” said Jim Dietz, the former San Diego State coach who spearheaded the creation of the Sandblasters in 2005 and coached the team for its first two years. “The kids aren’t going to be where we want them to be right away.”

“All three programs I’ve worked with have been successful,” said the 30-year-old Morales, sitting in his Coos Bay home, speaking about his time with El Camino Community College in Torrance, Calif., Southwestern Oregon Community College and now Three Rivers. “This program was started to develop the kids, and it’s doing that.”

Given how new the program is, it does seem that development is coming along just fine. Last year the Sandblasters won Zone 3 and went deep in the state tournament, eventually falling two wins short of a title. But many of the players on that team were too old to return to the 19-and-under Sandblasters. This season Three Rivers currently sits at 5-5 in league play, in fourth place and poised to make a postseason run.

“We’re young, and inexperienced in some positions,” said Morales. “But I think we’re doing great.”

It wasn’t clear if the program would work back in 2005, when Dietz and a small group of baseball-loving South Coast residents acted to fill what they saw as a gaping hole in the area’s youth baseball scene: a strong AAA American Legion Program. Thus the Three Rivers Sandblasters were born, replacing the struggling North Coos Waterfront as the area’s top summer program.  

“It was just an experiment to see if this could work,” said Dietz.

There are certainly still plenty of obstacles, one of which is simple geography. The team is based in Florence, which means players from the Bay Area have to travel an hour for home games, as do the guys who reside in Newport.

How do the players afford the travel?

“Parents,” said pitcher/first baseman Scott Buche, who plays for Western Oregon University and spends his summers in Myrtle Point. “It’s parents who make this happen.”

Even with a little help from the nest, the result is still that the team can’t really practice, short of getting together a few hours before the opening pitch on game day to work out together. The situation’s not ideal, said Morales and Dietz, but they make it work.

“Playing games is what’s crucial,” said Morales, who himself works the sideline with a poker face and calm demeanor. “You learn so much more when you’re actually playing.”

And in Morales, the team now has long-term stability in the coaching department. Dietz helmed the Sandblasters from 2005-06 but stepped back as he neared age 70 and became Zone 3 commissioner. Last year former Southwestern coach Corky Franklin took over, but he left the area when he was told he didn’t have the right credentials to fill a tenure-track position at the college.

So now it’s Morales’ turn to take over Three Rivers. Morales has been with the program from the start as an assistant, he worked with Franklin at Southwestern and his coaching background goes back to his time as a pitching coach at El Camino. But he really started coaching as a player at El Camino.

“I was still on the pitching staff, and I was calling pitches,” recalled Morales. “Then I had to go warm up to pitch.”

 Now he’s made the jump to head coaching, and those around him seem to think it’s a natural fit.

“He’s kind of a rookie at what he’s doing, but he’s doing a fine job,” said Dietz. “He’s a good mix.”

“He definitely puts in the time,” added Buche. “A lot of time. He’s got kids and a wife, and he’s putting in time that he could be spending in other ways.”

But for Morales, who teaches Spanish at Marshfield High School and has a son and daughter — Ashlyn, 9 months and Maddux, 2 — with his wife Kandra, spending time with his players is an important part of coaching.

“I’m best coaching any kid when I get to know them, their personality and interests,” said Morales. “One of the nice things about traveling so much is that you really do get to know the kids so well.”

It’s a coaching philosophy that first takes into consideration the development of Three Rivers players and their futures, and it’s something that appears to be working: Morales said 18 Sandblasters have now gone on to play college ball, and several more from this year’s team will as well.

Buche is one of those players, and he attributes at least some of his success to playing summer baseball.

“That’s kind of what summer’s all about, is getting better for the high school season or the college season. Seeing live hitters and actually getting into situations that come up in a game — that really helps,” said Buche. “I’m picking up new stuff every day.”

“The goal was to bring baseball back on the coast. A lot of kids weren’t playing ball in the summer.” said Morales. “And the competition is so much better than what they normally see, it helps them develop.

“I think if you were to talk to the high school coaches in the area, they’d say the same thing.”