Miami Dade College
Sharks Baseball
STEVE
HERTZ
Volunteer Head Coach
Coach Steve Hertz has been a large part of the
Miami Dade College family for over twenty years. Following an outstanding
high school coaching career, Hertz has been a constant visitor to the
FCCAA State Tournament since 1986. With a 35-15 record in 2004, Hertz’s
career mark at Miami Dade is an impressive 698 – 253, averaging
over 34 wins per season. His high school accomplishments include a Florida
State Championship at Coral Park High School in 1978 and 300 career victories.
Hertz picked up his 600th win at Miami-Dade on May 10, 2001 with a
9-0 win over Daytona Beach CC in the FCCAA State Tournament as his
Sharks came out of the losers bracket to win the NJCAA Gulf District
title and a trip to the NJCAA World Series. Love and respect of the
game, dedication and a hard-working yet fun approach has made Hertz's
Miami-Dade teams constant winners.
When the Miami Dade athletic program was consolidated
into a district-wide program after the 1997 season, Hertz was selected
to guide the baseball fortunes. During his 30-year career, Hertz has
had the opportunity to coach and influence an array of talented athletes.
Several of his former players have advanced to the major league level
including, Jamie Navarro, Placido Polanco, Omar Olivares and Juan Pena.
No stranger to pro baseball, Hertz signed
a contract with the Houston Colt 45's (now Astros) in 1963. He became
the youngest player at that time to break spring training and stay
with the major league club. He had a productive minor league career
and ended his playing days by winning an International League title
with the New York Mets Triple A farm team, the Tidewater Tides in
1969. A Miami native, Hertz starred as an All-City & All-State
infielder at Miami High School. During his pro career, Hertz found
time to return to Miami in the off-season and receive his physical
education degree from the University of Miami.
In addition to his coaching duties, Hertz also teaches health analysis
and improvement and principles of coaching at MDC's Wolfson Campus.
He has been selected the "Miami Coach of the Year" on four
occasions. In 1985, he was inducted into the Miami High School Hall
of Fame and in 1987; Hertz was coach of the silver medal winning
South squad at the United States Olympic Festival.
He has received numerous awards during his
career, including the MDC Wolfson "Employee of the Month" and
Outstanding Faculty Member in 1992 and 1994. Last summer, Hertz coached
the United States entry in the Junior Pam American Maccabi Games
to a second consecutive gold medal in Chili. Hertz teamed with former
LSU head coach Skip Bertman to capture the Maccabi Games gold in
2001 in Mexico City. Hertz earned his masters degree in administration
and supervision from Nova University in 1987 and resides in Kendall
with his wife, Fran and sons, Jeff and Darren.
JIM MANSILLA
Assistant Coach
Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, Jim Mansilla
has been a fixture of the Miami Dade baseball program since his
arrival in Miami to play for Demie Mainieri’s MDCC North team
in 1969. The 2005 season will be Mansilla’s eighth with Miami
Dade head coach Steve Hertz. Jim also served as the assistant coach
for the North Campus program under both Demie Mainieri and Tony Simone.
Jim has also served as an assistant coach at the University of Miami.
In his sophomore season at Miami Dade North,
Mansilla’s team
captured the FCCAA State Championship and advanced to the JUCO World
Series, where the Falcons finished second in the ten-team event. Interestingly
enough, Jim returned to Grand Junction, Colorado after 30 years in
2001 as associate head coach with the Sharks as Miami-Dade participated
in the JUCO World Series for the first time since 1981.
After his first stint at Miami Dade, Mansilla moved on to the University
of Toledo, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1974.
After playing one season of professional baseball with the Oakland
Athletics affiliate in the Midwest League, Jim accepted an opportunity
to play professionally in Italy where he played and coach for fifteen
seasons. As head coach of the Rimini Pirates for six years, Mansilla’s
teams captured three league championships, one Cup of Champions and
the European Cup. In 1981, Jim was promoted to lead the Italian National
Team in both the junior and senior divisions. In 1983, Jim’s
Italy team won the European Cup and qualified to participate in the
1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles where they finished a respectable
fifth against the world’s best.
Jim received his Masters Degree in Sports Administration form the
United States Sports Academy in 1990. Jim resides in Pembroke Pines
and was married to Metro-Dade firefighter Wendy Martin in 1985. They
have two children, Matthew James and Katie Michele.
