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Georgian Coaches Nicaragua Baseball Team

When Darrin van TASSEL got his doctorate degree from the University of South Carolina in international relations, little did he know how well he would put it to use.

Serving as the pitching coach at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Ga., van TASSEL is currently serving as the head coach of the Nicaragua baseball squad, a position he has held twice in international competition. He also led the Nicaragua squad at the World Championships in 1994. Among his other international experiences, he lists time as coach of the Estonia national team and time spent as a coaching consultant in Israel, Curacao, Costa Rica and Japan on his global resume.

"There are cultural differences involved but the biggest problem is getting to know the players," said the 29-year old van TASSEL, whose squad dropped a 4-1 decision to the USA in Saturday's opening round of the Olympic baseball competition. "Language is not really a problem. It's baseball both places."

van TASSEL joined the Nicaragua squad only one month ago after his regular season duties at Georgia Southern, but he was familiar with much of the squad from his stint as the coach in 1994.

The native of Statesboro, Ga., credits his boss and head coach at Georgia Southern, Jack Stallings, for providing him the connections and opportunity to coach internationally. And much the way Stalllings leans on van TASSEL, van TASSEL leans on his assistants for help in the daily dealings of the squad.

In fact speaking Spanish is not as solid a credential as his baseball coaching skills. van TASSEL calls them "intermediate", relying on his staff when detailed discussions are needed with an individual player. Former Major League pitcher Luis TIANT, who has been with the team since February, is part of his staff and has been a "tremendous help for our pitchers and the whole team".

While temporarily wearing the colors of a foreign country, the USA resident is quick to point out where his loyalties lie over the next two weeks.

"I am an American citizen but for the next 15 days I'm going to be rooting for Nicaragua," said van TASSEL. "It did seem funny, though, when the crowd was hollering 'USA, USA' and I was on the other side."

This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Steven R. Shaff.


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The volunteer staff of the 1996 Olympic Games totaled 50,152. They worked an estimated 850,000 shifts.