American Legion Post 210 Speakers baseball coach Allan Shepherd retires
DANVILLE, Ill. — A good coach can change a game, but a GREAT coach can change a life. Take Allan Shepherd, for example. 2022 was Coach Allan Shepherd’s 21st and final year of coaching American Legion Post 210 Speakers baseball.
When Coach Shep began coaching, the Legion baseball program had dwindled down to 20 players. He had a vision to make Post 210 baseball/softball a better place for kids in the community. He wanted to develop a program where the athletes could improve and carry their athletic careers into college and beyond.
Shepherd built up the Legion program to the point that Speakers baseball became a well-known powerhouse. Even Cubs manager Joe Maddon gave Post 210 a shoutout back in 2019, fondly recalling his own days playing Legion ball! With 16 traveling baseball and softball teams. The American Legion Post 210 program is considered an elite travel program throughout the central Illinois area.
Season records and big wins garner a lot of attention. But for Coach, “the most important thing to my family and I are the relationships. We have been able to grow our family by hundreds through this journey and that’s what I’ll miss the most.”
While he likes to think that he was able to teach players the finer points of baseball and he was able to help some players transfer to college programs, Coach Shep has found that his biggest reward has been the “conversations and coaching to guys that are close to 30 about life and careers. I have gotten to see some become fathers, got to officiate a wedding for one and those are the things that last forever.”
Shepherd is known for challenging his 210 Speakers to become better players on-and off-the baseball diamond. Coach says that he may not know if he made a real impact until 10-20 years down the road. However, he does know that American Post 210 has blessed him with many great men that will make the world a better place. While he may not be coaching, Coach Shep intends to keep cheering on the Legion teams, “giving them hell” from the sidelines!
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