JH Rose Rampants baseball head coach Ronald Stuart Vincent has local field named after him
GREENVILLE, N.C. — More than 1000 wins and over 50 years of coaching stem from only one man, Ronald Stuart Vincent, the local legend known as RV. The Greenville native has nurtured baseball players from Small Fry to high school and beyond, for as long as most can remember.
While attending East Carolina University, 18-year-old RV filled in for a little league coach and the rest is history. He went on to coach at Farmville Central before returning to his alma mater at JH Rose in 1974, where he remains today.
The distinguished coach says, “To look back on it, it’s really unbelievable that I’ve stayed around this long. I really enjoy helping the kids, age doesn’t matter. I do it because I want to do it.”
RV’s sister, Phyllis Langston, remembers her brothers having a ball or bat in their hands at all times. She explains, “Ronald and Charles were always going to Elm Street Park to play ball. We lived on 14th Street and it was easy for them to go across the Rose High field, which is now CM Eppes.”
Although the Rampants head coach has also coached football, basketball and wrestling, his passion has remained on the diamond. “Baseball has always been my favorite sport. I loved to play football and played for a few years at ECU, but baseball is by far my favorite.”
When the school year ends, the dedicated coach switches gears to focus on local youth baseball for the summer. For over 40 years, Coach RV has hosted baseball camps and has been on the Greenville Babe Ruth Board of Directors since 1977.
According to his youngest daughter, summers were full of baseball and special family memories combined. Beth remembers, “We always managed to find something new and fun to do every day. All the things kids should do in the summer, we did under his supervision. Everyone was welcome and many times, he would be watching up to six kids in the summer. We really had the ideal childhood.”
Very few coaches can boast a resume such as “the winningest single-sport coach to achieve 1000 wins in the state”. However, anyone that knows RV, knows that he is not one to boast.
This spring, the Guy Smith Stadium was named the “Ronald ‘RV’ Vincent Field” during a ceremony recognized by the mayor and local news stations to cover the well-deserved honor. Originally the Pitt County Fairgrounds, the stadium was built in 1939.
RV says, “It’s something I never considered, and somebody brought it up and said they were going to try to get it passed. I said, ‘Man, that would really be something.” He continues, “What a great place, Guy Smith Stadium. To have your name on something like this. With this area, this really is quite an honor.”
His daughter states, “This is what success looks like. It’s dedication, and hard work, and time spent making others better. It’s not about the wins, or the records, or the accolades. All of those fall into place when you do things the right way.”
Beth continues, “It’s about the people he’s mentored and helped along the way. There’s no tangible way to measure how many lives have been changed by their relationship.”
Coach Vincent has had many career winning records, including seven state championships and an undefeated season in 1999, yet the humble man has always fostered an environment of having fun.
RV explains, “The big key is that we’re playing a game. It isn’t a job. I don’t want my players to be scared to walk on the field. We want to enjoy it. It’s a game.” He adds, “Remember, the umpire says, ‘Play ball’ not ‘work ball’.”
Also a JH Rose athlete, Beth describes a childhood of attending many games and practices with her father. “I saw how much fun the kids were having, and I knew how much fun it was to ‘play’ a sport and to be a member of a team. Sports were an outlet for me to be a part of something bigger and to be rewarded for working hard at something. He insists on having fun while playing and that’s what we did!”
Some may wonder how a coach could enter his 52nd season with the same passion he has had since day one and how he has managed to grow such great players each year. RV believes in “basic coaching” and explains, “They want discipline, they want to be organized and they want a chance. They want to be led.”
Beth proudly states, “He was never too busy to help with a project. He was never too busy to take a kid home from practice. He was never selective in who he helped. Whether it was a 5-year-old wanting to play baseball or an elderly neighbor who needed his lawn mowed, he was there to help. That’s his legacy. His success comes from the foundation he built from genuine care and support of people around him and in the community.”
Phyllis describes, “We are all so proud of all he has accomplished. Our parents are certainly smiling down from Heaven.”
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