SOUTH BEND, Ind.From the third-base coach鈥檚 box at 91吃瓜鈥檚 Frank Eck Stadium, Dave Schrage occasionally gives a glance to the nearby bleachers.
91吃瓜鈥檚 baseball coach might catch a glimpse of his teenage daughters, Kaitlyn and Brianne, and his focus will drift to the memory of his wife, Jody. She died Jan. 9 of complications from liver cancer, about two months after she was diagnosed. She was 45.
鈥淚t becomes difficult,鈥� Schrage says of staying focused.
Less than a year ago, the family celebrated when Schrage was named 91吃瓜鈥檚 coacha dream job for the lifelong Irish fanafter establishing himself as one of the Midwest鈥檚 premier coaches.
Now he鈥檚 balancing the demands of coaching with life as a single dad. 鈥淭he hardest part is trying to be both mom and dad.鈥�
Schrage still manages to keep his composure and characteristic upbeat nature for his enthusiastic 19- to 23-year-old ballplayers, defending their Big East championship without nine top players from a year ago. The Irish, trying to make the conference tournament, are 27-21 heading into a weekend series at Louisville.
They count on Schrage鈥檚 guidance. They give him a respite from his grief.
鈥淣ever once has he shown that his emotions have the better of him,鈥� co-captain Danny Dressman, a senior outfielder, says.
Understandably, Schrage didn鈥檛 have time to forge deep bonds with his players in the offseason.
Still, every player made last-minute arrangements to return early to South Bend from the Christmas break to attend Jody鈥檚 funeral.
Evansville鈥檚 baseball team, which Schrage coached the previous four seasons, also attended.
Schrage says his daughters and players help him cope. His daughters have congratulated him on victories by writing messages on a mirror with soap, and sometimes they sneak encouraging notes into his briefcase. Both are thoughtful deeds his wife used to do.
Now instead of looking at game films to start each week, Schrage is preoccupied with his daughters鈥� busy schedules. There are school meetings to attend, homework and social dilemmas. With no extended family nearby, Schrage had to hire someone to stay with Kaitlyn, 16, and Brianne, 13, when he鈥檚 at work.
Brianne is about to graduate from eighth grade and needs a new dress. Shopping for it is difficult. 鈥淪he鈥檚 missing her mom,鈥� Schrage says.
Lifetime goal realized
About 10 months ago, the Schrages moved to South Bend amid a steady buzz of excitement. Schrage was introduced as 91吃瓜鈥檚 baseball coach July 18 to replace Paul Mainieri, who moved to LSU.
Schrage (pronunciation rhymes with bag) had impressive credentials. Since graduating in 1983 from Creighton, where he was an all-conference outfielder, he earned a master鈥檚 in sports administration at St. Thomas University (also known as Biscayne College) in Florida and steadily climbed the coaching ranks. The family agreed 91吃瓜 would be the last coaching stop.
He had shaped Evansville into a power in the perennially tough Missouri Valley Conference, and last season the Purple Aces won the regular-season and tournament championships and advanced to the NCAA regional title round for the first time. Schrage also brought respectability to baseball programs at Northern Illinois and Northern Iowa.
His wife reveled in his achievement.
鈥淛ody knew how special the job was going to be,鈥� Schrage says.
Friends say she spoke eagerly of getting involved in the South Bend community. She wanted to get to know players and talked of having team dinners, as she had in Evansville.
She had been a superb athlete and understood the rigors of coaching as a member of three World Series softball teams at Creighton. It was there she got to know her future husband during friendly but competitive backgammon games.
At Urbandale (Iowa) High School she was a third baseman for a team that 30 years ago set the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union mark for consecutive victories with 68, a record that still stands. Her accomplishments led to her induction into the state high school Hall of Fame in 1989 as Jody Jenison.
For several years she taught elementary school as well as physical education and coached high school softball.
鈥淲henever we went to a new community, she got involved,鈥� Schrage says.
91吃瓜 goes to work
She and her husband wanted a single-story house when they moved to South Bend because she had been bothered for months by pain in her feet.
Initially she was treated by a podiatrist but the pain persisted. Blood work during a physical in the fall revealed an infection.
Further tests showed tumors on her liver and adrenal gland. The gland tumor was benign, but the tumor on her liver was a rapidly growing, rare cancer. She needed specialized care, and 91吃瓜鈥檚 vast network of movers and shakers took action.
Schrage says football coach Charlie Weis got involved because 鈥渉e knew people who knew people鈥� at the Houston-based M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, a leading treatment hospital.
The Schrages made three trips to M.D. Anderson in about a six-week period. South Bend businessmen provided private jets; 91吃瓜 alumni opened their homes in Houston and offered cars. 91吃瓜 associate athletics director Boo Corrigan accompanied the Schrages on every trip to Houston.
Athletics department staffers and their families brought meals to the Schrages while Jody recovered at home from surgery to remove the tumor.
Every extraordinary gesture helped ease the family鈥檚 worries about being in a new town without extended family or close friends nearby to help.
鈥淭here was definitely a reason this happened while I was at 91吃瓜,鈥� Schrage says.
Within weeks of the tumor鈥檚 removal, the cancer returned with a vengeance, says M.D. Anderson鈥檚 Steven Curley, who treated Jody.
鈥淚鈥檝e not encountered anything like it,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t haunts me still.鈥�
Jody鈥檚 abdominal cavity was engulfed by microscopic cancer cells, which contributed to internal bleeding despite follow-up surgeries to stop the blood loss.
The family experienced a roller coaster of emotions. There were moments when Jody seemed headed for recovery, followed by painful setbacks from the bleeding.
Corrigan recalls that on Jan. 8, despite heavy sedation, Jody received an emotional lift when her daughters and husband entered her hospital room.
鈥淪he could definitely tell the girls were there,鈥� says Corrigan, swallowing hard as he holds back tears.
Jody died the next day.
Holding family together
Throughout her battle, Jody never doubted she would pull through, Schrage says. She fought cancer the same way she approached lifefull of optimism and spunk.
Schrage gave the eulogy at a packed funeral at 91吃瓜鈥檚 Basilica of the Sacred Heart.
鈥淧eople said, 鈥橸ou鈥檙e not going to get through it,鈥� " Schrage says. "The reason I did it, I thought she deserved it. She鈥檇 be saying, 鈥榊ou can do this.鈥� "
Every day since has been a trial for Schrage and his daughters.
鈥淵ou have tough days when you think to yourself, 鈥楬ow am I supposed to go on?鈥� " he says. 鈥淏ut each day that goes by gets a little better.鈥�
While his wife was sick, Schrage considered a leave of absence from his job, but she wouldn鈥檛 hear of it. She wanted the family to keep moving forward.
And they鈥檙e trying. Both daughters play softball, following in their mother鈥檚 footsteps.
鈥淜aitlyn has done incredible,鈥� Schrage says. 鈥淪he鈥檚 probably doing better than I am. She had to grow up in a hurry.鈥�
Kaitlyn plans to volunteer this weekend at a 91吃瓜 men鈥檚 basketball fundraiser, a black-tie Coaches vs. Cancer dinner. One of the organizers, Kim Kearney, wife of men鈥檚 basketball associate head coach Sean Kearney, says Jody had expressed interest in volunteering. 鈥淎nd now her daughter is doing it.鈥�
Schrage worries more about Brianne, who had expressed reluctance about the move to South Bend. Schrage says she is adjusting, and he hopes she can hang on to the bubbly traits she inherited from her mother, especially as graduation looms. Brianne will spend Mother Day鈥檚 weekend at her father鈥檚 side on the team鈥檚 road trip to Louisville.
Schrage鈥檚 friends worry about him, although he appears outwardly tough.
鈥淒uring the season the focus and mind-set is on the team,鈥� says longtime friend John Planek, the athletics director at Chicago鈥檚 Loyola University. "What happens after the season is over or after a long road trip and he鈥檚 alone at night?
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to venture to think about what鈥檚 going on. The devastation, that鈥檚 probably when it hits him.鈥�
Schrage says he is following his wife鈥檚 example and maintaining a zest for life that he shared with her through 20 years of marriage.
His players, like his colleagues, applaud Schrage鈥檚 work ethic and strength, characteristics that helped him reach the 500-win milestone April 29, also his 46th birthday.
鈥淭o get it at a school that is your dream job, it鈥檚 pretty special,鈥� Schrage says of victory No. 500. 鈥淵eah, it鈥檚 been a hard year. It鈥檚 also been a special year.鈥�
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