I've always had a special appreciation for Father's Day.

It is one of those occasions that reminds me to take a knee and consider the many ways in which I have been fortunate.  As a son, father and coach, I am especially grateful for the positive lessons my father taught me about life, love and family.  I am absolutely sure he – Pops, I call him – has never questioned how much I love him, but it's valuable for all of us to have a time when we slow down the frenetic go, go, go of our days long enough to reflect on the numerous gifts that have come our way.

I am truly blessed to have two fabulous, generous, and loving parents. Each has given me unconditional love and encouragement. I know I'm lucky. This time of season, however, and the coincidence of Father's Day particularly, inspires me to talk about Pops.

Plenty of folks in San Diego know my father as a Hall of Fame coach of high school cross country and track – Coach Ungie. Others may remember him as a gifted and committed classroom teacher. In recent years, fans of USD baseball may recognize him as the father in the stands who has never missed a pitch. All of those descriptions would be accurate.

For me, he was a father first, but also a personal teacher and coach.

If I close my eyes and try to picture my earliest memories of Pops, I would visualize him bursting through the door each evening full of positive energy. I would know a hug was coming along with a sincere "what did you do today?" And, regardless of what his day may have been, he was eager to listen to what I'd say and he'd never let me consider any part of my day as a failure.  Negative wasn't allowed. If I'd had a difficulty or challenge, he'd just ask me what I was going to do with that experience. "Well, Buc (what he calls me), you can't control every circumstance but you can control how you react to them. You're tough. You WILL find a solution."

He would tell me that to get the most out of any relationship you've got to give the most of yourself to it. He would also always tell me to "dig a little deeper" into people, and try not to ever give up on them. They may not be what they first appear.  They may need somebody to believe in them. 

These words of wisdom weren't just words to him. They were words to live by. And I had a front row seat to witness how he applied them.  My dad's workplace for many years – Mission Bay High School – was literally paradise for me.  Whether I was serving as a batboy for baseball, ballboy for football, or doing cleanup on the basketball courts, I could not just spend time with the athletes I admired, but spend time with my father and see firsthand how he related with his teams.   Those experiences taught me how to cope with all kinds of circumstances, and with all kinds of people. It was invaluable.

At the same time he was a coach on the field, he was my Pops at home.  I can clearly recall hitting my first home run as an eight-year-old on a team coached by my dad. I was truly excited and so were my teammates.  But he didn't show me any more attention when I hit it than he would have if it had been any of the other players. But later, when we got home, he hugged me and told me how proud he was and how excited he'd been. We got to have our own special celebration. I'll never forget it. 

My playing days ended after college and a couple of professional seasons, but I knew I wasn't ready to leave the game. While no one was pushing me to be a coach, the next phase of my career was probably predictable. I wanted to be like Pops. He'd always told me to "pay it forward" and I knew what that meant. I knew I still had things I needed to do.

I've been very fortunate as a coach. I've been able to teach a lot of very gifted and committed young student athletes, and our teams have won games, conference championships, and played in NCAA postseason tournaments. I loved the relationships with the players, and I love winning.

This season our Torero baseball team had, perhaps, its most trying and interesting one. We started out playing poorly., Very poorly. Then we caught fire during the WCC regular season and managed to win it. In the WCC tournament, however, we lost a couple of games and finished with a 28-30 overall record. This season, however, ranks as one of my favorites. The ups and downs tested every discipline, every commitment, and every promise my players and I had made to one another.  It was incredibly rewarding.

My father has always emphasized three ABC principles: Attitude. Belief. Confidence. He said the most essential might be confidence. He taught me – as a coach and as his son – that confidence comes first through loving and being loved. Be willing to love and trust your players, he would say, and if they believe and trust in you, then together you can build the confidence to succeed. Not necessarily in every game, he'd say, but in "L-I-F-E." As usual, he was spot-on. While we didn't win every game this year, we loved each other and, together, persevered like no other team I've ever coached. You were right, Pops.

These days, I bring my own three kids, Ava, Ben, and Cole (that's right, my ABC's) to Fowler Park every chance I get. I try to show them daily how much I love them, how much I love my players, and how much I love my job. My father would say ours is a "get to do" job not a "have to do" job, and that if you do it right the blessings will come. Today, I am thinking about how blessed I have been by my Pops, who preaches love and discipline, lives it, and continues to give it to me to pay forward.

Thank you, Pops, I love you. 

Happy Father's Day.

Brock Ungricht is the reigning WCC Coach of the Year. He has led San Diego baseball since 2022.