SOUTH BEND- Throughout the history of sports, only a few people have become legends as
a coach. In South Bend, where names like Rockne, Leahy, Parseghian and Holtz are king, a
new legend is being born.
Matt Serge is quickly becoming a household name in the Old Republic Wiffle Ball League.
Serge took over the reins of the South Bend Sour Wowers at the beginning of the 2010
Season. Even though the South Bend squad finished last in their division in 2009, Serge
knew the talent was there to make a run at the championship. For Serge, it is championship
or bust.
Playing for Serge is no easy task. Just ask his assistant manager/teammate and brother
Chris Serge what he feels about his manager.
“He is a mix between Bobby Knight and Emilio Estevez. Matt demands perfection even when
a game is locked up. It was hard for our team to adjust to his ideas and standards in
whiffleball. Matt’s the one who took the beer out of the Beerfarts and transformed this team
into the Sour Wowers. Although our team misses the beer, World Series championships
taste much sweeter.”
Serge and his Sour Wowers are poised and ready to make a run at the division title and
hopefully more. This year’s focus is to get his team into shape. Matt Serge is eager to see
what his team can do when all of them are wiffleball ready, stating that this year’s goals
need to be raised even higher.
“The bottom line was that we were a 12-12 team last year. We came together as a team at the
right time. Our ball club is like a puzzle; each piece has to fit together for us to win. We are a
great team if we have everyone ready to play.”
“Depth is a major problem, but that is something we will have to work on before rosters are
due. We know rankings don’t matter. We don’t care what we are ranked. Our goal right now
is to make the playoffs. We are not going out to defend anything. We are going out to play for
it.”