By Hannah Healey, Communications Intern

If you ever have the opportunity to have a conversation with Coach Jack Dahm, ask him what winning the day means to him.

It means much more than just winning on the baseball field. Attitude, effort, and ‘shake and bake’ are all part of winning the day and are the key values that Dahm utilizes in both his coaching and daily life. He first heard the phrase from 14-year old Austin ‘Flash’ Schroeder, who was battling cancer. Flash had taken the motto from his dad, who used it in his coaching career. Dahm emphasized Flash's attitude that really stuck with him. Despite the pain and struggles the boy was experiencing, he always thanked the doctors, nurses, and even the people coming in to clean.

The win the day components of attitude, effort, and shake and bake are the core values that Dahm takes into the locker room at Mount Mercy University, where he is the head coach of the men’s baseball team. It's also on their uniforms and hats.

He plans to bring those same core values into the Falmouth Commodores locker room as he starts as the Commodores' coach.

For Dahm, the history of the Commodores is his number one thing for everyone on the team to think about. It was one of the things he spoke about with the team in their first meeting. “I told everybody to make sure that they look at the side of the dugout, there's a plaque there, honoring Coach Trundy the previous head coach. He was a legend, and he is to me what Falmouth is all about.I want to make sure people understand the history and what Coach Trundy did for Falmouth. I hope I can be half the coach and half the mentor as Trundy was to the kids that come here to Falmouth.”

Dahm’s first coaching job came the season after his college career at Creighton ended. He joined Jeff Hendry, his former coach, as one of Creighton's assistant coaches.

The biggest challenge for him was having to coach guys he had previously played with the season prior. “You really had to separate the previous years of being a teammate, and then coaching. I think there were a lot of positives, and I learned a lot right away about loyalty to the coach, and what's said in the office stays in the office. I was very fortunate. I had a tremendous head coach in Jim Hendry, who's been incredibly successful and was a really huge mentor to me.”

One of the biggest lessons Hendry taught him was getting the right kids on his roster. In shaping the roster for the Commodores, Dahm relied on his connections with various coaches and people that he knew.

Most of the players on the Commodores this season have played for a coach that he knows. “We wanted to make sure we had kids that really enjoy the game and play hard, because you have to. It's a little different playing summer ball compared to baseball in the spring, and especially guys that are going to get after it every day.”

Through my discussion with Dahm, it was clear that he wants to be in Falmouth for a long time and get integrated into the community.

For him, that started internally with the Commodores volunteers and interns, as well as meeting with the host families. “I will do a lot of public appearances, you know. I want to get out there in the community and meet people, for sure. And I'm not going to say no to anything unless I'm busy.”