Apr 24, 2022 8 min read

Don Hartman might not know the difference between a boy band and a good slogan but this guy can coach – boys and girls, baseball and softball.

As one of the best high school baseball coaches in the history of Washington County, Hartman built a legacy of success in winning section and WPIAL championships at his alma mater, California Area High School (1986).

From 1998-2013, Hartman coached the Trojans, winning WPIAL titles in 2001 and 2006. California advanced to the PIAA semifinals twice more in his tenure. He left the school with a 229-92-1 record.

He left the Trojans’ baseball program after the 2013 season to focus on his family as he and his wife Mandy have three daughters. Hartman took over the Frazier softball program.

Frazier won the WPIAL title in Hartman’s first season in 2017. After two straight WPIAL championship game losses, in 2018 and 2019, Frazier found its way to the PIAA playoffs.

Hartman felt the team needed a lift after being handled by Laurel in the 2019 WPIAL finals.

He went to practice and took a free and easy approach – a complete departure from his coaching norm.

“I was acting different doing things to keep them loose,” Hartman said. “I’m not sure they thought I was OK. I was being silly and carrying on.

“I see this saying on something one of our players was wearing that said: ‘Why Don’t We.’

“I left practice, told them I would be back. I got a white T-shirt and wrote on it with a Sharpie, ‘Why Don’t We.’ I came back to practice repeating this slogan and they were looking at me like I’m insane.”

The reason the girls were perplexed is that “Why Don’t We” is a 21st Century boy band comprised of social media stars.

“The saying was fate,” Hartman chuckled. “This little team kept winning (state playoff games) and we’d go to the next game. It carried us all the way through.”

Frazier won the state title in dramatic fashion, a defensive walkoff win, with his daughter Logan playing a central role.

“It’s still amazing,” Hartman said. “I will never forget that exact moment, not ever. I still think about it every day.”

He has coached Frazier softball since 2017, compiling a record 80-20. His Commodores were WPIAL semifinalists last season and are 8-0 overall and 6-0 in section play this season.

Hartman’s athletic story began at California and carried through California University under the late coach Chuck Gismondi. Hartman, a catcher, found himself behind Randy Wadsworth – an outstanding Vulcans performer and professional baseball player. Gismondi eventually used Hartman as an outfielder and designated hitter that year before he became the team’s starting catcher the next year.

Hartman said Gismondi’s influence and coaching helped him to a solid career with the Vulcans, one that gave him a chance to play at the next level.

But Hartman ended up coaching under the late Budd Grebb as an assistant baseball coach at California High School. He eventually succeeded Grebb as head coach.

“As a player, I have no regrets,” Hartman said. “I loved playing baseball and was given a great opportunity. We made it to the PSAC finals and lost to IUP. … Chuck thought I should pursue coaching.”

Hartman said his father, among a handful of others, helped make him a candidate to coach baseball.

“I am a product of all of my coaches and my father,” Hartman said. “I loved my time coaching at California. I will not forget it. It was the toughest decision of my life to leave.”

Hartman had such a firm hold on the Trojans’ baseball program that they became one of the most envied programs in the county, WPIAL and the state.

The exit from the bus on away trips, to the pregame warmups, to the behavior in the dugout and on the field was born of Hartman’s diligent work.

“He got the most out of us from every aspect of the game and every aspect of the day,” said Shaun Rice, a player and coach for Hartman at California. “I just don’t think it was baseball. It was in the classroom. He demanded the most and it was not always easy to play for him on and off the field.

“I cannot tell you how many hours we worked the program or how much time we’d spend on the phone after practice deciphering lineups, situations and looking at the Xs and Os of the next game. He put so much time and effort into it. I don’t think many people do it like that.”

Hartman assists his wife Mandy, who is Frazier’s girls volleyball coach. She led the Commodores to the WPIAL championship in 2011.

She is her husband’s softball assistant.

“It’s certainly been a unique situation for us,” Mandy Hartman explained. “Sports brought us together. It’s been a natural progress for us. I can’t imagine our life any other way.

“We do have common interests outside of sports. We have couples time and our family does a lot together – boating and skiing. We’ve always made sure to keep a healthy balance. We’ve always wanted to give the girls exposure to a variety of experiences.

“We (her and her husband) butt heads and sometimes it’s ugly. We do complement each other well. He’s a great role model.”

While he is not perfect, Hartman is a special coach.

“My approach is based on discipline,” Don Hartman said. “They know and knew that every day they came to practice they were going to work. We have our fun. I love to coach and my wife loves to coach. We’re all family. That’s how you gain success. You must be there and have each other’s back.”

In addition to Logan, 20, who attends Seton Hill, the couple has daughters Jensyn, 17, and Gracen, 15. The family resides in Perryopolis.

“I coached all these other people’s kids for a long time,” he added. “How could I not coach my own girls? It’s so special.”

Friends and foes

Hartman was an assistant for Trojans head football coach Tom Webb. It was there he was an assistant offensive line coach with Jim Dumm.

Hartman credits Dumm for being one of his coaching mentors.

“Jim knew how to push those kids to work harder to get better,” Hartman said. “But at the same time to not only get their respect but a true feeling of belief in him and camaraderie between player and coach.”

Dumm said Hartman quickly picked up on coaching practices and interacting with the players.

“He was 100 percent cooperative,” Dumm said. “I loved the kid. He followed my lead. The more I got to trust him, I let him get in the mix and take charge. I was in the background as a coach watching him. Wow, did they respond to him.”

Dumm said Hartman’s coaching abilities grew from there and then expanded when he became the head baseball coach at California.

“When it’s all said and done, it’s about people,” Dumm said. “Donnie knew that and he is masterful at it. I can’t say enough about him. I’m proud of everything his team and he does.”

The Hartmans and the Aldersons – Tricia and Dan of Chartiers-Houston – have been longtime friends and rivals. Don and Dan were baseball coaching competitors in numerous “big” games in section, WPIAL and PIAA play.

Now, Tricia and Don are rivals on the softball field.

Their lives are similar, Dan is Tricia’s assistant and Mandy is Don’s softball assistant. They all coached softball together during the summer as the oldest of their girls were on the same travel team.

They take the good with the bad.

“He’s a great coach,” Tricia Alderson said of Hartman. “He is always well-prepared and his teams are very good. He’s been our big rivalry and there is a rivalry between our two teams, especially the last six or seven years. I think we bring out the best – and sometimes the worst – in each other.

“We both have all girls; we have similar family situations and coach together. I have a brother and sometimes Donnie is like another more annoying brother. We all are friends.”

Dan Alderson agrees, that when competing against a Hartman-led team, preparation and the best effort is necessary.

“(Hartman) brought and brings the best out of me as a coach. We’re intertwined in all of this – baseball and now softball.

“You better practice better and harder and go over every detail or situation because you know Don’s doing it on the other end. He pushes you to do more.”

The two have coached against each other so much, the result can often lead to six months of silence between the two.

“It’s happened that way,” Dan Alderson admits. “We have so much respect, though, we eventually start talking again.

“We always joke around that we’re dinosaurs. Don definitively does it the right way. If a coach wants to build a program take his plan, his beliefs and follow. The ways his teams look, the warmup … it is so meticulous. It’s a well-oiled machine. He just runs a classy program, and everything is done the right way.”