After decades in the dugout and teaching, Coach Bill Lynam announced that after this school year, he’ll be retiring from coaching the sport of baseball and as a physical education teacher.
This season, Lynam was honored with the Stella-Olson Foundation award, a recognition he says reflects not only his staying power but the impact he’s made over the years.
“It means that I’ve passed the longevity test,” Lynam said. “I’ve been around a long time and they wanted to honor legacy coaches. It means I’m pretty old and I’ve done a great job over the years. I’m still coaching, so what it means to me is that I’ve coached a lot of people and made an impact on them.”
While he’s still coaching through his final season, this year has given him time to reflect, not just on wins and losses and awards, but on the relationships built and lessons shared along the way.
“I’ve coached a lot of people,” Lynam said. “I’ve met a lot of friends through other coaches, and I’ve hopefully instilled a positive frame and positive foundation with our players.”
Since leading the Titans to back to back state title wins in 2010 and 2011, the 2010 state title being the first championship in any sport for Papillion La-Vista South, Lynam said he’s grown both as a coach and as a person.
“You realize that this is a game, not life or death,” Lynam said. “You want to continue to strive to make improvements day in and day out.”
He’s emphasized growth off the field just as much as on it, instilling a code of conduct that has guided the program for years: team first, integrity, trust, accountability, no quit, and self care.
Under Lynam’s leadership, the Titans have grown into a program built on consistency, hard work, and mutual respect. Lynam is focused on three big points on his team: be the best, be better, and celebrate others’ successes.
“That last one is huge,” Lynam said. “If you’re not playing, go celebrate the guy who made the great play or got the base hit. It’s about creating a team-first mentality, which takes away selfishness.”
As the season is nearing its end, Lynam said that there’ll be a void left by the people he’ll miss the most.
“The people are what I’ll miss,” Lynam said. “You get a chance to interact with teachers and students everyday. It’ll be a big change, going from seeing 1,500 people to a lot less. It’s going to be a lot quieter around here. I’ll have to adjust my lifestyle in that area, but that’s the biggest thing I’ll miss.”
Reflecting on the players he’s coached over the years, Lynam says that they’ve also had a big impact on him.
“They’ve kept me young,” Lynam said. “You’re always learning, how I coach now is different from how I coached 10 years ago. I’ve learned that you have to be more open, communicate better, and let the players be part of the decision making process. Watching them grow, seeing them come back after college, it’s incredibly rewarding.”
One thing has remained constant for Lynam, his commitment for developing good people, not just baseball players. For Lynam, it’s more than the wins and losses, it’s about maturity, resilience, and preparation for life beyond the game.
“We want them to leave as good baseball players and good people,” Lynam said. “If we’re just concentrating on baseball, then we’re missing the point. We talk about maturity, handling adversity, and being ready for what comes next.”
For Assistant Coach Ben Bails, that’s one of the best lessons he learned from Lynam.
“I’ve understood what being a man in a boys game is,” Bails said. “There’s one person to rely on and that’s the head coach. He’s taught me how to lead. For Coach Lynam’s legacy, he’s an absolute great. He’s respected across the state. He was always going to go out on top because it was never about the record for him, it was about who he is and what he does.”
As for the team’s success so far this season, Lynam continues to uphold the importance of consistency, but also keeping things simple: throw strikes, make plays, and keep getting better.
As of April 29, the Titans have a current record of 21-5, with their last game of the season on May 5 against Millard North. The Titans claimed the Metro conference tournament for the first time since 2010 beating Millard West 8-1 on April 19. Also on April 26, the Titans beat the Gretna Dragons 8-3, in which Lynam achieved his 400th career win.
Lynam said the team should keep playing on a high note to be where they want to be at the end of the season.
“If they keep being consistent and continue to improve after each game, I think they’ll do well,” Lynam said. “We have a good defense, and our pitchers need to keep throwing strikes, we have great guys that do a great job at that. At the end of the day, it’s about getting the ball in play, not striking out.”
The Titans are looking to win their first state title since 2011.
Bails, who will take over as head coach for varsity baseball next year, emphasized the team’s improvement and success throughout the season.
“They got to stay together, which is going to happen throughout the rest of the season,” Bails said. “I think everyday is a new challenge, like what can we be better at? At the high school level, that’s really easy to say and also really tough to work on. So everyday, it’s the constant drilling of late game preparation and different types of pitches and who we’re going to see. We’re trying to get ready for a tournament setting where you have to win 3-4 games in a three game stretch, but I think we’re well on our way to being there.”
Bails also talked about the lasting impact Lynam will leave behind when the season ends.
“It’s really tough because he’s my mentor,” Bails said. “He’s been a great friend, and his retirement is tough because I know what it means to him. We’ve been a really close-knit group for a long time, so it’s going to hit everybody differently and hard. But I’m really happy for him and all the success he’s had.”
The players responded the right way to the news of Lynam’s final year, knowing exactly what’s expected of them, according to Bails.
“They’re dialed in,” said Bails. “This group is really special. When he told them the news, [Lynam] made sure it was direct in terms of his expectations of going out swinging. Now everybody’s on the same page.”
Bails said he intended to carry that torch forward into future seasons.
“Nothing is going to change in terms of how things are run, the backbone being classiness,” Bails said. “I think some new ways we’ll incorporate will be some newer ideas, and we’re just advancing in the games as it’s happened over the past 12 years. But with the staff we have in place now, we’re in a really good place.”
