Coach Terry Tiffee spent years of his life devoted to baseball. From high school to junior college, and eventually the major leagues, Coach Tiffee knows what it takes to be a professional athlete. Now he pours his passion into Legacy’s softball program.
“Usually I was [with The Twins] most of the year, with the exception of going up and down to the big leagues which, you know, that’s a good thing. Most of the time in AAA I was with one team. I got pretty lucky on that deal,” Tiffee said. “I knew I wanted to be a coach as I was still playing. It just was a matter of where at.”
Coach Tiffee didn’t get to the majors for free, he worked through high school with his dad and a private coach. With hours of practice and preparations Tiffee earned his place in the MLB. Tiffee credits much of his success to his dad who helped him navigate his career.
“I would probably say my dad,” Coach Tiffee said. “The amount of work we put in, just him throwing batting practice. He played in college, so he and my legion coach, my summer coach in high school.”
After high school, Coach Tiffee started at Pratt Community College. From there he was drafted into the minor leagues by The Twins in 1999. During his career, Tiffee was a league journeyman, playing for five organizations. He played for the Twins for three years until he was drafted by the Dodgers.
“I was in low A with [the Twins] twice, high A once, double A, triple A, three years up and down with them those three years,”Coach Tiffee said. “[I played with] the Dodgers in triple-A in the big leagues. The Orioles in triple-A, Phillies in triple-A, Braves and Yankees in triple-A.”
Being in junior college did not stop Coach Tiffee from dreaming bigger. By setting goals little by little Tiffee moved through the minors and eventually had the honor of not only playing in the majors, but the minor league Baseball World Cup, and the 2008 Olympic team where he won a bronze medal.
“Take it one step at a time. Set a goal. What I did was I set a goal to get to college. Once I got to college, I set another goal,” Tiffee said. “And then once I got to junior college it kind of opened my eyes to, woah, I do have an opportunity to maybe play some pro ball. And so that kind of picture there but, just set yourself reasonable goals to start, and then try to attain them as you go and work your way up,”
Tiffee settled down with his family in Mansfield. After working at Lake Ridge for seven years Coach Tiffee moved to Legacy. Legacy’s softball program is new but Tiffee is optimistic about the potential of this team.
“I think we are solid. We got a solid program here. We’re pretty young this year. We have a few seniors but mostly sophomore and freshman based. When you’re young, you got to develop and teach them how to play the game. That’s the biggest thing, and that takes time,” Tiffee said. “If you look at Lake Ridge that’s kind of a good example, that team is an older team that we started when they were young and built that program over 7 years. You see where they are now, man they’re killing it. So that’s kind of my goal for this program is to get it on that level.”
Varsity softball player Ryleigh Stinson, 10, enjoys playing under Coach Tiffee even with his strict coaching style. Stinson says she can’t compare Coach Amie Prater, last year’s coach, to Coach Tiffee because of their contrasting coach styles.
“I like his intensity and the competitive edge he brings to our games,” Stinson said. “Coach Tiffee is strict, and he coaches hard. We can still have fun and laugh with him when the time is right.”
Coach Tiffee’s career ended because of back and knee injuries, but he regrets nothing that he did. He is thankful for the things he was able to accomplish.
“I loved it. Got to travel around the world, got to see most of the US,” Tiffee said. “I played in Venezuela in the winter and played in Mexico in the winter. So just getting to see the world pretty much, for free. It’s hard to regret anything.”
