'Coach Ballgame' not letting the coronavirus pandemic strike him out

James Lowe, also known as "Coach Ballgame," flexes his arms during his popular live streaming P.E. class that he teaches.

By Matt SzaboStaff Writer

April 11, 2020 7:58 PM PT

“Coach Ballgame” plays the guitar, as well as the bongo drum.

He sings songs about the late Major League Baseball star Roberto Clemente, as well as Andre Dawson. He does push-ups and moves a basketball around his body, not at the same time, though you get the sense that he would try that if he could.

In simpler times, James Lowe and the kids he’s coaching would be doing these activities outdoors on the green grass. Now, during the coronavirus pandemic, he does them from either the backyard or a back room in his Lake Forest home, as hundreds of children from across the country — many of them local — watch live on Lowe’s YouTube page, Instagram or Facebook Live.

There is a quirky positive energy to the online physical education class of Lowe, which goes live every weekday at 9 a.m. Lowe, who calls himself “Coach Ballgame,” also does a baseball skills class at 3 p.m. on weekdays, not to mention his virtual sandlot games or trivia contests.

Kids sign in with baseball-related usernames, which Lowe can shout out at a moment’s notice during the broadcast. It’s all done over the internet now for Lowe, 37, who enlists the help of his wife, Tara, also known as “Mrs. Ballgame.”

Lowe has been a baseball coach for 15 years but is now unable to run in-person camps, clinics or sandlots.

“For me, my day to day is human contact with multiple kids,” said Lowe, who is originally from North Carolina and played college baseball at Brown University. “Not being able to do that, we had to immediately figure out some way to keep this train moving. I’m a pretty optimistic person by nature, so I kind of look at how to fix situations quickly. That’s kind of how we walk each day of this quarantine, just making the best of each day.”

Lowe’s sayings are countless. He encourages kids watching to say “atta-boy” when something good happens, and he has dozens of salutes he will sprinkle into the broadcasts.

James Lowe, also known as "Coach Ballgame," opens his popular online, live streaming physical education class with a song about one of his baseball heroes from his home studio.

Lowe, who has partnered with Major League Baseball’s “Play Ball” campaign and helped run baseball camps last year at the MLB All-Star Game and the College World Series, must keep local for now. He takes solace in the fact that he’s still impacting the lives of kids in a positive way.

“‘Meet, squeeze and freeze’ is a popular saying in our household,” said Meredith Medeiros of Laguna Beach, using Coach Ballgame’s phrase for how to properly catch a fly ball.

Medeiros, who is the auxiliary chair and secretary for Laguna Beach Little League, describes her family as a baseball family. Coach Ballgame is a big part of that. She has three sons who tune in online each morning during the current “shelter in place” directive. Kingston is 9, while twins Knox and Cruz are each 5 years old.

“We don’t exactly live on a street where we can be like, ‘Go play in the street,’” Meredith Medeiros said. “We live on a steep hill; that’s not an option for us. Having that time where they’re focused on something and I can unload the dishwasher and clean up from breakfast, that’s a nice distraction too, where they’re committed to doing that for an hour with him.”

Casey Walker of Costa Mesa also coaches baseball, for Costa Mesa American Little League. Without in-person games, Walker said his three boys, Ben (11), Reid (9) and Ian (7) are all participants in both morning and afternoon sessions with Coach Ballgame. Their sign-in names are “Benji,” “MVP” and “Little A-Rod,” respectively.

“He’s teaching these kids to enjoy the game of baseball,” Casey Walker said. “As you get older, it gets more competitive and intense. What he’s trying to teach them is just to have fun.”

Any kids are welcome to join Lowe’s online broadcasts, he said. He’s trying to get by while raising two young daughters himself, while not making nearly as much money as he ordinarily would. He asks for donations at the end of his morning P.E. classes; the afternoon baseball classes cost $10 each.

James Lowe's inspirational collection of baseball books he uses during his popular live streaming physical education class that focuses on baseball from his home studio.

“With small businesses, this quarantine has really caused us to get creative and find different avenues,” he said. “It’s something I look forward to every morning, and I think some of the families do as well. It gives the parents an hour break from trying to be a home-school teacher. They get to drink their coffee in peace, and I can entertain the kids.

“We’re just keeping the momentum going the best we can. It’s not ideal, but I’ve definitely gotten some good feedback from parents that needed this kind of thing. It’s bringing joy to their homes, so all in all, no complaints. We’re doing all right.”

Costa Mesa resident Jess Krueger said the online classes are entertaining for her boys Holt and Henry, who are ages 11 and 7.

“They tuck their shirts in, even though we’re at home,” Krueger said. “But that’s a thing with Coach Ballgame. He always says, ‘Ballplayers tuck their shirts in.’”