PIEDMONT -- Clearwater baseball looks at itself as more than just a team. Each player looks at one another as family.
From eating team breakfast on game days, giving those who need it a ride to and from practice when need be or going swimming together in their free time, the players have formed a tight-knit group, and it's led to success this season.
"We were just messing around one day; we had a big win so we went out and we had lunch ... and we decided, 'Why don't we do team breakfast in the morning?' We had some kids say that's too early, and it was like, 'Well, that'll get you up and ready to go,'" junior Trey Rivas said.
Spending so much time together has led to a familiarity that makes each player strive to be at his best.
"Because of us being so close, I think we're not afraid to get on each other, when we mess up" Rivas said. "We know that the other one is not trying to hurt the guy he's yelling (at) or anything. We know that we just want the best for each other.
"It's a brotherhood that we've all formed. ... We don't take anything personal out here. We just do what's best for the team."
Added Jackson Eaton, "It helps a lot. Not everyone's the same. Some people don't need you to get in their face and scream. Some people you have to go over there, pat them on the back and pick them up," Eaton said. "Some people, like Heath (Ayers) or Jesse (Holmes), you can just start screaming at them from the dugout and they'll fix it next play. People like Benton (Lashley) or my brother Jorden (Eaton), you gotta pat them on the back, tell them what to do and how to fix it.
"It works out really well that we all know each other and spend a lot of time together."
The Tigers have meshed and dominated their competition on the way to a No. 1 seed in the Ozark Foothills Conference tournament and a 10-0 record.
With the players coaching each other when need be, it eases the burden on head coach Cole Sheets, who has to has to go it alone with no assistant coach, although he doesn't see himself as the lone coach.
"A lot of people say, 'How do you do it? You don't have an assistant.' Well, I've got 18 assistants out there. They coach themselves," Sheets said.
The familiarity among players is matched by a familiarity with Sheets. As the former junior high coach at Clearwater, Sheets has coached the upperclassmen for the last handful of years.
The team's current group of seniors has had Sheets as its coach since it was in 8th grade. When his current seniors were freshmen, he doubled as an assistant on the high school team while still fulfilling the role of junior high coach. He has coached his current junior class since 7th grade. He knows each player's personality and how to get the most out of each one.
"Each one of these kids are individuals, so you can't treat them all the same, so I think that's helped out a lot, too," Sheets said. "They know what I expect ... they just pass it down, and I don't have to worry about coaching each one all the time. They can pretty much pick up the slack when I'm talking to somebody else.
"When it comes down to it, they're the ones out on the field. I can't call time and tell them every little thing, so we want them to be able to coach themselves."
The familiarity mixed with the independence of the players and the expectations of Sheets had led to a winning recipe, and a perfect storm of offensive and defensive success.
Clearwater has outscored its opponents 119-11, having yet to allow more than three runs in any game and finishing six games with run-rule victories. "(The offense) makes our pitchers feel a lot less pressure," Jesse Holmes said. "It seems like in the past we were depending on ourselves to keep the other teams down because there was no guarantee that we were going to get the kind of run support that we have this year."
Despite its 10-0 record heading into tournament time, Clearwater looks at itself as 0-0 before each game.
"We haven't won a conference tournament yet, and we haven't finished our undefeated season yet, so we feel like we haven't really earned anything," Holmes said. "We're just trying to keep it going. We haven't gotten to play a whole lot of games, but we've been winning every opportunity we've got."
Added junior Karson Fay, "We set a goal in the offseason to run the table in the OFC and get the one seed and win the tournament."
So far, so good for Clearwater.