Ernie Chatman ran for 8,814 straight days and compiled more than 700 coaching victories. But the amount of lives he touched? That number is countless.
Well, perhaps only he could recall the exact total, as he seemingly could every single detail of the past six decades of Hernando County athletics.
On Sunday night, Chatman, 66, died in his Brooksville home from what was believed to be a heart attack. He leaves his wife, Linda, three adult children – Erin, Beth and Bret – and multiple grandchildren, as well as a community in shock over the sudden passing of a coaching legend.
“You look at Ernie and you know Ernie and what Ernie’s life is like, you wonder how does this happen?” said Nature Coast softball head coach Jug Olmstead, Chatman’s longtime assistant. “A guy that didn’t smoke or drink and took care of himself, and would holler at me if I ate a hot dog. For him to be gone in the snap of a finger, it’s mind-boggling.”
A Brooksville resident from the age of 3 and a 1967 Hernando High graduate, Chatman’s own prep athletic career was nondescript largely due to his small frame at the time. He did experience a significant growth spurt shortly after high school, though by that point he had begun down the path of mentoring others.
By 1970 he was coaching Dixie Baseball, and soon after earning his degree he started his career as a physical education teacher and prep coach, first at Parrott Middle School.
Though in more recent years he was known for his work in softball and cross country, he became Hernando’s baseball headman in 1975 and guided the Leopards to Elite Eight appearances in 1977 and 1979. From 1976-83, he additionally ran the boys cross country program.
Following a one-year stint coaching baseball at St. Leo in 1984, when the team recorded a school record for wins at 46-13 – he returned to Hernando as a teacher, staying there until his retirement in 2009.
Meanwhile, he had two more stints as baseball coach (1987, 1991-93), coached softball (1997-2002), boys basketball (1984-89), boys track and field (2003-07) and boys cross country (1989-2008). Plus he served as athletic director from 1986-95.
In boys hoops, he went 86-61, including the school-best 25-5 mark in 1986-87. A member of that team was Jeff Laing, the current Hernando boys basketball head coach.
“It’s a sad day for sports here in Hernando County,” Laing said. “I was fortunate enough to not only play for him, but also to work with him during my first few years of teaching.
“It’s (playing for Chatman) always been a good memory for me. He treated the number one star the same as he treated bench jockeys like myself. He’d treat us all fairly and coach us all up the same.”
He had a combined 295-122-1 in baseball, ranking third in county history in wins behind his predecessor Tom Varn and his protégé, current Hernando baseball head coach Tim Sims. A 1982 Hernando grad, Sims recalls his father coaching against Chatman in the Hernando Youth League. Sims later played for Chatman and assisted him before taking over.
“It’s a sad day in our county first and foremost, and the entire state with coaches and his peers. For all his friends and students, it’s a sad day,” Sims said. “He led by example, and he was just a special, special person, a special teacher that wanted to make the community and the world a better place by teaching us how to compete.
“His ability to know what to say to you in a particular situation; first of all, his passion to be the best at whatever sport and to convince you that it was inside of you to have success. It didn’t matter the opponent. If we executed our plan and worked to improve our weaknesses, then we had as much chance as any other team or individual to be successful on that particular day, at that particular moment of time.”
Chatman’s reach in baseball went beyond the high school level. He started up the Dixie Pre-Majors (age 15-16) and Majors (age 17-19) programs for HYL, and his Majors team won a World Series crown in 1983.
As for softball, only four county teams have ever advanced to a Final Four in the fast-pitch era: Hernando in 2000-01 and Hernando Christian Academy in 2009-10. The coach for all four of those was Chatman.
The pitcher for those Hernando softball clubs was Chrissy Dushane, whose maiden name is Hartley. These days she and Chatman worked as local pitching instructors; she’s also an assistant coach at Pasco-Hernando State College. She had seen her old coach at Tom Varn Park just hours before his death.
“He treated me like I was his own kid. He wasn’t soft on me. He was very, very hard on me, which made me drive harder. He pushed me to my limit and I loved that about him,” Dushane said. “He knew the ones that he needed to be softer with and he knew the ones that he needed to get into and push them to make them better.”
Chatman’s Hernando softball squads went a combined 136-48 with four district titles. When he was at HCA from 2009-11, the Lady Lions went 68-11. He wrapped up his prep coaching career at Nature Coast, and after the Lady Sharks went 14-13 in his first season in 2013, they improved to 22-5 and finished second in the district in 2014.
“If you think of softball in Hernando County, the very first name that comes up is Ernie Chatman,” Dushane said. “He was the pitching coach. He was the high school coach at multiple high schools. He coached in the recreational league. I know he coached other sports, but for me he was softball here.”
Olmstead was Chatman’s assistant in softball at both Hernando and Nature Coast, covering six seasons.
“He was always a man of detail and he had a plan. He stuck to his plan and his knowledge of the game; he was always 2-3 innings ahead of things,” Olmstead said. “He always had a plan of what could take place. He was never caught off-guard.”
While his impact on baseball and softball in the county reverberates through generations, he could be most defined by his role in the distance running community.
It was in cross country where he led the Leopards to a state championship in 1997. They were also state runners-up in 1998 and 2005-06. Ben Martucci, a 2007 Hernando grad who’s now the head track and field and cross country coach at Florida Southern, was the top runner on those latter two teams.
However, Martucci and his twin brother Drew were not inclined to join the cross country squad, but eventually gave in to Chatman’s persistent push to get involved in the sport.
“Obviously he was like a second father to me. My life is pretty much what it is because of him,” Ben Martucci said. “If he hadn’t gone after me so hard, I don’t know what I’d have done with my life.
“He was a Hall of Famer. It’s going to be hard for anyone to mimic what he instilled. I can’t believe how I was lucky enough to be in that area, to be coached by him.
“He was the man. He was my hero. He was the man who got me going where I’m going in life.”
Running was more than just a coaching endeavor, though. Chatman ran marathons in all 50 states, and put together a daily running streak from July 23, 1991 through Sept. 9 of last year.
Nature Coast boys cross country coach Eric Milholland marveled at how often he would see Chatman out running, at random times and locations.
“The guy was always out there running and not only coaching it but doing it,” Milholland said. “He was very down to Earth, very reasonable, very fair and very tolerant. Ernie’s heart was always in it. He was always positive. He never had a bad day.”
What’s more, he was always willing to give advice and lend a helping hand. Milholland has coached for 24 seasons, yet he listened when Chatman made a suggestion to always make sure the kids he coached had fun.
“He’s one of those guys you never quit learning from,” Milholland said. “He’d always have something new and interesting to say. He’s going to be missed because he always left an impact.”
Indeed, Chatman seemed to be a guiding force for everyone. He didn’t just have a coaching tree, he produced an entire forest, as evidenced in former players turned coaches such as Sims, Dushane, Laing and Martucci.
“He’s the guy. He’s the coach that coaches the coaches and not just in Hernando County. Ernie coached pastors, doctors and coaches,” Sims said. “The best way to recognize him is all of the students he’s coached and taught and he’s touched, is for us to do what we’re supposed to do.
“This country is begging for leaders like we lost (Sunday) night. The good Lord called a good one home.”
A funeral will be held at the Hernando High gym on Friday, with a visitation starting at 4 p.m., immediately followed by the service at 6 p.m.
Many figure to gather and pay last respects to a man who was inducted into the Florida Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Hernando High Sports Hall of Fame in 2011 for all his accomplishments in the coaching ranks. But his legacy doesn’t end there.
“Everybody looked at Ernie as the ultimate coach, but Ernie loved his kids, his wife and his family,” Olmstead said. “I don’t know if everyone saw that part of him. He was just Coach Chatman. He was a great role model. I learned so much from him.
“He was a true friend. He was always there to listen and help you out. He was a great man in my mind. I’ll truly miss him.”
Follow Chris Bernhardt Jr. on Twitter @cpbernhardtjr.