For 28 years, Georgetown's Tim Southall — currently the head coach of the Newburyport Nor'easters Legion baseball team — has had an impact on the lives of thousands baseball players across the River Rival district.

From Little League to Babe Ruth to Legion ball, Southall has been involved in coaching baseball since he was 13-years-old — after his own playing career came to an end. In that time, he has been an incredible winner, sporting a record of 449-172 at all levels, giving him a career .732 winning percentage.

Without the same opportunities to play on at Babe Ruth and other levels, Southall turned to coaching in 1981 with his brother Mark — seven years his senior — to take over the Little League program their father had coached for 18 years in Rowley and keep the competitive juices flowing.

In fact, Southall was really born to coach as his father, Tim Sr., would bring his young son down to the field for games and he filled in as a bat boy. But it was around the time Tim Jr. was 9 or 10 that he discovered his love for coaching. At the plate, Southall often found himself getting hit by the ball, and so his father suggested he coach third base. Eventually Southall realized he needed glasses, but the passion to coach was born.

"When my father was going to give it up, my brother and I were interested in it, we got the idea to do it together and it blossomed from there," Southall said. "For me, I just love being around the kids, and I still think I am young enough that I can relate to them. I think it's more than just a player-coach relationship. I'm friends with a lot of these guys and I stay friends and in contact with them. I think that is kind of rare."

Thirteen years ago, the Newburyport Nor'easters Post 150 Legion baseball team was the brainchild of the Newburyport Senior Babe Ruth coach at the time, Mike Quinn. After two years of differing philosophies with his first coaching choice, Quinn turned to a rival and young coach of the Triton team at the time — Southall — who was in the midst of a 96-5 run with the Triton Senior Babe Ruth team that included five consecutive championships and back-to-back undefeated seasons in 2000 and 2001.

"It was funny, too, because Tim and I were rivals, we weren't friends, we competed, too, in a friendly way," Quinn said. "We weren't athletes, but as coaches I was Newburyport and he was Triton. But I knew he was good, he knew the game, and I liked him personally, and that's what I wanted around."

"I met Mike through Senior Babe Ruth," Southall reiterated. "I was beating him a lot, and that's how we first met."

Southall took over in 1999, and although the Post 150 program started slowly, it steadily built up to one of the perennial contenders in District 8 on the basis of one simple philosophy: Kids play best when they are comfortable. Providing a relaxed atmosphere in which each team is its own family, the Newburyport system Southall and Quinn have built together has taken off in recent years.

Making the playoffs five of the last 10 years, the Nor'easters have won District 8 twice (2001, 2008), and won their first North sectional championship last year to advance to the state tournament, eventually finishing with a 26-5 record for the season. This year the team is right on pace for another District championship, jumping out to a 12-0 record.

Quinn — who umpires high school baseball — said Southall is great at connecting with his players and working on the social aspects of the team, which deals with six core high schools (Pentucket, Newburyport, Triton, Amesbury, Georgetown, Ipswich) as well as several private schools (St. John's Prep, Brooks). With talented players who are already driven to succeed, Quinn said one of the most important roles Southall plays is getting the players, who are rivals during the high school season, to come together.

"We use six or more high schools with the private schools, and they either don't know each other or from what they know, they don't like because they have competed against each other," Quinn said. "In 10 days to two weeks he can turn them into a family. They end up goofing on each other. That's where his skill is, taking all these talented kids and building a team."

Admittedly, Quinn says his job to recruit players is much easier these days than it was in the beginning stages in the late '90s.

"I used to have a harder time going out to get players because it's a commitment. Now I know when I talk to people they know the program is successful, they know the coach is good, he's fun, and it makes my job on the recruiting end a lot easier," Quinn said. "There are fewer kids saying 'No.' They want to be a part of this, and in fact it may have reversed a little bit. I'll go to these games and kids know I'm Legion, and they are asking me when tryouts are. That's changed so that's good."

Perhaps the most important development in Southall's mind in his 11 years was the addition of the Junior Legion program — the first of its kind in Massachusetts — several years back, which got more younger players incorporated into the program. With nearly 60 kids at tryouts this past spring, the Nor'easters have 34 players between the two teams.

"I think one of the key factors for us was when we put the junior team in," said Southall, who added the program was the result of the team's success with more players across the region wanting to get involved. "We were the first team in the state to instigate a junior program, and I was very pleased about that because it gets younger guys involved at younger ages and gives us more time to know them. I think it is one of the main reasons for our recent success."

At 40, with a young family of twin girls and a new baby all under the age of 4, Southall knows the Legion experience is ideal for what he wants right now. But should the perfect opportunity at another level come along at some point, he would leave the door open to move on.

"I'm fortunate my wife allows me to do the things I do because I'm pretty much gone during the summer," he said. "(The Legion team) has been so successful, and despite Mike starting it, I feel like I'm a big part of it. We have a program that is arguably one of the best in the state. If someone knocked on my door and offered me the right opportunity, it might be worth listening to. But I love where I am right now."