Daryl Cronk
The Daryl Cronk DASH Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 2022 to honor the legacy of Daryl Cronk.
To know Daryl was to know his love of baseball which was second only to his love of helping others. Daryl started his career playing at Belton High School in Belton, Missouri where he compiled numerous baseball records and was later inducted into the 2014 Athletics Hall of Fame. As a player at Pittsburg State University, he compiled numerous accolades and set university records for career victories and innings pitched. He was inducted into the Pitt State Hall of Fame in 2014. He went on to further his education at the University of Central Missouri where he was an Assistant Coach and helped the 2010 Mules Baseball Team to the Division II World Series. That team was later inducted into the Mules Hall of Fame. In 2011, he became the Head Coach at Avila University. While at Avila, he compiled over 250 wins, 2 Conference Championships, 3 NAIA National Tournament Appearances, five 30+ win seasons, and was a 2 time HAAC Coach of the Year. The 2012 team was later inducted into the Avila Athletics Hall of Fame.
In December 2021, Daryl passed away unexpectedly leaving an incredible legacy. While Daryl’s baseball career was impressive, he is most remembered by how he lived his life. Daryl believed that the true mark of man’s character is how you spend the time between your birth and your death, your DASH. He spent his DASH making a positive impact on his community and in the lives of the young athletes he coached and mentored.
The Daryl Cronk DASH Foundation will continue his legacy.
The game of baseball is a great ride. Nobody knows what will come, but you try and enjoy what you do and play the game with as much passion as you have.
Coach Daryl Cronk
Photo Gallery
The Dash Poem
By Linda Ellis
I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on the tombstone
From the beginning...to the end
He noted that first came the date of birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years
For that dash represents all the time
That they spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved them
Know what that little line is worth
For it matters not, how much we own,
The cars...the house...the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.
So, think about this long and hard.
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
That can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough
To consider what's true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we've never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect
And more often wear a smile,
Remembering this special dash
Might only last a little while
So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life's actions to rehash...
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent YOUR dash?
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