When players take the field for a Donegal baseball game, there's a lot more happening on the diamond than just a sport, said Adam Frey, Donegal High School's new varsity head coach.

"There are a lot of life lessons you can teach in baseball," Frey shared. "Baseball's a game of failure. ... Baseball teaches kids and even us as coaches that you have to learn to accept failure and grow from failure. You can't get defeated. Once you're defeated, you're done. You have to be able to have a next-plan mindset. You have to be able to say, 'I swung and missed here. I made an error here,' but in a matter of seconds, another pitch happens, another play is happening, another opportunity to have success is happening."

Although Frey only became head coach in November, he's a lifelong player of the sport, including at Donegal, where he was a member of the Class of 2012. He's been involved in the Donegal baseball program as a coach for nine years.

When his high school coach reached out to him about taking a coaching position at his alma mater, Frey was initially hesitant.

"I didn't think it was something that was for me, but I love baseball, and my playing days were done, so I thought, 'I'll give it a try,'" he recalled. "Pretty quickly, I just fell in love with it. What I never realized in my younger years playing is how it impacts people's lives. Being able to have a small impact on high-school-age guys that have a passion for baseball, that's what really drives me to stay in coaching and fuels my love for coaching."

Frey said he has lofty goals for the team, including winning a section title, but he wants the players to take away more than a trophy.

"You're involved in these kids' lives for four short years, but they are some pretty important years," he said. "They start as young boys and hopefully leave as well-rounded young men. We try to share life lessons with them, and doing that through a game we love is a great pleasure."

A lifelong Phillies fan, Frey enjoys spending his free time outside in the mountains or hunting with his wife, Patty, and their German shepherd, Murphy. And, of course, he said, "I also watch a lot of baseball."

As Frey gears up for his first season as head coach, the team is kicking off its year with a fundraiser that's open to the community.

A breakfast of pancakes, eggs, sausage, tater tots, beverages and more will be served on Saturday, March 2, from 7 to 10 a.m. at Mount Joy Mennonite Church, 320 Musser Road, Mount Joy. Organized by the booster club, the breakfast will be served by the players, said booster club president Renee Hammaker, whose son, Brock, is a senior on the team.

"We're hoping for a good turnout, because everything we do for fundraising goes back to the kids," she said, noting that proceeds may support anything from field maintenance to the purchase of equipment. The booster club recently purchased a new pitching machine, and Hammaker shared that Donegal Athletic Club reimbursed the group for some of the cost, but Frey is interested in acquiring an additional machine. A variety of local businesses are donating food for the breakfast, including Hershey Ag, Eggman Farm Products, Gus's Keystone Family Restaurant, Giant Food Stores, Stauffers of Kissel Hill, Weis Markets, Sheetz Funeral Home and Dunkin' Donuts.

Tickets for the breakfast are available to purchase in advance from any player. Walks-ins will also be welcome.