Before this season, Nick Nyman didn’t know where he was going to play baseball, while his uncle, Gerard Nyman, didn’t know whether he was going to coach.

Now both are in the middle of their first season as part of the SF State baseball team. And if there’s one thing the Nyman family knows, it’s baseball.

Gerard, along with brothers Matt and Chris, all played in the minor leagues while Nyles, Nick’s father, played for the Chicago White Sox from 1974-77. Gerard played two years in the Expos organization before being released.

“I come from a baseball family and [so I grew] up with the game being played the right way, the way it was meant to be played,” said Gerard, who coaches the outfielders and works with the hitters at SF State.

Growing up, Gerard and his brothers were taught the game by the same person—their mother. And if the boys made mistakes during their games, it was their mother who worked with them afterward to make them better.

“It’s not like anybody was too tired to play or not wanting to go through with it,” Gerard said. “We ate it up.”

With the influence of his father and uncles, Nick also grew up with the game of baseball.

“When my dad and uncles got together, I’d sit around and listen to their stories and ask them questions,” Nick said.

After starting out the season as part of a rotation in the infield, Nick has taken over full-time shortstop duties and has played fundamentally sound defense for SF State. Being a sophomore on a team full of juniors and seniors, Nick has earned his position on the team.

“Nick Nyman is the first one on [the field], the last one off,” SF State head coach Tony Dress said. “Nick has really worked his way up and earned everything he’s going to get down the road.”

Although Nick is known for his defense, he also had some key hits over the weekend as he batted .368 in the five-game series against Hawaii Pacific. SF State went 3-1-1 against the Sea Warriors to earn its first series win of the season. But SF State lost a tough game on Tuesday in Moraga to Division I opponent St. Mary’s, 7-5.

“I just wasn’t hitting at the beginning of the season and I just had to wait for it to come around,” said Nick, who is hitting .247 with two homers and 13 RBIs on the year.

Before this season, he attended and played baseball at Lassen College in Susanville. After playing as a freshman, he chose to redshirt his second year on the team when there was a coaching change. It soon became clear to him that he needed to find a new place to play ball.

“It sucked,” Nick said of not knowing what school he was going to attend next. “I had no idea what I was going to do.”

Gerard then advised his nephew to give Dress a call at SF State because the Gators were looking for middle-infielders. Nick contacted Dress last summer and everything worked out.

For Gerard, 41, getting back into coaching was a matter of timing.

After working in nightclubs in St. Louis for 11 years, Gerard moved back to California and finished his degree at Sacramento State in 2005. He looked to start working on his master’s degree at SF State this year, but accepted a job offer from Dress instead.

Although the Gators’ record (7-25-1, 1-15 California Collegiate Athletic Association) isn’t where SF State thought it would be at this point in the year, the offense hasn’t disappointed.

With the help of Gerard, SF State has improved from last season. As of March 30, the Gators are currently tied for fifth in the CCAA in batting average (.297) and are sixth in home runs (20). This is after hitting .244 with nine homers last year as a team. SF State is also sixth in slugging percentage (.427), hits (304) and third in triples with seven.

“He’s dedicated, disciplined and everything you look for in a coach,” Dress said. “And he still knows how to relate to the kids…I think that’s a big plus.”

Although Nick and Gerard are close off the field, both are respectful of the player-coach relationship on the field.

“I can’t really say much to him when we’re on the field,” Nick said of joking around with his uncle. “I have to bite my tongue.”

Dress added, “There are never any lines crossed in the wrong way. There is no favoritism whatsoever.”

Although Nick, a criminal justice major, has two more seasons left with the Gators, Gerard is not sure whether or not he’ll be back after this year. But for the former pro-ballplayer, it would tough to leave this team.

“You make attachments with these players,” Gerard said.