ABCA Calls from the Clubhouse

Thinking and speaking administratively can be a tall order for coaches so we rounded up three men who have walked the path from coaching on the field to serving as Athletic Directors. This episode features Jim Peeples of Piedmont College in Georgia, Ray Tanner of the University of South Carolina and Kevin Vest of Waubonsee Community College in Illinois. They have each seen their career paths shift from calling bunt coverages to overseeing athletic departments and being focused on the bigger picture on their campuses. They offer tremendous perspectives on this show into how we can communicate more effectively with our own administrations plus how their experiences in athletics have shaped their approach to building a positive culture inside their departments. Peeps, Ray and Kevin each deliver invaluable viewpoints for our listeners on this show, helping bridge the gap for our coaches from baseball men who walked in their shoes.

Another example of the tremendous baseball men inside this great game and the ABCA, we invited Darren Fenster, who serves as the Manager of the Greenville Drive in the Boston Red Sox organization, to this episode of Calls from the Clubhouse. Fenster has an obvious passion for teaching baseball and shares stories of why he approaches his opportunity the way he does. For baseball coaches and players, his Twitter account, @CoachYourKids, is an entertaining and informational follow as he emphasizes coaching for the right reasons and playing the game the right way. This show unveils Fenster's drive to be consistent each day for his players, his lack of hidden talents and hobbies which further shows his dedication and commitment to the game.

It's perfect timing for this show as the NCAA Division I College World Series is underway. We sat down with two of its biggest advocates in ESPN's Kyle Peterson and Mike Rooney. These two men have been longtime fans and supporters of the college game and we discussed the current state of the game. Roons and KP talk us through the positive trends in our game while also exploring the areas for concerns to keep college baseball healthy and thriving. Also, both men offer us their nod to our coaches and speak to the high level of development and coaching on the college level and we dive into their thoughts on the beauty of Omaha and the CWS.

This episode shines a light on one of the extraordinary men of the ABCA – Butch Chaffin, the head coach at Cookeville High School in Cookeville, Tennessee. Chaffin joins our show to discuss his journey through the game and the positive impact he hopes to have on it. A loyal ABCA member, Chaffin details his approach to helping young men grow up in the Cookeville program, his drive for enhancing relationships inside the game and his growth as a person and a coach. Chaffin has spent time as a high school and college assistant coach, professional scout and now as a high school head coach while also working with USA Baseball. Chaffin delivers some excellent perspective as he looks back through his years in the dugout, the people that have challenged and impacted him while also discussing the lessons learned along the way.

Two of the most engaging outfield presentations at recent ABCA Conventions have come from Darin Erstad from the University of Nebraska and Jake Boss from Michigan State University. These two tremendous baseball men gave very informative presentations on outfielding through focus on details and absolutes, and we worked to bring this information to the podcast. Erstad and Boss offer our listeners a glimpse into their evaluations of outfielders on the recruiting trail while also detailing the progressions in practice once their kids step foot on campus. Both Erstad and Boss break down specific drills they use to teach details of elite outfielding and how they each 'close the gaps' in the Husker and Spartan outfields.

In this episode, we welcome in one of the busiest retired coaches out there in ABCA Hall of Famer Keith Madison. Madison, who was head coach at the University of Kentucky for 25 years, discusses his activities and contributions to the game after stepping down at UK over a decade ago. He works with SCORE International, is Publisher of Inside Pitch Magazine and serves on the ABCA Board of Directors. Madison talks about his journey in the game and the lessons learned along the way. He delivers tremendous insight for any coach, guiding them through the stories from his career and time in the dugout.

We rounded up three of the top thought leaders in our game for information on arm care and development on one call - Alan Jaeger from Jaeger Sports, Eric Cressey from Cressey Sports Performance and Kyle Boddy from Driveline Baseball. These three joined our podcast to take us through an all-encompassing view of year-round training for our players. Critical elements include the off-season recovery and build-up, in-season maintenance plans and also the approach to navigating critical summer months for our players. Jaeger, Cressey and Boddy all offer insight and expertise on how players and their families as well as coaches should view these essential pieces development while adding their takes on evaluating college programs and Major League Baseball organizations for their viewpoints on arm health and training.

Opening up the extensive list of terrific high school coaches within the ABCA membership, we welcome in Trent Mongero, head coach at North Hall High School in Georgia, to our podcast to outline his unique path in our game and reflections from 24 years in the dugout. In this episode, Mongero discusses his consistent voice on social media that provides insight to playing the game the right way and competing while also sharing drills and coaching tips inside his feed. Mongero also expands on his passionate approach to coaching his players and his true coaching 'why' that leads his drive towards growing up young men. This is powerful insight from one of our loyal ABCA members and our first high school coach to grace the air waves.

This is a powerful episode with SIX national championships on the line. Greg Brown, head coach at Nova Southeastern University, Jeremiah Robbins from Lewis-Clark State College and Doug Wren, the skipper at Tyler Junior College, all joined our show to discuss the rise to the upper echelon inside their divisions and the effects that winning has had on their personal development as well as their programs. Brown (2016 NCAA Div. II champion), Robbins (2015 and 2016 NAIA) and Wren (2014, 2015 and 2016 NJCAA Div. III) each lay out their path in this game, pulling back the curtain on the program’s journey to the top of the mountain. Each coach also reflects on their focus with building deep player relationships, community and campus impact as well as the lasting effects that winning has had on within their locker rooms.

One of the true gentlemen in the college game, Florida Atlantic University head coach John McCormack joins our podcast to detail his 27-year career, with every season being in an Owl uniform. McCormack opens up his reflections within the FAU program and his advice for coaches across all levels of the game. This is a powerful episode as Mac details his successful battle with cancer while also fighting alongside one of his players, coming away with a new perspective on his passion for coaching. It's easy to hear why so many alumni and current players love playing for McCormack, a proud 26-year continuous ABCA member.

Creating havoc on the bases and scoring more runs is the name of the game for Matt Talarico, assistant coach at Wright State University and the creator of StealBases.com. In every stop he has made throughout his career, Talarico has elevated offenses to new levels by bringing an aggressive approach to running the bases. In this podcast, we outline Talarico’s overall vision and plan while also giving our listeners insight into how teaching the game on this level has raised the IQ of his players on the field. Talarico also provides great base-running drills to take into a practice setting and takes us in the dugout for insightful feedback on the implementation of his plan to attacking the base paths.

Tracy Archuleta has built one of the most prominent NCAA Division II programs in the country over the past 10 seasons at the University of Southern Indiana. With national championships in 2010 and 2014 and four trips to the NCAA Div. II World Series in six regional appearances, it's easy to see why Archuleta has something to offer our listeners. We sit down with "Arch" to talk through his career in college baseball and the tremendous mentors he has been blessed to work under along with transcendent advice for coaches across every level of baseball. A 'keep it simple' guy by nature, Archuleta dives into his approach to coaching for relationships and trusting his process for development, which are his guiding principles for success.

This is a special episode as we sit down with one of the true legends of our game, college baseball's the all-time wins leader Augie Garrido. Final numbers: 1,975 wins, 15 trips to the College World Series and five national championships across four different decades. Garrido walks us through his storied career and gives his reflections on the game itself. He chronicles his humble beginnings in coaching, learning invaluable lessons early on that helped shaped his coaching approach and style as he built a winning program from scratch at Cal State Fullerton plus returning the University of Texas to national prominence. Garrido also gives advice for coaches and players to change their perspective on the game, choosing to treat each pitch as simply an opportunity to learn. Packed with tremendous insight, this episode is for coaches across all levels of the game plus parents, players and baseball fans.

Dugout Chatter is all about placing the spotlight on some of our most loyal ABCA members and this episode highlights one of our youngest - Tyler Gillum of South Mountain Community College in Arizona. Gillum enters his eighth season in college baseball and his sixth as the assistant coach at South Mountain CC. Gillum is highly motivated, consumed with personal growth and positively impacting his players. This comes through the air waves as we dive into Gillum's successful stints in collegiate summer baseball, highlighted by three straight Texas Collegiate League championships, plus his personal growth program that originated at SMCC to help elevate team chemistry that has since expanded nationally. Gillum also offers tremendous insight into some of the lessons he has learned while studying successful coaches and business leaders.

Unpacking the "Mental Game" for coaches can be a tall task so we called in one of the best – the creator of Peak Performance, Brian Cain. Cain details his career in mental training and conditioning, from his early years with the Cal State Fullerton teams and Ken Ravizza to now training some of the high-profile college and high school teams around the country. In this episode, Cain offers our listeners coaching cues and systems to arm their players with to help tackle adversity and failure. Cain also details the successful habits and mindsets of the very best coaches in our game in how they work to become more consistent and effective in the mental game training for their players and programs.