Coaching Management 12.7

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Request No. 100

CONTENTS Coaching ManagementBaseball EditionPostseason 2004

Vol. XII, No. 7

COACHING MANAGEMENT 1

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COVER STORY

Arms Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20Pitch counts help coaches avoid overworking their hurlers, but there’s more to keeping them healthy than numbers on a chart.

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OFF THE FIELD

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Cover photo: Steve Woltmann Photography

LOCKER ROOMBulletin Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Will the North-South divide be closedor widened? ... A formal unsports-manlike-conduct warning system ... Awood bat renaissance? ... Fundraisingby position ... Not one, but two MajorLeague dads as assistant coaches.

HAMMER STRENGTHPlayer of the Year . . . . . . 10Andy Goff, Mt. Lebanon High School.

Q&A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Peter Ambrose pays attention tothe student, and the athletes takecare of themselves.

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Uniforms & Apparel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Team Equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Hitting & Pitching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Web News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

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D1 Start DateMay EmergeThirty-eight years after a North-ern school last won the NCAADivision I College World Series,the issue of competitive equitybetween warm-weather andcold-climate schools may beaddressed in legislative actionas early as this fall. It wouldbe a stretch to say that thereis a consensus, but for manycoaches the compromise is

L O C K E R R O O Mbulletin board

2 COACHING MANAGEMENT

June 21 there are only eightschools in the NCAA still play-ing baseball.”

Many coaches, usually fromSun Belt schools, say theywould like the sport to be suc-cessful nationally, but not attheir expense. They predictpotential attendance drop-offs, increased costs of hous-ing student-athletes after theschool year is over, and wor-ries that scheduling changes

could injure USA Baseball orsummer leagues sponsoredby Major League Baseball.

“But if we are going to followthe NCAA creed, which is togive every student-athlete theright to compete for a nation-al championship,” says Todd,“then it’s the NCAA’s obliga-tion to create a competitive,equitable playing field.”

The Issues Committee will for-ward a report to the NCAAChampionships/CompetitionCabinet in September. Thatpanel could sponsor legislationfor the NCAA ManagementCouncil to vote on, possiblyfor 2006, according to DennisFarrell, Committee Chair andCommissioner of the Big WestConference.

■ Establish a nonchampionship-season window during the fall.

Bob Todd, Head Coach at TheOhio State University and theonly coach on the committee,is among the most outspokenadvocates of some kind ofchange. Of the 40 teams thathave played in the last 20 Col-lege World Series Champion-ships, only three have beenfrom the Midwest or theNortheast.

Two Strikes,You’re Out!When the number of highschool baseball coaches eject-ed for unsportsmanlike con-duct hit 16 during the 2003season, the MassachusettsInterscholastic Athletic Associ-ation decided enough wasenough. The association’sbaseball and sportsmanshipcommittees met to work on asolution, and the “Strike Two”program emerged.

Under the program’s rules, anumpire can issue a “strike one”to a coach who engages ininappropriate verbal or non-verbal behavior. The strike isrecorded in the official score-book, and both coaches arenotified of the infraction. Asecond instance of bad beha-vior—strike two—and thecoach is ejected. Umpires arestill free to eject a coachimmediately for flagrant mis-behavior.

The program was adopted forthe 2004 season as an experi-mental rule. While the finalresults aren’t in yet, the pro-gram seems to have worked:Ejections are down.

When it was first proposed,the rule met with skepticismfrom coaches and umpiresalike. “A lot of coachesthought that this suddenly puta lot of power into the handsof umpires who would bemaking very subjective deci-sions,” says Bob Ashley, Presi-dent of the MassachusettsBaseball Coaches’ Associationand Head Coach at StoughtonHigh School. “There werecoaches who thought, ‘I knowthis umpire doesn’t like mevery much, so the first time Isay anything, he’s going togive me a strike one.’”

Coaches were also worriedthat behavior they’d alwaysconsidered acceptable wouldsuddenly be earning themstrikes in the scorebook. “To

Ohio State third baseman Jedidiah Stephen lunges to snag a ball during a 3-1 win over Penn State. OhioState Head Coach Bob Todd is among coaches who favor delaying the start of the NCAA Division I seasonand College World Series in hopes of altering the North-South competitive imbalance.

simple: Delay the start of theseason to mid-February andthe College World Series tolate June.

The uniform start date and aslightly later College WorldSeries were among the fourconcepts outlined by the newBaseball Issues Committee in asurvey given to Division I ath-letic directors and headcoaches. The survey soughtinput on these four concepts:

■ Establish Feb. 1 as the firstpermissible date of practice inthe championship season.

■ Establish March 1 as the firstdate of competition.

■ Delay the start date for theDivision I Baseball Champion-ship for two weeks to lateJune.

Ohio State was the last cham-pion from the Snow Belt, in1966. Todd cites a survey bythe American Baseball CoachesAssociation several years agoin which 77 percent of theDivision I coaches respondingfavored moving the seasonback three weeks.

“To move the College WorldSeries back would be advanta-geous to nearly every school,”Todd says. “Would the advan-tage remain with the warm-weather schools? Absolutely,but we have to show peoplearound the country that weare trying to equalize thecompetitiveness of the sport.

“June 21 is the first officialday of summer, and the waythe season is set up now, by

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about that aspect of the rule,because I think it puts too muchresponsibility on the coach forcrowd control.”

However, he didn’t see thatscenario happen last season.“I think umpires will continueto talk to the athletic directoron site if there is a problemwith fan behavior,” he says.“I think common sense willprevail.”

The MIAA baseball committeewill go over the numbers of2004 “strike one” warningswhen they meet in Septemberto review the season. Theassociation will likely experi-ment with the rule for onemore year before decidingwhether to make it permanentat the next rules changesmeeting in May 2005.

Coaches LikeUsing Wood BatsFor the past two years, BryantCollege Head Coach Jon Sjo-gren’s team’s batting averagehas been falling dramatically.

Four years ago, Lewis UniversityHead Coach Irish O’Reilly’steam hit nearly 50 percentfewer home runs than the yearbefore, and the number hasn’tgone back up much since.

Neither coach could be happier.

Both NCAA Division II schoolsplay in wood bat leagues, andboth coaches say the switchto wood has made the gamepurer and safer. They also sayit’s made their jobs morechallenging, enjoyable, andrewarding.

Bryant College is a memberof the Northeast-10 Confer-ence, which switched to woodfor the 2003 season, continuedthe rule during 2004, andafter a unanimous vote of theleague’s coaches, will bring itback again for 2005. Lewis’sleague, the Great Lakes ValleyConference, has been using



get a strike one, you don’thave to run out onto the fieldand have an argument withthe umpire,” says Paul Wetzel,Media Spokesman for theMIAA. “There is a certainamount of moaning andgroaning from the bench thathas become part of baseballculture. I think that there wassome concern about wherethe line was going to be.”

Umpires were uncertain aswell. “Frankly, I didn’t think Iwas going to like it,” saysMike Evans, President of theMassachusetts Baseball Ump-ires’ Association. “I didn’t likethe terminology, I didn’t likethe way it was presented tous, and I didn’t think we hadbeen given enough input incoming up with the program.”

After living with Strike Twofor a year, though, both Ashleyand Evans say they support it.“We had the most ejectionsof any sport in Massachusettsprior to this,” Ashley says.“That really makes baseballlook bad, and something hadto be done.”

“The more I thought about it,I decided this isn’t a bad wayto go,” Evans agrees.

The program gives umpires away to deal with marginalinfractions—behavior that isinappropriate and shouldn’tbe ignored, but that doesn’twarrant immediate ejection.“In basketball, a technical foulserves as a heads-up beforeany serious action is taken,”Evans says. “In baseball,we’ve never had anything likethat to use. Nobody likes hav-ing to eject a coach, so this isa way of saying, ‘Okay, coach,let’s calm down and startthinking a little bit more,’without having to eject him.”

A perfect example involveswhat Evans calls “chippingaway”—a coach who constantlyquestions balls and strikes.“That gets annoying and makesit hard for the umpire to con-

centrate, but it’s probably notsomething we’re going to ejecta coach for,” he says. “Yet,the rulebook does say thatyou cannot question balls andstrikes, and now we can turnto a coach who’s chipping awayand tell them it’s ‘strike one.’”

Coaches and umpires discus-sed the program in preseasonmeetings and Evans says um-pires reminded coaches of it inpregame conferences. Withthree weeks to go in the sea-son, there had only been threeor four ejections, accordingto Wetzel. No data are avail-able yet on how many timesa “strike one” was issued, butAshley says the added aware-ness, as much as the ruleitself, prompted better behav-ior this past season.

Head coaches also spent moretime this year mentoring assis-tant coaches about sportsman-ship. “Many of the assistantswere young, first-time coaches

who don’t usually work in aneducational environment anddon’t know what’s appropri-ate there,” says Ashley. “Theywere making comments fromthe bench that were gettinghead coaches ejected.

“Head coaches have a respon-sibility to watch their ownbehavior and make sure theirkids and assistants carry them-selves in the correct manner,”he continues. “I think this rulemade head coaches moreaware of that.”

One question is how much thatresponsibility extends to thestands. Technically, an umpirecan issue a “strike one” againsta coach if a fan makes inappro-priate comments. “You couldhave a rabid parent in thebackground yelling at theumpire, the umpire could issuea bench warning, and if theparent yells again, the headcoach could be ejected,” Ash-ley says. “I’m not too crazy

Massachusetts umpires now have the authority to issue a “strikeone” warning to coaches for the first offense of unsportsmanlikeconduct. “Strike two” results in an ejection.

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shipping costs. There is a bud-get adjustment, but it’s not asbig as people would think.”

Perhaps the biggest advantageis for players who want toadvance to the next level. “Inour conference, we’ve seen acouple of players who would

wood for the past four yearsand will also continue in2005.

A coach for 35 years, O’Reillysays veteran coaches appreci-ate the way wood bats returnthe game to its traditionalform, but younger coachesare equally enthusiastic. “Inour conference, the youngercoaches are some of the onesthe most excited about it,because they are doing morecoaching and managingnow,” he says.

The Great Lakes Valley Con-ference and the Northeast-10switched to wood for differ-ent reasons. In 2000, safetywas paramount in the GreatLakes Valley decision. “Wewere witnessing a lot of ballscoming off aluminum batsat speeds that were too fastto be fielded or defendedagainst—not just in games,but in daily practices,” O’Reillysays.

The Northeast-10 had anoth-er motive. “For us, it wasn’t asafety issue,” Sjogren says.“We did it for the sake of thegame, to make it cleaner andreturn it to the way it wasmeant to be played. We cer-tainly feel it has done that.

“A few years ago, it didn’tmatter where you threw theball or how many unearnedruns you gave up, because youalways knew there was athree-run home run waitingaround the corner,” he con-tinues. “That doesn’t happenanymore. One run, one baserunner, one stolen base, orone sacrifice bunt can meanthe game. Now the emphasisis on fielding your position,throwing the ball to the rightbase, turning double plays,and getting yourself out ofinnings. It’s brought back thefiner points of the game.”

“The bottom line is, when wewent to wood, most of theplayers started looking a lotmore like baseball players

Sjogren’s team advanced tothe NCAA tournament in2004, and had to prepare touse aluminum after playingthe previous 34 games withwood. “I think it gave us anadvantage,” he says. “Whenwe got to the national tourna-ment, having played withwood batsfor as longas we had,the offensiveadjustmentwas fairlyeasy. “Wehit morehome runsin the first15 minutesthan we hadall year. Allof my hittershad bigsmiles ontheir faces.”

Defensively,the adjust-mentrequiredmore prepa-ration toagain fieldballs off ofaluminumbats,Sjogrensays. He hadhis playersusealuminumbats in prac-tice for livework andfungoes,concentrat-ing on field-ing balls that went overoutfielders’ heads and ondouble relays.

Wood bats placed less strainon the budget than common-ly feared, according to bothcoaches. “For us, there was asmall increase, because wehave to buy both wood andaluminum now,” Sjogren says.“But we work with our batcompany as a league andwe’ve been able to get spe-cial bulk-rate prices and lower

The Northeast-10 Conference is among several confer-ences using wood bats during league play. Shown isthird-team NCAA Division II All-American Mickey Ryanof Bryant College. Bryant used metal bats during itspostseason run to the D-II College World Series.

have gone unnoticed beforegetting picked up becausescouts were able to evaluatethem better,” O’Reilly says. “Ithink it will help the progressof those who do get drafted,because they will already havethe skills they need. They’vebeen hearing for a number ofyears about moving the balland playing for that one runand doing the things defen-sively that professional ball willrequire of them.”

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than they did when we usedaluminum,” agrees O’Reilly.“Infielders are making playswe hadn’t seen in a while.Our shortstop gets 35 to 40more assists a year than any-body playing in an aluminum-bat conference. Ouroutfielders are making moreplays because balls don’tleave the yard as often.”

Pitching strategy has alsochanged, since pitchers areno longer afraid to throwinside. “Pushing hitters off theplate when they are beingtoo aggressive has alwaysbeen part of the game, butwe were losing that with alu-minum bats,” O’Reilly says.“Now, our pitchers have onemore weapon back in theirarsenal. The bunt alsobecomes more of a play, soyou see the pitcher involvedwith fielding again.”

“It lets the strike zone be thestrike zone,” adds Sjogren.“Before, the umpire had toexpand the strike zone oneither side of the plate just tokeep the ball in the park.”

The change has also madegames shorter—which hasgotten the thumbs-up fromfans. “In the Midwest, we playa lot of doubleheaders. Whenwe were using aluminum, thosegames would each go on forthree hours,” O’Reilly says.“Now we’re playing nine-inninggames in less than two hours,and seven-inning games inless than an hour and a half.”

But won’t fans stay away ifthere are fewer home runsand less scoring? No, accord-ing to O’Reilly. “Our scores arein the neighborhood of 5-4and 3-2,” he says. “Our fanshave told us they appreciateit because it’s good, competi-tive baseball being played thetraditional way.”

Both coaches have found thatadjusting back to aluminumfor non-conference games iseasier than they expected.

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Most of O’Reilly’s playersarrive with some experiencehitting with wood bats, thanksto a growing tendency amonghigh school coaches to usethem in the batting cage. MikeHayes, Head Coach at BeechHigh School in Hendersonville,Tenn., says his players havedefinitely benefited since hestarted having them swingwood bats in the batting cageand in drills. “It teaches themto hit the ball in the rightspot, because if you don’t hitthe sweet spot with a woodenbat, you’re either going tobreak the bat or you’re goingto hit the ball badly,” he says.“If you can hit with a woodbat, you can definitely hit withan aluminum bat, and it’shelped our hitterstremendously.”

“When the kids only hit withaluminum, their swings

“We were looking for creativeways to market giving toendowments,” says JohnWebster, Director of AlumniAffairs and Development forAthletics. “We decided thatcreating these opportunities—where donors could name aplayer position—would appealto some of our former playersand be a fun way for them toparticipate in our endowmenteffort. And it’s worked very,very well.”

To find the endowments’ firstdonor, fundraisers approachedalum Richard L. Booth Jr., whohad endowed the headcoach’s position two yearsearlier. A former Big Redpitcher and current managingdirector of HBK Investments,Booth agreed to endow 10player positions, naming onefor himself and nine for his1980-82 Big Red teammates.

suffer,” agrees Sjogren.“When you have them hitwith wood, instead of seeinghow far they can hit it, theystart working on a good qual-ity swing and getting thegood part of the bat on theball.”

Raising Money,Spot By SpotAt Cornell University, wherethe baseball program isentirely self-sufficient, athleticadministrators have come upwith a new spin on an old idea.Instead of creating endow-ments for athletic scholarships,which don’t exist in the IvyLeague, they’ve launched acampaign to raise money for12 “Player Position Endow-ments” at $150,000 apiece,and have succeeded so far infilling 10 of the slots.


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Since then, the departmenthas continued to search foradditional donors to fill itstwo remaining positions, con-centrating its campaign onlong-term donors.

Starting in 1998, when the uni-versity decided that baseballneeded to cover all its ownexpenses, responsibility forfunding the program hasincreasingly shifted to alumni.That year, Cornell baseballbegan a general endowmentfund, followed in 1999 byBooth’s head coaching endow-ment and an estate gift to en-dow the team manager’s posi-tion in the name of the Classof 1926’s Walter Buckley Sr.

A gift of $10 million, spreadout over five years, allowed theprogram to keep reinvestingthe interest from its endow-Continued on page 12

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P L A Y E R O F T H E Y E A RBy Dave Wohlhueter

It was August 1, two weeks before Andy Goff was to begin a newchapter in his life, as a student-athlete at Wake Forest University.Thousands of recent high school graduates in the same situationas Andy were spending the weekend soaking up the last rays ofsummer. Where was Goff? In Mississippi, soaking up an extra doseof the 2004 baseball season by competing in the NationalAmateur Baseball Federation championships.

2 0 0 4 B A S E B A L L P L A Y E R O F

“Baseball is the greatest game ever created, and when it was created, it was done so with people like Andy Goff in mind.”

— Mark Saghy, Head Baseball Coach, Mt. Lebanon High School, Pittsburgh, Pa.

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His favorite motto is: “You have tomake the grade to make the field.”Maintaining that attitude helped him tomeet the tough academic standards ofMt. Lebanon High School, and theexpectations of Coach Saghy. “If you getit done in the classroom, then you get toplay, and that’s been my motivation allmy life,” Goff explains.

He says winning the YMCA’s scholar-athlete award was a testament to the com-mitment of his parents as well as him-self. “They’ve always pushed me to dowell in the classroom, and baseball justtook care of itself,” he explains.

His success in baseball, though, did-n’t just happen. It took many years ofhard work for Goff to be a four-yearstarter on the diamond in highschool. “Ever since I was little, I’ve want-ed to play professional baseball,” he says.“When I was younger, my dad told me,‘Every day, do something to make your-self better, whether it be mentally in theclassroom, or physically in the weight-room or by running. Even if you arewatching TV, do pushups or somethingduring the commercials.’ My parentshave always been supportive of every-thing I have attempted to do.”

The game of baseball further

Nominations were submitted by highschool coaches from around the UnitedStates. The candidates, from a highlycompetitive pool, were considered basedon their qualities in the areas of academ-ics, leadership, dedication, and integrity.

“You may find more talented players,or better students in this country,” saidMt. Lebanon High School Head BaseballCoach Mark Saghy, “but you will neverfind a finer student-athlete who personi-fies the reasons why high school baseballis one of the greatest experiences in alifetime.”

Goff backed up Saghy’s praise thisspring by being named All-Section Sevenand WPIAL District on the diamond atshortstop, after winning All-Section hon-ors as a quarterback in the fall of 2003.He was also named the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Athlete of the Year. In the class-room, he carried a 3.8 cumulative GPA,and received the YMCA Baseball Scholar-Athlete Award.

Goff learned at an early age about theimportance of excelling in both venues.“Right from the start, my mom said thatif I didn’t get good grades, I wouldn’t beable to play baseball,” he says. “That wasall I needed to hear, and I started work-ing in the classroom.”

Goff had extra motivation for playingin this year’s NABF championships: Heplayed on last year’s Pittsburgh areateam that won its NABF regional andeventually won the competition, but hecouldn’t make the trip to the final roundbecause of another commitment. SoAndy was determined to make it to thefinals this year, and he helped the teamrepeat as national champions by going 7-for-17 at the plate and sparkling in thefield.

Loving the game of baseball and pos-sessing the talent and work ethic to suc-ceed on the diamond pretty muchdescribe Goff, a graduate of Mt. LebanonHigh School in Pittsburgh, who is the2004 Hammer Strength Baseball Playerof the Year.

The award was established in 2001 tohonor a high school baseball player whoexemplifies the outstanding qualities anddetermination of New York Yankee firstbaseman Jason Giambi. Both playersshare a tremendous passion for the sportbacked up by a work ethic that exceeds100 percent.

In addition to honoring Andy specifi-cally, Hammer Strength will present Mt.Lebanon High School with a piece ofstrength-training equipment of its choice.

strengthened Goff’s commitment to dis-cipline. “You have to work every day atdiscipline,” he says. “Baseball is not agame where you can succeed all the time.If you went 3-for-10 every day, you wouldbe in the Hall of Fame. You need to dealwith the failures and keep persevering.”

“Ever since his freshman year, Andyhas been a leader,” says Coach Saghy. “Heknows when to lead by example, andwhen to speak up to ‘jump start’ a team,but he never yells.” He also makes sureno one is ever down on his team, andthat everything is always positive. “Younever want to get too high,” Goff says. “IfI’m 4-for-4, you would never be able totell. Lead by example, show no emotion,and play 110 percent all the time.”

Although he had a .707 on-base per-centage in the spring, Goff considers hit-ting to be the hardest part of the game.“It’s harder than anything you do in allof sports, because you are hitting a mov-ing object with a moving object,” he says.“I need to learn to hit with power and tohit the other way. Hopefully at the nextlevel, I can work on those aspects of thegame.”

Goff will get his opportunity to playon the collegiate level when he enrolls atWake Forest in the fall. He says that when

choosing a college, he received soundadvice everywhere he visited, but heespecially liked what the XavierUniversity coach told him during therecruiting process. He said: “Andy, thebiggest thing is that you have to sit downone day and think about where you seeyourself, and where you are going to feelcomfortable, even if it is not Xavier. Iwant you to go where you will be the mostcomfortable.” Wake Forest, in Winston-Salem, N.C., turned out to be that place.

In addition to getting a degree ineither business or education, Goff hopesthat playing for the Demon Deacons willbe the next step on the path to a profes-sional baseball career. This past summer,he was selected in the 50th round of theMajor League draft by the ColoradoRockies, the same team that chose lastyear’s Hammer Strength Player of theYear, Ian Stewart.

“If pro baseball doesn’t work out, Iwould like to come back home and be acoach,” says Goff. His coaching may havestarted already, as he has been a tremen-dous influence on his younger brother,Pat. “We have a lot of fun together,” hesays. “Pat tries to emulate me in every-thing he does—taping his wrists, wearingeye black, and kicking the dirt around.

It’s so much fun to watch because helooks like a mini-me.”

One attribute that makes Goff a greatbaseball player is his love for all aspects ofthe game. “Andy’s the only kid I’ve everseen who enjoys taking ground balls asmuch as he likes taking batting practice,”says Saghy. “Baseball is not a job. Practiceis not work. It’s just doing what he lovesto do. His passion and love for the gamemakes it seem like he’s just going out andhaving fun.

“I’ve had a lot of kids who have pas-sion,” Saghy continues. “I’ve had a lot ofkids who had tons of talent, but he’s thefirst I can say that had the combinationof both, and that sets him apart from allhis peers.”

MACK BROWN, Shawnee MissionNorth High School, Shawnee, Kans.Coach Joe Gunderson. A junior firstbaseman, Mack batted .435 with 15RBIs in the cleanup spot. He is athree-year letterman in baseball, bas-ketball, and football, and was All-League in all three sports. He is amember of Leadership 20-20, whichincludes the top academic students athis school, and is a peer mediator forhis class.

EVAN COOK, Sebastian River HighSchool, Sebastian, Fla. Coach GeorgeYoung. A junior catcher, Evan cap-tained his team to an undefeated sea-son in the Treasure Lake Conference.He hit .371, with a team-leading 21RBIs and .622 slugging percentage.Defensively, he threw out 55 percentof opposing base stealers. He madean amazing comeback after breakinghis leg in the summer of 2003. Anhonor roll student in the rigorousMedical Academy at his high school,he plans to pursue a career in sportsmedicine.

CASEY HERALD, Tazewell HighSchool, Tazewell, Va. Coach LucianPeery. A senior pitcher-outfielder whowas named All-Southwest DistrictPlayer of the Year, Casey was chosento the district and regional teams atboth positions. He was All-League andAll-Region in three consecutive years.As a senior, Herald was 7-1 with a0.80 ERA, and 103 strikeouts in 52innings. He batted .364 with 10 RBIs.Herald has compiled a 3.7 GPA, vol-unteers at a local hospital, and plansto study pre-med at Virginia Tech.

CASEY HUGHES, Cameron HighSchool, Cameron, W. Va. Coach EricJames. Casey was a senior infielderwho hit .455 with five homers, 10doubles, 42 RBIs, and 24 steals in 31games. He was All-State in footballand baseball, and won two statewrestling championships. The treasur-er of his senior class, Hughes finishedin the top 10 of his class with a 3.8GPA.

ROBBIE KELLEY, Springboro HighSchool, Springboro, Ohio. Coach Mark

Pelfrey. Robbie played shortstop in hissenior year, batting .484 with an on-base percentage of .619. He scored aschool-record 49 runs in 28 games,and was hit by a pitch 12 times foranother school record. Kelley has out-standing range and a strong arm. Athree-time All-League performer onthe diamond, Robbie was namedleague Player of the Year in soccer,while also starting in basketball. Hecaptained all three sports. Kelley car-ried a 3.9 GPA in college prep coursesand was nominated for Academic All-State. He will attend Xavier Universityon a scholarship.

CORY MYERS, NewcomerstownHigh School, Newcomerstown, Ohio.Coach Jeffrey Guilliams. A three-yearstarter at first base, Cory batted .354and fielded .967 in 21 games. Hereceived his team’s Ironman Awardfor never missing a practice or agame. He also spends time at thelocal senior center, playing cards withelderly members of his community.Myers is a leader in many studentorganizations. Ranking fourth in his

senior class, he had a 3.91 GPA andwas a delegate to Buckeye Boys’ Statein the summer of 2003.

CAMERON PETTY, Crane Tech Prep,Chicago, Ill. Coach David Penn. Thisjunior pitcher went 5-2 this pastspring, pitching 68.3 innings with 94strikeouts and just 23 walks, and hereceived All-Conference honors.Cameron is always a leader—on thefield, in strength training, and in theclassroom. He is a member of theNational Honor Society with a 3.5GPA, and plans to enroll at ClarkAtlanta University in 2005.

KEVIN ROCK, Warren Mott HighSchool, Warren, Mich. Coach ShawnMaloney. Playing through a wristinjury, Kevin hit .311 with 18 RBIs in26 games. He earned All-District forthe third straight year, and was alsoAll-League and All-County as a thirdbaseman. He also played shortstopand did some relief pitching. Rockwas chosen Academic All-District andAll-Region. He will attend communitycollege in the fall.

The selection of the Hammer Strength Baseball Player of the Year Award winner was a formidable task due to the high quality of thecandidate pool. The following are other finalists who deserve an honorable mention for their outstanding achievements.

A W A R D R U N N E R S U P

T H E Y E A R A W A R D



ment funds, and helped coverthe transition to completeself-sufficiency, which wasreached last year. Other contri-butions have followed, includ-ing a new tarp, windscreen,tractor, and scoreboard. Thisyear, Cornell baseball reachedits goal of $120,000 in gifts.

“If it weren’t for our alumni,the baseball program wouldn’tbe around,” says Head CoachTom Ford. “We have peoplewho are very loyal, with apassion for giving back to theprograms that touched them.It’s just a matter of findingthem.”

Cornell baseball folds all itsendowment monies into asingle operating fund thatcovers salaries, recruiting,equipment, travel, meals, andother expenses. The program’s

combined endowments arecurrently worth $2.89 million,and are earning an annualreturn of about four percent.

“Marketing player positionendowments is a great idea,and I wish I could take creditfor it, but we were simply em-ploying an existing idea thatother schools had used toraise money for scholarships,”says Webster.

“There’s no downside at all.We have a beautiful plaque onthe dugout that recognizes allthe people who have createdendowments,” he continues.“We want our students toknow they’re playing baseballat Cornell because those whocame before them have beenvery generous and wanted toensure that today’s athleteshave the same opportunitiesthey had.”

Cornell University’s baseball team is among programs that havesuccessfully attracted alumni donations by establishing endow-ments named for each player position.

Continued from page 8

Request No. 105

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Major DadsHandle PitchersWhen East Coweta, Ga., HighSchool Head Coach FranklinDeLoach looked at his coach-ing staff this past spring, hesaw stars. When it came timeto make a pitching change,DeLoach called on formermajor league reliever RickBehenna to visit the mound.When he looked in hisbullpen, warming up hispitchers was 1987 NationalLeague Cy Young Award win-ner Steve Bedrosian.

Along with being volunteercoaches for DeLoach’sprogram, the former AtlantaBraves teammates were alsofathers of two of East Cowe-ta’s strongest arms.Bedrosian’s son Kyle, a seniorleft-handed starter who is

headed to Mercer Universityin the fall, and BrandonBehenna, a sophomore right-handed reliever and spotstarter, helped lead EastCoweta to the Georgia 5A-state championship gamewhile compiling a 31-win sea-son. This season was Behen-na’s third as the team’spitching coach and the firstyear Bedrosian was officially amember of the coaching staff.Bedrosian made his servicesavailable after his hunting andfishing show on ESPN2 wascancelled prior to the 2004baseball season.

“Three years ago, when Rickjoined my staff, I completelyturned the pitching staff overto him, and when Steve cameaboard they began sharingthe responsibilities,” saysDeLoach. “And when I saycompletely turning it over to

them, I mean it. Everythingfrom conditioning and work-out schedules to choosingwho would start the nextgame. They handledeverything regarding thepitchers. When you’ve gottwo ex-major leaguers, it’s ano brainer—they’ve forgottenmore about pitching than I’llever know.”

Once it became public knowl-edge that he would have twoex-major leaguers on his staff,DeLoach began hearing whis-pers that the ex-teammates—both fiery competitors in theirprofessional days—mighthave trouble suppressingtheir egos and sharing power.And DeLoach admits that inthe beginning, even he hadsome doubts as to whetherhaving two pitching coacheswould work. So he vocalizedhis concerns.

“I wanted to make sure eachman was operating in his ownspace,” says DeLoach. “So weestablished roles. And it wentreal well.”

Behenna’s role with the staffbasically remained the sameas in previous years: He calledpitches and visited the moundduring varsity games. Prior toand during games, Bedrosianworked in the bullpen,getting the pitchers loose andcritiquing their form. Bothmen took turns throwing bat-ting practice, a treat for bothDeLoach and his players.

“Every high school coach inthe country can appreciatethat,” says DeLoach. “It waspriceless—instead of methrowing B.P., and at thesame time trying to watch theplayers hit, I’m able toconcentrate on the hitters

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and evaluate their swings a lot better.Besides, how many high school playerscan say they took B.P. off a Cy Youngwinner?”

DeLoach says both men worked very welltogether, spending a lot of time duringpractices and games bouncing ideas offone another. And because they had grownup playing baseball with Kyle and Brandon,East Coweta’s players were not awes-truck or intimidated by having to performin front of the ex-major leaguers—eventhough they often had to watch theirassistant coaches sign autographs forfans, players, and even opposing coachesbefore and after each game.

When asked how the Bedrosians and theBehennas dealt with the inevitable father-son friction that can appear when one iscoaching the other, DeLoach says he sawsomething interesting transpire. “BothSteve and Rick admitted that it was toughat times to get through to their ownsons, which I can relate to because I grewup with my dad coaching me. They wouldoften ask each other to talk to the other’skid,” says DeLoach. “It was really funny,but it seemed like Kyle Bedrosian wouldhear Rick Behenna better than he wouldhear his dad—Brandon Behenna wouldlisten to Steve better.”

And both fathers made a point of draw-ing the line between being a father andbeing a coach. “There were a coupletimes when I heard Steve Bedrosian sayto Kyle Bedrosian, ‘It’s not Dad out hereKyle, it’s Coach,’” DeLoach adds. “It’sreally hard to find that line, but theyalways did.”

Bedrosian and Behenna not only madetheir mark on the team’s win-loss record,but also on the program’s player devel-opment. This fall, seven of East Coweta’seight seniors from the 2004 team willbe playing collegiate baseball. Three ofthose players are pitchers, and two,including Kyle Bedrosian, will be compet-ing at the NCAA Division I level.

Next season Brandon Behenna will be ajunior, and DeLoach expects the elderBehenna to retain his duties—and that hewill continue in that role as long as Bran-don is playing at East Coweta. But withthe graduation of Kyle Bedrosian, he isn’tsure if Steve will stay on his staff. Thoughwith two more Bedrosian boys comingup—one an incoming freshman, the othera middle school student—DeLoach is

confident that Steve will remain an inte-gral part of the East Coweta program foryears to come.

“I am very thankful for having had themaround,” says DeLoach. “I enjoyed learn-ing from them, hearing their stories andjust plain being around them. And I knowthe players did too.”

Standards Issued ForWarning TracksIn the decades he’s spent inspecting base-ball fields, Bud Cosgrove has seen warningtracks that are improperly designed, badlyconstructed, and poorly maintained. He’stestified as an expert witness in casesinvolving serious injuries caused by colli-sions with outfield fences. Now, as part

of a task force that’s written a new stan-dard for warning tracks, he’s continuingto push for greater safety in the ballpark.

“If you have a fixed, permanent fence forbaseball, the prudent thing is to have anappropriate warning track,” says Cos-grove, Director of Sport and RecreationSafety for the InterCity Testing &Consulting Corporation and a member ofASTM International’s Committee on


Player safety is the primary aim behindnew standards developed by ASTMInternational for designing, building,and maintaining warning tracks.

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Sports Equipment and Facili-ties. “If you’re going to havea warning track, it has to besmooth, even, and compact. Itcan’t be riddled with ruts andholes, because the ballplayerwill be looking up, chasing afly ball. His footing has got tobe consistent, and he has torely on the change in surfacetexture as the cue that he’sapproaching the fence.”

Created by ASTM International,the “Standard Guide for Con-struction and Maintenance ofWarning Track Areas on SportsFields” covers constructionissues such as the physical andchemical properties of materialsused, optimal dimensions, andsurface and internal drainage.The guide also focuses onmaintenance issues, includingedging, dragging, rolling, wat-ering, vegetation control, andremoval of stones and debris.

ASTM standards are best-practice guidelines used wide-ly in industry and construction.Manufacturers and buildersuse them as a way of certifyingtheir work for potential cust-omers, in much the same waythat NOCSAE-certified sportsgear is recognized as meetingcertain standards for use inathletics. ASTM’s warning trackstandard, labeled F2270, canhelp coaches choose materialsand builders for new or recon-ditioned warning tracks, andlearn how to maintain them.

“There’s no consistent way inwhich warning tracks are con-structed,” says Michael DePew,Chair of the ASTM InternationalCommittee on Sports Equip-ment and Facilities. “We feltthis needed to be addressed,and we hope this standardwill highlight the need forwarning tracks and clarify how

they should be constructedand maintained in order to beeffective.”

The standard applies to fieldswith fixed, permanent outfieldfences, recommending awarning track at least 15 feetwide, with adequate drainageand a mixture of fine graveland sand. The standard makesno recommendations forfields without fences, fieldswith flexible or portable fences,or fields with synthetic warn-ing tracks. And though thestandard isn’t mandatory—atleast, not yet—coaches andschools may be held liable forinjuries that occur on improp-erly built or maintained fields.

“Coaches should make suretheir facilities meet the currentstandards, because doing soprotects them legally in theevent of an accident,” says Jon

Masone, Deputy Commissionerof the Town of Hempstead(N.Y.) Department of Parks andRecreation, and a member ofthe ASTM International Com-mittee on Sports Equipmentand Facilities. “There’s a bigmisconception that schools aregrandfathered in. They’re not.”

“The first line of defense isthe coaches, because they’rewith the kids all the time,”adds Cosgrove. “In my opinion,if there is a rigid fence on thebaseball field, coaches have aprofessional responsibility torequire that the school add awarning track.”

For a summary of thestandard, go to www.astm.org and enter“warning track F2270”in the search window.

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Request No. 109

Peter Ambrose Cardinal Spellman High School (Mass.)A


Why have you stayed in coaching so long?I don’t believe in getting burned out—not if you enjoy something, which I stilldo. The old knees don’t work as well asbefore, but I still enjoy seeing the kidsprogress as athletes and as people. I stilllook forward to practice each day, and Istill enjoy helping the kids overcome theirpersonal problems. Some of my fondestmemories are of kids who have turnedaround.

How do you deal with problem kids?You have to sell them. We try to sellthem on the philosophy of “we and us,”teamwork, knowing the rules, playing bythe rules, and knowing the sacrifice youhave to make to be an athlete. I’m at atuition school, and some of these kidshave to go to work after practice andaround games, and it’s a hardship for them,but they make that sacrifice. I think that’simportant. Kids have to know that theyhave to be accountable to themselves,their parents, their teammates, and theirschool. And I think athletics does a lottoward that.

I don’t have any discipline problems onmy teams. They know up front wherethey stand with me. If they screw up inthe classroom or are disrespectful to theirteachers, we don’t want them on thefield. They know that they’re going to

have to conform to the rules and berespectful to the coaches, their teammates,and themselves. Those who do not con-form to the rules usually quit on their own.

But there must be times that playershave to be corrected and disciplined.How do you do that?I like the youngsters to know first of allthat I really care about them. I care moreabout them as a people than for theirability. They know I’m fair. And I’ll listen.Even when I was handling discipline atthe school, if a kid was right and ateacher was wrong, I’d back the kid. Theyhave to know up front that you’ll treatthem as adults and that you want themto treat you as an adult.

Most important, you’ve got to take thetime to listen to them and let them takethe time to listen to you. Let them weighthings and make choices. You have torespect that there are a lot of distractionsand choices in the high school years.There’s no set thing that turns kids around.Some of them just want attention, to knowthat you care about them. Some need toknow that if they make a mistake, theyneed to learn from it and keep going.I’ve had youngsters who were just painsin the neck when they first came out, andthey were like sons to me when they lefttheir senior year. They knew I caredabout them.

How do you deal with declining inter-est in baseball relative to othersports?When I was a kid, on a Saturday morningyou had to get down to the park early soyou could reserve the diamond. Now youcould fire a cannon down there and youwouldn’t hit anybody. There’s too muchspecialization—camps and playing year-round in one sport. I don’t think that’sgood for the kids, even if all they play isbaseball. If you’re capable of playing twoor even three sports, and if you can han-dle the academic work, I think you should.There’s a lot you can get out of being ona team that can’t be counted in wins andlosses.

It also takes good coaches to get kids toplay. We need coaches who aren’t in itfor the money or just the winning, butwho are interested in the kids as peopleand who show it.

How do you compensate for today’skids playing less on their own?

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Peter Ambrose is the only baseball coach Cardinal Spellman HighSchool in Brockton, Mass., has ever had. That’s not uncommon in

places where schools seem to sprout up everyfew years, but Spellman was founded 47 yearsago.

Along the way, Ambrose has also been theschool’s head football coach, athletic director,and dean of students. Retired from other dutiessince 1998, Ambrose remains the volunteerhead coach of baseball and football.

Ambrose has spent his entire coaching careerat Spellman, a private, co-educational, college-

prep Catholic school of about 650 students near Boston. A 1986inductee into the Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame,he’s also among the half-dozen members of the state’s 500-victoryclub. His 2004 team made its division’s sectional semifinals.

In this interview, Ambrose discusses how he’s kept the focus on theathletes.

As students at a tuition-based school,Cardinal Spellman athletes often mustfit sports around their part-time jobs,but that matches Peter Ambrose’semphasis on self-discipline.

Untitled-4 1 8/10/04 12:43:16 PM

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Q A&Well, we spend 80 percent of our practicetime strictly on fundamentals. We canpractice only two hours a day, so westress defense and hitting—and situations.If you get into a situation you haven’tbeen in before, that’s when you breakdown and make mistakes. I strictly follow

my practice schedule—I know what I haveto cover each day, and I focus on goingfrom point A to point B.

How do you keep kids interested inlearning the fundamentals?Even though they’re 17 or 18 years old,they still like games. You can’t just stick

them in a cage and tell them to hit for anhour. So we break them up into twosquads for hitting contests and things likebunting drills where there’ll be Gatorade,a T-shirt, or some other prize. It’s alsoimportant to let them see their progress:How many hits out of 50 can they get

today? How manytomorrow? Howmany the day afterthat?

I also talk to themabout how thefundamentals helpus win. I go overeach game, usuallyright after it ends.If we lose, I’ll say,“We’re back atpractice tomorrow,

and this is what we’re going to do.” Ihelp them see the little things that theymay not see themselves.

How do you find assistant coaches?I use volunteer assistants. I get peoplewho played for me, went on and becamesuccessful, and want to give something

back. It’s a variety of people—captains inthe fire department, corporate CEOs.

How have parents changed?They’ve become worse. If the parentshad the intelligence of their offspring,we’d be better off. They put too muchpressure on their kids. And if a kid strikesout, they blame the umpire. The waysome parents act, you’d think these kidsare getting paid.

To deal with them, I let them know I won’tput up with it. When they start gettingtoo vocal, I take them aside and speak tothem. I have some who can’t watch thegame from inside the fence, so they gooutside and get out their screaming andhollering where no one can hear them.

As coaches, we try to demonstrate theopposite way to handle it. If a youngsterstrikes out or makes a key error, wenever, ever, ever humiliate the kid. We’velost games where kids have droppedpop flies that an 8-year-old could catch.But they’re not doing that on purpose,for heaven’s sake. You can’t be scream-ing and hollering at them.

“I talk about how the fundamentals help uswin. I go over each game, usually rightafter it ends. If we lose, I’ll say, ‘We’re backat practice tomorrow, and this is what we’regoing to do.’”

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ARMSCONTROLBY DENNIS READ

Pitch counts help coaches avoidoverworking their hurlers, but there’smore to keeping them healthy thannumbers on a chart.

Pitch counts, however, are reallynothing more than a tool, and ideally,only part of the usage equation.Worshipping one firm number foreveryone will overtax some pitchers andunder-work others. Most coaches have abigger tool bag to keep their pitchershealthy and effective, one that alsoincludes developing a full staff to spreadout the pitching load and training themto handle more pitches.

“You don’t want to mess with goodarms,” says Clark Jones, Head Coach atElmhurst College. “They’re too hard tofind.”

How Much Is Enough?Pitch counts have a certain appeal

because they’re concrete and straight-forward. A strict limit makes the deci-sion easy. Most coaches who use pitchcounts, though, say the number is moreeffective as a guidepost, be it for aninning, a game, a week, or a season.

“The health performance equationfrom Little League to the big leagues isbasically mechanics, usable or functionalstrength, and workloads or pitch totals,”says Tom House, former major leaguepitcher and pitching coach, and co-founder of the National Pitching Associ-ation. “A high school or college coachknows from looking at a pitcher if he’sgot good mechanics and will have a readon the pitcher’s level of functionalstrength. Then you monitor how manypitches he throws per inning, per game,per week, and per season.”

Setting an exact pitch count is morean art than a science, but House offerssome guidelines. “At the National Pitch-ing Association, we have a conservativeapproach to pitch totals,” he says. “At thehigh school level, you can usually go 75to 100, which is about the same as a col-lege kid who has marginal strength andmechanics. When you get into the col-lege and professional ranks where youknow the kids are strong and they havereasonable mechanics, then you canstart talking 105- to 120-pitch outings.”

House says that how a pitcher com-piles his pitches is as important as thenumber. “The key is getting there at 15to 20 pitches per inning,” he says. “Along inning, say 30 or 40 pitches, puts akid in as much muscle failure as a 75-pitch game at 15 to 20 pitches perinning.”

Many coaches keep a short leash onpitchers early in the season, then raisetheir pitch counts as the year progress-es. “On opening day, they can go 75pitches or five innings, whichevercomes first,” says Bill McDonald, HeadCoach at Blue Valley West High Schoolin Overland Park, Kan. “If you take aperson early in the season and run himup to 135 or 140 pitches, he will neverget back the arm strength that heshould have late into the season.”

The right count for one pitcher maybe far too high for another. Knowingwhat’s right comes from a combinationof trial and error and knowing your ath-letes. “We have a guy who throws hard,

Dennis Read is an Associate Editor atCoaching Management.

COVER STORY

yet the day after a game, he is hardly eversore,” says Bret Warnack, Head Coach atRyan High School in Denton, Tex.“Then we’ll have guys who throw 75 or80 miles per hour, and the next day theycan hardly pick up a ball. So you have toget to know your kids. Different kids willrespond in different ways, and a lot of ithas to do with mechanics.”

Once a number has been set, thequestion becomes what to do with it.One approach is to bring in relief oncethe pitcher hits the limit. But formermajor league pitcher Geoff Zahn seesthe pitch count as less of a red lightthan a yellow.

“Over time, you begin to see thecapacity of a pitcher and his arm,” saysZahn, Owner and President of the Mas-ter Pitching Institute and former HeadCoach at the University of Michigan.“Then right around the time he beginsto approach that pitch count, you’d bet-ter be watching closely and gettingsomebody loose in the bullpen.”

Zahn usually based his decision onwhat he saw on the mound rather thana number on a sheet of paper. “Ifthey’ve pitched long enough that theirmechanics begin to break down, youwant to get them out of the game assoon as possible,” Zahn says. “And this isa little controversial, but I believe that ifyou have a pitcher with good mechanicsand he recovers pretty quickly, I don’tthink it’s wrong from time to time to lethim throw some extra pitches.

“But the converse is true, too,” Zahncontinues. “You may have a guy who isnormally pretty sound, and then one dayhe’s all messed up. His normal thresholdmight be 100 pitches, but on that day itmight be 50.” Once mechanics drop off,he says, it’s time to change, regardless ofthe pitch count.

Other coaches use a similar approach.“I look for arm speed,” McDonald says. “Ifhis arm speed is still good, I’ll often let him

aseball is a game of numbers. A few simple digits can instantlyevoke a wave of emotions. Say “56” to baseball people, andthey’ll see Joe DiMaggio in his streak. Mention “714” and theimage is Babe Ruth in his home run trot.

But few numbers carry as much emotion as one that won’tbe found in any record book: pitch counts. While some majorleague teams set firm limits for pitchers in the minors, otherpeople reminisce about the way pitchers used to throw all day,

and they cringe when they see a pitcher sent to the dugout for no otherreason than his number got too high.

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stay in. In our last regular season game, mystarter was throwing 84 in the first inning,and he was 84 to 86 in the sixth. His armspeed was still good, and his body motionwas still fluid, so he finished with 121 pitch-es. But I could see he was as strong in theseventh as he was in the first.”

Jones also doesn’t mind if his pitch-ers occasionally stay on the mound pasttheir planned pitch curfew. “If it’s animportant game and the pitcher is feel-ing good and he’s still getting peopleout, I think it’s okay to leave him inthere for a while,” Jones says. “But I also

think you have to be very careful andcheck with him after each inning to seehow he’s feeling.”

Don’t be fooled by a quick one-two-three inning. “It gives you confidence,”McDonald says. “But the pitcher may wellbe maxed out. So when I see a guy gobing, bing, bing in the fifth and he’sreached his pitch count, I send somebodyto the bullpen to start getting ready.”

In this way, pitch counts serve as abackup device, warning a coach that hispitcher may be headed toward empty.Then he can look more closely at how

the pitcher is getting hitters out insteadof just that he is getting them out.

Other SignsSo what are the signs, beyond a ris-

ing pitch count, that it’s time for some-one new? “The number one thing ishow he feels,” Warnack says. “We’ll ask,‘How do you feel? Are you gettingtired?’ We also monitor velocity with aradar gun throughout the game. Adrop in velocity is a big sign a kid is get-ting tired. The ball getting up in thezone is a pretty good indication as well.

“We also watch mechanics,” Warnackcontinues. “If the elbow starts gettingdown and he’s fighting and muscling theball to the plate, that’s a pretty good indi-cation that he’s getting fatigued and thatyou have to get him out of the game.”

Jones looks for more subtle signs offatigue. “Sometimes you can look attheir face and body language and seethat they’re tiring,” he says. “They’llstart slowing down between pitches andlaboring a little bit. You can also ask thecatcher, ‘Is he hitting his spots? Is hisball moving? Is he losing velocity?’ Plus,you can see if they are falling behind inthe count. If for four innings they gotahead of hitters, and the next twothey’re consistently falling behind, itoften means they’re tiring.”

It’s also important to look at the big-ger picture when deciding whether toleave a pitcher in the game. While mostcoaches will, under the right condi-tions, let a pitcher exceed his pitchcount from time to time, it’s not some-thing you want to make a habit of.

“It’s okay for some pitchers to throw130 or 140 pitches occasionally,” Jonessays, “but the key thing is rememberingthat the next time he throws, you can’t runhim out there for 130 or 140 pitches againbecause that’s going to catch up with him.So the next time he throws, it becomescritical to keep him at 100 pitches or less.

“Or say he throws 140 pitches on Sat-urday and the next game is on Wednes-day,” Jones continues. “We may givehim a few more days rest and not throwhim on Wednesday.”

Zahn learned as a player the impor-tance of recovery time. “I can still remem-ber,” he says, “that when I pitched acomplete game in high school, I wouldcome home and struggle with the milkcarton because my arm would be shaking.If you asked me to throw 200 pitches, I

COVER STORY


Most high school and many college baseball coaches don’t have the luxu-ry of working with pitchers. Instead, they’re working with baseball play-ers who may pitch every fifth or sixth day and assume a regular spot onthe diamond the rest of the time. While the demands placed on the armby these other positions pale in comparison to those created by pitch-ing, most coaches try to keep those demands as low as possible.

“A lot of times in high school, the pitchers are the kids with the best arms, andwhen they’re not pitching they’re at shortstop,” says Geoff Zahn, Owner andPresident of the Master Pitching Institute and former Head Coach at the Universityof Michigan. “If you’re in the northern regions of the country it might be 45 or 55degrees with the wind blowing like crazy. He’s standing out there and doesn’t get aball for three or four innings, then he gets a key groundball in the hole with a manon third and he has to get the batter at first for the final out. If he’s pitched six hardinnings the game before, that could present a serious problem. For protection, Ithink that a guy who throws a certain number of pitches should be limited to DH ormaybe first base for the next game.”

Some coaches protect their pitchers in just this way. “I slot my pitchers into thirdbase, left field, and first base,” says Bill McDonald, Head Coach at Blue Valley WestHigh School in Overland Park, Kan. “I try to never let a pitcher play right field, centerfield, or middle infield. On occasion I have had to use a pitcher at shortstop, butwhen I do, he is a pitcher first and shortstop second. So when he’s taking infield, hesimply flips the ball back or rolls it back, because you only have so many throws youcan possibly make. Or when we use a pitcher in left field, he can throw from the out-field no more than five times in drill work. The other times when we’re doing situationaldrill work, we have our cutoff man go out well beyond third base to receive the throw.”

A pitcher’s mound role can also be adapted to accommodate his other duties. “Wehave an outfielder who pitches, and we try to avoid having him pitch the second gameof a doubleheader,” says Stan Sanchez, Head Coach at Colorado State University-Pueblo. “We also usually give him seven-inning games instead of nine-inninggames, and we monitor his conditioning a little more closely.”

Despite all of a coach’s efforts, sometimes the demands of pitching and playinganother position can be too much. “Our center fielder last year was also our number-two pitcher,” says Bret Warnack, Head Coach at Ryan High School in Denton, Tex.“We stressed to him on a daily basis that he had to take it easy in the field and putsome air under his throws. But he was a tough, full-speed-ahead type of guy andhe wanted to let it go on a daily basis. Some days we were successful in gettinghim to take it easy and other days we weren’t. He ended up getting a sore armtoward the end of the season and because of that became our number-three pitcherinstead of number-two.”

P A R T - T I M E P I T C H E R S

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Request No. 113

could do it. But don’t ask me to throw forthree or four days after that. I was that waythroughout my career.”

Plan For RecoveryKeeping pitchers healthy means

more than simply pulling them from agame at the first sign of fatigue. By train-ing them to be stronger, coaches canhelp their athletes throw more in eachouting and become better pitchers.There is no one right way to train pitch-ers, however. What’s most important isdeveloping a plan that players andcoaches alike can follow.

McDonald writes detailed plans forpitchers for the season and preseason.“They get a sheet called ‘game day rou-tine,’ and I also have a between-startsroutine,” McDonald says. “In the pre-season, every day from March 1 toMarch 27 is scripted, so they know allthe drills and all the running they’regoing to be doing each day.”

McDonald’s between-starts routine isbased on his top pitchers getting onestarting assignment a week. “The day

after he pitches, he does not throw,”McDonald says. “He has long runs of upto two miles, sprint work, surgical tubingexercises, and a lot of sit ups. Day two islong-toss and surgical tubing exercises.Day three is short-toss, which will be nomore than 90 feet, and drill work.

“I let him decide if he gets back onthe mound again on day four or dayfive,” McDonald continues. “If he doesgo back on day four, I do not let him goover 28 pitches. But he will only go backon the mound one time before thatnext start, so if he pitches on day four,day five will be drill work and sprinting.Day six is just some short-toss, and thenhe pitches on day seven.”

Although the details of each coach’splan may vary, a key component is allow-ing pitchers to recover between outings.“The process is you prepare, you com-pete, and then you repair and recover,”House says. “You have to pay attentionto all three steps.

“For every one minute of ice, thereshould be two minutes of aerobic activi-ty,” House continues. “So if a player ices

his shoulder for 20 minutes, he isresponsible for 40 minutes of aerobicactivity. The aerobic activity circulatesthe blood to push out the lactic acidand the ice addresses the microtearsfrom the trauma of throwing downfrom the mound. They need to at leastget the heart rate and breathing rate upand sustained. There is about a three-hour window to get that done. He canice on the bus home and when he getsback to the school, do some stationarybike, soft jog, brisk walk, or any otheraerobic activity.”

Part of repair and recovery is rest.But resting does not mean relaxing. “Ibelieve that pitchers should pick up aball almost every day,” Zahn says. “Wehave drills where they’re not throwingvery hard at all, but they’re keeping afeel for their pitches and mechanics.”

Jones concurs. “Pitchers nowadaysbaby themselves too much,” he says.“The second day after a start, we haveour midweek bullpen day, but it usuallyisn’t going 100 percent at 60-feet six-inches. We throw 25 to 40 pitches,


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COVER STORY

depending on the pitcher. But it couldbe 45 feet or 60 feet, throwing off a flatsurface—whatever the pitcher feelscomfortable with, usually at about 75percent effort. It’s basically a practiceday where they can work on changingspeeds, on their grips, and on location.”

While this may seem to conflict withmaking sure pitchers don’t hurt them-selves by pitching too much, House pro-motes a similar philosophy. “The NPApreaches that kids in today’s game pitchtoo much and they don’t throw enough,”House says. “When I was growing up, kidswere always throwing something—tennisballs, rocks, whatever. We were throwingall the time. The only time that kidsthrow today is when they’re in a struc-tured practice or game.”

The biggest difference betweenpitching and throwing is that pitchingoccurs on the mound while throwing isusually done on flat ground. “Maybe 80percent of our work is done on flatground,” House says, “because you canteach the mechanics of pitching withless stress than when you’re pitching

from a mound. In some cases goingdown the mound can create four to sixtimes the stress of throwing on flatground.”

Coaches also use a variety of non-throwing ways to strengthen their pitch-ers, such as towel and surgical tubingdrills or merely practicing the pitchingmotion. “We do a lot of drills wherethey simply put their bodies throughevery pitching position that they couldpossibly be in,” McDonald says. “That isthe foundation of how to pitch.”

Strong-Arm ApproachThen there are the overall strength

and fitness programs that some coachesrely on to keep their pitchers in shapethroughout the season. “One of theimportant things is that you keep themin good cardiovascular shape,” Warnacksays. “And when those innings startadding up toward the end of the year,that’s where the danger comes in,because they just keep getting weakerand weaker through the year. So wekeep them doing rotator cuff exercises

during the season and incorporatesome other weightlifting and shoulderexercises, like seated rows, cleans, andeven light dumbbell bench workthroughout the season.”

Jones makes sure his players are pre-pared on the road as well as at home.“When we’re on the road, all of ourplayers are instructed to either have a 21/2- or five-pound dumbbell or we tellthem to get a tennis ball canister and fillit with sand or rocks and tape it up,” hesays. “We also have stretch bands andtowels, and our kids have a workoutthey’ll do each day when they come tothe park with the stretch bands and ten-nis canisters as a pregame warmup.”

A classic spring training image ispitchers in the outfield jogging near thefences as the games go on. But in recentyears, there’s been a shift from thelonger, slower runs to shorter sprints.

“We’ve totally revamped our runningfor our pitchers,” Jones says. “We’vetaken all the long-distance work out ofpitchers’ routines and now we’re doingsprint work. We’re trying to train fast-


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Request No. 115Request No. 116

twitch muscle fibers because we wantthem to throw with more power. Pitch-ing is a bunch of quick bursts—the pitch-er catches the ball and throws it, then herests, gets it back, and throws it again. Ithink your training regimen and condi-tioning have to be game-like.

“You can vary them from day to day,otherwise they get bored,” Jones contin-ues. “One day, we may have them dopole-to-pole sprints. Then we’ll havethem run 60-yard sprints and 30-yardsprints. Some other days we have ourpitchers running 50 to 75 10-yardsprints. But it’s always quick bursts ofspeed. I swear that it’s helped our kids’velocity and helped them stay healthy.”

McDonald follows a similar path, buthas kept one distance session in the mix.“We run a lot, but we only have one daywhere we do distance work,” he says.“Distance work for the pitcher is of nobenefit other than mentally making himtougher to grind through something. It’sthe sprint work that is key for him to givehim the explosion that he needs off ofthe mound. And we run before practice,

so the running is done and they don’thave to worry about it afterward. Theylearn how to practice when they’re a lit-tle bit tired and it’s amazing how it does-n’t even faze them.”

Spread The LoadOne way to avoid overusing your best

pitchers is to develop a deeper staff.Breakdowns most often occur when acouple of pitchers are expected to carrythe bulk of the load.

Jones seeks to have six players pre-pared to take a starting assignment.McDonald seeks four. “In my opinionyou can’t win the state championshipsunless you have four kids who havepitched at least 20 innings,” McDonaldsays. “If you try to go with just two guys all

the time, then you never have a guy forthat third game.”

For Warnack, a deep staff also helpshim find pitchers who’d otherwise goundiscovered. “We probably run 25 to30 pitchers across the bullpen each dayfor our three teams,” he says. “Somemay never take the mound in a game,but you might find one that by hisjunior year becomes pretty good at it.

“We actually had a kid like that threeyears ago,” Warnack continues. “Hehardly pitched at all as a freshman orsophomore, but was the ace of our staffand MVP of our district his junior andsenior years.”

But developing a deep staff or closelycounting pitches won’t mean muchunless a coach is willing to take a tiredpitcher out, even at the risk of losing agame. “Taking a good pitcher out can bevery difficult, especially if you don’t havea good reliever,” Zahn says. “There’s atendency to stay with that good pitcher.But for me, I just decided that I wasn’tgoing to win a ballgame at the cost of apitcher’s arm.” ■


COVER STORY

RESOURCES National Pitching Association:

www.nationalpitching.com.Master Pitching Institute:

www.masterpitching.com.

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f there is one essential element of asuccessful baseball program, it is asound facility. A safe and attractivefield is not only a place to practiceand compete, but a rallying point and

source of pride for players, coaches, par-ents, fans, and the community.

But such a facility takes money, andin this era of tight budgets, that’s not agiven. Upgrading a field, let alone start-ing from scratch, can seem an impossi-ble task for a coach.

The solution is to make your facilitya community project. Communitiesseem to always need athletic facilitiesfor school sports and youth and adultrecreational programs. It’s possible touse that demand to share the burdenand create win-win situations for groups


YOUR PROGRAM

Lem Elway is the Head Baseball Coach atBlack Hills High School in Tumwater, Wash.,and former Head Baseball Coach at Anacortes(Wash.) High School.

otherwise at odds. Action comes out ofcollaboration. Think of demand as away to leverage assets, whether they’rematerials, money, or manpower. If youask the right people the right way,you’ll more often than not get what youneed.

At Anacortes (Wash.) High, where Iused to coach, we wanted an aestheticwooden fence for the baseball field. Weasked a contractor to help with plans,but would use volunteers for the work.After providing a materials list andplans, the contractor offered to havehis workers do the installation. Hewanted to make sure it would look goodwhen finished, and it was his way to givesomething very visible back to the com-munity. The attractive new fenceinspired others to get involved in laterimprovements. The lesson is that peo-

DUGOUT RAISINGCan’t afford the facility your program needs? The solution may be tocollaborate with your community to harness the resources for turningyour field of dreams into reality.

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BY LEM ELWAY

ple and businesses usually exceed yourexpectations, especially when your rea-son for asking is community pride andto help the kids. A lot of mistakes aremade by simply not asking.

It’s not easy. But I’ve found that aftera period of frustration, people willdecide to act because they’re showncommunity needs or a clear plan of pos-itive improvement. Donors come for-ward. Volunteers join in.

In Anacortes, we used private dona-tions as seed money to leverage free orat-cost materials, professional expertise,and volunteer manpower to build ourfield of dreams. The result is a facilityrated among the top 10 scholastic base-ball fields in the state of Washington.

Plan of Attack When I became the Head Baseball

Coach at Anacortesl, I was quoted in thelocal newspaper saying that I wanted tobuild a baseball field the whole commu-nity could use and be proud of. Thenext thing I knew, a wealthy donor con-tacted me with a pledge to help. What

attracted the donor, I believe, was that Ihad stated a community need and adesire to meet it. That is the first step informing a plan.

A detailed plan is essential. While youwill inevitably need to refine it and shiftyour strategy as circumstances dictate, itpays to outline the process into thesefive parts: stating the need, identifyingleadership, taking input, establishingpriorities, and writing a timeline.

Use facts and figures to show whymore facilities are needed. In Anacortes,the need was simply a field the schooland community could be proud of andthat would meet the schedulingdemands of the youth sports groups forpractice and playing facilities. The needevolved as other organizations joinedthe effort, but my program’s originalstatement started the process.

Who will lead the project? The sup-porting cast should be wide and varied,but someone with organizational andleadership skills has to coordinate themultitude of things that have to hap-pen. I was able to devote time to the

project, but many other coaches maynot be so fortunate, or they may lackthe skills needed to spearhead theeffort. In that case, should the leader bean athletic director, a school adminis-trator, the president of a booster clubor youth organization, or a communitypolitical leader? One option might befor the head coach to get the projectstarted, then turn it over to someonebetter situated to carry it to completion.

What’s needed in leadership is some-one who knows when to push and whento be patient. He or she must have timeto devote to the project, the ability tostay with it to completion, attention todetail, and the willingness to delegateso that as many people as possible canshare in the ultimate success.

The next step is to identify the permitsrequired by the appropriate authorities.You’ll have to go through governmentchannels. Tell elected leaders that they’llbe welcome to stand in front at ribbon-cutting ceremonies and any other oppor-tunities for recognition that might ariseas long as they help avoid the obstacles.

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Officials and civil servants are morelikely to join if you can show them howyour plan meets their needs. For exam-ple, local governments are often requiredunder certain federal and state programsto provide a specified amount of publicrecreational space. A plan that shows howyour project can fulfill this obligationmakes it easy for officials to support you.

Establish ways for anyone involved, orwho would like to become involved, tohave input. This will build support andhelps present a united and positivefront. There is power in numbers.

Who should you consult? It’s impera-tive that professional contractors betapped early to head-off problems. Theseinclude professionals who deal with siteand soil evaluation, heavy equipmentoperators, lumber yards, fencing compa-nies, and landscapers. Some mightdonate expertise. In addition, govern-ment agencies must be given an opportu-nity to analyze the plans to see that allcurrent building codes, land-use regula-tions, and environmental laws are fol-lowed. Asking for their input before plans

are finalized can avoid big headachesafter the fact.

As with any complex undertaking,some tasks take precedence. The num-ber one priority is to construct—as soonas possible—a playable, safe field. Thisenables the facility to be used, which inturn generates further enthusiasm and

confidence. Amenities and upgradescan come later.

Similarly, the final part of your plan,the timeline, will help keep things ontrack and maintain enthusiasm. Thisshould contain a detailed list of work tobe done, who will do what, the materialsthat must be obtained at certain junc-tures, projected completion dates ofeach phase, the names of the workers

and providers involved, and a catch-upwindow if things should fall behind.

Keeping everyone posted is impera-tive. I suggest a Web site. Update it fre-quently—every two days if you areable—and include pictures of as manycontractors and workers as possible as itprogresses.

Finally, establish a tax-exempt orga-nization under Section 501 of the fed-eral tax code. If a local government isinvolved, it may already have a processin place for receiving tax-exempt dona-tions. A little inquiry into the mechanicscan save a lot of jumping through hoopslater and be a determining factor inwhether certain business people getinvolved in an enthusiastic way.


Many parents may be in organizationsthat provide community service. Theyare often well-connected, experiencedpeople who can get things done.

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Selling Involvement If you have a good plan and present

it positively, people will usually want totake part. The trick is to think up goodleads. Don’t be hesitant to ask, anddon’t take being told “no” personally.

The most obvious source is the par-ents of kids who’ll use the facility—bothimmediately and in years to come. Butdon’t stop at your own program. Callevery baseball team in town. You mayfind that the local Babe Ruth League

needs more field time. We learned thatby adding lights—the high school teamplayed all our games in the after-noons—the youth leagues could finishthree games a day at the height of theirseason, and would be happy to join.

With imagination and design know-how, you could share the facility withother-season activities. Soccer and foot-ball programs need only a wide, leveledfield—you instantly have two moregroups on your side.


YOUR PROGRAM

Untitled-1 1 8/18/04 4:38:57 PM

Another key tactic is to find outwhere your students’ parents work andwhat kind of organizations they belongto. Their employers may be willing tohelp directly or through their connec-tions. Some companies can’t give mate-rials but could provide supplies at costor approach their suppliers for dona-tions or price breaks. It’s worth asking.Remember, it’s for the kids.

Many parents may be in organiza-tions—Kiwanis, Lions, Rotary, forexample—that provide community ser-vice as part of their charters. They areoften well-connected, experiencedpeople who can get things done.

When we sought additional ameni-ties for our multiple-use baseball park,I asked a service club if they needed acommunity project. We presented ourproposal, and the club agreed to takecharge of completing the upgrade. Intheir organization was an architect andsome city employees. I gave them themeasurements and other information,and in return I received a materials listand bought the materials needed tocomplete the job at a very favorableprice. The project took three week-ends, and along the way I took picturesthe club could use at its state conven-tion to show its community involve-ment. It was truly a win-win situationfor everyone.

Another source of help is labororganizations. The local electricians’union worked for us one day a month,with volunteers helping pull wire forthem. We were even able to obtainsome used lighting fixtures when alocal supermarket remodeled.

You can even turn the inevitable neg-ativity to your advantage. When someparents objected to having to useportable toilets at the field, we told themwe couldn’t afford to connect to thesewer system. They got on it and raisedthe money, and we built bathrooms.Never underestimate the power andinfluence of people.

Individuals and groups have manythings to offer, and sometimes just byasking, you’ll uncover key resources.One lead will lead to another. Energystarts to build. The key is to createenthusiasm and the attitude that thingscan happen. A lot of people and orga-nizations will sit back at first, but oncethey see things happen and people startto talk, the sky is the limit. ■

Request No. 125

ExpectationsThe first thing you need to know

about your athletic director is his or herexpectations. Every situation is differ-ent, but here is what I expect from mycoaches.

Good Role Model: Becauseyou are a hugely importantfigure in manyyoung

uring a lull at one ofyour games, you mayoccasionally look up

and see me, the athleticdirector, in the stands. And

you may wonder, what exactly ishe watching? What exactly does he do,besides making sure the officials getpaid?

I am the consummate “behind-the-scenes” guy, and like most athletic direc-tors, I enjoy that role. I perform a widevariety of tasks, from checking athletes’eligibility forms to writing up coachingevaluations to answering phone callsfrom parents.

The goal behind everything I do ishelping all my coaches perform theirjobs better. That’s really why I’m here.When a coach does something wrong, my

job is stressful. When a coach doessomething right, my job is

the best in the world.But I can only help

coaches avoid mistakesand develop into better

coaches when they partnerwith me—when they understand myjob and my role. In this article, I’dlike to share some tips on how to

develop a partnership with yourathletic director and how to

make that relationship work toyour benefit.

OFF THE FIELD

David Hoch, EdD, is the Athletic Director at Loch Raven High School, in Baltimore County, Md. Heis the former Athletic Director at Eastern Technical High, also in Baltimore, and was named theMaryland State Athletic Directors Association’s Athletic Director of the Year in 2000.


DBY DR. DAVID HOCH

ILLUSTRATIONS BY CHRIS MURPHY

No matter your communications system, your athletic directoris a person you want to hook up with. Here’s how to partner with this busy, behind-the-scenes boss.

Good Connections

people’s lives, your actions and choicesmust be at the top of the ethical scorechart. I expect my coaches to haveintegrity, be dependable, possess emo-tional control, and have compassion. Ialso expect them to set high standardsand be consistent and fair. I need themto exhibit the characteristics we areproud to see in our student-athletes.

Educational Environment: Athleticsis successful only when it has educationalvalue. Winning is secondary. I expect mycoaches to focus on helping young peo-ple mature into adults—to contribute toteam goals, learn to work hard, perse-vere, and experience life-long lessonsthrough their athletic participation.

I also expect my coaches to remainpositive. Not that a coach can’t ever yell,but I really believe that positive, encour-aging coaches are best for our kids.

Sportsmanship: Coaches often aretotally unaware of the impact they haveon the behavior of their players and fansat a game. Yelling at officials gives licenseto the players and fans to do the same.

A coach should always extend respectand courtesy not only to officials, but alsoto the opposing team. He or she should

teach the nuances of good sportsman-ship and praise it at every turn.

Adherence to Policies: Administra-tive chores are a part of coaching. Whencoaches don’t follow through on eachathlete’s paperwork, there can be rami-fications. I must then chase down theseforms—giving me less time to commu-nicate with my coaches. Late forms canmean the suspension of practice ses-sions, fines, or even disqualificationsand forfeits.

You must attend rules interpretationmeetings. Athletic directors get a list ofany coaches who have missed thesemeetings, and believe me, we pay atten-tion to who doesn’t show up.

Coaches who don’t follow directions,turn in forms late or complete themincorrectly, or don’t follow a departmentpolicy are my biggest headache. If youwant your athletic director to supportand respect you, pay attention to youradministrative duties.

Professional Growth: It is a giventhat you know the basic techniques andstrategies involved in your sport. But Iexpect my coaches to add to these basicsevery year by taking charge of their ownprofessional development.

First, they have to buy into the premisethat learning is a life-long pursuit. Itdoesn’t matter how much experienceyou have—there is always something elseyou can learn. I attended at least one clin-ic in each of my 24 years of coaching, andalways came away with a new idea or a dif-

ferent way of teaching something. Eventhough I have a doctorate in sports man-agement and many years of experience,I still attend seminars, take courses, andread professional publications in athleticadministration. Our athletes deserve thatmuch.

I encourage our coaches to take theNFHS Coaching Principles Course (andconsider going on to complete theNFHS Bronze Level national certifica-tion program), work at summer camps,read professional coaching publicationsor books, watch coaching videos, andattend college teams’ practice sessions.

Enthusiasm: While it is essential forsports that are struggling to attract par-

ticipants, I like “Pied Piper” individualsfor even the most popular teams. This isa coach who exudes enthusiasm andenergy—someone young people areattracted to. This should not imply,however, that they don’t run a tight shipor don’t employ discipline.

I want our teams to win, too. But mydirective is to make sure that education-al objectives are being met in the athlet-ic program. That is my job descriptionand that is my priority. However, if youexcel in the above six areas, I can assureyou, winning will take care of itself.

Beyond these basics, ask your ownathletic director what other expectationshe or she has. Your athletic directormight want you to get involved with localyouth programs in your sport. He or shemight want you to help your athletes getcollege scholarships, start an off-seasonconditioning program, fund-raise, or runa summer camp. If you don’t know, ask.

Sometimes, an athletic directorassumes you know the expectations ofyour school, but if you’re new, you can’tknow its history and culture. Askingyour athletic director to identify the ath-letic department goals can help startyour partnership on the right foot.

CommunicationThe question a new athletic director

most frequently poses to a veteran oneis, “Do you ever see your family?” This isimportant to know, because while I’vesuggested you start a dialogue with yourathletic director on expectations, youalso need to know that he or she doesn’thave an hour to discuss it. But a 15-minute conversation is doable andappreciated. Therefore, a key part ofpartnering with your athletic director isknowing how to communicate with himor her. Here are some tips:

■ If you want to talk for more than acouple of minutes, set up an appoint-ment. That way, your athletic directorcan arrange to meet at a time that will befree of other obligations. Of course, if itis an emergency, come on in.

■ If you know there have been otherproblems that the athletic director ishandling, hold off on scheduling yourmeeting. Timing really is everything.With another problem looming, yourathletic director may not be able to giveyou the attention that you deserve.

■ Get a feel for your athletic direc-tor’s down times. Some prefer early

OFF THE FIELD


This article assumes that your athleticdirector is a professional, dedicated,hard-working leader. But what if yourathletic director is not a good supervisor?Then how do you get what you need?

Above all, step carefully. It is important tounderstand that this poorly functioningathletic director is still your boss and youneed to be careful about circumventingthe chain of command. In other words,do not use parents or athletes as a wedgeto enact change. These techniques couldtotally backfire and you could be brandedas a malcontent or a troublemaker.

What you can do, to start, is keep goodrecords. Retain copies of everything youturn in, such as eligibility forms, budget

requests, inventories, and tournamententries, and use e-mail or take notes onyour communication with your athleticdirector. This ensures that you have proofof your professionalism and also allows youto document those times when your athleticdirector has not followed through.

At all times, it is still best to maintain apositive, loyal front with respect to yourathletic director and continue to be cour-teous and respectful. You might need torepeatedly ask the athletic director if he orshe has remembered to turn in that tour-nament eligibility form, but do it politely.You might even ask the athletic director ifthere’s a way you can help him or her.Remember, you will always be judged byyour actions, even in difficult situations.

AN INEFFECTIVE AD


mornings, and others may like earlyafternoons, right before practices start.

■ Use e-mail. This advice is not uni-versal, but for me, e-mail is by far themost efficient form of communication.Regardless of when something hap-pens, your message will be there waitingfor me in the morning. It is, therefore,

especially important that the coach fillin an accurate subject line that, whencoupled with the sender’s name, leadsme to which messages I deal with first inthe morning. An e-mail also allows meto easily save or forward your message.

Know what to discuss and what not to.I don’t need to hear how every practice is

going, what your next game plan is, orcomplaints about something we’ve alreadycovered or that simply can’t be changed. Iwant to know if a problem has arisen or islooming. I also love to hear about your suc-cesses.

Inform your athletic director imme-diately of any injury at a practice session

OFF THE FIELD

If you’re a conscientious coach, good things are happen-ing in your program every day. Why not let your athleticdirector know about them? This can work wonders forfurthering your partnership.

Here are some ways to let your athletic director know you’redoing a good job—which are not time consuming for you oryour athletic director:■ Forward or copy any congratulatory and thank you notes

that you receive. You can simply write a little note on thetop, “Thought you might be interested.”

■ Tell your athletic director about the clinics you have attend-ed and your other professional development activities.

SHOW YOUR STRENGTHS ■ Invite your athletic director to visit practice whenyou’re discussing team goals or when your ath-letes want to show off something they’ve justmastered.

■ Send an e-mail about a solution you found to aproblem that your athletic director might sendon as advice to the rest of the coaching staff.

■ Complete a self-evaluation at the conclusion ofyour season. Talk about some of the goals youaccomplished that your athletic director may notbe aware of.

Let your athletic director hear about all of the good,positive things that you are doing with your program! You will be surprised at what good, positive resourcesyou receive in return.

Advanced Skills Tee

Used by over 1200 colleges & high schools.

• Eliminates both dipping & casting • Teaches with every swing. A silent coach. • Very portable. • Durable polyurethane construction & a two year warranty.

The Power Bag

Develops strength at contact & promotes staying strong through the ball!

Easily attaches to any pole. Indoor stand available.Baseball & Softball

Practice Makes Perfect.Muhl Tech Will Make

You Better!

The best skill specifi c,highly durable training aids are

online at:www.muhltech.comOr order by phone:

1-888-766-8772Ask for a free demo video

and brochure. Endorsed by Houston Astros Lance Berkman

muhl CM 127.indd 1 8/24/04 2:14:57 PM

Request No. 126


OFF THE FIELD

or game. Tell me the name of the ath-lete, the injury, how it happened, how itwas handled, and whether the parenthas been notified. No one likes to becaught off- guard when that phone ringswith, “What happened to my daughter?”

It is important to let me know aboutany potential problems. If a parent voic-es even a small complaint, if you thinkupperclass athletes may not be welcom-ing newcomers, if any type of hazardoussituation has arisen, if the athletes seemto be disrespecting your approach—Ineed to know. Coaches sometimes don’t

want to say that something isn’t goingright for fear of seeming incompetent.But my job is to help you through prob-lem situations. If you tell me before itgets big, I can help you find solutionsthat complement your coaching style.But if you don’t tell me about the prob-lem and it gets bigger, then I may haveto step in and resolve the situation myway.

Even if you know the solution youwant to use, relay your thoughts to me.Maybe I can reinforce what you’re tryingto do.

promats127.indd 1 8/18/04 2:12:20 PM

Of course, share problems that aremy responsibility, too. If the bus drivergets you to a game late, let me knowthe first time this happens—don’t waitfor the second or third time.

And because I mainly deal with fix-ing problems, I truly appreciate andand all good news. Brighten my day bytalking about a student’s display ofsportsmanship, your team’s mastery ofa complicated play, or a teachablemoment that happened at practice.

The BenefitsYou might wonder, “Why is it so

important to keep my athletic directorin the loop? I can handle my own team.How will it help me?” There are threeways that developing this partnershipcan benefit you.

First, it puts you on my radar. I try tobe in tune with everyone in my pro-gram, but to be honest, those coacheswho communicate with me effectivelyare the ones I think of first when a newopportunity arises.

Being on my radar helps when youhave a request. If you’ve already com-municated that you’re working ex-tremely hard to upgrade your program,I will pay more attention to yourrequest for additional resources whenthe time comes for that decision.

At my former school, I put out aweekly department update. I alreadyknew the opponents, the final scores,the leading scorers, and other standarddetails. However, coaches who were onthe ball would also e-mail me somequotes or comments about the game.Then, their team would get a longerwrite-up and more prominent place-ment in the weekly update.

Communicating with your athleticdirector also gives you an on-handmentor. Most of us are athletic direc-tors because we were successful coach-es, and just because we didn’t coachyour sport doesn’t mean we can’t help.I seldom offer unsolicited coachingadvice. But, if asked, I am happy toopen up my 24-year book of coachingexperience and take the time to help.

My primary responsibility as an ath-letic director is to serve as the coach ofcoaches. Just as athletes need directionand mentoring by coaches, so do mostcoaches need help from an experi-enced athletic director. I’m glad tohelp, if you only ask. ■

Request No. 127


Uniforms & Apparel

JET Sportswear866-538-9327WWW.JETSPORTSWEAR.COM

JETWear Bomber short sleeve shirts offermoisture migration and anti-microbial qual-ities that make athletes more comfortable

and preventthe lockerroom odorthat’scommon withother types of“wickwear.”They featurehigh-quality

fabrics that wear well and are extremelycomfortable—they don’t chafe, itch, orscratch. Both tight- and loose-fitting shirtsare available. They come in a variety ofteam colors and in sizes S to XXXL.

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Pro Look Sports800-PROLOOKWWW.PROLOOKSPORTS.COM

Pro Look Sports has become the fastest

growing team sportswear company in sixyears for one reason: fully custom, qualityuniforms. Most companies limit your

choices to a fewstyles made fromsub-par materials.Pro Look’suniforms are madeof the finest mate-rials available; cut,trimmed, andsewn to your exactspecifications.

There are no additional costs for embroi-dered logos or for soft tackle-twill namesand numbers. Additionally, all work isbacked by an unprecedented two-yearguarantee. If you can think it, Pro LookSports will do it for one inexpensive price.Go Pro.

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“Just wanted to let youknow that we receivedour uniforms today,they look fantastic.Thanks for everything.The kids are extremely

excited. I will be in touch regarding my sum-mer team.”—Keith Williams, Head BaseballCoach, Rutgers-Camden. If you want to feelthe same way about your team’s uniforms,call Pro Look Sports. Go Pro.

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Russell AthleticWWW.RUSSELLATHLETIC.COM

While your team is warming up before thegame, this lightweight Russell AthleticBatting Practice Pull-Over will keep them

dry and cool with itsmoisture-wickingstretch fabric. Madewith 86 percentpolyester and 14percent stretch, thisnew 2005 style issoft andcomfortable, andallows increased

freedom of movement for your team. Italso features mesh inserts for increasedbreathability, and notched ends so playerscan wear it under or over their uniforms.

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HOME RUN, LLC d/b/a

HOOSIER BAT COMPANY

Fast becoming THE name for bats.We have what the players want!

WOOD FUNGOGuaranteed

Never to Flake!! With No Taping Required!

GAME BATSMajor League Stock • Minor League Stock

WOODFORCE 2000Hickory Hitting Area – No Taping Required

Game Use Approval for:Short Season A and Rookie League

NCAA BESR CERTIFIED

28 B.P. 3-Piece Batfor One Hand, Soft Toss and T drills

ORDER YOURS TODAY1-800-BAT-ERUP (1-800-228-3787)

FAX (219)465-0877 • e-mail: [email protected]

Request No. 128

Field Maintenance Equipment www.Infield-Drag.com

PR-AS-25,c Complete Info. at: www.Infield-Drag.comHeying Co. 515 6th Ave. Alton, Iowa 51003 Ph. (712) 756-8847

PRO GROOMER TM

Level the Playing Field !

Keep your granular playing

fields level, well-groomed

and in safe playing

condition every day with

the “Pro Groomer”TM.

Infields, warning tracks,

etc. It cuts off high

areas, keeps material

mixed, fills in low areas,

and breaks up hard-

compacted surfaces all with one machine! Also use to spread new material.

Saves labor, reduces water puddling problems, weeds, etc.

6 ft. wide. Steel welded construction. Articulated tongue and

hitch adjust quickly and easily. No tools needed to adjust.

No need for hydraulics or three-point hitch. Drag Mat

attachment option also available. Complete info. available

on web site. Now available with Electric Lift option.

PR72

Drag Mat

attachment

ALL-STAR CHISEL-DRAGTM

Break up hard-compacted surfaces

better than standard nail drags with the

“All Star Chisel-Drag”TM. Depth adjusts

easily from 0” to 3”. Steel teeth are easy

to replace when worn. Tongue and hitch

adjust quickly and easily. Quickly raises

up for travel off the field. Broom and

Drag Mat attachments available.

AS58

Untitled-1 1 8/11/04 10:06:57 AM

Request No. 129


Team Equipment

BetterBaseball800-997-4233WWW.BETTERBASEBALL.COM

BetterBaseball is a total baseball supplyhouse, specializing in custom cutting of any

size net or battingcage you mightwant. The companyprovides quick,friendly customerservice.BetterBaseball sup-

plies everything, including bases, plates,mounds, gear, and hardware, and it can allbe found at BetterBaseball.com or by call-ing the company.

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Markwort Sporting Goods314-652-3757WWW.MARKWORT.COM

Heart-Gard® is designed to reduce ballimpact to the chest area. It absorbs impactenergy and directs that energy away from

the heart. Heart-Gard’s size allows itto cover the vitalarea of the chestwhile not restrictingmovement. Childrencan play without thefear of getting hurt,allowing them to

learn faster and with greater confidence.Circle No. 201

Miken [email protected]

The Freak baseball bat was createdusing E-Flex technology, a processwhich generates maximum flexthroughout the entire barrel. It har-nesses as much energy as possibleon impact with the ball, rather thanlosing it through unnecessary balldeformation. You have never swunga bat with a sweet spot as big asthis one. The Freak has absolutelythe most massive sweet spot of anybat ever made.

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Power Systems, Inc.800-321-6975WWW.POWER-SYSTEMS.COM

Power Throw Balls are durable, weightedballs that develop dynamic strength in thethrowing motion. They are available in threesizes: 7 oz., 14 oz., and 21 oz. They canalso be used for upper-body rehabilitationexercises. As your exercise programprogresses, you can gradually increase the

weight of theball. Power ThrowBalls are offeredin baseball andsoftball sizes.They are made ofa rugged vinylshell and filling,

and are color-coded by weight. An instruc-tional manual and video are also available.

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The Baseball Power Program, exclusivelyfrom Power Systems, is a baseball-specific,12-week training program designed to

enhance speed,agility, quickness,and explosiveness.The packageincludes all thenecessary equip-

ment to help develop fundamental baseballskills, plus a video and training manual totake you step-by-step through the program.The Baseball Power Program includes thefollowing: agility ladder, 6 lb. power med-ball, lateral stepper, balance disc, powerchute, power throw-ball set, nylon carryingbag, and the Power Program manual andvideo.

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Schutt Sports Group866-4-SCHUTTWWW.SCHUTTSPORTS.COM

Schutt Sports’ Coach’s Bag with BackRest is a shoulder bag designed for com-

fort, with a cushioned seatand a supportive back rest,a padded shoulder strap,and a grip-wrapped carryhandle. It comes with stor-age compartments for yourscorebook, headphones,cell phone, PDA, and waterbottle, as well as an insu-

lated side pocket for keeping refreshmentscool.

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Schutt Sports’ 2800 Elite Batter’s Helmetfor high school, collegiate, and professionalplay offers quality with a two-year warranty. It

combines elementsof Schutt’s FootballHelmet System toprovide for the ulti-mate in comfort andfit. Available in anunlimited number of

Pro Gloss® paint finishes, including Goldand Silver Metallic Flake and new Kandy™finishes. The helmet is also available withcustom bill and shell painting.

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The FastestRehabilitator forHeat Stress

“The portable COOL DRAFT is simplythe best rehab unit we’ve ever owned.”

John Norwig, Head TrainerPittsburgh Steelers

“I wish I’d had the COOL DRAFT fanswhen I was with Miami andJacksonville. I have been taking themon the road with us.”

Bobby Monica, Equipment ManagerCleveland Browns

“The COOL DRAFT is the fastest reha-bilitator to help our players overcomeheat quickly.”

Tank Connerly, Head TrainerUniversity of Alabama Crimson Tide

“We use four COOL DRAFT units set upin a half moon to create a large areafor sideline huddles. I can refresh thewhole line quickly between series.”

Tom Kuwinowski, Equipment ManagerUniversity of Kentucky Wildcats

“Absolutely fantastic—We are present-ing the COOL DRAFT to coaches for allteam sports at our university.”

Rudy Garcia, Equipment ManagerUniversity of New Mexico Lobos

Cool Draft Scientific66059 McGregor Road, Bellaire, OH [email protected]

WWW.COOLDRAFT.COM

Testimonial

Hitting & Pitching

CagesPlus866-475-9148WWW.CAGESPLUS.COM

The portable batting cage with L-screenfeatures durable, UV-treated knotted nylonnetting. The cage can be assembled by

two people injust 30 min-utes. The net-ting thatsurrounds thecage is notattached tothe frame, adesignfeature which

prolongs the life of the net by minimizingstress and wear due to impact. This prod-uct can be used indoors or outdoors, andis made in the USA.

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Coach Dave’s Pitch Count 703-569-5858WWW.PITCHCOUNT.COM

Coach Dave’s Pitch Count™ gives coach-es instant access to valuable informationabout their pitcher and the opponent’s

pitcher. Thiseasy-to-use,durable coach-ing tool forpractices andgames allows acoach to tracktwo pitchers. It

displays total pitches thrown, total ballsand strikes thrown, and percentage ofstrikes thrown. It also alerts the coachwhen a pitcher reaches 50, 75, and 100pitches. Pitch Count is licensed andapproved by Little League Baseball, Inc.

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Glove Radar800-589-3805 WWW.GLOVERADAR.COM

Turn any ball glove into a radar speed gunwith Glove Radar®, featuring improvedsensitivity, from Sports Sensors, Inc. It’s

the ideal aid for devel-oping the throwingskills of infielders, out-fielders, pitchers, andcatchers. Glove Radaris easily attached toeither a baseball orsoftball glove and isworn by the receiver of

the ball—or multiple partners—in non-game situations. It utilizes Doppler radar,like conventional handheld radar speedguns. It is not an impact sensor or timer.Glove Radar "sees" through the glove andmeasures the speed of the ball as itapproaches the glove. Unlike most radarspeed guns, a long-range capability is notrequired—Glove Radar performs accurate-ly at any throwing distance.

Circle No. 215


Check out www.AthleticBid.com to contact these companies.

IT’S A DOPPLER RADAR DOUBLE PLAY!Developing Hitting and Throwing Skills Has

Never Been So Convenient or Affordable!From the inventors of the GloveRadar,®the NEW Swing SpeedRadar™ determines your optimumswing speed for your best distance,quickness and bat control/ball con-tact. You can determine swing andbat characteristics that achieve thebest results. The Swing SpeedRadar ™ features simple one-buttonoperation and a large LCD display.Rugged, compact design makes itconvenient to carry and use.It’s not how hard you swing,but how well you swing!Works great for golf, too!

GLOVE RADAR ® is the ideal aidfor developing the throwing skillsof infielders, outfielders, pitchers,and catchers. Use it for training,tossing, warming-up, or justhaving fun!

Easily attached to virtually anybaseball or softball glove, GLOVERADAR’s accurate to within 1mph of radar guns costingconsiderably more. Its low cost,compact design, and remarkableversatility make GLOVE RADAR ®

the smart choice for teams and individual players.

For more information, call toll-free: 1-888-542-9246. Or, visit ourwebsites at: www.swingspeedradar.com or www.gloveradar.comSPORTS SENSORS, INC., P.O. BOX 46198, CINCINNATI, OH 45246-0198

Request No. 130

Hitting & Pitching

Granada Pitching800-547-5032WWW.BATTINGPRACTICE.COM

Granada baseball and softballpitching machines offer atrue pitch indoors andoutdoors. No nets are need-ed. The Granada system hasbeen proven to increase a bat-ter’s hitting on the field and inlaboratory testing. Good bat-ting practice should include atleast 200 cuts a day without

fear of the ball. Aggressive hitters will get1,000 or more cuts a day. Granada hasbeen improving hitting for more than 40years.

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Grand Slam Pitching Machine800-GRAND SLAMWWW.AGRANDSLAM.COM

Grand Slam is the most effective pitchingmachine on the market for developing a hit-ter’s hand-eye coordination. Its reservoirholds up to 100 golf-ball sized Wiffle®

balls and fires apitch every eightseconds. Eachpitch is guaran-teed to hit thestrike zone, butin varyinglocations.Standing 16-20

feet from the Grand Slam, a hitter canexperience pitches of over 90 mph. Pitchspeed is adjustable. The Grand Slam isgreat for indoor and outdoor practice and issafe to use. Powered by a durable blowermotor, the Grand Slam will last for years,because there are no moving wheels towear down. The product includes 48 golf-ball sized Wiffle balls and a three-monthsatisfaction guarantee.

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Jaypro800-243-0533WWW.JAYPRO.COM

Jaypro's Grand Slam Professional BattingCage offers heavy-duty construction and afull line of features. Designed for semi-pro-

fessional orcollegiateuse, it mea-sures 17'6"wide by 18'deep by 12'high.

Constructed of 2" heavy wall aluminum, itis easy to fold and collapses to just 5'high. It includes a climatized nylon net andricochet cushion to reduce rebound andframe damage. For more information, visitJaypro's Web site or call the company.

Circle No. 218

Jaypro's new Professional Pitcher's SafetyProtector protects your pitcher during bat-

ting practice. It isan excellentchoice for profes-sional, collegiate,or high schooluse. It features adurable powdercoated finish,heavy-duty stable

legs, and a slip-on nylon net. For moreinformation, visit Jaypro's Web site or callthe company.

Circle No. 219

PITCH COUNT™Coach Dave’s

Coaching Tool for Games and PracticeCoach Dave’s

PITCH COUNT™Easy to Use

Battery Operated

Displays Total Pitches Thrown

Displays Percentage of Strikes Thrown

Displays Balls and Strikes Thrown

Alarm “Charge” Tune Alerts Coachat 50, 75, and at 100-Pitch Mark

Helps Prevent Injury From Overuse

Tracks Two Pitchers

“Simple. Get’s the job done. We want it!”Chuck Hartman, Head Baseball Coach

American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of FameVirginia Tech (Over 1300 Division I Victories)

“I find PITCH COUNT™ to fill an empty niche in baseball. This gives thecoach and/or pitching coach instant access to valuable informationpertaining to both his pitcher and the opponent’s pitcher.”

Larry Sudbrook, Head Baseball Coach(Atlantic 10 Champions – ‘04)

St. Bonaventure University

U.S. Patent No. 5,153,826

Licensed and Approvedby Little League Baseball

To order go to www.pitchcount.comPITCH COUNT LLC • PO Box 1362 • Springfield, VA 22151-0362 • 1-703-569-5858

$49.95Plus $8.95 S/H

Request No. 131

Request No. 132

Hitting & Pitching

Master Pitching Machine800-878-8228WWW.MASTERPITCH.COM

The “Iron Mike” Pitching Machine, fromMaster Pitching Machine, features athrowing arm that allows the batter to see

a full windupbefore the ball ispitched. Thisallows the batterto properly developthe fundamentalsused when facinga live pitcher. Thiscapability makesthe “Iron Mike”

the preferred pitching machine of profes-sional and amateur players and coaches.All machines are self-feeding, include an80’ remote control, and carry a manufac-turer’s warranty.

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Muhl Tech888-766-8772WWW.MUHLTECH.COM

The Advanced Skills Tee is the most ver-satile, durable teaching tee available.Molded of tough polyurethane, the forward

arm and outside barrierenforce a tight, compactswing, eliminating “dip-ping” and “casting.” Theunique brush-cup ballholder is replaceable,and lasts two years ormore under heavy use by

high school and college teams, making ita great choice for everyday use. TheAdvanced Skills Tee is used by over1,200 high schools and colleges.

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The Power Bag, from Muhl Tech, has aunique design that allows the hitter tostrike the foam-filled, polyurethane-covered

bag and still finishthe swing. This devel-ops strength in thehands and arms andpromotes a properfollow through.Develop greaterstrength on contact

for more pop on the ball. The Power Bagcomes complete with mounting bracketsto attach to most poles 3” or smaller.Larger brackets are available uponrequest. An indoor stand is available forwinter training.

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Sports Attack800-717-4251WWW.SPORTSATTACK.COM

The Hack Attack Baseball PitchingMachine features an exclusive design thatallows the hitter to see the ball clearly all

the waythrough thefeedingmotion, accel-eration andrelease, justlike from alive pitcher.This visual

arm action signals the hitter when to strideand the angle of release, giving him a livearm sense of timing and location. TheHack Attack will throw unmatched right- andleft-handed major league fastballs andbreaking pitches, including curveballs, slid-ers, sinkers, and knuckleballs. All this isaccomplished by simply changing thespeed of the wheels with three dials, elimi-nating time-consuming adjustments of thethrowing head. It instantly switches to

fungo work, pivoting in any direction andwith real game-like spin, t simulategrounders, long fly balls, deep line drives,towering infield flies, and popups for yourcatcher.

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Sports Attack has introduced the TrackAttack Vision Training Machine, a qualityyear-round major-league training tool for

hitters. TrackAttack usessoft, limited-flight pitchingmachine ballsthat are 20%smaller than abaseball. It is avaluable hittingstation because

it forces the hitter to track and focus onthe center of the ball, and keep his headdown causing the front shoulder and hipsto stay in. Use it on indoor or outdoor sur-face, gym surface, or at home. A ball feed-er is also available.

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Request No. 133

Request No. 134

ADVERT ISERS D IRECTORYCIRCLE COMPANY PAGE NO. NO.

141 . . . . Aer-Flo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IBC

111 . . . . Bannerman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

119 . . . . Barry University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

124 . . . . Beacon Athletics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

137 . . . . BetterBaseball. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

118 . . . . BWP Bats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

125 . . . . Challenger Industries (DuraPlay) . . . . . 32

121 . . . . Diamond Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

141 . . . . eFundraising.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

114 . . . . Game-On Field Conditioner . . . . . 24

101 . . . . Gatorade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

130 . . . . Glove Radar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

131 . . . . Granada Pitching . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

129 . . . . Heying Company (Infield Drag) . . . . . . 37

128 . . . . Hoosier Bat Company . . . . . . . . . . 37

104 . . . . Jaypro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

116 . . . . M.A.S.A. Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

108 . . . . Mar-Co Clay Products . . . . . . . . . 14

117 . . . . Markwort Sporting Goods. . . . . . . 26

135 . . . . Master Pitching Machine . . . . . . . . 43

100 . . . . Miken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC

122 . . . . Millcreek Manufacturing (Spin Groomer) 30

126 . . . . Muhl Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

138 . . . . Old Hickory Bats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

134 . . . . Partac/Beam Clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

132 . . . . Pitch Count . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

102 . . . . Pro Look Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

113 . . . . Pro Look Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

127 . . . . Promats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

112 . . . . Pro’s Choice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

110 . . . . Russell Athletic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

142 . . . . Schutt Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BC

123 . . . . Seating Services, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . 31

106 . . . . Southern Athletic Fields . . . . . . . . 12

140 . . . . SPI Nets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

143 . . . . Sports Attack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

107 . . . . Sports Tutor (HomePlate) . . . . . . . . . . 13

139 . . . . Sporturf. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

109 . . . . Swift Stik (PIK Products) . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

115 . . . . SwingBuster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

103 . . . . Turface Athletics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

120 . . . . Turfco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

105 . . . . Vantage Products Int’l. (VPI) . . . . . . 12

136 . . . . WeatherBeater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

133 . . . . Zingbat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

240 . . . . Aer-Flo (Bunt Zone). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

239 . . . . Aer-Flo (Wind Weighted Tarps) . . . . . . . . . 47

242 . . . . Bannerman (Ballpark-6) . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

PRODUCTS D IRECTORYCIRCLE COMPANY PAGE NO. NO.

241 . . . . Bannerman (Diamond Master) . . . . . . . . 47

263 . . . . Barry University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

243 . . . . Beacon Athletics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

200 . . . . BetterBaseball. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

235 . . . . BWP Bats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

213 . . . . Cages Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

264 . . . . Card Emporium. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

245 . . . . Diamond Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

265 . . . . eFundraising.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

247 . . . . Game-On Field Conditioner . . . . . 49

248 . . . . Game-On Red. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

266 . . . . Gatorade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

215 . . . . Glove Radar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

216 . . . . Granada Pitching . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

217 . . . . Grand Slam Pitching Machine . . . . 40

246 . . . . Heying Company (Infield Drag) . . . . . 48

236 . . . . Hoosier Bat Company . . . . . . . . . . 46

218 . . . . Jaypro (Batting Cage) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

219 . . . . Jaypro (Pitching Net) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

208 . . . . JET Sportswear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

249 . . . . M.A.S.A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

250 . . . . Mar-Co Clay Products . . . . . . . . . 49

201 . . . . Markwort Sporting Goods. . . . . . . 38

220 . . . . Master Pitching Machine . . . . . . . 41

238 . . . . Miken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

202 . . . . Miken (The Freak) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

251 . . . . Millcreek Manufacturing . . . . . . . . 50

221 . . . . Muhl Tech (Advanced Skills Tee) . . . . . . . 41

222 . . . . Muhl Tech (Power Bag) . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

237 . . . . Old Hickory Bats . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

254 . . . . Partac/Beam Clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

214 . . . . Pitch Count . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

204 . . . . Power Systems (Baseball Power Program). . 38

233 . . . . Power Systems (catalog) . . . . . . . . . . 45

203 . . . . Power Systems (Power Throw Balls). . . . . 38

209 . . . . Pro Look Sports (sportswear) . . . . . . . . 37

210 . . . . Pro Look Sports (uniforms) . . . . . . . . . 37

252 . . . . Pro’s Choice (Pro Mound®) . . . . . . . . . 50

253 . . . . Pro’s Choice (Soilmaster Select) . . . . . . . 50

257 . . . . Promats (field wall pad) . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

258 . . . . Promats (protective padding) . . . . . . . . . 50

211 . . . . Russell Athletic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

206 . . . . Schutt Sports (Batter's Helmet) . . . . . . . 38

205 . . . . Schutt Sports (Coach's Bag) . . . . . . . . . 38

267 . . . . Seating Services, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . 51

259 . . . . Southern Athletic Fields . . . . . . . . 51

223 . . . . Sports Attack (Pitching Machine) . . . . . . 41

224 . . . . Sports Attack (Vision Training Machine) . . . 41

225 . . . . Sports Tutor (HomePlate) . . . . . . . . . . 43

226 . . . . Stalker Radar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

227 . . . . Swift Stik (PIK Products) . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

228 . . . . Swing Speed Radar . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

229 . . . . SwingBuster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

256 . . . . Turface MVP®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

255 . . . . Turface Pro League® . . . . . . . . . . 50

260 . . . . Turfco (Edge-R-Rite) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

261 . . . . Turfco (Mete-R-Matic XL) . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

230 . . . . Vantage Products Int’l. . . . . . . . . . 44

244 . . . . WeatherBeater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

231 . . . . Zingbat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44


Hitting & Pitching

Sports Tutor800-448-8867WWW.SPORTSMACHINES.COM

The new HomePlate machine is the firstprogrammable pitching machine designedfor both batting cage and on-field use. TheHomePlate machine can simulate almost

any pitcher you arelikely to face. It canthrow a 90 mphfastball, followed bya 75 mph curve, fol-lowed by a change-up, followed by aslider with onlyseven secondsbetween pitches.You can store up toeight different pitch-

es in each of eight programs. Theprogrammed pitches can be thrown eithersequentially (for specific hitting drills), orrandomly (to simulate game conditions).HomePlate models start at $2,995.

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Stalker Radar888-STALKERWWW.STALKERRADAR.COM

The ultra-high performance Stalker SportRadar Gun precisely measures the speedof a baseball both when it leaves thepitcher’s hand and as it crosses the plate(these speeds can be up to 12 mph differ-

ent). TheStalker isthree timesmore powerfulthan anyother sportsradar gun,and can accu-rately clock

pitches from over 300 feet away. A newdouble-capacity battery handle is availablethat provides up to 40 hours of usebetween charges. About 90 percent ofMajor League Baseball teams use theStalker.

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Swift Stik877-845-7845WWW.SWIFTSTIK.COM

Swift Stik is the fastest way to improveyour swing. This easy-to-use, lightweighttraining bat is great for baseball and soft-ball, letting you take hundreds of extraswings. You’re guaranteed to get results

quickly. Swift Stik improves hand-eye coor-dination, builds muscle memory, helpsincrease bat speed, and teaches the hitterto hit the “sweet spot.” Swift Stik isendorsed by Professional Hitting instructorMike Epstein and University of TennesseeBaseball Coach Rod Delmonico. It is avail-able in 34” and 30” sizes and has apatented, adjustable foam sweet spot.Swift Stik is packaged with an instruction-al video and four golf-ball sized Wiffle®balls. This product should be used onlywith tennis, Wiffle, or soft foam balls. Visitthe company’s Web site for testimonials.

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Request No. 135 Request No. 136

Web News

Hitting & Pitching

Swing Speed Radar800-589-3805WWW.SWINGSPEEDRADAR.COM

The new Swing Speed Radar™ is a small,inexpensive microwave Doppler radarvelocity sensor that measures the swing

speed of baseballand softball players.The Swing SpeedRadar aids baseballand softball playersin developing theiroptimum bat speedfor distance, quick-ness, and bat con-trol to encourage

consistent ball contact. The Swing SpeedRadar provides real-time velocity feedbackthat assists players, coaches, or instruc-tors in measuring performanceimprovement and in trouble-shooting swingmechanics. The Swing Speed Radar alsoworks great for golfers.

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SwingBuster877-422-8292WWW.SWINGBUSTER.COM

The SwingBuster is one of the most inno-vative and effective swing trainer everbuilt. This “hands-back hitter” ingrains the

absolutes of hittingwith every swing.SwingBuster tookthe key elementscommon to allpower hitters andcreated an afford-able, portable bat-ting station thattransforms the

flawed swing into the perfect swing in foureasy steps, guaranteed. ProfessionalHitting Instructor Mike Epstein says,“Finally, a fun hitting trainer that reinforcesgood mechanics.” To see how it workscheck out the company’s Web site.Special camp packages are available byclicking on the “Coaches” button.

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Vantage Products International800-244-4457WWW.VPISPORTS.COM

The Big Bubba Professional PortableBatting Cage is the premium choicein bat-ting cages for high school, collegiate and

profession-al baseballprogramsat consid-erable costsavings.The heavy-

duty aluminum construction, easy portabili-ty, and collapsible design make it theperfect backstop for any level. It is 18’ Wx 22’ D x 12’ H and collapses to only 5’high helping it adhere to storage spacelimitations. Sixteen-inch pneumatic wheelsmake relocation simple. Forty-two feet ofricochet cushion helps minimize ballrebound and the coaches’ observation barprovides for safe, elevated viewing.

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Zingbat866-ZINGBAT (946-4228)WWW.ZINGBAT.COM

Zingbat™ has recently introduced the new“16 oz.” one-hand isolation trainer. Thebatter can now practice lead-arm and top-hand drills to isolate proper arm path and

hand action. Witheach swing, the isola-tion trainer forces thearm to take the cor-rect path, keeping thehand inside the ball.The wrist must snapthe barrel at the cor-rect instant or thepatented Zingbat™

"click" will occur before contact. Coachesand players across the country arewelcoming this new addition to the Zingbatline. Call for a free instructional video orsee a demo on the company's Web site.

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Quality products andinnovative design

“The folks at Dynamic Team Sports areeasy to work with, and they provide aquality product. Our uniforms look goodon the field and are as durable as iron.To play your best, you have to look yourbest. And you definitely look your bestwhen you choose Dynamic.”

George Greer, Assistant Athletic DirectorWake Forest University

“Our players love these jerseys. Thelightweight fabric is fantastic, and welove having the unique opportunity tocreate innovative designs without theusual restrictions. We’re already plan-ning next year’s uniforms.”

Michael Gaski, Head Baseball CoachUniversity of North Carolina-Greensboro

“We are very pleased with the Dynamicjerseys. They are lightweight, durable,and great looking! The Dynamic staffgave us the chance to be creative withour design, and they were very easy towork with throughout the wholeprocess. I highly recommend DynamicTeam Sports!”

Jim Farr, Head Baseball CoachCollege of William and Mary

Dynamic Team Sports419 Boot Road, Downingtown, PA [email protected]

WWW.DYNAMICTEAMSPORTS.COM

Testimonial

MARKWORT OFFERS INFORMATION ON ALL ITS PRODUCTS ON-LINEConsumers visiting Markwort’s Web site can explore a wide variety of products. Detailedproduct descriptions and suggested retail prices are available for baseball, softball,football, and basketball products, as well as athletic equipment, training aides, and protec-tive accessories. Volleyballs, bats, shoes, socks, kicking tees, whistles, and inflationpumps are just a few of the thousands of products you can review. Contact your localsporting goods dealer directly to purchase the company’s products.www.markwort.com


Catalog Showcase

Partner with aproven leader

The most successful high school,collegiate, and professional athleticteams have already made Life Fitnesstheir number-one cardiovascular andstrength-training choice. Those teamsinclude:

Boston Bruins

Boston Red Sox

Brigham Young University

Brownwood High School,

Brownwood, TX

Drake University

Georgia Institute of Technology

Kansas City Chiefs

Michigan State University

Minnesota Timberwolves

Mt. Carmel High School,

Chicago, IL

New England Patriots

New York Yankees

The Ohio State University

Rice University

San Antonio Spurs

Seminole High School,

Seminole, FL

Tampa Bay Lightning

Texas Tech University

University of Kansas

University of Notre Dame

Life Fitness5100 River Rd., Ste. 300, Schiller Park, IL [email protected]

WWW.LIFEFITNESS.COM

Power Systems, Inc.800-321-6975WWW.POWER-SYSTEMS.COM

Since 1986, Power Systems has been a leading supplier of sporttraining, health, and fitness products. The company prides itself onbeing the one resource for all of your training needs. Its 2004 cataloghas a new look, with better graphics and photos. Categories includecore strength, medicine balls, speed, plyometrics, agility, strengthequipment, strength accessories, and flooring. The catalog is full ofhundreds of new products and dozens of products available exclusive-ly from Power Systems. The company has lowered some of its prices,enabling the customer to get premium products at great prices. Goon-line or call Power Systems to request a free 2004 catalog today.

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Testimonial


• Mounds• Softballs• Bases & Plates• Batting Cages• Pitching Machines• Training Aids/Books/Videos

Quick service and quality products are our trademark. We have been in business since 1993. We have 10,000 customers, and we would be honored to add you to our list! We ship by UPS and get most orders out in 24 hours, so come join our team, and help us play BetterBaseball!

• Netting• Baseballs• Bags• Bats• Gloves• Field Equip.

1-800-997-4233www.betterbaseball.com

Better BaseballBetter BaseballTM

Your Complete BaseballSupply Headquarters

We specialize in secure online salesof sporting goods and sportsequipment for individuals,

teams, and schools.

• Mounds• Softballs• Bases & Plates• Batting Cages• Pitching Machines• Training Aids/Books/Videos

• Netting• Baseballs• Bags• Bats• Gloves• Field Equip.

better baseball CM 127.indd 1 8/20/04 3:12:00 PM

Request No. 137

Wood & Metal Bats

BWP Bats814-849-5679WWW.BWPBATS.COM

Custom Features: Various models, colors,and personalization available. Superiorwood quality, quick delivery, and economi-cal pricing.

● NCAA Approved● Major & Minor League Approved

Type of Training and Fungo Bats: Trainingbats for swing mechanics and overall hittingskills. Pro Fungo is available in 33" and37" lengths and in team colors. Made ofsilver maple for excellent feel and balance.

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Hoosier Bat Co.800-228-3787WWW.HOOSIERBAT.COM

Custom Features: Colors are black, natur-al hickory, andburnt orange.Top-quality ash;Wood Force2000 is ashhandle and hick-ory hitting area.

● NCAA Approved● NFHS Approved● Major & Minor League Approved

Type of Training and Fungo Bats: Woodfungo with no taping required on barrel.28" B.P. for strength and hitting skills.

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Old Hickory Bat Company, Inc.866-PROBATSWWW.OLDHICKORYBATS.COM

Custom Features: All Custom Pro bats arecut to player's specs: model, length,weight, color, cupped or solid end, andpersonalization.

● MLB Approved

Type of Training and Fungo Bats: Solidmaple fungos: lightweight, durable andavailable in team colors and personaliza-tion. Solid maple training bats available:one hand, bunt trainer, and flat bat.

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Miken [email protected]

The Freak baseball bat uses E-Flextechnology to create flex throughoutthe barrel and harness maximumenergy on impact. You’ve neverswung a bat with a sweet spot thisbig.

● NCAA Approved● NFHS Approved

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BWP Bats BWP-243 Maple 31-35” 29/32” XL -2 to -3 NoBWP-Nasty Maple 32-34” 29/32” XXL -2 to -3 NoBWP-271 Red Oak 32-34” 1” Large -2 to -3 No

Hoosier HB105 Ash 32-33-34” 15/16” 2-13/32” -3 -HB325 Ash 32-33-34” 1” 2-1/2” -3 -Wood Force Ash/Hickory/ 32-34” 1” 2-1/2” -3 Barrel

Maple won’t flake

Old Custom Maple - Custom Custom Custom N/A *Big Hickory Pro League

Wood*Diamond Maple - - 2-7/16” -2 N/ASeries

WOOD BATS

NON-WOOD BATS

Miken Freak (MBF) Composite - Leather -3 1-year

Company Models Wood Type Lengths Handle Barrel L/W Ratio Warranty

Company Model Bat Material Finish Grip L/W Ratio Warranty

A history ofinnovative apparel

At Russell Athletic, we continually lis-ten to the needs of athletes andrespond accordingly by creating innova-tive uniforms and training gear toenhance their performance. Fordecades Russell Athletic hasdeveloped industry-leadingtechnologies and cutting-edge productslike the Tear-Away jersey, the Stretch-Mesh™ uniform (worn by WashingtonState in the 2002 Rose Bowl), andSweatless Sweats™, the first moisturemanagement sweatshirt that keepsathletes dry, light, and comfortable dur-ing workouts.

Innovations like these were born onthe fields of play and have been testedat the highest levels of competition.Generations of athletes have trustedthe performance of Russell Athleticproducts, including every Little LeagueBaseball World Series team for over30 years, 34 college football NationalChampionship teams, and 25 HeismanTrophy winners.

No matter the level of play or budgetconstraints, as the #1 supplier of highschool uniforms, we are confidentRussell Athletic can offer high qualityand innovative uniforms and practicegear to meet the needs of your team. Ipersonally wish you and your team thebest of luck this season, and thankyou for your continued support of ourproducts.

Matthew MirchinPresident, Russell Athletic

WWW.RUSSELLATHLETIC.COM

Company News


Baseball Field

Aer-Flo, Inc.800-823-7356WWW.WINDWEIGHTED.COM

Wind Weighted™ Baseball Tarps are vir-tually wind-proof. These patent-pendingcovers for the mound, home base, and

bullpenshave asteel chainin the edgehem, allow-ing them tostay down

in windy conditions making stakes andsandbags unnecessary. The installerdevice allows for installation by two peoplein just 25 seconds. Tough, waterproof 14-oz. vinyl-polyester fabric is UV- and mildew-treated. Wind Weighted Baseball Tarpsand Installers take the drudgery out of thegame.

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The Bunt Zone™ Infield Protector, byAer-Flo, doubles as the perfect target-train-ing system for bunting practice. It usesthree color-coded zones: yellow is the

bunt-for-hittarget area;green is thesacrificebunt zone;and red isthe bad bunt

zone. Players get instant feedback atevery practice. Tough 9-oz. vinyl-polyestermesh survives spike traffic. The Bunt Zoneprovides maximum turf protection whileimproving team bunting skills. Ground sta-ples are included in the package. Patentsare pending for this product.

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Bannerman Ltd.800-665-2596WWW.SPORTSTURFMAGIC.COM

Restore your diamond's luster in 20 min-utes or lesswith the B-DM-6DiamondMaster®.BannermanLtd. manufac-

tures groomers that will level and care forbaseball diamonds, warning tracks, andwalking trails. The B-DM-6 DiamondMaster® has five grooming tools, includ-ing: Ripper Blade, Rake, Leveler, Roller,and Finishing Brush. Options availableinclude: Extension Wing Brush Kit,Hydraulic Tractor Top Link, 50-gallon WaterTank with spray nozzle, and Long Tine"Fluffing" Rake.

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When your players' safety comes first,look to Bannerman Ltd., which manufac-tures groomers used to shape, level, and

care for baseballdiamonds. TheB-BP-6 Ballpark-6® model hasfive groomingtools, including:Ripper Blade,

Rake, Leveler, Roller, and Brush.Accessories available include: ExtensionWing Brush Kit, Hydraulic Tractor Top Link,50-gallon Water Tank with spray nozzle,and Long Tine "Fluffing" Rake.

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PITCHERSBEWARE!

The Choice of the ProsCustomized Maple cut to your SpecsTraining Bats & Fungos also available

(866) PRO-BATSTOLLFREE

www.oldhickorybats.com

Request No. 138

Does Your Grass Need Plastic Surgery?

Buy Direct at www.sporturf.com/factory-outlet

Sporturf has all theoptions !

• Full TrueGrassSynthetic Fields

• Artificial Turf Halos

• Over 3500 International Dealers

• Baseball and Golf Stance Mats

Request No. 139

Baseball Field

Beacon Athletics800-747-5985WWW.BALLFIELDS.COM

Perform two jobs with one machine whenstriping your fields. The Beacon Streamliner70 and the new Beacon Streamliner 353can use the optional Beacon Double PlayAerosol Attachment to stripe fields with

chalk or paintquickly and with nomess. The DoublePlay AerosolAttachment gripsthe base of thehandle and allowsfor up and downadjustment to

ensure proper line width. The attachmentcan accommodate almost any brand of ath-letic aerosol field marking paint.

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WeatherBeater® by ColoradoLining International

888-546-4641WWW.COLORADOLINING.COM

The big tournament is this weekend.

You’ve beenplanning formonths andhundreds areexpected toattend and rainis forecasted

for the next few days. What you need isWeatherBeater’s Workhorse Baseball FieldCover. Fabricated from 12 mil WhiteTarpaulin with user-friendly perimeter ropehem and gusseted lift loops, it’s one of thebest field covers on the market.“WeatherBeater…anything less is just atarp!” For more information, please contactyour WeatherBeater Specialist.

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Diamond Pro800-228-2987WWW.DIAMONDPRO.COM

Diamond Pro offers a complete line of pro-fessional groundskeeping products: infieldconditioners, calcined clay, mound andhomeplate clay/bricks, marking dust, infieldand warning track mixes. All are availablewith fast and convenient delivery. DiamondPro’s vitrified clay RED infield conditioner is

available in bulknationwide and iseasy to handle andapply. Truckloadsare available in 10,15, and 24 tonloads that saveyou both time andmoney. Enjoy bulk

savings nationwide and create an all-aroundsafe professional infield playing surface.

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Heying Co.712-756-8847WWW.INFIELD-DRAG.COM

Keep your granular playing fields level, well-groomed, and in safe playing condition withthe PR72 Pro Groomer™. Use this producton infields, warning tracks, granular running

tracks, and more. Cutoff high areas, keepmaterial mixed, fill inlow areas, break uphard-compacted sur-

faces, and spread new material—all withone machine. The Pro Groomer saveslabor, reduces water puddling problems,


a t h l e t i c b i d . c o m

Why do more than 13,000 unique users eachmonth rely on AthleticBid.com?

Quickly find the products, services, and deals you are looking for

a t h l e t i c b i d . c o m

uite simply it saves them time! Athleticbid.com is a free service to help buyers at schools andathletic organizations contact many companies in the most efficient fashion to request product

specs and pricing information. It used to take hours to contact dozens of companies to researchproducts and plan purchases. But by using athleticbid.com, it now only takes minutes.

One option for researching products and companies is theon-line Buyers Guide. You may:● View the complete product lines of companies listed. ● View catalog pages or spec sheets from many of the top companies.● Read a profile of description of select companies. ● Send an e-mail directly to a supplier or make a request

to be contacted by a company representative. ● Request catalog and sales literature from companies.

Q

Baseball Field

and helps to eliminate weeds. Constructedof welded steel, it adjusts quickly and easilywithout the need for tools. A drag mat andelectric lift are optional.

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Hydraulic Press Brick Co.888-593-0395WWW.HAYDITESOILCONDITIONERS.COMWWW.HAYDITEGAME-ON.COM

GAME-ON is a brand new sports field soilconditioner that will not break your budget,

but will provideexcellent results. It is alightweight, expanded-shale product thatabsorbs over 20percent of its weight inwater. Game-On ismore durable than clayand does not break-down into fine particles.

Game-On is manufactured in Cleveland,Ohio, and is available in bags or in bulk.

Circle No. 247

Game-On has introduced its newest product,GAME-ON Red. Game-On Red is an infield

topdress with a brickred color, to give yourfield a finishing touchand that Major Leaguelook. This topdressproduct will give you amore consistentbounce, and the deepred color will allow

infielders to see the ball more easily. Game-On Red is available in bags or in bulk.

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M.A.S.A., Inc.800-264-4519WWW.MASA.COM

Poly Cap® has been designed with both theplayers and fans in mind. When applied tothe top of chain-link fences, Poly Cap coversthe sharp barbs that can damage uniforms

and cause playerinjuries. Its advan-tages also includefield beautification,increased visibility,and durability. Theproduct’s optic-yel-

low color clearly defines the field for players

and umpires alike. Poly Cap is weather-treat-ed and UV-protected with a patented formulato withstand the most severe conditions.

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Mar-Co Clay Products, Inc.800-950-2555WWW.MARCOCLAY.COM

Mar-Co Clay Products, Inc. makes a widevariety of conditioners for baseballdiamonds. The company offers a freeMaterial Assessment Program to analyzeyour existing field material and determine

your precise needs. Mar-Co can then prepare anInfield Custom Blend thatdelivers optimalperformance for your field.Also available is DiamondClay Conditioner, anorange-red clay productdesigned specifically as aconditioner for heavy

clays. For pitcher’s mounds, Mar-Co’sMound Clay Fortifier firms up loose materialand strengthens the mound.

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Untitled-1 1 8/25/04 9:51:28 AM


Baseball Field

Millcreek Manufacturing800-311-1323WWW.MILLCREEKMFG.COM

Wet material is notoriously difficult tospread because of its tendency to clumpand clog spreading equipment. MillcreekManufacturing Co. has introduced the Turf

Tiger™, a largecapacitytopdresser thatappliessand/peat top-

dressing, compost, infield mix, soil condi-tioners, and other bulk materials evenwhen wet. The Turf Tiger has a 7,500-pound capacity, and features a patent-pend-ing SaberTooth™ spreading mechanismthat applies wet material in a uniform 8’ to12’ wide pattern, depending on materialconditions.

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Pro's Choice800-648-1166WWW.PROSCHOICE1.COM

Pro Mound® packing clay is the choice ofprofessional teams, universities, municipali-ties, and Little Leagues worldwide. When

used at the mound andbatter’s box areas, itbonds to form a solidsub-surface foundationthat allows the pitcherand batter to establishfirm footing without creat-ing large wear holes. ProMound installs quickly,and more importantly,

lasts. Experience safer playing conditionsand reduced mound and batter’s box main-tenance by choosing Pro Mound. For moreinformation, call Pro’s Choice®.

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For premium performance and a color thatwill set your field apart, choose theSoilmaster Select Series from Pro's

Choice. Scientifically engi-neered to meet daily main-tenance challenges andgive your field aprofessional look,Soilmaster Select is thetrue choice ofgroundskeepers for build-ing and maintaining win-ning ballfields. Available in

four distinct colors (red, green, brown, andcharcoal), the uniform granules inSoilmaster Select manage moisture andalleviate compaction to keep your field in

top playing condition. Pro's Choice deliversa full line of sportsfield products for condi-tioning soil and infield mix, topdressinginfields, quickly drying puddles, and revitaliz-ing turf.

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Partac/Beam Clay800-247-BEAMWWW.BEAMCLAY.COM

Partac/Beam Clay® makes mixes forinfields, pitcher's mounds, home plateareas, and red warning tracks that are usedby more than 100 professional teams

(including eight ofthe last 10 WorldSerieschampions), morethan 700 colleges,and thousands oftowns and schools

from all 50 states and worldwide. BeamClay offers more than 200 infield productsfrom distribution centers nationwide, includ-ing regional infield mixes blended for specif-ic climates and every state.

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Profile Products, LLC800-207-6457WWW.TURFACE.COM

TURFACE® offers a complete line of infieldconditioners featuring newly patented ProLeague®. Manufactured with smaller, uni-

form particles, ProLeague is the onlypatented calcined clayinfield soil conditioner.Pro League providesinfield conditioningbenefits, creatingsuperior sliding andfielding surfaces. ProLeague is unmatchedin drainage and

absorption qualities for maximum rainoutprotection. Pro League outperforms crushedaggregates by absorbing more water andconditioning the infield soil. The preferredsoil conditioner of many Major Leaguegroundskeepers, Pro League is designed toincrease safety, playability, and drainage forbaseball and softball infields at any level.

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For more than 40 years, PROFILE ProductsLLC has been the leading manufacturer ofsoil modification products, including theTURFACE® line of infield and sports turfconditioners and mound clay products.PROFILE offers TURFACE MVP®, which

eliminates compaction,bad ball hops, andrainouts on skinnedinfields; TURFACEQuick Dry®, designedto absorb excesswater during wet condi-tions and to become apart of the infield mix;TURFACE Gray andTURFACE Red, infield

conditioners manufactured in gray and redtones for a non-glare surface for greaterball visibility; and TURFACE Mound Clay.

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Promats, Inc.800-678-6287WWW.PROMATS.COM

Promats, the leader in stadium field wallpadding with nearly 400 major installationsworldwide, has introduced a revolutionarynew field wall pad that utilizes superior

SKYDEX™ SmarterCushioning materials.Promats field wall padswith SKYDEX technologyare much more durable,almost 60 percentlighter, and more impact-absorbent than standardpads. Like all Promatsproducts, Promats fieldwall pads with SKYDEX

Smarter Cushioning can be customized foryour stadium or arena. Call or emailPromats for more information.

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Promats, Inc. has supplied protectivepadding for more than 350 teams or stadi-ums and arenas with affiliations in MajorLeague Baseball, Minor League Baseball,

NationalBasketballAssociation,National FootballLeague, WorldCup Soccer,Indoor ArenaFootball, College

Baseball, College Softball, College Football,and Canadian League Football. Each facilityis unique in its requirements, and Promatsoffers many different types of padding to fillthose needs. Just call the company and itsstaff will help you design a padding systemthat will work for you.

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More Products

Southern Athletic Fields800-837-8062WWW.MULEMIX.COM

Southern Athletic Fields (SAF) specializes ina wide variety of products. Some of theseproducts include: infield mixes; mound and

packing clays; soilconditioners/cal-cined clays anddrying agents;infield topdressingand warning track

materials; and field maintenanceaccessories. SAF is the one-stop source foryour entire athletic field needs.

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Turfco Manufacturing800-679-8201WWW.TURFCO.COM

Unlike traditional rotary edgers, the TurfcoEdge-R-Rite’s unique oscillating blade cutsturf without throwing debris, making it safer

to use in high-traffic areas andeasier to clean-up. The edgereliminates spadeor shovel edgingand leaves a pro-fessional-looking

edge. The right angle blade edges golfcourse bunkers, baseball diamonds, orflowerbeds. Additional blades can be addedto edge sidewalks, curbs, and driveways,and to cut in drainage or install all sorts ofedging. Depth control can be easily adjustedup to 4”. The Edge-R-Rite is built with asolid-steel frame and a traction-assist drive.

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The Turfco® Mete-R-Matic® XL tow-typetopdresser offers increased hopper capacityto cover larger turf areas on sports fields.The Mete-R-Matic XL combines Turfco’s

patented Mete-R-Matic chevronbelt design andground drive sys-tem to ensureeven distributionof topdressing

materials, regardless of moisture contentand vehicle speed. As a result, the Mete-R-Matic XL is the easiest to use, most consis-tent large-area topdresser available. With ahopper capacity of 2.25 cubic yards (1.72cubic meters), the Mete-R-Matic XL can carrya load of up to 6,000 lbs.

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Barry University800-756-6000WWW.BARRY.EDU/HPLS

Barry University's MS in MovementScience program offers a variety of special-izations to prepare you for a future in athlet-

ic training,biomechan-ics, exercisescience, orsport andexercise psy-chology. You

can also choose our new general optionwhere you can customize your MSprogram using classes from all four of theother specializations. Whichever specializa-tion best meets your needs, you will benefitfrom state-of-the-art laboratory and researchfacilities; internationally respected faculty;and Barry's ideal South Florida location withaccess to challenging opportunities for grad-uate clinical placements.

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Card Emporium800-521-7632WWW.SPORTBEADS.COM

Looking for a new and exciting fundraiserthat students will love to sell? Want to raiseschool spirit and money at the same time?

Sport beads aresweeping thenation in populari-ty. Just watch anysporting event onTV and you willsee CardEmporium's Sport

Beads. Kids of all ages will buy SportBeads and “Show their Colors” at yourgames. The company also has many othergame day products available. Call and men-tion Coaching Management and receive afree gift with your purchase.

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eFundraising866-825-2921WWW.EFUNDRAISING.COM

Try eFundraising’s new On-line FundraisingProgram—a new way to raise money quick-ly and easily. With your free personalizedWeb site, complete with magazine store,

your supporterscan purchasemagazinesubscriptions on-line and 40 per-cent of eachpurchase amountwill go back toyour group. Simply

enter and send emails to friends and fami-ly across America inviting them to visit youron-line store and buy, renew or extend theirmagazines subscriptions to help supportyour group. They’ll save up to 85 percentoff the newsstand prices on over 650 mag-azine titles while you’ll earn 40 percentprofit.

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Gatorade800-88GATORWWW.GATORADE.COM

Gatorade Thirst Quencher’s optimal formulacontains electrolytes and carbohydrates. It isbased on more than 30 years of scientificresearch and testing. Nothing rehydrates,

replenishes andrefuels better thanGatorade® ThirstQuencher—noteven water. REHY-DRATE—Gatoradehas the flavor to

keep your athletes drinking—and a six per-cent carbohydrate solution that’s optimal forspeeding fluids back into their systems. Nofluid is absorbed faster than Gatorade.REPLENISH—If your athletes don’t replacethe electrolytes they lose when they sweat,they risk becoming dehydrated, which cantake them out of the game. By putting elec-trolytes back, Gatorade helps athletes drinkmore, retain fluids and maintain fluid balance.REFUEL—Unlike water, Gatorade has theright amount of carbohydrates (14 grams pereight ounces) to give your athlete’s workingmuscles more energy, help athletes fightfatigue and keep their mental edge.

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SEATING SERVICES800-552-9470 WWW.SEATINGSERVICES.COM

Seating Services introduces the CardinalModel Series 3500 tip-up chair for use onrow spacing that is as small as 27”. These

blow-molded chairsare gravity tip. Theyhave no springsand/or pins. Thissaves money beacusethey are less expen-sive to manufacture,install, and maintain.The chairs have beendesigned for installa-

tion on concrete or steel/aluminum grand-stands. Seat widths can range from 18-22”.A wide variety of colors and options makethese an excellent way to seat more fans ina limited space.

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Company Q & A

eFUNDRAISING REALLY IS THE WORLD’SLEADING FUNDRAISING COMPANY

The founder and President ofeFundraising, Eric Boyko, gradu-ated from McGill University witha degree in accounting, and in1997 earned his CertifiedGeneral Accountant title. Alwaysthe entrepreneur, Eric strives todevelop and manage his youngcorporation by combining thestructure of a largeorganization with thephilosophy and dynam-ic team spirit of anewly established com-pany. In 2000, Eric ledthe venture capitalfinancing and sale ofeFundraising to ZapMe!for $27 million. He thenwent on to negotiate adeal to be acquired byQSP Reader’s Digest in 2001.

Q. WHY SHOULD A NON-PROFITGROUP CHOOSE eFUNDRAISINGOVER OTHER FUNDRAISING COM-PANIES?We offer a large selection of proven fundrais-ing programs, as well as competitive profitmargins on all our products. We also have agreat team of experienced fundraising con-sultants and friendly customer service repre-sentatives available throughout the entirefundraising process, to help clients choosethe right program, answer all their fundrais-ing questions, and respond to their needs.

Q. IF A GROUP DECIDES TOCHOOSE eFUNDRAISING, HOW DOTHEY START THEIR FUNDRAISINGCAMPAIGN?Once our clients have had a chance to lookthrough the information offered in our freeFundraising Guide, a fundraising consultantwill contact them to discuss their fundraisingneeds and answer any questions they have.Clients can also call 1-800-561-8388 formore information about any of our programs.They can then place an order over the phoneand start raising money for their group.

Q. HOW LONG HASeFUNDRAISING BEEN INBUSINESS?eFundraising was established as theUniversal Fundraising Group in 1991 andhas become one of the leading figures in theNorth American fundraising industry. Myvision was to create a business to providenon-profit groups with a large selection ofquality fundraising products at competitiveprices. And that mission has been

accomplished: eFundraising has alreadyhelped thousands of students, educators,athletes, communities, and other non-profitgroups raise millions of dollars by providingpersonalized ways to achieve their specificfundraising goals.

Q. HOW DOES QSP READER’SDIGEST FIT IN?In May 2001, eFundraising was acquired byQSP, a subsidiary of Reader’s Digest. Thispartnership has allowed eFundraising to addover 100 years of traditional know-how andexpertise to our cutting-edge fundraisingtechnology and experience.

Q. CAN YOU TELL US A LIT-TLE MORE ABOUT QSPREADER’S DIGEST?QSP is the fundraising division ofReader’s Digest. Since 1964, QSPhas helped students raise over $2billion in profits for enrichment pro-grams and worthwhile projects thatare essential to a meaningful, well-rounded education. As for Reader’sDigest, everyone recognizes thatname, especially from its flagshippublication, Reader’s Digest maga-zine, which is sold in more than 60countries.

Q. WHAT CAN YOU TELL USABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITHWORLD’S FINEST CHOCOLATE?QSP has a longstanding partnership withWorld’s Finest Chocolate, and is thefundraising industry’s exclusive distributor ofWFC products. So when we joined QSPReader’s Digest, we were able to benefitfrom that alliance. For over 50 years, WFChas helped schools and non-profit organiza-tions raise over $2.5 billion in profits, whichis unmatched in the fundraising industry.

Q. WHERE DO YOU SEEeFUNDRAISING GOING IN THEFUTURE?Right now, we are working on establishingalliances with relevant companies that canhelp us broaden the scope of our market.Our goal is to reach as many non-profit orga-nizations as we can and help them reachtheir own goals. We are the world’s leadingfundraising company and we want to makesure we stay that way.

eFUNDRAISING.COM33 Prince St., Ste. 200Montreal, PQ H3C [email protected]

WWW.EFUNDRAISING.COM


• GREENS

• YELLOW

• RED

WIND WEIGHTEDTM

Baseball Tarps

Optional Wind Weighted INSTALLER device lets two players cover a mound or

home plate in less than 30 seconds.

Mound and Base Covers

that STAY PUT in WIND

WITHOUT stakes or sandbags.

Galvanized steel chain in the edge hem all

around keeps wind from getting under, so

they stay down even in high winds.

FEATURES• Industrial grade 14 oz. vinyl polyester fabric • Protected by UV & mildew inhibitors• Virtually wind-proof, tear-proof and rain-proof• Fusion welded seams • Repairable if spiked • Custom sizes & colors • Factory warranty• Stock sizes: 12 , 18 , 20 , 26 , 30 • Squares 6 , 8 , 10

Teams using Wind Weighted Tarps

Pros & Minors: Dodgers, Yankees, Mud Hens

Colleges & Universities: Benet Acad., Cal Poly-SLO,

Coastal Carolina, CO, Cypress, Lynn, Manatee CC, MN, Navy,

NM, Penn State, Rowan, St. Thomas ,TN, WA, WSU AND,

many High Schools, American Legion and Little League teams.

Put Simply: Why buy an old-style in-

fi eld protector or rain cover now that

Bunt ZoneTM

Protectors and Wind

WeightedTM

Covers are available?

EXCLUSIVE Authorized Dealers sell

Aer-Flo sports products. Call for

dealer nearest you or circle reader

response number.

Aer-Flo, Inc. manufactures many nationally distributed

products for various industries. Our sports products also

include Bench ZoneTM

Sideline Turf Protectors and Aer-FloTM

Wind Screens. We are a privately held company blessed

with extraordinary employees and dealers. Our products are

proudly MADE IN THE USA!

BUNT ZONETM

Infi eld Protector

Bunt Zone Protector stimulates a natural competition between players. It can signifi -

cantly improve team bunting skills if used at every practice.

BUNTING TARGET TRAINING

SYSTEM BUILT INTO A QUALITY

TURF PROTECTOR

• RED is the “bad bunt” zone

• GREENS are the “sacrifi ce bunt” zones

• YELLOW is the “bunt-for-a-hit” target zone

FEATURES • Industrial grade 9 oz. vinyl coated polyester mesh • Protected by UV & mildew inhibitors • Tolerant of spike traffi c, virtually tear proof • Fusion welded seams • Grommets and stakes included • Sizes for all infi elds and batting tunnels • Multiple patents pending • For indoor use: combined with solid vinyl polyester fabric to protect gym fl oor in batting cage

Coach Tholen says, “The Bunt Zone Infi eld Protector is an exciting baseball teaching aid that will help batters learn the lost art of bunting. Visualization is the key. We coaches tell batters where to bunt, but not everybody responds to verbal instruction. With Bunt Zone Protectors, players can see exactly WHERE to bunt suc-cessfully. It gives immediate feedback with no coaching help needed. And best of all, it s built into a tough mesh infi eld turf protector that we can use everyday at practice. This is a perma-

nent, always-on training system, not like the cones and other gadgets we ve used occasionally. The Bunt Zone Infi eld Protector can improve bunting skills at all levels of baseball.” Harry Tholen, Head Baseball Coach Santa Fe Community Col-lege, Gainesville, FL, President NJCAA Baseball Coaches Assn., NJCAA Baseball Hall of Fame Inductee, ABCA Director

Aer-Flo, Inc. Bradenton, FL 34203 800-823-7356www.aerflo.com

All trademarks noted are property of Aer-Flo, Inc.

© 2004: Aer-Flo, Inc.

Innovative Baseball Products

MULTIPLE PATENTS PENDING

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Request No. 141

Request No. 142

Coaching Management 12.7

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