Welcome Guest!
Create an Account
login email:
password:
site searchwhere to watchcontact usabout usadvertise with ushelp
Message Board

BobcatAttack.com Message Board
Ohio Baseball
Topic:  Coaching Staff

Topic:  Coaching Staff
Author
Message
Andrew Ruck
General User



Member Since: 12/22/2004
Location: Columbus, OH
Post Count: 4,671

Status: Offline

  Message Not Read  Coaching Staff
   Posted: 11/11/2019 1:20:34 PM 
I attended a coaches clinic in Columbus that was led by the Ohio coaching staff. Really enjoyed listening to these guys, and very nice of them to give up 4 hours to share their approaches, tips, drills, etc that they do. The coaching staff seemed really likable and knowledgeable. It was clear they do believe in analytics and more new-age personalized development plans. Heard a few comments about how excited they were about where the pitching is at right now.

Anyway, just really enjoyed and appreciated these guys. Looking forward to 2020!


Andrew Ruck
B.B.A. 2003

Back to Top
  
brucecuth
General User

Member Since: 12/21/2004
Post Count: 1,793

Status: Offline

  Message Not Read  RE: Coaching Staff
   Posted: 11/19/2019 5:31:01 PM 
Andrew Ruck wrote:
I attended a coaches clinic in Columbus that was led by the Ohio coaching staff. Really enjoyed listening to these guys, and very nice of them to give up 4 hours to share their approaches, tips, drills, etc that they do. The coaching staff seemed really likable and knowledgeable. It was clear they do believe in analytics and more new-age personalized development plans. Heard a few comments about how excited they were about where the pitching is at right now.

Anyway, just really enjoyed and appreciated these guys. Looking forward to 2020!


I follow Coach Smith on either Facebook or Twitter, forget which. He's constantly talking analytics as a means of maximizing a player's talent.
Back to Top
  
Donuts
General User

Member Since: 9/22/2010
Post Count: 713

Status: Offline

  Message Not Read  RE: Coaching Staff
   Posted: 11/20/2019 11:35:58 AM 
I know he's long gone now, but if the same approach was used with the old staff, the baseball team would have been so much better.

There was so much talent that came in and left the last 10-15 years of Carbone's career. Guys underutilized, not used correctly, etc. The lone eventual MLB pitcher Adam Russell being the most obvious example.

The training and game management was very archaic.

It's also not an excuse that analytics is a new thing. Sure, new analytics exist now, but teams have been properly using them for years.
Back to Top
  
spongeBOB CATpants
General User



Member Since: 8/16/2016
Post Count: 934

Status: Offline

  Message Not Read  RE: Coaching Staff
   Posted: 11/21/2019 10:46:53 AM 
Donuts wrote:
I know he's long gone now, but if the same approach was used with the old staff, the baseball team would have been so much better.

There was so much talent that came in and left the last 10-15 years of Carbone's career. Guys underutilized, not used correctly, etc. The lone eventual MLB pitcher Adam Russell being the most obvious example.

The training and game management was very archaic.

It's also not an excuse that analytics is a new thing. Sure, new analytics exist now, but teams have been properly using them for years.


I played for both Smith and Carbone, something not many alumni can say. Carbone was stuck in 1975 in all aspects of the game and had an ego like I've never seen, had no connection with kids this day in age. Those teams lacked confidence, drive, and played scared to make a mistake. The lack of championships speaks for itself.

Smith and co. are completely different. Always open to trying new things, creative, figuring out ways to maximize players' strengths and improving weaknesses. We may not have had the most talented roster in the MAC, but we would always bring it and were always the more confident team on the field. The MAC titles in a short period of time speaks for itself.

It all starts at the top and Schaus made the absolute right choice when they cleaned house.
Back to Top
  
Andrew Ruck
General User



Member Since: 12/22/2004
Location: Columbus, OH
Post Count: 4,671

Status: Offline

  Message Not Read  RE: Coaching Staff
   Posted: 11/25/2019 1:24:04 PM 
Interesting insider perspective, confirms what many of us suspected from the outside. There were a few mentions at the clinic that kind of rocked my world as a 13U travel coach.

1. They teach their catchers to catch with one knee down, regardless of game situation. Again on analytics, they mentioned the average number of chances per game to throw a runner out (like 2ish), blok a wild pitch (like 6ish), and receive a pitch (100+). Point being they want to position their catchers to be the best receivers of the pitch, everything else is secondary. With the knee down, everything is balanced and still and looks better to an ump. Both my boys are catchers and I spoke to them about it...my 10 year old liked the idea and my 12 year old refused to even consider it.

2. They avoid any BP that involves lobbed slow pitching. They want them to get used to seeing hard stuff so they bring it to them as best they can. They also rotate in and out every few pitches and avoid situations where a hitter gets 30some swings in one session. To that same point, they also put their hitters up against their pitchers as much as they can.

3. They believe too many youth programs focus too much on throwing strikes and sacrifice developing power as a result. They want to see their kids use an approach and mechanics to maximize velocity and then work to hone that control in from there...while many coaches like myself have the exact opposite approach. They feel the control then velocity is hard to execute from a muscle memory standpoint. I really gotta chew on this one.

4. A lot of really good focus on the mental aspect, positive thinking, preparation, etc. Good information that often gets skipped over.

Last Edited: 11/25/2019 1:27:11 PM by Andrew Ruck


Andrew Ruck
B.B.A. 2003

Back to Top
  
JSF
General User



Member Since: 1/29/2005
Location: Houston, TX
Post Count: 6,318

Status: Offline

  Message Not Read  RE: Coaching Staff
   Posted: 11/25/2019 6:12:02 PM 
spongeBOB CATpants wrote:
Donuts wrote:
I know he's long gone now, but if the same approach was used with the old staff, the baseball team would have been so much better.

There was so much talent that came in and left the last 10-15 years of Carbone's career. Guys underutilized, not used correctly, etc. The lone eventual MLB pitcher Adam Russell being the most obvious example.

The training and game management was very archaic.

It's also not an excuse that analytics is a new thing. Sure, new analytics exist now, but teams have been properly using them for years.


I played for both Smith and Carbone, something not many alumni can say. Carbone was stuck in 1975 in all aspects of the game and had an ego like I've never seen, had no connection with kids this day in age. Those teams lacked confidence, drive, and played scared to make a mistake. The lack of championships speaks for itself.

Smith and co. are completely different. Always open to trying new things, creative, figuring out ways to maximize players' strengths and improving weaknesses. We may not have had the most talented roster in the MAC, but we would always bring it and were always the more confident team on the field. The MAC titles in a short period of time speaks for itself.

It all starts at the top and Schaus made the absolute right choice when they cleaned house.


Not surprised. Watching Carbone games were never any fun. Body language of the players was so bad and I found myself saying, "Why are they doing that?" at least once every game.


"Loyalty to a hometown or city is fleeting and interchangeable, but college is a stamp of identity."- Kyle Whelliston, One Beautiful Season.

My blog about depression and mental illness: https://bit.ly/3buGXH8

Back to Top
  
JSF
General User



Member Since: 1/29/2005
Location: Houston, TX
Post Count: 6,318

Status: Offline

  Message Not Read  RE: Coaching Staff
   Posted: 11/25/2019 6:18:25 PM 
Andrew Ruck wrote:

1. They teach their catchers to catch with one knee down, regardless of game situation. Again on analytics, they mentioned the average number of chances per game to throw a runner out (like 2ish), blok a wild pitch (like 6ish), and receive a pitch (100+). Point being they want to position their catchers to be the best receivers of the pitch, everything else is secondary. With the knee down, everything is balanced and still and looks better to an ump. Both my boys are catchers and I spoke to them about it...my 10 year old liked the idea and my 12 year old refused to even consider it.


And, most importantly, it has to be waaaaay better on the knees.

Quote:
3. They believe too many youth programs focus too much on throwing strikes and sacrifice developing power as a result. They want to see their kids use an approach and mechanics to maximize velocity and then work to hone that control in from there...while many coaches like myself have the exact opposite approach. They feel the control then velocity is hard to execute from a muscle memory standpoint. I really gotta chew on this one.


Tennis and baseball are not the same thing at all, but this makes all the sense in the world to me. A lot of control is feel and you have to get used to the feel of amping up in order for it to work. I agree with this approach wholeheartedly.


"Loyalty to a hometown or city is fleeting and interchangeable, but college is a stamp of identity."- Kyle Whelliston, One Beautiful Season.

My blog about depression and mental illness: https://bit.ly/3buGXH8

Back to Top
  
Donuts
General User

Member Since: 9/22/2010
Post Count: 713

Status: Offline

  Message Not Read  RE: Coaching Staff
   Posted: 11/28/2019 2:41:39 PM 
Andrew Ruck wrote:

2. They avoid any BP that involves lobbed slow pitching. They want them to get used to seeing hard stuff so they bring it to them as best they can. They also rotate in and out every few pitches and avoid situations where a hitter gets 30some swings in one session. To that same point, they also put their hitters up against their pitchers as much as they can.


So no more lobbed BP with an assistant coach whipping their genitals out pre-pitch to prepare the team to beat "Testicle Tech."

That same coach also had some of the dumbest advice I've ever heard from a baseball mind. When doing drills, he kept yelling "keep swinging" like hitting balls off the tee was some type of speed contest. Yes, let's see how many terrible cuts we can squeeze into two minutes like that's going to help out with anything.
Back to Top
  
spongeBOB CATpants
General User



Member Since: 8/16/2016
Post Count: 934

Status: Offline

  Message Not Read  RE: Coaching Staff
   Posted: 12/3/2019 10:57:04 AM 
Donuts wrote:
Andrew Ruck wrote:

2. They avoid any BP that involves lobbed slow pitching. They want them to get used to seeing hard stuff so they bring it to them as best they can. They also rotate in and out every few pitches and avoid situations where a hitter gets 30some swings in one session. To that same point, they also put their hitters up against their pitchers as much as they can.


So no more lobbed BP with an assistant coach whipping their genitals out pre-pitch to prepare the team to beat "Testicle Tech."

That same coach also had some of the dumbest advice I've ever heard from a baseball mind. When doing drills, he kept yelling "keep swinging" like hitting balls off the tee was some type of speed contest. Yes, let's see how many terrible cuts we can squeeze into two minutes like that's going to help out with anything.


How that didn't make national headlines is still baffling to me.

The coaching staff called an emergency team meeting (at 6am btw) the first day back from Fall Break to tell us he would no longer be coaching. It was very strange considering the incident happened the year prior and a lot of the current team had not even been enrolled yet. The only reason the issue came to the surface was because a disgruntled player was cut and I believe may have threatened legal action. I can remember this meeting vividly. Lots of questions were left unanswered to say the least. Looking back, I wonder if this incident is ultimately why Carby retired.
Back to Top
  
BillyTheCat
General User

Member Since: 10/6/2012
Post Count: 9,420

Status: Offline

  Message Not Read  RE: Coaching Staff
   Posted: 12/3/2019 11:56:46 AM 
spongeBOB CATpants wrote:
Donuts wrote:
Andrew Ruck wrote:

2. They avoid any BP that involves lobbed slow pitching. They want them to get used to seeing hard stuff so they bring it to them as best they can. They also rotate in and out every few pitches and avoid situations where a hitter gets 30some swings in one session. To that same point, they also put their hitters up against their pitchers as much as they can.


So no more lobbed BP with an assistant coach whipping their genitals out pre-pitch to prepare the team to beat "Testicle Tech."

That same coach also had some of the dumbest advice I've ever heard from a baseball mind. When doing drills, he kept yelling "keep swinging" like hitting balls off the tee was some type of speed contest. Yes, let's see how many terrible cuts we can squeeze into two minutes like that's going to help out with anything.


How that didn't make national headlines is still baffling to me.

The coaching staff called an emergency team meeting (at 6am btw) the first day back from Fall Break to tell us he would no longer be coaching. It was very strange considering the incident happened the year prior and a lot of the current team had not even been enrolled yet. The only reason the issue came to the surface was because a disgruntled player was cut and I believe may have threatened legal action. I can remember this meeting vividly. Lots of questions were left unanswered to say the least. Looking back, I wonder if this incident is ultimately why Carby retired.


Interestingly enough this student went to another school, laid allegations that was dismissed when he did not get his way.
Back to Top
  
spongeBOB CATpants
General User



Member Since: 8/16/2016
Post Count: 934

Status: Offline

  Message Not Read  RE: Coaching Staff
   Posted: 1/8/2020 4:18:05 PM 
News today that the ROBcats brought back former GA, Mitch Mormann, as Pitching Coach and Recruiting Coordinator.

Mitch came from South Dakota State where he was the pitching coach for a few seasons.

He played a season with LSU before transferring to Wichita St and was also drafted twice before singing as a free agent after college.

I really like this hire as he is young and has pitched in high pressure situations for major programs.

Here's a link to his latest bio with SDSU:

https://gojacks.com/coaches.aspx?rc=1897
Back to Top
  
Donuts
General User

Member Since: 9/22/2010
Post Count: 713

Status: Offline

  Message Not Read  RE: Coaching Staff
   Posted: 1/8/2020 11:03:36 PM 
Where did the old pitching coach go?
Back to Top
  
spongeBOB CATpants
General User



Member Since: 8/16/2016
Post Count: 934

Status: Offline

  Message Not Read  RE: Coaching Staff
   Posted: 1/9/2020 10:25:26 AM 
Donuts wrote:
Where did the old pitching coach go?


You know I'm not sure they head one guy that served as the pitching coach, think it has been handled by committee.

Rob has deep pitching coach experience and he oversaw the pitchers when he first came in. Website has former starter Gerry Salisbury as "Director of Pitching Development" but I believe he still plays a professionally in the United Shore Professional Baseball league.

I know two assistants recently just left for positions in MLB organizations so this move is probably to fill a vacancy and give Rob a chance to help out with the positional players more.
Back to Top
  
Casper71
General User

Member Since: 12/1/2006
Post Count: 2,888

Status: Offline

  Message Not Read  RE: Coaching Staff
   Posted: 2/14/2021 6:45:23 PM 
Big dilemma?

If you can't throw strikes you won't be a big time pitcher no matter how hard you throw.

If you throw hard but cannot throw throw strikes you still won't be a big time pitcher.

The real news is you have to be able to throw hard and throw strikes. Doesn't make much difference which you learn first. Best to learn them both at the same time.

Personally, I never had problems throwing strikes I just couldn't throw hard (enough) no matter what I did so some of this is just in your genes!.

Last Edited: 2/14/2021 6:46:33 PM by Casper71

Back to Top
  
Showing Replies:  1 - 14  of 14 Posts
Jump to Page:  1
View Other 'Ohio Baseball' Topics
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             







Copyright ©2024 BobcatAttack.com. All rights reserved.  |  Privacy Policy  |  Terms of Use
Partner of USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties