My Journey as a Strength and Conditioning Coach Part 2

My first baseball practice at Mount Marty College, we split into groups to do some hitting drills. My partner was a transfer from South Dakota State, and he was also “Mr. Baseball South Dakota” his senior year. Safe to say, he was a much better ball player than I was. I'll never forget him flipping me some baseballs in a hitting drill and the look on his face watching me hit. It was similar to Spike in the movie Little Giants when he is practicing with the Giants and proclaims, "Spike's in hell, Spike's in pee wee hell." I realized quickly I didn't impress Robb.

I learned one of the most difficult things to do is to accurately judge yourself amongst your peers. I was real enough to know I wasn't the best, but I was convinced I had a chance to get a good amount of playing time. We would break into four hitting groups for our on-field batting practice routine. Group 1 was the top hitters in the line spots 1-4 typically, group 2 was 5-9, group 3 backups, and then group 4. I was in group four. I looked at the guys in my group and said to myself, "He stinks, he stinks, he stinks, he stinks, oh shit, I stink."

The season started and to say we struggled would be an understatement. We started the season 0-26. Brutal. If I remember correctly, we had 2 seniors, 1 junior, 6 sophomores, and 20+ freshmen, as well as a first year head coach. We didn't exactly think we were going to set the world on fire, but that season was still tough to handle. We managed to win 10 games, so we did figure some things out by the end. I went 1-10 hitting on the season, I managed to squeak a ground ball through the infield my last at bat of the season.

I worked harder than ever that off season. I came back to school at around 190 pounds. Much stronger, much faster, and a much better player. I had also decided I wanted to be a collegiate strength coach. I went 0-5 at the plate as a sophomore. Our team was much better, finishing over .500 and making the conference tournament.

After my sophomore season, I decided to transfer to the University of Wyoming. My girlfriend, now wife, went there and I thought going to a bigger school would help my chances of making it as a strength coach. Other than being with Leslie, UW wasn't for me. I missed my friends, and I missed baseball. Honestly, lecture halls with hundreds of people made it a little too easy for me to skip class, and I struggled. I decided to head back to Mount Marty and finish up.

I still had two years of eligibility, and I had come a long way both physically and as a baseball player, but the team had also continued to improve while I was away. I was going to keep working hard, but I knew there were no guarantees to see the field.

Something different about NAIA baseball is most programs have a JV team. There are so many kids on the roster that they have JV. I was playing well on JV, but our outfield was set, until our starting right fielder pulled his hamstring and was going to miss some time.

At the next JV game Coach Bernatow told us whoever played the best that game would get the starting spot. I led off and dropped a perfect drag bunt and started with a single. I was off to a good start. My roommate Blain was up next, he immediately hit a home run. Later on, my other roommate Steve hit a home run. All of a sudden, I wasn't the leader in the club

house. My final at bat I had a 3-0 count and Coach gave me the green light. I think he said, "liberate it" and I got a middle fastball that I drove over the wall for a home run.

Three of us were competing for one spot and we had all played great. Steve had the most experience, so I thought for sure he’d get the spot. Before I had seen the lineups, I thought I overheard someone say, Steve was starting in right field. He was my catch partner, and I was being a horrible teammate, throwing the ball hard and all over the place. After airmailing Steve one too many times, he finally yelled at me, "Stop being an F-in baby and check the line up, you're starting."

I was hitting 9th and playing right field. My first at bat I got a fastball away and hit it off the top of the right field wall and strolled into 3rd base with a stand-up triple. That gave me some confidence. My next at bat they tried inside, and I ripped a double to the left field gap. There was a runner on 2nd so the pitcher ran to cover home, and I remember hearing him say "who the F is this guy?" I stood on 2nd base wondering if there was enough season left to make all conference. My hard work was paying off.