Changing Roles

I've just completed my first two weeks here at NSU. It has been exciting and a thrill to be here at the DI level. But, I have come to realize that it's really not that different from level to level. I've discovered that these student-athletes are the same 18-22 year old kids. They may have a little more talent, but still struggle with life issues and how to play the game the correct way.

We had a scrimmage this weekend and it was surprising to see common mistakes made here just like coaching DIII or Junior college baseball. This does, however, help to confirm that I can make an impact here and know that I can coach at this level.

My role from the past 7 years has obviously changed, as I'm no longer the head man. I can only offer my opinions and need to persuade change as much as I can. The staff here has been great and we've been learning together, but seem to work well together so far.

With this change, I've started at the ground level and have duties that reflect that:

1. Fieldwork - mowing, raking, watering, weed-eating
2. Laundry when needed
3. Equipment room organization
4. Equipment ordering
5. Any duties required to make the team better

I also have outfield duties and hope to make them better this year. They struggled last year and this is a good chance to make them better and leave my mark.

I hope to have pictures soon, so keep checking on the site!

Southern Bound Travel

What a whirlwind of a week! I'll get into some details about my first week here at NSULA. But I wanted to share some thoughts on my trip down south. I left last Saturday and had a quick trip down to KC, MO. I spent the night at my uncle's house and had a good visit with them. I left for Arkadelphia, AR the next morning to spend the night with one of the coaches from the KC Grays team, Dirk Kinney. He just started at a NCAA DII school (Ouchita Baptist University) as the pitching coach and I was able to watch a few bullpen sessions with pitchers working out. This was a great opportunity to catch up with Dirk and continue to split up the trip. I was able to relax and watch the Cowboys beat up on the Giants.

Some of observations I had as I was driving down from Minnesota:

• How flat the Midwest really is
• The hills of Arkansas and how beautiful those mountains were
• The pace of life really slows down in the South, I forgot about that
• Down in the bayou of Louisiana feels a long way from Rochester

I arrived on campus of Northwestern around 10 am and literally got to work. It was a smooth drive down, but I did have to replace a O2 sensor in my car before I left Rochester! The car ran well after that and I had no other problems. It was a good trip and I'm glad to be here.