In Link Jarrett’s second season as head baseball coach at the University of Notre Dame he led the Fighting Irish to 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title and an NCAA Tournament berth. Notre Dame went 34-13 overall and 25-10 in the ACC and Jarrett was selected as Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association (Midwest), D1Baseball.com and the ACC. Jarrett, who established his system for Notre Dame baseball in the fall of 2019, spoke to the South Bend Cubs Foundation Coaches Club Tuesday, Jan. 11 at Four Winds Field. His audience included youth, high school and college coaches. A collegiate coach since 1999, Jarrett talked about what it means to carry that title. “There’s still expectation in that level that you have because you do the things to help (players) figure out how to be successful,” said Jarrett. In his experience, a coach should do the following:
Be accessible.
Study and Communicate.
Use Video, Chart, Compete, Score It.
Learn what motivates.
Instruct, Motivate, Inspire. Jarrett said being accessible means being there 45 minutes before practice for extra hitting cage work. It’s something that ND volunteer assistant Brad Vanderglas, who was in attendance Tuesday, knows well since he is the first coach to arrive at the office each day and the last to leave. As for studying and communicating, it’s about giving players the right information. “If you’re giving them the wrong information it’s not going to work,” said Jarrett. “You’re not going to ultimately be as successful as you would want. The older players start to figure out what works and what doesn’t. “If you want them to listen, you better give them the right stuff. You have an obligation to give them the right information. (You must) study what they do and how they do it and use your resources.” Jarrett suggests that something like a quick phone video of a player’s swing at practice and a review can be very helpful. To promote competition, especially during the winter months of what can be tedious indoor work, Jarrett keeps score with some of the drills. Motivation is not a cookie-cutter kind of thing. “It’s just one at a time and pushing the right buttons,” said Jarrett. “Like some guys can take being crawled on a little bit and some you might have to sandwich what you’re trying to message in between two good things so they don’t melt down. “If you’re not accessible and you don’t study and communicate, how can you learn what each guy needs and then give the right instruction?” J.T. Jarrett, Link’s son, is a fifth-year player at North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack’s head coach Elliott Avent, who constantly sends strong motivational and inspirational messages. Jarrett considers belief a part of inspiration. “Sometimes (players) have to think that they’re better than they are,” said Jarrett. “You almost can make them believe that they’re going to win just telling them that if we do this the right way — man — you guys we’re gonna win and win big. It’s almost a self-fulfilling prophecy. “If you can get them to buy in and understand that this you can do. That confidence, that swagger, that belief when they walk out there, it does matter.” Jarrett gave a presentation at the 2020 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association State Clinic on “Building Complete Hitters” and he shared many offensive pointers at Tuesday’s gathering. Among the concepts that he broke down was hitting approach. Jarrett, who was part of an ABCA virtual coaching clinic on hitting approach in 2020, defines approach as “a mental and physical strategy to competitive success.” Each hitter must develop their own approach. One size does not fit all. What made sense for lefty slugger Niko Kavadas did not necessarily apply to other hitters in the Irish lineup in 2021. The coach says there is no universal way to finish a swing. Hitters must be able adjust for hard stuff and off-speed pitches. “We’re just trying to flush up as many balls as we can flush up and (hitters) know that,” said Jarrett. “The line drive is the ticket. Kavadas (a Penn High School graduate who hit 22 home runs and was drafted by the Boston Red Sox) missed some and they go out (to the opposite field). The hard ground ball and the hard fly ball are productive. But the goal in this is to how hard can you hit it on a line.” Looking for his ND hitters to do damage, Jarrett says a .400 on-base percentage is elite in major college baseball and he wants his club to average seven runs per game and make a third of all hits to go for extra bases — something that’s not easy at Frank Eck Stadium where the wind tends to always be a factor. “Somebody’s got to step on some balls because you don’t get enough opportunities against good pitching to string together 12 singles,” said Jarrett, who saw the 2021 Irish average post a .379 team OBP with 7.06 runs per game and 166 extra-base hits (36.8 percent). Notre Dame opens the 2022 season Feb. 18 against Manhattan in Deland, Fla. The first home game is slated for March 15 against Valparaiso.
The next South Bend Cubs Foundation Coaches Club session in the Pepsi Stadium Club (second floor) at Four Winds Field is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 8. Notre Dame’s Rich Wallace will talk on base coaching. All are invited. Admission is free.
Clay Woeste just played in the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, where he made the all-tournament team as Indiana University Southeast’s starting second baseman and lead-off hitter. The NAIA Ball Podcast selected righty swinger Woeste (.374, 8 home runs, 21 runs batted in, 89 runs scored, 38 stolen bases and a 1.053 OPS) as second-team All-America and Grenadiers head coach Ben Reel as National Coach of the Year. While finishing fifth in its first World Series appearance, IUS went 50-16 overall and 26-1 in the River States Conference. At 22, Woeste (pronounced Wee-Stee) can look back on many baseball memories. “It was surreal,” says Woeste of playing in Lewiston. “That’s the best way to describe it. “That’s all we ever talked about and we were finally there.” But once the games began, it was all-business for the Grenadiers. “We would do what you’ve been doing all year,” says Woeste. “Our guys were so special to be around. “No matter what was thrown our way we found a way to get through it.” During the season, shortstop Daunte DeCelllo went out with an injury and Woeste moved to that side of the infield. DeCello came back at the end of year then RSC Player of the Year Matt Monahan got hurt and missed the postseason. Yet IUS just kept going. “No matter what was thrown our way we found a way to get through it,” says Woeste. Reel, who just completed his 13th campaign at the school in New Albany, has built a national power with limited resources. “He has the ability to recruit amazing guys and he does with only one scholarship,” says Woeste. “It’s amazing. “We work really hard in the fall and when we go out in the spring he just lets us play. We reap what we sow.” Woeste considers his athletic quality to be the work ethic and durability that has helped him stay on the field day in and day out. “I keep my body healthy,” says Woeste, a 6-foot-1, 195-pounder. That body has stolen 89 bases in 97 attempts from 2018-21. “My sophomore year I came into my own stealing bases (swiping 34-of-34),” say Woeste. “Coach Reel saw that and started leading off all the time and I was pretty much given the green light.” Woeste was supposed to play in the Coastal Plain League in the summer of 2020 but when the COVID-19 pandemic caused that loop to shutdown he took on with the Thoroughbreds in the Louisville Collegiate League, which played most its games at Trinity High School. This summer, Woeste is with the CPL’s Holly Springs (N.C.) Salamanders, coached by Kevin Soine. With a double major (Professional Selling and Marketing) and a minor (Communication) already completed, he plans to return to IU Southeast for his pandemic-related extra year of baseball eligibility. The diamond has been a big part of his life all these years. But that was not his first sport. Clay had his hand on the throttle before he really had his hand on a bat. At 5, he was racing 50 cc machines in motocross. His parents — Matt and Karen Woeste — moved from northern Kentucky to Aurora, Ind., so fourth grader Clay could ride on a track owned by the family of Ezra Hastings (who is now a professional motocross racer). Since there was no motocross in the winter, Clay played basketball in the winter. His hoops coach — Bill Rose — persuaded him to play in what is now called Aurora Youth Baseball. “I never really turned back after that,” says Woeste, who raced until 11 and placed in the top three twice and won at the Amateur National Motocross Championships at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn., then turned more and more attention to the diamond. When he reached middle school, Woeste played for the Cincinnati Tribe travel organization. During his high school years, he was with Reds RBI team coached by Roosevelt Barnes, father of Tribe teammate R.J. Barnes. “We got close and I went with him,” says Clay of R.J. Roosevelt Barnes is now also the head baseball coach at LaSalle High School in Green Township, Ohio. Woeste played briefly during his senior summer for the Midland RedHawks and then that fall with the Midland Redskins. After attending South Dearborn schools for grades 4-8 and transferred to Lawrenceburg (Ind.) High School as a freshman and played four baseball seasons for Tigers head coach Nick Tremain. “He was a great coach with us,” says Woeste. “My freshmen year he was more hands-on and harder. He developed us so that by the time we were seniors we just went out and played “That’s why we were so good our senior year.” In 2017, Lawrenceburg (31-2) won the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference and IHSAA Class 3A South Dearborn Sectional then topped Boonville 7-5 in the semifinals of the North Harrison Regional before bowing 4-2 to eventual state champion Jasper in the final.
Clay Woeste (IU Southeast Photo)
Clay Woeste hits for Indiana University Southeast during the 2021 NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho. (IU Southeast Photo)
Because of the COVID-19 situation, the induction ceremony will not take place until the Hall of Fame banquet at the 2022 IHSBCA State Clinic in Indianapolis.
More information for the ceremony itself and availability of tickets will follow next fall as the banquet date approaches.
Inquires can be directed to IHSBCA Executive Director and Hall of Famer Brian Abbott (babbott@ctlnet.com).
McIntyre, a graduate of Jeffersonville High School who played for Hall of Fame coach Don Poole, has coached for 25 years at New Albany High School. His teams have gone 533-218 with five Hoosier Hills Conference titles, 10 second championships and one regional title. The Bulldogs have reach the IHSAA Final Eight three times on McIntyre’s watch.
He is a four-time IHSBCA district and five-time Hoosier Hills Conference coach of the year.
McIntyre has coached 13 IHSBCA South All-Stars, more than 40 players who have gone on to play college baseball with three players selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft and two big leaguers.
Chris, a high school math teacher at New Albany, and wife Shannon have two sons — Tyler and Kevin.
Umpire Robinson is a graduated of Harry E. Wood High School in Indianapolis and Indiana University Kokomo. He played one year of high school baseball and started umpiring high school games in 1980 and enjoyed a 35-year career.
Robinson worked 33 sectionals. 25 regionals, 14 semistates and six state championships. He worked six IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series and was named an IHSBCA Umpire of the Year five times.
In 1994, Robinson was elected to the National Federation Baseball Rules Committee and served from 1995-1998.
In 2002, he was named IHSAA/NFOA Baseball Official of the Year and he was named as the National Federation Distinguished Official of the Year. James coached Babe Ruth and American Legion baseball for 10 years.
Robinson has been a high school and college referee in football. He worked six years in NCAA Division II and seven years in the Mid-American Conference.
He has also refereed the state basketball finals and the state football finals. Later in his career, he became a replay official for the MAC and then moved to the Big Ten. He was a replay official in the National Championship game in 2014 at the Rose Bowl between Florida State and Auburn.
Robinson has served on the Howard County Sports Hall of Fame board of directors.
James and his wife Nada (deceased) have one daughter and a grandson: Chiquita and Kameron.
Allen played his collegiate baseball at Purdue University, where he was twice named team MVP.
A winner of six varsity letters, Allen was also the quarterback and the MVP of the 1960 football team, helping the Boilers to win over No. 1 Minnesota, No. 12 Notre Dame as well as Ohio State. He out-dueled Fran Tarkenton in the annual Blue-Gray Game.
Allen was an All-American shortstop for Purdue in 1961 and signed with the Minnesota Twins.
A second baseman for most of his pro career, the 6-foot-185-pounder played in more than 1,100 Major League Baseball games for the Twins (making his debut in 1962), Washington Senators, New York Yankees and Montreal Expos.
After his playing career, Allen moved back to his native Liverpool, Ohio — the Pottery Capital of the World — and worked for Ferro Corp. for 17 years.
He moved to Carmel, Ind., in the mid 1980s and has never left. Allen, who has been married for 51 years and has one son, three daughters, a step-son, a step-daughter, 16 total grandchildren and three great grandkids.
Greenlee (South Putnam High School, Indiana State University and Ball State University graduate) won 503 games in a 28-year career with 25 years at Kankakee Valley High School in Wheatland, Ind.
His KV teams won three sectionals, two regionals and seven conference championships. He was the 2013 IHSBCA North All-Star head coach and has served on numerous IHSBCA committees and served 16 years as athletic director at four different schools.
MARK GROVE
Grove (Bluffton High School and Ball State University graduate) coached Churubusco (Ind.) High School to 513 wins with nine sectionals, four regionals and one semistate (1995).
His teams also won nine Northeast Corner Conference championships (four tournament titles) and two Allen County Athletic Conference crowns.
Forty of Grove’s players played college baseball and one was selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. He coached 25 all-staters, six IHSBCA North All-Stars and was honored as a district coach of the year several times.
Grove has been on many IHSBCA committees and currently helps out at the State Clinic registration table. He has been a mentor to many coaches and is always a willing participant/organizer for clinics and youth baseball events.
DEAN LEHRMAN
Lehrman (Heritage High School and Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne graduate) pitched four seasons at IPFW.
He has coached high school baseball for 42 years — nine at Woodlan and 33 at Heritage in Monroeville, Ind. His teams have won 602 games and 12 Allen County Athletic Conference championships.
He is an eight-time ACAC Coach of the Year and has been an IHSBCA District Coach of the Year and twice been on the IHSBCA North/South All-Stars coaching staff.
Lehrman’s teams have won eight sectionals, three regionals, one semistate and made three Final Four appearances. His 2007 squad was state runners-up. He has also coached football for 39 years with six as head coach (40-26).
Dean, a high school mathematics teacher, and wife Janice Lehrman have three children — Camryn, Derek and Ryne — plus three grandchildren.
CHRIS MCINTYRE
McIntrye (Jeffersonville High School and Indiana University Southeast graduate) played at Jeffersonville for IHSBCA Hall of Famer Don Poole.
Mac’s coaching career began as an assistant to Clarksville (Ind.) High School to IHSBCA Hall of Famer Wayne Stock.
In 25 years as New Albany (Ind.) High School coach, McIntyre has a record of 533-218 with five Hoosier Hills Conference titles, 10 sectional championships and one regional tile with three Final Eight appearances.
He is a four-time District Coach of the Year and five-time conference coach of the year.
McIntyre was IHSBCA President in 2014, has served on numerous committees and has been an IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series three times. He has coached 13 South All-Stars and sent more than 40 players to college baseball. Three of his players have been selected in the MLB Draft and two have played in the majors.
Chris, a high school mathematic teacher at New Albany, and wife Shannon McIntyre have two sons — Tyler and Kevin.
GARY ROGERS
Rogers (Merrillville High School and Huntington College graduate) spent 32 seasons as head coach at Fort Wayne (Ind.) Bishop Luers High School and has been in charge at Leo for two seasons.
His teams have won 513 games with Luers taking four sectionals, one regional and one semistate. The 2008 state won a state championship.
Rogers was a State Coach of the Year in 2008 and a two-time IHSBCA District Coach of the Year. He has been on numerous IHSBCA committees and is very active in the Fort Wayne baseball community. He has served as a volunteer assistant at Indiana Tech for many seasons and worked with the Wildcat League for 33 years and serves on the board of the Northeast Indiana Baseball Association and is an NEIBA Hall of Famer.
LEA SELVEY
Selvey (Redkey High School, University of Evansville and Ball State University graduate) has spent his entire coaching career at Jay County High School in Portland, Ind. — five as an assistant and 31 as head coach — and has a career record of 502-333.
His teams have won seven sectionals and three regionals plus five Olympic Conference and one Allen County Athletic Conference title. He was conference coach of the year three times.
Very active in the IHSBCA, Selvey has served as president, a regional representative and on several committees. He has been an assistant coach in the IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series two times. He has also been a regional coach of the year and coached 14 All-Stars and numerous players who went on to play in college with three drafted by MLB and two others in independent or overseas baseball.
Selvey has been active in community and junior high baseball and has been active nine years with the Summit City Sluggers travel organization.
Lea, a high school science teacher, and wife Denise Selvey have three three children — Josh, Kyle and Kristen.
STEVE STRAYER
Strayer (Prairie Heights High School, Manchester College and Indiana University Northwest graduate) coached at Boone Grove High School in Valparaiso, Ind., and is going into his 19th season at Crown Point (Ind.) High School. His overall coaching record is 619-227 with 15 conference titles, 14 sectional crowns and nine regional championships.
His Crown Point teams have won 396 games and numerous sectional and regional titles to go along with eight Dunelond Athletic Conference crowns. He was named District Coach of the Year three times and served as IHSBCA President and was a 2005 IHSBCA North/South All-Series coach. He has coached 12 Indiana All-Stars and 63 players have gone on to play college baseball (23 in NCAA Division I).
Strayer teaches high school mathematics and resides in Crown Point with wife Jennifer and daughter Charlotte.
TIM TERRY
Terry (Clinton High School and Indiana State University graduate) played football, basketball and baseball at Clinton and began his coaching journey in 1980 with one season at Turkey Run High School in Marshall, Ind., and has spent the past 38 years as head coach at South Vermillion High School. His career mark is 604-357.
His teams have won nine Wabash River Conference titles, eight sectionals and one regional while finishing in the Final Eight three times and the Final Four once.
Terry has led the Wildcats to 20-plus wins 10 times and coached six IHSBCA All-Stars with numerous all-state players. He has been named an IHSBCA district coach of the year twice and served as IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series coach and participated on many IHSBCA committees.
He has coached at the Little League, Pony League, Babe Ruth and American Legion levels and was the head girls basketball coach at South Vermillion for 34 years with two conference titles, five sectionals and 295 wins.
Currently in his 42nd year in education, Terry was at Turkey Run for two years before coming to South Vermillion. Besides head baseball coach, he is currently the school’s athletic director.
Tim and wife Kim, a high school science teacher, have four sons — T.J. (22), Canton (20, Cooper (18) and Easton (14). Tim’s baseball memories are centered around his boys.
WALLACE JOHNSON
Johnson (Gary Roosevelt High School and Indiana State University graduate) played for IHSBCA Hall of Famer Bob Warn at ISU. Johnson was co-captain for the Sycamores’ first Missouri Valley Conference championship team and first NCAA tournament participant. He had a career .422 average and led the nation in regular-season hitting (.502). He was selected to the ISU Athletics Hall of Fame.
Johnson was selected in the sixth round of the 1979 MLB Draft by the Montreal Expos. He was MVP of the Florida State League and later played on championship teams in Denver (1981) and Indianapolis (1986).
He made his MLB debut in 1981 and went on to become the Expos’ all-time leader in pinch hits (86). In 428 big league games, he hit .255 with five homers and 59 RBIs. After retirement as a player, he was third base coach for the Chicago White Sox for five seasons.
A.J. REED
Reed (Terre Haute South Vigo High School who played at the University of Kentucky) played for Kyle Kraemer at South Vigo and was the Indiana Player of the Year and MVP of the IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series in 2011.
The IHSBCA record book lists Reed sixth in single-season homers (18 in 2011) and sixth in career homers (41 from 2008-11).
At UK, Reed’s awards were many, including Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, Golden Spikes (nation’s top amateur player), Dick Howser Trophy, ABCA and Baseball America College Player of the Year, John Olerud Trophy, several first-team All-America teams, Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger National Player of the Year. In 2012, he was on several Freshman All-America teams.
Reed was chosen in the second round of the 2014 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros and was a minor league all-star in 2015, 2017 and 2018. He won the Joe Bauman Award twice for leading Minor League Baseball in homers. He was the California League MVP and Rookie of the Year with Lancaster in 2015.
He smacked 136 homers in 589 minor league games. He played in 62 MLB contests with the Astros and Chicago White Sox and finished with four homers and 12 RBIs.
He retired from baseball in March 2020 and resides in Riley, Ind., with wife Shelby and their two dogs. He plans to return to college in January 2021 to finish his bachelor’s degree.
JAMEY CARROLL
Carroll (Castle High School graduate who played at the University of Evansville) played at Castle in Newburgh, Ind., for Dave Sensenbrenner and Evansville for Jim Brownlee. He was an All-American in his senior year of 1996. He name appears 27 times in the Purple Aces baseball record book.
He was drafted in the 14th round of the 1996 MLB Draft by the Montreal Expos. In his 12-year big league career with the Expos/Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals, he produced a 16.6 WAR, 1,000 hits, 13 homers, a .272 average, 560 runs, 265 RBIs, 74 stolen bases, a .349 on-base percentage and .687 OPS (on-base plus slugging).
Carroll scored the last run in Expos history. He led National League second basemen in fielding percentage in 2006. In 2007, his sacrifice fly plated Matt Holliday to win the NL Wild Card Game.
He currently works in the front office for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jamey and Kim Carroll have 11-year-old twins — Cole and Mackenzie.
RAY MILLER
Miller (who died in 2017) took over the Portland (Ind.) Rockets in 1972 and won more than 900 games in more than 30 years as manager.
In 1992, Miller became American Amateur Baseball Congress state secretary and moved the Indiana tournament to Portland. He managed the Rockets to state titles in 1985, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2004 and 2006.
An ambassador for baseball, Miller sent more than 30 former players into the high school or college coaching ranks.
In 2000, the Rockets named their home facility Ray Miller Field. In 2002, Miller was the first inductee into the Indiana Semi-Pro Baseball Hall of Fame.
Randy Miller, Ray’s son, is the current Portland Rockets manager.
JAMES ROBINSON
Robinson (Indianapolis Wood High School and Indiana University Kokomo graduate) played one year of high school baseball.
He began umpiring high school games in 1980 and worked for 35 years with 33 sectionals, 25 regionals, 14 semistates and six State Finals. He umpired six IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series and was voted IHSBCA Umpire of the Year five times.
In 1994, Robinson was elected to the National Federation Distinguished Official of the Year. He also coached Babe Ruth and American Legion baseball for 10 years.
He has been a football official at the high school and college level and worked six years in NCAA Division II and seven in the Mid-American Conference. He has been a replay official for the MAC and Big Ten Conference. He was a replay official for the 2014 National Championship game at the Rose Bowl between Florida State and Auburn.
James and late wife Nada has one daughter and one grandson — Chiquita and Kameron.
DAVE TAYLOR
Taylor (Southmont High School and Wabash College graduate) was a Little Giants captain and was in college when he began his coaching career. He led teams at the Little League, Babe Ruth, AAU and American Legion levels.
During an AAU coaching stint in Florida, Taylor realized the level of travel baseball and how Indiana was underrepresented in this arena. He formed the Indiana Bulls travel organization with the vision of providing Indiana high school player the opportunity to pursue their college and MLB dreams.
In 1992, the Bulls sponsored two teams and Taylor coached future MLB players Scott Rolen and Todd Dunwoody. Taylor coached the Bulls for four more seasons, served as president for 10, an officer for 20 and has been a director since 1992.
His vision was realized. More than 170 Bulls players have been drafted by MLB (12 in the first round) and over 300 players have received NCAA Division I scholarships. The Bulls have won 22 national titles, a professional staff works 12 months a year and currently field 25 teams from ages 8 to 17. Several of these teams are coached by former professionals who were Bulls players.
Taylor resides in Brownsburg, Ind., and is a leading insurance defense trial attorney. He has served 20 years as a certified Major League Baseball Players Association agent and represented more than 100 pro players and continues to represent former players in various legal matters.
Deadline for returning the IHSBCA Hall of Fame ballot, which appears in the October newsletter, is Oct. 31.
The IHSBCA State Clinic is scheduled for Jan. 15-17 at Sheraton at Keystone at the Crossing. The Hall of Fame and awards banquet will be held at a later time because of COVID-19 restrictions at the hotel.
At various times, the Knights practiced at Tillman Park and played games at McMillen Park, Concordia Seminary and Indiana Tech.
“I’m like a kid in a candy store with my own field,” says Rogers, who is in his second season at Leo Junior/Senior High School in 2019.
Rogers landed at Leo as a guidance counselor when Harding High School closed as a high school, but continued to coach at Luers.
When Dave Boyce stepped away and left an opening at the top of the Lions program, Rogers took the opportunity to coach at the same place where he works during the day.
Having his own diamond is a big plus. Leo is the lone tenant at a field that has seen plenty of upgrades since Rogers took over.
“The kids have really worked hard on this field in the two years that I’ve been here,” says Rogers. “We’re still not done.”
Leo’s baseball field has two new hitting tunnels on the third base side with excess turf from the football field.
Last year, 80 tons of infield dirt material was brought in. The mound was re-built. Using 40 more tons of material, the warning track was extended around Thanksgiving time.
Also last fall, lips were cut out, new sod was planted and the home plate area was lifted.
“Your field is a reflection of your program,” says Rogers. “I’ve always felt that way.”
“He was always on the field doing something and we wondered what he was doing,” says Rogers of the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association and National Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer. “Now, I understand that really well.”
With just one gym at Luers, the location of indoor workouts was not a certainty for Rogers and his teams. It may still get crowded, but there is a main gym and auxiliary available at Leo Junior/Senior, a part of East Allen County Schools.
“I love that logo because I’m a White Sox guy,” says Rogers.
The coach considers himself to be “old school.”
“Everybody wears the uniform the same,” says Rogers. “We’re either all up (with the socks) or all down. We ask them to get haircuts. Those are my things.
“As for the baseball, we always work and always hustle. We want to be the first ones on the field and the first ones off the field. We want to get after every ball.
“I’m trying to teach the game the right way. I disagreed with Bryce Harper when he said there is no right way to play the game. I believe there is.”
One former player really took the Rogers’ insistence on hustle.
While he grew physically after high school and was very talented athletically, Kevin Kiemaier worked his way to the major leagues. He is now the starting center fielder for the Tampa Bay Rays.
Rogers cherishes the memory of visiting Kiemaier while he was in rookie ball and him telling his former coach, “the rays like me because I’m a program guy. That serves me well.”
A three-sport athlete at Luers (football, basketball and baseball), Kiemaier demonstrated his athleticism while on the mound in the 2008 South Bend Semistate championship game against Boone Grove. A ball was smashed up the middle and Kiermaier stabbed it behind his back.
“He doesn’t make that play if he’s not an athlete,” says Rogers.
Winning pitcher Kiermaier led off and hurled the first five innings before going to shortstop as Luers beat Elwood 14-9 to win the IHSAA Class 2A state championship in 2008. That capped a school year in which the Knights also took state crowns in football and basketball.
Besides the state championship, Rogers-coached Luers baseball squads won four sectionals, one regional and one semistate.
He was an Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2008 and has earned district COTY honors twice.
Very involved in the Fort Wayne diamond community, Rogers has been part of Wildcat Baseball League since former Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran and IHSBCA Hall of Famer Jack Massucci asked him to help more than three decades ago. He started as director at Northwood Middle School, moved to St. Joe Little League then took on an administrative role.
Rogers played at Huntington College (now Huntington University) and graduated in 1978. He was a sophomore when Dave Goodmiller (now head coach at Norwell High School) was a senior. The two went on the play together in Fort Wayne’s Stan Musial League with Blackie’s Rib Corral and Mexican Joe’s. Rogers was the head coach for the North for the IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series at Notre Dame in 2008. Dave Goodmiller was an assistant and his son, Rhett Goodmiller, played in the game.
On April 23, 2019, Rogers earned career victory No. 500 against Norwell.
Rogers was an assistant to Don Hummel at New Haven and Larry Gerardo at Luers before taking over that program.
The 2018 Leo squad went 19-8. The 2019 team was 18-3 through May 13.
Alex Bireley, Christian Brubaker, Chase Chaney, Ryan Hackworth, Chance McMaken, Tyler Parker and A.J. Restivo are seniors on the current Leo squad. Hackworth has committed to play baseball at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio.
Rogers’ assistants are Brent Davis, Brian Turner and Jim Sickafoose with the varsity and Tom Miller and Mitch Meinholtz with the junior varsity. Davis is a New Haven graduate. Turner went to Fort Wayne Snider and played for Indiana Tech when Hershberger was a head coach and Rogers an assistant. Sickafoose is a former Central Noble head coach. There are 33 players in the program in 2019.
The Lions are part of an IHSAA Class 3A sectional grouping with Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran, Garrett, New Haven and Columbia City. Leo has earned eight sectional crowns — the last in 2012.
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