Floyd Central alum Lozado now coaching at UT Martin

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Alex Lozado is making the transition from college baseball player to coach.
Lozado was a right-handed pitcher at the University of South Florida after serving as a pitcher and infielder at Gulf Coast State College in Panama City, Fla.
In 2021, he made five mound appearances for USF and posted a 3.18 earned run average and 1.06 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) in 5 2/3 innings.
The Billy Mohl-coached USF Bulls won the American Athletic Conference tournament and advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals.
One thing that stands out about Mohl is the way he cared. When Lozado and his roommates experienced a gas leak at their apartment, the coach was quick to help.
“He would always tell us that if we got in any trouble — no matter what time it is — to make sure he is our first call,” says Lozado. “I gave him a call at 2 a.m. He said, ‘I’m going to set up the guest bed rooms for you guys. Come on over and stay at my place.’
“Mol is a great coach, but even a better person.”
Lozado, whose playing career was ended by an elbow injury, graduated from South Florida in 2022 with a degree in Communications.
At Gulf Coast State, Lozado played in 66 games (63 starts) in 2019 and 2020 and hit .268 with two home runs, 28 runs batted in and 28 runs scored. He also made 18 trips to the mound (nine starts) and went 5-2 with four saves, a 3.77 ERA, 56 strikeouts and 11 walks in 62 innings. During the COVID-19-shorted 2020 season, he was 4-2 with a 2.61 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 42 strikeouts and five walks in 41 1/3 innings. He hurled the first four innings of a combined no-hitter against Faulkner.
“I was a big-time change-up guy,” says Lozado. “I got the point with my elbow where I couldn’t bend my slider as well.
“Change-up was definitely my pitch.”
The Mike Kandler-coached Commodores went 44-28 during Lozado’s two-year stint.
“I loved Kandler,” says Lozado. “He pushed you real hard, but at the end of the day he’s going to let you know that he loves and cares about you and is going to do anything for your best interests.”
Lozado is glad he went the JUCO route.
“Graduating from high school at 17 my dad though junior college was probably the best option for me and it was,” says Lozado. “I saw a lot of progress not only from high school to college and from my freshman to sophomore year but grew as a person and a player.”
Alex (22) is the oldest of Willie and Karen Lozado’s two children. Floyd Central, graduate Mia Lozado (19) is a junior at the University of Louisville.
Willie Lozado, who comes from a Puerto Rican family, was born in the Bronx and went to high school in Brooklyn. The third baseman/shortstop was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 1977, did not sign and was then selected by the Milwaukee Brewers out of Miami Dade College in 1978.
He met Karen while playing for Triple-A Louisville. Willie played 43 games for Milwaukee in 1984. His only MLB home run — a three-run shot — came on Sept. 11 against Boston’s Steve Crawford at Fenway Park.
Willie later coached at Floyd Central.
Born in Louisville, Alex grew up in Sellersburg, Ind. The family moved up the hill to Georgetown, Ind., his junior year at Floyd Central.
A former Kentucky Baseball Club travel ball player and 2018 graduate of Floyd Central High School (Floyds Knobs, Ind.), Lozado earned three letters and earned all-area, all-Hoosier Hills Conference and Pitcher of the Year honors (he posted a 1.30 ERA as a junior and 1.80 as a senior) while playing for Highlanders head coach Casey LaDuke.
“He has a fire to win that is almost unmatched,” says Lozado of LaDuke.
Lozado arrived at the University of Tennessee at Martin in August as a volunteer assistant coach for the NCAA Division I Skyhawks.
The connection was made through a relationship between USF pitching coach Karsten Whitson and UT Martin hitting coach Pat Cottrell.
Working on a staff led by Ryan Jenkins, Lozado works with outfielders and does a myriad of things, including hitting fungos and pitching batting practice.
Lozado is working at the Play’n Sports vendor booth at the 2023 American Baseball Coaches Association Convention which runs Jan. 5-8 in Nashville.

Alex Lozado. (University of Tennessee at Martin Photo)

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Beemer brings energy as new Butler Bulldogs field boss

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Blake Beemer was hired as head baseball coach at NCAA Division I Butler University in Indianapolis in June 2022.
Beemer, a former first baseman at Ball State University (2010-13) and volunteer assistant at Penn State University (2014-15) and assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at both Eastern Illinois University (2016-18) and Ball State (2019-22), brings a style to his players he describes as energetic.
“They’ll get energy from me,” says Beemer, 31. “They’ll get dirt honesty. And I think that’s going to help build relationships.
“Guys are going to know where they stand. They’re going to know I care about them. They’re going to know who I am as a human being. Really building those relationships in that foundation will allow us to build toughness and accountability. We’ll build it with with energy will build relationships.”
As an assistant coach and the recruiting coordinator at Ball State over the past four seasons, Beemer helped the Cardinals to a 123-65 record with a Mid-American Conference regular-season championship and an appearance in the MAC Tournament championship game in 2022.
“I learned under one of the best in the business under (Ball State head coach) Rich Maloney,” says Beemer, who earned two degrees from BSU — a bachelor’s degree in 2012 and an Masters of Business Administration in 2014. “I’ve had a chance to see success at a high level through him.
“I think I know the state pretty well. I know what it takes to win him in major baseball. And I’ve got the energy to make sure this thing gets going.
“It’s a cool opportunity. I can tell you I’m very humbled to have this chance. And it’s a neat opportunity. This place can be a rock show. I mean, Butler has everything from the academic side to the location to facilities we can we can really win. Not to mention it’s a great conference (the Big East which also includes baseball-playing members Connecticut, Creighton, Georgetown, St. John’s, Seton Hall. Villanova and Xavier). It’s a it’s a really cool opportunity.”
The Bulldogs went 20-35-1 overall and 4-16-1 in the Big East in 2022. It was the last season for the retiring Dave Schrage.
What does it take to win at the mid-major level?
“First off you’ve got to you got to do the recruiting right.” says Beemer. “I mean you win with players and you win with people. So in recruiting we’re after land guys that that are tough. I think in college baseball, you win with toughness.
“I think it takes execution. And at Ball State what we did there was we tried to get really good on the mound. And I think here we’ve got to get really good on the mound (at Butler). If you have some horses that can carry you along ways and baseball.
“And so I think you’ll see an increased emphasis to help us get better on the bump and to get tougher and to execute at a high level. Baseball is the same everywhere, right? Good pitching, defense and timely hitting. If you do those three things, you’ll be alright.”
With building toughness in mind, Beemer has his Bulldogs waking up at 5 a.m. for workouts. They’re doing sprint work and some other training to which they have not been exposed.
“I think that there is a energy level that you have to be able to get through whether it’s strength training, speed training, conditioning or for our practice,” says Beemer. “I mean we’re having long practices that the energy has been great, but you build toughness that way.
“We’re going to have games that are three and a half hours. We have to have great intent, great focus and great energy in the ninth inning the same as we do when we start the game. That day-in and day-out consistency, that’s where you build toughness.”
With a national reputation at Butler, thanks in large part to the recent success of the Bulldogs basketball program, Beemer sees a expanded recruiting footprint for the private school.
That means getting some players from the New York City or Washington D.C. areas.
“It’s a great degree,” says Beemer. “We just came out in U.S. News and World Report as the No. 1 Midwest regional university in the country. It’s an unbelievable education and I think that speaks volumes across the country.”
Beemer’s staff includes assistant coach, pitching coach Ross Learnard, assistant coach Bladen Bales and volunteer coach Dan Wilcher.
Learnard pitched at Parkland College and Purdue University (he was a two-time All-American) and coached at Illinois State University and Purdue. His duties with the Boilermakers focused on pitching analytics and team operations.
“(Coach Learnard) is really, really detailed and connects with our guys at a high level,” says Beemer. “He’s a great pitching mind I keep telling everybody. I think he’ll be in the SEC. He’ll be an elite pitching coach at one of the high-end jobs within the next seven years. just think I think he’s a stud.
“He develops arms as well. He knows how to take care of the guys. He sees things that are really advanced level.”
Bales was with Beemer at Ball State in 2022. Before that he coached at Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Neb., and managed the Nebraska City American Legion junior team to a state runner-up finish in 2017. He has also coached the Lakeshore Chinooks of the summer collegiate Northwoods League.
Bales played at McCook (Neb.) Community College and Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln.
“He’s a tireless worker,” says Beemer of Bales. “He has a great eye for talent and recruiting.
“I’ve known Dan (Wilcher) for years. We both grew up in Dayton, Ohio. And Dan helps lead our infield play, a lot of our throwing progressions and throwing programs and helps with field maintenance (at Bulldog Park). He’s our Swiss Army knife. He does it all for us.”
The first two weeks of fall practice at Butler was for individuals. Team practice began on Labor Day and will go until mid-October with intrasquad games twice a week. After that, there will be a transition back to individuals.
“Everybody’s new so it’s a clean slate for everybody is what I’ve been telling our guys,” says Beemer. We get to play outside opponents (Frontier Community College on noon Oct. 1 at home and Ball State Oct. 8 in Muncie). But every day is evaluation, whether it’s an intrasquad, in the weight room or just a BP session, our guys are always being evaluated the same way.
“They’re evaluating me. They’re seeing what my coaching style is. They’re seeing how I instruct things. I think that in today’s world, just understand you’re always under a microscope. You’re always being evaluated. Our guys know that. And so every day we’re trying to have competition. We want to get better every day and and move this thing forward day by day.”
Since his hire, Beemer has been getting his face in front of the community.
Alums are coming back for the induction of the 1998 team (that won a then-school record 33 games) into the Butler Athletic Hall of Fame Sept. 24 and the Oct. 1 exhibition and Oct. 2 golf outing. The coach has been on the phone talking to alums and boosters and spoke on the air during an Indianapolis Indians broadcast.
“We’ve got a great opportunity for this place to really take off,” says Beemer. “I’m proud of it really proud of being a Butler Bulldog and I’m very fortunate for it.”

Blake Beemer. (Butler University Photo)\

Blake Beemer. (Butler University Photo)

LaDuke offers life lessons to Floyd Central Highlanders

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Casey LaDuke grew up around Floyds Knobs in southern Indiana and played baseball and football at Floyd Central High School.

Along the way he decided he’d like to be a head coach in one of those two sports.

The opportunity came first in baseball. After earning his Industrial Technology degree at Ball State University, LaDuke spent one year teaching and leading the baseball program at Springs Valley Junior-Senior High School in French Lick, Ind. 

Bill Pierce, his baseball coach at Floyd Central, let him know about a teaching and coaching opening at Floyd Central and LaDuke came home. After a few years as an assistant, the 1984 FCHS graduate has led the Highlanders on the diamond since 1999.

LaDuke also spent about 15 years on the Floyd Central football staff — most of those with Ron Weigleb, a man he had been a wide receiver, kicker and punter for as a player (LaDuke played one season at Kentucky State University before transferring to BSU, where he decided on an education path as a junior and graduated in 1990).

“He’s my big influence as a coach,” says LaDuke of Weigleb. “Some of the things he instilled into the football program we try to do with the baseball program — things like discipline, responsibility and keeping kids accountable. There’s more to it than just playing the game.”

It’s the life lessons that last.

LaDuke appreciated how Weigleb created a family atmosphere. When his coaches went to a clinic, the wives came along and everyone got close.

Dora LaDuke, a 1986 Floyd Central graduate and former Highlander athlete, died after a long battle with Leukemia in 2012 at age 45. Casey and Dora’s daughter, Sydney, is now a senior Elementary Education major at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany.

Floyd Central is in the New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corporation (along with New Albany High School) and serves Floyds Knobs, Galena, Georgetown and Greenville. Locals like to say Floyds Knobs is on the “hill” overlooking New Albany in the “valley.”

Built in 1967, FCHS was formerly called Floyd Central Junior-Senior High School until the opening of Highland Hills Middle School in 2004.

Floyd Central (enrollment around 1,900) is a member of the Hoosier Hills Conference (with Bedford North Lawrence, Columbus East, Jeffersonville, Jennings County, Madison Consolidated, New Albany and Seymour).

Bedford North Lawrence, Jeffersonville, Jennings County and New Albany all have turf on their home diamonds. 

Floyd Central plays at spacious Highlander Field.

“It’s one of the biggest fields at the high school level,” says LaDuke. “It’s one of the best natural surface fields in the area. We take pride in it.”

LaDuke, his assistants and players have put in many hours maintaining the field.

“It’s my place to get away,” says LaDuke.

The FCHS sports complex includes two fields each for baseball, softball and soccer next to a stadium used for football and track and field.

Tennis courts are less than a mile away at the middle school, which has club baseball with two eighth grade squads feeding the three at the high school — varsity and two junior varsity teams.

LaDuke says 72 players signed up for fall activities. About 60 participated in tryouts this spring, leaving about 45 players.

The coach says the numbers going into tryouts were higher since cuts were not made prior to the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown and loss of season and many of those players came out again in 2021.

Highlander Youth Recreation sponsors baseball teams from age 5 to 13.

Floyd Central is part of an IHSAA Class 4A sectional grouping with Bedford North Lawrence, Jeffersonville, Jennings County, New Albany (the 2021 host) and Seymour. The Highlanders have won 13 sectional crowns — the last in 2015.

The 2013 squad was ranked No. 1 in the state. The Highlanders lost to Jeffersonville in the Bedford North Lawrence championship game.

Tell City, Fort Wayne Carroll, South Dearborn, Corydon Central, South Spencer, Owensboro (Ky.), Castle, St. Xavier (Ky.), Columbus North, Trinity Lutheran, Lanesville, Brownstown Central, Evansville North, Evansville Mater Dei, Providence, Seymour, Charlestown, Heritage Hills, Bloomington North, Bloomington South and Clarksville are also on the 2021 slate.

LaDuke’s main 2021 assistants are Floyd Central graduates Jamie Polk and Chris Hogan. With a hiatus as head coach at North Harrison High School in Ramsey, Ind., Polk has been with LaDuke since he took over the Highlanders. Hogan came on board about three of four years in.

Seniors Evan Goforth (Indiana University) and Casey Sorg (Bellarmine University in Louisville) have made college baseball commitments. Caleb Slaughter has drawn collegiate interest.

Tristan Polk is planning to attend Marian University in Indianapolis to play quarterback on the football team.

There are many recent Floyd Central graduates on college baseball rosters, including Philip Archer (Southern Illinois University), Alex Lozado (University of South Florida), Max Meyer (Indiana State University), Jon Cato (Bellarmine), Adam Spalding (Bellarmine), Joel Archer (Oakland City, Ind., University), Joe Harrington (Oakland City), Daly Skees (Hillsdale, Mich., College), Blake Barrett (Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, Ill.) and Josh Gross (Glen Oaks Community College in Centerville, Mich.).

“I take pride in helping kids find schools,” says LaDuke.

He notes that college coaches — particularly at the NCAA I level — are reaching out to players at earlier and earlier ages while recruiting on the travel ball circuit.

Says LaDuke, “Coaches don’t like it, but that’s what their competitive is doing so they have to do it to keep up.”

Casey LaDuke

At 22, Will is now head coach of Lanesville Swingin’ Eagles

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

When Jon Will was playing baseball at Lanesville (Ind.) Junior-Senior High School he used to look into the future and see himself coaching his own team.

Little did Will know that would happen so soon.

Will, a 2016 Lanesville graduate, was hired when Zach Payne resigned in August 2020 as Swingin’ Eagles head coach after leading them since the 2015 season.

At 22, Will is one of the younger varsity head coaches in any sport in Indiana.

“I’m blessed that it happened at my alma mater,” says Will. “There’s no school I love more than Lanesville. It’s such a wonderful small community to be a part of.

“Everyone does know everyone.”

Jon is the youngest of Thomas and Marianne Will’s four children. Older brother Richard Will played tennis at Lanesville and graduated in 2005. His sisters are Jackie Kolkmeier and Cady Gustin. Jackie is married to North Harrison High School head girls basketball coach Jamie Kolkmeier.

The three older ones were all born in Florida, where Thomas and Marianne met while participating in a bowling league. Thomas is originally from Buffalo, N.Y., and Marianne from Youngstown, Ohio. 

The family landed in southern Indiana, settled in Lanesville and had Jon, who went on to play tennis, soccer, baseball and golf at Lanesville.

After attending Spalding University in Louisville, Ky., where he saw limited baseball action and then Indiana University Southeast in New Albany briefly, Will decided to go into the working world. For nearly four years he has been employed at First Harrison Bank in Georgetown, Ind., as a vault teller.

Will attended Our Lady of Providence High School in Clarksville his freshmen year (2013) and was not on the baseball team. 

At Lanesville, Will played one season (2014) for Rusty McCubbins and two for (2015 and 2016) for Payne. Those were Payne’s first two seasons leading the program. He is now a volunteer assistant at Providence, where he graduated in 2008.

Will played for McCubbins in the Lanesville Youth League.

“He’s a guy who can pick out a flaw in anyone’s swing and explain it in a way that make sense to just about anyone,” says Will. “Because of him I became a Derek Jeter fan. He showed me my role model.”

What Will appreciates about Payne is his general knowledge of the game.

“He would bring up things we as players would never think about,” says Will. “The whole staff was pretty energetic.

“They liked to get out there and have fun.”

Payne and assistants Josh Smith, Kyle Erwin and John Henry Graff poured so much into Will and his Lanesville teammates.

“They cared so much about developing young guys,” says Will. “They set high expectations. As seniors we rose to those high expectations.

“That drew me in. I wanted to do that.”

Will helped some with the 2017 team and more so 2018-20.

Lanesville (enrollment around 225) is a member of the Southern Athletic Conference (with Borden, Crothersville, Henryville, New Washington and South Central of Elizabeth).

The Eagles are part of an IHSAA Class 1A sectional grouping with Borden, Christian Academy of Indiana, Orleans and South Central (Elizabeth). Lanesville has won five sectional crowns — the last in 2019. The Eagles earned a 1A state title in 2017 after finishing as 1A state runners-up in 2016.

Will played second base and shortstop in the ’16 championship game at Victory Field in Indianapolis.

Non-conference and non-sectional opponents on the 2021 schedule include Clarksville, North Harrison, Providence, Scottsburg, Seymour, Silver Creek, Southridge, Southwestern (Hanover) and Tell City.

Two members of the Lanesville Class of 2020 — Gabe Gowens (Hanover College) and Matthew Lindsay (Franklin College) — are on college baseball rosters. Will says there are younger Swingin’ Eagles with college aspirations and have been attending showcases and using recruiting websites.

Lanesville’s coaching staff is a large one, which helps accommodate work schedules. Besides McCubbins (a graduate of St. Xavier High School in Louisviille), there’s Joe Gowens (Eastern of Pekin), Lane Staples (Jennings County), Garrett Sherrell (New Albany), Lucas Timberlake (Lanesville), Taylor Proffitt (West Washington) and Spencer Purcell (Providence).

“It’s tough to find help everyday,” says Will. “Everyone works their way into a different area everyday.”

Staples played at Spalding after Will transferred out. Motivator Purcell handles strength and conditioning duties for the Swingin’ Eagles. Proffitt works with catchers.

Former pitcher Timberlake was a Lanesville classmate of Will’s.

“We talked about how we would be coaching our own ball club one day,” says Will. “Then came this opportunity.

“I’m learning as much as the players are learning everyday. Nobody sees how much the head coach is doing behind the scenes until they’re doing it

“It make me appreciate all they do even more.”

Jon Will has been hired as head baseball coach at Lanesville (Ind.) Junior-Senior High School. He is a 2016 Lanesville graduate.

Indiana native Rodmaker keeping White Sox minor leaguers strong, conditioned

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Tim Rodmaker is in the business of making baseball players stronger, more agile and just plain physically better.

A strength and conditioning coach in the Chicago White Sox system since the 2006 season, Rodmaker looks to exploit athlete’s strengths while improving upon their weaknesses.

“It’s important for guys to use what they’re good at,” says Rodmaker, a native of Georgetown in Floyd County, Ind. “But you can’t forget about the things you’re not good at.”

Just because a guy can lift every weight at the gym doesn’t mean he skips cardio or vice versa.

“It comes down to knowing the individual you’re working with,” says Rodmaker, who will be back with the Double-A Birmingham (Ala.) Barons for the 2019 regular season. “Some guys need actual strength and some agility. Then there’s nutrition and mobility work. I tailor a plan that fits them specifically.”

Rodmaker, a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist with the National Strength and Conditioning Association, does this be observing and then consulting with the player.

“I can make some notes myself where improvements can be made and where they’re doing a good job,” says Rodmaker. “But I want to hear from them. Who knows themselves better than they do?”

Rodmaker also welcomes input from managers, coaches and roving instructors.

Once a plan is formed, Rodmaker and the player go forward with it. To make it work, the athlete must be committed to it.

There are specific skill sets and strength and conditioning needs for baseball players, depending on their role. It might be third baseman or relief pitcher or designated hitter.

“These guys have the luxury that they to need to train for this one specific thing,” says Rodmaker. “It can’t get any more focused than it is.”

All of them will be asked to achieve a range of motion and strength in that motion that relates to their position.

“They will attack the movement chain,” says Rodmaker. “The game is played in short bursts of usually no more than 10 seconds. But a game could last 2 1/2 hours (and the minor league regular season lasts for 140 games).”

For this reason, a balance must be struck between aerobic and anaerobic conditioning.

A typical day when the Barons are at home is a long one for Rodmaker.

With a 7:05 p.m. game time, he gets to the ballpark around 11 a.m. to get his own workout in and begin preparing for the arrival of players.

Most players in the White Sox system prefer to lift before the game and that begins around 1 p.m. Stretching for pitchers and position players is at 3:30. Pitchers do conditioning work during batting practice.

After a pre-game meal, starting pitchers will work out under Rodmaker’s supervision.

Pre-game routines start around 6:40.

“By Double-A, they have ownership of a pre-game routine,” says Rodmaker. “But, if necessary, I will lead it.”

During the game, the strength and conditioning coach is back in observation mode.

“I see if what we’re doing is paying off,” says Rodmaker.

Some players will choose to lift after the game. At this point, it’s 11:30 or midnight.

On the road, the schedule is condensed. The team usually finds a local gym for a 10 a.m. workout.

Rodmaker, who is active with the Professional Baseball Strength & Conditioning Coaches Society, spoke at the 2019 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association State Clinic in Indianapolis. His topic was “Strength and Conditioning On a Budget.”

While even teams at the professional level think about financial constraints, it’s the time limitations that Rodmaker focuses on.

He says to focus on the big movements that will give the athlete the most bang for their buck.

These exercises require no equipment at all.

“They can show up at the park and do this stuff,” says Rodmaker.

He has also found that he does not like to use cones when doing agility work.

“Guys don’t respect cones,” says Rodmaker. “They can use their glove or mitt or hat. They will take care not to step on that.”

Rodmaker is a 2000 graduate of Floyd Central High School, where he was in wrestling for four seasons (making it as far as regional) and baseball for one season. He graduated from Indiana University in 2005, earning a B.S. in Exercise Science with a minor in psychology and a certificate from the Kelly School of Business.

Besides baseball, where he has served as a trainer in Bristol, Great Falls, Kannapolis and Winston-Salem prior to Birmingham, he has worked in the off-season with Baseball Europe and the U.S. Paralympic Alpine Ski team. He has also helped at the University of Louisville, Bellarmine University and Spalding University.

Tim and Alex Rodmaker reside in Georgetown with their three daughters — Eli (3), Frankie (2) and Von (9 months).

STRENGTH AND CONDITIONIONG ON A BUDGET

Tim Rodmaker, Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Birmingham Barons (Chicago White Sox Double-A Affiliate)

Sample Warm-Up

• Jog lap around the warning track (build up sprints and the end of stretch).

• Shuffle, side-to-side.

• Skip, forward, backward, side-to-side.

• Backpedal (with change of direction.

• Ankle circles (both directions).

• Lunge (with reach to the sky paired with (straight front leg) triangle pose.

• Up, Down and Around (both directions).

• Side-to-side (wide stance).

• Squat and reach (with twist).

• Knees to chest (marching).

• Quad stretch (with reach).

• Twists

• Arm circles (small/big, both directions).

• Pec stretch (ALL angles).

• Internal/external rotation at 90/90 (walk a lap after practice, then speak to group).

Agility

Circle drill

Goal – Increase confidence and ability to run on edges of feet/lateral lean/maintaining speed.

Short shuttle

Goal – Change of direction, body awareness, energy absorption and redirection.

Bonus

• Juggling solo or with partner.

Workout

• Sample workout.

• Split squats.

• Rotational lateral lunge.

• Split stance RDL.

• Squat jump with 1/4 or 1/2 twist.

• Push-ups/Cobra Push-ups/Pike Push-ups.

• Triangle.

• Windmill.

• Walkout to plank.

• Planks.

• Plank with touches.

• Arm walk.

• Pro/Re-traction Push-ups.

Tim Rodmaker, a graduate of Floyd Central High School in Floyds Knobs, Ind., and Indiana University has been a strength and conditioning coach in the Chicago White Sox system since the 2006 season.

 

Norton looks for Butler Bulldogs pitchers to be aggressive

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Ben Norton wants his Butler University arms to go after hitters.

The third-year baseball pitching coach is not interested in nibbling at the corners of the plate.

“The whole staff has to buy into throwing strikes,” says Norton. “We want to to get (hitters) out in four pitches or less, always be aggressive and have the utmost confidence in yourself.

“If you don’t think you’re better than the hitter, you might as well get off the mound.”

As the NCAA Division I Bulldogs get ready to open the 2019 season Feb. 15 against Rider in Lexington, S.C., there are 17 pitchers on the roster. That number includes right-handers Ryan Pepiot (who went 6-0 with 12 starts in 2018 and is a preseason all-Big East Conference honoree in 2019), Jack Pilcher (10 saves and 20 relief appearances), Sam Hubbe (15 games, including eight starts) and Connor Schultz (16 games with three wins and one start) and left-hander Joe Graziano (13 games with three wins and four starts).

With Norton in charge, Butler had 405 strikeouts and 209 walks in 451 2/3 innings 2017. There were 454 K’s and 211 free passes in 481 innings in 2018.

Ideally, Norton would like to see his starters go deep into games and have one or two relievers finish it off.

“I want the best pitcher on the mound,” says Norton. “We have to be creative with match-ups. Sometimes we might us a right-hander who has a great change-up vs. a lefty.”

Pitchers at the bottom of the depth chart may not rack up a lot of innings, but they are given a chance of developing so they can help the team in the future.

When Norton greeted his pitchers during fall workouts, the emphasis the first three or four weeks was getting arms in shape with consideration about how much they might have been used in the summer.

“It’s always good to have the blood flowing to the muscles and ligaments so they don’t tighten up,” says Norton. “It’s getting everything to fire.”

After early weeks of the fall came intrasquad games plus two contests against outside competition now allowed by the NCAA at the D-I level (Butler played the Great Lakes Canadians and Indiana University Kokomo).

“We were competing for jobs,” says Norton. “After the fall, we went into individual work.”

Some pitchers looked to add a third or fourth pitch to their repertoire.

Players were away for five weeks during the holiday break and were scheduled to pitch their first pre-season bullpen sessions Tuesday, Jan. 15.

“Right now I want them to be healthy — first and foremost,” says Norton. “We don’t want to pitch them too much too early.

“It is a long season.”

The goal is to build up arm strength so that starters can pitch 60 to 70 pitches live the weekend before the opener and be able to go five or six innings in a game. Relievers are trying to progress so they can recover and pitch every other day.

Norton expects his pitchers to throw five times a week this week and next and then five or six times a week depending on who they are.

“Older guys have more freedom to not do as much throwing,” says Norton. “They understand their body a little bit better.”

Norton wants all pitchers to have an understanding of how they move as the deliver the baseball.

“You don’t have to know biomechanics, you need to know how your body works,” says Norton. “I ask a lot of questions about how they feel.

“I want them to make adjustments as they go instead of overhauling.”

Besides guiding the pitchers, Norton participates in recruiting. Those duties are shared by head coach Dave Schrage, assistant Andy Pascoe and Norton (Brian Meyer is a volunteer assistant).

“I recruit all positions,” says Norton. “I try to see every pitcher we recruit — on film or live games. I evaluate how they fit into the program and also what their potential could be.”

Norton says Butler’s recruiting philosophy is to start local and work their way out, meaning go for Indiana players if possible but go where there are players who fit the program.

Besides the Bulldogs, the Big East’s baseball-playing members are Creighton, Georgetown, Seton Hall, St. John’s, Villanova and Xavier.

A former right-handed pitcher, Norton played for coach Larry Windmiller at Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, graduating in 2003. His older brother David Norton (Dwenger Class of 1999) also played for Windmiller.

“He was a great coach,” says Norton. “He built that field (at Shoaff Park). He was well-rounded in the game of baseball.”

He played at Wabash Valley College in Mount Carmel, Ill., for coach Rob Fournier then at the University of Evansville for Schrage. He won nine games each in 2006 and 2007 and was selected in the 24th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. He pitched one season in the Royals system before suffering a career-ending shoulder injury.

“I enjoyed playing for (Fournier),” says Norton. “He’s high intensity. He wants the best for everybody and pushes them hard. He has connections throughout the baseball community.”

His career has intersected several times with current Butler head coach Schrage. Norton played for and later coached for Schrage at Evansville and was on his staff at South Dakota State University.

“Playing for him was great,” says Norton of Schrage. “He always cared about you on and off the field. Coaching for him, I have a lot of freedom with the pitching staff

“He’s been a mentor. He’s taught me to keep positive throughout the year as the season goes up and down.”

It was Schrage and Jackrabbits bus driver Rod Josephsen that introduced Norton to the woman that is now his wife. Nicole Norton is Josephsen’s daughter.

Norton began his coaching career at Evansville, spending the fall of 2008 as an assistant with the Purple Aces. He was an assistant at Indiana Tech in the spring of 2009. He moved on to the University of Illinois-Springfield for the 2010 and 2011 seasons, serving as an assistant the first spring and interim head coach for the second. He moved on to Lincoln (Ill.) College as an assistant for 2012 then went to South Dakota State as an assistant for four seasons (2013-16).

Norton was on the staffs of Kip McWilliams at Indiana Tech, former South Dakota State assistant Brian Grunzke at Illinois-Springfield and Tony Thomas at Lincoln.

“(McWilliams) is knowledgable about every position,” says Norton. “He allowed me to take over the pitching staff. He’s always on the phone trying to get players and get better.

“(Grunzke) is a high-energy guy. He’s always willing to work with guys and very personable. With recruiting, he does his dilligence on the phone and scouting on the road. It was good for me to learn from him as a young coach.

“(Thomas) does a good job of coaching guys up. It was a unique situation (when I went to Lincoln). I was was looking for a place to coach. I came in the middle of the season and took over the pitching staff.”

Fort Wayne’s Jim and Joan Norton have three children — David, Kyle and Ben.

Ben Norton is the pitching coach at Butler University in Indianapolis. (Butler University Photo)

Ben Norton, the pitching coach at Butler University in Indianapolis, played at Fort Wayne (Ind.) Bishop Dwenger High School, Wabash Valley College in Mount Carmel, Ill., the University of Evansville and in the Kansas City Royals organization. (Butler University Photo)

 

Enthusiasm follows Schrage to Butler

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Dave Schrage does not smile 24 hours day.

It only seems that way.

An upbeat demeanor has followed him through life and a lengthy baseball coaching career.

“I don’t think you can accomplish anything if you are not excited and enthusiastic about it,” says Schrage, who turns 56 this month. “I love going to my job everyday.”

Schrage is in his 29th overall season and first at Butler University in Indianapolis. He has been a head coach in more than 1,500 games and recently won his 750th.

“I feel really fortunate to still be coaching,” says Schrage. “It’s been a fun journey.”

A head coach since 1988, Schrage served at Waldorf (Iowa), Northern Iowa, Northern Illinois, Evansville, Notre Dame and South Dakota State before landing in Indy.

“Butler is a great fit for me,” says Schrage. Daughters Katy (a Butler graduate) and Bri (a Ball State graduate) both live and work in Indianapolis. “For five years, I was 14 hours away (in Brookings, S.D.).”

Schrage played for Jim Hendry at Creighton University and got his start in coaching when Hendry sent him to St. Thomas University in Florida to be a graduate assistant on the staff of Paul Mainieri.

After that, Schrage was an assistant at Creighton and also was a player/coach for the Queensland Rams Club Team in Australia.

Hendry, the former Chicago Cubs general manager and current special assistant to New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, has a son (John) playing baseball at the University of Indianapolis and has been able to catch up with Schrage when he’s in town.

Schrage followed Mainieri as Notre Dame head coach. The friends see each other every year at the American Baseball Coaches Association national convention (the event is coming to Indy Jan. 4-7, 2018). Mainieri is now head coach at Louisiana State University.

With the Bulldogs, Schrage embraces The Butler Way — a set of principles established many years ago by famed coach Tony Hinkle.

Barry Collier has been credited for resurrecting the concepts of humility, passion, unity, servanthood and thankfulness when he was the school’s head basketball coach and has continued to promote The Butler Way for all sports as athletic director.

“These are the same ideals I have,” says Schrage. “We are developing our players as human beings. They are learning to deal with adversity and overcoming it and becoming a positive influence — on and off the court (or field).”

While Schrage, who is assisted by Ben Norton, Andy Pascoe and Brian Meyer, inherited the current Butler roster (which features 11 players from Indiana hometowns), he was well aware of the diamond talent produced in the Hoosier State.

When he steered Evansville to 43 wins, Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles and advancement to the NCAA Charlottesville Regional finals in 2006, the Purple Aces had several state-trained players.

“That spoke well of the quality of high school baseball (in Indiana),” says Schrage. “The coaches do a tremendous job in running their programs.”

Schrage says the exposure that Indiana players receive at places like Grand Park in Westfield and through the evaluation efforts of Prep Baseball Report are growing the game here.

When he was still coaching in Iowa, Schrage worked at one of the first Perfect Game showcases and now that company is touting itself as the world’s largest baseball scouting service.

“In this media world with Facebooking and all this information out there, it’s very helpful (to college coaches),” says Schrage. “When I first got into coaching, I had to beat the bushes and find players in the small towns. Now, there’s no more secrets. It’s opened up tremendous opportunities for the student-athletes. It’s nothing but advantageous to coaches, kids and their families.”

Butler plays in the Big East Conference with Creighton, Georgetown, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Villanova and Xavier. The conference tournament is scheduled for May 25-28 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb., the same stadium as the College World Series. The Big East tournament winner will receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Division I tournament.

Butler University baseball versus St. Louis University March 19, 2017.

Dave Schrage (left in blue sweatshirt) follows a play in his first season as head baseball coach at Butler University in Indianapolis. This is his 29th overall season as a head coach. (Brent Smith Photo)

A head coach since 1988, Dave Schrage (middle) served at Waldorf (Iowa), Northern Iowa, Northern Illinois, Evansville, Notre Dame and South Dakota State before landing at Butler. (Brent Sm)