Managing relationships key for UIndy baseball assistant Forde

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

Trevor Forde saw the game from behind the mask as a player.
The University of Indianapolis assistant baseball coach knows what makes catchers tick.
Evanston (Ill.) High School graduate Forde (pronounced Ford like the car) was a backstop and played for former catchers Nate Metzger at Heartland Community College in Normal, Ill., and Gary Vaught and Al Ready at UIndy.
After competing for Frank Consiglio and graduating from Evanston in 2011, Forde played for two National Junior College Athletic Association Division II World Series qualifiers (2012 and 2013) with Metzger.
“Coach Consiglio taught me to put in the work,” says Forde. “The guys that out-work you will have more success.
“(Metzger, who is now associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Wright State University) gave me my first look and passion for coaching college baseball. He’s a special human.”
Forde played for Vaught at NCAA Division II Indianapolis in 2015 and 2016 and then went right into coaching, beginning with as a graduate assistant in 2017 and 2018. He holds a bachelor’s degree and masters in Sport and Fitness Administration/Management from UIndy.
Former Indianapolis backstop and longtime assistant Ready became head coach of the Greyhounds beginning with the 2019 season.
“(Vaught and Ready) solidified that thought of coaching,” says Forde. “There’s a lot to be said why catchers get into the coaching realm. They see the whole field
“They are really good at managing relationships. They work with all the pitchers. That guy steps out on the mound and he believes in you. You have that connection.”
Forde says that ties in with coaching.
“You’re dealing with so many personalities and getting guys to trust you,” says Forde.
Many hats are worn by Forde the coach. He is in charge of Hounds catchers and also helps develop hitters and plays a big part in recruiting.
“Since catcher is my former position, I take a lot of pride it that,” says Forde. “We’ve got a pretty good catching core.
“In the simplest of forms I always tell catchers to make strikes strikes and we want to win the border line pitch. We’ve got to put ourselves in position to present the ball to the umpire well. We want to be on-time and have a subtle movement to manipulate the ball back to center.”
Forde says every college catcher has to be able to control the running game.
Throwing out would-be base stealers is one thing, but Forde shares the philosophy shared by Bellarmine University coach Larry Owens about limiting steal attempts.
“That resonates with me,” says Forde. “We can show arm strength. The word can get out (to runners). If you limit the amount of attempts, the number of stolen bases is going to be reduced.”
Forde says recruiting at this time of year is not as intense at the D-II level as it is in the summer and fall.
“We’re tying up loose ends with guys we’ve had contact with and late bloomers,” says Forde. “Next year’s recruiting class is pretty much wrapped up for us.”
In dealing with recruits, Forde tells it like it is.
“We’re going to be brutally honest at times with guys,” says Forde. “We won’t present ideas that aren’t realistic. The more honest you can be with the guy — and especially with their parents — the better.
“There are no grey areas. We are blunt at times.”
UIndy is part of the Great Lakes Valley Conference with teams in Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. Those three states plus Ohio, Kentucky and Wisconsin are at the core of the Greyhounds’ recruiting territory though the 2022 online roster also lists players from Canada and Colombia.
“We’re doing a pretty good job getting in the right players who believe in what we’re trying to do,” says Forde. “We need guys who are the right fit.”
In this COVID-19 pandemic era with players taking extra years of eligibility, Forde says it is important to know the players’ intentions about coming back or moving on.
“He might (repeatedly) say ‘I’m coming back’ then he gets a job offer,” says Forde. “As baseball coaches we brought him into our institution to get a degree.”
Forde and Ready are seeking well-rounded players and place a premium on defense.
“Coach Ready said it best — we’ve got to play both ends of the game,” says Forde. “At some positions I’d take a lesser bat with a plus-glove. The game is meant to be pitching and defense. You’re only as good as that guy that you roll out on the bump.
“I want my pitcher to be confident. If the ball is in-play their defense is going to make the play.”
The Greyhounds go for moundsmen that understand how to pitch and that contact is not a bad thing.
“We’re looking for bulldogs — guys that aren’t going to shy away from the moment,” says Forde. “That stems from our preparation. We teach guys how to pitch and how to read swings.
“We want a complete pitcher.”
Adam Cormwell is UIndy’s pitching coach. Scott Holdsworth is a volunteer assistant. Jacob Christie is a graduate assistant. The support staff includes athletic trainer Makenna McAteer, strength and conditioning coach Andrew Fallon and sports information GA Brady Budke.
Indianapolis, which went 23-21 overall and placed second in the GLVC at 19-13, opens the 2022 season Feb. 18 at Greyhound Park against Notre Dame (Euclid, Ohio). A series at Lake Erie (Painesville, Ohio), where former UIndy assistant Landon Hutchison is now head coach, begins March 11.

Trevor and high school sweathart Emma were married in July 2020.

Trevor Forde (University of Indianapolis Photo)

Trevor Forde (University of Indianapolis Photo)

Ready emphasizes academics, development as UIndy head baseball coach

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Al Ready has been part of University of Indianapolis baseball for a long time.

Ready played for the Greyhounds in 2000 and 2001 and after two-year playing stint in professional baseball with the London (Ont.) Werewolves and Evansville (Ind.) Otters and and two years as head coach at Sauk Valley Community College, he joined the coaching staff of veteran UIndy coach Gary Vaught.

When Vaught retired at the end of the 2018 season (he was 808-533-2 in 24 seasons at UIndy and 975-666-2 in 29 campaigns overall), Ready was elevated from associate head coach to Greyhounds head coach.

“If Coach Vaught had wanted to continue to coach, I would have stood by him every step of the way,” says Ready, who turns 41 on Aug. 5. “He’s just a phenomenal person. He treated me like his own son over the years. He’s done a lot for me and my family. I’m going to miss him.”

Ready launches into his new duties with a coaching staff featuring pitching coach Landon Hutchison plus Trevor Forde, Scott Lawley and graduate assistants Storm Joop and Adam Vasil. All but Hutchison are former UIndy players.

The Greyhounds were 31-23 overall and 10-14 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in 2018.

Looking far and wide, Ready and his staff are currently recruiting a few players to fill out the 2018-19 signing class while also working on 2019-20.

“I look for very strong academic student-athletes,” says Ready. “You can really stretch your dollars our if you are recruiting student-athletes who are able to receive both academic and athletic aid.”

At UIndy, academics is No. 1.

“I hope all of our players make it to the big leagues and make a million dollars,” says Ready. “But their overall quality of life is going to be determined by their degree and not by their baseball career.

“You’re coming in here to get a degree from the University of Indianapolis. You’re not coming here because we are giving you an opportunity to play baseball.

“If we don’t have the degree you’re looking for, I’ll tell them not to come here.”

UIndy offers the full amount of athletic scholarships allowed for NCAA Division II baseball — nine (Division I is 11.7). UIndy is one of four D-II programs in Indiana. University of Southern Indiana, Purdue University Northwest and Oakland City University are the others.

Ready says the Greyhounds typically dress about 35 at home and 28 on the road.

“The full-ride in baseball is kind of non-existent if you’re just talking in terms of just athletic dollars,” says Ready, who notes that players that can meet the stacking criteria of the NCAA coming out of high school can accumulate quite a bit of academic, athletic and aid money.

Pitchers are a priority on UIndy’s wish list.

“You’re only as good as the guy you roll out there on the mound,” says Ready. “We like arms. We’re only as good as the guy we’re going to be pitching that particular day.”

Offensive players are improved through training.

“We do a really, really good job of developing our offense,” says Ready. “Development, especially at the Division II level, is vital to your survival.

“You don’t necessarily get the kind of kids it takes to win a national championship at the Division II level right out of high school.”

The Greyhounds roster is typically a mix.

“How do we get them?,” says Ready. “Either right out of high school, bounce-backs from Division I schools or transfers from junior colleges.”

NCAA Division II allows a 45-day window in the fall for team practices. The limit is 15 hours per week.

“Our practices in the fall are really systematic,” says Ready. “We teach them our bunt coverages, first-and-third plays, pick-off plays, double cuts and things like that.

Outside of that 45-day window, D-II teams get two hours a week of skill development with individual and small-group workouts.

“That’s the stage were guys will really start to get better,” says Ready, whose athletes play games at Greyhound Park and train in the 95,000-square foot Athletics & Recreation Center (The ARC was the NFC practice site for the 2012 Super Bowl) as well as have access to the turf of Key Stadium (football).

With the help of Will Carroll, UIndy is part of a study by Motus Baseball to track the biomechanics of baseball players.

“I really like the Motus technology,” says Ready. “It provides certain metrics that you just can’t see when you’re just watching a kid pitch. You can keep track of the number of pitches a kid throws. But it’s almost impossible to keep track of the number of throws that the kid makes over a certain period of time whether that’s a day, a week or whatever.

“Motus has allowed us to get a good grasp on how much throwing each player is actually doing. The first six weeks of throwing kind of establishes the baseline for each player. It’s really nice to have.”

The sensors can track workload and the amount of stress on the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL).

“Of course, Tommy John surgery is considered an epidemic in baseball,” says Ready. “Those are important numbers to know when you’re trying to figure out how to train each kid.”

Ready notes that training over the years has really shifted toward customization.

“When I got started in the early 2000’s, it was more of a ‘cookie-cutter’ type of approach,” says Ready. “We were teaching each player the same thing. But what’s right for this player may not necessarily be right for the guy beside him.”

Last season, the technology helped diagnose an issue with a UIndy starting pitcher.

While not decreasing in velocity after a few innings, Motus data indicated that the player was dropping his arm slot and losing some control. The pitcher was switched to a relief role and he excelled.

Knowing the numbers can determine training methods.

“A weighted ball will work to increase velocity but it also increases the risk of getting hurt,” says Ready. “Wouldn’t you like to know which of your guys have more stress on their UCL when they throw? Those are the guys who probably shouldn’t be working with weighted balls — at least as much as some of the other guys.”

On the offensive side of things, Ready likes to use Motus sensors when a hitter is going really well.

“You want to know what the swing length, attack angle, hand speed, and rotational speed is,” says Ready. “When the player’s scuffling a little bit, you can put the sensor back on him and see if there’s any difference.”

Ready, a London, Ont., native, attended Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School and learned much about the diamond at the National Baseball Institute of Canada in Vancouver, B.C. After a few years there, he played two seasons at Sauk Valley in Dixon, Ill., then transferred to UIndy.

The switch-hitting catcher batted .352 with 18 home runs and 74 runs batted in as he earned Second-Team All-American honors and UIndy (43-23) placed third in the 2000 NCAA Division II World Series.

In 2001, Ready was a Verizon First-Team Academic All-American while helping the Greyhounds to a school-record 51 wins and fourth straight NCAA D-II regional berth. He still holds the school records for most walks in a career (109) and a season (55 in 2000).

Ready graduated from UIndy in 2001 with a 3.44 cumulative grade-point average in Computer Information Systems. He posted a 3.74 GPA while earning his Masters of Business Administration from the school in 2008.

Al and Sarah Ready were married in 2003 and have four children — sons Jacob (10) and Camden (8) and twin daughters Alaina and Evelyn (who turn 3 in December). Sarah Ready is a former Sauk Valley multi-sport athlete who got her undergraduate degree in psychology and masters in counseling at Indianapolis in 2001 and 2003. She is now a guidance counselor at Franklin Township Middle School-East.

“To make it all work, you have to have great wife who supports what you do,” says Ready. “To be a college coach, you have to have people in your corner backing you up and helping you out. There’s no question about it.”

Al and younger sister Jennifer are the parents of Ken and Gayle Ready of Ontario.

One of the Ready’s managers at Evansville was Greg Jelks, who played in the majors with the Philadelphia Phillies and also played and coached in Australia. Two Aussies — Daniel Lee and Greg Johnston — have worn the Greyhounds uniform since Ready has been on the UIndy campus.

Al Ready is now head baseball coach at the University of Indianapolis. The former Greyhounds player had spent several seasons as associate head coach to Gary Vaught, who retired at the end of the 2018 season. (UIndy Photo)

Gary Vaught (left) was head baseball coach at the University of Indianapolis for 24 seasons and won 808 games. His replacement is Al Ready (right). The former Greyhounds player was an assistant and then associate head coach for several seasons. (UIndy Photo)

 

UIndy’s Vaught finds home in NCAA D-II baseball

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Gary Vaught is having an impact on baseball both in Indiana and nationwide.

Vaught, who won 588 games at the high school, NCAA Division I and junior college levels before coming to America’s Crossroads, just concluded his 23rd season as head coach at the University of Indianapolis.

His UIndy teams have added 777 more wins to his collegiate head coaching total pf 944. He has taken the Greyhounds to 10 NCAA Division II tournament appearances with two trips to the D-II College World Series (2000, 2012).

Indianapolis was ranked in the Top 10 during the 2017 season. Five key injuries led to a 27-23 record and missing the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament.

“That’s what I preach to these kids: One ball, one slide can end your career,” says Vaught. “But it doesn’t have anything to do with keeping you from getting your degree.”

The Norman, Okla., native who was a high school head coach for eight years before four at Connors State College in Warner, Okla., three at Kansas State University and three at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla.

Vaught, a University of Central Oklahoma product, was Big Eight Coach of the Year at KSU in 1985. He led ORU to the NCAA West Regional finals in 1987, bowing out to host and eventual national champion Stanford.

He went from coaching to athletic administration after the 1989 season then got called back into the dugout.

“I grew up playing the game,” says Vaught. “I missed it tremendously.”

He coached his first season at UIndy in 1995.

“I’ve been blessed enough to have coached at all these levels,” says Vaught, who serves the American Baseball Coaches Association as NCAA Division II chair. “At Division II, you are more involved with the student-athlete.

“They know they’re coming to get an education and baseball has helped them attain it.

“It’s very important that people care.”

Vaught said he certainly enjoys winning — his college head coaching win percentage is .595 — but gets even more satisfaction from seeing a player earn his degree.

“Great coaches are made by those who help kids reach their goals and sometimes those goals don’t have to do with baseball,” says Vaught. “When we ask players to play here, it’s a marriage. When I started in coaching, we saw how many people we could get into pro ball.

“That’s not what it’s all about.”

While Vaught has coached future big leaguers — Keith Lockhart among them — he knows those are few and far between.

Former players come back to campus years later — often with his family in tow — to reminisce about the good times he had as baseball-playing student.

That’s what energizes Vaught, who at 65 has no intentions of stepping away anytime soon.

Vaught notes that there is not that much difference between D-I and D-II. Both follow the same rules and calendar. It’s just that D-I offers 11.7 scholarships and limits rosters to 35 and D-II gives 9 scholarships and is not limited to the number of players it can have on the roster (though only 27 can be in uniform for tournament games).

“We get too hung up on the levels,” says Vaught. “Parents want their kid to walk around with a Division I label on his back. What’s important is that their son or daughter is happy.

“Alums of that school are able to give back to that school and the community.”

When Vaught began his college coaching career, he was one of the youngest in D-I, now has the most seniority in the Hounds athletic department and has and worked under four UIndy presidents (G. Benjamin Lantz, Jerry M. Israel, Beverly J. Pitts and Robert L. Manuel).

Former UIndy athlete and coach Dr. Sue Willey is the vice president for Intercollegiate Athletics for the Greyhounds. She oversees an expanding number of sports and facilities, including the 90,200-square foot Athletics & Recreation Center (ARC) and baseball’s Greyhound Park.

“Sue is as good a person as I’ve ever worked for,” says Vaught. “She cares for the student-athletes and cares for the coaches.

“It’s a family here. The coaching staff here all gets along. At a lot of D-I places, you’re on a island.

“Our community keeps getting stronger, stronger and stronger … I wouldn’t trade my experience at UIndy for anything.”

UIndy is proud of its retention rate, the ability to attract and keep students on campus through graduation.

“They come here and enjoy it,” says Vaught. “They realize that the professors care about them and they’re not just a number.

“Once a kid comes here, he’s not shopping and looking to go somewhere else in one year.”

Vaught is pleased to proclaim UIndy’s grade-point average is higher than 3.0 with a roster of nearly 50 players.

“My kids will get in more trouble for not going to class than missing a ground ball,” says Vaught. “That’s a known fact here.”

Vaught warns that unlike video games, hitting the “re-set button” in life is not that easy so he tries to get his athletes to understand that before they head down the wrong path.

To get players ready for the real world, Vaught insists they go through a drug test each August. The program also participates in community service projects.

UIndy’s 2017 roster included 30 players with Indiana hometowns. There are some years when many states and different countries are represented.

“We try to get the best kids in our backyard first and then we go nationwide,” says Vaught.

Since the regular season ended, Vaught has fielded many calls from players, including those at the D-I level, looking for a place to play in 2017-18.

Vaught’s coaching tree has many branches in his 35 years in the profession, with former assistants at many levels of the game. The 2017 staff included Al Ready (associate head coach), Mark Walther (pitching coach and recruiting coordinator), Colton White (assistant coach), Trevor Forde (graduate assistant) and John Wirtz (assistant coach and Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer).

The Circle City will be the center of the college baseball coaching universe Jan. 4-7, 2018, when the ABCA national convention comes to Indianapolis for the first time. Given the location, Vaught said there could be as many as 10,000 in attendance. There are sure to be a few tours at UIndy and the NCAA headquarters in downtown Indianapolis.

“I’m looking forward to it,” says Vaught. “Every coach in the nation should be a member (of the ABCA). It’s our voice. Under (Executive Director) Craig Keilitz, the vision in baseball has grown in the communication area.

“I’m glad I’m a part of it.”

Gary Vaught just completed his 23rd season as head coach at the University of Indianapolis. He has more than 900 wins as a college head coach and serves as the American Baseball Coaches Association’s NCAA Division II chair. (UIndy Photo)