Byall, Homestead Spartans value preparation

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Keith Potter and Steve Sotir emphasized the fundamental parts of baseball — making the routine play on defense, pounding the strike zone from the mound and following an approach from the batter’s box — as head baseball coaches at Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Nick Byall, who played for Potter and coached with Potter and Sotir, is carrying on the tradition while adding his own spin as the man in charge of the Spartans.

“We want to be polished and prepared each day,” says Byall. “When you’re doing (the fundamentals) well it makes the game even more fun.

“At the high school level, we can be really successful doing that.”

Byall, a 2000 Homestead graduate, spent 10 years as an assistant coach at his alma mater (two on Potter’s staff and eight with Sotir) and is in his fourth season as head coach in 2019.

Being competitive is also important to Byall.

“We’re always looking to compete — in a drill or a game,” says Byall, who heads up a program with around 50 players for varsity, junior varsity (JV Blue) and freshmen (JV Gold) schedules.

“We have a smaller senior class and kept a larger freshmen class,” says Byall. “We have 18 on the varsity roster most of the time. Some guys will swing between varsity and JV.”

The coaching staff features Shawn Harkness plus volunteers Josh Brock, Maurie Byall (Nick’s father) and Greg Wehling with the varsity, Austin Plasterer and Kyle Plasterer with JV Blue and Brian Landigran and Dominic Schroeder with JV Gold.

Harkness is pitching coach for the Spartan. He was a JV coach when Byall was a Homestead player.

Brock played and coached at Manchester University.

It’s more than the game that keeps Byall around baseball.

“I want to be a decent role model for (the players),” says Byall. “That’s why we do it.

“I enjoy the kids and the coaches I work with. If not, I wouldn’t do it.”

Homestead plays its varsity games on its campus with the JV teams playing on that diamond or at a field near Summit Middle School.

Marching band is a big deal at the school and the band has its own turf practice surface near the baseball field. The baseball team sometimes uses it when it’s facility is too wet.

There is no middle school baseball at Homestead, but many players participate in travel ball.

“We’ve got a lot of kids who enjoy baseball,” says Byall. “They’re pretty fundamentally sound.”

Senior Kade Kolpien has committed to Taylor University. Senior Will Ferguson has garnered some college baseball interest. Junior Eli MacDonald and sophomore Kaleb Kolpien and Carter Mathison are among younger Spartans getting college looks.

Recent Homestead graduates now with college programs include Justin Miller at Purdue Fort Wayne, Isaac Bair at the University of Indianapolis and Nick Davit and D.J. Moore at Huntington University.

Catcher Rob Bowen was selected in the second round of the 1999 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Minnesota Twins and made his big league debut with the Twins in 2003. He also played for the San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics.

Infielder Andre Jernigan went from Homestead to the Xavier University to the Twins organization.

Right-handed pitcher Taylor Kinzer played at Taylor then in the Los Angeles Angels organization.

Second baseman Ryan Wright played at he University of Louisville and in the Cincinnati Reds system from 2011-15.

Catcher Matt Singleton played at Ball State University and in the Athletics chain.

Outfielder Bobby Glover was a Parkland College, the University of Dayton and with the independent Windy City Thunderbolts (2012).

Left-hander Kyle Leiendecker went to Indiana University.

It’s IU and the allure of Hoosiers basketball that brought Byall to Bloomington.

He was a basketball manager for four years and got to see in the inner workings of big-time college sports and went to the 2002 NCAA tournament championship game with head coach Mike Davis. Byall’s first week on campus was Bob Knight’s last.

Byall earned an education degree from Indiana in 2005 and a masters in business administration from Taylor in 2010. He teaches Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics and U.S. Government at HHS.

Homestead (enrollment around 2,430) has charted a schedule that features Bellmont, DeKalb, Evansville Central, Fishers, Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Fort Wayne Canterbury, Fort Wayne Carroll, Fort Wayne North Side, Fort Wayne Northrop, Fort Wayne Snider, Fort Wayne South Side, Hamilton Southeastern, Indianapolis Cathedral, Mississinewa, Norwell, Wapahani and Warsaw.

For several years, Homestead has made a southern trip during spring break.

“It’s a chance to get away and bond a little bit,” says Byall.

The destination the past few seasons has been Vincennes, Ind. Treks have also been made to Terre Haute, Evansville, Cincinnati and Knoxville, Tenn.

The Spartans are part of an IHSAA Class 4A sectional grouping with Fort Wayne North Side, Fort Wayne South Side, Fort Wayne Wayne and Huntington North. Homestead has won 14 sectionals — the last in 2016. A 4A state runner-up finish was earned in 2008.

Byall is single and lives in the Homestead district.

“I’m real close with my family,” says Byall, the son of Maurie and Rosi Byall and younger brother of Troy Byall. His father owns Byall Homes, Inc., and has been building houses for 40 years. His mother is the Homestead treasurer and also the statistician for her son’s baseball team.

With three children, chiropractor Dr. Troy and wife Erica Byall have made Nick a proud uncle.

Homestead High School baseball coach Nick Byall (left) slaps hands with Kade Kolpien. Byall is in his 14th season as a Spartans coach — fourth as head coach — while Kolpien is in his senior season in 2019.

Nick Byall is head baseball coach at Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, Ind. He is a 2000 graduate of the school. (Homestead High School Photo)

 

 

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Anderson U. alum Bair looks to build ‘culture of brotherhood’ for Ravens

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Reaching out to re-connect with its winning baseball past, Anderson University has hired alum Matt Bair as head coach.

Bair, a 2001 AU graduate, played for and coached with Dr. Don Brandon and participated in the NCAA Division III World Series as a Ravens player (1998) and assistant coach (2003).

“I’ve been able to connect with several alumni already that are excited in the vision we are putting forward with the baseball program,” says Bair, who had former Anderson player and assistant coach Brent Hoober as the best man in his wedding. “We’re trying to gain some of their energy and momentum back.”

Brandon, who is in the Anderson, American Baseball Coaches Association and Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association halls of fame after winning 1,100 games in 38 seasons, created what Bair calls a “culture of brotherhood” while competing at a high level.

With a foundation of respect, trust, loyalty, faith and fun, Bair is hoping to do the same.

“If you focus on the relationships, the wins will be the result,” says Bair. “Everybody is out there to win, but it can’t be the focus. It’s not the only piece of the puzzle. A lot of life lessons can be taught through the game. Coach Brandon was a master at that. He had a lot of wisdom. He gave us some great attributes that we could carry forward and be better men.

“I want players to have great memories of being loved by their coaches and teammates. I want to make this the best life experience possible for them.”

The 1996 Anderson High School graduate returns to campus after three high school head-coaching stops — one season at Cowan, three at Anderson Highland and one at Lapel plus an ongoing relationship with the Indiana Bulls travel baseball organization as a coach, instructor and board member.

Bair’s coaching staff includes Jim Hazen, Carlos Leyva, Jeff Freeman and Zach Barnes as assistants with J.D. Tammen as statistician, Brandon Schnepp as graduate assistant/baseball operations and Jacob Troxell as volunteer assistant. Leyva and Freeman were assistants to Bair at Anderson Highland.

AU coaches are on the recruiting trail — mostly around Indiana and the Midwest — looking for athletes who can help the Ravens compete in NCAA Division III baseball at a national level as well as in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. That means taking aim at some Division I-type talent.

“We want impact guys in our program,” says Bair. “We go after those big guys because sometimes our school is a good fit for them — academically, athletically and socially.”

Being a D-III school that gives no athletic scholarships, Bair says AU is “looking for kids who take a genuine interest in their academics.”

Besides the talent, Bair and company also look for the intangibles of coachability, competitiveness and caring. They are looking for someone who responds to instruction and is driven while being a good teammate.

Bair, the son of Debbie and Kevin Moore of Anderson and Glen Bair of Lapel, played at Anderson High for Terry Turner and Wally Winans. He was a shortstop on the 1995 Indians that reached the semistate.

“Both of them have a real love for the game and the kids that they coach,” says Bair of Turner and Winans, who were coaches in the 2017 IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series in Muncie. “They were good at the X’s and 0’s of the game, but they also had an impact on developing me as a person. They were always good to me. They helped me grow in the game.”

Matt and Brooke Bair have been married 15 years and have three sons — Landon (13), Isaac (12) and Hogan (9).

Besides recruiting, Bair and his staff have been getting prepared for Aug. 28 — the day that players report to campus, where they will be greeted by an upgraded Don Brandon Field (new sod, bullpens, game mound, batting cages and regular visits from Midwest Turf Management).

“I’m really excited about some of these things we’re doing with our facility,” says Bair. “We want create a showcase field.”

NCAA D-III rules allow 16 days of fall practice. Bair plans to use that time for evaluation through practice and an Orange and Black series.

David Pressley was AU head coach after Brandon’s retirement and served for five seasons (2011-15). Dustin Glant led the Ravens in 2016. Drew Brantley and Mark Calder were interim co-head coaches in 2017.

Matt Bair, a 2001 Anderson University graduate, has been named as head baseball coach of the Ravens.