Hartman has West Lafayette Red Devils’ best interests at heart

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Justin Hartman is bringing a mix of old school and new school as the first-year head baseball coach at West Lafayette (Ind.) Junior/Senior High School.

Hartman comes to the Red Devils after two assistant coach stints totalling seven years at his high school alma mater — McCutcheon.

“Today, they talk about being a player’s coach,” says Hartman. “That’s important. You need vested in these kids not only on the field but off the field.

“You can be strict and have discipline and still be there from a personal standpoint. When they see that you have their best interests (at heart), that’s how you get the most out of them.”

As a Mavericks player and then an assistant, Hartman learned from Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Jake Burton.

“I learned many things, like how to build the program from the bottom up, player personnel, coaching strategy and (fundraising),” says Hartman. “It was a little bit of everything.”

Hartman, who holds a Law and Society degree from Purdue University and is a patrolman for the Lafayette Police Department, appreciates the new IHSAA rules that allow periods of limited contact. During these periods, an unlimited number of players can receive instruction two days a week for two hours at a time.

“I like the change,” says Hartman. “I need as much time as I can with these kids to get ready for that opener in March.”

“A lot is accomplished in those two hours. We’re getting a lot of team stuff done now that wouldn’t be done before March (under the old rules).”

The Red Devils have been practicing in the Cumberland Elementary School gym. Coaches man up to six stations for drill work. After that, everything is cleared out for the team to go over defensive coverages.

Hartman’s varsity staff includes Dan Penale, Dan Walbaum, Brent Talcott, Steve Hartman and Joe Richardson. Former McCutcheon and Lafayette Central Catholic assistant Penale is the pitching coach. Former West Lafayette head coach Walbaum is the hitting coach. Talcott directs the defense. Steve Hartman, Justin’s father, helps with base running and player personal. Richardson is the bench coach.

Bryan Dispennett is the head junior varsity coach and Buck Nelson is the JV assistant. Dispennett has coached all around Tippecanoe County, including at Central Catholic and Lafayette Jeff. Nelson is a former McCutcheon assistant.

Senior catcher Owen Walbaum has committed to play at Purdue.

Upon taking the job, Hartman established West Lafayette travel teams for 9U, 11U, 12U and 14U. They will play in five or six tournaments during the summer — some at the Noblesville (Ind.) Field of Dreams.

“To be competitive and improve, you have to be in those travel leagues,” says Hartman.

These players plus some from West Lafayette Little League serve as the feeder system for the high school.

The Red Devils play home games at Bob Friend Field, which is located adjacent to Cumberland Elementary and West Lafayette Little League.

Hartman has gotten approval to have padding installed in front of both dugouts. A local turf group is improving the surface. An irrigation system is on the way.

Friend, who played at Purdue and pitched 16 seasons in the big leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees and New York Mets, attended West Lafayette graduate.

West Lafayette (enrollment around 770) is a member of the Hoosier Conference (with Benton Central, Hamilton Heights, Lafayette Central Catholic, Lewis Cass, Northwestern, Rensselaer Central, Tipton, Twin Lakes and Western). Burton is now head coach at Twin Lakes.

Each conference team plays each other twice in a home-and-home series during the same week.

The Red Devils are part of an IHSAA Class 3A sectional grouping with Benton Central, Maconaquah, Northwestern, Peru and Western. West Lafayette has won nine sectional titles — the last in 2011.

Justin and wife Megan have been married for 10 years. The couple has two children — daughter Chesney (9) and son Koen (8).

Justin Hartman, a graduate of McCutcheon High School and Purdue University, is entering his first season as head baseball coach at West Lafayette (Ind.) Junior/Senior High School.

 

Advertisement

Schreiber teaching baseball, life skills in first season at McCutcheon

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Ever since Doug Schreiber became a baseball coach, he has been working with young people.

In 18 seasons as head coach at Purdue University (1999-2016) and before that in assistant stints at Ball State University, Butler University, the University of Notre Dame and Arizona State University, he taught about the game and about life to young men 18-and-over.

Schreiber, a 1982 LaPorte High School graduate and the third child born to 13-time Hall of Famer Ken Schreiber and wife Judy, is now passing along his wisdom to slightly younger athletes in his first season as head baseball coach at McCutcheon High School.

“We’re trying to teach all the things that are going to help them at the next level and for the rest of their life, too,” says Schreiber, who had his Mavericks off to strong start in 2018 (14-3 overall and 8-0 in the North Central Conference). “We’re learning. Even though we have 13 seniors (Butler University commit Kollyn All, Evan Allen, Caleb Ely, Dylan Henning, Steven Krick, Parker Lamb, Darren Lathrop, Kobe McNeely, Ben Miller, Anderson University commit Kyle Pendleton, Kaden Rice, Purdue commit Jackson Smeltz and Kelden Tyson), they’re all like freshmen a little bit because they’ve got to learn all new signs, philosophy, temperament.

“It’s all new to them.”

Schreiber, 54, has witnessed a resilient team.

“There’s days we don’t hit, but we do just enough defensively,” says Schreiber. “There’s days when we don’t play the best defense, but we hit.

“We’re a team that can beat anybody in the state, but we’re also a team that can lose to anybody. You’ve got to be attentive to detail and that’s something we could be a little sharper on.

“We’re not a attentive to detail as I want. But any coach is probably going to stay that.”

Using baseball as a platform, Schreiber has helped the Mavs grow up.

“We always talk about maturity being an important part of what we’re trying to do,” says Schreiber. “You hear it a lot. Coaches in all sports say they like some of their leaders because they’ve finally matured and become leaders.

“Our jobs as coaches — as an adult — is to help them mature. I don’t care if they’re 16, 17 or 18, I’m going expect things out of them that’s going to bring some of that maturity level. That allows them to be able to understand their coaches, teachers and other people a little better. They see the other peoples’ perspective and not always things out of their own eyes.”

With a senior-dominated lineup, Schreiber has gotten contributions from the junior class.

There are sophomores, who Schreiber says could probably play on varsity, that are getting quality reps with McCutcheon’s two junior varsity squads.

“They’re getting to be the team leaders and stuff like that,” says Schreiber. “During the end of the season, they’re going to be moved up and see what it’s like to be in our dugout with our coaches.

“We’ve got kids who are working really hard and buying in.”

Brian Eaton was McCutcheon’s head coach in 2017. When Eaton left to take the athletic director job at Clinton Prairie just before the start of the 2017-17, it created an opening at the top of the Mavericks baseball staff.

“They approached me and asked if I’d be interested,” says Schreiber. “I had to see if it was going to work within my working life as well.”

Schreiber continues to work at Purdue as associate director of Outreach and Recruitment in the Technology & Innovation department.

Sarah Schreiber, Doug’s wife, is a guidance counselor at McCutcheon.

“It’s been a lot of time,” says Schreiber. “Because you don’t have a sports information director or a grounds crew (like in college). You wind up doing a lot of it yourself, which i love to do. You just don’t have a lot of time during the day.

“There’s not as much teaching time. You have to use game time to teach as well. We don’t have meetings in the off-season on the intangibles and life skills. We just can’t dominate their time like we can in college.”

Schreiber is incorporating those things at McCutcheon, but is sometimes doing it “on the fly.”

“When the other team makes a mistake, you have to point that out as a teaching moment for our guys,” says Schreiber. “You have to take advantage of all those things. If they do something good, you point it out.”

Schreiber has been teaching his players to take pride in their home field and the art of raking the infield and grooming the mound.

“It’s not about what you don’t have,” says Schreiber. “You have to focus more on what you have.

“It might not be the very best. But we try to keep it up and maintain it. The kids do work hard and they’re appreciative and grateful.”

Schreiber is grateful for his coaching staff which includes Kurt Schlicher, Tristan McIntyre, Justin Hartman and Ryan Wides at the varsity level and Brandon Fulk, Joe Richardson, Jeremy Boden and Dustin Anthrop with the JV.

Schilcher, a social teacher at McCutcheon, serves as hitting and bench coach for Schreiber and helps him navigate through high school concepts like re-entry. McIntyre, who played for and coached with Schreiber at Purdue, is Mavs pitching coach. McCutcheon alum Hartman also works with pitchers as well as outfielders and corner infielders. Wides, who played at Noblesville, works with catchers and outfielders.

Teams from the McCutcheon Youth Baseball League have been taking turns this season shagging flies during batting practice and being recognized at home games and getting a little taste of the high school experience.

“I like when the youngsters come out because they have more energy than any of us,” says Schreiber. “We’ve got to feed off that energy.

“We want them to keep enjoying playing baseball. I want to make sure they learn the game. The more they learn it, the more they’ll like it and the more they’ll stay with it.

“Hopefully, it will become their passion. When something becomes your passion, you do learn all those little details I been talking about to be better.”

Besides McCutcheon, the NCC includes Anderson, Arsenal Tech, Kokomo, Lafayette Jeff, Logansport, Marion, Muncie Central and Richmond. The Mavs are coming off 8-7 and 16-2 conference wins against crosstown rival Jeff.

Two former McCutcheon players are currently on Major League Baseball pitching staffs — Clayton Richard with the San Diego Padres and Nick Wittgren with the Miami Marlins.

Doug Schreiber, 54, is in his first season as head baseball coach at McCutcheon High School in Lafayette. He was head coach at Purdue University for 18 seasons (1999-2016). (Steve Krah Photo)