Rooney wants his Purdue pitchers to be aggressive, strike-throwers

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

Terry Rooney has returned to a familiar role in his second season as a Purdue University baseball coach.
Rooney is the Boilermakers pitching coach on head coach Greg Goff’s staff for 2022-23.
Since his coaching career began in 1997, Rooney had been a recruiting coordinator and pitching coach. He focused just on recruiting in 2021-22 as he rejoined Goff (the two worked together at the University of Alabama during the 2017 season).
“He’s one of the greatest coaches there is in college baseball,” says Rooney of Goff. “What he brings to the field every single day is unmatched.”
With a 15-0 start, Purdue went 29-21 overall and 9-12 in the Big Ten Conference in 2022.
This fall, which includes an exhibition game at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8 against Dayton in West Lafayette, Rooney is evaluating his pitchers while implementing systems.
“We want to be an ultra-aggressive, confident, strike-throwing pitching staff … guys that pound the strike zone,” says Rooney. “We have a phrase around here — A3P and that’s ‘ahead after three pitches.’ One of our main focuses is to get to that advantage count of 1-2.
“The difference in a hitter hitting in a 2-1 count and a 1-2 count is about 200 points (roughly .360 vs. .160). We say it all the time — 1-2 is our full count. We’re doing everything we can to get to that advantage count of 1-2.”
Rooney says the goal is to be able to throw something other than a fastball on 1-2.
“You want to have the ability to throw multiple pitches for a strike,” says Rooney. “We talk about locating fastballs ahead (in the count) and controlled off-speed pitches behind.”
It’s all about attacking the strike zone.
“It’s hard to be ultra-competitive and ultra-confident and aggressive if you’re falling behind 2-1 and 3-1 all the time,” says Rooney. “Your actions have to mimic what you want to be.”
Rooney says the challenge that players face at the highest level of college baseball — as opposed to high school or even junior college — is a smaller margin for error. There are more great hitters at NCAA D-I.
“As a pitcher the stuff hasn’t changed,” says Rooney. “You’re still the same guy. But you can get away with more at those levels. Here, you can’t get away with much. You’re exposed so to speak.”
With all the concentration on velocity Rooney says the change-up has become almost a lost art.
“A change-up is a switch pitch,” says Rooney. “That’s how you mess up (the hitter’s) timing. The hitter is swinging at the arm speed of the pitcher and it looks like a fastball.
“They’re taught on breaking balls, sliders and cutters to lay off that pitch until two strikes. But the change-up you can’t lay off because it looks like the fastball.”
Rooney came to Purdue in July 2021.
“My relationship with Coach Goff was certainly the No. 1 reason (for coming to West Lafayette),” says Rooney, 48. “Last year was the first time in 24 years that I didn’t do the pitching. For the chance to come in and really focus on recruiting was another reason that I did it.
“The third thing is just what Purdue is, what I think it’s going to be and what it has been.”
Coming back to a “college town” really appealed to Terry and wife Shaun (who have a daughter, Milly Margaret).
The couple met when Terry was on Paul Mainieri’s staff at Notre Dame (2004-06).
“We have been in a lot of college towns together,” says Rooney. “We loved our time in Houston (Texas) and I had a great four years there.”
Rooney enjoys the fact that he lives 10 minutes from Purdue’s Alexander Field.
A native of Fairfax County, Va., and the Washington D.C. area, Rooney pitched at Davis & Elkins College (Elkins, W.Va.) in 1993 and Radford (Va.) University 1994-96.
Purdue is the 10th school where Rooney has coached. It started with George Washington University (Washington D.C.) in 1997, followed by James Madison University (Harrisonburg, Va.) 1998-99, Old Dominion University (Norfolk, Va.) 2000-01, Stetson University (DeLand, Fla.) 2002-03, Notre Dame, Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, La.) 2007-08, University of Central Florida (Orlando, Fla.) 2009-16, Alabama and the University of Houston 2018-21. He was an assistant to Mainieri at LSU and went to the College World Series with the Tigers in 2008 and head coach at UCF.
Rooney recruited or signed future Major League Baseball all-stars Justin Verlander (Old Dominion), D.J. LeMahieu (LSU) and A.J. Pollock (Notre Dame).
He coached six different schools to NCAA regional appearances (10 total bids): 2000 (Old Dominion), 2002-2003 (Stetson), 2004-2006 (Notre Dame), 2008 (LSU), 2011-2012 (UCF) and 2018 (Houston).
He was part of the coaching staff with six 40-win teams, including talented teams at Stetson, Notre Dame, LSU and UCF.
Rooney counts himself lucky to have worked with so many good coaches during his career. Three of them — Mainieri (1,505), Pete Dunn (1,312) and Tom Walter (790) — have 3,607 victories between them. Current Wake Forest head coach Walter was Rooney’s boss at George Washington. Dunn was in charge when Rooney was at Stetson.
A 30-day NCAA recruiting window is coming to a close soon.
While coach Chris Marx has been on the road for the Boilermakers much of the time and volunteer Daniel Furuto has been very engaged, Rooney has generally worked with pitchers on-campus during weekdays and hit the recruiting trail on weekends.
“We have devoted almost all of our (fall) efforts to junior college,” says Rooney. “The summer is really high school dominant along with the (NCAA) Transfer Portal.
Besides the Dayton game, Purdue has scheduled 3 p.m. open scrimmages for Oct. 12, 13, 14 and 18, the Black and Gold Series Oct. 20-22 and Halloween Bash at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27.

Terry Rooney. (Purdue University Photo)

Terry Rooney. (Purdue University Photo)

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Former Indiana University player McConnell leading baseball program at Barr-Reeve

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

A former Indiana University baseball player is sharing his experience and knowledge as head coach at Barr-Reeve Middle/High School in the tiny Daviess County town of Montgomery.
Trevor McConnell, who graduated from Bloomington (Ind.) High School South in 2005 and earned his IU degree in December 2008, enjoyed his first on-field season with Barr-Reeve in 2021 after the COVID-19 pandemic took away 2020. He was an assistant to Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Joe Rademacher during the 2019 season.
Before Barr-Reeve, McConnell spent five seasons as an assistant to Bloomington South head coach Phil Kluesner (2014-18) and five as head coach and athletic director at Eastern Greene (2009-13).
A center fielder in high school, McConnell played for IHSBCA Hall of Famer Grier Werner at Bloomington South and was recruited to play at IU by Bob Morgan.
“(Werner) was an old-school guy,” says McConnell. “He had that football mentality. He wanted physical and mental toughness from his teams and pushed us to take on that mentality because baseball is a game of failure.”
By the time McConnell joined the Hoosiers, Tracy Smith was head coach. He saw action in 65 games from 2006-08 and counted future big leaguer Josh Phegley as a teammate. Michael Earley went on to be a college coach (he’s now at Texas A&M).
“I learned a ton from Coach Smith in my time around the IU program,” says McConnell, who picked up pointers in practice planning, strategy and all facets of running a baseball team. “(Werner and Smith) are responsible for molding my coaching mindset more than anybody.”
McConnell sustained a career-ending arm injury and served as a volunteer assistant to Smith in the fall of 2008.
By then, McConnell saw his path as a teacher and coach and took the job the Eastern Greene positions at 23.
McConnell played summer ball for Kluesner with the Bloomington Wizards and accepted an invitation to coach with him.
“He welcomed me with open arms,” says McConnell of Kluesner. “He’s one of my best friends.”
At Barr-Reeve, McConnell teaches junior high school education and has a coaching staff that features pitching coach Rademacher, varsity assistant/infield coach Nathan Lester and head junior varsity coach Joe Cummings. All three have been head coaches at the high school level — Rademacher in two stints at Barr-Reeve, Lester at Barr-Reeve and Cummings at Pike Central.
There’s also JV assistant Ryan Graber, who played for Rademacher and Lester, former Vincennes Lincoln and University of Southern Indiana national championship player Craig Heinz, Beau Sluder, Trevor Yoder and Kraig Knepp. Chris Winkler runs Barr-Reeve’s junior high baseball program (Grades 7 and 8).
“I appreciate having experienced guys with me in the dugout,” says McConnell, who works with Vikings hitters and outfielders. “I have no ego. Joe Rademacher has been a good mentor for me. He’s been super gracious.
“He told me has still has a fire for the game and would like to be around if you want me.”
The Vikings play on Joe Rademacher Field. An old agriculture building was recently converted into a hitting/training facility for Barr-Reeve baseball and softball.
“We have four full-length (batting) cages,” says McConnell. “We are spoiled.”
A T-ball league is hosted by Barr-Reeve. Coach Pitch leagues start at Chuck Harmon Little League in nearby Washington, Ind.
The Viking Baseball Club sponsors teams of local students from second grade through 12U.
“They play together as a group with ‘Barr Reeve’ across their chest,” says McConnell, who attends and runs some VBC practices in the winter to show players the way he does it at the high school. A three-week fall camp for Grades 2-6 ran by McConnell and his assistants and players just concluded.
An IHSAA Limited Contact Period goes from Aug. 30-Oct. 16. Starting after Labor Day, McConnell has been leading close to 20 baseball players two days a week. Those practices are on Mondays and Wednesdays and many also participate in basketball activities with Josh Thompson on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Thompson guided Barr-Reeve to an IHSAA Class 1A state championship in 2020-21 and a state runner-up finished in 2018-19.
“I like the fact we can instruct and be more hands-on with our players,” says McConnell of the current off-season set-up. “There’s less quantity but the quality is a lot better.
“We can coach them up.”
Barr-Reeve (enrollment around 250) is a member of the Blue Chip Conference (with Loogootee, North Knox, Northeast Dubois, Shoals, South Knox, Vincennes Rivet, Washington Catholic and Wood Memorial). In recent years, Washington Catholic has not fielded a baseball team.
In 2001, the Vikings were part of a Class 1A sectional grouping with Loogootee, North Daviess (host site), Shoals and Vincennes Rivet. Barr-Reeve has won 12 sectional titles — the last in 2019 — Rademacher’s last season as head coach. A senior on that ’19 team — Gage Wilson — went on to Vincennes (Ind.) University for baseball.
The youngest child of former college football coach Bob McConnell and wife Barbara, Trevor was born in Amherst, Mass., when his father was on the staff at the University of Massachusetts.
About the time Trevor went into kindergarten, his family (including older brother Ryan) had moved to Nashville with Bob McConnell joining the football staff at Vanderbilt University.
From 1995-2001, the McConnells were in Baton Rouge, La., and Bob was coaching at Lousiana State University.
Trevor McConnell’s freshmen baseball season was spent as a varsity role player at Parkview Baptist High School, where Eagles head coach and Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame inductee M.L. Woodruff was on the way to one of his 11 state championships. His 27-season record was 603-163-2.
“I learned a lot of fundamentals,” says McConnell of Woodruff. “He was super-organized and super-efficient.”
The McConnells wound up in Bloomington when Bob was hired by Hoosiers head football coach Gerry DiNardo, who also coached at Vandy and LSU.
After years of the gypsy lifestyle of a college football coach, Bob McConnell went into financial services and retired last fall. Barbara McConnell is a Muncie, Ind., native. Ryan McConnell (38) resides in Baton Rouge.
Trevor (35) and wife Jessica both went to Bloomington South and began dating at IU. They have been married since 2009. The couple have two children — second grader Nolan (who turns 8 in October) and kindergartener Lauren (5).

The McConnells (from left): Jessica, Trevor, Nolan and Lauren.

The McConnells (clockwise from upper left): Trevor, Jessica, Nolan and Lauren.

Trevor (left) and Ryan McConnell.

Trevor McConnell (30).

Trevor McConnell directs traffic.

Trevor McConnell swings the fungo.

Goff wants Purdue baseballers to sport ‘attitude of gratitude’

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Greg Goff wants his Purdue University baseball players to play the game well.

But there’s so much more the new head coach has in mind for the young men in his program.

Goff says he believes that “good things happen to good people” and makes that a priority for his squad.

“Having a program that the Boilermaker fan base and people are proud of, that’s really important for me,” says Goff. “I tell our guys all the time, we’ve got to have integrity.

“I want our guys to do things right. I want to be able to look people in the eye because my players are going to class. They’re getting their degrees. They’re being good citizens. We’re making an impact in the community.

“I want to be proud of our players. I want them to be men of service and have an attitude of gratitude. It’s such a privilege (to play college baseball). It goes by so far. This four- or five-year window these guys have can make such huge impact on others.”

Goff asks each Purdue player to contribute at least 10 hours of community service before the end of the fall term. So far, they’ve done things like share a meal with senior citizens and read to elementary students.

“It’s important for people to see our guys,” says Goff. “The more people can see the product that we have, hopefully they’ll come watch in the spring.”

Purdue has a 45-day window of fall training that started about 10 days ago and will run mid-October. By NCAA rule, the Boilers are allowed to train for 20 hours per week.

Three exhibition games are on the fall calendar. The Ontario Blue Jays came to Alexander Field on Sept. 13. There are home contests slated with Heartland Community College (Oct. 5) and Wabash Valley College (Oct. 11).

“The emphasis in the fall is to continue to instill the daily work habits I want,” says Goff. “For the two or three hours we have each day, really focus on that.

“I don’t think you can get better if you don’t really focus in and do those things.”

When the fall concludes, Purdue baseball will shut it down and then go into off-season speed and agility work and be restricted to eight hours of organized training time per week.

“I’ve been really, really pleased with our guys,” says Goff. “They have made such a tremendous commitment to what we’re asking them to do.”

Goff wants his athletes to grow and develop beyond the diamond.

“We want to help our guys understand the importance of making good decisions on a daily basis,” says Goff. “We tell them that when that alarm clock goes off, don’t hit that snooze.

“Let’s get up and make a great day out of it and make a difference in somebody’s life.”

Goff takes over the Boilermakers from Mark Wasikowski.

Waz left West Lafayette after three seasons to become head coach at the University of Oregon. Goff joined Purdue baseball as an assistant coach in July 2017 and was promoted to head coach in June 2019.

“Coach Wasikowski left the program in really good shape,” says Goff. “In all the places I’ve taken over, this is by far the best situation.”

Goff has previously served as a college head coach with stops at Campbell University (2008-14), Louisiana Tech University (2015-16) and the University of Alabama (2017) as well as NCAA Division II University of Montevallo (2004-07).

He was also pitching coach at the University of Kentucky (2000-03) and served as an assistant at Southeast Missouri State University (1998-99) and his alma mater Delta State University (1994-97).

Goff has coached several future professionals, including big league pitchers-to-be Brandon Webb and Joe Blanton at Kentucky.

Goff’s Purdue coaching staff features Cooper Fouts, Chris Marx, Harry Shipley and John Madia.

Growing up in Jackson, Tenn., the son of James and Cora Goff, Greg credits his mother for teaching him much about the game and about life.

“My mom had such great impact on me,” says Goff of his late mother. “She coached me. My dad had to work all the time.

“I learned how strong she was and had to fight for where she was.”

Goff went on to Delta State where he learned from Bill Marchant and Mike Kinnison at Delta State.

More lessons were taught by Mark Hogan at Southeast Missouri State and Keith Madison at Kentucky. Madison is an American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer and Kinnison is to be inducted in January 2020.

“Those guys have had such huge impact on my life,” says Goff. “Hopefully, one day, I can impact players like they did.

“I learned so many life lessons with (Madison). He changed changed the direction of my life. I was so into this baseball. And I love baseball.

“He helped me put it in perspective. Wow, what a mentor he was for me.”

Greg and Tina Goff have four daughters — Kara, Kiley, Kolby and Kenzie. Kara plays softball at LSU.

Greg Goff (right) wants to have the impact on players that many of the mentors during his long baseball path have had on him. Goff was named head baseball coach at Purdue University in June 2019. (Purdue University Photo)

Greg Goff brings enthusiasm to his role as a baseball coach. After two seasons as a Purdue University assistant, he is now the Boilermakers head coach. (Purdue University Photo)

Greg Goff (right) brings plenty of experience to his new role as head baseball coach at Purdue University. He has 14 seasons of head coaching and many more as an assistant to drew from when leading the Boilermakers. (Purdue University Photo)

Greg Goff, now head baseball coach at Purdue University, looks to impact his players both on and off the diamond. He is stressing academics and service as well as athletic achievement. (Purdue University Photo)

Greg Goff will be pointing the way for the Purdue University baseball coach as head coach. He was named to that position in June 2019 after serving two seasons under Mark Wasikowski. (Purdue University Photo)

Greg Goff was named head baseball coach at Purdue University in June 2019. He has been on the Purdue staff since July 2017. He has been a college head coach for 14 seasons and spent several others as an assistant. (Purdue University Photo)

 

Lefty Thompson keeps on collecting K’s for Kentucky

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Zachary David Thompson goes by Zack.

Perhaps, it’s fitting that the last letter in this standout baseball pitcher’s shortened name is a K.

Zack Thompson, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound junior left-hander at the University of Kentucky, sure has made short work of opposing hitters by putting up strikeout after strikeout.

“I love the punch-out,” says the graduate of Wapahani High School in Selma, Ind., is fanning opposing hitters at a rate of 12.81 per nine innings for the 2019 season (102 K’s and 24 walks in 71 2/3 innings) and 12.09 for his collegiate career (240 whiffs and 82 freebies in 178 1/3 innings). “I’ve got pretty good breaking balls. I can expand the zone on them.”

Thompson, who employs a four-seam fastball that he can sometimes get up to 97 mph that he mixes with a cutter, change-up, curveball and slider, says he goes to the mound with two keys in his mind: Get a first-pitch strike and after that win the 1-1 battle.

“There’s such a big difference between 2-1 and 1-2,” says Thompson.

Currently the Saturday starter during weekend series for the Wildcats, the southpaw is 4-1 with a 1.88 earned run a 1.88 earned run average. Opponents are hitting .179 against him in 11 games (11 starts).

Since coming to UK, Thompson is 14-3 with one save, a 2.57 ERA and .188 opponent’s batting mark in 40 appearances (31 as a starter).

Thompson is on a team with Nick Mingione as head coach and Jim Belanger as pitching coach.

Why did Thompson choose Kentucky?

“It was just the right fit and has a very blue collar feel,” says Thompson. “My family (which includes father Bill, mother Jan and older brother Nick) can see games. They’re usually down here every weekend. And it’s in the (Southeastern Conference).

“The SEC has the best competition and best environment to improve.”

Thompson describes the atmosphere at conference road games as “incredible.”

He has gotten to stand on the bump on a circuit that includes Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Missouri, Mississippi, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M.

In the summer of 2018, Thompson played for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, making three appearances with one start. He was 1.0 with a 0.00 ERA, eight strikeout, five walks and three hits allowed in 8 2/3 innings. Opponents, including Chinese Taipei, Japan and Cuba, hit .107 against the left-hander.

“That was just an awesome experience,” says Thompson. “I was representing my country and playing with the some of the best players and for some of the best coaches.

“I got to see how other people do it.”

Louisiana State University head coach Paul Mainieri was the USA CNT head coach. The pitching coach was University of Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor.

“Coach O is great,” says Thompson of O’Connor. “We worked on things in bullpen that translated to the game really well like his philosophies and pitch calling.”

Mainieri is a former head coach at Notre Dame, where O’Connor was his pitching coach.

Baseball America made the 21-year-old Thompson the No. 1 SEC prospect in the 2019 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft (which is slated for June 3-5). D1 Baseball has him No. 2 on their list. He is also high in prospect rankings for MLBPipeline.com and Perfect Game.

“I try not to worry about it,” says Thompson of the MLB Draft. “It won’t matter if I don’t do my job on the mound.”

Thompson was born in Anderson, Ind., and grew up in Selma near Muncie. Playing for Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Brian Dudley at Wapahani.

“Brian was awesome and a great mentor,” says Thompson of Dudley. “He’s a great leader in the community.

“He sets his players up for success in the class room and on the field.”

Thompson was a National Honor Society student that led him to study business management in college. On the diamond, he put up eye-popping numbers.

On the mound, he went 23-2 with a 0.98 ERA and 405 strikeouts for 183 2/3 innings (15.43 per seven innings). As a sophomore, he helped the Raiders to an IHSAA Class 2A state championship in 2014 while going 13-0 with a 0.64 ERA over 87 innings as a pitcher and also hit .500 with eight home runs and 36 runs batted in.

High school summers were spent traveling with the Indiana White Sox or Indiana Bulls.

Thompson was selected in the 11th round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays, but opted not to sign and went to Kentucky.

Zack Thompson, a graduate of Wapahani High School in Selma, Ind., is a junior left-handed pitcher at the University of Kentucky. (University of Kentucky Photo)

Zack Thompson is among the nation’s top pitching prospects for the 2019 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. The left-hander is a graduate of Wapahani High School in Selma, Ind., and has been racking up strikeouts in droves as a University of Kentucky junior. (University of Kentucky)

 

Bedford North Lawrence coach Callahan wants his Stars to know their roles

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

An athlete knowing and accepting their place can go a long way toward the success of a team.

Bedford North Lawrence High School head baseball coach Jeff Callahan firmly embraces this philosophy and passes it along to his Stars.

“We are working with athletes to understand their role,” says Callahan, who is in his 15th years as BNL athletic director and entering his fifth season in the baseball coaching role. “Everyone wants to start, play shortstop and bat third. We can’t have that to have the best team possible.”

Callahan talks with players about team expectations.

“We’re putting the team first and individual accolades second,” says Callahan, who coached the Stars to an IHSAA Class 4A sectional championship in 2017 — the first for the program since 1994.

As baseball coach, Callahan meets with his parents to talk about team rules and player roles.

As AD, he encourages the other coaches in the BNL athletic department to do the same.

“It’s never going to eliminate all issues or possible conflicts,” says Callahan. “As parents, we all want what’s best for our kids.”

He also wants those youngsters to know that things won’t always go the way they want and that it is helpful to know how to accept and adjust during times of adversity.

“There are a lot of life lessons can be taught to kids in high school athletics,” says Callahan.

As a shortstop and pitcher playing for BNL 1984-87, Callahan learned the importance of fundamentals from Stars head coach Mike Short.

“He was very detail-oriented,” says Callahan. “We worked a lot on the defensive side and on situations. It helps knowing the game of baseball inside and out as a player.

“Pitching and defense is where you’re going to win games and win championships.”

Coach Callahan spends time at every practice on bunt coverages and all kinds of other possibilities. It’s hoped that this repetition will trigger muscle memory during games.

The 2017 Stars said goodbye to 11 seniors, including eight starters.

Two varsity pitching innings return this spring.

“We have a lot of kids battling for positions,” says Callahan. “Early in the season, we may have several different lineups looking for the right combination of players.”

Callahan tends to keep 35 to 40 players in the program. With all the seniors leaving, he says there may be days he has 18 players with the varsity. There are likely to be around a dozen with the junior varsity 10 to 12 freshmen.

While he is still looking to hire a freshmen coach, Duane Higgs and Reggie Joslin are varsity assistants and Dennis Kissinger will coach the JV for BNL in 2018.

Moving on to college baseball from the Class of 2017 were the coach’s oldest child Brandt Callahan (Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Mo.) plus Drew Hensley (Indiana University Southeast), Austin Long (Indiana University), Tanner McBride (Indiana University Kokomo), Brody Tanksley (Indiana University Southeast) and Michael Underwood (Marian University).

“If a kid wants to go play (college baseball), we give them an idea of what it takes and what it’s like to be recruited,” says Callahan. “We help them make sure they’ve got all their ducks in a row. We make them understand that school is more important that the baseball program.”

There’s also things to consider like cost, distance from home and overall fit with the school’s culture.

“A lot of factors go into it,” says Callahan.

Other recent BNL graduates to head for collegiate diamonds include Caleb Bowman (Taylor University), Dillon Hensley (Blackburn College in Carlinville, Ill.), Kyler Sherrill (Blackburn College) and Tanner Tow (Brescia University in Owensboro, Ky).

BNL plays in the Hoosier Hills Conference (along with Columbus East, Floyd Central, Jeffersonville, Jennings County, Madison Consolidated, New Albany and Seymour). Because the HHC is spread out, all teams do not meet during the regular season. There is a conference tournament, slated for Monday, Wednesday and Friday, May 7, 9 and 11. All teams plays three games to determined places 1 through 8.

BNL’s fourth annual Orval Huffman Invitational is scheduled for May 19. Besides the host Stars, the four-team event named in honor of Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer and former BNL coach Orval Huffman will feature Northview, Silver Creek and Speedway.

A year ago, Huffman and members of the Stars’ 1977 State Finals team addressed the current BNL squad.

The rotating sectional is scheduled to move from Bedford in 2017 to Jeffersonville in 2018. Besides BNL and Jeffersonville, the field is to include Floyd Central, Jennings County, New Albany and Seymour.

Callahan played baseball for two seasons at Vanderbilt University. Roy Mewbourne was the Commodores head coach. The VU coach who recruited Jeff Callahan — Gary Burns — is now leading Brandt Callahan as Rockhurst head coach.

Rockhurst is an NCAA Division II school and member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

During Jeff Callahan’s time at Vandy, the Southeastern Conference featured stars like Frank Thomas at Auburn University and Ben McDonald at Louisiana State University. Vanderbilt was not yet the powerhouse it has become in recent years with Tim Corbin as head coach.

Callahan graduated from the Nashville-based school in 1991 with a double major in human resources and secondary education.

After college, Callahan taught and was assistant baseball and football coach at Norcross High School in Gwinett County, Ga. His wife, Paige, grew up in Atlanta. The couple met at Vanderbilt.

Moving back to Bedford, Callahan became a U.S. History teacher and assistant in football, basketball and baseball. For a few seasons, he was the Stars head football coach.

Besides Brandt, Jeff and Paige have a freshman son Whitt and eight-grade daughter Merritt.

Bedford North Lawrence became a school in 1974, a consolidation of Bedford, Fayetteville, Heltonville, Needmore, Oolitic, Shawswick and Tunnelton.

Many Indiana basketball fans know BNL’s Damon Bailey is from Heltonville. He played baseball for the Stars as a freshman. That was Jeff Callahan’s senior season.

Celebrating a 2017 IHSAA Class 4A Bedford North Lawrence Sectional baseball championship for the host school are the Callahan family (from left): Merritt, Jeff, Brandt, Paige and Whittt. Jeff, who is married to Paige, enters his fifth season as the BNL Stars head coach in 2018. Brandt is now in college. Whitt is freshman. Merritt is an eighth grader.

Delta’s Paul focused on mental toughness, fundamentals

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Seth Paul is a student of baseball.

The former Cowan High School and University of Indianapolis catcher has taken several perspectives on the game and made it his own while enjoying on-field success.

In his six seasons as a high school head coach so far — three at Cowan (2012-14) and three at Delta (2015-17) — half his teams have won a championship of some kind.

Paul guided the Cowan Blackhawks to a Mid-Eastern Conference crown in 2012 and helped the Delta Eagles take IHSAA Class 3A Yorktown Sectional and Bellmont Regional titles in 2016 and the Delaware County Tournament in 2017.

Mental toughness, a refusal to quit and grounding in the basics are the building blocks of Paul’s program.

“We’re never out of a game,” says Paul. “We never give up. It’s the old ‘Jim Valvano’ philosophy. The kids buy into that early.”

Paul often gets across his message across in classroom talks.

“It’s not college when you have them all year and have the time,” says Paul. “That doesn’t mean I’m a better coach. I just put more emphasis on it than other people do.”

Paul wants his players to have the know-how and ability to make the right plays.

“I’m a big fundamental and defensive guy,” says Paul, who was a four-year starter at Cowan (playing one season for Mike Estepp and three for Rick Pippin and graduating in 2003) before playing for Gary Vaught at UIndy. “It’s knowing the game, where to be and backing up bases.

“We try not to give anyone runs by our mental mistakes.”

Paul credits Estepp for teaching him about work ethic and preparation and keeping cool under pressure.

“He had this ability to stay calm at all times,” says Paul of Estepp, who later served on Paul’s Cowan coaching staff. “(Pippin) taught me that is was OK to have fun playing baseball. At that time in my life, I was taking it seriously all the time. He incorporated fun into everything we did and found ways to make me laugh.”

Estepp and Pippin imparted knowledge about fundamentals and Paul still uses a front-hand/back-hand soft toss taken from Estepp and a four-corner defensive drill from Pippin.

In college, Paul drew from Vaught as a player and then as an assistant coach.

“He is one of the smartest baseball minds I’ve ever been around,” says Paul of Vaught. “He’s from Oklahoma and has that toughness. I got that toughness from him.

“He does a really good job of wanting his players want to play for him. I still call Coach Vaught to this day. We talk about my lineup or his lineup or whatever.”

Paul has also gleaned much from his attendance at American Baseball Coaches Association national conventions (the 2018 version is Jan. 4-7 in Indianapolis) and watched plenty of videos. Two of his favorite clinicians are brothers Greg and Todd Giulliams on the mental approach to hitting.

“(UIndy associated head coach) Al Ready uses that system and introduced me to that video,” says Paul.

Glenn Cecchini, head coach at Barbe High School in Lake Charles, La., spoke at the 2017 ABCA convention and got Paul’s attention.

“He’s all about mental approach and mental toughness,” says Paul. “I really like to follow what he says and does.”

A few years ago, Paul was in the audience University of Mississippi head coach Mike Bianco shared the system he learned from ABCA Hall of Famer and former LSU head coach Skip Bertman.

Paul has also taken to some of the methods of mental training expert Brian Cain.

“A lot of my coaching style has been molded from my own research,” says Paul. “I’ve definitely evolved.”

All of this is to help the Eagles face the challenges during the season.

“Our (Hoosier Heritage) Conference is ridiculously hard,” says Paul. “Delta is a very hard-nosed blue-collar school with athletics. It’s the kind of coaches they look to hire and the kinds of students that go here

“Football success (Delta has won 163 games on the gridiron since 2000) sets tone for every other sport in the school. I have very few baseball-only players here.”

Taking the “Friday Night Lights” atmosphere of football, the HCC (which also includes Greenfield-Central, Mt. Vernon of Fortville, New Castle, New Palestine, Pendleton Heights, Shelbyville and Yorktown) play Friday night conference doubleheaders. Teams take turns being the home team on the scoreboard.

“Everyone’s good,” says Paul of the conference. “Everyone is well-coached. It’s good, hard-nosed baseball. It reminds me of when I was coaching in college.”

Delta plays on-campus at Veterans’ Field — a facility that was completely overhauled last year. The playing surface, dugouts, backstop, press box and entrance were all new.

And — for the first time — the Eagles had a lighted field.

Paul says New Castle is now the lone HCC member without lights on its baseball field.

Delta is grouped with Blackford, Guerin Catholic, Hamilton Heights, New Castle and Yorktown at sectional time.

Paul, who is 87-74 in his six seasons (40-35 at Cowan and 47-39 at Delta), has sent several players on to college baseball, including Cowan’s Aaron Wells and Joey Covington (both at Manchester University), Alex Delk (Indiana Tech) and Luke Miller (Indiana University) and Delta’s Cade Jones (DePauw University), Arian Coffey (University of Indianapolis), Mitchell Hahn (Marian University), Adam Paschal (Anderson University), Adisyn Coffey (Arizona State University), Jacob Van Pelt and Redon Henry (both at Manchester U.), Charlie May (Elmhurst College) and Andrew Shafer (University of Northwestern Ohio). There have been no college commitments yet this year.

Paul’s assistant coaches are Chad Hinds, Kevin Shafer (pitching coach), Spencer Matheny, Preston Phillips and Curt Howard. All are with the varsity during most games. Phillips and Howard coach the JV Eagles, which play HCC doubleheaders on Saturdays.

When Paul’s daughter Sloane (who is now 3) had a viral infection and had to go to Riley Children’s Hospital, Hinds stepped in and ran the team.

A holder of all grades health and physical education undergraduate degrees plus a masters in curriculum and instruction from the University of Indianapolis, Paul teaches health at Delta High School.

“I never anticipated coaching or teaching in high school,” says Paul. “But the opportunity came up and it made sense.”

And he will keep studying to make sense of the game with the bat and ball.

Seth Paul, who played at Cowan High School and the University of Indianapolis, and coached at his high school alma mater is heading into his fourth season as head baseball coach at Delta High School in Delaware County, Ind.