Baseball gives Michigan’s Van Remortel chance to see USA

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

Jack Van Remortel was born and raised in the middle of America.
Baseball has allowed him to see the USA from from coast-to-coast.
And he’s only 23.
Carmel, Ind., native Van Remortel is a fifth-year senior first baseman at the University of Michigan. The Wolverines were to open the 2023 home season today (March 8) after games in Arizona, California and Texas.
“It’s good to play some high-quality opponents early in the season,” says Van Remortel, whose already gone against Fresno State, Michigan State, UC San Diego, Grand Canyton, Cal State Fullerton, UCLA, UC Irvine, UCLA, Texas Christian, Texas Tech and Louisville. “You learn the things you need to work on as a team.
“I always think about how awesome it is where the game of baseball takes you. Being able to see these cool parks and places is really neat.”
Van Remortel went to the Wolverines after graduating from Carmel High School in 2018.
He appeared in 16 Michigan games as a pinch-hitter and in the infield in 2019 then played for the New England Collegiate Baseball League’s Sanford (Maine) Mariners.
“That was a great experience,” says Van Remortel. “I got my first taste of summer ball.”
The 2020 NCAA season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic and Van Remortel got into two U-M games with one at-bat.
At the suggestion of then-Wolverines head coach Erik Bakich, Van Remortel went to Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore., to play for Jeremiah Robbins in 2020-21 with the idea of coming back to Michigan.
“I went to get some at-bats and some experience,” says Van Remortel, who appeared in 37 games and rapped four home runs and drove in 28 runs in for the IronHawks.
Relationships and connections took Van Remortel to Oregon.
Michigan catcher Casey Buckley, who also went from Michigan to Umpqua and back to the Wolverines, is a California native and the son of Troy Buckley (now pitching coach at Fresno State).
The elder Buckley is a friend of Bakich and Robbins, who led Lewis and Clark State to three titles (2015, 2016 and 2017) and two runner-up finishes at the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho.
“I went out there for Coach Robbins and to learn under him,” says Van Remortel, who briefly played with the 2021 Bellingham (Wash.) Bells of the West Coast League before experiencing a ankle injury and went back to that team for a month in the summer of 2022.
“I’ve been all over the country,” says Van Remortel.
Primarily a third baseman in high school, Van Remortel has found a home at first base and explains how he approaches the position.
“When I’m on the field I always like to be talking and communicating,” says Van Remortel. “That’s important. And then just being the steady force over there. Having some stability at that spot is key. A lot of plays go through first base.
“Baseball is really catching and throwing the ball when you break it down on defense. Being able to make those long throws is an advantage.”
A Sport Management major, Van Remortel is scheduled to graduate in the spring.
What’s next?
“My passion is in baseball,” says Van Remortel. “I’ve always wanted to stay in sports. Recently I’ve leaned toward coaching.
“Coaching college players is something I’d be really passionate about. I’ve learned a lot in college. It’s a great age to grow and develop.”
Van Remortel got his start in travel ball with Indiana Mustangs and played for the Indiana Nitro then several years with the Indiana Bulls.
A four-year varsity player at Carmel, Van Remortel had Dan Roman as head coach his freshman and sophomore seasons and Matt Buczkowski for his junior and senior campaigns for the Greyhounds.
“It’s kind of cool to see how different people approach the game. Having two different perspectives from Coach Roman and Coach Buczkowski is really good,” says Van Remortel, who was all-state and all-conference in baseball and all-conference in football at Carmel.
He is seeing another perspective this season in Ann Arbor.
Tracy Smith, a graduate of South Newton High School in Kentland, Ind., and former head coach at Miami University (Oxford, Ohio), Indiana University and Arizona State University, is now head coach at Michigan.
Three members of Smith’s staff — associate head coach/recruiting coordinator Ben Greenspan, pitching coach Brock Huntzinger and director of operations Danny Stolper — worked with him at ASU.
Former big league catcher, Indiana University and Terre Haute North Vigo High School product Josh Phegley is Director of Player Development for the Wolverines.
Tyler Graham is volunteer coach/hitting instructor. Hunter Satterthwaite is director of data analytics.
Jack is the oldest of David and Kelly Van Remortel’s two children. Lauren Van Remortel is 21 and a senior volleyball player at Northern Michigan University. David Van Remortel played rugby at University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse. Kelly (Niedbalski) Van Remortel played volleyball at Purdue University.
Uncle Chris Gambol played offensive line at the University of Iowa and in the National Football League for the Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers, Detroit Lions and New England Patriots.

Jack Van Remortal. (University of Michigan Photo)

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Cubs appreciate what dietitians can do for their performance

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

What athletes put into their bodies can go along way in what they can accomplish.

The field of sports nutrition just keeps growing every year.

The Chicago Cubs have led the way in professional baseball circles, where each team is looking to require dietetic staffers at the big league level.

In 2016, the Cubs fulfilled Dawn Blatner’s goal when they became the first Major League Baseball organization to place these licensed nutrition experts with all of its minor league affiliates. Blatner is assisted in Chicago by Jenny Westerkamp.

Marta Scechura, who is now a Sports Nutrition Associate at the University of Notre Dame, led the dietary needs of the Low Class-A South Bend Cubs the first season. It’s been Emily Kaley in 2017.

Kaley is part of a little community that also includes the two dietitians in Chicago and four at other Cubs minor league stops.

Following the plan set up by Blatner and giving it her own flavor, Kaley keeps South Bend players on a beneficial nutritional path.

“I make sure they have access to well-balanced meals every single day,” says Kaley. “I meal plan for two meals everyday of the season (pregame and postgame).

“Nutrition is important for your performance,” says Kaley. “It can make a big difference.”

With a “plate check” chart on the clubhouse wall, the team has a chance to take in well-balanced portions of carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats.

With about 40 mouths to feed and tastes coming from all over the U.S. and Latin America, Kaley works with a local caterer (as well as those at out-of-town destinations in the Midwest League) to mix up the menu.

“I need to make a variety of all different kinds of foods to help them stay interested in eating healthy foods and not get bored with what they’re eating,” says Kaley. “We can’t have chicken every single time.”

Kaley takes requests and provides healthy smoothies packed with nutrient-dense foods. The ingredients depend on the player’s goals — gaining, losing or maintaining weight.

“I’m right in the clubhouse doing it,” says Kaley. “They see it and smell it. Sometimes they want to help. Sometimes they want to taste test.”

If players don’t like what’s being presented to them, peanut butter and jelly is an alternative.

With clubhouse/equipment manager Terry Fellows doing the shopping with a “Costco haul” at the beginning of a homestand, Kaley makes sure her hungry crew can have healthy snacks like fruits, homemade popcorn or banana bread.

There is also access to superfood shots — Matcha for energy, beet for endurance, pickle juice as a cramp stopper, ginger for immunity, collagen for protection and tart cherry for recovery.

She is also there to answer all the nutrition questions thrown her way and troubleshooting.

Kaley went on one road trip and might go on another before the 2017 season closes. When she’s not with the squad, she has strength and conditioning coach Ryan Nordtvedt providing the snacks while she is in South Bend catching up on planning, notes and filing assessments sheets for the Cubs organization.

As a fifth-year veteran of professional baseball, Nordtvedt has also been a resource to show Kaley how things function. He also provides her with player weights so she is able to use food to help them gain, lose or maintain.

“I’m glad the strength and conditioning coach is here and locked into nutrition being an important part of professional baseball,” says Kaley, who also works with athletic trainer Logan Severson in South Bend.

Kaley, who plans to become a board-certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD) this February, has a Masters degree in Sport Nutrition from University of Colorado-Colorado Springs and a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics from Simmons College in Boston, where she also played lacrosse.

She grew up in Bangor and Manchester, Maine, and earned her karate black belt and played lacrosse and soccer at Maranacook Community School.

“I was raised in a healthy environment,” says Kaley, the daughter of a dietitian mother (Lori) and diabetic father (Bruce) with sisters (Lindsey and twin Zoie). “I brought lunches to school everyday. I fueled well for soccer practice. I knew how food effected me.”We didn’t got out to eat a lot and in-moderation. We didn’t have soda in the house. We had ice cream once in awhile.”

Kaley went from Simmons into a Morrison Chartwells Distance Dietetic Internship in Charlotte, N.C. While there, she got to work with elite swimmer Ryan Lochte, who was training at Queens University. She was invited to go to Colorado Springs see to the nutrition needs of Team USA Swimming and Team USA Track and Field athletes at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in the year leading up to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

“I was in the presence of Michael Phelps and gave him a smoothie one time,” says Kaley.

Those kinds of athletes are very much in-tune with their nutrition and how their bodies respond to food.

At the low levels of pro baseball, it varies from person to person and not all metabolisms are the same.

“It’s super fun to work with the 18- to 24-year-olds,” says Kaley. “They’re just starting to get it.”

Emily Kaley is the dietitian for the 2017 South Bend Cubs. The Chicago Cubs organization was the first to have registered dietitians for all of its minor league affiliates. (Steve Krah Photo)