Developing quality people drives North Montgomery’s Voorhees

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

Matt Voorhees has won regularly in his two stints as head baseball coach at North Montgomery High School in Crawfordsville, Ind. He eclipsed 100 wins 2009-14 and saw the Chargers go 17-11 in 2022.
But that’s not the focus for the graduate of Crawfordsville High School (1993) and Wabash College (1997).
“At North Montgomery we truly believe in developing the person above the player,” says Voorhees. “Our coaches truly invest in the individual and talk about the importance of helping them become quality people.
“We take an active interest in the academics and promote responsibility. Each player is held to a high standard.
“We promote team unity and try to make it a family atmosphere. Every player should have leadership qualities and we try to give them the opportunity to be leaders not only on the field but in their everyday lives. The better the person the more complete the player!
“Every player in our program should complete their high school career knowing that they mattered.”
North Montgomery (enrollment around 525) is a member of the Sagamore Athletic Conference (with Crawfordsville, Danville Community, Frankfort, Lebanon, Southmont, Tri-West Hendricks and Western Boone).
SAC teams play each other two times.
The Chargers are part of an IHSAA Class 3A sectional grouping in 2023 with Frankfort, Northwestern, Twin Lakes, West Lafayette and Western. North Montgomery has won 12 sectional titles — the last in 2018.
Voorhees is a law officer. He started with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department and has been with the Indiana State Police the last 24 years. He has also served as an assistant coach at Marian University in Indianapolis and coached at Southmont High School in Crawfordsville.
As a high schooler, Voorhees played left field as a freshman and three years as a catcher. His head coach was John Froedge, an Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer. Rhett Weliever was an Athenians assistant and still fills that role.
“Coach Froedge was amazing in the development of men! His Christian values will always stick with me as he demonstrated great concern and care for his players.
“Every day I knew that he cared about our integrity and the quality of people that we were. It was easy to give maximum effort for a coach that
you admired and trusted.
“Never once did I doubt that his decisions were anything but pure and in our
best interest. He has gone on to win numerous conference and multiple State championships. He definitely left his mark on Indiana high school baseball.”
Voorhees was a catcher at Wabash College in Crawfordsville. Head coach Scott Boone and assistant Bill Boone then led the Little Giants.
“(Bill Boone) is an amazing coach that truly invested in our lives,” says Voorhees. “Bill was a person of character that went on to become the head coach at Wabash for a stint. He always would say, ‘Carpe Diem — Sieze the day!!!’ And boy did he live his life that way. Much like Coach Froedge, Bill left all of his players knowing that he truly cared about them. He was a great model for me.”
In 1997, Voorhees graduated from Wabash with a degree in English and minor in American Education. He earned a Masters in Organizational Leadership from Indiana Tech in 2020.
North Montgomery’s 2023 assistant coaches include Ryan Cole, Bill Warren, Alex Hall, Shawn Verhey, Kai Warren, Curt Dyson, Joe Swick and Griffon Lawson-Fuller.
Cole was a four-year starter at Purdue University and a former Indiana Bulls player. Bill Warren was a pitcher and catcher at Wabash College. Hall played middle infield at Wabash College. Verhey was an pitcher/outfielder at Glen Oaks Community College in Centerville, Mich. Kai Warren was pitcher and middle infielder at Wabash College. Dyson played at Crawfordsville and has been an Indiana Thunder coach. Lawson-Fuller played at North Montgomery and is a U.S. Army veteran.
There are currently 38 players for varsity, junior varsity and — perhaps — C-team games.
“We are very blessed to have such an interest in our program.
The Chargers have two on-campus diamonds.
“Our coaches take great pride in the field at North Montgomery High School,” says Voorhees. “We believe that it is the least we can do.
“Our players work hard on the game so we will work hard to give them a nice field to play on.”
Baseball is valued in Crawfordsville and the North Montgomery program is fed by recreation, club, middle school, travel and American Legion baseball.
“I cannot begin to thank all of the coaches that have an impact on our players development from 6-year olds all the way through high school seniors,” says Voorhees. “We have a lot of unity throughout the organization.”
“I’m just very blessed to work at a school like North Montgomery. The administration is phenomenal and does a great job in investing in the students.
“A special ‘thank you’ to our athletic director (and former Rockville High School and Butler University baseball player) Matt Merica. He is amazing to work with.”
Matt and wife of 28 years Buffie have two daughters — Jesika Voorhees (25) and Ashlynn Lawson-Fuller (23).

Family: Ashlynn Lawson-Fuller (left), Jesika Voorhees, Buffie Voorhees and Matt Voorhies.

North Montgomery High School baseball field.

Matt Voorhees pays mound visit for North Montgomery High School.

A gathering at the mound with North Montgomery High School head baseball coach Matt Voorhees.

Advertisement

Dill grinding away with Taylor Titans baseball

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

Kris Dill has been coaching for close to two decades — the last three at his alma mater. In his first year in charge (2019), his Taylor High School baseball team lost to eventual state champion Alexandra-Monroe in the IHSAA Class 2A Eastern (Greentown) Sectional final.
A 1996 graduate of Taylor in Kokomo, Ind., Dill was a junior varsity assistant on a staff led by Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer George Phares in 2003. That summer, Phares got him hooked up with a Connie Mack League coaching job. Dill helped guide the Taylor Titans with Phares and then Jeremy Luna through 2010.
Later came the opportunity to be head JV softball coach at Kokomo High School for a year and head JV baseball coach for the Wildkats for four years before taking his current position at Taylor. When that happened he stepped down as director of 8U to 14U teams for the Indiana Nitro travel organization and is now a 14U Gold assistant.
Born and raised in Kokomo, Dill played at Taylor Southeast Little League, where Dwayne Richmond was one of his coaches. Dill later assisted him at Taylor High.
“I learned a ton from him,” says Dill of Richmond.
Dill attended Victory Christian Academy from kindergarten through freshmen year. VCA does not have a baseball team. He transferred to Taylor as a sophomore and became acquainted with Phares.
“He taught hard lessons,” says Dill, who was a catcher on the field and not such a disciplined student. “If you weren’t doing the right things in the classrooms he wasn’t going to let you get away with that. You’ve got to be accountable.
“I did not play college baseball. I was pretty immature.”
Dill entered the work force after high school. He got married, started a family and, eventually, decided to go to college.
“I was going into youth ministry,” says Dill, who left for Kentucky Christian University (Grayson, Ky.) at the end of July 2003.
On Labor Day weekend, Dill, wife Brenda and baby daughter Arianne were traveled back to Kokomo when tragedy struck.
“We were 15 minutes from home on U.S. 31 and a drunk driver headed in wrong direction hit us head-on,” says Dill of that Aug. 29. “It killed my wife instantly. I got 100 stitches. My daughter did not have a scratch.”
Brenda Sue Dill was 22.
Kris Dill stayed in Kentucky for the next two years then moved back to his hometown. He eventually earned a degree from Indiana University Kokomo (2013) and got re-married. He and wife Amy have a son named Kade.
Arianne Dill played soccer at nearby Western High School as a freshman and sophomore. She ran cross country and track and Taylor and graduated in 2021. Baseball-playing Kade Dill is a Taylor eighth grader.
Kris, who turns 44 in November, teaches general and Advanced College Placement U.S. History at Taylor.
As baseball coach, Dill leads a program at a school with an enrollment around 360 and not many with the resources to play travel ball. They often arrive in high school lacking in the fundamentals and diamond experience.
“(In 2021-22) we’re going to be in a little better spot,” says Dill. “We got in a summer of Babe Ruth Baseball (the COVID-19 pandemic took away high school and summer action in 2020). We got to play and learn how to play.
“We will be able to hit the ground running with varsity players. The JV will get some time to perfect those fundamentals and hone in on them. Our Baseball I.Q. is going to be in a lot better place.
“Our kids didn’t play for two years essentially. But we don’t talk about those things. We talk about what we’re going to do to get better.”
While slowed down when Dill tested positive and was out for two weeks, Taylor is easing into IHSAA Limited Contact Period activities (the current window is Aug. 30-Oct. 16).
Dill’s coaching staff features Tyler Hodson, Tim Douglas and B.J. Pemberton with the varsity and head coach Josiah Bolton and assistant Caden Sullivan with the JV.
Taylor plays on George Phares Field. The Titans are a member of the Hoosier Heartland Conference (with baseball members Carroll of Flora, Clinton Central, Clinton Prairie, Eastern of Greentown, Rossville, Sheridan and Tri-Central).
In 2021, Taylor was part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping with Blackford, Eastbrook, Eastern (Greentown), Madison-Grant and Tipton. The Titans have won seven sectional titles — the last in 2015.

Former player Colby Devenport is on the reserve squad at Indiana Tech.
Taylor brought back middle school baseball in 2021, which will also help at the high school level. As part of the feeder system, travel teams are being added at Taylor Southeast.
“We’re headed in the right direction,” says Dill. “It’s a slow-moving build. We’re going to grind away.”
The 8U level is going to Coach Pitch so they can learn how to see the ball out of the pitcher’s hand.
“We have resources,” says Dill. “It’s about using them correctly.”

Kris Dill, Michael Pemberton (8) and B.J. Pemberton (4).

The Dills (from left): Kade, Arianne, Amy and Kris.

Brantley promotes total student-athlete experience at Indiana University Kokomo

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

Just over a month after being named head baseball coach at Indiana University Kokomo, Drew Brantley is busy laying the foundation for the Cougars system.
Classes began Aug. 23. Brantley is overseeing two weeks of open field workouts before fall practice officially begins Labor Day (Sept. 6). There will be sessions six days a week for eight weeks culminating Oct. 30. Then the NAIA member Cougars move into the weight room and begin the build-up to the spring. There will be no games against outside competition this fall. There will be three scrimmages per week at Kokomo Municipal Stadium.
“It’ll be heavy on individual development as a baseball player,” says Brantley. “We’ll compete in a game-like situations.”
As the Cougars ready themselves for the River States Conference race, they will open the 2022 season with trips to play Louisiana State University Shreveport and Truett McConnelll University (Cleveland, Ga.).
Brantley, who has been on staff the past three seasons including the last two as associate head coach, knows what he desires in an IU Kokomo player.
“I want to get good people into the program,” says Brantley, who turned 29 on Aug. 22. “We want them to have the total student-athlete experience — athletically, academically and socially.”
The idea is to achieve on the field and in the classroom and build friendships and contacts that will last long beyond the college years.
Brantley’s staff includes Jeremy Honaker, Nick Floyd and Justin Reed. Honaker, who was volunteer assistant at the University of Indianapolis in 2020-21, will serve as a positional coach and also help with hitting and baserunning. Former Ball State University and independent professional right-hander Floyd is the Cougars’ pitching coach. Former IU Kokomo player Reed is a graduate assistant and assistant pitching coach. He will work toward his Masters of Business Administration, help in athletic communications and with the baseball team.
Prior to coming to IUK to serve on head coach Matt Howard’s staff, Brantley was an assistant to head coach Rich Benjamin at Indiana Wesleyan University.
“I worked with infielders and baserunners and assisted with hitters,” says Brantley. “My time at Indiana Wesleyan was awesome. The integrity of the program is held very highly there. I learned how you hold people accountable and how things are supposed to be done.”
Brantley assisted at his alma mater Anderson (Ind.) University for five seasons with a stint as interim coach. Medical issues mean that he was only able to play his freshmen season for David Pressley before becoming a student assistant.
“He was an awesome guy and a great role model,” says Brantley of Pressley, who followed American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Don Brandon as the man in charge at AU. “A large part of my coaching philosophy comes from (Anderson).”
Dustin Glant later took over a Anderson Ravens head coach and was helped by Brantley.
“I was able to learn a lot under Dustin,” says Brantley. “He showed me the ropes and what its like to conduct yourself professionally. It’s not just about baseball.
“A lot of the success I’ve had has been because of the things he’s showed me and the advice he’s given me.”
Glant is now pitching coach at Indiana University.
At 22, Brantley was named interim coach at Anderson, where he earned his Secondary Education and Teaching degree in 2015 and MBA in 2017.
Says Brantley, “Everyday I was doing the best I knew how.”
The same applies in his current position.
“It’s pretty neat being in this seat,” says Brantley, who guides a program in the town where he was born.
Brantley grew up in Russiaville, Ind., and played T-ball through age 12 at what is now Russiaville Youth Baseball League. After that came travel ball with the Central Indiana Kings then three summers with Don Andrews-managed Kokomo American Legion Post 6.
His coach at Western High School in Russiaville was Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Ty Calloway.
After becoming a coach himself, Brantley came to learn how Calloway “coached ‘em up the right way.”
“As a player, he held us to a really high standard,” says Brantley. “He was always on us in practice. Whatever we were doing that day we were going to give our best effort.”
Brantley played three seasons for the Panthers, sitting out his junior year to recuperate from cardiac arrest. In his senior year of 2011, he was an IHSBCA Class 3A first-team all-state second baseman.
“I have an incredible support system,” says Drew, who is the son of Chrysler employee Ron and dental receptionist Angie and younger brother of Alaina. Ron Brantley has been coaching baseball since he was 20 and will help out this fall at IU Kokomo.
Brantley’s first experience as a baseball coach came with a Howard County travel team called the Indiana Flyers. He was with that team from the fall of 2012 through the summer of 2015.
There was also a stint working for Chris Estep as a hitting and defensive instructor at RoundTripper Sports Academy in Westfield, Ind.
“He gave me an opportunity to work with younger kids and allowed me to fail a lot,” says Brantley. “Being at RoundTripper was awesome.”

Drew Brantley (Indiana University Kokomo Photo)

Heard takes on leadership role for Indiana University Kokomo baseball

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Indiana University Kokomo wasted little time in getting on the collegiate baseball map.

The Cougars’ debut season of 2018 yielded a 31-21-1 record, followed by 36-17 in 2018. IUK was 11-8 through its first 19 games of 2020.

“I’m really proud of where the program’s at,” says Indiana Kokomo head coach Matt Howard. “We’ve been lucky to get a lot of really good student-athletes to come to IUK that have believed in me and believed in our process.

“We’ve been able to accomplish some pretty cool things pretty quickly. We’re still hungry. We still want to be one of — if not the best — NAIA programs in the state.”

IU Kokomo is a member of the River States Conference. The campus is located along South Washington Street, about two miles south of downtown, where the Cougars’ home field — Kokomo Municipal Stadium — is located.

“I tell guys you get a Division I experience here,” says Howard. “You get a Big Ten degree and facility and get some pretty good coaching as well. The only small-school thing about our set-up is our campus.”

One of the student-athletes that was there from the beginning of the baseball program is Jared Heard. Once a first baseman and left-handed pitcher, he was converted into an outfielder at New Castle (Ind.) High School and began to flourish.

Swinging from the left side of the plate, Heard hit .341 with one home run, 40 runs batted in, 54 runs scored and 19 stolen bases in 28 attempts as an IUK freshman in 2018.

In 2019, he hit .337 with seven homers, 33 RBIs, 41 runs and was 16-of-17 in steals.

Through 19 games in 2020, he was hitting .350 with three homers, 15 RBIs, 21 runs and was 3-of-3 in swiping bases.

“Everyone sees the impact he has on the field,” says Howard of Heard. “That is not even close to the impact that he has for us. He’s a great guy, great teammate, great leader, great captain. He’s a guy that just does everything the right way.

“Our program is where it’s at largely because of him.”

Howard says he didn’t know that much about Heard when he recruited him.

“We were starting a program and just kind of throwing a wide net,” says Howard. “We were bringing in everyone we thought could be talented and see what we could do with them. Jared turned out to be a diamond in the rough and a guy a lot of other people should have been recruiting.

“We’re lucky that he ended up here. He’s done a great job for us — on and off the field.”

On a team with several new faces this season, Heard is embracing his leadership role.

“As one of the captains of the team and someone who knows the ins and outs of program so far, that’s one of the biggest things,” says Heard, who shares the title of captain with junior left-handed starting pitcher Owen Callaghan (Hamilton Southeastern High School graduate) and sophomore outfielder Mark Goudy (Noblesville High School graduate).

Heard, a general studies major with minors in psychology and sociology, gets instructions from the coaching staff — associate head coach Drew Brantley (Western High School graduate), assistant Ryan Cheek and student assistant Tyler Lunger — and relays them to his teammates, answering questions when necessary.

“On or off the field, you’ve just got to be that guy who’s open to everybody on the team,” says Heard, who chose to come to Kokomo after hearing Howard’s vision. “I thought this was going to be a better fit for me than other schools.

“I love it here.”

About a month ago, Heard found out that he has a labrum injury meaning he can’t throw and play left field. He has been the Cougars’ designated hitter.

“It’s been a big adjustment for me,” says Heard. “If I’m having a bad day at the plate, I use the field to fuel me up for the rest of the day. If I’m having a bad day in the field, I use the plate to fuel me.

“It’s a big change when you’re used to playing the game the whole time. It’s a big change when you’re sitting in the dugout. I have time to think about my at-bat and what I did wrong and what I did right, but I do like cheering on my teammates.”

Heard has been used anywhere in the first four or five slots in the IUK batting order, dependent upon and opposing pitcher.

“Anywhere you put him, he’s going to be dangerous,” says Howard. “He’s going to be circled by the other team.”

What role does Heard like best?

“I’d say around the 2- to 4-hole,” says Heard. “I was the lead-off hitter my freshmen and sophomore year. That was a big change for me. In high school, I was always a 3- or 4-hole hitter.

“(Howard) told me I had a very different swing than some people. It’s not the most fundamental, but it worked and it helped me get on-base.”

Heard says his swing has not changed, but his role has.

“Over the course of time, I’ve gotten bigger and stronger,” says Heard, who is listed at 5-foot-11 and 198 pounds. That size and muscle has led to more power — often gap-to-gap, but sometimes he pops it over the fence.

At New Castle, Heard played for head coach Brad King (now head coach at Mt. Vernon of Fortville).

“He’s a great coach in my eyes,” says Heard of King. “He really helped me out in my pursuit of playing college baseball. I love him to death. He helped me get to where I am today.”

Heard play for various travel baseball teams, the last being the Indiana Bulls coached by Troy Drosche (who is also head coach at Avon High School).

Jared’s parents are Gary and Melanie Heard. Sister Destiny Heard played collegiate softball.

Jared Heard, an Indiana University Kokomo junior, has been with the Cougars since they started their baseball program in 2018. He has become a leader for a team that has already gotten used to success. (Steve Krah Photo)

 

Baseball coaching career now has Western grad Reida rolling with Alabama Crimson Tide

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Indiana native Matt Reida has landed back in SEC territory.

This time as an volunteer assistant baseball coach at the University of Alabama.

The 2010 graduate of Western High School in Russiaville, Ind., played four baseball seasons at the University of Kentucky — a Southeastern Conference member — concluding in 2014.

Lefty-swinging infielder Reida (pronounced Ray-da) was selected in the 47th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Chicago White Sox. He did not sign and went to college.

The MLB came calling again in 2014. Reida signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Rays and played 42 games for the Gulf Coast League Rays after one contest with the independent River City Rascals.

With the help of then-UK assistant and current Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon, Reida began his coaching career in 2016 on the Indiana University staff then led by Chris Lemonis (who is now head coach at SEC member Mississippi State University).

“I love Coach Bo,” says Reida, 26. “I have the utmost respect for what he does.

“He’s been a mentor for me for years.”

What is Reida doing with the Crimson Tide?

“A little bit of everything,” says Reida. “I’m now helping with the infielders and helping Coach (Jerry) Zulli with hitters. We have coaches (Bohannon, Zulli, Jason Jackson) that have done things at a high level. We all have our hands in a lot of different areas.

“Coach Bohannon is great at empowering his coaches. I’ll help with recruiting.”

While at UK, Bohannon was honored as the 2015 American Baseball Coaches Association/Baseball America National Assistant Coach of the Year.

Lemonis won the same award in 2013 while at the University of Louisville where he served for six seasons (2009-14) then spent four campaigns in charge at Indiana (2015-18).

Reida reflects on his two seasons (2016-17) with Lemonis at IU.

“It was my first experience in college coaching,” says Reida. “I didn’t realize what all went into the job.

“(Lemonis) has the reputation as a recruiter. I saw the see the hours he would spend and his level of commitment, how he would build relationships.”

In 2018, Reida was an assistant at Xavier University. His boss is Cincinnati was former IU player Billy O’Conner, who was in his first season as Musketeers head coach.

“Billy was great because he gave all of his coaches complete freedom,” says Reida. “There was a level of trust.

“He’s going to do a phenomenal job at Xavier. He gets more out of what he has around him.”

O’Conner, who at 31 is one of the younger coaches in NCAA Division baseball, leads from the front.

“He’s out their working on the field. He takes his turn to do laundry. Nothing is beneath him. As the head coach, he jumps in and makes things happen.”

Reida played at Kentucky for Gary Henderson, who led Mississippi State to the College World Series and was named National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Coach of the Year in 2018.

Teaching the mental side of baseball was a strength Reida saw in Henderson.

“He really thought the game at a different level,” says Reida. “He talked about routine a ton and the thought process. He talked about how to handle emotion and adversity and play the game one pitch at a time.

“I also learned from Hendu about personal responsibility. If it is to be, it’s up to me. Ownership was definitely a cornerstone of his program.”

Reida was a teammate of Terre Haute’s A.J. Reed when he won the Golden Spikes Award as D-I baseball’s top player in 2014.

“He’s an extraordinary person and a player,” says Reida of Reed. “I watched him grow for three years. It was neat to be a part of. He was someone that was driven.”

Read has played 48 games in the big leagues with the Houston Astros and slugged 123 home runs in the minors.

Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Ty Calloway was Reida’s coach at Western.

Calloway finished his 36-year coaching career with a 663-310 record with 18 seasons of 20 or more victories and an IHSAA Class 3A state title in 2012.

“I learned a ton from Coach Calloway,” says Reida. “One thing that stuck out with me was his level of commitment to the game and level of preparation.

“You could tell how much baseball meant to him and how passionate he was.”

Born in Kokomo, Reida grew up in nearby Russiaville and winning the city title with his Russiaville Youth Baseball League team against Kokomo area squad at 12 is still one of his baseball highlights.

Among the talented ballplayers of that era were future collegians Nolan Sanburn (Arkansas), Colton Summers (Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne), Seth Vautaw (Ball State) and T.J. Weir (Ball State).

“It’s great area for baseball,” says Reida. “It really is.”

Travel ball included the Central Indiana Kings (a Kokomo area team organized by Matt’s father Chad Reida and Tim Weir), Indiana Bulls and Midland (Ohio) Redskins. T.J. Weir, Tim’s son, pitches in the San Diego Padres organization.

Midland won two Connie Mack World Series championships with Matt Reida on the roster. Along the way, the Redskins had to best teams featuring Manny Machado, Archie Bradley, Dylan Bundy and Mark Appel.

Chad and Shelly Reida have two other children — Tad and Tiffany.

Tad Reida, who is six years older than Matt, played at Western, Wichita State University (2004-05) and Indiana University (2006) and coached at West Virginia University (2009-10) and Air Force Academy (2011). He now is attached to a travel ball organization — CageRat Baseball — in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Tiffany Reida played basketball at Indiana State University.

Matt Reida holds a communications degree from Kentucky, where he graduated Cum Laude in 2014 with a 3.69 grade-point average.

Matt Reida, a graduate of Western High School in Russiaville, Ind., and the University of Indiana, is now a volunteer assistant baseball coach at the University of Alabama. (University of Alabama Photo)

 

 

Coaches encouraged to nominate seniors for IHSBCA All-Star Series in South Bend

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Plans are coming together for the 2018 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Star Series Friday through Sunday, July 20-22 in South Bend.

The July 20 IHSBCA Junior Showcase and July 21-22 All-Star Series games will be played at Four Winds Field, home of the Class-A South Bend Cubs.

The All-Star banquet is slated for July 20 at the Century Center in Downtown South Bend. Former Elkhart Central High School, Bethel College and Milwaukee Brewers minor league pitcher Greg Kloosterman has agreed to be the keynote speaker.

Selection of the squads, which will include senior players from all four classes (25 from the South and 25 from the North), is scheduled the morning of the IHSAA State Finals on Saturday, June 16 at Victory Field in Indianapolis.

North and South committees will review the names sent in from the 16 district meetings held on June 3.

Each head coach, who is an IHSBCA member, will receive notification from the district representative informing him of the time and place of the meeting.

District reps are Bob Glover (Hobart) in A, Mark Schellinger (New Prairie) in B, Jim Treadway (Elkhart Central assistant) in C, Pat McMahon (Fort Wayne Canterbury) in D, Andy McClain (Norwell) in E, Travis Keesling (Pendleton Heights) in F, Jay Malott (South Dearborn) in G, Brad King (New Castle) in H, Ryan Wolfe (Plymouth) in I, Kyle Neal (Attica) in J, Matt Cherry (Fishers) in K, Jeff McKeon (Decatur Central assistant) in L, Kyle Kraemer (Terre Haute South Vigo) in M, Jeremy Richey (Seymour) in N, Brian Kirchoff (Northeast Dubois) in O and Mike Goedde (Evansville Central) in P.

A member MUST be present at the meeting to have a senior player nominated for consideration for the 2018 All-Star squads.

Each school is allowed to nominate up to three senior players for All-Star consideration.

Ricky Romans (Charlestown) will chair the South selection committee. Other members are Goedde, Dick Alter (Indianapolis Lutheran), Steve Bray (Northeastern), Ben McDaniel (Columbus North), Zach Payne (Lanesville), Jeremy Sassanella (Brebeuf Jesuit), Tim Terry (South Vermillion) and Justin Tucker (Batesville).

Kevin Hannon (Knox) will chair the North selection committee and be assisted by Wolfe, Ryan Berryman (Western), Chuck Brimbury (Peru), Jason Garrett (Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger), Brian Jennings (Griffith), Justin Keever (Noblesville), Dave Neuenschwander (Adams Central) and Bob Shinkan (Munster).

Brian Abbott is executive director of the IHSBCA.

The 2018 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association All-Star Series is July 20-22 in South Bend.

 

Team chemistry counts for plenty with Kokomo Post 6 baseball manager Andrews

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Don Andrews wants to fill his Kokomo American Legion Post 6 baseball team with talented players.

But playing ability is not the first priority for the man who enters his eighth season as senior team manager in 2018 after serving as an assistant and with Post 6’s junior squad.

“Team chemistry is more important than talent,” says Andrews. “It’s something we work really hard at.

“We’re finding out what the dynamics of the team are going to be. I go to a high school baseball game in the spring almost every night. I’m watching the players and also watching the parents.

“By the time (open) tryouts come around (in August) we almost know who we want (for the following year).”

Through his observations and conversations, Andrews will invite desired players to the tryout. He wants kids with a high baseball I.Q.

But — again — there’s more than that.

“A big basis of what we do is try to find high character kids,” says Andrews. “It’s a long, hot summer so we want to have good kids.”

Andrews normally goes through the regular season with about 15 or 16 players and adds a few worthy juniors at the end of the summer.

Post 6 plays around 35 games before the regional. This year, the regular season opens June 4 and closes July 10.

The Kokomo Summer Classic at Highland Park Stadium is slated for June 15-17.

Andrews estimates that 70 percent of Post 6’s games are at Highland Park.

“Everybody loves to play on that field,” says Andrews. “The parks department does a great job of keeping it up.”

Then there’s the dimesions.

“We have a big home field advantage,” says Andrews, eluding to the short distance down the right field line with a high fence. “We know we’ve just got to play. We don’t worry about hitting it over that fence.”

Meanwhile, left-handed batters on opposing teams are practically drooling when they see that short porch.

Kokomo has realized plenty of Legion diamond success in recent years.

The Sixers won regional titles in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Sectionals were eliminated in 2014, but Kokomo won a few of those on Andrews’ watch.

The Indiana American Legion State Finals rotates from north to south each year with teams bidding for the rights to host.

Kokomo hosted in 2016 at Kokomo Municipal Stadium and will do so again this year at Highland Park. The eight-team event (seven regional champions plus the host) is scheduled for July 27-31 (the Kokomo Regional is July 20-22).

The Great Lakes Regional Aug. 8-12 in Napoleon, Ohio, with the American Legion World Series Aug. 16-21 in Shelby, N.C.

Rockport Post 254 won the 2017 state championship in a tournament hosted by Terre Haute Post 346.

While the deadline for entries is still open, Andrews expects there to be up to 32 senior teams in Indiana this year and maybe a dozen or so junior (17U) squads.

Kokomo will also host junior regional and state finals at Highland Park and Northwestern High School July 13-15 and July 19-22, respectively.

Post 6 will take its senior players in 2018 from the following high schools: Kokomo, Northwestern, Western, Taylor, and Logansport.

Junior players come from those those schools plus Oak Hill, Sheridan and Tri-Central.

In some years, the Sixers had players from Eastern, Lewis Cass and Peru.

American Legion Baseball has been a tradition in Indiana since 1926. Legion ball thrives in many corners of the state.

While many Legion rules mimic those of Major League Baseball, the national organization voted not to adopt mound visit restrictions now used by MLB.

Andrews began his coaching career when son Reid was 5 and playing T-ball at Russiaville Little League. Andrews, with the help of Dan Weaver, followed his son up the line, including four years of travel baseball — three with the Bullpen Aces and one with the Central Indiana Kings — and summers with Kokomo Post 6.

Besides bench coach Weaver, Andrews is helped with his Sixers by third base coach Will Harris and first base coach Dave Takacs.

Reid Andrews, a graduate of Western High School and Purdue University, is now general at Roundtripper Sports Academy in Westfield and an assistant to head baseball coach Chris Estep at University High School in Carmel.

The Andrews family is full of coaches. Don’s wife Deb Andrews is a boys and girls swimming assistant coach at Western High.

Daughter Rae Andrews, an Indiana University graduate, is a swim coach and lifeguard at the YMCA of Greater Rochester (N.Y.).

Don Andrews, a 1977 Northwestern High School graduate, played a few years of prep baseball then discovered a talent for running and turned to track and field and cross country.

He was on the track team at Purdue when he was struck by a vehicle during a November training run. A few years later, he was on the cross country and track teams at Taylor University in Upland, Ind., and coached the sports during and after college.

Andrews now works at the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles transmission plant in Kokomo.

Don Andrews is manager of the Kokomo (Ind.) American Legion Post 6 baseball team. The Sixers is scheduled to open the 2018 season June 4. Post 6 will also host regionals and state finals for both junior and senior divisions.

Second baseball coaching stint at Peru rewarding for Brimbury

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Chuck Brimbury has enjoyed each stage of his professional life — from teacher and coach to assistant principal to principal to superintendent and then to athletic director along with a return to coach.

Brimbury is really basking in his second go-round as head baseball coach at Peru High School.

“I’ve loved every single job I’ve had in education,” says Brimbury, who also served 15 years as a football coach at Peru, including one as interim head coach. “The more you move up, the farther you seem to be from the kids and the daily guidance of them. I missed coaching. It was huge part of my life.

“I’ve been blessed to get back into it.”

After serving four years as superintendent of Peru Community Schools and helping to earn the district four-star status as one of the best-performing systems in Indiana, he opted in June 2014 to become AD and once again lead the Tigers on the diamond.

Beginning in 1998, Brimbury previously held the job for a decade.

“We had a really good run,” says Brimbury, whose teams were state-ranked in most seasons and had his 2000 squad reach the IHSAA Class 3A Final Four.

Brimbury borrowed methods he learned while serving as an assistant to Don Sherman at Huntington North High School.

The Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer taught him all the intricacies of running a successful baseball operation.

“We believe in holding people to high standards,” says Brimbury. “We get off the bus all looking the same and we stay together. Our top players carry the water cooler. There’s no job too small.”

Peru baseballers wears “Program” on their shirts to remind themselves and everyone else that “the program is more important than any player or any coach.”

Brimbury also uses drills and teaching methods gleaned from Hall of Famers Bill Jones of DeKalb, Bill Nixon of Plymouth and Chris Stavreti of Fort Wayne Northrop as well as the man who won 1,010 games and seven state championships — Ken Schreiber of LaPorte.

It doesn’t have to be a Thursday for the Tigers to throwing it back.

“We’re throwbacks,” says Brimbury. “It’s an old-school approach and our kids thrive off it.

“If you resemble a lot of guys with blue rings you’ll get one for your community one day. If their kids can do it, we can do it. We believe that here. We use a lot of what works.”

In his first season back in charge (2015), Brimbury enjoyed Peru’s first sectional championship since 2000.

When the Mid-Indiana Conference dissolved at the end on the 2014-15 academic school year, the Tigers joined the Three Rivers Conference and have reigned in baseball in their first two seasons in the new league (2016 and 2017).

“It’s a really good small-school conference,” says Brimbury of a conference which also includes Maconaquah, Manchester, Northfield, North Miami, Rochester, Southwood, Tippecanoe Valley, Wabash and Whitko. “I really enjoy the competition.”

Brimbury has also savored the ability to build a non-conference which has pitted the Tigers against the best competition from around the state and to a variety of venues.

Peru played Lafayette Central Catholic at Purdue University and both Providence and Rossville at Alexandria-Monroe in 2017 and this year will feature a program first — a southern spring break trip with stops at League Stadium in Huntingburg (where much of the movie “A League of Their Own” was filmed) to play Southridge and games at Muhlenberg County and Christian County in Kentucky.

“I want to make sure these kids have a tremendous experience in their four years at Peru,” says Brimbury. “I like exposing these kids to beautiful places and really good programs.

“Each year our schedule is a little different. We want to get our kids used to playing on the road.”

The idea is to prepare the Tigers for the postseason, which begins in 2018 with the Peru Sectional but another title would mean a trek to the always-tough Griffith Regional.

Getting to Griffith will be no small task. The 3A sectional grouping also features Benton Central, Maconaquah, Northwestern, West Lafayette and Western.

Peru is to play at Indiana State University May 5.

Nolan Brimbury — the oldest of Chuck and Michelle Brimbury’s three children — is a redshirt sophomore infielder for the Indiana State Sycamores.

Tiger Field will also be the site of 2018 Miami County Classic. Two of the three teams that visit Peru feature head coaches with close ties to Brimbury — former assistant Shane Edwards at Oak Hill and former player Troy Hudson at North Miami. Maconaquah rounds out the field for the May 12 all-day event.

“We have an old-time field,” says Brimbury. “It’s beautiful at night. It’s a really good atmosphere for home games.

“It’s one of the better small-school stadiums out there.”

Brimbury’s public address announcer at Tiger Field and assistant at Peru athletic events is Mike Stewart.

Now retired, Stewart was Chuck’s baseball coach at Fountain Central High School who also found his way to “Tiger Town.”

“(Stewart) was passionate about the game,” says Brimbury, who graduated from high school in 1988 and went on to play a little at Marian University in Indianapolis and receive various degrees from Indiana State.

Every Peru game and a weekly coach’s show has been on the radio (thanks to 101.9 FM and broadcasters Bob Stambazze and Doug Muzzillo) and many contests are shown on student-run Tiger TV.

Several players saw significant varsity action last spring, meaning Brimbury welcomes back 17 lettermen.

Among the senior returnees are catcher Nathan Brimbury (Chuck and Michelle’s son and a 2017 IHSBCA Junior Showcase invitee), right-hander Lucas McConahay (the top returning pitcher), outfielders Austin Caldwell and Robert Cunningham, second baseman Kasey Comp, first baseman Christian Gatliff and designated hitter Nathan Ramirez.

Juniors include third baseman Blake Edwards, outfielder D.J. Fuller, catcher Payton Honn and left-handers Chance Ogle and Zach Purcell.

Sophomores in the mix are right-hander/third baseman/shorstop Michael Chandler, outfielder Jonah Hoopenthal, outfielder/shortstop Daunte Majors, middle infielder Dmitry Reese and right-handers Jackson Green and Chase Tyler.

Hitting coach Rob Hileman has been with Brimbury in every season in both of his tenures except one. Jody Beauchamp is the Tigers pitching coach. Shawn Dwyer, Josh Ulrey, Brad Townsend, Gary Loe and strength coach complete the high school staff.

Sixth grader Madison Brimbury (Chuck and Michelle’s daughter) is a baseball student manager.

Michelle Brimbury, who is a special education teacher at PHS, is also team mom.

Feeders for the high school program include a Peru Junior High School team, which is expected to play 12 to 15 games in April and May.

There is also the Peru Cal Ripken League and many players wind up with various travel baseball organizations.

Besides Nolan Brimbury, recent Peru graduates on college baseball rosters include left-handed pitcher Cameron Beauchamp (Indiana University) and right-handers Dexter Shuler (Franklin College) and Sean Smith (Wabash College).

Beauchamp (2016) and Smith (2017) were both IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series participants.

“It’s fulfilling to see our kids playing at some level above high school and we try to keep (former players) a part of our program,” says Brimbury, who regularly welcomes baseball alums from his first Peru head coaching stint into his dugout and is now coaching the sons of some former players. “It’s a long history of former Tiger baseball players.

“We are totally vested in the success of our kids here.”

The Brimbury family celebrates Peru High School’s 2015 sectional baseball championship (from left): Michelle, Nathan, Nolan, Chuck and Madison. In 2018, Chuck is in the fourth season of his second tenure as head coach. Nathan is a senior catcher. Michelle is team mom. Madison is student manager. Nolan is now a redshirt sophomore at Indiana State University.

Indiana Primetime Sports offers high level baseball with a personal touch

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Working with ballplayers at various levels, Indiana Primetime Sports is looking to make a mark on the travel sports landscape.

Started five years ago, the baseball part of a multi-sport travel and training organization based in central Indiana is now up to 19 teams in divisions 8U to 15U with plans to add older groups.

“We have some very elite teams and some much more developmental,” says Ryan Cole, Indiana Primetime Sports Inc. co-founder and president. “We cater to everybody. Every child deserves a great youth baseball experience. If you want to play and can make a team we can give you that same experience.

“A lot of teams would cut those (non-elite) kids and move on. I didn’t want to be that kind of organization. Let’s see what happens when they get into their man bodies and move into puberty. They may get to be 6-3” even though they are 5-2” as a 12- or 13-year-old.”

“We give them the skills to succeed.”

By pure volume — with 19 teams and a little over 200 players — there are bound to be plenty of hidden gems.

“You never know how somebody’s going develop,” says Brown. “Bodies change and you see them take off.”

To stay on the same page with philosophy and terminology, Cole and baseball director Quentin Brown actively participate in every practice at Roundtripper Sports Academy in Westfield for all 19 teams.

“We want the key concepts to be the same,” says Brown. “We’re uniform all the way through.

“It’s worked beautifully.”

The approach is expected to help Indiana Primetime players develop at a faster rate in the coming years.

“If they are at 12U and getting that high level instruction now, you don’t have to re-teach when they get to high school,” says Brown. “We coach them up the exact same way.”

The emphasis is on instruction and development. Young professionals coach the travel teams.

“We’ve eliminated ‘daddy ball,’” says Cole, a former Penn High School and Butler University football player who started the company with Brandon Lafferman. “We weren’t into politics.”

To be consistent Cole and Brown coach the coaches — at practices and through clinics and regular email communication.

“We have that personal touch and personal feel with every one of our teams,” says Brown. “We’re in it for the right reasons. We’re both passionate about the game and developing young players.”

Brown is a former coach for the Indiana Pony Express, Indiana Cage Rats and Fort Wayne Cubs (now Fort Wayne Diamondbacks) travel organizations and head coach from 2014-16 at alma mater Western High School (the 2016 Panthers were IHSAA Class 3A state runners-up). As a player, he was a four-year starter at Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne.

Most Indiana Primetime rosters are small (usually no more than 13 players). This is done by design.

“Parents are paying money,” says Brown. “We make sure our coaches know everyone needs to get in and play. You never know what a kid can do when he’s put in the right situation.”

Younger teams have began their season while the older players will begin when their high school seasons are over. Some teams play 35-40 games while others might exceed 50.

Tryouts are held in August, followed by fall ball, where players get a chance to play and Cole and Brown can evaluate their coaches.

Indoor winter workouts are held once a week for up to 10 weeks (depending on age group). During the season, teams practice twice a week outdoors or indoors at Roundtripper (to stay in developmental mode).

“There’s always something you can work on,” says Brown, who joins with a few others in scheduling games and practices. “I want us to be elite in the upper age levels, but never lose our focus on development.”

With his experience as a coach and player, Brown helps parents and players through college selection and it’s not just the juniors and seniors who need to pay attention.

“Recruiting process has changed,” says Brown, who notes that NCAA D-I level teams are now sending coaches to watch 14U tournaments. “There are not of a lot of scholarships (11.7 at D-I). You can’t wait anymore until your junior year. And it’s going to keep getting younger and younger.”

That’s where travel ball exposure and training come in.

“It’s an investment in your child’s future,” says Brown.

Ryan Cole (left) and Quentin Brown run the baseball program for Indiana Primetime Sports. The central Indiana-based travel organization has 19 teams in 2017. (Indiana Primetime Photo)

Berryman getting Western ready for ‘next’ baseball move

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

They’ve got a good thing going at Western High School.

The Panthers have enjoyed plenty of baseball success, taking 18 sectionals, seven regionals, two semistates, one Class 3A state championship (2012) and one 3A state runner-up finish (2016).

Ty Calloway, an Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association and Howard County Sports hall of famer, led the program for 36 seasons and Quentin Brown (now with Indiana Primetime Sports) for the past three.

Ryan Berryman is now the man in charge. As a 1994 Western graduate, former WHS athletic director and head coach at county rival Northwestern, he is very aware of the winning tradition in Russiaville.

“We’re a baseball community,” says Berryman. “The expectations are high.”

Berryman, who returned to the classroom after serving as AD from 2011-13, has continued to coach baseball in the summer with the Indiana Bulls travel organization (he will lead a 16U squad this summer).

In 11 seasons at Northwestern, Berryman’s teams won 226 games, four sectionals and took the Tigers to a 2005 Class 2A State Finals. Future big leaguer Brandon Beachy was part of that team.

At Western, Berryman is greeted by 15 returnees from the 2016 state runners-up.

“We’ve got a much deeper pitching staff,” says Berryman, a big believer in mound depth with two-thirds of the players in his program being able to pitch. “It’ll be disappointing for all these guys if they don’t make a run.”

Not that Berryman wants the Panthers to get ahead of themselves.

“We don’t get caught up in anything too small,” says Berryman. “We don’t get caught up in anything too big. We just focus in on play by play, pitch by pitch.

“We want to keep it as simple as possible. There’s nothing magical to the success I’ve had as a coach.”

Berryman, whose coaching staff features Cody Shipley, Colton Summers, Devon Eaker and Dwight Singer at the varsity level as well as Luke Waitt and Michael Rocchio with the junior varsity, wants his players to have that “next” mentality — Next at-bat. Next pitch. Next inning.

His daily request is to be on-time and work hard.

“I only have two hours a day with these guys,” says Berryman. “After that, it’s on them.

“It’s a tough game. Find a way to work through your mistakes and get better and don’t dwell on the negative things.”

After playing for Calloway at Western, Berryman took the field for Indiana Wesleyan University and Northern Kentucky University as did twin brother Scott. Ryan pitched for the Lafayette Leopards of the independent professional Heartland League in 1998.

Berryman, who was head coach for the IHSBCA North-South All-Star Series in 2011 and is a past association president, would like to see an increase in the time coaches can work with athletes out-of-season — a change that would help not only baseball but other high school sports.

“I realize that these kids are student-athletes and academics come first and there are coaches that want to be with the kids too much,” says Berryman. “But, at the same time, we shouldn’t take opportunities away for kids to fully develop.

“Now, they can’t work with their baseball coach until a certain date has passed. It’s about kids and opportunities.”

Western competes in the 10-team Hoosier Conference. Teams play Tuesday-Wednesday home-and-home series within their divisions with seeded crossover games at the end of the season. Western, Cass, Hamilton Heights , Northwestern and Tipton are in the East. Benton Central, Lafayette Central Catholic, Rensselaer Central, Twin Lakes and West Lafayette are in the West.

Feeder systems for Western baseball are Russiaville Youth Baseball League and the Russiaville Rams travel team.

High school players participating with several travel teams in the summer, including the Indiana Bulls, Indiana Mustangs, Indiana Nitro, Indiana Pony Express and Indiana Prospects.

Ryan Berryman, a 1994 Western High School graduate, is in his first season as the Panthers head baseball coach. He coached Northwestern to the 2005 IHSAA Class 2A State Finals and is a summer coach with the Indiana Bulls travel organization.