Cold-Weather Baseball Coaching: Practice Design That Works in the Midwest

Ever wonder how a Hall of Fame coach keeps his team sharp when the forecast says 30 degrees and snow? We sit down with Jeff Mielcarek, head coach at Toledo Central Catholic, to unpack the hard choices, smart practice design, and durable culture that thrive in northern Ohio. From heated locker rooms to twenty-minute outdoor segments, Jeff shows how to get more live reps outside while staying safe and intentional. His approach turns weather into a competitive filter: build the foundation first, then push pace and urgency until practice feels like the fifth inning of a tight game.

We go inside his staple drills—the three-fungo outfield pregame and the chaos drill that fuses pitchers and infielders into a single, fast-moving unit. Jeff explains why defensive reps during BP must be full tilt, even if that invites criticism, because timid training produces timid play. Roster realities shape development too: shrinking enrollment means every strike-thrower gets on the mound and every athlete learns multiple positions. He shares how clear role meetings, frequent communication, and early buy-in help players—and their “agents” at home—embrace change without drama.

Strategy meets instinct when the game is on the line. Jeff describes pulling a dominant starter at 100 pitches in the opener, taking a loss to protect May. That blend of gut and plan, informed by daily contact with players’ health and mindset, guides his late-inning calls, including first-and-third decisions with a one-run lead. Beyond tactics, culture is the engine: daily messages 365 days a year, the handshake rule before anyone leaves, and teaching the national anthem with intention. He credits mentors, clinics, and board service for shaping a growth mindset that borrows, adapts, and evolves.

If you coach in cold weather, lead a small roster, or crave practice plans that hold up under pressure, you’ll find concrete ideas and honest stories you can use tomorrow. Subscribe, share this with a coaching friend, and leave a review with your best first-and-third defense—we’ll feature our favorite breakdowns next week.

Transcript

Cold-Weather Mindset & Season Outlook

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Today on Baseball Coaches Unplugged, you learned how a Hall of Fame coach with 40 years of experience does whatever it takes to practice outdoors despite the cold temperatures in northern Ohio. Also, trust in your gut when the game is on the line and one thing he does as a program builder that has been key to his success. With Jeff Milkarrick, head coach at Toledo Central Catholic, next on Baseball Coaches Unplugged.

SPEAKER_02 0:30

This is the Ultimate High School Baseball Coaching Podcast, Baseball Coaches Unplugged, your go-to podcast for baseball coaching tips, drills, and player development strategies. From travel to high school and college. Unlock expert coaching advice grounded in real success stories, data-backed training methods, and mental performance tools to elevate your team. Tune in for bite-sized coaching wisdom, situational drills, team culture building, great stories and proven strategies that turn good players into great athletes. The only podcast that showcases the best coaches from across the country with your host, Coach Ken Carpenter.

SPEAKER_03 1:09

Baseball Coaches Unplugged is proud to be partnered with the netting professionals in pruning programs, one facility at a time. The Netting Pros specialize in the design, fabrication, and installation of custom netting for baseball and softball. This includes backstops, batting cages, BP turtle screens, ball carts, and more. They also design and install digital graphic wall padding, windscreen, turf, turf protectors, dugout benches, and cubbies. The netting pros also work with football, soccer, lacrosse, golf courses, and pickleball. Contact them today at 844-620-2707. That's 844-620-2707. You can also visit them online at www.nettingpros.com. Check out Netting Pros on X, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn for all their latest products and projects. Hello and welcome to season five of the Baseball Coaches Unplugged Podcast. I'm your host, Coach Ken Carpenter. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button and tune in every Wednesday for a new show with some of the best baseball coaches from across the country. If you're looking for practice plans, culture building, ways to improve your team, and great stories, we have over 180 episodes to choose from. Leading off season five is Hall of Fame head coach from Toledo Central Catholic, Jeff Milkarick. Coach, thanks for getting time to be on Baseball Coaches Unplugged.

SPEAKER_01 2:40

Coach, it's a great honor to be here. You've done a great job with this, and I've heard a number of years, and just to be on it with you is uh is like I said a great honor. So thank you.

SPEAKER_03 2:52

Well, practice officially starts here in a few weeks here in Ohio. And uh what do you look most forward to? And should this be another great season for you there at Toledo Central Catholic?

SPEAKER_01 3:06

Well, I look forward to warmer weather, and that's not going to be happening here anytime soon, I'm afraid. Um but I got long johns out and everything else and and ready to go. Um I always look forward to the start of the season. It's uh it's amazing, just a new lease. Um we have struggled the last couple years, um doing some part to our own um misdoing and and also to the schedule and the league that we're in. It's been uh it's been a tall order for us the last two years. But love our guys, love the way we compete. Um just need to figure out a way to get back over the hump and start winning some games and and uh again looking great, looking forward to a great season.

SPEAKER_03 3:54

Ohio is a a great state for baseball. When you look at the program when you look at at a program out there that you respect the most, what's the one thing that you studied that you try to implement with your team there Central Catholic?

SPEAKER_01 4:13

Well, I mean, for the longest time and still today, um we moved to Division II and now division three, I would say probably 15 years ago, and um developed quite a relationship with Coach Held at Defiance High School and Coach Weaver. Um they were always in our district. We had a really difficult district um and played some unbelievable games with them, both regular season and the tournament. In fact, one year they won the state championship and they beat us in the district semifinals that year, and we actually threw a no-hitter against them and uh had one air, and they beat us one to nothing. So I I look at, I mean, Coach Hell does a lot of things um amazing, and he does some things that are a little unorthodox, but the way they are organized and and do things, I've always looked up to and and tried to emulate some of the things. I heard a coach long time ago from Toledo de Vilbus, uh Coach George Philby said you beg, borrow, and steal in this game, and then you put your name on it, um, and it becomes yours. And I've never forgotten that. And I've gotten a lot from Coach Howeld. He's going into the National High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame um next December, and it's so well deserved and very close friendship because of baseball with them, which but he he would be the one he and co in Defiance High School for sure.

Programs We Study And Borrow From

SPEAKER_03 5:45

Well, let's talk practice design and development. Take me inside of what you're gonna start working on, and even though you're in Toledo, Ohio, you ri you just said earlier that uh before we started that uh you you don't do indoor practices. How are you allocating time between fundamentals, situations, and live reps?

SPEAKER_01 6:14

Um an evolving and ongoing process. I don't think unfortunately, I I think when you say we don't do indoor practice, that's true. Um 14 years ago, we were very fortunate to build um a brand new baseball facility stadium about 20 minutes off our campus, and it's an all-terf facility. We have a locker room that's heated um with a team room, a study room, and um because of the construction, and we share it with Lords University. Um, after construction began, they didn't want a locker room because of the cost. So we took the what was going to be their locker room and converted it into a small hitting room. So we have one cage and some uh soft toss and T stations. We can throw a live bullpen in there if we need to. So that's really our indoor. We do everything at our stadium, and I'm a firm believer that even if we have to take a day or two off once practice begins, um, we're still getting more done being outside. And we do it in small segments. We'll do 20-minute segments and then come back in and and do something inside, whether it's um you know, lifting or um a team meeting or pitcher's meeting, we're always using our hitting lab inside. Um, so when I say it's evolving, it really is evolving based on the weather. As soon as we can get live reps on the diamond, ground balls, fly balls, cutoffs, we're doing that. Um and, you know, try and do everything that we're doing at game speed. The one thing I have learned in the 14 years that I've tried to emphasize with our coaches is sometimes, you know, this is going to be an exception to the rule. We're not gonna have, you know, 50-degree weather on February 23rd when we start. At least I don't think we are. Um, sometimes when we have that, uh, we get a little ahead of ourselves and we have to pump the brakes and and start going back to walking before we run, especially with fundamentals. Our the hope or the goal of us as coaches uh once we begin the first month or so is I talk about it often, is make certain that we are building the foundation. No matter what we're doing, we're building the foundation that we can add to as the season goes on. Hitting, throwing, um, whatever we're doing, build the foundation and make sure that we don't cheat the foundation or we're gonna have problems as we get into the season.

SPEAKER_03 8:51

Totally agree with you on that. You know, the the listener out there that that checks out the podcast, they if they're from the north, a northern state, they kind of get what you're talking about when it says getting outside. But for the the the coach that might be listening in Florida or Arizona or Texas, what is it like in Toledo when you get outside and you know, temperature-wise and things like that, that you contend with?

Designing Outdoor Practices In Harsh Weather

SPEAKER_01 9:20

It's brutal. I hate it. I mean, it's uh I've told people in no uncertain terms, um, if we didn't build the baseball stadium that we did with a heated locker room that attaches to our dugout, I don't know that I'd still be coaching because I just can't deal with the cold weather that we deal with. I mean, we've been outside um just three years ago, we were outside and it was about 30 degrees. And I tell our guys all the time, there's no snow on the turf, it's 30 degrees, stretch inside in the heat, make certain you're ready to go, and then let's go out and start, you know, playing catch, go through our progression of playing catch. And we were doing that, and uh it became somewhat comical because the snow started, and um we had people taking videos of us playing catch, and at some point um we just had to stop because it was coming down so hard. So it's it's not baseball conditions, but it's something we have to deal with. And we are now in a league where we play in the Detroit Catholic League, so we're playing schools an hour north of us, and it's these are schools that are much, much larger than us with amazing indoor facilities, like a number of people now have in um in Ohio. So we just have to take care of ourselves and deal with the elements. And heck, we've played some games in brutal conditions that we probably shouldn't have played, but did. So it's just something we get used to. I don't think I've talked to my friends that we play in Florida and and they get it. There's no chance they would ever come up, or their guys would want to come up and deal with what we deal with here, but it's just part of the part of the whole process that we signed up to do. We don't have to, we choose to.

SPEAKER_03 11:07

Yes, and and every coach out there that's coached a baseball game in the north in the cold weather, I'm sure they have great stories that they can share about fighting the snow or the wind and the the temperatures. Let me ask you how do you balance between the players you see as starters and developing the younger players?

SPEAKER_01 11:33

Um our program has changed and evolved. We are a private Catholic school. Um our enrollment has shrunk. I this will be my 40th season at Central Catholic. And I mean when I started, our enrollment was much, much bigger. Um, and we were getting around 60 freshmen trying out for for the program. Now we are averaging about eight freshmen a year coming out because of our size and because of the evolution of youth baseball. Everything is is travel or or base or pay-to-play type things. Um, and so we we lose a lot of the kids at an early age because there's no school teams. So we don't have a lot of kids, so we're focused. Our biggest thing is everybody that can throw a strike needs to be a pitcher and they need to get time with our pitching guys in the bullpen. Everybody needs to play multiple positions, um, and everybody needs to just figure out a role. And so we do a lot of our training sessions as a full program, JV and Varsity, just because of sheer numbers. It's too many at times, but it it works for us because we have all of our coaches on the diamond or in the hitting lab with our kids. And when everybody's together, it's probably still only about 35 kids. And I'm not complaining because I know there's people that are a lot worse situation number wise than us, but um, you know, that's what we're doing. We're balancing how we're you get utilizing reps at different positions throughout a training session for us.

SPEAKER_03 13:16

Well, talk about what you just said, Terry, uh being able to play multiple positions. And when it comes to that travel player that, you know, maybe he's played for his dad up until the point he gets to become a freshman at Toledo Central Catholic, and he's uh probably pitching and maybe playing shortstop, how do you get them to understand that hey, you're a you're a freshman and you're a shortstop, but you know, we might need a a a right fielder and get them to buy into that uh type of coaching.

SPEAKER_01 13:53

I mean, obviously it depends on the kid, and they're I call the parents agents, call them that to their face. I mean, and and I do that in a respectful and loving way, but they are truly agents of their kids. They want nothing but the best for their kid, and many times they have blinders on um and can't see the whole the whole thing. Um we've been very fortunate to communicate, try to we try to over-communicate. I do with kids about roles, and um I I always tell the story. We had a a freshman that came in, I believe 2015, and I never had a freshman playing on the varsity for us. And I always said I'd never have a freshman or a sophomore unless they can start in no uncertain terms. And we had one who is still in professional baseball, Jace Bowen, and he came in and he was not only our best shortstop, but he was our best player as a freshman and had to have a tough conversation, I thought, with one of our seniors who was all set to be our shortstop. Started as a junior, and during the conversation, it lasted about 30 seconds because he knew full well that he was going to be our second baseman. He knew that Jace was better. Um, and the kids get it. I truly believe the kids see it, the kids get it. The hard part is selling that with their agent at home at the dinner table.

SPEAKER_03 15:22

I couldn't agree with you more on that one, that's for sure. What's one drill or practice concept that's become a staple in your program?

SPEAKER_01 15:34

You know, um I don't know if there's one. We do a we do our pregame and we do it pre-season. Um can't do it every day. Um but we do a three-fungo outfield pregame where three coaches are hit and there's balls flying all over the place, um, then come come into the infield. So we do that um during the preseason uh at least three, four days a week. We do a um a drill with our pitchers and our infielders um that we picked up. I think I picked it up on Twitter a few years ago, uh chaos drill, and we have a coach at home plate, and he's hitting fungo after fungo, and there's lots of movement and activity, and we're turning double plays and we're covering first, and and it we need our whole program to do that, and we do that a couple days a week in preseason, and then make certain that we have that once a week um during the season. And the other thing is just our BP. We try so hard to make certain that our reps, defensive reps for sure during BP are game speed reps. It's it's cost us a little bit. We've had some injuries because of it, but um we insist that kids are diving non-stop, insist that they're diving in the outfield, diving on the infield. We had a kid that was out for a week um because he did that and screwed up a shoulder. Um, of course, people criticize that's not how you do it, and I disagree. If you're gonna play at game speed, we train at game speed. So I had a coach, a college coach that was coming to the stadium to play a Division II game, and we were finishing up training, they were there for about a half hour, and he paid our program to me the ultimate compliment. He said, Coach, that's one of the best high school um practices I've seen. And I shared that with our kids, and it's not about me, it's about them because I can put anything on paper that this is what we're doing, and I can try I can do the everything I can to hold them accountable, but at the end of the day, they have to buy in, they have to believe that this is the best way for us to succeed, and and knock on wood, they've done that. So again, I love our kids um who we get to wear our uniform, and um hopefully that never changes.

Balancing Starters, Development, And Roles

SPEAKER_03 18:03

Well, when it comes to being in-game, how do you decide between trusting your gut versus maybe you've you've played this team and you kind of know what they're gonna do? And uh you know, that's how you know it's a pregame plan where you're like, all right, we're gonna go this amount of time with our pitcher or whatever it may be. How do you how do you balance that trusting your gut versus trying to stick to the plan?

SPEAKER_01 18:33

Um, I I don't know if in high school baseball that I would say many times there's much of a plan. There's a plan, certainly, who's starting, who's pitching, you know, what maybe a pitch count might be for that day based on what we've done or what we've got coming up. Um, but I I I rely on on gut and instinct more than I think anything else. Now there's times when certainly guys are upset with me. I remember in Florida, we had a kid that went and pitched at Ohio University, and it was our opening game, and he was our best, and he was pitching really well and quite honestly dominating a team from Florida, and we had a two-run lead, and we got to the fifth inning. He got through us in the fifth inning, and he came in and he had just hit a hundred pitches. And I'm not a big guy, and I know we have pitch counts and everything, but every kid's a little different with what their pitch count should be. And I just said to him, You're big strong kid. I said, Jake, you're done. He said, Coach, I'm good. It feels great out here. I'm sweating. I said, I know, and that's why you're done. We're gonna make certain it's game one. I want you to be ready when we get to May and not be hurting because we ranched the farm. We ended up getting beat that game. Um, if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing. It was the gut, it was the head, a combination of two that said that was the right thing to do for us as a team and for Jake as a player. And just so I don't know if there's a if that's a good answer or the right answer, but that's the answer that I use.

SPEAKER_03 20:16

Yes, and it's tough to get a player or you know, like you said, agents mom slash dad to understand that your your goal as a coach is to be at your best when you it comes tournament time, and you know, stats that stat of getting one more inning or you know, six more outs, whatever it may be, isn't as important as it should be.

SPEAKER_01 20:44

Yeah, it's uh again, the gut comes into play. We get to see the kid every single day that we're on the diamond, we get to to know about bumps and bruises and aches and pains. And um, and certainly sometime the adrenaline takes over and things are going well for a kid and they want to keep going, and the gut says, no, this isn't a smart thing to do, we gotta shut it down or make a change or whatever it might be. And you know, and again, sometimes I don't do a very good job at times, you know. Maybe I should have pulled a guy um and I didn't. So keep learning, keep evolving each and every day. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 21:27

Well, how do you navigate conversations with your players about their role when they think they should be starting, but you and your coaching staff have different ideas.

SPEAKER_01 21:40

I mean, we do like most others, we do the meetings be before the season, we do the meetings uh during tryouts, and tryouts for us a little misleading because we're not doing a lot of roster reductions with our number these days. Um, but we still meet with kids and say, as of today. This is what we feel your role is. It's an open conversation. You know, we've told, we tell them at our preseason program meeting with all the kids and all the parents, if there's an issue, certainly talk to us and we'll have a meeting as long as the meeting's about your son and only your son. We don't talk about anybody else, and we'll give you an honest answer of what's going on. And again, we've been fortunate. We certainly have had our meetings here and there, but it's not like that they're lining up at the door. And again, I think most of them get it. I did hear an interesting one two years ago. I haven't implemented it, but one of the best things I've ever heard from a coach at the high school national baseball convention, and he said he tells his parents that you should email me about your kids' playing time if you have a problem. And then you should also understand that I take that email and I post it in our clubhouse so that every other player and everybody that comes in our clubhouse can see it. And he goes, You'd be amazed at how few emails that I get about playing time. And I thought, well, that's a unique and different way to do it, but um a lot of different ways to do it. But uh just have open and honest conversation as much as we can. And um doesn't mean everybody's happy, but um most of the time, if you're good enough, you'll take care of yourself. You don't need a coach to take care of you, you'll take care of yourself in your own situation.

SPEAKER_03 23:34

Yes. Well, what's one behind the scenes thing that you do as a program builder that doesn't show up in the wind column but is critical to your success over the past 40 years?

Staple Drills And Training At Game Speed

SPEAKER_01 23:50

Um, you know, coach, I again I try to over-communicate with our guys. One of our mission is to teach life lessons through baseball. Um, I know I've heard that from others as well. Um every day, no matter if we're working out or whether it's preseason or a game, uh, none of our kids can leave our stadium or or road game without shaking hands with every coach that's there. And we feel that for a number of reasons. It's a life lesson, learning how to shake a hand, look somebody in the eye, and at the same time, um, the kid might be upset. It gives us an opportunity to leave with a positive uh a message to them or something. We do that. Um we practice the national anthem. Sounds funny, but we do it. We teach our JVs, we teach our campers. We have third graders that know how to do the national anthem, the Central Catholic baseball way, how we stand, uh, that we pause at the end of the national anthem for two seconds out of respect for those who have given the ultimate sacrifice. Again, a life lesson um that we try and teach. And the other thing, I guess, that that I take a lot of pride in is started it in I think 2018, and then COVID really ramped it up. But every morning, and I I wish I could say every single morning by eight o'clock, but every morning without fail, since that time, um, I sent a daily message to our players, our coaches, and our support staff. And it's just it's something about life, it's a a life lesson. Um, it might be time management, it might be about um, you know, pushing yourself 1% better, whatever it might be, but 365 days a week, a year, they get a message from me. And my thought is, um, and I know they don't always read it, um, but hold them accountable. Last week I was asking guys, hey, what'd the group me message say today? And it's amazing how quickly then you know that they went home and read it quickly. Um, but it gives me an opportunity to share with them every day, and it gives them a chance to think about Central Catholic baseball every single day. There's no day off. And and I take great pride in that. It's something that I hope we can continue doing um as long as I'm around.

SPEAKER_03 26:26

Well, I you know, I when you said 40 years of coaching, I w when I look at you I I I've known you for quite some time, but I would have never guessed you've been doing it for 40 years. You st you still look really young, and you know, I I gotta ask, do you hate losing or love winning? You've you've been around a lot of baseball games.

SPEAKER_01 26:51

Um I've used the line many times, hate losing uh more than I enjoy winning. And um, you know, I was just fortunate, I was very young, and Central Catholic had an opening. I was fortunate to be helping out with um my mentor, my high school coach, Don Cober at Toledo St. Francis, and um just finished being the head JV coach my first year, and this job opening came, and I had a couple close people in the community that asked me if I'd be interested and huge rival. I never thought I'd leave Toledo St. Francis, but when the opportunity came and I got to interview, I did it. Um they were very reluctant. In fact, they gave me a our athletic director at the time, Coach Bill Axe, who's a dear friend. He told me as he was starting his new role as AD, he said, Coach, we're hiring you, but just so you know, we're giving you a babysitter. And the babysitter is an assistant football coach, and he has no idea about anything with baseball. But the administration wants somebody there with you. And I said, Great, and it was Tom Deplinsky, um, great friends with uh the late Dave Starling, and Coach Dupe and I formed a great relationship, and um it's just something that I've loved. I've been I've loved Central Catholic, and I I couldn't see myself wearing any other uniform.

SPEAKER_03 28:23

You also serve on the state board for here in Ohio, and Ohio is known around the country as one of the best uh state associations and the biggest top top three probably attended uh events when it comes to state clinics. Talk about your role doing that throughout the years and how that is uh making you uh uh want a better coach, but you know, you get a chance to to go out there and you even do a you know, you've even uh done podcasts for the OHSBCA and uh talk about that a little bit.

Gut Calls Versus Plans On Game Day

SPEAKER_01 29:08

You know, I um I give credit to Coach Cober again for pushing me to go to my first clinic back in uh 86 by myself, didn't know a soul, and then Mike O'Reilly, formerly of Sylvania South, you got me involved like you were in Team Ohio with the Sun Bell Classic. And um, and one thing led to another, and I think it was 1999. I got on the board as a rep and then went through the chairs, and I haven't left. And the relationships that I've been able to form and build the friendships. Um, I mean, I I'm gonna mention a couple guys, Dave Burkett, Scott Manning, Ray Benjamin, and the list goes on and on, and I'll stop there because those four or three are the ones I'm closest with, and now Drew Kirby, who's also uh Ray's our director, and Drew's an assistant alongside of me. And it's amazing the relationships. Coach, I was at the ABCA in Columbus as you were, and I was just, I mean, with alone time walking in the hallway, just thinking about all the people I've met through baseball throughout the nation because of the board, because of Team Ohio. It's mind-boggling. I I took time to text Coach Cobra and just thank him for pushing me to go in '86 to the clinic because none of this would have happened had I not done that. And as far as the podcast, uh chatting baseball in Ohio, um, it was an idea I had in 2020 at the end of the clinic. And then when COVID hit, I told our guys, I am not ready to do this, but we have to. We have to start now because the audience has never been more captive than this. And we started it, and I'm still learning it's not nearly as professional as yours or other ones, but we're getting the message out about our clinic and everything, and we're awfully proud of our clinic. We just talked about Texas is the biggest state association just by size. I won't take a backseat to any state association with the clinic we put on. Uh, the one we just had two weeks ago in Columbus was amazing. And um, our board guys are second to none with with uh the pride that they take in putting out a first class product. So it's uh it's something that takes up a lot of time, but man, the relationships and the fun we have together is second to none. And and you were on the board too, coach, and I appreciate what you've done.

SPEAKER_03 31:43

Let me ask you, is it easier to be a guest or be the host?

SPEAKER_01 31:48

You know, um the guest. I guess a little bit more pressure, I think. The host has uh they know what pitch is coming. Um before, I mean, I feel like as a guest, I'm in the batter's box, and but you've done a great job preparing me for this, so it's kind of I'm just kind of kidding aside here. But um you well know it it takes, I've told our board guys, it takes quite a bit of time to prepare for the podcast, to tape the podcast, and then to review the podcast before it gets released. So um, yeah, I think the guest is uh is an easier way to go.

SPEAKER_03 32:25

Well, it's Super Bowl Sunday at the time of this recording, so I got to get you on record. Uh who do you want to win and who do you think is gonna win the Seahawks or the Patriots?

SPEAKER_01 32:38

You know, I follow the NFL enough just to be in conversations and not sound completely dumb. Um, I look at the Super Bowl as we're one day closer to the start of baseball season. And um I I guess if I had anything, I really like what um the Patriots have done. I'm big into the mental game and seeing what um the Patriots have been able to do after two uh really subpar seasons and turn it around as quickly as they've done has been amazing. So um I could care less who wins today, but I guess push comes to shove. I have friends that coach baseball in Massachusetts, and they are like ready to jump off the bridge if something doesn't good happen to the Patriots. So I'll I I'll say New England.

SPEAKER_03 33:27

There you go. Well, I've got two questions before we wrap it up here, and you've been doing it for 40 years. Best advice for somebody that takes a head coaching job for the first time.

SPEAKER_01 33:40

I mean, I think two things. Number one, um, be true to yourself and be a constant learner at the same time. And secondly, get involved, pick people's brains. I mean, I've been doing it a long time, I've got so much to learn, coach. There's not a state all-star series that I attend in June where I don't come prepared with four or five questions. Sometimes it's typed out, and try to interview guys on our board or guys that are coaching about what do you do. And it could be pre-season, it could be off-season, it could be during your practices, but I am constantly trying to learn. And the beauty of being on the board right now is there's I don't want to say old because I hate using that word, there's veteran guys like me, um, who have been around for a long time. So I get to pick their brain, but there's young guys, young guys with all new ideas and full of energy that I get to pick their brain. So I get to mix the old with the new and kind of come up with what might work best for us.

SPEAKER_03 34:49

Okay. You know, I I told you two questions. Actually, I I had one written down that I I skipped over, and if you don't mind, I'm gonna throw it at you here real quick. This is uh sort of uh in-game coaching situation runners on first and third in the seventh inning with one out, and you guys have a one-run lead. Runner on first breaks on the pitch. And I guess I gotta ask, how how do you defend that?

SPEAKER_00 35:19

We have a one one-run lead. Is that what you said? Yeah, one run lead with one out, seventh inning.

SPEAKER_01 35:28

Um yeah, I guess depending on situation and who's up and who's running. I mean, I I my gut right now tells me we want to if we have a mound visit, we're going through and I'm going right out and talking. And normally I don't go out, our pitching coach goes out, but I'm going out and talking to the catcher and saying if you don't have a great grip and you can't you don't get a good jump, you're not throwing this through. Otherwise, I want to throw through and get the runner. And let's take our chances on um seeing what happens. But outs are so freaking valuable in high school baseball that um giving away a base, I I just I take the out if we can get it.

SPEAKER_03 36:13

Makes sense. Best story or funniest story from all your years as a high school baseball coach.

Role Conversations With Players And Parents

SPEAKER_01 36:24

I mean, there's a lot of funny ones, I guess, and maybe I shouldn't use them. I I go back and say you said best or funniest. Um, as long as I'm coaching, there'll never be a day that I experienced in 2010. Um my son was playing, and my son, only child, he took a beating from me. Um, as a lot of kids do from their dads. I was just pushing him, and when I say beating, certainly not physical. Um just trying to push him to be the best he was could be. He was not a big guy, a little lefty, played a good center field for us, um, very average or maybe slightly above average high school hitter, and he pitched. And we were playing a city championship game. Our league was unique. We had a tournament at the end of the year, and we were playing an extremely talented St. John's team from Toledo who had beaten us during the year. And um I remember we won the semifinal game, and our plan was we had three senior pitchers, and we had a starter for the semifinal, and then we had another senior that was gonna relieve him. We didn't need the reliever, and then Trav, my son, was gonna start the finals. And I told a couple people in my family when they were nervous about the fact that if we won and got to the finals, Trav would pitch. And what are you doing? And I said, not only is he gonna pitch, but he's gonna pitch so well, he's gonna be the MVP of the tournament. And um, it was really, I don't even know why I was saying it, but he went out and pitched the game of his life, pitched a complete game. We beat an extremely talented team to win a city championship. I cried just even saying it, but it was a special moment. I was so happy for him because I know all the tension trying to do things to please his dad, um, who was his coach, and he got through it uh and shined in the moment, and he was the MVP. Um, I'm the last guy to brag about anything, but that's one that I always tell because it's just something I'll never have again, no matter how many more years I coach. I don't think I can ever duplicate that. Um, so that's the best story I have.

SPEAKER_03 38:43

Well, that's uh that's a that's a great one to end on to end, coach. It's uh Jeff Milkarick, Toledo Central Catholic. Coach, thank you so much for taking the time to uh join me on a Sunday here on Baseball Coaches Unplugged.

SPEAKER_01 39:00

Coach, again, thank you for what you do to promote the great game of baseball, and thank you for having me as a guest. Extremely honored and blessed. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 39:09

Baseball Coaches Unplugged is powered by the netting professionals, improving programs one facility at a time. Contact them today at 844-620-2707 or visit them online at www.nettingpros.com. As always, I'm your host, Coach Ken Carpenter. Thanks for joining me on Baseball Coaches Unplugged.