Entry #58 - 2/12/06

As a coach the process of evaluation never ceases. It is always ongoing and in the world of athletics (especially baseball), just when you think you have it figured out, something comes up and you are back at square one. Since our kids arrived on campus this year, our coaching staff has tried to put a finger on what it is going to take for our program to make that next step. I wish the answer was obvious but it is not. The one thing I know for sure is that our players, coaches and everyone close to our program has to believe that success is going to come. Without this sincere belief, we have no chance. Currently I am of the opinion that we are on the right track and making progress in this area, so as the season progresses it will be much easier to evaluate our expectations to win.

One of the first things I have realized in trying to solve this equation is that our players need to play more instinctive and be able to execute without one of our coaches always reminding them what to do. In our early years at ETSU, when we were not very fundamentally sound, I think our players became used to the voices of our coaching staff. Instead of thinking and anticipating situations on their own, they waited to hear it from us. We need our players to be able to communicate with each other in anticipation of how a play may develop. So this season I am putting more responsibility in the hands of our players, particularly our seniors.

The other day in practice I noticed our players responded well when one of our seniors was speaking while they were huddled around. I thought this was great so I decided to put it to use. There is a period of time before our games (usually twenty minutes before the first pitch) that I always meet with our players in the outfield. During this meeting I usually go over the signals, review the scouting report or any last minute reminders and then maybe a brief motivational story. So before this weekend's games I decided that the time right before the game would be the perfect time to let our leaders step up and take over.

So before our game against Missouri when it was time to go "down the line" for our meeting, I just stayed in the dugout. Their heads turned after a few minutes to see what was keeping me, but eventually they figured I wasn't coming and they took over. Whatever was said in that huddle must have worked because our guys came ready to play on this day. With all the preseason accolades that Missouri has received our guys have had this game circled throughout the winter. They were excited to test their skills versus the #10 team in the country.

Jeremy Hall gave us a great starting pitching performance as he threw five innings of no-hit baseball. "Booner" was simply dominant. Shane Byrne got us on the board in the first inning with an RBI single up the middle. Blake Church then had two huge RBI base hits in the 7th and 9th innings. His second RBI was extremely important as Missouri would score one run in the ninth, to close the game at 3-2. Michael Courtney's two strike, sacrifice bunt is what set up Blake's big hit. On this day, I was truly inspired by our team's play. Everyone was into the game and it was a great team effort.

Next up for tomorrow was Washington State. Being in the PAC 10 conference I knew they would be a tough opponent. As our coaching staff met that evening, we were definitely concerned about our players having a "hangover" after that big win. This game would be a good test for our club, early in the year to see if we can play well two days in a row versus two quality opponents.

We gave the ball to Tony Lombardi for his first start of the season. Tony responded by giving us a great outing, but our lack of offense and defense let him down and we ended up losing 8-2. I give Washington State lots of credit. I left the park really liking their ball club. Their starting pitcher was about as good as it gets. He simply dominated our hitters as we refused to make adjustments against him throughout the game. It was a 2-0 ball game through six innings and then we allowed them a big inning. Against quality teams you cannot give them extra at-bats/outs. Good teams will make you pay for those mistakes and Washington State capitalized.

I was looking forward to getting back on the field on Saturday, but Mother Nature would not allow it as our game versus Charleston Southern got rained out. So the evaluation process starts again. I really felt great about the Missouri win, but I'm very concerned about the letdown we had versus Washington State. We need a good week of preparation to be ready for a gritty Xavier ball club who is coming to Johnson City next weekend. Our forecast doesn't look to promising for the weekend. As we pulled into Johnson City on Saturday afternoon, there was about four inches of snow on the ground. Hopefully the weather will change for the weekend.

Before I finish this entry, I want to wish my brother-in-law, David Burnett a happy birthday. He and Robyn (my sister) have been married 22 years and I can't even begin to explain how much he has enriched our family. I remember when I first met David. I was 12 years old and he came over to the house for dinner. My older brothers Mike and Scott happened to be in town, so I knew this night would be interesting. I always felt for Robyn growing up, because being a beautiful young lady with two protective older brothers cannot be easy.

So as David arrives my brothers and I, along with Dad are outside shooting baskets. Before David can even enter the house he is challenged to a game of hoops. So here is David, dressed in nice slacks, a sweater and loafers and now he has to play hoops on a hot evening in Atlanta. Well Scott and Mike were doing their best Bill Lambeer and Rick Mahorn imitation. It was like the old NBA playoffs where no easy buckets were allowed. After about two or three extremely hard fouls, some grass stains and a ripped shirt, Dave finally said to the hell with this and started giving it right back. I could see the look in the eye of the Skole men, that this guy is alright.

Then as we sat down to eat dinner that evening my mother had prepared Mexican food. As anyone who has ever been treated to my mother's Mexican food, know some of it can be rather spicy. No one even bothered to ask David if he liked Mexican food, but the entire meal he sat there and ate some pretty darn "hot" food. I remember his forehead beading up with sweat, but he never once complained. After that evening David was aces in my book. So I know I speak for my entire family in wishing David a happy birthday. There is not a better person on this earth that a brother could hope for his sister to marry. Being the youngest brother, I often aspire to be just like my older brothers. Well I know all of the Skole brothers often aspire to be the person that David Burnett is. Happy Birthday Dave-O. Until Next Time...

COACH SKOLE