Entry #67 - 10/26/07

October 26, 2007

Only 119 days until Opening Day. I can’t wait. Our fall season was very successful. I have been extremely pleased with this group since day one. Throughout the course of the fall, our execution in all areas improved. Our kids played with great tempo and enthusiasm. Our staff feels like we have a very good compliment of talent.

Offensively, I believe we will successfully return to where we have always been. And that is an offense that can beat you many ways. We have a great mix of speed, power and an ability to handle the bat. Last season was such a struggle offensively. Our lack of production forced us to be perfect in other areas and down the stretch it caught up with us.

Looking back, I probably expected too much out of our offense last season. Going into last season we had lost over 75% of our offensive production from the year before. We had to replace six everyday starters who all hit over .300. Expecting our hitters to put up those same numbers was unrealistic. Going into this season we only have to replace one hitter who batted over .300 and we only lost 30% of our offensive production. We have a great mix of new players and experienced returning players. One area that really excites me is that we will have a quality bench. We only have 15 hitters, but the six that won’t be in the lineup will give us some great match-up opportunities in big situations during a game.

Our success and the mound this season will ultimately decide whether we will be a championship team. If we are able to “stuff” teams then our chances for success will increase tremendously. Although not where we want them to be, last season our pitching numbers were better than they have been in a long time. We improved in just about every area. Our ERA went down over a .34 runs and we gave up 60 less extra base hits than the year before. The big thing for our pitchers is to continue to develop some consistency.

Our six returning pitchers have all improved drastically over the summer and we have eight new pitchers who have a chance to make a big impact. This fall our average velocities were up almost 4 mph and our strike percentage was 63%. Defensively, we are very athletic and handled the baseball very well this fall. Our ability to defend should be one of the things we do best this season.

With all that being said, we still have an awful lot of work to do. We have now been involved in our strength and conditioning phase for three weeks. For the most part it has been very productive thus far. We still have a few individuals that are still afraid to get tired, but hopefully they will catch on soon. If not they will get left behind by their teammates.

Baseball is no different than other areas of life. You are going to get out of it what you put into it. In fact in the lessons you learn in baseball probably parallel the lessons you need to learn to be successful in life, better than any other sport. All coaches will tell you it is not a coincidence that every year the players who put in the most, always have the most satisfaction. Whether or not their numbers are good is irrelevant. The players that are dedicated and committed to the program always feel good about their experience. It never fails but the ones that don’t always leave with a guilty conscience. Trying to get this across to our players is a difficult thing.

In baseball you can have great numbers, just like in life you can have all the material things in the world, but if you've gained those things or gotten ahead by being dishonest, unethical or simply by sliding by, then eventually you will lose respect for yourself. When that happens, what do you really have? As you get older, you see the long-term consequences of dishonest gain, and you realize that in the end it doesn't pay.

The only way to ever attain success and enjoy it is to achieve it honestly with pride in what you've done. It has been over fifteen years since I competed in college. And if you ask me to tell you the statistics of our best players, I can’t even come close. But if you ask me who were the best teammates and who worked the hardest I can name them immediately. It is funny how that works.

On a sadder note, recently there have been three people who recently passed away that all have impacted my life. My thoughts and prayers have been with them and their families.

Mrs. Elsie Breedlove who was the mother of our Assistant Athletic Director, Barbie Breedlove passed away on October 14 th . I had the pleasure of meeting her a couple of times, but really got to know her through my conversations with Coach Breedlove. What an unbelievable life she led. She accomplished many things, including being a Navy, WWII instructor in aircraft recognition and gunnery. She was 89 when she passed and it is a fact that they just don’t make men or women like her anymore.

Mr. Don Cherry passed away last month after a battle with cancer. Mr. Cherry was the father of Donnie Cherry who is one of my closest friends. Donnie and I grew up playing ball together. Donnie is now living in Charlotte and is very successful. He actually just hired one of our baseball alumni, Trevor Smith to work for him. Mr. Cherry had an unbelievable zest for life. He was always smiling and having fun. I have many great memories of him making me laugh and some great conversations. He and Mrs. Cherry have raised three incredible sons, who I know will dearly miss their father. I know Mr. Cherry was extremely proud of his boys.

Some of you may have read in the newspaper about Alec Kessler passing away. Alec was a former All American and SEC Player of the Year at University of Georgia . He was then a lottery pick in the NBA draft and played with the Miami Heat. He then left life in the NBA and became a successful surgeon. Alec was only 40 years old and had an apparent heart attack during a charity basketball game. Alec and I were high school basketball teammates. He was a senior when I was a sophomore. I was a struggling point guard and Alec always was very comforting to me. His encouragement and guidance really gave me a lot of confidence as an athlete. He had a huge impact on me. Alec was a great example of an older player being a great role model for the younger players. Everything he did was always right on. In reading some of the messages that people left in his guest book, it is simply amazing the lives he touched. To say he was special individual is an understatement. Alec was an incredible man. My prayers go out to his wife Rhea, his two sons Christopher and Nicolas and the Kessler family.

The cycle of life is difficult to understand. God has a plan for all of us, but it is a plan we will never figure out here on earth. Everyday we have is a blessing. Until next time…

COACH SKOLE