April 29, 2008

New Bremen High School Baseball Program

New Bremen High School head baseball coach Greg Cox addressed the club about the baseball program at the school.  He was accompanied by and introduced 6 of the senior members of the team: Anthony Mader, Brad Wendel, Drew Brown, Derrick Bruggeman, Chris Heitkamp and Matt McCollum.  Senior Cory Barlage was unable to attend.

Coach Cox reflected on the recent successes of the team in achieving their current 9-4-1 record (3-1 in the MAC).  He attributes much of the success to the team's philosophy regarding communication to and from the dugout and between players out on the field at all times.  He emphasized the importance of trust within the team and that it is okay to make a mistake since we all do but that team members are there to back one another up when needed.  He and the balance of the 7 member coaching staff believe in no PDFs (Personal Displays of Frustration) as part of the team's personal discipline.

The team is guided by a published player's handbook with includes their mission statement, goals and expectations.  Their goal is to win by means of a 3 phase approach: the hope to win; believing they can win and the expectations that they will.

Although the current stats reflect personal successes of various team members, emphasis is placed on the team success as most important otherwise there is a risk of lost focus on the the team's goals.

Hosting Rotarian: Jeff Piper (Volunteer NB High School Assistant Baseball Coach)