The game of baseball is played with nearly the same exact rules all across the world, but we know that there are numerous styles to this beautiful game. I have been lucky enough to see many of these different styles of play throughout my playing and coaching career. As I’ve said in my previous blog posts, I’ve played or coached at NCAA Divisions I+II+III, NJCAA, independent professional and affiliated professional. If I ever venture to the NAIA level, I believe, I’ve been a part of every level in the United States. Going through these ranks in less than 10 years sure has been a whirlwind. My longest stint was being with Catawba College, NCAA Division II, for 3 ½ years. I can say the environments at each one of these schools/organizations are very unique. I think that there are multiple reasons for the different Environments across these levels, but I’m going to cover 3 different topics: Expectations, Culture and Priorities. 

When talking about the different levels of play, expectations are driven from what you see in the news. Think about when you were growing up…what sports did you watch? My guess would be NCAA Division I and any other professional organization. When it comes to the game of baseball, the popularity of the collegiate level is quickly rising. Kids these days are growing up watching the SEC, ACC and all the power 5 schools growing up. These give very high expectations to the professional and NCAA Division I level. Growing up in Tampa, Florida- I saw high level baseball pretty much all year round. To give an idea how crazy the talent was in Tampa at this time, I’ll describe a week of baseball that I had the pleasure of watching. I was committed to UNCG and I recommended my friend to our recruiting coordinator, Jamie Athas. He came down to Florida to watch him, and in this game my friend went 0-1 with 3 BB’s, which sucked because he couldn’t showcase his talent. In this same game, I got to watch Jose Fernandez hit two mammoth home runs. I then was able to go to a Yankees spring training game the next day. This was one of my favorite places to go to growing up because I could just feel the magic in the air. I could go on with the amount of major league talent that resides in Tampa, but that is beside the point. I was one of many players who would chase the logo. I wanted to be a part of the best baseball program I could be for the recognition, not for what the program actually meant. This leads to the large amount of transfers that we see each year; the player’s identity is in baseball and not the school itself. Now, compare this to the smaller levels of college baseball. How many kids grow up dreaming of playing for their local community college? This leads to low expectations when going to these lower level’s programs. Now how do players of these lower level programs raise their expectations? I believe it’s the coaches and what type of culture they instill in the program. 

Being a part of numerous cultures has led me to see what the pros and cons of level are. Compare any MLB game to a NCAA Division III game. I think there is one thing that drives this difference and it’s money. Once you reach the major leagues, all the game is about is money. Now, more than ever before, it is evident how many people rely financially on the MLB. Now look at how much money is involved in the lower levels of college baseball. You could say a majority of these colleges rely on these teams for enrollment purposes. This is true…but once you go to look at how much the schools rely on these programs to win games, it’s very little. As you can see there are programs with immense amount of pressure to win and then there are programs that do not have this pressure. There are keys to overcoming both of these scenarios and I’ll explain each. The first problem is passing anxiety down from high pressure situations, and making that team’s entire mantra centered around baseball. This problem isn’t just at the higher levels but this is where it is primarily. I can’t blame coaches in these situations, I just haven’t been in their shoes. I can’t Imagine the amount of pressure that’s on their shoulders all season long. We live in a world where there has never been so much information readily available at the tips of our fingers, especially now in baseball. The information tells us that we cannot focus on one thing, without breaks, and be successful. When you hear the same message over and over, it becomes deaf to you. When you go through your 74^th rundown on the season, it becomes deaf to you. The balance is not there and leads to deficiencies in other aspects of life. Once you start having these deficiencies in other aspects of life, they are going to fall right back onto your players. Just because there is pressure on you, does not mean that it requires all of your attention. I believe that coaches at the highest of levels can learn some valuable lessons from the smaller level college coaches in this aspect. The balance of life comes easier to coaches at smaller levels.

Now on the flip side, we get to these lower programs and the sense of care is lower (in some circumstances, not all). I have seen and been a part of programs that have more similarities to a club ball team than to a championship program. What this means to me is that they cared more about having fun, rather than trying to grow as a group. The way that this atmosphere is changed is to show them the benefits to “buying in”. It’s tough to put your identity into something and there has to be a reason to do so. Look at the difference between winning the NCAA Division I and then Divisions II+III. The amount of intrinsic motivation needed to win at the higher levels is much less. Coaches at the lower levels have a duty to build this intrinsic motivation. I have and had that motivation while at Catawba College and now at Maryville College. The leaders of these programs have shown our players that when you put on the uniform, you are now a part of something bigger. Which is very important to me as a coach. To sum of the differences in culture at these different levels, balance is something, I believe, always needs to be evaluated.

I’ve already hinted to this, but getting priorities straight for an entire organization and program is vital. The coaches are the most important people to show what their priorities are. If we, as coaches, show to our players that nothing matters other than baseball, we are doing them a huge disservice. Showing that there is life outside of sports is more important and vital. We look to sports to learn life lessons and getaway from the hustle and bustle. I really appreciate the way that NCAA Division III operates because of the emphasis on academics and personal life. Maryville College is one of the most beautiful campuses in the country and the kids get to take advantage of this. Now look at all of these other beautiful campuses across the country, and how many student athletes don’t get the chance to take advantage of this. You pick a school for three main reasons, the athletic program, academic program and the location. Now imagine stepping on campus and stripping them of two of the three reasons that they chose this school. I experienced this while at UNCG. I look back and wish that I would have been able to explore all that the school has to offer. I see this all too often and I think creating an environment where memories are made outside the baseball field is vital. Having these group activities off the baseball field will help keep a healthy balance in everyone’s priorities and create a stronger team chemistry. 

Having the unique background that I have; I feel as I need to share the differences of all the programs that I’ve been a part of. No program is perfect, and I have learned a ton from each stop along the way. The struggles have been some of the most influential times of my coaching career and wouldn’t trade it for anything. Balance is key and it is something that every program should keep an eye on. I hope this helps continue to shape your programs to where you’re winning, building all around men and families.