Axcess Baseball's Podcast

On this episode, we are joined by two Philadelphia Phillies prospects; Logan O'Hoppe (St. John the Baptist 2018) and Nick Fanti (Hauppauge 2015). Among the topics discussed:

O'Hoppe
-Admits he didn't know he would be drafted until Draft Day.
-The adjustment of going from high school to the Gulf Coast League
-The responsibility he feels to impart his wisdom on younger players
-The challenges of learning an entire pitching staff
-Reflecting back on a huge 2018 for him in which he accomplished many personal goals.

Fanti
-Discusses how he only began gaining confidence on the mound when he was in 10th grade.
-The difficult transformation to life on his own for the first time.
-How he's been able to go 20-6 in the minor leagues in 4 seasons.
-Mentors that have helped him along the way.
-Pitching in the World Baseball Classic against Francisco Lindor and Mike Aviles
-Pitching in the Australian League and driving on the left side of the road

On this episode, we are filming from Athletic Movement Protocol in Syosset, NY with Tommy Ziegen, a 2017 graduate of SUNY Old Westbury and 3-time Axcess All-Long Island member. He is currently a professional player with the Alpine Cowboys. Tommy discusses his earliest memories of the game of baseball, why he admires Derek Jeter, why he chose Old Westbury, what made the 2015 team good enough to win the Skyline Conference title, the disappointment of not getting drafted despite two organizations having draft grades on him, and how he went from being a defense-first SS to a power-hitter in pro ball. He also tells us how he stays motivated and his goals for 2019.

On this episode, we are filming live from the newly-renovated MaX Effort Baseball in Farmingdale, NY. We are joined by Chicago Cubs Hitting Coach Anthony Iapoce. He returns to the organization after being the minor league hitting coordinator from 2013-'15. He discussed whether he feels that prepared him for this position, he discussed playing in Yankee Stadium as a senior in high school for the city championship, how he wound up at Lamar University despite getting zero offers until he graduation. We also discussed how he enjoyed playing in hostile environments such as LSU and Texas A&M, his professional career, how he got into coaching, how the information age has changed his job, getting a FaceTime call from Theo Epstein to get his World Series ring and how hitters have adjusted to the explosion of fastball velocity.

On this episode, we are filming from the Axcess Baseball Head Quarters with St. Anthony's Head Coach Paul Parsolano. We discuss the motivation behind making the leap from Pitching Coach at St. Joseph's to Head Coach at St. Anthony's. He explains how excited he is to coach against friends such as Brian Anderson (St. Dominic), Casey Mckay (St. John the Baptist) and Chris Alfalla (Kellenberg). He explains his fond memories of coaching at St. Joseph's and being a part of two Skyline Conference championships. We also discussed being an Assistant Coach for 25 years before taking a Head Coaching opportunity, how he helped Franklin Parra become a professional pitcher, his pitching staff with the Titans (Rob Milopsky, Cam Mayer, Chandler Giovinco, Charlie Cucchiara) and also the challenges of coaching against a stacked CHSAA this season.

On this episode, we are filming from Athletic Movement Protocol in Syosset with Merchant Marine pitching coach Lou Bernardi. He is a 2006 graduate of Herricks HS. He went on to pitch at NYIT for 4 years before playing 1 season of independent ball. He has since worked his way up the coaching ranks beginning with pitching coach at Division-III Old Westbury for 3 seasons, Division-II LIU Post as the pitching coach/recruiting coordinator and then Division-I Iona as pitching coach. He's worked with a few draft picks; notably Tim Ingram at OW and Jared Finkel at Iona. He's also coached in the Northwoods, Hamptons League and ACBL. He is now the pitching coach at United States Merchant Marines Academy. We spoke about his career, his take on pitching in the northeast and why he admired Roger Clemens in his youth. 

On this episode, we are joined by a very special guest, 10-year MLB veteran and current Farmingdale State College Head Coach Keith Osik. We spoke about the following topics:
-Why he decided to go from the Washington Nationals to a Division-III in 2005
-How he nearly built a National Champion team in four years
-How did he find Matt Seelinger at Clarke HS and send him to professional baseball
-What it was like sitting in class with SHAQ at LSU
-Why he decided to attend LSU over Texas, Auburn and Mississippi State.
-Playing all 9 positions in one game yet getting tagged with the loss
-Winning the New York State championship and getting drafted in the same day
-Getting called up to the Major Leagues
-Homering off Randy Johnson
-Facing Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa in 1998.
-Playing in Wrigley Field
-Playing on ESPN

On this episode, we are filming from All Pro Sports Academy in Bellport. Coach Schnupp discusses their successful 2018 season in which they pulled up a playoff upset at Ward Melville, before having their season ended by West Islip, 1-0, in 8 innings. He discussed the thought process of removing ace, Roman Dorosh, after 105 pitches. We spoke about their unsung heroes, Dan Palermo and Dylan Stalzer, the benefit of having two Division-I catchers, Ryan Micheli and Don Wille, also having a hidden gem in Rafe Scheslinger. Lastly, we discussed the Bill Batewell coaching tree and his first year as a Head Coach in 2005 in which he led Sachem East to the Long Island Championship.

On this episode, we are joined by Plainview JFK Head Coach John Givargidze, who just completed his fifth season with the program. He has turned them into a Nassau AA perennial playoff contender and have won back-to-back conference titles. We spoke about his journey to becoming a Head Coach following coaching stints at his alma mater Molloy and also North Shore HS. He speaks about the culture he's tried to instill in his program, the impact that reigning Diamond Award winner Mark Faello and Tyler Marinaccio had on the program and what his message for his young team will be this season.

On this episode we are joined by Bruce Kern (Bellport 2006). He was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 2010 MLB Draft out of St. John's Universitty. After pitching in the minors for 5 seasons, he wound up with the Long Island Ducks before also pitching in Mexico and Taiwan. He just led his team, Lamigo Monkeys to the Championship where he was named the MVP. He discusses the difficulty in transitioning to the Chinese Professional League, where fans sing during the entire game, both teams are given "smokes breaks" after the fifth inning and the players refuse to strike out.

On this episode we are joined by special guest Tom Caputo. Very insightful interview in which we discussed his admiration for George Brett and Don Mattingly, growing up in Valley Stream and playing at Hofstra University. He tells the story of his unique path to playing for the Long Island Ducks, his transition into coaching at Rocky Point with a young Andrew Aschettino. We discussed what he learned from being an assistant to Keith Osik and how he was able to overcome built-in obstacles to build a winning program at Dowling. He discusses the style of team he tried to build, also his incredible 2014 team led by Tyler Badamo and his 2016 team that overcame a 3-11 start to win the ECC. Now he is coaching the LI Junior Ducks and instructor at Pro Game Athletics