Better Men, Better Ballplayers

Younce Notes

Bio

• collegiate playing career at the US Naval Academy and Old Dominion University

Notes

• Survey at the end of fall to discuss role and communicate expectations

Shallenberger Notes

Bio

• Current GM of the Park Sports Complex

NOTES

• Intentional about relationships

Bio

• Retired HC of Dublin Coffman High School (2020)

• 1997-2015 USA Baseball staff 

• HC of 16 year olds and assistant coach for 18 YOD

Notes

• Being held accountable has changed

• Believe in what you do

Bio

Alma Mater: Capital University ’02 

The 2021 season is the 3rd as head coach at Olentangy Orange for Tom Marker. During his tenure Marker has turned the Pioneers into a state and district power, leading Orange to a number one State Ranking and top 50 National Ranking this season. 

Marker’s record of 39-10 (.796) is first all-time in winning percentage at Orange. In his career as a head coach Marker is 237-141 (.627). Marker’s efforts have paid off in the win column and across the board as Prep Baseball Report has tabbed Orange as the top program in the state in the last three State Poll Rankings. 

In March of 2016, Marker was asked to speak at the National High School Baseball Coaches Association clinic in St. Louis. Since then, Marker has spoken at the OHSBCA clinic and the LHSCA clinic. 

Over the last six seasons, Marker has led his teams to four district final appearances. Marker was named Central District Baseball Coach of the Year in 2013. He also served as President of the Central District Coaches Association and is currently a member of the National High School Baseball Coaches Association staff. 

Currently, Olentangy Orange is the number one ranked team in the state of Ohio and has a record of 17-2. Their team is hitting over 0.400 and they bolster a roster with commitments to Vanderbilt, Wright State, Toledo, King University, West Liberty University and Ohio Northern University. 

Marker teaches sixth grade math at Olentangy Orange Middle School and lives in Lewis Center with his wife (Amie) and three children (McKenzie 9, Jackson 4, and Lainey 1). He has been on numerous podcasts including most recently being asked to be on the “Making Math Moments” podcast. 

Olentangy Orange – 2019-present (Head Coach) 

Upper Arlington – 2015-2018 (Head Coach) 

Bexley – 2010 - 2014 (Head Coach) 

Grove City – 2009 (Pitching Coach / JV Coach) 

Independence – 2006-2008 (Head Coach)

Notes

• “PD” days - personal development days - individual days 

• Classroom sessions

• Everyday we go through the plan as needed

• Slide show from Huddle

• “Town meetings” - movement of personnel, leadership skills, Sundays (record on zoom)

• In game data

• Huddle

• Chop the video up and put into a slide show for what we need to do better

• QAB

• First pitch swing %

• Fast ball take

• UCLA tendencies

• Dirt ball reads

• Red alert plays

• Back to the infield to take a bag with infield back turns

• Lob back to the pitcher

• Points on scrimmage, not just runs

• Red alert 10 points

• 2 out hit = point

• Web gems = 2 points

• “Hustle rules” - process based scrimmage

• The more you swing, the more you walk!

• If you are aggressive, guys will start to nibble

• Roster reduction NOT cut

• Your going to play, not going down to JV or up to Varsity

• 401k - youth program

• “Option” period everyday in training to prepare for that option 

• Instead of exit meetings we do quarterly meetings

• Hitters - appetizers, entree, and dessert

• Get loose

• Challenge

• Good taste in your mouth

• Can’t have A goals with D actions

• “Transparency meeting” - after tryout meetings

• Game days - very little instruction, it is their playground

• Sprinkler flags for marks for baserunning

• No mechanics during BP, that happens indoor facility breaking it down

• ON field BP

• Vandy series

• Rivalry period

• Dead, live, dead, live - BP with live basrunning

• Practice should not look like camp!

• PD stations, PD groups

•  [email protected]

• @coachmarker DMs are open

Bio

• Coach Ittner begins his fourth year at the helm of the Cox baseball program. 

• He is a 2008 graduate of Cox High School, where he was a 3-year varsity letterman for the baseball team. 

• Coach Ittner went on to play for two years at College of the Albemarle from 2010-2011 and then at Virginia Wesleyan College for his remaining two years from 2011-2013. 

• In the fall of 2014, Coach Ittner was hired as the junior varsity head baseball coach at Cox High School. 

• After a 9-1 campaign with the Cox JV baseball team in the spring of 2014, he was hired by Salem High School in Virginia Beach to be their varsity head baseball coach and spent three seasons there from 2015-2017.  

• July 2017 was named Frank M. Cox HS HC

• In 2019 Coach Ittner was named Region 6A co-coach of the year after compiling an 18-6 record and earning a state tournament berth for the Falcons.  Coach Ittner is currently a special education teacher with Virginia Beach City Public Schools.

Notes

• Raise your minimums!! D2 guy to a D1 guy. No baseball guy becomes a baseball guy!

• Brett McCabe’s catalyst school

• How do you deal with the player that question everything?

• How do you deal with the player that loses confidence?

• Live calls

• Ways to grow more than the X’s and O’s

• Notebooks on each player - logging conversations - knowing the athletes, looping back with the athletes - do you really understand the player?

• Story telling 

• Authentic and drawn to what keeps coaches up at night

• Tough Topics that head coaches have to deal with

• Are you reflecting with what happens the most?

• Story telling before each game - we want them to be in it

• “Out of the hat” app - random name that generates to connect with

• “Find out Fridays” - 2 minute conversation between sets with weightlifting and classroom session

• Fall and spring evaluation (google form) more formal than the informal Find out Fridays

• The coaches that do it at the highest level to deal with human beings?

• Am I given myself the best opportunity to build the person?

• Program pyramid - standards of the program

• 3 tiers 

• Greatest level of respect is taking a coaching cue and doing it!

• Coaching staff built the pyramid

• Culture bulbs your program, identity builds your team

• Finding a common theme that guys buy into to make the year special

• “Mission 23”

• Expedition 6-13 - climb to last day of the year

• Bring it home 2021

• Talked to SEALS about the process 

• 5 games goal

• QAB champion - 

• F3P champion - 

• Offense

• Big Inning

• BB/K = 1:1

• QAB = 50%

• Create 7 or more freebie

• 4 or more in 7 inning

• Defense

• Win the freebie war

• Deny the big inning

• Less than 120 pitches

• F3P - what you do the first 3 pitches

• Get off the field in less than 20 pitches and stay on offense for more than 20

• Color code what happens during the game (green good, and red bad)

• Strings of QAB to produce a big inning

• [email protected]

• @falcons_skip

Bio

• Graduated from Bryan High School (played for Tom Held)

                Coached with JD Heilman (pitching coach at UC now)

• Currently the Associate head coach at Defiance (1999-present) (Associate Role is 2005)
  • Highlights

NOTES

• It is huge for assistant coaches to be heard, and given the freedom to do their job

Bio

-- Fort Hill HS Class of 1980 (lost to South Hagerstown in state playoffs).

-- Cumberland American Legion Post 13 (Funkstown Legion always gave us trouble).

-- Played w Brian Femi (who went to Bishop Walsh HS). Ted Femi’s brother had .800 winning % as BW head coach.

-- Pen-Mar semi-pro (for a time rivaled the Valley League).

-- Frostburg State Class of 1984 under legendary coach Bob Wells.

-- Player/coach in Washington Area Recreational Baseball League (WARBALL) late 80s.

-- St. Michaels HS assistant coach 2002 - ?

Topics

•  Practice Organization (stations, stations, stations!).
  • Keep everyone in motion. Competitive BP. Defensive Breakdown. Situations. Play-of-the-Day (could be Off or Def).Offensive Philosophy.

Andrew Kowalo 

Bio 

• Grew up in Wheeling, WV (Graduated Wheeling Park HS 2013)

Episode notes

• I played 5 years of legion baseball (I’m super proud of that… I loved every minute of it) but it is also the reason I did not have any offers coming out of high school. Good and Bad to it

All of these guys coach at different levels (High School, Legion, Juco, D1) but all have taught me so much

I got lucky a lot in the recruiting process and a lot of the decisions I made worked out very well…. 

• Showcase video and in game video. You need a combination of each for recruiting

Bio

• Coconino High School Assistant (with his dad) 

NOTES

• Guys that you can trust, get along with, and want to go to battle with

Bio

• USA Baseball Coaching staff member

Episode notes

• More time for relationships since you do not have to do the full responsibilities of all the other stuff the head coach needs to do