D3baseball.com Daily Dose

A right handed pitcher for Emory Eagles in their 2007 World Series is now pitching in the regular relief stints of the Oakland Athletics’ AA Texas League Franchise Midland Rockhounds. Emory’s Jason Glushon was a 2007 free-agent signee who spent most of the 2007 season in the Arizona Rookie League before a late-season call-up to AA. The challenge for Jason was to “get his foot in the door”. D3baseball.com’s Ralph Turner caught up with Jason while the Rockhounds were in Frisco, TX for a four-game series.

His 80-82 MPH fastball was not going to take him far beyond Harvard Westlake High School in North Hollywood, CA in talent–rich southern California, so he and his parents looked back east for college. Considering Penn versus Emory, he credits his mother on landing at Emory. Under the excellent coaching of Jim Twardoski at Emory, Jason was able to develop the pitching technique of good control that kept his team close. Jason is not your prototypical pitcher, but the fundamentals that he learned at Emory, picking Coach Twardoski’s brain along the way, the Emory training schedules and demanding conditioning have served him well in the jump to AA baseball. He has succeeded to this point by not overthrowing and by throwing strikes.

The 2007 World Series was special for him. Living in southern California, he greatly appreciates what Chapman has accomplished over the last four seasons. Emory was lucky to get to Wisconsin in 2007, needing Sam Cunningham’s 2-run HR in the top of the 9th versus Ferrum, before winning in 12 in the Regional Finals. Glushon gave a wistful look when we mentioned the 2-0 opening loss to UW-Whitewater and Jordan Zimmermann. (Zimmermann is currently with the Washington Nationals AA Eastern League Harrisburg Senators.) He beamed with pride at how Emory battled back through the losers’ bracket. Glushon pitched 6 strong innings in the win over Cortland State for a 6-3 win. His “rubber arm” was also ready to go if needed for an inning or two the next day in against Kean as the finals. After all, it was for the national championship.

After getting his BBA at Emory in spring 2007 with concentrations in Business Finance, Communications and Operations Management, he boned up on his Spanish in the Arizona Rookie Leagues to talk with the young talent out of Latin America at that level. In the off-season, he worked at a sports management agency and took the LSAT. He is getting experience in all aspects of the baseball and is keeping his options open.

This season, it is back to the 6-10 hour bus rides around Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri. The bus rides are what he remembers about Emory, and getting to know one’s teammates. The card games, the “Connect Four” games and general conversation are a part that Jason enjoys about baseball. Although not quite like “The Rookie” or “Bull Durham”, Jason has built friendships with his players. When asked for a favorite baseball movie, he responded “Field of Dreams”. He fondly remembers the road trip that he took with his Emory teammates, Joe Roth and Frank Pfister, as they took in 10-12 games at major league and minor league parks, plus Cooperstown and the “Field of Dreams” in Iowa.

We asked him for some imparted wisdom to his D3baseball.com friends and family. He gave three. First, learn from the people who have been down the road before. Secondly, the roads are as varied as you can imagine, high school, D-1 or D-III, but they all lead to same place. Finally, don’t accept “no” for an answer.

It’ll be very difficult for Trinity (Conn.) coach Bill Decker to top the 2008 season. After going 45-1, setting a new Division III record for consecutive wins to start a season and winning the program’s first national championship, Decker has completed what will likely be the signature season in his career.

But the season that defines Coach Decker for me is a 5-3 football campaign in 1999.

In addition to his baseball duties, Decker once coached defense under long time Trinity football head coach Don Miller. Miller led the Bantams’ football program for 32 years, won 177 games and eventually had the field co-named after him. Decker, the son of a high school football coach himself, was the quiet leader of a solid defense that complemented Miller’s ground game. But the Bantams sagged to a 2-6 record in 1998 after which Miller retired.

The 1999 roster was full of seniors who might have been lost in a transition year where a program waits for the old guard to cycle out as the new guard to moves in. To help prevent that, Decker added a little more responsibility to his plate and became the head coach for football, too.

As a student journalist, I covered the team and spoke with Decker throughout the year. Off the field he was gracious, patient and helpful to a nervous kid who had never interviewed a head football coach on radio before. On the field, he got maximum talent out of his team and rode his solid defense to a 5-3 record.

That 1999 season was Decker’s only one as the head football coach. In the Bantams’ football media guide, his name is perched between Miller and Chuck Priore, who won three NESCAC titles and ran off an impressive 30-game winning streak of his own. Only his players and a few people around the program will appreciate what Decker did in that one season.

And now that he has added a national championship to his successful coaching career, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to talk to him about this special run. Click here to listen to the Bill Decker interview.

Our friends at the Double-A Zone have asked the question, Who chooses Division III? It’s the NCAA’s official blog, so you have to take that into consideration, but unlike many ways in which the NCAA deals with Division III (can’t get its own playoff brackets right, doesn’t know how many Pool C bids there should be), the blog has a healthy knowledge of Division III, run by former Brandeis baseball player Josh Centor.

In light of the fact that Division II has spent a fair amount of time over the past few years trying to find its identity, there’s now apparently some sort of buzz. For me, I’m not sure what “I Chose Division II” actually means, while Division I’s identity is fairly clear and Division III has staked out the student-athlete high ground as the only purely amateur division (non-scholarship) in college athletics.

However, there seems to be some discussion from commenters, not much of it well-informed, as to what Division III’s identity is. Those people need a good dose of D3sports.com readers to fill them in. (I myself have a comment that is awaiting moderator approval.)

Meanwhile, the core question: Should Division III do more to brand itself? Speaking as someone who has done most of the branding of Division III over the past decade, absolutely. I look at what Division II has done in this area over the past few years, in terms of fancy promotional spots, games on CBS College Sports and football playoffs on ESPN, a full package of streaming video broadcasts of football and basketball, and I am definitely jealous. All Division III fans should be.

Division III should be branding itself. It should not be left to people like us here at D3sports.com or Steve Clay and D3Cast or Robb Modica and D3Scoreboard.

We just wasted a bunch of time and money figuring out Division IV was not the place we really wanted to be. So let’s spruce up our house a little bit while we’re here. Let’s show the rest of college fandom that this is not just glorified intramurals. Let’s get our games out there for people to see.

Why did you choose Division III? Go tell them.

And tell us below.

The MLB amateur draft is nearly upon us. Day one will bring the first rounds (last year in the new format that was rounds 1-5) and based on the last ten years, there is a 60% chance of a D-III player being drafted in the first five rounds. Nobody knows who the first player will be and it is likely that it will be latter than next year. No player has the same buzz that UW-Stevens Point Jordan Zimmermann had last year.

Last year there were 19 players drafted – spot on the average for the last ten years. What we can guess about the first player drafted is that it would be a pitcher as 60% of all D-III players drafted are pitchers. By position pitchers are followed by outfielders (12%), and catchers (8%), leaving 20% divided among the four infield positions.

Six schools have had five or more players drafted in the last ten years. The list starts with UW-Oshkosh with nine; Montclair State, Chapman, and Cal Lutheran with seven; and Cortland State and Carthage with five each. Looking at the list of schools with drafted players, it is interesting to find that Marietta has the same number of drafted players as Mass. College (2) but possessing a National Championship trophy. Talking about schools with a Walnut and Bronze in their hardware case – only Ithaca has not had a player drafted since 1998.

I hope to post updates through the day on Thursday and Friday as players names are called and at the end of each day post a summary of the day’s activity on the front page of D3baseball.com. Look for my preview article tomorrow as D3baseball kicks off its 2008 amateur draft coverage.

The Prospective Student-Athlete: Maintaining a Professional Image

By Tom Kovic

“First impressions are remembered best” and I think this holds true for prospective student-athletes and how they present themselves to coaches as they navigate the contact phase of the college recruiting process. Below are some simple tips to consider that will help prospects as they begin cultivating relationships with college coaches.

Dress for the Occasion

Projecting a positive personal image in the eyes of the college coaches is very important and your outward appearance is a great starting point. The first thing a coach sees before he shakes your hand is you and your outward appearance. I am not saying you need to “dress for the prom,” but you should make every effort to dress in a casual, but clean and professional manner. Torn jeans and a dirty t-shirt with sneakers just won’t cut it in the competitive world of college recruiting and you are only decreasing your chances of remaining high in the active recruiting file by exhibiting a poor appearance. In preparation for the initial meeting with the coach, wear a nice pair of Khakis or shorts, polo shirt and a pair of casual shoes. You will remain comfortable and the coach will be impressed with your outward style.

Know Your Stuff

You will be meeting the man or woman who may very well have a direct impact on your life over a 4 year period and I strongly suggest you make every effort to enter the first meeting as an educated and knowledgeable consumer. The college search is a comparative analysis of several institutions and the more you know about your “product” the better prepared you will be to communicate effectively with the coaches. I suggest a balanced approach, whereby the information you gather is an equal mix of the academic and athletic data, combined with information about the general social environment of the institution. Accumulating a basic, but confident appreciation about what your schools of choice potentially offer will not only grow your knowledge about different programs, it will help differentiate you from the rest of the pack. College coaches will immediately pick up on this and appreciate the effort you have made in learning about their program. In addition, by taking time to research different programs, you will begin to develop a solid “information foundation” to build your short list of personal questions for the coaches.

Ask Pertinent Questions

Equate the time you spend with a particular college coach with preparation for a championship game. You do not have a lot of time and every minute counts! Based on the information you have gathered and your preparation for the meeting with the coach, I think it makes sense to limit your questions to specific areas of recruiting and narrow them down to half a dozen or so. This may not seem like a lot, but trust me… The coach will be probing you and your family and additional questions will naturally surface during the course of the conversation.

Begin by creating general question areas that are important to you (academic requirements, athletic opportunities, on campus support, safety, financial aid etc.) and build your specific questions within these general areas. This is a great exercise and you will soon find yourself with a bunch of questions that will need to be narrowed down to a manageable list that covers important areas of the college search.

Listen Intently

Obviously, the family wants to probe the coach, but remember that communication is a two way street and “hearing” what the coach has to say is very important. Coaches tend to communicate in a “non committal” language, especially during the early phases of recruiting, and for good reason. They do not want to raise the hopes of the family and prospect too high, too soon, especially when it comes to the possible offer of athletics scholarships, admissions assistance and the availability of squad spots. Recruiting for the college coach is an art, and the best recruiters will provide prospects and families with a solid foundation of information about their program, but without making any early promises. They will work with the family slowly, patiently and with care, but with an “eagles eye” for hints and comments that will provide them with the information they need to determine the level of sincere interest the prospect has in their program.

Show Confidence

There is a fine line between confidence and cockiness and knowing the difference between the two will serve the prospect well. As a college coach, I saw many different personalities in prospects, but nothing frustrated me more than an athlete who came into my office with an “attitude.” Coaches are looking beyond the level of athletic and academic talent prospects bring to the table and in many cases, look strongly at personalities and attitudes when evaluating future members of the team. College coaches are looking to add “strong links” to the team chain they have built over the years and prospects that project a sincere and winning personality that displays a high level of confidence, will separate themselves from the rest of the pack, impress the coach, and create a possible “tie breaking” criteria that will assist the coach in formulating his recruiting rankings.

Maintain Eye Contact

As insignificant as it may sound, maintaining eye contact with the college coach during a face to face meeting is very important and it projects an indirect level of self confidence in the prospect. Some athletes have a natural tendency to maintain eye contact with people they interact with, while others tend to look away. This may require some practice and if the prospect is a little weak in this area, I suggest using “mock interviews” as a tool to add some “polish” to this area of communication. Coaches have an uncanny skill of “reading” prospects and typically “go with their gut” when making initial evaluations. The eyes are the “gateway to the soul” and can be a very effective tool of communication for the prospect.

Cultivating a “shining” personality takes skill. Not only does it need to be developed, it can become a tool that the prospect can use strategically to leap frog over a portion of the recruiting pool… But it takes practice. That being said, developing strong communication skills and projecting a positive and professional self image will serve the prospect well and help him or her gain greater respect in the eyes of the college coaches.

Tom Kovic is a former Division I college coach and the current director of Victory Collegiate Consulting, where he provides individual advisement for prospects and families as they navigate the college recruiting process. Tom is the author of “Reaching for Excellence, an educational guide for college athletics recruiting. For further information visit: www.victoryrecruiting.com