Interview with Coach Austin Alexander

[NCBBallFan]

A TBR Exclusive Report

About the Author: Austin Alexander, Elon Baseball

Bio taken from the Elon Baseball Web Site.

Austin Alexander enters his first season with the Phoenix baseball team as an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator after serving as assistant baseball coach at Spartanburg Methodist College in Spartanburg, SC. Alexander is a 1997 graduate of the College of Charleston where he received his bachelor of arts degree in communications-mass media. He also received an associate of arts from Spartanburg Methodist in 1995.
At Spartanburg Methodist, Alexander was responsible for recruiting, academic monitoring, discipline and weightlifting of all players and the development and oversight of the pitching staff. During his stint, the pitching staff led NJCAA in 2001 with 2.42 ERA and in 2000 with a 3.09 ERA. Alexander helped lead the 2001 Pioneers to their first NJCAA World Series appearance in fifteen years. Under Alexander’s leadership at SMC, the Pioneers, 140-32, were ranked in NJCAA Top 20 every week during the last three years.

Prior to his stint at SMC, Alexander spent one season as assistant coach at Charleston Southern University in Charleston, SC. Alexander’s duties included being responsible for catchers, outfielders and obtaining scouting reports while assisting with hitters.

Alexander was also the head coach of the South Carolina Diamond Devils, an 18-Under Elite Traveling Team last summer. Under his guidance all 21 players signed to play at the collegiate level in the fall of 2002. Prior to being promoted to head coach of the Diamond Devils, Alexander served as assistant coach, from 1999-2001. During his term, 49 players went on to play at the collegiate level and three moved to the professional ranks. In his five years of coaching, Alexander has had 15 pitchers and seven position players drafted.

As a player, Alexander enjoyed a stellar pitching career throughout college. At Spartanburg Methodist, he set the mark for victories by a freshman (10) and is currently fourth for wins in a career. He graduated from the College of Charleston the single-season and career win leader in his two-year stint as a Cougar. A member of the Cohocton Red Wings (NYCBL) for two summers, Alexander still holds the club mark for wins and innings pitched, including an NCAA summer league record 84 innings in 1996.

In July 2001, Alexander married the former Rita Richardson of Conway, SC.

Please visit their Web Site for more information about this outstanding program.

Elon Baseball Web Site (http://www.elon.edu/athletics/team_default.asp?sport=bb)

[NCBBallFan]

Austin:When trying to build or maintain a winning program it sure doesn’t hurt to start with players who expect to win everyday. There is a lot that can be said for that type of attitude and experience those guys bring to the table. However, most coaches also realize good players also exist in weaker programs. If a player possesses the character and baseball tools we feel he needs to be successful, we wouldn’t hesitate to recruit that individual. My advice to that player is to seek quality summer and fall programs to partner with more talent and perhaps learn the game from better coaches.

[NCBBallFan]

Austin:I base a great deal more on my eyes than my ears. Obviously during the research stage, we’ll survey anyone who knows a kid well, but when it comes down to it, I’m going to go very strongly with what I observe. I do not have bird dogs but I do have many contacts that I trust ranging from pro scouts to people with no affiliation. Not everyone is a quality evaluator or maybe I should say not everyone knows what I am looking for in a prospective player. There are individuals out there who paint me a clear picture when I call them or when they call me.

[NCBBallFan]

Austin:Personally--and I’m going be blunt as I’m well known for--many kids and parents waste a great deal of time and money writing letters, making phone calls and signing on with recruiting services. The best way to express interest in our program is to be polite by returning the questionnaire we have sent to them after having seen them play, come on a visit if invited and acting appreciative of the offer he is extended. Now I would not tell kids not to promote themselves; just use your time and money wisely, do you research, find out which showcases are the best, which traveling teams will get you exposure. If you are going to send a letter to a coach, do not pack it full of statistics and make sure you have video to accompany it.

[NCBBallFan]

Austin:If you are going to initiate the process, I would recommend waiting until at least your junior year. We get stuff from freshmen and sophomores sometimes. While I think I am very organized, because the NCAA will not allow us to send letter to prospects until the summer before their junior year, those letters go to the last file folder and are often forgotten. Now I don’t believe it is ever too early to begin researching schools and focusing on baseball programs, learn as much as you can in those areas.

[NCBBallFan]

Austin:I feel most comfortable making the first contact. Generally if contact is initiated by the prospect, I am unaware of his ability level and overall make-up which means I become very vague and non-committal.

[NCBBallFan]

Austin:An unofficial visit is appropriate anytime it is agreed on by both parties in advance. We like unofficial visits as long as we are prepared for them. It would amaze you how many people we don’t even know, call and say they are on campus and want to stop in. Some even swing on through without a phone call. Those types of visits are ill-advised because we didn’t build in time for it.

[NCBBallFan]

Austin:If it’s an official visit, we require his high school transcripts, SAT/ACT score and usually have their parents fill out some preliminary financial aid estimate forms. Before we begin investing money in a kid, we have to know if he is even an option for us, not every kid is a qualifier.

[NCBBallFan]

Do you reserve roster spots for walk-ons? Is there any special attribute in a walk-on player that you look at? What is the difference between an walk-on and an invited walk-on?

Austin:
A) If a kid has some ability and can play at the next level but I cannot guarantee him a spot, I will tell him that. I will never mislead a person into thinking he’s got a shot to make the team when I think his chances may be greater elsewhere. If he maintains that he’s coming anyway, I make certain he understands the number of players already at his position and that the process may leave him with nowhere to play.

B) We do not reserve spots for walk-ons, if we keep one, it is in addition to who is already there.

C) If there is a hole by graduation, injury or lack of talent, etc. not filled by the incoming recruiting class. A hard look will be given but they have to provide us with the talent level we expect. FYI, Becoming a bullpen catcher might be one way to slip past the “Grim-reaper” on cut-day.

D) Termed differently by some a “walk-on” is usually a complete stranger or a kid who has written you feverishly while a “recruited walk-on” is a player who is generally a player receiving no athletic aid but very much a part of the team from day one.

[NCBBallFan]

Austin:It depends on which school he’s attempting to do it at, but the schools who work the recruiting trails hard seldom keep kids out of their try-outs.

[NCBBallFan]

Austin:Our academic standards are very solid, we cannot get a bare minimum qualifier in (2.5 GPA, 820 SAT). Most of our players have at least a 3.0 core GPA and 1050 on the SAT. Academic money does not start until 3.5 and 1150.

[NCBBallFan]

Austin:My short list for 2004 graduates, while always growing, has been organized since November and I am presently trying to identify junior college freshmen. I do so by attending as many games and showcases as possible and when I feel I have enough info to sit down and sift through it, I put together my hit list.

[NCBBallFan]

Austin:While it sounds cliché, I hope anyone who knows me agrees that I put the kid first, his life, his development and our relationship. Secondly, WIN! I want to win championships with people I care about, what could be better!!

[NCBBallFan]

Austin:Work hard (heard that before?), seek quality instruction to understand the fundamentals of the game, play the game with the respect it deserves and play at the highest level made available to you.

[NCBBallFan]

Austin:He doesn’t, he’s still too young to be concerned with that. As mentioned earlier, follow college baseball but do not worry about it, just keep playing the game and honing your skills.

[NCBBallFan]

Austin:The summer showcases and large tournaments are now the way to go for me. I hate saying it because I love American Legion baseball and in some areas of North Carolina it is still a big deal, but for my time and money, one game in a night down a lonely two-lane road doesn’t make much sense anymore. I know that is not a popular answer to many but it’s our reality now. If I do my homework correctly, I can see hundreds of players perform several times each in a weekend without having to leave the grandstand. Sometimes it’s more productive to work smarter and cheaper!

[NCBBallFan]

Austin:All of our underclassman take the minimum twelve hour class load in the spring. Some seniors may take more credits to stay on track to graduate in May but generally guys take the heavier course load in the fall.

[NCBBallFan]

Do players attend college summer sessions to keep up grades and credit hours, or are they encouraged to play in a summer league instead?

Austin:We certainly encourage our players to play summer ball unless it is a pitcher who has logged a pile of innings for us in the spring, we don’t want to risk his overuse. In fact, we place them ourselves into wooden-bat leagues that may be close to their homes and will be challenging for them. Some of our guys plan to take summer courses at schools close to the team they play for in the mornings during the week. The only reason a player should have to take summer classes is if he is not doing what he’s supposed to academically during the school year; if he falls behind in school, he may lose valuable time on the diamond.

[NCBBallFan]

Austin:The NCAA does have guidelines for eligibility from year to year but many institutions hold their athletes to tougher standards by enforcing more stringent guidelines from year to year and/or even one semester to the next. Each athlete should understand what the policies are where he/she goes to school.

[NCBBallFan]

During the Fall and Spring semesters, how many hours per week are required by the coaches for conditioning, practice, games, etc?

Austin:The NCAA requires at least one day off per week from any activity or instruction with players and only allows 20 hours on the field in the remaining six days. It’s my belief that 20 hours a week is enough, I feel if coaches are exceeding that time frame they are either working with inferior talent or have no practice organization skills. It should not be difficult to map out a week’s practice and execute it in less than 20 hours, all the while preparing a successful product.

[NCBBallFan]

Austin:Good question. Let me preface it by saying that no coach has all the answers, myself included! While I feel I do a very thorough job in researching and observing a prospect, I have been burned. Generally I can get a good read on a kid but there will always be surprises too. I believe you have to make several phone calls to people who know the kid. You have to observe them on the field at least two or three times and in social situations. What are they doing when they don’t know someone’s watching? How do they speak to their parents, how do they play the game, how do they handle failure, what do they do when they think they are alone? Eventually, you just have to go with your educated gut feeling but the more data you have to go on, the greater chance you have of getting it right.

[NCBBallFan]

Austin:Another good question for which I have no absolute answer. If you need a kid to start immediately for you, skill and polish certainly help, but to develop pro guys, generally you must begin with quality tools and turn it into a skilled and polished product. All three can win you games, take your pick!

[NCBBallFan]

Austin:Intangibles are very important to me. That’s what separates us from having just a very talented club versus winning championships! Hard to rate intangibles only to say when factoring in all the learned information we have on a player, it does bear a great deal of weight when I begin to make an informed decision on a prospect. Sometimes those intangibles are what tells you how a guy will handle competition on his own team, how he’ll handle failure or a bad call, whether he’ll be able to handle criticism and sometimes how actively he may pursue rehab following an injury. The overall make-up of a prospect can never be underestimated.

[NCBBallFan]

Austin:Classwork has to be an important role due to academic requirements at our institution and implemented by the NCAA. Also, there are some conclusions that can be drawn that are accurate the majority of the time, better students usually work harder at all they do, lesser students sometimes lack initiative in certain areas of their lives. Now, I understand there are kids who despise school but have given their hearts to the game of baseball and will work hard for you. A coach, then, has to constantly monitor that player to insure his eligibility.

[NCBBallFan]

Austin:The best way to be seen by me, especially if we’re talking about a player from North Carolina, is to send us your schedule, try out for the “State Games” competition, look into upcoming Impact Baseball.com showcases and find a challenging summer and/or fall program to join. A sure-fire way to be seen by each member of our staff is to check our website (www.elon.edu) where you will find our camp dates. Anyone interested in attending one of our camps can print off a brochure, fill it out and send it in to us to secure a spot. Attending our camps allows us to observe and interact with players over a period of time. This is an outstanding way for us to form opinions on prospects.

[NCBBallFan]

I want to thank Austin for the diligence and effort he put forward for the players reading this board. We sent him our list of 24 questions when he was departing on a road trip.

He took the task to heart and the result is some outstanding information that all of you should read carefully.

I wish to thank Prepster for his work and for coming up with the idea in the first place. Outstanding!!!!!


For Both of you:
:notworthy :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy

[SouthPawDad]

Superb interview!! "Pops" you have outdone yourself this time. Quality questions and answers. If every student athlete on this board doesn't appreciate the advice given by Coach Alexander, then they shouldn't expect to play at the next level!

This is one time I'm glad it rained so that Coach Alexander would be available. What a class coach. No wonder so many of NC's top baseball players have chosen to attend Elon, including Matt Chastain and Paul Bennett from Charlotte Christian.

Guys, if you have not visited Elon University, call Coach Alexander and take a Saturday afternoon to visit the campus (beautiful) and watch the Phenix baseball team in action. You won't regret the trip. By the way, Elon is a D1 school and is moving to the Southern Conference next year. Some great baseball programs in the SC. Oh yeah, Elon has already defeated Wake Forest once this year when Wake was ranked in the top 20 in the country.

[Braves]

After reading the Q&A, I am nearly speechless ( I said nearly) . I want to personally thank NCbbaseballfan, Prepster and of course, Coach Alexander for the time it took to present the well thought questions and the time it took to voice the intelligent answers.

This is what this Board is all about...Thank you Gentlemen

[DodgerBlues]

Absolutely outstanding. Thanks to Coach Alexander -- what a great thread to print out and hand out to all our players. And thanks to Braves and NC for making it happen. This kind of thing is what makes this board special.
:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

[DodgerBlues]

Didn't mean to slight Prepster, but I did. Thanks Prep -- you da man. :cheers:

[Braves]

Originally posted by DodgerBlues
Absolutely outstanding. Thanks to Coach Alexander -- what a great thread to print out and hand out to all our players. And thanks to Braves and NC for making it happen. This kind of thing is what makes this board special.
:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

Thanks Dodger for the kind words and you know me well enough to know that I will accept any and all kudos, but this time I had nothing to do with it. The inspiration of this thread was Preps, the follow thru was NC's and the cogent answers were Coach's.

Although Coach did have me proof his answers before he submitted them :D ..just kidding, Coach

[NCBBallFan]

Originally posted by DodgerBlues
-- what a great thread to print out and hand out to all our players.

If any coach desires to provide this as a hand-out, we have Coach Alexander's responses in a Word Document. It's about 5 pages in length. I will be happy to e-mail a copy to any HS coach who wants to share this information with his players. Coach Alexander spent entirely too much time on this for us to be selfish and not share it.

Send me a PM with your e-mail address and I will forward it on to you and your program.

p.s. I can also make the font smaller so it's a shorter handout if you wish.

[Braves]

Although this was posted a few years ago, it is very informative from a coach's perspective

[Bonsway]

Although this was posted a few years ago, it is very informative from a coach's perspective

Did you do that for me! (can you tell I can sometimes be selfish?) It really WAS informative and judging from what Coach Alexander said, I think we have done everything the right way so far. Thanks for the info. Very helpful indeed!