Ahead Of The Curve with Jonathan Gelnar – Details, episodes & analysis

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Bio

Head Coach Boston College High Eagles for the past 3 seasons. in those years, he has been the Massachusetts Division 1 State Champs in 2024 Division 1 Massachusetts Coach of the Year in 2024 2018 ABCA Assistant Coach of the Year Presently serving as President of the Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Association

On the show we talk about his state champion group last year, his preparation for taking on the head coaching opportunity, and what they do for culture development in the fall. Here is part 1 with Steven Healy!

Time stamps part 1

02:00- 2024 state champs

09:00- preparing for his head coaching opportunity

14:00- fall development

21:00- culture development

26:30- being a great assistant coach

Contact

healy@bchigh.edu

Jake McKinley, who spent four seasons (2018-22) with the Milwaukee Brewers and has more than a decade of collegiate coaching experience, begins his third season at the Nevada helm in Fall 2024.

He was the Brewers’ Vice President of Player Development since 2021, having previously served as the organization’s Director of Player Development Initiatives (2019-21) and minor league pitching coordinator (2018-19). He oversaw player development strategies throughout the entire organization, as well as oversight of all minor-league coordinators. The Brewers made the playoffs in each of McKinley’s seasons with the club, capturing the National League Central Division pennant in 2018 and 2021, and earning wild card berths from 2019-20.

Prior to joining the Brewers’ organization, McKinley spent 13 years in the collegiate ranks, including five seasons as a head coach (2014-17 at Menlo College; 2018 at William Jessup). At Menlo College, McKinley won 131 games over his four seasons at the helm, becoming the program’s all-time winningest head coach. The following season, he inherited a William Jessup team that had won just 10 games the previous year, and guided it to a 41-17 campaign, marking, at the time, the largest single-season turnaround in college baseball history.

Time stamps part 1

04:00- “more with less”

08:00- Fall Development

19:00- Competitions

31:00- culture and standards

38:00- throwing programs

Time stamps part 2

40:00- 02:00- January throwing program

43:30- 05:30- Attacking weaknesses

50:00- 12:30- Pre season Team Development

55:00- 17:30- developing role players and hard conversations

1:05:00- quick hitters

EMAIL baseball@unr.edu

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Bio

Chris is fresh on leading the Heartland Community College baseball team to a national title this past season. Chris Razo also was named the 2023 ABCA NJCAA Division II Coach of the Year.

Under Razo’s leadership, the Heartland baseball team has made two appearances in the NJCAA DII National Tournament, and won the tournament this past season.

Razo joined the Heartland staff in 2018, serving as pitching coach, and became Interim Head Coach in the winter of 2020.

As a player, Razo spent two years as a Heartland Hawk before moving to Illinois State University where he was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 24th round in 2013. While at ISU, Razo was selected to the MVC All-Conference first team, and also won Pitcher of the Year in the Missouri Valley Conference.

On the show we discuss the national championship run from last year, what it was like being named interim head coach at semester, and why the value winning first and development next. Here is Chris Razo!

Time Stamps
02:00 National Champs
04:00- Being named interim head coach at semester, and during COVID
08:30- Past summer agenda
11:30- Culture over Everything
18:30 - Fall Development
27:30- Pre Season to In Season
41:00- Post Season
45:00- Quick Hitters

Contact
Chris.Razo@heartland.edu

Bio
Nate Thompson, Hitting coach and recruiting coordinator for Arkansas
Following the completion of his own collegiate playing career at Dallas Baptist in 2006, Thompson aided a Dallas Baptist coaching staff working with the DBU outfielders while assisting with hitting instruction and the implementation of the club’s strength and conditioning program.
Nate then spent three seasons at Nebraska as the Cornhuskers’ volunteer assistant, then served as Hutchinson CC’s primary hitting coach from 2011- 2014 season. Nate next took a job as the hitting coach at Missouri State and they went on to hit .270 or better in each of his three seasons and averaged just under seven runs per game.
And since 2017 Nate has been in his current role as the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator for the Arkansas Razorbacks
From 2018-20, Arkansas leads the conference in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, weighted on-base average, OPS, runs, homeruns, extra-base hits, runs batted in, total bases and sacrifice flies.
 
So on the show we talk…..
 
Time Stamps

3:00- Recruit Evaluation

9:00- Player Evaluation

19:00- Using upperclassmen as leaders.

20:20- Training adjustability

29:30- Balancing tech with player development

35:30- Training Competitiveness

48:00- In Dugout talks

50:00- Last things

Resources

Bible

7 habits of highly successful people

Andy Andrews (author)

Contact

https://twitter.com/CoachT_RZRBacks

natethompson@uark.edu

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Bio

Matt Parker started in 2018 as head coach of Eastern baseball. Year one they were 25-23, last years COVID year was 19-4, nationally ranked and leading league when shutdown and this year they are 26-3, nationally ranked, and were leading the league at the time.

Before Eastern, Matt over and took the Oklahoma Wesleyan baseball program to new heights, breaking program records and turned the Eagles into an NAIA regional power and national contender. They won four conference championships and two NAIA World Series appearances. He was a three-time conference Coach of the Year and two-time ABCA Region Coach of the Year.

Prior to Oklahoma Wesleyan, Parker spent three seasons as an assistant at California Baptist University, two seasons as an assistant coach at Garden City (Kan.) Community College, and he also spent the 2005-06 season as an assistant coach at Henderson State University.

On the show we talk about how he implemented a championship vision to 2 programs on 2 different levels which includes standards on and off the field, consistent self reflection, and building players not only on the field, but off the field and in the classroom.

Time stamps
1:30- Vision when you started (at both OKWU and Eastern)
10:20- Developing Arms
25:00- Standards 
30:00- Offseason Calendar 
53:00- In season Changes
102:00- Last things
 
Resources
Rapsodo
Synergy 
Core Velo Belts
Driveline/J-Bands
Clean Fuego Balls
Mind Gym- Gary Mack
 
Contact
https://twitter.com/MattParker37

mparker@eosc.edu

Go to WhatAboutBaseball.com/curve to get your special offer. Thats 20% off AND free shipping. 


Bio

Freddy Hilliard is in his 11th season as Head Baseball Coach at Malvern Preparatory School in Malvern, Pennsylvania.  

In his time at Malvern Prep, he has amassed a school record for wins with a 282-71 record and has led the Friars to 7 league championships  and 6 State titles including the previous 3 in a row to go along with 8 straight seasons of making the state final.  Coach Hilliard has been named Coach of the Year 3 separate times during his tenure, and his teams have been nationally recognized both with preseason and postseason national rankings in several publications 7 times.  

Coach Hilliard has helped mentor over 65 players onto the collegiate baseball ranks including 40 that have gone on to play at the division one level.  He has also had a player of his selected by MLB in 3 of the previous 4 drafts. 

On the show we discuss the meaning behind Malvern having "no rules",  defining and teaching core values, and practice organization.

Time Stamps
1:00- Vision of the program
7:00- Making the switch from assistant to head coach
10:20- "Our rule is we have no rules"
13:50- Core Values
20:00- Offseason Calendar
30:00- Practice Design
50:00- Lightning Section
 
Contact
@coachhilliard16
fhilliard@malvernprep.org

Go to WhatAboutBaseball.com/curve to get your special offer. Thats 20% off AND free shipping. 
 
Bio

Matt Hobbs is in his third season as the Arkansas pitching coach in 2020, joining the Razorbacks in November 2018.

Matt helped craft the Razorback pitching staff into one of the top groups in the country in his first year on the Hill in 2019. and In a shortened season, the Hogs put together a 3.68 ERA and an 11-5 record with three saves and one shutout. Arkansas racked up 143 strikeouts in 142.0 innings

Hobbs has coached eight players that have been drafted in the top-10 rounds, including 2018 first-round pick Griffin Roberts, and has helped develop a total of seven big leaguers.

Before Arkansas, Hobbs was the Pitching coach at Wake Forest and in each of his first three years in Winston-Salem, the Demon Deacons improved in ERA, strikeouts , walks per nine and opponent batting average 

Hobbs pitched at Missouri from 1999-2002, where he won 13 games and struck out 125 batters. Hobbs was drafted twice, first by the San Diego Padres in 2001 and then by the Kansas City Royals in 2002.

On the show we talk all things pitching development, including who they like to recruit, what pitching assessments they use, and how they use tech for offseason development and measuring in season progress.

Time Stamps

5:00- Things he has changed from 2020
14:00- How has player development changed?
21:30- Recruiting talk
27- Assessments 
30:30- Readiness Scores
36:00- Recovery 
42:00- In season development
58:00- Using tech for development
1:07:00- Last Things
 
Contact
Twitter

mh099@uark.edu 

On today show we have on Tanner Reklaitis

Tanner works as the Director of Operations at Tread Athletics. He also writes a weekly email newsletter for coaches called Monday Morning Edge which will have you thinking every Monday morning. His work is focused on helping coaches succeed in the 21st century. Previously, he worked at Driveline Baseball and was a Minor League Pitching Coach for the Los Angeles Angels. 

 
On the show we discuss the systems approach, power laws and the what, why and how of coaching. 

 
Time Stamps

• :30- Journey to Tread
• 2:00- Systems approach
• 1940- The Power Law
• 29:00- What, why and how of coaching
• 35:20- Studying coaches in other sports 
• 40:20- The Importance of communication
• 43:50- Getting players to own their career
• 55:- Last things

• https://tanners.blog/mme/
• Jurgen Klopp Biography
• Conscious Coaching- Brett Bartholomew
• Alchemy- Rory Sutherland
• Zero to One- Peter Thiel

• https://twitter.com/treklaitis
• https://tanners.blog/

Bio
Spencer Allen is the 26th head baseball coach of the Northwestern program and was named to the position on June 14, 2015. 
 
Allen came to Northwestern after serving as an assistant coach at Illinois in 2015. He helped the Fighting Illini set the school record with 50 wins and win the first NCAA Regional in program history. the Illini ranked near the top of the Big Ten in numerous offensive categories, leading the league in hits, runs, RBIs, total bases, home runs and slugging percentage.

Prior to his stint with Illinois, Allen served a two-year stretch as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Creighton. Reaching the college world series. From 2010-12, Allen worked as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Washington State University.  Allen was the recruiting coordinator for the Boilermakers during the 2008-09 seasons. He also worked as a scout in the Detroit Tigers organization, and as a volunteer coach at Iowa (2004). Allen's coaching career began at Edmonds Community College in 2002, where he was an assistant coach.
 
He played three seasons at Iowa State from 1999-2001. He was a team captain during his final season and a 2001 All-Big XII Academic selection.
 
On the show, we discuss the pillars that Northwestern is built upon which includes a high challenge, high support environment and Deliberate practices
 
This episode is so good with Spencer Allen!
 
Time Stamps
1:20- Vision of the program
5:00- The Underdog Story
8:00- Compared to what?
13:00- High Challenge, High Support
16:45- Consistent Habits and Routines
20:45- "Everything that happens to you is your fault"
30:00- Deliberate Practice 
40:00- Drills for developing infielders
47:00- Last Things
 
Resources

• Eat smarter- Shawn Stevenson
• Golfs Sacred Journey- David Cook
• The Gift of Failure- Jessica Lahey

Bio
Today we have on John Carter, Head Baseball coach at Round Rock High School. John is a graduate of Round Rock High School and attended Round Rock schools growing up. Upon graduation from high school, Coach Carter attended Texas Tech, where he played both football and baseball. After his playing days ended, he remained at Tech as a graduate assistant from 1992 – 1994. He returned to Round Rock in 1995, coaching multiple sports including softball, soccer, football, and baseball. John became the head coach in (when). John also was the texas HS baseball coach of the year in 2017 a year after graduating 7 D1 players. 
 
On the show we talk culture, competition and core values so much more! Here is John Carter!
 
Time Stamps

• 3:00- Vision of the program when he started
• 6:20 - Core Values
• 16:00 - Culture building
• 21:20 - Competitions
• 227:00 - Parent Involvement
• 31:30 - Transition periods from offseason to in season
• 36:13- Baserunning
• 38:00- Quick Hitters

• Culture Code- Daniel Coyle
• Lead for Gods Sake- Todd G. Gongwer

• Twitter- https://twitter.com/Rockhardball
• Email- john_carter@roundrockisd.org