My first experience with the ABCA was during my second year as a high school baseball coach at Lake Wales High School in Central Florida. The annual ABCA Clinic took place in Miami that January, but my principal said there was no money in the budget to attend. My friends at nearby Florida Southern College (head baseball coach Joe Arnold and his assistant Chuck Anderson) invited me to stay in their room and ride down with them. Little did I know that two other coaches (totaling five adult men) would stay in the same room! It was worth it. I met Ron Polk at the clinic and was offered a graduate assistant position at Mississippi State University for the following year. Two years later I would become the head baseball coach at the University of Kentucky!
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of stories very similar to mine. At the ABCA Baseball Clinic and Convention there are great speakers, a phenomenal exhibit area, awards ceremonies and over 4,000 coaches who are passionate about baseball. Not only do coaches learn and grow, they also meet and network with coaches from across the nation and around the world.
After 38 years of attending the largest baseball clinic in the world, Inside Pitch now becomes an official partner of this great baseball organization. Since our goals are very similar, it’s a perfect fit. Both Inside Pitch and the ABCA provide tools designed to equip the baseball coach with a plethora of information to enhance his effectiveness.
This is the third anniversary of Inside Pitch, and it just very well may be the best issue to date. We have major contributions from some of the brightest coaches in the game, including Tracy Smith (Arizona State), Chris Lemonis (Indiana), Steve Smith (Baylor), Dan McDonnell (Louisville), Todd Whitting (Houston), Matt Deggs (Sam Houston), Cliff Godwin (Eastern Carolina), Rick Robinson (UT-Martin), Rusty Stroupe (Gardner-Webb), Greg Goff (Louisiana Tech), Jan Weisberg (Birmingham-Southern) and David Pierce (Tulane). You will also hear from the “Teachers of the Game,” some of the top assistant coaches in college baseball, including Scott Brown (Vanderbilt), Roger Williams (Louisville) and Butch Thompson (Mississippi State).
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