MTH posted:Prepster posted:In the attached article, Aaron Fitt of DiBaseball.com reports on a couple of topics that are receiving a good bit of current consideration among DI coaches: the transformation of the "volunteer" assistant's position into a third, paid-assistant's position and the prospect of contacting high school sophomores by recruiters.
I definitely don't know the answer, but the assistant coach issue definitely needs to be reviewed. And frankly, I'm not sure that adding another paid assistant is really a good idea. As things stand right now, D1 schools can have 2 paid assistants and one unpaid volunteer assistant. Unpaid means unpaid by the college/university. Some of these guys get paid pretty substantially out of camp revenues, which, of course, gives the bigger name/money schools a distinct advantage because they typically have more camp revenue.
I would love to see some numbers regarding how many D1 schools currently have 2 paid assistants. I'd be willing to bet that it's less than half. And, oftentimes that 2nd assistant is getting a token sum. Adding a 3rd paid assistant would benefit the bigger name/money schools, but wouldn't do anything for anybody else.
Some of the bigger name/money schools have already found ways around the paid 2 paid assistant rule by adding a "Director of Player Development." As I understand it, these guys break down video of pitchers and hitters and work with the assistant coaches to develop players. They are basically coaches, just not hands on coaches. Although, I have heard that at times they are indeed hands on. These "non-coaches" also scout opposing teams. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck. Other schools have guys who do nothing but video work.
As I understand it, there is no limit on the number of "student assistants" teams can have. This also benefits the bigger schools because they frequently get guys back on MLB's dime, after their minor/major league careers have ended. Some bigger schools also have programs that will pay for an ex-players tuition/room/board AFTER his playing eligibility is up, whether he played pro ball or not.
If the goal is competitiveness, I question the addition of a third paid assistant. Of course, I also favor breaking D1 into 3 subdivisions, so what do I know. ;-)
ABCA is a coaching convention and of course their goal is to steer more money towards baseball coaches. A third coach means more jobs for coaches.