I would like to entertain opinions on who you would consider among the best college hitting coaches in the country and why.
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Totally off the top of my head...
John Cohen - Miss. State
Gary Gilmore - Coastal Carolina
Raynor Noble - Houston
Mike Martin, Jr. - FSU (some would disagree becaue FSU hitters are all molded to hit the same exact way)
Foxhall - College of Charleston
Rodney Hennon - Ga. SOuthern
Tim Esmay - Az. State
*sorry for the southern "flavor" I can't help it
John Cohen - Miss. State
Gary Gilmore - Coastal Carolina
Raynor Noble - Houston
Mike Martin, Jr. - FSU (some would disagree becaue FSU hitters are all molded to hit the same exact way)
Foxhall - College of Charleston
Rodney Hennon - Ga. SOuthern
Tim Esmay - Az. State
*sorry for the southern "flavor" I can't help it
Jim Page from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi.
Jim was invited in January of 2008 to be the featured speaker on hitting at the ABCA convention.
As one pitcher readily acknowledged, he takes DIII players and makes them DI hitters.
His guys are aggressive, take away parts of the plate, especially tne inside portion for a college pitcher, and they hammer the ball away, since it it basically the middle of the plate for them.
As with some other DIII coaches who coach because they love their players and the game, he is does a great job and his invitation to the ABCA, coming from one of the top DI coaches in the nation, is clear evidence he knows the game of hitting. Coach Page has been at Millsaps for 18 or so years, loves what he does, does it well, and I sure loved it when Trinity, Tx beat them.
Jim was invited in January of 2008 to be the featured speaker on hitting at the ABCA convention.
As one pitcher readily acknowledged, he takes DIII players and makes them DI hitters.
His guys are aggressive, take away parts of the plate, especially tne inside portion for a college pitcher, and they hammer the ball away, since it it basically the middle of the plate for them.
As with some other DIII coaches who coach because they love their players and the game, he is does a great job and his invitation to the ABCA, coming from one of the top DI coaches in the nation, is clear evidence he knows the game of hitting. Coach Page has been at Millsaps for 18 or so years, loves what he does, does it well, and I sure loved it when Trinity, Tx beat them.
I agree with Cohen from Miss. State (formerly Kentucky)... I would add Wichita State (Gene Stephenson, with Jim Thomas) and Nebraska (Mike Anderson)... seems like Texas Tech always has a heckuva hitting team... I have no numbers to back this up I'm just talking trash like the little league team we just played against (lost 12-9... see if Cohen was coaching we would have won 13-12!!!!!)
Ok, so what makes these guys "Great"?
My guess would be that they are good/great communicators.
My guess would be that they are good/great communicators.
Quoted by PGStaff on another thread a while back:
"Many years ago there was a young high school player I used to work with (hitting) at our facility in Cedar Rapids, IA. He had some talent, but more important he was a true student of the game and couldn't ever get enough of it. He was also one of the nicest kids we have ever had the pleasure of meeting. His name is Dan Heefner and he is now the recruiting coordinator at Dallas Baptist. He has become one of the top hitting coaches in the country and he has proven it with results at a very high level before coming to Dallas Baptist."
Dan Heefner is now the head coach at Dallas Baptist.
"Many years ago there was a young high school player I used to work with (hitting) at our facility in Cedar Rapids, IA. He had some talent, but more important he was a true student of the game and couldn't ever get enough of it. He was also one of the nicest kids we have ever had the pleasure of meeting. His name is Dan Heefner and he is now the recruiting coordinator at Dallas Baptist. He has become one of the top hitting coaches in the country and he has proven it with results at a very high level before coming to Dallas Baptist."
Dan Heefner is now the head coach at Dallas Baptist.
quote:I would add Wichita State (Gene Stephenson, with Jim Thomas)
I'm not sure I have enough experience to know who is the best hitting coach in the nation, but from what we have seen or experienced, I do have to agree with trojan-skipper on the above.
Those guys know hitting. They keep it simple and come out quite effective.
Jim Thomas was an incredible help to my son, who is a switch hitter. He was patient, encourageing, & motivating. Seemed extremely sincere.
If those guys were that willing to work and teach with my son ( who was still in highschool at the time ), I can only imagine the level of committment & care they give to their own college players.