Harper Junior College

HighBalls,

Harper is a NJCAA DIII program which means they do not offer athletic scholarships. I believe they are part of the N4C (Joliet JC, COD, Harper among others) conference, but don't quote me on that one. They have on campus facilities but their baseball field is in need of TLC. Alot of money has been flowing into the building infrastructure but none towards rehabilitation of the baseball field. The program has been so-so over the past two years under Coach Vern Hasty (who has since moved on to be the head coach at Chicago State). Joliet has been the most successful DIII program in the area of late. The new head coach at Harper is Mike Palmer. He was an assistant during my son's first fall semester at Elgin CC but moved on before spring, so I really can't formulate an opinion of his abilities although many here have had good things to say. I've heard nothing but good things about the academics at Harper with many new building additions (it is growing by leaps and bounds!). Good Luck!

I can't speak to the question of Harper itself, but as for Mike Palmer, he is outstanding. I have had the chance to work with Mike, coach his stepson, and watch him when he was at Concordia (River Forest). Mike is an outstanding baseball coach and a quality individual, and definitely someone I would consider letting my son play for (if I had one).

Highballs,

I might add, when my son decided to explore the JUCO route, we investigated many different JUCO's, searching for the magical "fit" so many allude to here (just like searching for a 4 year school). I would encourage you to do the same. All the JUCO's in northern Illinois are part of NJCAA Region IV. Check out the NJCAA Region IV Website for more info on the JUCO's in Region IV. This website has links to each JUCO website. There are many to choose from in this area!

I think Harper has emerged as a great opportunity. New Coach Mike Palmer has what it takes to not only bring the program around, but also take a player to the next level. His experetise in baseball plus his unmatched knowledge of physical developement for baseball players is soemthing you probably aren't going to find at most big-time D-1 programs. If you have any doubts about it, give him a call at Harper.....Harper is going to help some players big-time.

It also depends what you are looking for. The schools down south such as Logan, Lincoln and Wabash to name a few play a much better brand of baseball and are heavily scouted.

I played for coach P at concordia and have known him for a very long time...he is a great baseball guy and an all around good guy. He knows the game and has a record for preparing kids for the next level

His assistant is Nelson Gord who is with the Flyers...Nelson is another great baseball guy and is very knowledgable and works very well with kids

K13 did you coach the cobras or the renagades? Ive been close with Palmers stepson for about 17 years

I understand that coach Palmer is an excellent baseball man. Nelson is great and works out of Palyball USA as a hitting instructor. He is great with the kids

I have no doubt that Mike is a good coach and a great guy. I personally have me him and like him very much. The thing to remember is that it takes a few years to get things together. He will get the most out of the players that are there and that will be going there however (there always is that however isn't there) he is inheriting somebody else's team and does not play in a very competitive league. If your goal is to get to a division 3 program or a lower division 1 (doubtful from Harper), go for it. If you are looking to get drafted and seen by scouts or if you are trying to get to division 1, IMO Harper is not a very good stepping stone. This is not a statement about the coaching. It is a statement concerning the state of JC baseball in suburban Chicago. There are better places for you if you are trying to advance at the collegiate level.

Good points Benchwarmer, but I think that for the right kid, it is a good place to start if you may not be ready or if you don't have the opportunity to start where you really want to. (or if you don't have the grades) When it comes to a player who may be a bit physically immature, I think this is the perfect place to go....with Mike Palmer's physical training ability the player's ability to improve their strength will be greatly enhanced. A lot of kids go off to JUCO's out in the sticks and have a huge problem adjusting to the culture. The Texas oilfield towns and schools in downstate Illinois are very different from what most kids around here are used to.

Fastball - You are absolutely correct, that for the right person there could be no better place to be. If my son were looking to go the JUCO route and was going to play in this area, there is no one I would rather have him play for then Mike Palmer. He knows his stuff, has coached at many different levels, has a ton of contacts and will make your son a better ballplayer and person.

Well, forgive me in advance for intruding into the Illinois thread. I do know better.

But, everytime I see that Harper Community College, I think, "I wonder if that is where the Harper Valey PTA is......"

Then, I see Benchwarmer, and think, "That's a terrible name, ouught to change it something more eloquent like FormerObserver..."

And then, I read ONE sentence of this thread.

Here it is and is responsible for this BS.

quote:

The Texas oilfield towns and schools in downstate Illinois are very different from what most kids around here are used to.

I can assure you, being from Texas, that is correct.

And then I finally read Benchwarmer's advice just above and know that is sound thinking........

Today, my momma socked it to the Harper Valley PTA......

Sorry.

Benchwarmer saves his eloquence for his postings

Harper College rakes in over $20,000 per year for the use of their baseball field by a men's baseball league each summer, yet the field sits in dis-repair. That is wrong. Perhaps Mike Palmer can set things straight but I feel he may be fighting an uphill battle.

As for the JUCO programs in sourthern IL, I may be mistaken, but I believe most are Division I programs offering scholarships which assist with room and board as well as tuition, whereas, the vast majority of JUCO's in Region IV are Division II offering only tuition assistance making it difficult to recruit players who require housing (the lack of housing and/or player must pay for their room and board) . Add to this conference rules limiting tuition assistance or barring recruiting players out of district and you can see why it can be tough to field a nationally competitive team in the Skyway Community College Conference here in the suburban Chicagoland area.

Yet, even with these limitations, Elgin Community College has been able to field a nationally competitive team at the Division II level. ECC has been to the NJCAA DII World Series over the last two years finishing 5th and 3rd, respectively. This year there were 17 soph players. 6 (35%) are with DI programs, 1 (6%) is at a DII program, 1 (6%) is at a DIII program, 4 (23%) are with NAIA programs, 1 (6%) is pursuing a pro career in the Indpendent league and 4 are out of baseball although 1 is currently assisting at ECC. A 71% placement rate doesn't seem too bad to me, especially coupled with players choosing not to move on for personal reasons.

Parkland in central IL is another JUCO that despite it's DII status recruits a nationally competitive team year after year. They finished 2nd at this years NJCAA DII World Series.

Madison Area Technical College in Madison, WI made it to the NJCAA DII World Series also this year.

So if you don't want to venture 5+ hours to attend a JUCO there are quality options available to the north. Regardless, go where you feel the "fit" and enjoy yourself playing baseball and starting your education!

indians08...you have a PM

Playing for Coach Palmer at Concordia for 4 years was a great experience. He's not only a great coach but a great person as well. He took over the Concordia program two years before I went there and turned it around from 2-24 to 25-10 in two years and a conference championship. We never had a losing record in my 4 years and that should be credited to Coach P's ability to recruit, build a program and teach the game. I have no doubt that he can turn the Harper program around as well..as long as he has the cooperation of the administration.

Coach P's connections with DI coaches and pro scouts will surely allow him to help kids get to the next level.

WOW!

Congratulations to Mike Palmer! Harper JC is getting a great coach. I know nothing regarding Harper JC’s baseball program (up until now). You can’t go wrong belonging to a program that Mike Palmer runs. You will not be disappointed.



Good luck Coach Palmer and Harper JC Baseball!

BigMW-
Where did Ryan move off to?
MATC IS a baseball powerhouse. UIC will be scrimmaging with them at UIC on Saturday.Will be fun.

stickwatcher,

Ryan is now at Tennessee Tech. My wife and I are making the trip down this weekend for Parent's Day on Saturday. We'll be hanging around a couple of days to observe workouts and to get our baseball fix!

MATC is now coached by Mike Davenport, former coach at Kishwaukee. He ran a good program at Kish and now will make MATC even better. The facilities at MATC are fairly nice and the program seems to have good support from the administration. I'd look for this program to continue to improve.

I visit the UIC website regularly and keep up on the latest with Larry, Zalnis, rz1's son and the rest of the UIC program. Good luck to you all this year!

Now that Harper Baseball is being run by new Head Coach Mike Palmer and Hitting Coach Nelson Gord, the program should grow significantly in the new couple years. Many Harper College Players are now working out at Play Ball USA in Des Plaines where Nelson Gord of the Schaumburg Flyers in a Hitting Instructor. Don't look past Harper this year!

BigMW, You need to talk up ECC and their GREAT PROGRAM, facility's and coaching staff. By the way we are 3-0 vs MATC this fall.

Bret25,

If you look back across various topics I have discussed the points you mentioned about the ECC program and agree with everything you have said. For this topic, I offered my insight to the Harper program as well as offering general information about all JUCO programs in Region IV to allow the potential recruit to investigate all available options in this area. As long as ECC continues it's road to success, Coach Angelo and company should have no problem attracting top level talent. Also, if someone specifically asks about ECC, I will be more than happy to discuss any aspect of their program but I am more concerned with potential recruits finding the program that works for them.

One item that does concern me regarding recruiting in the Skyway Community College Conference is a new rule instituted this season regarding out of district recruiting. The rule used to be a conference member could not recruit a potential candidate within another conference member's district unless the candidate contacted the out of district member institution first. Then the candidate could be offered scholarship assistance. The rule now forbids the out of district member institution from providing scholarship assistance for the first year (I believe, although it could be the first semester). This further inhibits the recruiting of out of district players in the Skyway conference. The rule attempts to force student athletes to stay within their district by squelching the competition for players between member institutions. However, non-member institutions and independents are not governed by these rules, so they are free to recruit as they wish taking away some of the better players. So instead of leveling the playing field, I feel it is hurting SCCC programs that desire to get better.

I'm hoping Elgin grows wise to this and either drops out of the SCCC or gets the rule changed.

Just a few thoughts.....

BigMW, I know that you are a big supporter of ECC and continually speak highly of the program . I just wanted to make the point that there are very good opportunities to play JUCO baseball at a HIGH LEVEL right here. You don't have to travel to Southern Illinois or Madison.


Stickwatcher, would you post your observations on the scrimmage game with MATC on Saturday.
Thanks

Coach Palmer is going to have one heck of a time turning Harper JC into a powerhouse. Let's not annoint him Tony LaRussa right now, but let's see what he can do.

His athletic training for injured players is second to none in the Chicagoland area, but helping injured players and teaching a kid how to hit are completely different. Some of the teams they'll be competing against are very competitive (DuPage and Joliet) and those coaches have been doing it alot longer than Mr Palmer.

Good luck coach!

I have no doubt that with the resources and contacts that those 2 coaches have made over the years that Harper will be very competitive sooner than later .Also I would like to point out that there is some outstanding choices here in our state / area for players wanting to explore the JUCO route .

jmjvj,

I agree Palmer has the contacts to get players and the qualifications to help develop them. However, with his track record of jumping from position to position and the lack of support for the baseball program by the current administration, how patient will he be before deciding to move on?

Anyone know what Palmer's record was at Concordia when he coached?

Big MW, I am putting the over under at 2.5 years.

An over-under on coaching tenure? Wow.

As in a previous post, I played for Coach Palmer at Concordia. When he got the job there, he inherited a terrible program and I believe he won 4-5 games in the first two years. In his third year, when we got his own recruits in there, we went 25-10 and won the school's first conference championship. That was my freshman year and we never had a losing record in the 4 years I was there. Many of us hold school records, we had numerous all-conference players, including some getting conference player of the year awards. Myself and 2 other players were listed in Collegiate Baseball Magazine as top-tier players.

I am still in contact with Coach Palmer and I know he is talking to several of the area's top players, some are putting Harper on their list of choices. With his contacts, his background in training and knowledge of the game, he will have a successful tenure (whether it is 2.5 years or 10) at Harper. Given a couple years to recruit his own guys and build the program, there are nothing but good things in Harper's future.

pitchdoc24, Well said!

What happens when potential recruits find out the baseball field sits in neglect. It is not available at all times to the baseball program but is also used as a s00cer practice field! The $20,000 earned each summer for use of the baseball field goes into a general fund and not for field improvements. The current administration's GAD is busted and it will take some time and a great deal of effort before their minds will be changed.

Palmer will improve the program, I don't think I questioned that. Dealing with the administration to obtain what is rightfully the baseball program's will prove frustrating and may be futile.

True about the Administration. We all dealt with that at Concordia too. We took care of our own field, even would water it with a garden hose after practice..on-campus kids would do it in shifts even when it got dark...there was just enough moonlight. I was off-campus so I got out of it! Point is, Palmer has been there, done that. He'll make the most of the situation that's for sure.

I run a summer team and talked to him about using the field...that men's league uses it from 8 AM til dark Saturday and Sunday and yes, they neglect it. He tried getting me to use the field cause I'd take care of it, etc...but I guess money talks. They did get some great new dugouts with some of that money a couple years ago. They may have blown over with the recent high winds!

I was there in the fall and noticed they are fixing up landscape around the field a bit. So who knows...baby steps.

Pitch Doc...

No disrespect intended to Coach Palmer, Concordia or Harper College, I want everyone in my "backyard" to do well. It will only help grow a postive reputation for Northern Illinois Baseball. I don't know the guy personally or professionally, but I know Harper College and he will have his work cut out for him, especially with programs like COD and Joliet in his conference. After reading all the positive thoughts this community has about him, it sounds like he will do well. Hopefully he will have the proper resources at his disposal.

If you are saying that having COD and Joliet in the same Conference becasue they are good is a bad thing I disagree. Good competition can only help. The field issue is something but not everything. There are plenty of schools...even 4 year schools.... with dissapointing fields. I still think that Harper will be a good opportunity for some kids who didn't get to the school they wanted to right out of HS. Two years of seasoning under Mike Palmer will be just what some kids need before they move on to the 4 year school, and hopefully some of you players reading this will consider it.....Mike is a great coach.

Like I said, our field at Concordia at the time was not the best, but we made the most of it. With Coach P's training program, and this is key, we didn't have any injuries the year we won conference! We started the same guys all year, with a few key guys off the bench.

Competition-wise, Aurora University was and is still one of the top programs in the country, always ranked in the top 20. They were the dominant team in our conference with Benedictine not far behind. Well, we beat both of them that year to win the conference. So, having 2 "good" teams won't scare off Coach P. He's dealt with just about every roadblock that he will encounter at Harper...he'll be just fine.

Let's take a look at Coach P's coaching history: Concordia 4 years, North Central 3-4 years, Elgin 1 year, and Elmhurst 2 years. How long is this guy going to stay at Harper? History suggests 2-3 years. With the reputation of the program, condition of the field and lack of backing from administration I don't see Coach P hanging out in Palatine for very long.

Fastball Dad

Never said that having competition was a bad thing. I just said that it will be tough to compete with some of the better schools in the area.

i dont know anything about the new coaches or anything like that, however jolet jr college won that regional 9 out of the last 10 years. JJC is the power house of that D3 juco n4c. JJC was preseason #3 in the country last year. I'd give Wayne L king Jr. a phone call over at jjc

jjc also has THE BEST

FIELD out of all those schools in that conference

byu you are right on the money