Notre Dame

Yes, I heard about the coaching change. With that said, I think they kept most of the coaching staff and promoted Scott Lawler as interim HC. Coach Dangler and Sikes remains.

With regards to the whole ND baseball program, I think they will do their best to help a recruit. I am basing this on RR23Jr's senior teammate who is going there next semester.

From what I have heard, there are nice indoor facilities available especially in the late fall and winter. Of Course, Football still rules over there but I think the baseball program will continue to improve.

RR23

Our older son was recruited heavily by Notre Dame under previous coach Paul Maneiri (now LSU). There was a point where I thought he would pick it.

The university is magical. The campus is beautiful and its got everything one would want for a full college experience.

Baseball...facilities are...ok. Decent, not great. Conference (Big East) for baseball is...ok. Louisville is the recent strongest team, Cincinnati probably has the best stadium and certainly better than ND's. Weather for baseball? Below ok. Town (South Bend)? Not the best.

As one coach told our son...'Please remember when you visit you aren't going there to play football because they're gonna make you feel like it.'

Having said all of that...its a great school. The alumni network is top notch as is the education. It would be hard to turn down.

But can the baseball team compete for a trip to Omaha every year? Without more investment in the facility and perhaps without a change of conference...I have my doubts.

Outstanding post justbb. IMHO, that was fair and accurate.

Thank you justbaseball. That would help us as well for future reference. I will post any updates on the current state of the University once we get info from RR23Jr teammate's Frshman year.

It has been reported that Mike Aoki from BC will take over the HC job at ND.

RR23,
If the pundits are correct and he did inform the BC players of this news, this is his biggest challenge yet.
Coach Aoki is known as Mik, short for Mikio.
I talked with him last Wednesday night. While the issue of the new job was not mentioned, it was clear he had a very busy week and was really doing his homework.
Despite that, he was as nice as could be.
Sure wish him all the best.

Looks like a done deal.

Baseball America: Notre Dame Set to Hire Aoki

I have visited Notre Dame on a number of occasions. Once for baseball, twice for hockey and once for a football game. I was amazed/stunned by a number of things:

1. South Bend is horrible -- a bulldozer (several hundred of them, actually) would provide great improvement.

2. The weather is worse than the city.

3. I thought the baseball stadium was much better than described above.

4. The weather was beyond horrible in both March/April.

5. The football stadium is magical.

6. About two thirds of the campus is great. The other third fits extremely well into South Bend.

7. The weather was worse than the town.

8. Notre Dame obviously is a great school, but not so great for a top player with other choices. I remain amazed by the job done Paul Manieri and doubt it will be matched any time soon.

9. The alumni network, while impressive, probably does not do so well when it comes to professional baseball, if that is a later option.

10. Because of all of the above, I would be surprised if they ever equal their former standing in football. Too many other great options for great players in places with far, far better weather in far, far better cities.

I have to agree with much of what Jemaz said about ND. It's a great school with tremendous alumni connections but what I've always said about ND is that its problem is that its in Indiana.

The town is depressing and although the campus is very pretty the weather overall does match the town. Those who are in love with all things ND obviously look beyond what has been mentioned and they end up getting a great education.

Let me add however that listening to the band perform before a home football game and watching the team march into the stadium while listening to the chants of "here come the irish" is one of the greatest things you can observe in all of sports and should be on everyone's bucket list imo .

quote:

Originally posted by igball:
I have to agree with much of what Jemaz said about ND. It's a great school with tremendous alumni connections but what I've always said about ND is that its problem is that its in Indiana.

And Illinois is better?

I used to go up to South Bend on business some time ago and have to agree with JD and jemaz.

GG you know what they say the only problem with Atlanta is....yep you got it...it is surrounded by Georgia...bada bing.

Very few universities can come close to Notre Dames combination of excellence and alumni satisfaction with where they went.

That said, one of my "Domer" friends years ago confided that South Bend gets lake effect snow. In the years since, with radar weather, one can see that is true. But if you're inside anyway, it seems to me not to matter much what's on the ground outside.

When you realize what a ND education can do for you the environment outside the campus means nothing---many great education colleges have the same problem,

Mainieri is the HC at LSU and has not been at ND since 2006.
My son was also recruited heavily under him, can't beat the education and the degree you will receive will open doors, since baseball was a high priority, it wasn't a good fit. The weather is brutal, and I agree with JBB unless they make a bigger investment in the program (facilities) I doubt they will be serious contenders to Omaha.

IMO, this is a short stop for Aoki, a young coach on the rise, who left BC due to lack of commitment from the administration.

It sounds like the problems with ND are facilities and the weather. While nothing can be done to fix the weather it's not that difficult to upgrade the baseball facilities. The opinion of this outsider is that ND needs to find a baseball sugar daddy to throw some $$ into the baseball facilities. Every program in the country has it's + & - but with the educaton one could receive from ND and their alumni association a strong coaching staff could make it very difficult for a young student/athlete to attend another school. If Notre Dame could just get the kids they want from the Catholic schools across the country they would be very hard to compete with most years.

Actually the baseball facilities are fine. The field is very nice and they have a good stadium by northern standards (they hosted a regional some years ago) as well as a good indoor hitting area next to the field. The new coach will think he's in heaven.

One challenge is in the past few years many many schools in the south and west have gone on a baseball building spree which has helped attract many players who normally might be well suited for ND. Also no matter your school name recogntion, recruiters have to simply out work their competition in this day and age. Finally, the private school high tuition vs limited scholarship challenge that faces many across the country also affects ND (along with the weather).

Mik Aoki was announced today as the new head coach of Notre Dame.
Just a few years ago, in 2006 I believe, many were posting that Pete Hughes was nuts for leaving BC and could never make an impact in a cold weather ACC program like that at Va. Tech. The school was a football school with less than the best facilities, cold weather, a program that had not been successful and it was trying to compete in the ACC.
Heck, on another site, many were posting things similar to this throughout the course of this year.
When Va. Tech beat Fla. St., they posted they could not beat Ga. Tech. When they beat Ga. Tech, they posted they would never succeed in the ACC tournament.
In my view Mik is taking on a challenge not much different than the one Pete Hughes assumed at Va. Tech, other than being in the very strong ACC.
Mik has the benefit of everything ND and its national reputation and strong academics, which Va. Tech did not have in baseball in 2006.
ND plays its initial 20-25 games in the South each season. That type of travel cost shows commitment, at least to me.
Mik clearly knows the landscape, the expectations and surely has a plan to succeed. I wish him all the best. My sense is this can be a very, very good fit.

The facilities are not fine when compared with the schools they're going against...and the weather of the schools they're going against. They can fix the facility part...fairly easily...and I'll bet Coach Aoki will make that a priority.

Having talked to a previous coach quite a bit and reflecting on the 'pitch,' my gut tells me he knew it too.

Having said all of that, the education is outstanding and they should still be able to get enough outstanding players to compete for titles in the Big East.

As a side note, I believe Va. Tech was/is in a better position to blossom...reputation of the ACC and the perception that most of the road schedule is to warm weather schools is a plus for them. Academics there is no slouch either. I also far prefer Blacksburg to South Bend as a town to live in, to go to school in.

i've been to notre dame and their facilities are fine....indoor are obviously unbelieveable with the football situation there.

i would feel bad if someone picked a subpar education over a notre dame education based on the size of the stadium.....pretty short-sighted IMO.

justbaseball:

I obviously totally agree with your words on Blacksburg. I would live there forever if I could.

Compare Blacksburg with Asheville NC.

Never been to Ashville, but I love the Great Smokie Mountains, so I am sure it is fabulous, although without Virginia Tech football, which is tough to beat.

Congratulations to Coach Aoki. He is a great guy. My son attended his camp at BC and afterward Coach came up to him and said, although he was not interested in him he would be happy to be a reference for him and help him in any way he could. As a result my son received many inquiries. I wish more coaches were like him. Good luck at ND.

Wow! I'm certainly no expert on college stadiums but I was at ND for a summer showcase tourney and again for the Fall Prospect camp with Mood Kid and I thought the stadium was beautiful. Field was in great shape even in early October and there is a nice indoor hitting building right there. I'm sure the indoor facilities are top notch as well given the football influence.

The coaching staff seemed great and kept the camp running smoothly. Mood Kid got a nice response from Coach Ristano when he inquired about his performance at camp.

I did get the impression though that a large portion of the kids attending the camp were using baseball to get into elite schools and not so much to get to Omaha.

If you do not like cold weather, snow, rain going sideways and a small, college with tradition for mostly football, stresses academics in a blue collar type town, don't go to any college in the midwest then! LOL

A great friend of mine got the short end of the stick at this school and you wouldn't find a harder working coach than who was there and succeeded Paul. Paul did well there with the help of current UVA HC O'Connor when he was RC and PC and the coaches who were on Dave's staff I don't feel were in it to assist Dave if you know what I mean.

Mik will do a great job there and there are a lot of holdover players, some who play two sports at ND. It's not cheap to go to school there but you won't get a better education and the atmosphere will make you a tougher person if you have been baby'd by nice weather and no snow most of your life, LOL!

I would recommend ND to anyone that is looking for an opportunity for a great education and playing experience, and again if it comes down to weather and living in a great big city to do lots of things, look elsewhere and good luck finding that type of place because 99% of the flashy recruits are probably already lining themselves up there as well, but only 9 players can be on the field at a time folks!

Best of luck!

X

If Notre Dame could just get the Catholic kids that attend Catholic schools they would have a top 25 program most every season. The problem with Notre Dame is that the academics while great are difficult and some kids have never worked very hard in the classroom, the weather in the Spring is not the best and it is a tough type of town. For kids that want a great education, wish to have religion around them every day, play baseball at a high level and don't mind making sacrafices it's a great place. Let's be honest and say that to win at Notre Dame you must recruit the overacheiver type of kid and throw in one or two really good kids.

Great college! Became a national power type program a few years back. There coach went to LSU along with some of the assistants and they became National Champs, their recruiting coordinator became the head coach at UVA and they became a national power.

Dave Schrage is a very close friend and to be honest he became devastated when his wife passed away (cancer). He is one great human being and was one of my favorite college coaches.

Not sure what is meant by the accusation... coaches on his staff weren't in it to assist Dave. We certainly never noticed anything like that.

The new Notre Dame staff is working very hard, we see them all over the place. I believe they will get the job done there.

quote:

Originally posted by cbg:
If Notre Dame could just get the Catholic kids that attend Catholic schools they would have a top 25 program most every season. The problem with Notre Dame is that the academics while great are difficult and some kids have never worked very hard in the classroom, the weather in the Spring is not the best and it is a tough type of town. For kids that want a great education, wish to have religion around them every day, play baseball at a high level and don't mind making sacrafices it's a great place. Let's be honest and say that to win at Notre Dame you must recruit the overacheiver type of kid and throw in one or two really good kids.

@cbg..I agree with your thought process. You are right that student-athletes who got a predominantly Catholic way of life/education are more apt to succeed in this type of program because they are used to the lifestyle. Now, you also need to be a special student-athlete to enter the Irish world.
One of RR23JR's former teammate will be a RHP there this year. 2 sport athlete, leader, great in classroom and community....

@PG Staff..I am so sorry to hear about Coach Shrage's wife. RR23JR got an email from him last year. Where is he coaching now? I know Coach Aoki will stabilize the program. Saw some coaching staff in the AZ Senior/Junior Fall Classics.

RR23

quote:

Originally posted by PGStaff:
Dave Schrage is a very close friend and to be honest he became devastated when his wife passed away (cancer). He is one great human being and was one of my favorite college coaches.

Not sure what is meant by the accusation... coaches on his staff weren't in it to assist Dave. We certainly never noticed anything like that.

Dave has been a friend of mine since we competed against each other from '80 to now. He's a class act and a hard worker.

I was very sad to learn and shocked when Jody passed away. She was a great gal, mother, wife and coach, especially friend, to Dave, their two daughters and a credit for battling on and off the field as she did. I had just spoken to her maybe 2 weeks before she passed away after learning she had "C" and having had a father who passed away from it and only being diagnosed with it less than 7 months before he passed, an Aunt that lived with it for 17 years after being given day to day to live by her doctor, it really hit me hard, knowing her and her hubby as long as I did and what they have gone through in raising their girls, moving from town to town, even a country when Dave first started coaching when he was in Australia one year. I really miss her and will always remember how great she was because her friendship still impacts us today.

When I said that the assistants didn't assist, you will have to read between the lines. When he was at UNI, Waldorf, N Ill, Evans, he always had support and he brought some of that support with him or some of them became HC themselves. However a couple of the last two he had didn't help him build the program. I am a firm believer a HC at a D1 level can not do everything themselves. They need to be experts at teaching every facet of the game of baseball and they have to have coaches that believe in their philosophy and stand behind that philosophy, when you an individual who thinks they are better, that can create a how do you say it? power struggle if you will, you get finger pointing and you get players saying things and eventually a program can erode. Been there, seen it, have had it done to me as well and it's not pretty, but truth being told, you won't find a better person and teacher of the game than Dave and I do hope in 2011 he gets another opp to build a program like he did with the others he was at before Notre Dame.

I like what ND is doing now and as one person stated, they are out there working the trail and making contacts. It's great to recruit, but it's also great to deliver what you told the kids you would do, and that's help them improve their skills, get a great education, and perhaps a shot at pro ball if things work out.

Sobkowiak is one player I think would back Dave up and I'm sure there are others, even Pollock.

I wish ND a lot of luck this coming year and one thing I had told a few co-hearts of mine was, watch ND win the Big East in 2011. IT might be a reach or a "way out there" statement, but let's see what transposes next spring!

X

I have read the posts in this string and am wondering if anyone has any information about changes in the program since Coach Aoki took over.  It appears from their current season that things have improved and that the program is headed in the right direction.  My son has been speaking to them and we are looking at visiting the campus in the next month or so.  We will be able to check the facilities, etc. but if anyone has any first-hand info about the program I would appreciate the feedback.