This edition of #NadoCulture features the 2019-20 Brevard College Baseball team. Stay tuned to bctornados.com through the Spring of 2020 for #NadoCulture features on all the Spring sports at Brevard College.
BREVARD, N.C. – Similar to every program across college athletics, the Brevard College Baseball team's 2020 competitive season ended with the cancellation of this year's remaining schedule due to the impact from the COVID-19 virus. The BC Baseball team continues to build a team culture established under the direction of a first-year coaching staff comprised of Head Coach Mike Victory, Assistant Coach Rob Julian and Volunteer Assistant Coach Steve Hucke.
A New Culture
Upon his arrival in August of 2019, Coach Victory began the implementation of a new winning culture that continues to evolve.
"Implementing our culture was a main point as a first-year coach," said Victory. "That culture is still developing and evolving with our current roster and with the recruits we have coming in."
To achieve the winning attitude, much of the newly instilled culture focused on challenging the BC student-athletes to go beyond their comfort zones.
"Being OK with being uncomfortable was a big part of this year and guys having to be willing to try something new that they weren't necessarily used to doing or weren't adept at right away," said Victory. "The weight room was one of the places where we saw that the most as we pushed them to want to go to new levels not just to go through the motions."
The same new mindset also applied to the Tornados in their preparation as hitters and pitchers.
"In hitting, we were asking guys to not just be content with singles but to want to drive the ball a little bit more which meant changing and tinkering swings", said Victory. "Some players saw some small steps backwards before they could go forward and we were just starting to get to that point where guys were seeing more results. We put up some runs in the last few weekends as our hitters were starting to feel more comfortable. We are going to continue to ask the guys to make adjustments and push them to become better."
"The same goes for the pitching staff as Coach Julian challenged the pitchers utilizing new 'Driveline' performance training and asking them to work in ways they never had before," continued Victory. "As a result, the pitchers were seeing a lot of growth as well."
Perhaps most importantly, the team captains – senior pitcher Kross Robinson, senior catcher Trystan Jones, junior pitcher Ben Melton, junior infielder JJ Wilkes and sophomore infielder Jason Jucker – provided leadership to their fellow teammates in handling the new challenges put forth by the coaches.
"It took good leadership out of our captains who were always ready to do something a little bit different and not be afraid to be put on the spot," said Victory. "That mentality carried over into our practices where we asked them to think a little bit more on the field. For example, we had more bunt offensive and defensive plays than they were used to and they were constantly being asked to think, remember and learn on the fly some things they had not been asked to do in the past. We saw some solid execution of the things that were implemented as the year was going on."
Coach Hucke, a veteran baseball coach with over 20 years of collegiate baseball coaching experience, summed up the strides made this season and the momentum that has been created.
"I see a lot of growth, enthusiasm, and excitement in the program with a lot of interest in where we are going to go and how we are going to get there," said Hucke. "It is just a matter of getting that total buy-in and then I think we'll see our program take some big jumps as we instill a winning attitude and culture."
One Day Better
Several themes were utilized this season to help the Tornados toward their goals of instilling a winning culture. "One Day Better" was a theme used all season long whether in practice, games, the weight room or the classroom.
"We challenged the student-athletes to always seek ways to better yourself each and every day whether it be in the classroom or on the field," said Victory.
"It means that every single day we are working to get better at one thing," added Julian. "Whether that be on the baseball field, in the classroom or in life in general, we want to be better every single day than we were the day before."
The "One Day Better" mentality resonated with the student-athletes who used it as an opportunity to improve daily in many areas.
"This was our motto going into every day in practice," said Melton. "It was taking what we had done the day before whether it was a game or a practice and building off it every day. For example, if there was a day where our fielding wasn't too good, everyone would focus the next day on improving in that area but also trying to improve on the area that we did well in that much more."
Do Simple Better
Once the season began, the motto "Do Simple Better" emerged as an impetus to execute the routine parts of baseball.
"We needed to get better at the smallest things, to do simple better," said Victory. "Getting bunts down and doing those little things. If you look back at our wins and our best games, when we did the little things right and played a complete baseball game we usually ended up right there. This is something we will continue to preach, that is to be perfect as often as you can with the simplest of things."
"The best teams in the country do the simple things great – they make routine plays, they don't give runs away, they don't give outs away," added Julian. "They do the easy parts of baseball well and make an incredibly complex game that much simpler."
From the players' perspective, Melton reinforced the coaching staff's belief of the importance to "do simple better".
"I feel like this was the number one slogan that we heard for hitting, pitching, fielding and just playing the game," said Melton. "In all reality, if you can do the simple things in baseball great than you are going to be a very successful team."
Mudita
An additional theme that was stressed by the coaches was the concept of Mudita or the feeling of joy in others' good fortune.
"Mudita is something that I am trying to build into the culture," said Victory. "It means vicarious joy for others' success. When there are 35 guys on the roster and you can only put 10 on the lineup card, you have to have guys that are willing to sit on the bench and be excited when others are doing well."
"If you are a guy on the bench and not getting opportunities, the hard part is rooting for that guy in front of you," stated Julian. "That is what Mudita is – being happy for other guys that are doing well. We have to be happy for every guy on the team regardless of who they are and what their status may be."
Off the Field and In the Community
The mottos and themes that helped execute the team culture were also manifested through good works by the Tornados in the classroom, on campus, and in the community.
Academics continue as a major point of emphasis for the team.
"There is a reason that student comes before athlete," said Julian. "Academics is always 1A and baseball is 1B. We expect them to do well in their classes and we want them to do be good people."
As a result of an extensive study hall program as well as goals set by the coaching staff, the Tornados were able to achieve high marks academically.
"Study hall showed our investment in their academic success and set our freshmen up to be more successful and I think that will be true going forward," said Victory "The freshmen were able to get connected with the right programs on campus to set them up for long term success at the college. I thought the team did really well and we ended up with a team GPA over 3.0 for the Fall which was a huge step up for the team in general."
The Tornados also engaged in several community service initiatives including the USA South's Cans Across the Conference initiative and the team's annual decoration of the Mission Health Hospital's pediatric wing in Asheville, North Carolina during the Christmas season. The community service activities proved to be valuable experiences for the student-athletes.
"One of the most important projects is decorating the children's hospital for Christmas," said Jones. "It isn't really hard work but it puts a different perspective on life for us and allows us to appreciate what we have a little more. We battle a lot of entitlement issues as a generation and projects like that help balance out that sense of entitlement."
"It helps us realize that we are doing something as college baseball players that not everybody gets to do or has the ability to do," stated Melton. "By doing community service projects as a team, it lets us give back to the community that supports us and helps put in perspective that there are bigger things in this world going on. Having to do an early morning lift or a lot of conditioning, it helps us realize that those are privileges for us compared to some of the things that we see when we do these community service hours."
Examples in Leadership
Jones and Melton provide two notable examples of leadership both on and off the field as student-athletes with both Tornados on their way to compelling careers after graduation.
Jones, a senior from Mars Hill, North Carolina, is set to graduate with a degree in Criminal Justice this May. Jones has completed his application process at Mars Hill Police Department and is now awaiting state approval before he begins working as a police officer.
The future law enforcement officer prepared his career opportunity through the BC Criminal Justice department, while also providing extraordinary leadership as a member of the Tornados baseball team.
"Trystan embodies that Criminal Justice major really well," said Victory. "He has been exceptional in the classroom and is going to be outstanding in his career. There is going to be a noticeable culture hole to fill when Trystan is gone. The way he carries himself and the respect he has from his teammates, that will be missed."
"I haven't been here long, but if you are looking for what a Brevard College Tornado baseball student-athlete should be he is who you should emulate," added Hucke. "He knows his role of being a team leader, to work hard and keep the guys fired up. I can't say enough about that young man. He shows the team the true definition of a teammate. He does all the things that embody a person of strong character and I know he is going to do very well as a police officer."
Melton, a junior from Valdese, North Carolina who provides valuable leadership on the pitching staff, is pursuing a career in Sports Marketing. A Business and Organizational Leadership major with a minor in Art, he has secured a Marketing internship with the Asheville Tourists minor league baseball club in Asheville, North Carolina. Earlier this academic year, Melton also interned with the Brevard College Communications and Sports Information departments.
"Ben is the kind of guy you want to have around," said Julian. "He is a good person to talk to and is a good leader. I think the players really respect him because he has put his time in. They understand that he is trying to get better himself while also trying to make the team better. He is a good leader and has built a level of trust with his teammates which has helped breed a strong team culture."
"Ben does a great job on and off the field as a leader," added Victory. "He is making the most of the Business and Organizational major and following his passion by pursuing sports marketing.
A Well-Balanced Coaching Staff
The team culture and subsequent character-driven accomplishments on and off the field derive from the first-year coaching staff of Head Coach Mike Victory, Assistant Coach Rob Julian and Volunteer Assistant Coach Steve Hucke. The three coaches bring different styles and experience that culminates in an effective balance.
Victory was hired as BC's Head Coach following three seasons at the Assistant Coach at NCAA Division III Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania to go along with extensive coaching experience for the USA Baseball Academy.
"Coach Victory works very hard and has paid his dues probably longer than he should have before he became a head coach," said Julian who also played for Victory at Allegheny. "When I played, he pushed me more than any coach I ever had. At the end of the day, I always knew he was looking out for my best interests, helping me be the best I can be and become the man that I am today."
"I see him growing rapidly as a head coach," said Hucke. "He is very enthusiastic about this team and what this team can do. He has set expectations for not just the players and for the coaching staff as well. He is very personable, very approachable and does a nice job of handling the guys when they have concerns or questions. He makes himself very accessible and works hard to mentor these student-athletes."
Julian, who serves as the Pitching Coach, joined BC after two seasons as the Graduate Assistant Coach at NJCAA Mercyhurst University North East in Pennsylvania.
"Coach Julian is 100% all the time, a no-holds-barred competitor," said Victory. "He had that edge as a player and I love that he has it here. That fire for winning is always there."
"Coach Julian is intense, but the right kind of intense," stated Hucke. "He is not so overbearing that the guys shy away from him. The pitchers understand what his expectations are and they work very hard for him as a result. He is also very accessible and has a lot of experiences that he can pull from his days as a student-athlete."
Hucke arrived at Brevard College after 23 total years of collegiate coaching experience, including 17 years as the Head Coach at Rochester Community and Technical College in Minnesota where he won 339 career games.
"With Coach Hucke's experience, he has so many different scenarios that he has been in that we can learn from," said Victory. "He gets fired up and the guys love that about him. He has a story for everything and everywhere we go, we seem to run into someone he knows from all his years."
"Coach Hucke has over 300 career head coaching wins, so for us to get him as an assistant is huge," added Julian. "He knows more drills than anyone can ever imagine. He has contacts with tons of coaches on the recruiting trail. He has been great to have around and is helping us get to where we want to go.
The student-athletes agree that the three coaches make an excellent combination to lead Brevard College baseball into the future.
"First and foremost, they are great guys in general as people," said Jones. "I think that as a coaching staff they know a lot about baseball and know how to transfer their knowledge to us. They really tried to push to discover how we all learn individually and that helped us understand what they are trying to tell us. As a program it all starts from the top and when you have coaches who are ready to do whatever needs to be done to win that is huge."
"They make for a great balance as a coaching staff," said Melton. "Julian and Hucke can be fiery at times while Coach Victory can balance it all out. As a unit, they give us a great understanding of what we need to do and also what they expect from us moving forward."
Why BC for Future Tornados
As the first-year coaching staff continues to build for the future, opportunities abound for future Tornado student-athletes to be a part of an impressive team culture. Coach Victory provides a message to the next wave of Tornados to join the Brevard College baseball family.
"College is an investment and you need to pick the place where you are going to get the biggest return on your investment," said Victory. "Brevard College is an excellent return on your investment in terms of your education. You will get that experiential education so you are ready to take on a career when you graduate. We push that on the baseball side of things by holding you responsible in the classroom while also challenging you to be the best baseball player you can be."
"The team comradery and the work ethic we instill, sets you up to be really successful in not only your career but in life," continued Victory. "We tell guys we want you to be a great teammate so you can be a great husband, father, and son for the rest of your life. You will be important to us when you are here and to this program after you graduate as well. That 'Tornado for Life' family atmosphere is what we are all about."
Thank You Seniors
Coach Victory had a message for the seniors – Donny Carsillo, Bryce Foster, Johnny Flynn, Trystan Jones, Kross Robinson, and Ryan Roon – whose senior years were cut short due to the cancellation of this year's remaining schedule due to the impact from the COVID-19 virus.
"The biggest thing I want for them is to let them know how thankful I am for them as a group," said Victory. "It is hard to come in for your senior season with a new coaching staff and they were very receptive and very willing to try new things. I am very thankful for how we as a staff were received by them and the effort that they gave us in the shortened season that we had."
Melton, who will be a rising senior in 2020-21, reiterated the appreciation for the senior class of Tornados.
"Thank you for what you have done for this program," said Melton. "I hate that it had to end this way and in a way no one was expecting. Thank you for all the memories that you have given me and for being there for me through all the good and bad times."
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