Interview with Head Coach Tim Scannell
Below are a series of questions I asked head coach Scannell regarding his experiences with baseball:
1.) Did you play baseball growing up? Where are you from? What made you want to become a college baseball coach?
I did. I started playing whiffle ball at age 5 and then at age 8 I started Little league baseball. I am from Boston MA. I actually always wanted to become a college basketball coach, I played basketball in HS and it was my favorite game by far.I would always draw up plays and defenses but baseball got me to college and I just gravitated to the coaching side of things
2.) How long have you coached baseball? How long here at Trinity?
I have coached for 27 years, this is my 20th season.
3.) What kind of bat do you like to see your players use when at bat? Why?
We train almost exclusively with wood because it develops hand strength and also teachs you how to hit with less of a hitting surface. As far as live play with college metal bats.I have no preference, I leave it up to the player
4.) How has NCAA regulations and bat testing such as the BCCOR change your offensive
Strategy? Zero, we are an offensive minded program. We spend hours teaching guys to drive the baseball.We are always a top home run hitting team.
5.) Over the years have you seen a player’s ability to hit the ball increase or decrease with certain bats used?
There was one small window around 2001 where the bats where -5 in oz. They had a barrel that had a trampoline effect...that period the ball really exploded off the bat...other than that it has not changed much.
6.) Would you support the NCAA if they only allowed wooden bats to be used? Why or why not?
I would love wood bats. You can hit the ball farther and exit velocity is almost the same but it can never happen. A college budget could never support the cost of wood bats, they break way too often.
7.) Here at Trinity how has the batting ability of players changed? If it has not, why do you think it has stayed the same?
I think it has stayed the same. We recruit the same players from the regions for 20 years and really take the same approach to our offense, which is to drive the baseball.
8.) After regulations had been put on bats how has your recruiting style for Trinity change?
Nothing has changed. I still look for guys that have hand strength and bat speed and can drive the ball through the opposite field alley. D3 hitters hit with their arms and shoulders, D1 hitters hit with their hands and legs. We look for the guys that hit with their hands and legs.
Do you favor kids who use wooden bats or Composite while recruiting?
Not really, most summer tournaments are wood bat. So we actually see more wood bat play than HS play which has metal bats.
9.) Has the Trinity Baseball batting averages change drastically over the years? Who are some players that you have coached who hit the ball well? Can you provide any statistics on certain seasons where your team had hit the ball well?
Tough question. Best way to answer is this we had Jason Armstrong in 2004, Nick Vera in 2006 and Ryan Cavan in 2007. Since then many more, all total 29 players have been drafted or signed to professional baseball and basically they all hit 380 or higher with 8-15 home runs at the D3 level. So in saying this nothing has changed we always seem to have a player every couple years who hits at this level and is picked up via MLB draft or free agent signing.
10.) How has the game of baseball at Trinity changed from the late 90’s until today?
I would say again zero change we have been very consistent and that is a testament to how hard our players work.
11.) What is your favorite thing about coaching baseball?
I like how badly this game beats a player up on the mental side of things...you have to have mental toughness and great resolve to be successful at this game. I think it is a great teacher for how to battle in life life is hard and filled with so much failure. In 20 years I feel I can tell you who will be a good husband and father and community guy and who who will answer the bell at work based on how they handled the day to day failures of baseball during their time at TU.
12.) While coaching your players on the offensive side what kind of tips do you give them when using certain bats do the tips change depending on the bat?
Bats are irrelevant so we focus on hands and legs and really focus on vision, how well does a player see the ball is really the foundation behind a great hitter.
14.) What are some of your favorite memories coaching here at Trinity?
I have so many. I am so lucky to get to coach these types of kids. They have had a great impact on my three boys who have grown up around these hugely successful college athletes. But from a baseball standpoint for me my favorite thing are mid week games. Thats when players are flat and coaches better bring an energy level if we are going to win and I am all about winning.