Patrick Barrett
West Virginia Wesleyan College
Hometown: Wantagh, New York
Education: Virginia Wesleyan University
Twitter:Â @Bat_Parrett
Email: Barrett.p [at] wvwc.edu
Official bio
The moment you first realized that you might like to make coaching part of your career?
The moment I realized that I wanted to be involved in coaching for my career was when I was a senior in high school. I have always loved baseball since I was a little kid and I wanted to still be involved with baseball after my playing career would eventually be over. At the time I knew some day coaching would be the right thing for me as I love teaching this game to players of all ages and love being involved with the strategic aspect of baseball from making crucial decisions in tense situations to helping with the recruiting process to the overall teaching of the game. Baseball is truly America’s Pastime and I am grateful I get to coach this great game for a living.
Outside of mentors, talk about one way you’ve learned some aspect of coaching.
One thing I’ve learned in the aspect of coaching is to never be complacent and there is always something new to learn each day. Coaching is about growing your mind each day to increase your overall knowledge and you can always learn something from any one of a age or background. Baseball is a game you can see something that you have never seen before and I think the same applies to coaching. I think you can learn something new that you have never learned before and that is what makes coaching so great. As coaches we need to adapt our minds and staying complacent or we will never develop as a coach. Grow the mind!
If you could go back to your rookie coach self and give one piece of advice, what would it be?
My Rookie Coach Self was last year, so if I could go back a year ago I would tell myself to stay patient and don’t try to do too much. I feel as young coaches we try to re-invent the wheel or try to implement too much information at once. If I go back to last year I would say take one day at a time and keep learning each day as I thought I knew everything about baseball but as the year went on I realized I needed a reality check as some of the best coaches are the ones who keep learning.
Also after recently ending my playing career I came in with a player’s mindset when I first started coaching. Coaching is completely different from playing so I would also tell myself to start acting more like a coach than rather a player. It is as a young coach you cannot do but it is hard as you still want to be out there playing.
What is your favorite memory from a coaching conference or clinic?
My favorite memory from a coaching conference or clinic is the amount of information I have learned from some of the best coaches around the world. Conferences like the ABCA convention and Pitch-A-Palooza offer so many great speakers with great information about our game today. I have only attended a few conferences so far but they have been some of my favorite memories as a young coach. I also love networking and meeting new people at these events. I am the type of person that I love going out and learning something new from coaches at all levels. When I attend these conferences I like learning and going to the clinics but I love meeting new people just as much.
Your dream lunch date. One coach. Any sport. Any level. Living or dead. Who is it?
My dream lunch date would be the late Augie Garrido, Former head coach at Cal State Fullerton and University of Texas. Augie was such a legendary coach in the college baseball ranks. He had almost 2,000 wins in his historical coaching career and was well respected in the coaching ranks. Listening to some of his famous quotes and motivational speeches he truly gave his players some great words of wisdom. Augie was someone I wish I got to meet while he was still coaching as it would be someone I would write everything down and listen to every word he says. Augie was a truly one of a kind and I think coaches of all levels of baseball should coach and act just like Augie.
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