I’ve known Jim Collins for years. Although we met through baseball, it just so happens that Jim and his three siblings grew up a couple of houses away from my wife and her three siblings in the tiny town of Towanda, Illinois, right on Route 66. I wish that my interview with Jim in this
We veer just a bit off of our traditional path today to talk to Adam Rosales of the San Diego Padres. Adam will give us some great insight into what he learned from his coaches and other important people in his life that helped to propel him to Major League Baseball. Adam also discusses some
This former Providence Catholic High School player thought he had a good gig going. Mark Smith was delivering milk in the morning and coaching with the legendary Wayne King at Joliet Junior College. That is, until he found out that the long time baseball coach at Providence was leaving. The opportunity was too good to
We’re making the short drive up old Route 66 today to talk to the long time head coach at Joliet Junior College, Wayne King. The home to the Blues Brothers and Rudy, Joliet also lays claim to being the first two-year college in the country. How many coaches can say they’re going to work every
Continuing our NCAA D2 theme, today we are happy to welcome to Top Coach the head guy at Quincy (IL) University, Josh Rabe. He is a somewhat local guy, having grown up on a farm in Illinois. The only straying he’s done is while playing professional baseball for nine years. After his playing days were
I had such a great time talking to Bo Durkac, that I lost all track of time. Instead of having the longest episode ever, I just chopped it into two parts. You can hear part one here. Please excuse the lack of elegance on the intro. We just pick up where we left off from
After two-time Top Coach guest Mark Kingston moved on to the warmer climate of Tampa, Florida, Bo Durkac had a decision to make: Make the trip south with Coach Kingston or stay behind and throw his cap in the ring for the open head coaching position at Illinois State? For Coach Durkac, it was a tension-filled
Former successful pitching coach at Heartland Community College, Josh Kauten has stepped down from his official coaching duties at Heartland to focus on his growing family. He has not given up on coaching entirely, however, as he has launched K’s Academy in Bloomington/Normal, Illinois. Consider Coach Kauten our Pitching Coach in Residence. He will occasionally
Road trip! Make that Mother Road trip! We took the short drive up Old Route 66 to Lexington, Illinois to visit with the general manager of the Lexington Snipes, Billy Dubois. Billy is one of those guys that you’d refer to as a baseball lifer. You think you wear a lot of hats in your
Jerry Rashid‘s 729 wins ranks him #7 all time in the state of Illinois. His Chillicothe Illinois Valley Central team won the state championship in 2006, with current Cleveland Indians pitcher Zach McAllister, and was runner-up in 2008. In addition to well disciplined and successful teams, Coach Rashid has one of the finest fields at
Given that a significant portion of our Top Coach community is made up of high school coaches, I really intended to get a high school coach on here sooner. For our first guest I didn’t go checking any hall of fame lists, but rather called up an old buddy, great high school coach and teacher,
The Heartland Community College baseball program was nothing more than a dream just seven years ago. In 2013, the Hawks participated in the NJCAA D2 World Series for the third straight year. In six seasons, head coach Nate Metzger and his staff have sent 84 of 95 sophomores on to play at four year schools,
Fergie Jenkins used to say that a pitcher’s best friend is a double play. I always said that a pitcher’s best friend is strike one. Our guest today appears to love strikes more than anyone I’ve ever met. Josh Kauten will readily admit that he didn’t quite get it himself while in college, but he’s
Normal, Illinois a go-to destination for high school baseball players looking to play at the next level? You bet! Especially when Illinois State’s Mark Kingston is doing the selling. Find out why Kingston was considered one of the nation’s top recruiters while the recruiting coordinator at Tulane and why he has consistently brought in the
