TC253: Jeff Mountain, Washington & Jefferson

I think we could pretty much go to Pennsylvania once a week and grab a coach who will bring some quality insights for the Top Coach community. This week, we’re in western Pennsylvania, just south of Pittsburgh in the small town of Washington, to talk to the head coach of the Washington & Jefferson College baseball team, Jeff Mountain. Coach Mountain basically restarted the program about 17 years ago, and after a slow start has come on strong. Winning so much, in fact, that they set the high water mark in NCAA D3 in 2017 with 42 wins and made it to the D3 championship game.

In this episode, Coach Mountain talks about the history and rich football tradition of Washington & Jefferson, growing up in New York state, getting his coaching start at Allegheny College, the sharing tradition of baseball coaches, learning from watching others, the D3 lifestyle, learning to lose, their home field – Ross Memorial Park, how facilities help sell a program, and his staff.

Notable quotes:

  • “I was constantly in my coach’s ear.”
  • “I was a naive 24 year old. Too much ‘I’.”
  • “You want your upperclassmen to be an extension of the coaching staff.”
  • “Practice time is critical to implementing what you want to do.”
  • “Practice time is for coaches and games are for players.”

 

Follow Washington & Jefferson Baseball on Twitter.

photo credit: Washington & Jefferson Athletics
Intro Music: Matt’s Blues, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*