It’s absolutely amazing what they’ve been able to accomplish in the state of Iowa when it comes to collegiate baseball, especially factoring in the brutal, so-called “Spring” weather. And it’s nowhere more evident than in the state’s two-year schools. The poster child for Iowa community college baseball could well be Iowa Western Community College, having won the NJCAA D1 World Series three times since 2010. As head coach Marc Rardin points out, IWCC is within a couple of solid fungo shots from TD Ameritrade Stadium in Omaha. And Iowa Western has had their share of players move on to schools that have played in the College World Series right across the Missouri River in Omaha.
In this episode, Coach Rardin talks about being so close to Omaha and the NCAA D1 College World Series, his development as a player — including spending 10 months in a cast after high school, how unexpected events lead to other opportunities, getting his start in coaching in Bluefield, Virginia (including stints selling ads in programs and doing car restoration), coaching in the Northwood League, subsequent moves to Texas, Colorado, and Arizona, and how he approaches conventions and clinics.
As pointed out at the beginning of the audio, we had technical difficulties which were entirely on our end. Coach Rardin has graciously offered to come back for a part 2. So please stay tuned for the announcement!
Because we didn’t get to talk about the staff at Iowa Western, here’s a link to Coach Rardin’s assistant coaches:
Notable quotes:
- “My life chose me.”
- “You appreciate where you’re at from knowing where you’ve been.”
Follow Marc Rardin on Twitter.
Follow Iowa Western Baseball on Twitter.
photo credit: Iowa Western Community College
Intro Music: Matt’s Blues, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | RSS
1 Trackback / Pingback