October 28, 2005
In baseball, spring W's are usually earned by fall W's-workouts that is. The teams playing weekend series in April in hopes to make it to Omaha are actually built in October. And the team that has been building for the last two months at Aggieland's Olsen Field is an aggressive one that's going to start taking what they want, not just waiting and letting it come to them.
"We're stealing a lot more bases, using hit and runs and just being real aggressive at the plate and trying to cut down on strikeouts and get on base as much as we can," senior Ryan Hill said. "Coach said that our on-base percentage from last year needed improvement so we're trying to get that going and get our steals up and just try to produce more runs that way."
 Coach Childress, back, brings in 14 years of collegiate coaching experience including three trips to the College World Series as the associate head coach at Nebraska. |
Inducing this year's aggressive attitude is a new coaching staff led by Gilmer, TX native Rob Childress. Although he has been very pleased with how things have come along in the fall, Coach Childress does admit having to teach an entire team a new system and coaching strategy was a challenge.
"You know, I think when you look at it, anytime when you go into a fall season, usually half the team has to learn a new system-you know 1st and 3rd defense, bunt coverage, offensive philosophies and pitching philosophies," Childress said. "But this fall, it was new to all 28 guys so that has probably been the most challenging thing. Taking baby steps first and then putting everything in."
One of those baby steps that really doesn't seem very childish was the introduction of 6 a.m. weights four days a week.
"We want a blue collar work ethic," Childress said. "Your work ethic is going to determine whether or not you deserve to win. Everybody around the country is practicing right now or just finishing up their fall or just starting. We want our team, when they lay their head on the pillow at night, to know without a doubt that we are outworking everyone in the country."
That work ethic doesn't check-out at the weight room doors either-Aggie fall workouts have been as intense as anyone's in the country.
"The coaches are real fired up and they stay after us 24/7," sophomore Brandon Glover said. "They are definitely keeping us busy but we are working hard and getting better and really looking forward to an exciting season."
The key is that the players and staff are looking forward and not in the rearview mirror at a 2005 season that provided high expectations with a 16-5 pre-conference start only to leave the players and fans augmented disappointment when the Aggies were unable to reach the postseason.
"Like coach says, in baseball, you have to have a short-term memory, and we put last year behind us and it just added to our hunger for this year," Hill said. "We don't want to have another last year. We want to come through the gates running and just win."
In many instances, the 2005 ball club was so close to doing just that. But it seemed time and time again that A&M would come up a run or two short in the close games during conference.
"You know there is a fine line between good and great. I mean last year's team was 16-5 at one point and was playing as good as competition as you can play for the first 21 games of a season," Childress said. "For whatever reason, it didn't happen down the stretch in conference. And you know it's just a matter of having a short term memory and realizing that no matter what happened yesterday, you cannot do anything about it. You have to focus on the next pitch, the next inning, the next game. We've got to maintain that philosophy throughout the course of the season."
 Texas A&M sophomore infielders Jess Buenger, left, and Blake Stouffer work infield during a fall workout. |
If the Aggies are able to keep their focus on the task at hand, what are their expectations for the outcome of the season?
"Our goals are definitely to win a national championship or at least get back to regional play and up the standards of Aggie baseball again," Glover said. "We have always had a good program here so we're just trying to get back to that status and eventually go to Omaha and win a national championship."
According to Coach Childress, the means to that end will need to include finishing at the top of the conference in order to obtain home field advantage for the postseason.
"We wan to be as close to forty wins as we can be," Childress said. "That's going to put us at the top of the Big 12, and we're going to have an opportunity to host a regional. To me that is how you get to Omaha, playing at home. Olsen Field is the greatest collegiate baseball environment in the country, and if we are playing here we're going to have a hard time losing in the postseason."
The players will get their first taste of this season's Olsen Magic this weekend during the annual Maroon and White Series, or Fall World Series. The players are eager to show the fans the team's work ethic and some of their developed strengths.
"We have pretty good team speed," Glover said. "That is one of the things we are going to rely on-small ball and our defense. Our defense is real solid. Pitching is going to be good for us this year. There are some areas we still need to improve on, but overall we are a strong team."
 Kyle Colligan and the rest of the Aggie lineup will be looking to be more aggressive at the plate this spring in order to improve the team's On-Base Percentage. |
Because of the aggressive style of play that the new staff is implementing this year, the team is not looking to be just physically and technically strong, but also have the ability to be tough under pressure.
"We want to see the guys play with pressure a little bit and we've done a good job creating that this fall through our weekend series," Childress said. "I think they've really bought into our offensive system of running a pressure offense and continually putting pressure on the defense. It has been good for our pitchers to learn how to pitch in that. I think this team feels like they deserve to win, and they've earned their opportunity to go do that."
The team and staff are planning on capitalizing on that opportunity, not after a couple of years of rebuilding or a season of regaining the conference's respect, but immediately.
"Our expectations as a staff for our program are higher than anyone else's," Childress said. "We expect to win now and the players expect to win now, and that is what we are planning on doing. I think we have the talent here to do it and the mentality and work ethic are in place, so I don't see any reason why we aren't going to win right now."
When those W's come, the 2006 A&M Baseball team can surely trace them back to the 6 A.M. weights, the long instructive-oriented fall practices and the revitalized aggressive attitude that will steal the show at Olsen Field come spring-literally.
"Being aggressive is playing all out, all the time and just forcing things to happen," Glover said. "Like incorporating a lot of small ball along with power in the lineup. Last year we kind of let things happen-this year we are making things happen."