Conversations with College Coaches: Beloit College
In our latest interview, Woody Wingfield spoke with Coach Dave DeGeorge from Beloit College. Belloit is a Division III program out of the Midwest Conferences. From use of video to what he looks for in a prospect coach DeGeorge gives insight to his program at Beloit College.
1. How long have you been coaching? How long at Beloit?
I have spent my entire career at Beloit. I just completed my 21st season as head coach.
2. Who are some of your mentors or coaches that you look up to?
I have been fortunate to come from a family of coaches. My Dad was a college football coach for 40 years. I served on his football staff at Beloit for 15 years. Now, he is one of my assistant coaches with our baseball team. My Dad knows more about winning and being successful in general than anyone I have ever known. He has been an outstanding example for me as a coach and in every area of my life. My older brother, Joe, was a head football coach at the college level and my younger brother, Mike, is the head basketball coach at Rhodes College in Memphis.
3. What is the first thing about your school and program that you’d want a recruit to know about?
At Beloit, we do a great job of combining a first-class academic program with a championship caliber baseball program. Players who pick Beloit want to go to a terrific college and be challenged academically. In addition, they are talented and dedicated baseball players. They want to compete for championships. We provide them the opportunity to have the experiences they desire both in the classroom and on the diamond.
4. What do you look for in a prospective recruit on the field? Off the field?
The first thing I look for is a strong academic record. We need to find players who meet the admissions standards at Beloit and will thrive as students on our campus. In a baseball player, we look for four things: 1) We like players who have fun and demonstrate a spirit of play. 2) We like players who are coachable. In our program, being coachable is about forming strong player/coach relationships. 3) We like players who are mentally and physically tough. You can’t win on talent alone. 4) We like players who are willing to do what it takes to win. Everybody wants to win, but few people are willing to make the sacrifices winning requires. We want our players to attend every class and turn-in assignments on time, we want guys who are dedicated to the off-season program, we want players who make good decisions concerning diet, alcohol consumption and sleeping habits. We want players who are committed to success 24 hours a day, year round.
5. How does video footage help with recruiting?
Video allows me to evaluate players I was unable to see in person or gain a more complete evaluation of players I have seen play. At Beloit, we only recruit players we want in our program. We don’t bring in large numbers and cut several kids each year. Because of this, we need to be sure about the kids we are recruiting. Video helps us identify the players who are the best fit for our team.
6. Beloit is a tough school academically, so can you give some insight on how your players balance academics and baseball?
One way we [are] balancing academics and baseball is by having a window from 4-7 pm when no classes are offered. This is when we practice. Our players can take any class they want, major in any subject and will graduate in four years. We build the baseball schedule around the academic schedule. Also, we play most of our games on Saturdays and Sundays. At Beloit, our players need to be in the classroom. We play a strong schedule without disrupting our player’s academic endeavors.
7. Given the tough admissions standards, do you have any advice for a prospective baseball player looking to be recruited to a school like Beloit?
High school ball players should strive to do their absolute best academically. The better a student’s grades and test score, the more options he will have. Our admissions office looks specifically at each class an applicant has taken. Taking honors and AP courses is critical for students who want to attend a college like Beloit. I recommend high school baseball players challenge themselves academically throughout high school, even senior year when a lot of students are taking it easy.
8. Can you break down your fall practice schedule? What do you try to accomplish?
Basically, we practice three days a week for a month. We run controlled intra-squad scrimmages. Everything is based on time. Our scrimmages are situation based and we give our players equal repetitions. We want to build team chemistry and help our new players make the transition to Beloit College. This is a key time for us to evaluate our players. We want to see if our new players are ready to help us and see how our returning players have improved. We have a lot of fun. We play our annual Blue/White game near the end of the month. We have a cookout after the game for the players and their families. It’s an enjoyable event and we have tremendous parental support.
9. Do you have a strength and conditioning coach?
No, but we have a professionally conceived strength, speed and agility program. A few years ago we obtained a copy of the Milwaukee Brewers’ off-season program. It is an outstanding program and our players love it. It’s hard work, but the benefits are significant. As a team, we have improved our speed, explosiveness and core strength. Since employing this workout, we have won 70% of our games.
10. What part of the spring schedule do you look forward to the most?
I love it all. We spend 4-5 weeks indoors before heading to Florida or Arizona for our spring break. We have a terrific indoor facility and being inside gives us the opportunity to focus on fundamentals. Over the last three seasons, we have recorded the three highest marks for fielding percentage in the history of our league and our fielding percentage has been among the top 20 in the country. This season, we dramatically improved our outfield play and finished 3rd in the country in walks allowed per 9 innings. We set a foundation for this success indoors during February. Our annual spring trip is always a special experience. We stay in town houses and play nearly every day. It feels like we are in the big leagues. We schedule eight varsity and three JV games in a week’s time. Many of our players have family join us on the trip. The week is a celebration of how much we all love baseball. The northern portion of our schedule, especially the conference games are the most special. I love to compete and play in big games.
11. What do you think of the new BBCOR bats?
I think the change has been very good. The BBCOR bats drastically reduce the likelihood that a pitcher or infielder will be injured by a batted ball and balance has been restored to the game. Now, a team that throws strikes and plays defense will be successful. It is more difficult to score runs, but if you can execute on offense you will score enough to win.
12. Is there anything you would like to add about your assistant coaches, recruits, parents, or program that we have not asked you about?
I have a great coaching staff. Kerry Michaels has been with me for 17 years, Jeff Peterson 12 years, my Dad five years and Riley Gostisha just completed his first season with us. These guys know baseball, are good teachers and know how to treat our players. I am very lucky to have such a dedicated staff.
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