Baseball Factory is privileged to work with programs from every level of college baseball. We strive to educate and guide our players when it comes to choosing the right school. The more information a player knows about a school, coach and program, the better. Recently, Woody Wingfield went one-on-one with Mike Kelly the Head Coach at Monroe Community College. Find out what Coach Kelly has to say about his facilities, importance of video and what he looks for in a recuit.

1.    How long have you been coaching? How long at Monroe Community College?
My coaching career started at MCC in the Fall of 1999, I became the head coach in the Fall of 2007.  I have also coached 3 years in the NYCBL, a summer wood bat league for college players around the country.  I was the Head Coach of the Genesee Valley Riverbats, the Rochester Royals and the Webster Yankees.

2.    What made you decide to coach at Monroe after starting your collegiate career here?
Monroe is where I learned how to play and Coach.  It has always been very special to me, without my experiences at Monroe; I would not be where I’m at today.  Deciding to begin Coaching at Monroe was a very easy decision for me when I was given the opportunity.   

3.    What was your experience like starting at the junior college level before moving onto a 4-year school?
Starting at the JUCO level allowed me to grow athletically and academically.  Playing for Monroe allowed me to compete right away and gain valuable experience.  Junior Colleges allow athletes to step right into a program and begin playing immediately; it allows athletes to grow and market themselves at the same time to schools who might have overlooked them in High School.  

4.    What is the first thing about your school and program that you want recruits to know about?
First thing I would like recruits to know about our program is that we win.  But we win the right way, academics is extremely important in our program.  Over the years we have sent numerous players on to DI and DII schools with scholarships.  Our goal as a program is to be the stepping stone to our players 4 year degree, and to continue their college baseball experience.

5.    What do you look for in a prospective recruit on the field? Off the field?
On the field we look for “baseball players”, kids who understand the game and play it right, always working hard and will put TEAM first.  The best baseball players are not necessarily the biggest, fastest and strongest, all that helps but not always the best way to judge talent.
Off the field we look for well rounded good students, and give back to the community.  All players that look to compete at the college level should realize that every coach will do a background check on them.  Make sure your voicemail and all your social media websites are clean.  

6.    How has video helped you in the recruiting process?
Video has helped immensely, with the amount of games, practices and travel, the use of video is vital.  More and more JUCO’s now are recruiting more regionally and even nationally, and with budgets the way they are now, video allows coaches to see kids who they might not ever get out to see.

Need Video? Get filmed at a Baseball Factory Premium Video Program and get started on your recruiting process.

7.    Monroe CC has quite a history of success, including a few World Series appearances under your leadership. How does your team stay competitive from year-to-year?
I think we do a great job of developing players.  Players who come to Monroe always leave better.  My Coaching staff and I really focus on the basics and fundamentals of the game.   Many time players come here and baseball has always been taught to them to be difficult, too much thinking.  We try to make the game as simple as we can.   Make all the routine plays and a few great ones, and you’ll have a good ball club.  At the plate, understand what the situation is before you step in the box and have a plan.  Timely hits and good situational hitting is what we look for.  

8.    Can you break down your fall practice schedule? What are you all trying to accomplish?
Our fall is very important to us, it is when we can really see what are players are capable of doing and what their not capable of doing.  The coaching staff and I like to see our players in pressure situations so we understand what we have to work on as we move forward.  The fall is also a time of trying different things and experimenting, players will be asked to play different positions, maybe a strong armed OF is asked to pitch, a SS is asked to play CF, those types of things.  They don’t always work, but it is what are fall is for, putting or athletes outside of their comfort zone.

We are trying to see exactly what we have to do to be a better team in the Spring.  When we beginning practice in January, the players understand what their role is as the season begins.  All this happens in the fall.

9.    Do you have a strength and conditioning coach?
We do not have a strength and condition coach at the college, but our baseball team works out with a strength coach 2 times a week, we do various workouts from general weight training and conditioning to Cossfit and Yoga.  I like to keep conditioning and strength training different and interesting.

10.    What can you tell us about your facilities?
Our facilities at Monroe are fantastic; we are in the process of securing funding to upgrade our existing field.  We have a varsity weight room with all Hammer Strength equipment, 6 cages,  12 treadmills, elliptical machines, dumbbells and a brand new cable machine.  We also have a indoor field house.  The PAC center (our field house) was built with baseball in mind, it is fully turfed and is large enough for a full infield and 2 outfielders to play their natural positions.  The PAC center is enclosed so games can be played live.  There is also two drop down cages from the ceiling for hitters to use when we are not hitting in live situations.

The PAC center allows us to practice in outdoor situations; it keeps us up to speed with the southern schools that can get outside in January.  Inside the PAC it is always 75 and sunny.
The PAC center also features a baseball locker room coaches offices and out training room, equipped with a hot and cold tub, a Powerplate, stim and Ultrasound machines, and many other state of the art machines.

11.    What part of the 2012 spring schedule are you looking forward to the most?
I always look forward to our annual spring trip.  We will be in Arizona this year for March 8th – 18th.  It is a good test for us as we play some of the best teams in Arizona and the country.  It really lets us figure out where we need to improve and how good of a team we are.  

12.    Is there anything you would like to add about your assistant coaches, recruits, parents, or program that we have not asked you about?
Both of my assistants are head coaches in the NYCBL, Dave Brust has been the Head Coach of the Webster Yankees for 5 years now, he was named manager of the year in 2011,  he was a player in the Atlanta Braves organization and is one of the best hitting instructors in the country.

Tony Fuller is the Head Coach of the Hornell Dodgers of the NYCBL as well.  This will be his second year in Hornell.  The fact that both of my assistants are head coaches in these elite collegiate summer leagues goes to show you how much knowledge of the game my staff has. 

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