season wrap -up

[kc20]

Hello to all the FAU baseball fans out there. As your head coach for the past 20 years I'd like to thank you all for your loyal support. A message board such as this, lets us know that there are people out there who care deeply about the success and the efforts of your players and coaches.

OK...THE SUN BELT VS THE A_SUN...The differnce was what I expected; the middle teams down to the bottom were much better in the SBC. There was no comparison in the level of players on UALR, ASU, or FIU compared to Lipscomb, Georgia ST, Campbell, or the old Mercer teams. When a last place A-SUN team came to town you knew it was a LAST place team. It wasn't the same in the SBC. It was really evident when you saw the top eight teams at the conference tournament. The level of talent on those teams surpassed anything i had seen in A-SUN tournaments.
MICKEY STOREY...You all need to understand the privacy issues we face in the NCAA. To reveal the extent of an athlete's injury to the public is illegal. We aren't even supposed to call a parent in regard to the kid's injury. That said, Mickey is recovering from a UCL sprain. Now, doctors will also tell you that sprains are also slight tears, so call it what you will. This diagnosis by our team doctor was confirmed by two nationally recognized orthopedic sports surgeons. he was placed on a throwing program and we felt he would return for our last few conference series and the tournament. Mickey had a setback during the throwing program. Basically, another part odf the arm became sore as it perhaps compensated for the weakness in the ligament area during the throwing program. He was shut down and revisited two of the doctors. Mickey should be ready to pitch again by the end of June. He will go to Cape Cod either as a drafted player who will be evaluated and made an offer, or as an undrafted free agent. The second scenario is more to his benefit. Every team could then bid on his services and drive up his bonus. If Mickey doesn't get the number he seeks by August 14 he will return to school for his red shirt junior year. I really feel that is the better choice. A full year of injury free pitching answers all the questions and probably bumps him to a higher round. It also gets him to within a semaester or two of a degree. Mickey will someday make a great coach but he'll need his degree.

CHRIS SALBERG...Chris agreed to terms yesterday with the Orioles. He made a great decision last August to not sign and return to school. He now is an internship in ex sci away from his degree, he cleaned up his delivery, developed a good change up, and made himself more money in 10 months than a lot of college graduates.

ROBBIE WIDLANSKY...Woody could return for a fifth year, but I doubt it. His incredible season has him positioned to be selected in the top 10 rounds. there isn't a ton of money for him but that's not why he played. Woody wants a good round and a fair price.

DANNY COOK...Danny feels he's ready for pro ball but wants a fair round. If not he'll be back.

MIKE MCKENNA...Same as Cookie. Mike had an incredible year that was overshadowed by Woody. But we don't have a tougher kid or a harder worker. His size, defense , and the mechanics of his swing make him suspect in the eyes of scouts as a junior, but he'll be a good sign as a senior.

DANNY BOMBACK...Danny was a fourth year junior whose best chance to get signed is now. He had a bad reputation with scouts throughout HS and JUCO, but Coach Lopez's influence has had a positive effect. Danny has worked hard to present himself in a better light than to people. He's a tough, good kid. If he doesn't sign, Danny will be back to get his degree and someday make a good coach.

COONEY AND PHILLABAUM...Neither guy had the season they hoped for. Scouts love their size and what's in their arms, so I think they will both be drafted.

SILVERSMITH...Alex will get a medical redshirt for his broken hand and be here next year.

OBRADOVICH...Mike wants to sign, but teams see him as a "senior sign". I hope he's back. He's a tough kid who had a good year. Mike willingly accepted any role we gave him.

36-22...Obviously we fell short of our goal. Every team has injuries, but this program has seen three All-American, high draft players miss their junior years over the past two seasons. Mickey was 3-0 when he got hurt March 2. He would have had 12 more starts, including the conference tournament. How many games do you think he'd have won? Schmal missed six weeks. How many games might he have won?
Injuries are part of the game, but we didn't get anyone to step up and fill the void of those two guys.
That's the whole story. (no pun intended)

THE STADIUM...We have the worst facility of any SBC school we visited this season. Since 1999, every school in Florida, except two, have either redone their baseball facility, built a new one, or have the plan and money in hand. The two that have nothing are FAMU and FAU. During that same span, FAU has won more games than all Florida schools except two. Something seems wrong.

THE FUTURE...Other sections of this board are filled with cries of desperation for a football stadium. They say it's needed to build a program.
We've already built a national program, but it is in danger of backsliding. We try to avoid having top recruits visit because the facility has cost us some top level guys over the last few years. Two of them wound up laying in the College World Series for other schools.
Since 1999, I have been "a voice crying in the wilderness" about the need for a true college stadium. Eight years have passed since I sat down with President Catanese and showed him blow- ups of FIU, Stetson, and UCF. All we have to show since then are two port-a-johns for the teams to use during games.
Everyone says we need a baseball stadium, but it gets drowned out by the dreams of domes and innovative villages. It would seem easier to get $6-8 million for a baseball facility than the $40 million naming rights for football.
Maybe not.

THANKS...Again, I thank you all for your support of the program and of our staff and me. Those who read the Diamond Diary and comnment so favorably- I appreaciate your comments. Writing that has morphed into more than I intended or imagined. It's a habit I'd like to quit, but keep returning to. Sorry for the length of this, but i thought you deserved some insight.
KC

[fauowl09]

thank you, coach, for everything you have done for FAU, Boca Raton, and college athletics... you are truly an outstanding person, as your are a coach... your unselfish attitude in staying with FAU for 20+ years, when you could have EASILY taken the Matt Doherty-expressway to "bigger, better" places MANY MANY times, i am sure, but your loyalty to FAU speaks volumes about your character!

FAU baseball is on the map because of YOU and the players YOU recruit... we WILL be back in regionals next year, i have no doubt in my mind, but win or lose, i am an FAU Owl in good times and bad

GO OWLS!

[fauowl09]

p.s. IF that was really coach cooney, haha, i'm sure there are some people on this board that would love to pretend to be any of the coaches at our school to push the idea of new facilities, lol

but anyways, if you are coach cooney, i mean everything i said, haha

[kc20]

As stupid as it may be for a coach to be on a board...it is me. Thanks for your kind words;they mean a lot.
I just felt you guys deserved an inside look.

[Lm77]

fauowl09 said:

p.s. IF that was really coach cooney, haha, i'm sure there are some people on this board that would love to pretend to be any of the coaches at our school to push the idea of new facilities, lol

but anyways, if you are coach cooney, i mean everything i said, haha

Impersonation of FAU officials (or anyone else) is not tolerated and would be deleted. It's an honor to have Coach Cooney visit us.

[Exit39]

"Impersonation of FAU officials (or anyone else) is not tolerated and would be deleted. It's an honor to have Coach Cooney visit us. "

Like the time Sydney Green wrote a blurb? But we all knew it wasn't him because it was lunch time and he was at the "all you can eat" taco stand at Chartwell's.

[GoOwls]

PREFACE: OKay. I'll bite on this one for a couple reasons: 1) kc20 is listed as a "hatchling", and 2) It just "sounds" like KC.....

Welcome to the world of "crackpots"! :-)
I have been one of those who has been upset at the lack of info regarding injured players. I can appreciate the sensitive nature of one's status, but waiting with baited breath for every series to see if MS was back was frustrating. Seems like something could have been said to give us a clue.
It's too bad we didn't play Stetson this year. Heck, Block almost hit as many homeruns as their entire team (18-24). FAU showed themselves proud for the first year in the SunBelt. Unfortunately, your rundown on the prospective draftees will hurt us big time.
Stadium, Smadium. It ain't goin' to happen. The pigskin rules, cowhide drools. Why not focus some more attention (and alot less money) on fixing up what you're stuck with for the foreseeable future? There is alot that could be done to upgrade and improve the existing facility....starting with the SCOREBOARD!! Hosting the SunBelt tourney won't be in our future, but filling the stands will help validate the need for a new facility down the road. The baseball program and you do deserve better and I hope something breaks to make it happen, but you can't sit back waiting for that to happen while the place deteriorates around you.
Congrats to you, your staff and to the team for an outstanding season. Especially to Woody for all of his accomplishments. I hope the draft doesn't hit too hard. And tell Mac to find more pitchers!!
Thanks for posting.
Go Owls!

[emptynester]

New to board but have watched FAU baseball for a long time. Just wanted to thank Coach Cooney and team for many enjoyable days at the ballpark. Win or lose! We are not fair weather fans! Keep on with the Diamond Diary, Coach, it's a good read.
Speaking as an FAU alumnus from the dark ages, Coach is right on with the comments about the stadium. In my day we had no track, no basketball arena. We did have tennis courts, racquetball courts 1 swimming pool and a B baseball field. The current baseball field actually was an archery range in the area of the left field. Yes, we have made some progress but as an alumnus I would hope to some day see A-one facilities in all sports. I do know that through the years the baseball team especially has had some of the best teams in the history of the school. But, I attended some classes in the fieldhouse next to the baseball stadium over 40 years ago and we used the same restrooms in the fieldhouse that people use today that attend games!! And they certainly don't look like they've been updated! We have been to several away games, Stetson, Jacksonville, Georgie Tech, Miami, etc. and it's certainly embarrassing to know we can compete on the field but have facilities that aren't even close with a food concession that's an embarrassment.
Kudos to Coach Cooney, his staff and teams for all their success in spite of adversity. Hopefully someone will wake up and see our gem in the rough!
Here's to a better year next year and some strong pitching!!

[Bytor]

It is unusual for coaches to respond on message boards, but it has happen on several occasion on this board and if you have read any of KC works, the proof is in the pudding.

We have step-up in conference and must find a way to bring all of our facilities to the standards that will put us in similar or better facilities then our competitors, so that our athletes can be proud participants in the SBC representing the Owls.

The Baseball team do deserve a better stadium to call home.

Thank you KC, for taking the time for your always insigntful comments. Good Luck with recruitting and getting the team ready for 2008.


Bytor

[GhostOfBuchanan]

Thanks for everything, coach, and especially for that player-by-player analysis. That's the kind of thing I would love to read in the local media, but we really don't get enough inches in any of the three major papers down here to be able to see something as extensive as that.

Although I've really missed my annual trip to Coral Gables the past two years (OK, maybe not!), I have faith we can get back there next year if enough guys 'step up' as you say. Get Kenny Gray healthy, and he could be a solid starter, no problem.

As for the stadium, you've been around this school long enough coach to know how things are at 777 Glades Road. I would love to see a multipurpose indoor football/baseball facility on our campus at some point, but I think I might croak by then.

Keep up the good work, and you'll always have our backs....either on the berm or from behind a keyboard.

[fauowl]

Coach,

Thank you for the great job over the years. You really have helped FAU athletics be recognized nationally. You deserve a stadium, but I have to ask: what can you suggest to the administration to help get more attention for the baseball team? Even with your success, I think the fans average about 250 per game (that may be generous). The problem is not getting a stadium. The problem appears to be creating enough interest to justify a stadium. I have enjoyed many of your diary entries and would enjoy reading what it would take to help make the attendance increase and help justify the stadium. Again, based on performance, you already deserve a stadium, but what could you suggest to help justify a stadium based on attendance? ...and how many fans (in your opinion) would it take to justify it? Thank you.

[Florida_Owl]

i appreciate coach coming on here - coach, its RH from Sports Marketing (Newsome era)...one thing folks need to be aware of was a time of administration and management that FAU endured that wasnt the current "pro" athletics standpoint - as we have in our current president...furhtermore the department was operating on a shoestring budget at best...i remember when the baseball offices were in the old training room - one where we had to convince the Asst AD for Fianace that a training room needed an ice machine...fast forward a couple of years, and we were a TACC participant - again, with not much cake to play with, and basically incompetent administration...as a result, we have basically been playing catch up ball for quite some time, and now that we have stepped it up a notch in Conferences, it is very noticiable where the "weak" spots are...one of which is the now withered baseball stadium...it might have gotten by in the A-Sun, but it wont in the Belt - and especially if rising to the like of C-USA or God willing TBE...Coach makes a very valid point on recruiting...it is an achillies heel...not everyone is like Coach, and will stay with a program by sheer character and determination to build through the rough times, and constraints...todays young athletes are a prime example - they want bells and whistles...see the Nord thread for concurrent support from writers on this board...

i dont have any easy fix or even idea for a better stadium short term, other than to say the fastest way would probably be to entice major league interest in Spring Training AND drastically increase enrollment (thus driving student fee revenue higher), but i do want to thank Coach for his heart...i have not always been the biggest baseball fan, and as he knows, have been guilty myself of having other "favorites" - see his comments above regarding ther cries for other things to be built first...

but one thing is for sure, and i have to give him this, he is succesful at what he does...he is a winner, and he stands behind his program through thick and thin...the man deserves a place to call home after everything he has done for the university...they need to find a way to get it done for him...and they ought to do the right thing and place his name on it...

your a good man coach...thanks for helping me to learn some lessons along the way on character, etc...and although im not a part of the department, outside of being a loyal fan, any longer, i sincerely wish you all the best in this and everything else that you aspire for the program and our young men...

RH

[kc20]

Thank you all for the kind words posted in response to this thread.

I'd like to respond to your feelings about our facility, and at this point I'm not sure I want to do it in a diary. This forum is somewhat less public than our own website and the diary.

Rest assured that my desire for a better facility is based on one factor alone- RECRUITING.

Attendance is not the reason to justify a new facility- the success of FAU's program neccessitates it. There is no chance to attract top level players without a change. Many of the best players here the past six years were recruited in the belief the new facility was at hand. Now- it's just a tired, empty promise.

I received an e-mail from the UL-Lafayette catcher's mother earlier this year. She told me how her son (a Florida resident) hoped to go to a Florida school, but after visiting Lafayette and seeing the facility and the atmosphere, he was sold. Outside of Woody, he was the best player in the SBC.

What can be done to help attendance?

Well, as RH well knows, money and a budget would be a good place to start, but much more was done in the past despite the lack of either. Marketing did a much better job of getting the local Little Leagues and schools involved. Our players were sent to schools and organizations regularly. That has tailed off significantly in recent years.

Ideas thet I proposed to marketing the past few years have fallen on deaf ears. Think about the number of Life Long Learning members who park their cars in the adjacent parking lot, and sometimes even in the visitors bullpen. We are missing a huge chunk of the demographic indigineous to baseball- senior citizens. When we played at Rice this year, a great portion of the crowd, and nearly all the workers were from that generation. Why is there a disconnect between the 12,000 LLL members and the Athletic Dept? What about all the senior living centers in the Boca-Deerfield-Delray area? FAU should be living in those areas.

Many of our problems come down to money. In the past, money allocated for marketing mainly went to basketball. Baseball had to make do with creative thinking and hard work. But in 1999 and 2000 we averaged nearly 1000 people on Friday nights. Then there was a severe dropoff the following season. The marketing efforts had changed.

Now the majority of marketing dollars go to football, then to football, and then to basketball. Baseball and softball are left with schedule cards and posters, which are distributed near campus. How many posters have you seen near Loggers Run and other areas of West Boca where all the kids live?

The existing facility is dear to my heart and more than I ever expected or dreamed I could call home. But the fact is that our competition has left us in the dust.

This isn't a question of what a coach deserves;it's the reality of what is needed so FAU's program can maintain the level of excellence it has attained since 1999.

No one is standing around waiting for something to happen, but the problem is there is no money available to upgrade what is crumbling around us. This facility must be enhanced with Athletics' money, not the school's. When any improvement would cost six figures, it's hard to know where to start.

The scoreboard would be a logical choice, and i think it will be done for this year, but there is so much more needed.

The bathrooms, concession stand, and the entrance to the facility are disgraceful. I am embarassed each day I walk in for a game. You and the FAU community, and the current and former players deserve so much more.

I promise you I will push and fight to effect some change, but there is so much out of my control.

"There are none so blind as those who WILL not see."
KC

[GoOwls]

You hit the nail(s) on the head with all the key areas in the existing facility that need improvement:
("The bathrooms, concession stand, and the entrance to the facility are disgraceful. I am embarassed each day I walk in for a game. You and the FAU community, and the current and former players deserve so much more.")
Questions: Regarding the "Stadium Brochure" appeal on the website...Has there been any significant response to that? What is the projected cost of the proposed project? Based upon the dollars that have been brought in thus far, how much longer before sufficient funds are available to begin construction? Are there any funds available to do anything to improve the existing facility?
Players come and go, but I feel for you and the program as you suffer through this year after year and of course for the negative impact it has on the caliber of player you're able to appeal to. Granted, occassionally you'll get a "Woody" who wants to stay close to home, but it's hard to compete with top notch facilities.
Hopefully, you're pushing & fighting will have an impact, but I think it's going to take an organized, concerted effort to make it happen. Unfortunately FAU doesn't enjoy the history and therefore the "older" fan base of the Stetson's, FSU's & U of F's of the state.
Good Luck coach.
Go Owls!

[GhostOfBuchanan]

The one thing I don't understand about marketing is why it apparently costs so much money at FAU.

Do we not have a Sports Management program? Wouldn't kids in Sports Marketing classes be willing to help out the athletics program in return for grades? What better way to test out a marketing plan than to actually put it to use? How hard could it be to go to the local senior communities and/or schools and hand out a few free tickets? OK, so they'll get in free for the first game, but they'll spend money on concessions and hopefully return in the future.

I've seen NAIA and D-II schools with much smaller budgets produce better merchandise and marketing than we do, it's disgraceful. I hate that my school always seems to do things half-assed. No offense to anyone in the dept, but everything comes out AMATEURISH off the field, while most of our athletes do nothing but exude professionalism on the field.

Back in the day, when we were still a fledgling program, I could understand this, but Angelos needs to step up and hire some people who have a passion for the program and want to see us run with the big boys. At the moment, we look like a rookie league minor league organization, even just compared to our SBC competitors.

RH, you know how things were. Honestly, has anything emphatically improved marketing-wise?