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$4.00Vol. 60, No. 14 Friday, Oct. 6, 2017

Baseball’s Greatest Scientific Coach Jerry Weinstein has utilized every progressive idea, tool he has been able to find during an amazing career that has spanned 59 eventful years.

See BASEBALL’S TOP SCIENTIFIC COACH, Page 6

Crusaders average 173 stolen bases per season over last 3 years under dynamic father-son duo.

See FATHER-SON, Page 21

LEADS HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM — Ryan (left) and Terry (right) Terrill have coached Riverdale Baptist High School (Upper Marlboro, Md.) to remarkable heights. The Crusaders have won 20 or more games the past 32 years.

Riverdale Baptist Perfect Model For SuccessOver Past 41 Seasons, Crusaders Have Posted 1,103-262 Record

Jerry Weinstein has spent a lifetime studying concepts that help players excel.

By LOU PAVLOVICH, JR.Editor/Collegiate Baseball(Final Of A 2-Part Series)

HARTFORD, Conn. — Jerry Weinstein, who has coached baseball for 59 years, has been voted Baseball’s Greatest Scientific Coach by a select panel of coaches.

Currently the Head Coach of the Hartford Yard Goats, the AA Eastern League affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, he is in his 11th season with the Rockies’ organization.

Weinstein is an American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame skipper who previously coached at Sacramento City College (Calif.) with the second most wins in California Community College baseball history (831-208-12 record over 23 seasons).

He also was an assistant coach on the U.S. Olympic baseball teams in 1992 and 1996.

Collegiate Baseball asked over 50 coaches in the sports of baseball, football and basketball to recommend a coach who combines science and teaching better than anybody else.

The coach with the most votes was Loyola Marymount basketball Head Coach Mike Dunlap who has used numerous science-based techniques and devices in his amazing career,

By LOU PAVLOVICH, JR.Editor/Collegiate Baseball

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — One of the top high school baseball programs

in the nation for decades has been Riverdale Baptist located in Upper Marlboro, Md.

The Crusaders have won 20 or more games the past 32 years and posted 30 wins on 20 occasions since 1986.

Last season, the team rolled to a 30-1 record and finished fourth in Collegiate Baseball’s national high school poll.

A dynamic coach named Terry Terrill was the skipper for 38 years until his son Ryan took over in 2015.

Terry’s record as a head coach was a remarkable 1,008-251 while

Ryan is 95-11 in three seasons.This father and son duo has

coached together for the past 12 seasons.

Riverdale Baptist has had 22 players drafted while hundreds have gone on to play in college.

The centerpiece of this program is one of the nation’s most electric running games year in and year out.

Over the past three seasons, the Crusaders have stolen 153 bases in 2017, 186 in 2016 and 180 in 2015 for a total of 519 over the past three seasons.

Riverdale Baptist has stolen an

average of 173 bases during that span with just under five stolen bases per game.

Keep in mind they only play an average of 35 games a season which make these numbers even more astounding.

Terry said his system for many years has involved being aggressive on the base paths to put intense pressure on opponents.

“We work hard on reading pitchers and getting good jumps. A batter who hits a single is always looking to take the extra base at second with any type of bobble. If a runner is on second, we work on reading balls in the dirt as he takes off toward third. We are ultra aggressive and take advantage of anything we can to advance runners.”

Once a week, baseball players work with Speed Training Coach Bernard Williams.

He is a former USA Olympic Gold Medalist as part of the 4 x 100 relay team during the 2004 Athens Summer Olympic Games.

Friday, Oct. 6, 2017 Page 21 Collegiate Baseball

HigH ScHoolFather-Son Duo Lead Riverdale BaptistContinued From Page 1

Ryan said that Williams is a high energy guy who measures everything involved in running

“Before he starts with everyone, he will time them in a 60 or home to first. Then every two weeks based on the work they are putting in, we time them to see if their numbers improve or drop. Bernard is now 35 years old, and he is still the fastest guy on the field. He gets in there and trains with them and challenges them to foot races.

“It allows the kids to hear a new voice, and they respond very well to him. With some of these guys, dropping 1/10th of a second is the difference between getting a college offer or not.”

Terry said that Ryan was a great base stealer during his playing career.

“He adds a lot to the mix. He wasn’t the fastest player out there. But he knew how to maximize his leads and get great jumps at proper times and also be aggressive as he took the extra base.

“Having players be quick and have a high base running IQ is important in our program. They are presented with a lot of information that will help them maximize their talents, and we also work hard at it to improve.”

Ryan said that with nine players in the lineup, at least 6-7 ball players each year will be a 6.9 runner or better.

During the 2017 season, six players had 14 or more stolen bases while in 2016, seven players swiped 10 or more and in 2015, seven runners had 11 or more.

“High end athletes come to Riverdale Baptist realizing how we play the game of baseball. They want to be part of our program. Our practices give us a tremendous amount of flexibility in teaching instincts.

“We don’t have any practice restrictions since we are a private school. So we start in November. What we like to do is have high energy practices for only 1 1/2 hours.

“Our guys get dirty when we do base stealing practice. We give them a chance to train their instincts. During practice, we typically have a live pitcher throwing on the mound and a catcher. Our runners will succeed and fail and learn what works for them and what doesn’t.

“There are some technical sides to all of this as well that we work on. It might be the size of their lead or times from the pitcher to catcher and catcher’s throw to second.

“What we found is that you don’t necessarily need a hit to score a run. For instance, you can have a batter walk. He steals second. Then a fly ball is hit to the outfield as the runner moves to third. Then a sacrifice fly scores him.

“By having this aggressive base stealing system in place, we score a lot of runs.

“We put a ton of pressure on opposing pitchers because they have to pay attention to our runners and worry about holding them on. They can’t spin as many curves or throw off-speed pitches as they typically do because we will take advantage of that.

“Opposing pitchers tend to lose a little bit of focus on the hitter and feed them a few more fastballs

“

”

Speed has been integral to our program to say the least because you don’t have to string together two, three or four hits to score a couple of runs. You just have to be able to go first to third and second to home efficiently or first to home with a ball in the gap. When you add that stolen base threat, it adds a tremendous amount of versatility on offense. — Ryan Terrill, Head Coach Riverdale Baptist High School

which is advantageous for some of our higher level hitters.”Fast Paced Practices

Ryan said that everything Riverdale Baptist does is fast whether it is taking the field, cleaning up the field or playing the game.

“Our players know the importance of playing at a fast pace.

“When you have guys who can run, the shortstop will bobble a ground ball, and our runner will be safe at first because of one bobble. The reason is that our guys can run a solid home to first time.

“Speed has been integral to our program to say the least because you don’t have to string together two, three or four hits to score a couple of runs. You just have to be able to go first to third and second to home efficiently or first to home with a ball in the gap. When you

See RIVERDALE, Page 22

Page 22 Friday, Oct. 6, 2017Collegiate Baseball

Full Name Of Player:

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Explain Your Choice (This information needed for all players nominated):

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TUCSON, Ariz. — Here’s your opportunity to nominate the best high school players in the country, possibly one of your star prospects.

The nominated players will appear in a national, state-by-state rundown of the country’s blue-chip prospects for the 2018 season.

The list will be compiled in early December, and the national rundown will be pub-lished exclusively in the special high school issue of Collegiate Baseball dated Jan. 26, 2018.

Players nominated also will be considered for the annual Collegiate Baseball pre-season All-American high school team for 2018.

Players listed will receive national exposure and will be closely followed by college recruiters and pro scouts.

Fill out the form and mail it to the address listed at the bottom of the coupon before Dec. 8, 2017. Players who will participate on a U.S. high school team during the 2018 season are eligible.

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add that stolen base threat, it adds a tremendous amount of versatility on offense.”

Over the past three seasons, Riverdale Baptist has averaged nearly nine runs a game with this aggressive offensive approach.

“Our leader last year in stolen bases was Jose Rivera with 35 stolen bases in 36 attempts. He wasn’t the fastest guy on the team. But he had a tremendous ability to understand counts when off-speed pitches were coming.

“Players on our team work extremely hard on all facets of base stealing, including the delayed steal. Opposing teams focus on stopping our running game. From time to time, using the delayed steal really causes trouble for them.

“Then when one of our guys gets to second, the pitcher may be a little more relaxed. That’s when

Riverdale Baptist Averages Nearly 9 Runs A Game

TERRY TERRILL

Continued From Page 21

the runner gets a bigger lead and steals third.”

Ryan said the most amount of stolen bases in school history took place during the 2012 season when Matt McPherson stole 71 bases. In 11 games, he swiped three or more.

“He was a fourth round pick of the Diamondbacks, and he broke my record that was set in 2001 with 50.

“Matt was simply another level of runner who mixed great speed and instincts with knowledge. He not only stole second and third quite a bit but home 3-4 times as well that season.”

Ryan said during the fall, all of his players are given the green light when it comes to stealing bases so they learn what they can and can’t do.

“When we get to the spring, the coaches know who can be given the green light. But in any given year, probably half the lineup will be green lighted.”

Careful With CriticismSo often programs that don’t

have aggressive offensive attacks are the result of a coach continually yelling at his players for mistakes that are made. Players tend to shut down and stop being aggressive because they don’t want to be yelled at if they are thrown out.

“That’s really true,” said Ryan.“One of my dad’s favorite quotes

is that you can’t steal second with your foot on first. Our base running is a mind set, and we encourage them especially when they experience failure. We let them know early and often that they will get thrown out in the fall. We are OK with that.

“We want them to learn from those failures but still maintain that aggressive mind set. They can’t be afraid to fail. They simply need to make adjustments. Understanding why they got thrown out is important to becoming a smart runner. Maybe the runner took off when the pitcher was using a slide step.

“Maybe the pitcher needed to lift his leg a little more for him to be safe. Or maybe the runner didn’t get the right jump. If that happens, you shut it down.

“Runners might not have gone on a potential off-speed count which would have allowed them to have success. There are many areas to dissect when failure happens.

“We chart everything with the running game and understand that failure is part of this game. As coaches, we try not to embarass our players because the game beats you up enough. But we can certain give suggestions for improvement.

“Another key to all of this is allowing the players to train themselves so they learn what they can and can’t do. Having them go through as much game experience as possible helps train their instincts.

“Having fast paced practices is vital in this mix, and it is extremely game like. You might have the catchers chirping at the base runners with friendly smack. They are trying to throw them out. Base runners are trying to an get extra step. It builds a culture of instinct and builds a belief in a runner that he knows precisely when he can steal a bag or not go and let someone behind him get a base hit.”

Ryan said Riverdale Baptist typically spends the first 10-15 minutes of its 1 1/2 hour practices on a specific aspect of base running.

“It might be stealing second for a day or two. Then we might jump to scoring from second on a base hit with two outs and getting that crisp read off the bat. With a runner on third, he is focused on balls in the dirt. We work on stealing third with runners on second, double steals, delayed steals, you name it.

“By the time we start working on other aspects of the game, just about all of our guys are covered in dirt. They are very comfortable getting dirty.”Crossover Or Jab Step?

Ryan said all of his players are tested on the most efficient jump they can get.

“We have a system in place where the crossover step is taught. But we also teach the jab step. About 50 percent of the players crossover while the other half use the jab step.

“Kids must be comfortable in what they use. Then they refine that technique. We continually time them from their steal lead to second. Then we show them where they are at with a stop watch. Being 1/10th of a second faster with one technique or the other will allow a

player to be more successful.”Certain Riversdale Baptist

players will also steal home if the right opportunity arises.

“Our runners from third will only typically go on a lefthanded pitcher who is taking a long time to throw pitches.

“We also have a first and third play with a lefthander in the stretch where we will break early from first and the back side runner will take off for home with the proper read.”Skilled Bunters

Ryan said another part of their offensive system is having a precision bunting attack.

“My dad has worked his entire career to refine his offensive system and has borrowed from some great coaches out there over the years in college and high school baseball.

“We chart bunting daily, and if a player doesn’t have a positive bunting result, he don’t get to take swings in our intersquad games.

“If a kid has five bunts on the day, he must get three down successfully where the ball needs to be.

“The chart is posted in the dugout so players know exactly where they are at.

“We also have what we call the Bunt Championship Series. It forces the players to buy in when you hold them accountable.”Live Scrimmages

Ryan said one of the most important learning experiences takes place the last half hour of practices where a coach pitch scrimmage takes place.

“It’s live. The scoreboard is on with one team in blue and the other in gold.

“We might have a situational man on first with no outs. One team gets a point on the scoreboard if they get a hit, and the runner goes from first to third. During these scrimmages, runners are allowed to steal.

“Every day is a different scenario. That is where our base runners have made some of the biggest strides in terms of reading balls off bats and being able to go from second to home with one out or not getting doubled up on line drives.”Life’s Work

Terry became the head coach at Riverdale Baptist in 1976 as a 22-year-old right out of college and has been there for the past 42 years.

“I wanted to work with kids and coach. I wasn’t sure it was going to happen then. But they hired me to be the baseball coach. I was fortunate to play college baseball for Chuck Hartman at Highpoint way back in the 1970s.”

Terry said that Riverdale Baptist includes grades from kindergarten to 12th grade.

“I got to bring Ryan and his brother to school every day from the time they were in kindergarten all the way up. Fortunately, they enjoyed the game. They hung around the team and many times went on trips with us when we went to Florida, Puerto Rico and other spots.

“Both were pretty good athletes in their own right. When they became old enough to try out for the baseball team at Riverdale Baptist, they had to earn a spot on the team. I wasn’t going to just give them a position.

“Ryan was a lot like me in his playing career. He is a lefty and was a bunt, base hit and gap hitter. He could run down balls in the outfield and played a little first base and pitched.

See DAD IDEAL, Page 23

Friday, Oct. 6, 2017 Page 23 Collegiate Baseball

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“Then Ryan went on to play at Liberty University for a few years and did well. He came back and coached with me for 5-6 years.

“At one point, he got me aside and asked how long I was going to continue coaching.

“I could tell he was itching to get out there and be a head coach. It made me realize I had my time as a coach, and he was a perfect fit to replace me.

“He had been involved with the program for so many years going back to the days when he simply just hung out with the team as a little kid.

“He had enormous pride and love for what Riverdale Baptist baseball stood for.

“He related to the kids on another level and had that youthful energy. So the change was made with Ryan becoming the head coach three seasons ago.

“He has done a marvelous job with the program. And I am thrilled he asked me to still be a part of the program as the associate head

Dad Ideal Mentor For Ryan TerrillContinued From Page 22 coach.

“It was a smooth handoff, and he has won 30-plus games his first three years as the head coach which isn’t too shabby.”Dad Ideal Mentor

Ryan said that the ideal mentor for him was his dad Terry when it came to coaching.

“Fortunately, I didn’t have to look too far.

“I had grown up watching him coach and saw what a great impact he had on the lives of his players.

“His system was something I wanted to use when I got into coaching.

“So when I took over as the head coach at Riverdale Baptist three years ago, everything remained the same as far as the philosophy, system and culture.

“It was all in place. Why change any of it?

“Plus, I was able to convince my dad to still be a part of the program but in a slightly different role.

“Dad has done a tremendous job here and continues to do so.

“He has a place in Florida where he can go any time he wants.

“But he still has so much to give our kids that it has been a treat having him continue to coach.”

Riverdale Baptist features five coaches on the varsity.

Another key member of the team is Strength and Conditioning Coach Reggie Bailey.

He has been instrumental as he focuses on plyometric/strength training and quick twitch development which has paid big dividends over the years.

Ryan said the varsity, junior varsity and freshmen teams share one baseball field.

“We don’t have a lot of players on any of the three teams.

“We try to keep it anywhere from 15-17 per roster.

“We also have an indoor hitting facility behind our field.

“The football team has an artificial turf field that is open to use as well which is great for any kind of infield practice, base running or sliding practice we do.”

Riverdale Baptist has been one of the elite high school programs in the USA because of this amazing father and son duo.

Archbishop McCarthy Fined Nearly $16,000

H.S. Notes

SOUTHWEST RANCHES, Fla. — Archbishop McCarthy H.S. (Southwest Ranches, FL) was fined nearly $16,000, must forfeit all of its regular-season wins (22 games) and will be placed on probation after a Florida H.S. Athletic Association investigation found the school’s state champion baseball team fielded ineligible players in the 2017 spring season.

In the wake of this situation, the school’s administration and the Archdiocese of Miami decided not to renew the contracts of the coaching

staff, including Head Coach Rich Bielski. Alex Fernandez, who served as the baseball program’s director of operations, has resigned. He was a volunteer.

The Mavericks, who ranked second in the final Collegiate Baseball National H.S. poll and won seven recent Florida Class 6A titles, will be allowed to retain its 2017 baseball title since the ineligible players did not participate in any postseason games, according to the Sun Sentinel newspaper.

T h e F H S A A s t a r t e d i t s investigation in February after an anonymous tip, according to the Sentinel. However, in a statement to the press in August, Fernandez stated that the investigation was requested by the school’s Athletics Director Tony Massaro.

The Association found that three players received impermissible benefits, including housing and tuition assistance.

In one of the articles printed by the Sentinel, the benefits were provided by a parent of one of the team’s players who also is a local travel team coach.

He claimed in the article that he was trying to help a kid who was from a troubled home situation and assist a parent who didn’t have a credit card.

Another person, who was listed as associated with the school’s athletic interests, paid a player’s tuition. The player’s father apparently asked to borrow the money from that person, according to the newspaper.

The impermissible assistance was not related to nor approved by the coaches.

According to Fernandez, “The rule violations were due to a lack of control by school administration specifically by Athletic Director Tony Massaro. As per the FHSAA report that was sent to us, this was a school administration issue and did not involve the coaching staff in any way.

“None of the members of our coaching staff nor myself were mentioned or listed in the FHSAA report and none of us were aware of potential impermissible benefits issues,” Fernandez said.

According to the Sentinel, McCarthy will pay $5,000 in fines on each player ($2,500 for playing an ineligible player and $2,500 for impermissible benefits). Additionally, they must reimburse the FHSAA $947 for the use of its investigator.

The school will be on probation until June 20, 2018, and all three players have been ruled ineligible until January 25, 2018.

Fernandez said he was informed of the coaching staff being let go on July 27 by the school’s Principal Richard Jean.

H e d e c i d e d t o e n d h i s volunteering at the school “due to the lack of support from the Archdiocese of Miami and the

AMHS administration, specifically Jean and Massaro.

“This is a very unfortunate ending to a great era for Archbishop McCarthy and the Archdiocese after having led the baseball program to unprecedented heights on and off the field with our athletes, alumni, volunteers and coaches,” Fernandez said.

“We are proud of the impact we have made on a vast group of young men and their families.”National H.S. Record Set

During the 2017 high school season, Jordon Spurlock of Inola (OK) H.S. broke the national hit by pitch and tied the national record for number of times hit by a pitch in a game.

He was plunked 31 times during the season and on the April 10th game against Tulas’s Will Rogers H.S., he was hit by a pitch four times.

The previous record for most times hit by a pitch in a season was 29 by Nick LaCross (Michigan) and Kenny Redding (Oklahoma).