Head Baseball Coach at Lake-Sumter State College & The Leesburg Lightning of the FL League/Founder of Billings Baseball Academy/ETSU Alum…Proverbs 16:3
For many college ball players this week begins a huge test of self discipline. Remember, you can’t be upset over the results you didn’t get on the 1st day of spring practice from the work you didn’t do over Christmas break!
The days of being disappointed or offended by a walk on opportunity are over ladies & gentlemen. College baseball is getting ready to get really crazy & those roster spots are going to be gold. Take what you can get & go earn the rest!
If you ever get a chance to hire your dad, do it! There is nobody that wants to help you succeed more than the person that taught you how to succeed! He doesn’t want the credit or the spotlight. He just wants to teach baseball & love the players! Does it get any better than that?
I think one of the most commonly misunderstood phrases today is “hard work”. Doing what’s on the practice schedule is simply meeting expectations. Hard work is the extra work you put in after the work you’ve put in after you’ve practiced! That’s what separates average from elite!
When a kid declines your offer because you've already signed a kid that plays their position...but they someday wanna play pro ball! Good luck.
#EarnYourSpot
Thank you to everyone who made today really special. I’m very humbled & so grateful to my current & former players & assistant coaches for their commitment to LSSC Baseball! You will never understand how much you mean to me & my family.
#WingsUp
In 2002 we were on the way to Palatka and our head coach put a cooler full of subs in the back of the van. 1 of the guys opened the cooler and said, “Awe man subs again?!!!” Our coach pulled over, grabbed the cooler, threw it into the Ocala forest & drove off never saying 1 word!
You don’t get treated like a superhero for simply meeting expectations! I’m all for encouragement but punctuality is expected! Being respectful in a public setting is expected! Working to earn your spot is expected! The reward is the opportunity to come back tomorrow & repeat!
Such an exciting day! I’m on at 1:30PM talking outfield play. If you’re registered for the 2021
@ABCA1945
clinic please jump on & check it out! Would love to talk some baseball with some of the greatest coaches on the planet!
#ABCA2021
#Humbled
Thank you to the
@floridaleague
for another great season and a huge thank you to the
@FCSL_Lightning
and all of the players, volunteers, and fans that made this summer so special!
#BoltsUp
⚡️
⭐️ MAKING HISTORY ⭐️
Sophomore LHP Nathan Quinn throws a complete-game no-hitter to open up the 2024 season
Quinn’s achievement is presumed to be the first no-hitter in Lakehawk Baseball history 🤘
#WingsUp
3 Ways To Be Average
1. Do extra (if & when you feel like it)
2. Be a great teammate (if & when it’s convenient for you)
3. Don’t quit (unless it’s the coach’s fault)
Do these 3 things & you can be just like everyone else that could’ve been really good.
So proud of the way the Lakehawks battled this season. They were tough as nails down the stretch. Big congrats to
@GoCFBaseball
on earning their spot in Lakeland. Really talented team of competitors and even better kids! Well deserved.
Love having this guy on my coaching staff! We’re a month from spring practice & he’s pumped 4 early INF work! He’s so passionate about learning & teaching! He just wants to see our kids succeed & he’s made us better! Proud to call you coach but even more proud to call you dad!
So great to be back on the field! Walk off win for the
#Lakehawks
on opening day in the bottom of the 11th on a bases loaded walk. 2021 is off to a crazy start!
#WingsUp
I owe so much to
@FAUCoachMac
! He welcomed me to his coaching staff when nobody else wanted me. He’s one of the very best people in the business & I’m forever grateful for his impact on his coaches & players. Congrats Mac! 🦉👌🏻
I’m so proud of this team! They finished the semester with a 3.06 team GPA! They came to work every single day. When we were out the playoff hunt they were still hard to beat! Their grittiness never wavered on the field or in the classroom!
#YouCantHaveMyCornbread
#WingsUp
Joan Joyce may be the single most successful coach I’ve ever met, yet she still always made time for our family every chance we got to see her. Tough day to be an Owl. Rest easy coach. You are truly a legend.
I know I have players both current & former that often feel like I don’t always “let the kids play” as much as I should but it’s situations like these that I’m trying to keep them out of for their own good. I hope they understand one day. I can’t imagine that this felt fun after.
Congrats to c/o 2023 Lakehawk
@JacobDorn10
on his commitment to the Miami Hurricanes! Came back from Tommy John surgery to become an ACC arm! Such a great story of perseverance!
#WingsUp
On September 27th, 2014, Derek Jeter ran a 4.17 to 1st to beat this infield single. He was about a 4.3 on average.
They were down 9 (3rd inning)…already eliminated from the post season. His hits records were already set in stone.
There really is no excuse to not play hard.
Awesome job by one of our own in the FL JUCO ranks Rick Hitt, head coach at South FL State College, here at the
@ABCA1945
convention in Indy!
#ABCA2018
#TandemMaster
Congrats to Lakehawk So. INF
@ryan26monaghan
on his commitment to
@rollinscollege
! He’s been a special player for us the last two years and we are excited to see what he accomplishes at the next level!
#WingsUp
It always makes me extremely proud to see former players continuing to stand at attention during the National Anthem! Nice job
@tanner8clark
! Thank you to my college coach
@TSkole7
for teaching us the value of this!
#WingsUp
LSSC
#uncommitted
So OF
@kendalspencer13
is looking for a 4-year opportunity for next fall! Tremendous athlete. Even better human being!
📊6.7 Runner/.291 AVG in 148 AB’s as a freshman/10 stolen bases/2 HR’s this fall
Whoever signs him is getting a player!
#WingsUp
Great day for the
#Lakehawks
at the FL Juco All Star Game at Tigertown! Congrats to these guy on representing our program extremely well! 14 runs scored for the Sun Lakes Conference and our 5 hitters drove in 8 of them! We also had an 8-pitch inning from
@anthony_4218
!
#WingsUp
Last weekend twins Elvin (LSSC, Leesburg, FL) & Elmer Figueroa (Black Hawk Coll., Monile, IL) who play @ JUCOs 1200 miles apart hit HR’s on the same day in the same town in separate games. Elvin @ LSSC & Elmer @ Pat Thomas Stadium 10 mins away. How can u not be romantic about ⚾️!
A bunch of
#Lakehawks
crossing paths today at Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX! One of the coolest pics I’ve ever gotten from former players. Caden Kresak, Jake Janata, Seth Wysocki, Evan Loeser, Matthew Taubensee, & Tim Kudlinski living life on the big stage!
#WingsUp
Congrats to our former
@LSSCedu
baseball student athletic trainer, Lance Corporal, Terrence Demps! He has been named Marine of the Quarter, which goes to a Marine who stands out amongst his peers. We are so proud of you T!
#WingsUp
In today’s rendition of
#ManlyMonday
we explored men’s professional dress…the do’s & don’ts of matching ties to dress shirts and how to successfully execute the Half-Windsor! They crushed it!
#WingsUp
Shoutout to all of the other
#JucoBandits
out there getting after some early morning field work today! Learn to rake before you learn to rake ⚾️!
#WingsUp
Great turnout for the Lake-Sumter Laker/Lakehawk alumni game this afternoon. Thank you to all of our former players for showing up! Always great to see our
@LSSCedu
alumni!
#WingsUp
Yesterday we had our first
#ManlyMonday
of the fall semester! Thanks to Nick Bleakley from City Tire in Leesburg for coming out and sharing some car care tips and teaching our guys how to change a tire!
#WingsUp
#Uncommitted
LHH 3B/RHP Nate Tinder from
@LSSCedu
in search of a 4-year school!
@BUncommitted
📚3.6 GPA (Business Major)
📊.300 BA in 2022 in 100 at bats (6.6-6.7 60)
📊on the mound- FB 90-93, CB 78-79, CH 81-83
Congrats to
@nathan_tinder
on his commitment to
@rollinscollege
! He’s the 2nd Lakehawk in as many days to commit to the Tars! Nate has been a huge contributor in the middle of the lineup and on the mound over the last two years at LSSC!
#WingsUp
Congrats to Lakehawk OF
@Timkudlinski1
on his commitment to
@Flagler_BSB
! Tim is everything a teammate should be & one of the best I’ve ever coached! Super proud of this one!
#WingsUp
LSSC baseball finished the school year with a 3.02 team GPA! Really proud of these guys for their accomplishments in the classroom. We were in uncharted waters this year with everything going online and to their credit, they crushed it! Nice job men!
#WingsUp
#ManlyMonday
is back! Today we had Lake County School Board member, Tyler Brandeburg, come & talk about the importance of stepping up in your community & becoming a registered voter. Tyler has also served on the Lake Co. Water Authority & is very active in our community!
#WingsUp
Congrats to Lakehawk outfielder
@chrisfergueson
on his commitment to
@WarnerU
! He has put in so much work both off the field and on it to earn this opportunity! We’re all proud of you Feeg!
#WingsUp
What an honor it was to see our team statistician for the last 21 years, Jack “Stats” Meier, inducted into the
@LSSCedu
Athletics Hall of Fame this evening! He saw my 1st college hit as a player as well as my 1st win as a head coach! I’m so proud to call you a friend!
This young man has been a fantastic ambassador for our program the last 2 years & I’m so proud of all he has accomplished! He does everything with pride & class & I’m proud to call him a Lakehawk! Congrats
@kendalspencer13
!
@savannahstate
is getting one of our very best!
#WingsUp
Really proud of the development of these sophomore arms! Their work ethic continues to be unmatched and they are getting great results! Hats off to our pitching coach
@Rwelsh23
who does an amazing job with our entire pitching staff day in & day out!
#WingsUp
The reigning Player of the Week in Region 8 D2 baseball,
@ryan26monaghan
stays hot with 2 more hits today (single & an RBI triple)! That’s another 7 hits on the week for him including a 2 homer game earlier in the week! Whoever pulls the trigger is getting a winner!
#WingsUp
These kids have poured their hearts and souls into this baseball program and I could not be more proud of them! They take so much pride in being Lakehawks and it has changed the culture of our program!
#WingsUp
New Week, New Ranking 🤘
Lake-Sumter Baseball comes in at No. 18 in the Week Five national rankings after a pair of conference wins over the weekend
Full rankings:
Eustis Little League are you ready to see your fixer upper? Guys are getting after it tonight helping out at Eustis LL to get the fields ready for fall tryouts!
Players...if you dont have enough energy and toughness to sprint to 1B and take a hard turn...you will certainly find this game very hard to play in college and beyond
We had an awesome
#ManlyMonday
today with one of our collegiate umpires, Casey Sanchez! He spoke to our guys about some of the do’s & don’ts of building relationships w/ umpires. Casey has ump’d from the HS level to D1 & he is a player favorite here in Central FL!
#WingsUp
Congrats to Lakehawk lefty
@Scragg1Josh
on his commitment to
@FAMU_Baseball
! We are so excited to see him earn the opportunity to continue his career!
#WingsUp
Congrats to Lakehawk subby
@Evan_Loeser11
on his commitment to
@Crusader_Sports
! It’s been a long road for Evan and now he will join a nationally ranked D2 program! We are so proud of his perseverance!
#WingsUp
Proper & improper use of one of these says a lot about a player. Good wide base; bend in the waist; hands spread apart 1 1/2 to 2 feet; stays in the legs with a firm push & a light pull=dirt bag
#JUCOBandit
if I’ve ever seen one!
#LearnSomethingNewToday
Lake-Sumter SS
@naphis10
:
⚾️Covid Freshman
⚾️Switch hitting SS
⚾️5’8 175 lbs.
⚾️Plays all 3 INF positions
⚾️6.8 60
⚾️.382 AVG/17 RBI/17 BB/21 Hits/3 2B’s/16 Games
📚3.5 GPA
📚Plans to major in Health Science
🎓Will earn AA in May
Someone is gonna get a slam dunk with this kid!