Interview with Coach Austin Alexander

How do you judge character?

Austin:Good question. Let me preface it by saying that no coach has all the answers, myself included! While I feel I do a very thorough job in researching and observing a prospect, I have been burned. Generally I can get a good read on a kid but there will always be surprises too. I believe you have to make several phone calls to people who know the kid. You have to observe them on the field at least two or three times and in social situations. What are they doing when they don’t know someone’s watching? How do they speak to their parents, how do they play the game, how do they handle failure, what do they do when they think they are alone? Eventually, you just have to go with your educated gut feeling but the more data you have to go on, the greater chance you have of getting it right.

 

How important are skills & polish versus tools for a college player?

Austin:Another good question for which I have no absolute answer. If you need a kid to start immediately for you, skill and polish certainly help, but to develop pro guys, generally you must begin with quality tools and turn it into a skilled and polished product. All three can win you games, take your pick!

 

How do you rate intangibles? Do they bear much weight?

Austin:Intangibles are very important to me. That’s what separates us from having just a very talented club versus winning championships! Hard to rate intangibles only to say when factoring in all the learned information we have on a player, it does bear a great deal of weight when I begin to make an informed decision on a prospect. Sometimes those intangibles are what tells you how a guy will handle competition on his own team, how he’ll handle failure or a bad call, whether he’ll be able to handle criticism and sometimes how actively he may pursue rehab following an injury. The overall make-up of a prospect can never be underestimated.

 

What role does academics play in your evaluations of players?

Austin:Classwork has to be an important role due to academic requirements at our institution and implemented by the NCAA. Also, there are some conclusions that can be drawn that are accurate the majority of the time, better students usually work harder at all they do, lesser students sometimes lack initiative in certain areas of their lives. Now, I understand there are kids who despise school but have given their hearts to the game of baseball and will work hard for you. A coach, then, has to constantly monitor that player to insure his eligibility.

 

What is the best way to be seen by YOU!!

Austin:The best way to be seen by me, especially if we’re talking about a player from North Carolina, is to send us your schedule, try out for the “State Games” competition, look into upcoming Impact Baseball.com showcases and find a challenging summer and/or fall program to join. A sure-fire way to be seen by each member of our staff is to check our website (www.elon.edu) where you will find our camp dates. Anyone interested in attending one of our camps can print off a brochure, fill it out and send it in to us to secure a spot. Attending our camps allows us to observe and interact with players over a period of time. This is an outstanding way for us to form opinions on prospects.

 

A Personal Thanks!!!

I want to thank Austin for the diligence and effort he put forward for the players reading this board. We sent him our list of 24 questions when he was departing on a road trip.

He took the task to heart and the result is some outstanding information that all of you should read carefully.

I wish to thank Prepster for his work and for coming up with the idea in the first place. Outstanding!!!!!


For Both of you:
:notworthy :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy

 

Superb interview!! "Pops" you have outdone yourself this time. Quality questions and answers. If every student athlete on this board doesn't appreciate the advice given by Coach Alexander, then they shouldn't expect to play at the next level!

This is one time I'm glad it rained so that Coach Alexander would be available. What a class coach. No wonder so many of NC's top baseball players have chosen to attend Elon, including Matt Chastain and Paul Bennett from Charlotte Christian.

Guys, if you have not visited Elon University, call Coach Alexander and take a Saturday afternoon to visit the campus (beautiful) and watch the Phenix baseball team in action. You won't regret the trip. By the way, Elon is a D1 school and is moving to the Southern Conference next year. Some great baseball programs in the SC. Oh yeah, Elon has already defeated Wake Forest once this year when Wake was ranked in the top 20 in the country.

 

After reading the Q&A, I am nearly speechless ( I said nearly) . I want to personally thank NCbbaseballfan, Prepster and of course, Coach Alexander for the time it took to present the well thought questions and the time it took to voice the intelligent answers.

This is what this Board is all about...Thank you Gentlemen

 

Absolutely outstanding. Thanks to Coach Alexander -- what a great thread to print out and hand out to all our players. And thanks to Braves and NC for making it happen. This kind of thing is what makes this board special.
:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

 

Didn't mean to slight Prepster, but I did. Thanks Prep -- you da man. :cheers: