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Clayon McCathern Interview
Clayon is a former All State player in SC as well as a former USC signee. Coach McCathern is the owner of McCathern Baseball School in Columbia. He is well known for his submarine style pitching in college, and he can teach it as well. Having a wealth of experience from high school to college, McCathern is one of the most personable and well liked coaches in the midlands, having coached American Legion and travel ball.
Tell me about your experience with baseball.
o I played for 17 seasons from age 7 – 23. It was the first sport I ever played, and I played it the longest. I can’t say how it became my favorite. As it turns out, in High School my size and skill set fit baseball much better than football or basketball. I didn’t make an ALL-STAR Team before age 15, but developed through high school and was offered to play in college. I originally signed with USC, but numbers didn’t work out, so I ended up playing at Montreat College as a submarine closer. Montreat was ranked nationally in NAIA and won 3 conference championships in 5 years.
o In 3 of my summers in College, I was able to travel across the country and to foreign countries to play the game a baseball. I would never have had those experiences without baseball.
o The best game there is in my opinion.
· What is your current status and why are you still involved?
o I graduated 10 years ago and left the game for a while due to burnout. I coached in the summer of 2003, but not much else. It wasn’t until 2007 that I got actively involved by teaching private pitching and hitting lessons, a have done so for the past 5 years. Since then, my son has started to play and I have coached his teams for the past 3 year. This past summer with the Combat was my first experience coaching older players in 8 years.
· Why did you decide to get back involved in Baseball?
o I love the game and want other kids to enjoy this great game. So if I can show them 1 or 2 things that can give them confidence and help them to enjoy this game more, that’s what’s most important to me more than batting average and home runs.
o I had many learning experiences of my playing days. I wish that I would have had someone to tell me some of those things back then, so I feel like I can share those experiences with younger players to help them along.
o I hope that I can provide positive situation for players to learn and grow without a lot of pressure or demand for perfection. I had some success as a player, but I also faced a lot of adversity and failure along the way. Because of those failures, I take a very patient approach to baseball and know that it is a long process and “Rome wasn’t built in a day”.
· If you could go back and start your baseball career over again would you do anything different? Why/Why not?
o I wish that I could have understood the theory of “less is more”. I wish I hadn’t pitched so much in High School
o I wish I would have had more confidence in my ability and not tried so hard to “Prove” myself to everyone.
o I wish I would have had the self confidence and maturity to communicate with my coaches better to overcome difficult situations instead of always wondering “why me?”
o In a perfect world – I would have transferred back to Irmo for my Jr. and Sr. seasons, which may have helped with “over-use”
o As for the recruiting process – I would have more humility toward all schools and expanded my net of all possibilities. Look at more schools and find the best fit, not just the biggest name
o In terms of playing at Carolina, I wish I would have stuck it out a little longer. I was at the bottom of the list, so thinking my baseball career was over, I explored other interests. After some transfers, there may have been an open red-shirt spot. You never know.
· What are some problems that you see with the current state of baseball (High School, Travel or Youth, etc)?
o Too many different “expert” voices claiming that their way is the better than the other and nobody working together
o Parents:
§ Too many parents are looking for a “payoff”. They spend all this money as an investment because some “expert” told them that “Little Johnny” is a great ball player. The truth of it is, in baseball, there never is one. There is limited scholarship money, and the chances of playing professional are slim, and minor league contracts are not much at all. Players have to play for the love of the game more than anything.
§ Year-round play and specialization. Kids need time off to let their bodies and minds rest. Secondly, by playing other sports, they can learn skills that will make them better athletes. I didn’t specialize in baseball until I was a Sr. in high school. As a kid I played baseball, soccer, basketball, and football. In high school, I played football, basketball and baseball as a freshman, football and baseball as a So. and Jr. and then baseball only as a Sr.
· Even if you don’t play other sports, it is hard to correct bad habits during a season, so there needs to be some down time to take a step back and correct whatever is wrong and get things back on track.
§ False sense of Urgency – Players change a lot, good and bad over the High School years. It is foolish to think that how a player plays as a 12 or 13 yr old is going to determine where they sign or get drafted. You can’t win a scholarship at that age, but you can certainly loose it through injuries or burn-out. I have had parents ask me their evaluation of their 7 yr old. There is no way to make any projections like that.
§ They also tend to shop their players around from coach to coach, trainer to trainer (and it is usually the one telling them what they want to hear) because they don’t know what to do themselves. The players keep hearing different opinions, and get confused, and then the parents learn the hard way of who knows what they are doing and who doesn’t.
§ The naivety of how many baseball players there are out there, and the realistic chance of making it to the “bigs” (not likely at all). Unfortunately there are very few “prospects”. Here are a couple of indicators in my opinion:
· Is the player “far and away” the best on the team?
· Is the player the best in the league?
· Is the player dominant at his age group?
· Is the player competitive in leagues 2 yrs older than his age group?
o Teams:
§ Too many teams using buzz word like “Select” and “Elite” when they really aren’t. Anyone can start a team these days, regardless of coaching experience or expertise.
§ Teams over-charge, over-promise development and exposure, but under-deliver on the end result.
o Coaches
§ A lot of coaches have the knowledge of the game and the fundamentals, but not a thorough understanding of them. They know “what” to do (because that is what they were told by someone else), but I don’t see many that truly understand the “why” behind it.
§ A lot of these coaches lack the ability to teach and teach these skills in a way that each child can understand.
§ A lot of these coaches lack the ability to identify problems in mechanics, much less offer efficient ways to correct them.
o “Win at all Cost” mentality
§ For a lot of Coaches and Parents, it is about winning and their self-esteem and not about the kids playing the game and learning.
· What's something a youth player can do right now to take their game to the next level?
o Learn the proper mechanics – in order to teach young players the basics, I have simplified a lot of the fundamental mechanics. In doing so, I have discovered how much “free power” is available but not being used efficiently. Small adjustments, such as the timing of these movements, can have a huge affect on the end result.
o Work on speed and agility – the saying I hear “speed shows up every day”. Batting average may have some ups and downs, but speed opens up more opportunities when other skills are off some days.
· What does it takes to play baseball in college?
o It takes a daily commitment, and an internal motivation to get better. You have to have the drive to practice on your own without a coach or parent being the one to remind you or motivate you to practice.
· What are some of the differences you noticed going from high school to college?
o It is an everyday process, 6-7 days a week, even in the offseason.
o Everyone was All-“whatever”, everyone batted in the top of the order on their high school team. If you don’t perform, there were 3 other guys, just as good as you ready to take your spot.
· What advice do you have about the recruiting process for younger prospects?
o Be humble, and don’t rule any school out until you have a chance to see the program and what they have to offer. Things to consider:
§ Is your Major, or what you want to study available? What kind of “value” will that degree from that school have after graduation?
§ How much does a team want you? What role do they want you for, how will you fit into the program?
· The more roles means more opportunities to play
§ Understand that Coaches have a “Recruiting” persona, and then a field persona. Talk to current players to find out the difference, and if that coaching style fits what you can play for.
§ Decide what is more important to you, playing-time or the status of the program.
· Who is the best player(s) you played with or against? What made them so good?
o Common theme with these players is they all had natural ability, some worked harder than others.
o Sherwyn Haltiwanger (Dutch Fork)
§ The most natural player I played with. God-given ability that could do anything on the baseball field. Very Smooth.
o Ken Vining (Cardinal Newman/Clemson)
§ As a left handed pitcher, he had a great curve ball, but his front side stayed close to the absolute last minute and had a lot of pop and explosion at the end.
o Brian Ellis (Hammond/Clemson)
§ You could see the results of his work ethic. Every season he was better than the previous year. He could capitalize on mistakes, and became Clemson’s starting catcher his senior year.
o Adam Everett (USC)
§ Natural ability and hard work and commitment. Played all fall with a broken wrist in a cast, only missed 1 ground ball. 1st to arrive, last to leave.
o Andy Green (U Kentucky, played in the show with the Mets and DBacks)
§ Probably the fastest player I played with. Tremendous athlete on and off the baseball field.
· You dropped your arm angle down in college; tell me why you chose to do that?
o It was my coach’s recommendation. I developed a “dead-arm” in college and couldn’t break 80 mph over the top. My coach suggested it, if I wanted to be able to contribute during my career, so it was a chance to be competitive.
· What were the benefits/drawbacks?
o The drawback – It took a couple of years to get proficient with it. It was embarrassing at times as I would compare it to learning how to walk again.
o The Benefits – more deceptive and extra movement. I was able to contribute my last 2 seasons, and had a strong summer after graduation against D1 players.
· How has baseball training changed since you were in high school?
o Very hard to say since nothing really existed specifically for baseball when I came through.
§ There were no USSSA/AAU teams like we have now. Legion baseball was king in the summer, and your reward was getting to travel to the region tournaments. Fall baseball leagues had just started, and the first “showcase/travel” teams were from the fall leagues.
§ There was only one person out in Lexington (Jerry Martin) who gave any kind on private instruction.
§ The only strength training I did in High School was for football. In College, our weight program was a football program as well.
· Are grades really that important if you want to play baseball in college?
o Vitally important. There is a big misconception of getting a “Full Scholarship” for baseball. The big schools (ACC/SEC) only get 11.7 scholarships for 30 players, so basically, if you are good enough for a full scholarship, chances are you don’t go to college because you probably signing in the 1st round. I realize that the scholarship rules have changed recently. Obviously you have to get grades to be admitted to school. The better your grades are, maybe you have more opportunities for an Academic Scholarship.
· What would a player get from McCathern Baseball School that they wouldn’t get anywhere else?
o I understand that players move differently, and not everyone is the same. I take the basic fundamentals and adapt it individually for each player in the best way possible. Sometimes it takes a little bit of “trial and error”, but we get it figured out. You get “tailored” mechanics in both hitting and pitching that fit their skill set, and well as reasoning and explanation of why it is the best way to do it and what it is we are trying to accomplish.
o Due to my struggles and development, I understand mechanics more than most and the purpose behind it.
· How can someone get in touch with you if they want to get info about lessons through McCathern Baseball School?
o My website (www.mccathernbaseball.com) has all of the information about what I do, contact information, and a printable brochure as well. Cell, text or email.
Thanks Clayon.
Clayon McCathern Interview
Clayon is a former All State player in SC as well as a former USC signee. Coach McCathern is the owner of McCathern Baseball School in Columbia. He is well known for his submarine style pitching in college, and he can teach it as well. Having a wealth of experience from high school to college, McCathern is one of the most personable and well liked coaches in the midlands, having coached American Legion and travel ball.
Tell me about your experience with baseball.
o I played for 17 seasons from age 7 – 23. It was the first sport I ever played, and I played it the longest. I can’t say how it became my favorite. As it turns out, in High School my size and skill set fit baseball much better than football or basketball. I didn’t make an ALL-STAR Team before age 15, but developed through high school and was offered to play in college. I originally signed with USC, but numbers didn’t work out, so I ended up playing at Montreat College as a submarine closer. Montreat was ranked nationally in NAIA and won 3 conference championships in 5 years.
o In 3 of my summers in College, I was able to travel across the country and to foreign countries to play the game a baseball. I would never have had those experiences without baseball.
o The best game there is in my opinion.
· What is your current status and why are you still involved?
o I graduated 10 years ago and left the game for a while due to burnout. I coached in the summer of 2003, but not much else. It wasn’t until 2007 that I got actively involved by teaching private pitching and hitting lessons, a have done so for the past 5 years. Since then, my son has started to play and I have coached his teams for the past 3 year. This past summer with the Combat was my first experience coaching older players in 8 years.
· Why did you decide to get back involved in Baseball?
o I love the game and want other kids to enjoy this great game. So if I can show them 1 or 2 things that can give them confidence and help them to enjoy this game more, that’s what’s most important to me more than batting average and home runs.
o I had many learning experiences of my playing days. I wish that I would have had someone to tell me some of those things back then, so I feel like I can share those experiences with younger players to help them along.
o I hope that I can provide positive situation for players to learn and grow without a lot of pressure or demand for perfection. I had some success as a player, but I also faced a lot of adversity and failure along the way. Because of those failures, I take a very patient approach to baseball and know that it is a long process and “Rome wasn’t built in a day”.
· If you could go back and start your baseball career over again would you do anything different? Why/Why not?
o I wish that I could have understood the theory of “less is more”. I wish I hadn’t pitched so much in High School
o I wish I would have had more confidence in my ability and not tried so hard to “Prove” myself to everyone.
o I wish I would have had the self confidence and maturity to communicate with my coaches better to overcome difficult situations instead of always wondering “why me?”
o In a perfect world – I would have transferred back to Irmo for my Jr. and Sr. seasons, which may have helped with “over-use”
o As for the recruiting process – I would have more humility toward all schools and expanded my net of all possibilities. Look at more schools and find the best fit, not just the biggest name
o In terms of playing at Carolina, I wish I would have stuck it out a little longer. I was at the bottom of the list, so thinking my baseball career was over, I explored other interests. After some transfers, there may have been an open red-shirt spot. You never know.
· What are some problems that you see with the current state of baseball (High School, Travel or Youth, etc)?
o Too many different “expert” voices claiming that their way is the better than the other and nobody working together
o Parents:
§ Too many parents are looking for a “payoff”. They spend all this money as an investment because some “expert” told them that “Little Johnny” is a great ball player. The truth of it is, in baseball, there never is one. There is limited scholarship money, and the chances of playing professional are slim, and minor league contracts are not much at all. Players have to play for the love of the game more than anything.
§ Year-round play and specialization. Kids need time off to let their bodies and minds rest. Secondly, by playing other sports, they can learn skills that will make them better athletes. I didn’t specialize in baseball until I was a Sr. in high school. As a kid I played baseball, soccer, basketball, and football. In high school, I played football, basketball and baseball as a freshman, football and baseball as a So. and Jr. and then baseball only as a Sr.
· Even if you don’t play other sports, it is hard to correct bad habits during a season, so there needs to be some down time to take a step back and correct whatever is wrong and get things back on track.
§ False sense of Urgency – Players change a lot, good and bad over the High School years. It is foolish to think that how a player plays as a 12 or 13 yr old is going to determine where they sign or get drafted. You can’t win a scholarship at that age, but you can certainly loose it through injuries or burn-out. I have had parents ask me their evaluation of their 7 yr old. There is no way to make any projections like that.
§ They also tend to shop their players around from coach to coach, trainer to trainer (and it is usually the one telling them what they want to hear) because they don’t know what to do themselves. The players keep hearing different opinions, and get confused, and then the parents learn the hard way of who knows what they are doing and who doesn’t.
§ The naivety of how many baseball players there are out there, and the realistic chance of making it to the “bigs” (not likely at all). Unfortunately there are very few “prospects”. Here are a couple of indicators in my opinion:
· Is the player “far and away” the best on the team?
· Is the player the best in the league?
· Is the player dominant at his age group?
· Is the player competitive in leagues 2 yrs older than his age group?
o Teams:
§ Too many teams using buzz word like “Select” and “Elite” when they really aren’t. Anyone can start a team these days, regardless of coaching experience or expertise.
§ Teams over-charge, over-promise development and exposure, but under-deliver on the end result.
o Coaches
§ A lot of coaches have the knowledge of the game and the fundamentals, but not a thorough understanding of them. They know “what” to do (because that is what they were told by someone else), but I don’t see many that truly understand the “why” behind it.
§ A lot of these coaches lack the ability to teach and teach these skills in a way that each child can understand.
§ A lot of these coaches lack the ability to identify problems in mechanics, much less offer efficient ways to correct them.
o “Win at all Cost” mentality
§ For a lot of Coaches and Parents, it is about winning and their self-esteem and not about the kids playing the game and learning.
· What's something a youth player can do right now to take their game to the next level?
o Learn the proper mechanics – in order to teach young players the basics, I have simplified a lot of the fundamental mechanics. In doing so, I have discovered how much “free power” is available but not being used efficiently. Small adjustments, such as the timing of these movements, can have a huge affect on the end result.
o Work on speed and agility – the saying I hear “speed shows up every day”. Batting average may have some ups and downs, but speed opens up more opportunities when other skills are off some days.
· What does it takes to play baseball in college?
o It takes a daily commitment, and an internal motivation to get better. You have to have the drive to practice on your own without a coach or parent being the one to remind you or motivate you to practice.
· What are some of the differences you noticed going from high school to college?
o It is an everyday process, 6-7 days a week, even in the offseason.
o Everyone was All-“whatever”, everyone batted in the top of the order on their high school team. If you don’t perform, there were 3 other guys, just as good as you ready to take your spot.
· What advice do you have about the recruiting process for younger prospects?
o Be humble, and don’t rule any school out until you have a chance to see the program and what they have to offer. Things to consider:
§ Is your Major, or what you want to study available? What kind of “value” will that degree from that school have after graduation?
§ How much does a team want you? What role do they want you for, how will you fit into the program?
· The more roles means more opportunities to play
§ Understand that Coaches have a “Recruiting” persona, and then a field persona. Talk to current players to find out the difference, and if that coaching style fits what you can play for.
§ Decide what is more important to you, playing-time or the status of the program.
· Who is the best player(s) you played with or against? What made them so good?
o Common theme with these players is they all had natural ability, some worked harder than others.
o Sherwyn Haltiwanger (Dutch Fork)
§ The most natural player I played with. God-given ability that could do anything on the baseball field. Very Smooth.
o Ken Vining (Cardinal Newman/Clemson)
§ As a left handed pitcher, he had a great curve ball, but his front side stayed close to the absolute last minute and had a lot of pop and explosion at the end.
o Brian Ellis (Hammond/Clemson)
§ You could see the results of his work ethic. Every season he was better than the previous year. He could capitalize on mistakes, and became Clemson’s starting catcher his senior year.
o Adam Everett (USC)
§ Natural ability and hard work and commitment. Played all fall with a broken wrist in a cast, only missed 1 ground ball. 1st to arrive, last to leave.
o Andy Green (U Kentucky, played in the show with the Mets and DBacks)
§ Probably the fastest player I played with. Tremendous athlete on and off the baseball field.
· You dropped your arm angle down in college; tell me why you chose to do that?
o It was my coach’s recommendation. I developed a “dead-arm” in college and couldn’t break 80 mph over the top. My coach suggested it, if I wanted to be able to contribute during my career, so it was a chance to be competitive.
· What were the benefits/drawbacks?
o The drawback – It took a couple of years to get proficient with it. It was embarrassing at times as I would compare it to learning how to walk again.
o The Benefits – more deceptive and extra movement. I was able to contribute my last 2 seasons, and had a strong summer after graduation against D1 players.
· How has baseball training changed since you were in high school?
o Very hard to say since nothing really existed specifically for baseball when I came through.
§ There were no USSSA/AAU teams like we have now. Legion baseball was king in the summer, and your reward was getting to travel to the region tournaments. Fall baseball leagues had just started, and the first “showcase/travel” teams were from the fall leagues.
§ There was only one person out in Lexington (Jerry Martin) who gave any kind on private instruction.
§ The only strength training I did in High School was for football. In College, our weight program was a football program as well.
· Are grades really that important if you want to play baseball in college?
o Vitally important. There is a big misconception of getting a “Full Scholarship” for baseball. The big schools (ACC/SEC) only get 11.7 scholarships for 30 players, so basically, if you are good enough for a full scholarship, chances are you don’t go to college because you probably signing in the 1st round. I realize that the scholarship rules have changed recently. Obviously you have to get grades to be admitted to school. The better your grades are, maybe you have more opportunities for an Academic Scholarship.
· What would a player get from McCathern Baseball School that they wouldn’t get anywhere else?
o I understand that players move differently, and not everyone is the same. I take the basic fundamentals and adapt it individually for each player in the best way possible. Sometimes it takes a little bit of “trial and error”, but we get it figured out. You get “tailored” mechanics in both hitting and pitching that fit their skill set, and well as reasoning and explanation of why it is the best way to do it and what it is we are trying to accomplish.
o Due to my struggles and development, I understand mechanics more than most and the purpose behind it.
· How can someone get in touch with you if they want to get info about lessons through McCathern Baseball School?
o My website (www.mccathernbaseball.com) has all of the information about what I do, contact information, and a printable brochure as well. Cell, text or email.
Thanks Clayon.