Conversations with College Coaches: Lake Erie College
Baseball Factory is privileged to work with programs from every level of college baseball. We strive to educate and guide our players when it comes to choosing the right school. The more information a player knows about a school, coach and program, the better. Dan Mooney had the chance to talk with Eric Bunnell, Assistant Coach at Lake Erie College. Lake Erie is a Division II program in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). Find out what Coach Bunnell had to say about his mentors, the importance of video and what he looks for in a recruit.
1. How long have you been coaching? How long at you current college or university?
This is my ninth year coaching and my third at Lake Erie College.
2. Who are some of your mentors or coaches that you look up to?
There are a lot of coaches who I have looked to and learned from but I would say the one who sticks out the most would be legendary GlenOak (Canton, OH) High School coach, Joe Gilhousen. I worked with Joe for three years while coaching at Mount Union College. I learned the most from Joe by just watching how the Hall of Famer prepared on a daily basis. Whether it was briefing hitters before the conference tournament or working with hitters during an individual tee work session, he always had the same approach and was ready to work everyday.
3. What is the first thing about your school and program that you’d want a recruit to know about?
They will have the opportunity to compete in one of the best Division II conferences in the country and since moving to Division II, we have set school records for wins the past two seasons. As a coaching staff, every decision we make puts the players first and every decision we make both on and off the field has their best interest at heart.
4. What qualities do you look for in a prospect on the field? Off the field?
We look for players who have a great deal of want and who loves to flat-out compete. We also look for players who are good communicators on the field. Off the field, we want high character kids who are going to class every day who are courteous and respectful.
5. How has video helped your recruiting?
Video has been a great resource in looking at players who we may not have had the opportunity to watch players who we otherwise wouldn’t have to chance to scout. It has also allowed us to go back and look at a prospect a few months after they have visited to compare with other recruits.
6. Do you recruit from Junior Colleges?
One of our top performers the past two seasons came from a junior college so we will definitely look in that direction but we are more active recruiting high school seniors. We really enjoy getting to know the players and their families and developing a relationship during the recruiting process that will last their entire career and beyond.
7. Can you break down your fall practice schedule? What will you try to accomplish?
For the five weeks we practice in the fall, we will intersquad at least 3-4 times a week with a focus on individual position work the other days of the week. But the main thing we want to see is the guys compete and give them a chance to see as much live pitching as possible. We want to take advantage of being outside before we are relegated to practicing indoors in the winter. In addition to playing split-squad games, we added a pair of scrimmages against a local community college.
8. Do you have a strength and conditioning coach?
We handle most of the strength and conditioning ourselves but we also work closely with our trainer who has worked in both the Cleveland Indians and the Los Angeles Dodgers organizations.
9. Anything planned for your facilities (upgrades, changes, etc.)?
Over the past two years we have added new dugouts to our field, put up an outfield wind screen, and have added banners in different locations for an aesthetic upgrade. We are also looking to upgrade our scoreboard in the next year.
10. Is there anything you would like to add about your assistant coaches, recruits, parents, or program that we have not asked you about?
We have a great staff now in our third year together and feel we have the program headed in the right direction. We are looking to build from last year’s record-breaking season and are very excited at the heights this program can reach. We challenge ourselves by creating the toughest schedule possible and are looking for players who want to do the same.
If there are any questions that you'd like to see our staff ask in future installments of "Conversations with College Coaches" or any schools that you'd like to see featured, please contact us at [email protected].
