Conversations with College Coaches: Penn State Behrend
Check out the newest interview with Paul Benim, current Head Coach at Penn State Behrend. Benim is an alumni of Behrend and in the past six seasons, the blue and white have posted 178 wins. Recently, Woody Wingfield went one-on-one with Benim to learn more about the Lions baseball program.
1. How long have you been coaching? How long at Penn State Behrend?
I am set to begin my 20th year as a head coach at Behrend. I enter my 17th as the head baseball coach and was previously the head softball coach for three seasons. Behrend has continued to evolve and improve [and] ¬it is an awesome place to be a student-athlete.
2. Who are some of your mentors or coaches that you look up to?
My parents coached me up from day one. They are wonderful people and created a positive environment for me growing up while providing every opportunity to be successful. I had an opportunity to play for Greg Guilliams, who is at Valdosta State, and he heavily influenced me. Rich Pasquale at Youngstown State is building a high quality [program] with the Penguins, and has been a terrific coaching friend. Our hitting coach, Butch Kemling begins his tenth year and has imparted a ton of wisdom to our staff and players. My high school baseball coach Phil Glass was excellent, while our athletics director at Behrend, Brian Streeter provides amazing support to me and our program.
3. You’re a graduate of Penn State Behrend. What is the first thing about your school and program that you would want a recruit to know about?
Expect to have a high quality experience in multiple areas while at Behrend. We have great people on campus who want to help you succeed. Our place works. We have so many working models of success. Talk to a member of our baseball alumni group and you will realize it is a special place.
4. What do you look for in a prospective recruit for your team on the field? Off the field?
We want guys who are going to roll up their sleeves and outwork others. We push and emphasize that the team is the most important thing. We need players who want to excel academically and athletically and will value being a good teammate. We want “yes sir, no sir” people that value education. For 99% of all the student-athletes, that will take them farther than sports, but college baseball greatly enhances their lives and teaches you so much that you cannot read about in a book or get from the classroom. The goal is to pile up on [the] pitcher’s mound¬. It’s a great sensation, and you have to make preparation a top priority in order to put your team in position to achieve that.
5. How has video helped you in the recruiting process?
Video is a must and provides coaches all across the country with an opportunity for an immediate assessment on a player. It can answer a lot of questions and make coaches follow up. A prospect has a better chance at getting feedback, good or bad, if there is video.
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6. It seems that every year, Penn State Behrend is ranked near the top of the conference standings. Can you give us any insight on how your team is a perennial contender year-to-year?
Regardless of what players return, who we lose to graduation, what the incoming class looks like, ¬we want to play for the AMCC title. We have managed to play for seven of the past ten and competing for it every year is the goal. We emphasis it, and go after it with a blue collar approach, and strive to make it a reality. That aside, you have to have a talent on the roster and great assistant coaches. Through the years we have been fortunate to have both.
7. Can you break down your fall practice schedule? What do you try to accomplish?
We go the NCAA maximum at the Division III level. We lift early in the mornings and have position practices later that same day during the week a couple days, and then have long weekends that include team practices and intersquads over the course of a month long fall season. We establish several of our program philosophies, and create goals per position and for our team on offense and defense. We have good tempo, are demanding, and really try to evaluate players in multiple areas, so they know what they have to work on in the offseason.
8. What part of the 2012 schedule are you looking forward to the most?
All of it! Florida is a tremendous week with varsity and JV games. The non-conference slate allows our players and team to continue to grow as we use various line-ups and the bullpen. The conference slate in our league is very competitive, and we expect to be at our best and put it all together in the postseason.
9. Do you have a strength and conditioning coach?
No. Division III recently changed rules surrounding this position, so hopefully down the road. We do have a nice program that we feel allows our players a map to get better, add strength, and improve body types. Our ATC’s are another resource that we are able to bounce things off.
10. What can you tell us about your facilities?
We feel like they are really good and may be the best in the area, and in our league. The field is 11 years old in a terrific on-campus setting. Our indoor Junker Center provides weight training, pool, cage, and practice areas. We have the facilities we need to succeed. We just have to find the right people to help us achieve our goals.
11. Is there anything you would like to add about your assistant coaches, recruits, parents, or program that we have not asked you about?
There is a baseball program for everyone, but you have [to] find the right fit. Playing collegiately gives you a chance for lifelong memories and valuable experiences that make us all better prepared to face the real world. Once you get in the Behrend Lions baseball program¬, you remain in our family. Our current and past players are very important to us. I am blessed to coach baseball at a place like Behrend and have had a tremendous group of assistants, a couple who are still working in the college game. Paul Henry (Maryville), Brian Hirschberg (Lehigh), Jim Gemler (Baseball Factory), Matt Palisin (Fredonia State), and Bill Graham (IUP) have all made an impact on me and our program. Thanks to Baseball Factory and Woody Wingfield!
