Conversations with College Coaches: Westmont 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. In our latest interview, Dan Mooney spoke with Coach Robert Ruiz from Westmont College. Westmont is a NAIA program out of the Golden State Athletic Conference. This is our first interview from an NAIA program.
1. How long have you been coaching? How long at Westmont College?
I have just completed my 7th year of coaching college baseball. I have been the head coach at Westmont College for 2 years.
2. Who are some of your mentors or coaches that you look up to?
There have been several coaches over the years that I have been fortunate enough to work with, learn from or be mentored under. I was able to work with Paul Svagdis at Azusa Pacific University for five years who served as the key mentor in my coaching career. I have always looked up to Coach [Mark] Marquess and Coach [Dean] Stotz at Stanford for the longevity of success they have built in their program both on and off the field. I also closely follow Dave Serrano at Cal State Fullerton as a leader in our profession for the consistency in which his teams compete.
3. What is the first thing about your school and program that you’d want a recruit to know about?
Westmont College is a top tier liberal arts institution. We are a Christian college located in Santa Barbara, California. Students-athletes that get the opportunity to be a part of our program are fortunate enough to get a prestigious education in one of the nicest locations in the country. Our baseball program competes in the Golden State Athletic Conference and occupies the brand new Russ Carr Baseball Stadium, which is one of the finest fields on the central coast.
5. What qualities do you look for in a prospect on the field? Off the field?
On the field we are looking for competency both in projectable skills and also in the intangible attributes of an individual’s character make-up. We seek out players that are going to add value in little ways as they develop into players who will add value in bigger ways. How players compete in all situations is a big part of our evaluation process. Off the field we are focused on finding student-athletes who are committed to the values of our institution as well as our baseball program. Our hope is to cultivate maturity in a group of self-motivated individuals who prioritize character and integrity.
6. How does video help with recruiting?
Video footage is an invaluable component to our recruiting. Being a smaller private college we are limited in where we can go and how often we can send people out to see players. For this reason, we rely heavily on the evaluation of player video as the initial phase in our recruiting process.
7. Do you recruit from Junior Colleges?
We recruit a mix of junior college players to fill gaps in our roster on an annual basis. The majority of our roster however is filled with four year players that we recruit directly out of high school. We are looking for the best fit student-athlete that will help us compete at the highest level on the field while representing our program the right way off the field. We will find these students both at the junior college level and at the high school level.
8. Can you break down your fall practice schedule? What do you try to accomplish?
In the NAIA we are allowed a particular number of weeks to complete our entire season of competition, both Fall and Spring. We allocate a number of those weeks to our fall baseball program and within those weeks are allowed to practice six days a week. Our emphasis in the fall is development. We are doing a lot of teaching, foundation building and learning how we compete as individuals and as a collective unit. We play a lot of scrimmage games within our program throughout our fall and wrap things up with a world series. We also have a strong emphasis on our strength and speed training in the fall. Our players are on a closely monitored strength program that when combined with baseball accounts for a significant amount of time and dedication.
9. Do you have a strength and conditioning coach?
We do not have one specific strength and conditioning coach, but we are fortunate enough to train with a staff of high end professionals at Peak Performance Project (P3) in Santa Barbara. The resource we have in P3 is without a doubt one of the best college strength and conditioning resources in the country. Dr. Marcus Elliott and his staff are phenomenal at what they do and how they build our athletes.
10. What is your favorite ballpark to play at?
Considering that we have a brand new stadium, I would have to say our own Russ Carr Stadium in Santa Barbara. We have ocean views from our parking lot, brand new cages, bullpens, dugouts, and an entirely new playing surface that is one of the best I have been on. I would also have to say that I appreciate the atmosphere at Harris Field in Lewiston Idaho for the NAIA College World Series.
11. What part of the 2012 schedule/year are you looking forward to the most?
I am looking forward to continuing to build our program with a strong incoming class of recruits and a solid group of returners. I am excited to have two Division I schools on our spring schedule as well. Every year brings its own set of excitement and opportunities to invest in the lives of the young men in our program. We are most excited to see what they decide to accomplish as a group.
12. What do you think of the new BBCOR bats?
I love them. It took some time and psychological adjustment to get comfortable with them, but I appreciate what they do for the game. We are forced to learn the small components of the game at a much higher level and appreciate those components for their value on the outcome of our games. I appreciate the emphasis they put on defense and pitching and believe that great offensive teams will continue to thrive but mediocrity will not be rewarded with these bats.
13. Anything planned for your facilities (upgrades, changes, etc.)?
Since the recent completion of our new stadium, we have plans to develop our stadium seating and press box. Outside of that, we are doing our very best to maintain the current integrity of what we believe to be the best facility in the GSAC and one of the best in California.
