PREVIEW: 33rd Whitfield Baseball Clinic

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on January 13, 2005 1:55 PM

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As per usual, the 33rd annual edition of the George Whitfield Baseball Clinic will be a who's who of regional coaching names. Head coaches from Mount Olive College; East Carolina; Campbell University; Wake Forest; UNC-Wilmington; Barton College; Methodist College and Appalachian State will all be available.

Plus many more.

Thrown into the mix are assistant coaches and representatives from the Atlanta Braves; Louisiana State; Myrtle Beach Pelicans; San Francisco Giants; Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies.

Registration for the clinic -- renowned as one of the best in the nation -- begins at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday morning and continues through 9:15. Players little league through high school age are encouraged to attend.

Keith Madison of FCA Baseball is the clinic's kick-off speaker, appearing at 9:20 a.m., followed by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association's Dick Knox, who will address rules changes for the upcoming season.

The clinic is broken into nine parts - Strength-Conditioning-Nutrition; Practice Organization for High School Coaches; Pitching; Catching; Infield Play; Outfield Play; Hitting; and Base Running.

Lunch is from 12:40 p.m. until 1:50.

The following is a list of bios for some of the star coaches who will be in attendance:

* RANDY MAZEY: ECU head coach

During Mazey's second season in Greenville (2004), East Carolina had its most successful season in school history, finishing 51-13 and going 25-5 in Conference USA to win the league's regular-season championship. The Pirates also appeared in their second NCAA Super Regional in four seasons. ECU finished 2004 ranked No. 8 in the Baseball America poll.

A native of Johnstown, Pa., Mazey, 38, has coached for 13 seasons.

* FRED JORDAN: The Citadel head coach

Jordan has complied a 691-401 career coaching record on the prep and college levels, including 465 wins in 12 seasons at The Citadel.

At The Citadel, Jordan has won four Southern Conference regular-season titles and six conference tournament titles; advanced into six NCAA Regionals; won the Southern Conference Coach of the Year award three times; was the fastest coach in school history to reach 450 career victories; and produced 19 major league draftees - 13 being pitchers.

Jordan obtained a B.S. in physical education at The Citadel in 1979, and was awarded his master's degree in 1987.

* CHIP SMITH: Campbell University head coach

Chip Smith is Campbell's all-time leader in wins with 222 and is the only coach in Camels history to break the 200-win barrier.

Smith guided his 1999 club to the best start in school history at 10-1. In 2001, he led the Camels to their best season in school history, compiling a 33-21 record and a fourth-place finish in the Atlantic Sun Conference. During his career at Campbell, Smith has seen 10 of his players sign major league contracts.

Now in his 18th season of coaching on the college level, Smith owns a 394-425-2 career record, including a 172-153-1 mark in eight seasons at Pfeiffer University, where he was named the 1995 Carolinas Conference Coach of the Year.

* TOM AUSTIN: Methodist College head coach

Entering his 25th season at Methodist, Austin sports a 788-312-8 career record and is only the seventh coach in NCAA Division III history to reach 700 wins. He owns 15 30-wins seasons and 2 40-win campaigns with the Monarchs.

Under Austin, Methodist has won 10 Dixie Intercollegiate/USA South Atlantic titles and has reached the Division III World Series six.

The Monarchs have averaged 32 wins per season under Austin.

* MARK SCALF: UNC-Wilmington head coach

During Scalf's tenure with the Seahawks, 30 players have gone on to play professional baseball. Scalf, 46, led UNC-Wilmington to their first-ever 40-win season in 2003 - including the program's first NCAA postseason bid.

Scalf was chosen Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year in 1995.

* RICK REMBIELAK: Wake Forest head coach

Rembielak comes to the Demon Deacons following an 11-year stint at Kent State where he racked up the following accomplishments:

* All-time winningest coach of any coach in Kent State history (373-252-1).

* Four Mid-American Conference titles.

* Three MAC Coach of the Year awards.

* JERRY MYERS: Old Dominion head coach

After spending eight seasons as an assistant at the University of South Carolina, Meyers was named head coach at Old Dominion on July 19, 2004. Widely regarded as one of the top pitching coaches in college baseball, Meyers' Gamecocks staff compiled a 53-17 record as South Carolina won the 2004 SEC Tournament championship.

* CHRIS POLLARD: Appalachian State head coach

Previously the head coach and athletics director at Pfeiffer, Pollard was introduced as the Mountaineers' new coach on July 20, 2004. He led Pfeiffer to back-toback Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference championship and an NCAA Division II regional bid.

His final season at Pfeiffer was the most successful in school history with 41victories.

* TURTLE THOMAS: LSU hitting instructor/recruiting coordinator

Thomas joined the LSU staff following 12 seasons as an assistant at national power Miami (Fla.). Aside from serving as the Tigers' recruiting coordinator and batting coach, he also supervises LSU's catchers.

Thomas' LSU classes of 2000 and 2001 were rated No. 2 nationally.

* BILL JARMAN: Coastal Carolina pitching coach/recruiting coordinator

Jarman s entering his 10th season at Coastal Carolina University. During his tenure, the Chants have sent six pitchers into the professional ranks.