He's already updated his tweeter feed as Rice Baseball pitching coach.

BTW, for those thinking that his development skills pertain only to pitching mechanics, here's the LinkedIn description of his company and his personal LinkedIn blurb...

Quote:Multi-level baseball performance program geared toward mechanical diagnostics, mental programming, and training on individual basis. Creating complete athletes by encompassing elite level sport-specific fitness and skills training, and cutting-edge cognitive performance enhancement with the use of professional coaching, state-of-the-art technology, and college recruiting services.

Quote:Experienced in player development, specializing in pitching development both in training and in-game management, scouting, sports technology, analytics, sports science, mental training, wide-ranging brand philosophies, and communications. Working knowledge and experience with current technologies (Track Man, Rapsodo, 4D Motion, Blast Motion, Motus), and analytic tools.

I especially love the "mental programming" and "cutting-edge cognitive performance enhancement". In addition to working as both a scout and a coach (Perfect Game Collegiate League), he has also worked in fitness and mental training.

(06-28-2021 09:33 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  He's already updated his tweeter feed as Rice Baseball pitching coach.

BTW, for those thinking that his development skills pertain only to pitching mechanics, here's the LinkedIn description of his company and his personal LinkedIn blurb...

Quote:Multi-level baseball performance program geared toward mechanical diagnostics, mental programming, and training on individual basis. Creating complete athletes by encompassing elite level sport-specific fitness and skills training, and cutting-edge cognitive performance enhancement with the use of professional coaching, state-of-the-art technology, and college recruiting services.

Quote:Experienced in player development, specializing in pitching development both in training and in-game management, scouting, sports technology, analytics, sports science, mental training, wide-ranging brand philosophies, and communications. Working knowledge and experience with current technologies (Track Man, Rapsodo, 4D Motion, Blast Motion, Motus), and analytic tools.

I especially love the "mental programming" and "cutting-edge cognitive performance enhancement". In addition to working as both a scout and a coach (Perfect Game Collegiate League), he has also worked in fitness and mental training.

I always have felt that an academic powerhouse such as Rice ought to have the smartest, most cutting edge coaching and development. This guy is either that, or a bunch of hooey. I am betting on and hoping for the former.

(06-28-2021 04:27 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(06-28-2021 02:08 PM)Musicowl1965 Wrote:  New pitching coach hired. Colter Bostick founder of Maximized Baseball from San Antonio. Any of you analytics geeks, like myself, are going to love this hire. Do some research and you will see what I'm talking about. The pitching staff just got better today.

I understand he was recommended by both AJ Hinch and Brett Strom. He's going to set up the bio lab (ala Vandy, Wake and Arkansas) in the dungeon.

Sounds like he is part of a new movement in baseball teaching, personified by Ron Wolforth's Baseball Ranch up near me. Strom was an instructor there before taking the Astros job, so I would infer from a recommendation by Strom that Bostick is part of that movement. Other similar ones are the Florida Baseball ARMory, and Arizona Baseball Ranch. They all focus on intensive three-day boot camps, with a lot of cutting-edge tools, and follow-on drills and exercises that use advanced techniques to develop skills. I know that it is very data-driven, they do a lot of long-toss, and they work on making every pitch look the same coming out of the pitcher's hand, but I'm not as familiar with what they do beyond that. This really would move Rice baseball to the cutting edge of baseball technology, probably an appropriate place for Rice to be.

(06-28-2021 09:33 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  He's already updated his tweeter feed as Rice Baseball pitching coach.

BTW, for those thinking that his development skills pertain only to pitching mechanics, here's the LinkedIn description of his company and his personal LinkedIn blurb...

Quote:Multi-level baseball performance program geared toward mechanical diagnostics, mental programming, and training on individual basis. Creating complete athletes by encompassing elite level sport-specific fitness and skills training, and cutting-edge cognitive performance enhancement with the use of professional coaching, state-of-the-art technology, and college recruiting services.

Quote:Experienced in player development, specializing in pitching development both in training and in-game management, scouting, sports technology, analytics, sports science, mental training, wide-ranging brand philosophies, and communications. Working knowledge and experience with current technologies (Track Man, Rapsodo, 4D Motion, Blast Motion, Motus), and analytic tools.

I especially love the "mental programming" and "cutting-edge cognitive performance enhancement". In addition to working as both a scout and a coach (Perfect Game Collegiate League), he has also worked in fitness and mental training.

100% agree. This, I believe, will be a homerun for recruiting as well. Rice baseball camps just went high tech and will attract some top talent.

The more I hear, the better I like the new regime.

Now to ice it down with wins. I will really like it when I can see year to year improvement.

This is genuinely exciting. The trio of baseball coaches appear to be exactly what many on this board have been hoping/asking/pleading for in all sports.

It's my understanding that Rice and Methodist Hospital will be announcing a sports performance lab at Rice that may elevate the programs significantly...I understand that Methodist is investing multi-millions in state of the art diagnostic and testing equipment. I've heard a little bit of information about some of the testing that will be performed and it will be pretty advanced. I think construction is underway and may be about to be completed so an announcement can't be too far in the future.

(06-29-2021 11:11 AM)Houston Owl 2 Wrote:  It's my understanding that Rice and Methodist Hospital will be announcing a sports performance lab at Rice that may elevate the programs significantly...I understand that Methodist is investing multi-millions in state of the art diagnostic and testing equipment. I've heard a little bit of information about some of the testing that will be performed and it will be pretty advanced. I think construction is underway and may be about to be completed so an announcement can't be too far in the future.

Cool! That is the sort of partnership that Ham and ruowls were talking about a decade ago!

(06-16-2021 10:33 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(06-16-2021 10:22 AM)Hambone10 Wrote:  Also, I spoke with Joe... and told him how much I admired/appreciated that he had so relatively quickly, even despite the excuse of COVID, recognized the poor fit of Bragga and not just fixed it, but IMO, easily potentially REVERSED it. I think that was a HUGE act and I told him so. I still have some issues/concerns with his leadership in some areas, but this wasn't one of those days or events. Even if it doesn't work as we hope or if there was an arguably better option available in the eyes of some... this was a GREAT move.
Jose will no doubt, pull out ALL the stops to be successful here... Bleeding Blue and Grey means something to a lot of us.

I really, really like the hire. I am sorry I could not make it yesterday afternoon, but I think we may have baseball on the right track. I wonder what, if anything, was done to restore the RBI Club to its former status, as that was clearly a factor in Graham's success.

This was a safe hire for Karlgaard. I doubt that Cruz was his first choice, but everyone is ecstatic about a former player of such popularity coming back to coach. It won't blow up in his face if things don't work out, like with Bragga. The Rice community is behind him 100% on this. All of us will have to eat crow if Cruz fails, not just Karlgaard.

...and for the record, I believe it will work out.

(06-29-2021 03:13 PM)Ourland Wrote:  

(06-16-2021 10:33 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(06-16-2021 10:22 AM)Hambone10 Wrote:  Also, I spoke with Joe... and told him how much I admired/appreciated that he had so relatively quickly, even despite the excuse of COVID, recognized the poor fit of Bragga and not just fixed it, but IMO, easily potentially REVERSED it. I think that was a HUGE act and I told him so. I still have some issues/concerns with his leadership in some areas, but this wasn't one of those days or events. Even if it doesn't work as we hope or if there was an arguably better option available in the eyes of some... this was a GREAT move.
Jose will no doubt, pull out ALL the stops to be successful here... Bleeding Blue and Grey means something to a lot of us.

I really, really like the hire. I am sorry I could not make it yesterday afternoon, but I think we may have baseball on the right track. I wonder what, if anything, was done to restore the RBI Club to its former status, as that was clearly a factor in Graham's success.

This was a safe hire for Karlgaard. I doubt that Cruz was his first choice, but everyone is ecstatic about a former player of such popularity coming back to coach. It won't blow up in his face if things don't work out, like with Bragga. The Rice community is behind him 100% on this. All of us will have to eat crow if Cruz fails, not just Karlgaard.

Some will allocate a larger portion of crow to others than themselves, I am sure. For the record, I believe the hire will work out well also, so much so that the luminaries on this board will all be diving for credit in claiming a whispering of the hire to the right people at Rice, so that it would happen.

I had a nice talk with Cheito at the WAAB golf tournament during the rain delay. What an outstanding hire! He tells me we have an outstanding transfer about to be announced and that they are looking in the portal for a couple of pitchers. Amazingly humble guy. Was talking to anyone and everyone there. And if you can find it, he, Enrique and his dad did an outstanding interview on the Astros Bases Loaded program on Father’s Day.

(06-30-2021 08:41 PM)jhruzek Wrote:  I had a nice talk with Cheito at the WAAB golf tournament during the rain delay. What an outstanding hire! He tells me we have an outstanding transfer about to be announced and that they are looking in the portal for a couple of pitchers. Amazingly humble guy. Was talking to anyone and everyone there. And if you can find it, he, Enrique and his dad did an outstanding interview on the Astros Bases Loaded program on Father’s Day.

I've heard we have 2 -3 big name transfers close to being locked up. Fingers crossed.

(06-30-2021 04:04 PM)bigowlsfan Wrote:  

(06-29-2021 03:13 PM)Ourland Wrote:  

(06-16-2021 10:33 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(06-16-2021 10:22 AM)Hambone10 Wrote:  Also, I spoke with Joe... and told him how much I admired/appreciated that he had so relatively quickly, even despite the excuse of COVID, recognized the poor fit of Bragga and not just fixed it, but IMO, easily potentially REVERSED it. I think that was a HUGE act and I told him so. I still have some issues/concerns with his leadership in some areas, but this wasn't one of those days or events. Even if it doesn't work as we hope or if there was an arguably better option available in the eyes of some... this was a GREAT move.
Jose will no doubt, pull out ALL the stops to be successful here... Bleeding Blue and Grey means something to a lot of us.

I really, really like the hire. I am sorry I could not make it yesterday afternoon, but I think we may have baseball on the right track. I wonder what, if anything, was done to restore the RBI Club to its former status, as that was clearly a factor in Graham's success.

This was a safe hire for Karlgaard. I doubt that Cruz was his first choice, but everyone is ecstatic about a former player of such popularity coming back to coach. It won't blow up in his face if things don't work out, like with Bragga. The Rice community is behind him 100% on this. All of us will have to eat crow if Cruz fails, not just Karlgaard.

Some will allocate a larger portion of crow to others than themselves, I am sure. For the record, I believe the hire will work out well also, so much so that the luminaries on this board will all be diving for credit in claiming a whispering of the hire to the right people at Rice, so that it would happen.

I am reminded of the old aphorism, often cited by Churchill among others: Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan.

(06-29-2021 12:03 PM)mrbig Wrote:  

(06-29-2021 11:11 AM)Houston Owl 2 Wrote:  It's my understanding that Rice and Methodist Hospital will be announcing a sports performance lab at Rice that may elevate the programs significantly...I understand that Methodist is investing multi-millions in state of the art diagnostic and testing equipment. I've heard a little bit of information about some of the testing that will be performed and it will be pretty advanced. I think construction is underway and may be about to be completed so an announcement can't be too far in the future.

Cool! That is the sort of partnership that Ham and ruowls were talking about a decade ago!

Thank you for remembering. The major part about healthcare that people don't understand is that it really isn't a 'business' decision being made in terms of how money is spent. The model all but dictates INCREASINGLY declining revenues going forward which requires INCREASINGLY declining expenses... so hospital systems are strongly encouraged to spend every dime they can on what the government defines as 'delivering healthcare'... so that they not dissimilar to how governments are discouraged from saving money this year otherwise their budgets get cut more for next... That's not a great explanation, but its the best I can do in a short forum. Hospitals need to drag out their expenses... and Rice with the BRC and athletics/health/wellness (which is a trillion dollar industry) is somewhat uniquely positioned to do this, even over schools with hospitals themselves (because its 'self dealing' which is mostly not allowed)

healthcare savings are designed around improving population health, which is not a 'this year' event. It is a multi-year, cultural shift that requires investment upfront. The idea that Rice promotes (better than almost any other school) the idea that academics and athletics (ncaa as well as intramural) are not mutually exclusive is a MASSIVE advantage for us, especially in that 'wellness' at Rice is part of the ADs office. This is one of the reasons I want the next President to have a p5 background when it comes to athletics and encourage Rice to become more of a destination for people who are more than just great academicians. (is that a word?? lol)

(06-30-2021 10:55 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  

(06-30-2021 04:04 PM)bigowlsfan Wrote:  

(06-29-2021 03:13 PM)Ourland Wrote:  

(06-16-2021 10:33 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(06-16-2021 10:22 AM)Hambone10 Wrote:  Also, I spoke with Joe... and told him how much I admired/appreciated that he had so relatively quickly, even despite the excuse of COVID, recognized the poor fit of Bragga and not just fixed it, but IMO, easily potentially REVERSED it. I think that was a HUGE act and I told him so. I still have some issues/concerns with his leadership in some areas, but this wasn't one of those days or events. Even if it doesn't work as we hope or if there was an arguably better option available in the eyes of some... this was a GREAT move.
Jose will no doubt, pull out ALL the stops to be successful here... Bleeding Blue and Grey means something to a lot of us.

I really, really like the hire. I am sorry I could not make it yesterday afternoon, but I think we may have baseball on the right track. I wonder what, if anything, was done to restore the RBI Club to its former status, as that was clearly a factor in Graham's success.

This was a safe hire for Karlgaard. I doubt that Cruz was his first choice, but everyone is ecstatic about a former player of such popularity coming back to coach. It won't blow up in his face if things don't work out, like with Bragga. The Rice community is behind him 100% on this. All of us will have to eat crow if Cruz fails, not just Karlgaard.

Some will allocate a larger portion of crow to others than themselves, I am sure. For the record, I believe the hire will work out well also, so much so that the luminaries on this board will all be diving for credit in claiming a whispering of the hire to the right people at Rice, so that it would happen.

I am reminded of the old aphorism, often cited by Churchill among others: Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan.

I told Joe when I saw him at the presser that this was a HUGE hire and a great win, regardless of the outcome which is of course unknown. I will be one of those eating crow... and happily so. This was a SMART hire for Rice.... which is what I expect... even if it doesn't work out. We were smart with OG, but we were also quite lucky.

(07-01-2021 10:19 AM)Hambone10 Wrote:  

(06-29-2021 12:03 PM)mrbig Wrote:  

(06-29-2021 11:11 AM)Houston Owl 2 Wrote:  It's my understanding that Rice and Methodist Hospital will be announcing a sports performance lab at Rice that may elevate the programs significantly...I understand that Methodist is investing multi-millions in state of the art diagnostic and testing equipment. I've heard a little bit of information about some of the testing that will be performed and it will be pretty advanced. I think construction is underway and may be about to be completed so an announcement can't be too far in the future.

Cool! That is the sort of partnership that Ham and ruowls were talking about a decade ago!

Thank you for remembering. The major part about healthcare that people don't understand is that it really isn't a 'business' decision being made in terms of how money is spent. The model all but dictates INCREASINGLY declining revenues going forward which requires INCREASINGLY declining expenses... so hospital systems are strongly encouraged to spend every dime they can on what the government defines as 'delivering healthcare'... so that they not dissimilar to how governments are discouraged from saving money this year otherwise their budgets get cut more for next... That's not a great explanation, but its the best I can do in a short forum. Hospitals need to drag out their expenses... and Rice with the BRC and athletics/health/wellness (which is a trillion dollar industry) is somewhat uniquely positioned to do this, even over schools with hospitals themselves (because its 'self dealing' which is mostly not allowed)

healthcare savings are designed around improving population health, which is not a 'this year' event. It is a multi-year, cultural shift that requires investment upfront. The idea that Rice promotes (better than almost any other school) the idea that academics and athletics (ncaa as well as intramural) are not mutually exclusive is a MASSIVE advantage for us, especially in that 'wellness' at Rice is part of the ADs office. This is one of the reasons I want the next President to have a p5 background when it comes to athletics and encourage Rice to become more of a destination for people who are more than just great academicians. (is that a word?? lol)

(06-30-2021 10:55 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  

(06-30-2021 04:04 PM)bigowlsfan Wrote:  

(06-29-2021 03:13 PM)Ourland Wrote:  

(06-16-2021 10:33 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I really, really like the hire. I am sorry I could not make it yesterday afternoon, but I think we may have baseball on the right track. I wonder what, if anything, was done to restore the RBI Club to its former status, as that was clearly a factor in Graham's success.

This was a safe hire for Karlgaard. I doubt that Cruz was his first choice, but everyone is ecstatic about a former player of such popularity coming back to coach. It won't blow up in his face if things don't work out, like with Bragga. The Rice community is behind him 100% on this. All of us will have to eat crow if Cruz fails, not just Karlgaard.

Some will allocate a larger portion of crow to others than themselves, I am sure. For the record, I believe the hire will work out well also, so much so that the luminaries on this board will all be diving for credit in claiming a whispering of the hire to the right people at Rice, so that it would happen.

I am reminded of the old aphorism, often cited by Churchill among others: Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan.

I told Joe when I saw him at the presser that this was a HUGE hire and a great win, regardless of the outcome which is of course unknown. I will be one of those eating crow... and happily so. This was a SMART hire for Rice.... which is what I expect... even if it doesn't work out. We were smart with OG, but we were also quite lucky.

It was definitely a very smart hire for Karlgaard. He covered his arse with this move. It's not a win for Rice if Cruz flounders. The outcome matters.

(07-01-2021 10:19 AM)Hambone10 Wrote:  ...encourage Rice to become more of a destination for people who are more than just great academicians. (is that a word?? lol)

Absolutely: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academician

I remember it a the title of many notable Russian/Soviet-era scientists.

So who is running the baseball camps? My son is going to one of the FUNdamentals camps next week, and we keep getting update emails from Elisa Bragga about the camps. Will Cheito have any involvement with the camps?

(07-01-2021 12:24 PM)Pimpa Wrote:  So who is running the baseball camps? My son is going to one of the FUNdamentals camps next week, and we keep getting update emails from Elisa Bragga about the camps. Will Cheito have any involvement with the camps?

It is my understanding the Coach Bragga is running the camps per a participant and some of the players helping with the camp. Seems a little odd but that is what I heard.

Cruz has no involvement with the camps.