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Chaos in ICC Baseball Program

tornado

tornado

New member
A lot of people probably could have told you this was coming...
I have had kids that I coached who went on to play at ICC and all told the very same story of how badly this program is run...
read for yourself...
http://www.pjstar.com/sports/x1644090953/Illinois-Central-baseball-regaining-control

The title of the column is completely misleading...
"Illinois Central baseball regaining control"

as you can read for yourself -- nobody there really ever had control but the guy in charge is the problem.
 
Nice reporting by Capie and Eminian, but the title is absurd. It should have read, "Illinois Central baseball losing control", or "ICC baseball a mess". I know one of those 2 assistants who were fired, and he is an unselfish, hard-working and dedicated guy. I simply can't understand why ICC would turn their backs on the assistants and players' concerns and blindly ignore all the serious issues there.
 
Wouldn't you rather see your local junior college be a place for local athletes to play and attempt to earn a scholarship as opposed to bringing in players from all over the country in an attempt to win a national title? I know the women have had players from out of the area, but have had great success with mostly local talent. It appears to me the head coach is a little lazy, turned things over to the assistants, and then the administration didn't like what was happening.
 
Disturbed....I know several really good local kids who, when they ended their high school careers, would have gladly looked to play at their local juco..but...

first -- many local kids are not welcome there despite their talent --

and second -- even the ones who tolerated things and went there were told they'd never be given playing time over the "nationally recruited kids" because that would hurt ICC's prestige and recruiting ability as a "program that recruits nationally"...

So some of the local kids who had good talent literally had the uniforms unfairly ripped off their backs and given to someone else who generally didn't perform any better!

You gotta remember that the ICC head coach has been a top summer and travel coach for the very best and most talented local high schoolers for years.
Those kids literally grow up being coached by him and wanting to play for him at ICC but then they are treated unfairly and don't get to play...
 
tornado said:
Disturbed....I know several really good local kids who, when they ended their high school careers, would have gladly looked to play at their local juco..but...

first -- many local kids are not welcome there despite their talent --

and second -- even the ones who tolerated things and went there were told they'd never be given playing time over the "nationally recruited kids" because that would hurt ICC's prestige and recruiting ability as a "program that recruits nationally"...

So some of the local kids who had good talent literally had the uniforms unfairly ripped off their backs and given to someone else who generally didn't perform any better!

You gotta remember that the ICC head coach has been a top summer and travel coach for the very best and most talented local high schoolers for years.
Those kids literally grow up being coached by him and wanting to play for him at ICC but then they are treated unfairly and don't get to play...
Click to expand...

That's very sad. I don't think jucos were ever meant to be "recruiting nationally" and truly that is doing a disservice to the in district kids. Don't our tax payer dollars fund ICC just like we do high schools?
 
Seems like a bit of a different viewpoint regarding ICC sports (forget about winning and just give oppotunities to local kids) vs. some of the recent opinions regarding Bradley (winning is all that matters). :roll:
 
Da Coach said:
Seems like a bit of a different viewpoint regarding ICC sports (forget about winning and just give oppotunities to local kids) vs. some of the recent opinions regarding Bradley (winning is all that matters). :roll:
Click to expand...

Shouldn't it be different? No one said that ICC should "forget winning." It can be done here with local kids just like everywhere else.
 
I have no stake in ICC, so it is entirely up to the administrators and coaches there how they run their programs.
But it sounds like they did initially make a committment to improving the baseball team with recruiting the southern kids. Every recruiting trip, and scholarship given was agreed to by the head coach and administrators. Then they realized in midyear, before they ever played a game, that they didn't want to follow through on the commitment they made to those kids, and pulled the rug out from under them. That is what I see as the problem. They can do what they want. If they want a high-school level baseball program, then that's fine. But the way this comes off makes ICC look like they really screwed this up (despite what the blog says), and screwed up a few of those kids who would be happily playing baseball somewhere else if they hadn't been recruited then dumped by ICC. What did those kids do wrong to deserve this? Why didn't the school keep their promises to them?
 
I agree that the group of kids who left had some very bad decisions put on them and were treated poorly. That's now water under the bridge and you can't do much about it. But I maintain that ICC baseball can be much better that a "high school level" program if they decide to stay with primarily local talent. Just needs some investment from the college and the right coach, maybe Lorene Ramsey.
 
Da Coach said:
Seems like a bit of a different viewpoint regarding ICC sports (forget about winning and just give oppotunities to local kids) vs. some of the recent opinions regarding Bradley (winning is all that matters). :roll:
Click to expand...

I have no problem with Bradley being about equality and giving opportunities to local kids...as long as we go Division III. ICC is a D2 JUCO...Bradley is D1 Basketball..not even in the same stratosphere.
 
Da Coach said:
Seems like a bit of a different viewpoint regarding ICC sports (forget about winning and just give oppotunities to local kids) vs. some of the recent opinions regarding Bradley (winning is all that matters). :roll:
Click to expand...

Big difference between a local junior college and a local Division 1 sports program.
 
Time to do a little followup on the ICC baseball situation....

recall, ICC baseball recruited kids from 1000's of miles away, Puerto Rico, Florida, Texas, etc...
they wanted to build a national powerhouse juco program....

BUT -- two assistants were doing all the recruiting, then came a few complaints about this tactic, but this happened after the recruiting class was already on campus......and so someone decided there was too much conflict and someone had to go....so the admins cut the assistants loose...
then most of the top players left as well.

I have talked with some who are close to the program and they are truly reeling...
ICC cannot beat anyone...
they are 0-26 -- a pretty astounding development given that their schedule isn't very strong...

so -- since many of our readers pay the taxes that support this school, this program, and these administrators and coaches who have turned ICC baseball into a joke....I thought it might just be time to bring this topic back up.........
 
You gotta feel for the kids who are playing at ICC...they are now 0-30..

Hey -- I have a quesiton....if Bradley was 0-30 in any sport whatsoever, would people stand for just canning a couple of the assistants and re-upping the head coach??
I kinda think not......
 
tornado said:
You gotta feel for the kids who are playing at ICC...they are now 0-30..

Hey -- I have a quesiton....if Bradley was 0-30 in any sport whatsoever, would people stand for just canning a couple of the assistants and re-upping the head coach??
I kinda think not......
Click to expand...

When those 2 assistants tried to overthrow the program and were insubordinate then yeah I could see that happening.
 
I think what has been made known is contrary to what you suggest...

Kirk Wessler, and others at the PJS, says otherwise......just check those two links above..
Here are their points....

-that the "overthrow" or mutiny you mention happened as a result of the players' requests and only AFTER the two assistants were fired and gone did those players "mutiny" and bolt......the coaches were NOT responsible

-the head coach abandoned his proper duties, and if there was any inkling of the assistants "taking over" it was because they were required to -- even forced to by the head coach's dereliction of duties...
"Kelley then turned his attention to other duties, which include running ICC’s fitness center, and ceded control of the baseball program to his aides, Till said.

When the players arrived at ICC in August, no workout uniforms were available, and Kelley did not attend the first practice..
Other complaints by former assistants and players primarily focused on Kelley. They said he blocked their use of ICC indoor facilities in favor of other varsity teams and classes, ignored e-mail inquiries from NCAA Division I coaches interested in the players, and failed to arrange for the players to be fed on some road trips.

Till, unpaid as a volunteer assistant, said he and McCarty, ...bought players’ meals out of their own pockets.

...the entire team boycotted a practice, “to show (Kelley)
“They didn't see Kelley around, so they came to the guy they thought was in charge because I recruited them,” Till said. “But I didn't have control over anything.”

it is pretty clear the unpaid and minimally paid assistants were only doing what they felt they had to for the well-being of the scholarship student athletes...they knew
the kids were all going to leave if they didn't do what they were doing -- they were trying to save the entire frikking program then got canned for doing exactly as they were told to do.
 
Here's a comparative situation....
UIS (University of Illinois-Springfield) just started a baseball program up FROM scratch...they never had baseball before and this is their first year...

as you might guess -- with no history, no familiarity, and few scholarships (D-II) -- they were barely were able to land a class of kids to play this year -- and I am not saying they are good -- like I said they have every reason to be as bad as ICC and be 0-30 but that is NOT the case -- they actually are a whole lot more competitive than that!

They are not totally hapless as the ICC guys are....
they have won 5 games, and have been very, very close in at least (a couple runs or less) a dozen of their losses.....
They have kids who hit .370, they average 8 hits per game, and have a couple good pitchers (one is 4-1 with 2.90 ERA!)
...and their entire roster is made up of freshmen (16 of them - many from right around here) and a couple juco transfers since they have NO returning players -- this is the first year ever of their baseball program.
Brimfield's Adam Unes has been one of their best hitters -- as a freshman Unes is hitting .256 but has 15 runs scored & 17 RBI in their 29 games.
 
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