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Dustin Coffman is in his fourth year of
coaching college baseball. He began his coaching career as a
student manager at Indiana University in 2009 and was promoted
the following year to volunteer assistant. Coffman spent the
2010 summer in the Coastal Plain League with the Edenton
Steamers, who finished Top 5 in the country. From Edenton,
Coffman took his first paid position at Wabash Valley College.
Over the past two seasons, the Warriors have compiled a 93-30
record and have been ranked as high as No. 3 in NJCAA baseball.
In summer 2011, Coffman was hired to be an assistant baseball
coach with the Bourne Braves in the storied Cape Cod League
where he was again this past summer.
A native of Granger, Ind., Coffman earned a
bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Indiana in 2009 and
is working on a master’s degree in applied sports studies from
IU.
Coffman will share his thoughts throughout the
2013 season as he did through the 2012 Cape Cod campaign.
click here
for other journal entries
Sept. 28, 2012
Two Years Later
I’ll never forget two years ago Rob called me around 9:00 on a
Saturday night and told me I needed to go to Lincoln College for a showcase the
following morning. “How far is Lincoln College from here?” I asked. In typical
Rob fashion, he responded by saying “Oh, it’s just a couple hours.” Turned out
Lincoln College was four hours away and the showcase started at 9 a.m. sharp.
 So
I wake up and leave Mt Vegas at 4:25 sharp to head to Lincoln, Illinois. As I
arrive I’m not seeing big bodies that grab my attention. We go to do 60 times
and one guy might have run under a 7.5, outfield-wise one guy threw 78, and
infield-wise, let’s just say there wasn’t anyone for us. I’m not a happy camper
at this point. I cut my night short, woke up at 4:30, drove four hours for
this??? So we head to the bullpen and there is this tall skinny right-handed
pitcher from Louisville, Kentucky, throwing 84-85 with a good breaking ball.
He was OK, possible follow, but nothing worth waking up at 4:30
in the morning and driving four hours for. I circled the kid’s name and saw him
again a week later. He was 85 with a descent slider, tall, skinny, projectable,
thought he might be a guy that would get innings his second year. We eventually
have this kid and his family come visit. He commits, we put him at 9 or 10 on
our depth chart thinking he will be a good add on. The following spring we get
rained out so I run over to Louisville to see two of our other recruits play and
Brandon Allen was actually pitching that night. He was 81-82 that night and was
knocked out in the second inning of the game after rolling his ankle on a PFP.
DANG! I just wasted a scholarship! I recruited a guy throwing 81-82 that can’t
make it out of the second inning in a high school game?
 Well
to make a long story short, Brandon Allen came to Wabash Valley as probably
about the number 14 or 15 pitcher on our depth chart and now two years later, he
has offers from almost every school in the country. It’s really amazing to see
how he has matured and filled out from the little skinny kid in high school who
was overlooked to the guy who was undefeated as a freshman and getting attention
from some of the better schools in the country. If you have read some of my
other blogs, Brandon Allen fits right in when I talk about make up! He wasn’t
the most talented kid coming in but he worked hard every day and really had a
chip on his shoulder. Now he’s about to cash in. Congratulations, BA, you're
getting what you deserve!
Best
DC
(photos courtesy of Dustin Coffman) |
