Post by CEZAR on Dec 31, 2013 9:20:08 GMT -6
I asked Michael Jerman who is President of the Joliet IL Dirt Devils to give us his thoughts and answer a few questions for us here at ILSOFTBALL.COM and he didn't hesitate, Mike runs a great program and his goal is sending girls to College. THANKS MIKE
1.ILSOFTBALL.COM- Tell us about your background, grew up, school, etc. programs your story!
Michael Jerman- I grew up in a small town in northwest Iowa. It was called Pierson Iowa. We had to consolidate with a neighboring town to make a school district. My high school was called Kingsley Pierson High. We had 150 kids in our high school. I played Football wrestling and baseball. I was a varsity letter winner in all three sports my sophomore year to my senior year. I was being recruited for all three sports in college but chose to play football at a D2 school in Iowa. Growing up in a small town I believe gave me many more opportunities to excel and play sports. I wouldn't trade my high school experience for anything. I had many different coaches and some that changed my life and I still admire them today.
2.ILSOFTBALL.COM- What made you decide to go into coaching? What is your coaching philosophy? How important is winning?
Michael Jerman- I have always enjoyed sports and played with everything I had. As they say ( I left everything out on the field or mat ). I believe sports is what gets you ready for real life or can help you get ready with work ethic and discipline. I feel this headed me towards coaching.
As far as my philosophy I try to teach our players to play with energy and have fun. To practice hard on fundamentals and the game will come easy when playing. We try to teach that winning is great but if a team beats us because they were better and we gave it everything we had then we should be proud of ourselves! I also believe in trying to instill in each player not only to be a great athlete but to become a great person and leader. If they can change somebody's day just by doing something nice for them then do it. To me winning isn't everything but I am one of the most competitive people there is. I am once again fine in losing if we gave it 100% and left nothing in the tank. I think the main focus is on helping young athletes get into college. That is our main goal!
3.ILSOFTBALL.COM- what do you believe makes a great softball program, what criteria would you use to determine whether or not you have a good program?
Michael Jerman- I feel you first have to have coaches there for the right reasons. That they are there for all of the girls and want to make a difference in a child's life in a positive way. You will always come across coaches there only for their daughters and you will have to handle that situation when it arises. The biggest concerns I have heard over the years is the inconsistency of training throughout organizations. After talking with Marcy Kritikos of GenuWIN Sports Training in Romeoville she suggested that she, her staff and I train all of our teams and coaches during the winter. This way the younger teams are learning the exact thing as the older teams. Last year we bit the bullet and had an 11 week training session of the teams. We can see the difference it has made in our players. Even when they go to camps the coaches have made comments on how the players are fundamentally advanced.
4.ILSOFTBALL.COM- who is your role model?
Michael Jerman- My role model I would say is my high school wrestling coach. He always had top teams in the conference and made every wrestler feel special. He worked us hard but at the same time made it enjoyable that you looked forward to practice not dreading it. I still stay in touch with him today. He reads our accomplishments on facebook and always has comments.
5.ILSOFTBALL.COM- •What motivation techniques work best for you? What do you do with the athlete who is not motivated to achieve?
Michael Jerman- I use energy in practice and in games. I have been very fortunate the past couple of years to have players understand the energy that brings the team to a new level and they help with that. It all starts in practice and carries over to our games. They realize how much fun it is to play when they are all talking and cheering on the field. Once in a while we have to ask them to dig deep and give us everything they have for the team and they always respond. They never give up. That is one reason the past three seasons they have been named the cardiac kids. They will make a comeback in the last inning to win. As far as the player that isn't motivated usually the players handle that. They help motivate them by picking them up and making them a part of the team. The best player on your team to me is the one that can keep everyone motivated and play to their best potential.
6.ILSOFTBALL.COM- How do you promote your program to get student-athletes involved in softball?
Michael Jerman- I feel the best recruiting tool we have is our players and parents. They are the ones talking to other players on how well they like the program and the training they are getting. The biggest seller for us is our off season training that we are doing with Marcy Kritikos. She is a retired college coach who now has the opportunity to give lessons to hundreds of athletes. Her staff are all former college players. When I met her we clicked right away. We both have the same agenda to help make strong young independent ladies! The feeling our athletes have coming out of a work out with her is special. They have confidence and respect for themselves and others. I feel this has helped us the most.
7.ILSOFTBALL.COM- Explain what you envision the off-season portion of your program will entail?
Michael Jerman- As stated before we will this year have a 12 week training session. They are on Saturday afternoons or Sunday mornings. We also have the teams hit one night a week in another facility that we have that has 2 cages in it so they can work out anytime. We also have an open practice in January that we invite the colleges in to watch the girls to help in our recruiting. Last year was the first year we did that and it went very well. We sat down with the coaches after it was over last year to get feedback and Coach Frost- Fischer stated if we ran one every weekend she would be back. It was ran by Marcy and our coaches and was a very fast pace practice that had very little down time only to get drinks. I feel our off season is one of the best in the area.
8.ILSOFTBALL.COM- What are your thoughts vs PGF,ASA,USSSA NSA?
Michael Jerman- This has been a hot topic the past couple years and now with PGF coming on strong there are a lot blogs covering this subject. Now I am only stating my opinion and I know that will open the doors on some people to make comments but again this is only my opinion and experience. They all have their place in the softball world. To me USSSA has a very good program at the younger ages. Their website is one of the easiest and best. For their tournaments you can follow teams during the tournaments and season on how they have finished in certain tournaments. The problem with them and I was on the Board of Directors for the state of IL. until this year when I resigned, is the college exposure at the older ages. That was a big topic I kept bringing up every year. I resigned because now my personal team plays PGF and ASA. I felt they need someone to be on the Board that would participate more and have a presence at tournaments. ASA I feel in the Metro area has fallen down and had to open their eyes up when PGF hit the area hard last year. Playing tournament and Metro's with no fences was very hard especially if you had long ball hitters and they were being played very deep and it took that part of the game away from you. At some of their tournaments there were only one umpire until the semi finals. Playing very competitive that was frustrating. Now with John Radtke getting the 18U Metros last year it was run very well. I also see has been given more ASA?USA qualifiers this year and that will help ASA again in my opinion. PGF to me right now is the King. This is why I say that. There have always been 2 umpires and fences. The teams that come in for the National qualifiers are usually different teams from different states and they are very competitive. I like playing different teams and top teams to see how we perform. Playing the same teams every weekend gets old. I feel that Bill Conroy making Dave Betcher the Regional Director was a smart move. Both do and have ran very good programs. The 2 are also 2 of the top coaches in the recruiting area. Again this is just my opinion.
9.ILSOFTBALL.COM- What other teams in IL and the Midwest high school or travel do good job at competing and getting girls ready for the next level?
Michael Jerman- There is one team that I got introduced to when we were 15 years old. We entered a 16U tourney ASA and 3 weeks before the tourney I was called to see if we would move to the 18U tourney. I told them we were only 15 and they said we would be fine. I said ok. The first game we played the Bartlett Silver Hawks! When they walked up it was women versus children. We lost 21-0 with no errors. We had one delayed steal on them and Brad Denison played with class the whole time. We never gave up but they kept hitting them out of the park they were awesome. In talking to Brad during the game he was very respectful and also started having the girls leave early to get outs. What I learned that day and our girls was priceless. I know some are saying how could a butt whooping like that teach us anything? Well one was that it made the girls realize they needed to work harder to be like them. It also stepped up our game in the next three games we played that day.
Now playing against Brad and his son is always enjoyable and you know you are going to have a close game usually. If you look at the number of girls they have put into college it is very impressive. You don't always hear about his program because he doesn't have 7 to 10 teams but what they do with the success they have to me is second to none. I always try to talk to some of the successful coaches and have enjoyed talking to Brad. He does not have a daughter playing in the program and he gets to coach with his son whom he loves and cherishes the time he gets to spend with him. I can only hope my son will still be in the area and I will be able to spend that much time with him! I just want to say it hasn't gone unnoticed Brad!!! Great job and keep it up.
I would like to thank you for asking me to answer some of your questions and also for this website and blog. I like the more positive threads than the bashing. I hope people enjoy reading this and I know I am nothing special nor am I the top coach or program in the area. I do know I truly enjoy working with young athletes and get tears in my eyes when I get the call when one of my players that they received their offer from their school and they thank you. That is what it is all about! Thanks again.
Thanks,
Michael Jerman
Dirt Devils Softball President
18U Elite Coach
1.ILSOFTBALL.COM- Tell us about your background, grew up, school, etc. programs your story!
Michael Jerman- I grew up in a small town in northwest Iowa. It was called Pierson Iowa. We had to consolidate with a neighboring town to make a school district. My high school was called Kingsley Pierson High. We had 150 kids in our high school. I played Football wrestling and baseball. I was a varsity letter winner in all three sports my sophomore year to my senior year. I was being recruited for all three sports in college but chose to play football at a D2 school in Iowa. Growing up in a small town I believe gave me many more opportunities to excel and play sports. I wouldn't trade my high school experience for anything. I had many different coaches and some that changed my life and I still admire them today.
2.ILSOFTBALL.COM- What made you decide to go into coaching? What is your coaching philosophy? How important is winning?
Michael Jerman- I have always enjoyed sports and played with everything I had. As they say ( I left everything out on the field or mat ). I believe sports is what gets you ready for real life or can help you get ready with work ethic and discipline. I feel this headed me towards coaching.
As far as my philosophy I try to teach our players to play with energy and have fun. To practice hard on fundamentals and the game will come easy when playing. We try to teach that winning is great but if a team beats us because they were better and we gave it everything we had then we should be proud of ourselves! I also believe in trying to instill in each player not only to be a great athlete but to become a great person and leader. If they can change somebody's day just by doing something nice for them then do it. To me winning isn't everything but I am one of the most competitive people there is. I am once again fine in losing if we gave it 100% and left nothing in the tank. I think the main focus is on helping young athletes get into college. That is our main goal!
3.ILSOFTBALL.COM- what do you believe makes a great softball program, what criteria would you use to determine whether or not you have a good program?
Michael Jerman- I feel you first have to have coaches there for the right reasons. That they are there for all of the girls and want to make a difference in a child's life in a positive way. You will always come across coaches there only for their daughters and you will have to handle that situation when it arises. The biggest concerns I have heard over the years is the inconsistency of training throughout organizations. After talking with Marcy Kritikos of GenuWIN Sports Training in Romeoville she suggested that she, her staff and I train all of our teams and coaches during the winter. This way the younger teams are learning the exact thing as the older teams. Last year we bit the bullet and had an 11 week training session of the teams. We can see the difference it has made in our players. Even when they go to camps the coaches have made comments on how the players are fundamentally advanced.
4.ILSOFTBALL.COM- who is your role model?
Michael Jerman- My role model I would say is my high school wrestling coach. He always had top teams in the conference and made every wrestler feel special. He worked us hard but at the same time made it enjoyable that you looked forward to practice not dreading it. I still stay in touch with him today. He reads our accomplishments on facebook and always has comments.
5.ILSOFTBALL.COM- •What motivation techniques work best for you? What do you do with the athlete who is not motivated to achieve?
Michael Jerman- I use energy in practice and in games. I have been very fortunate the past couple of years to have players understand the energy that brings the team to a new level and they help with that. It all starts in practice and carries over to our games. They realize how much fun it is to play when they are all talking and cheering on the field. Once in a while we have to ask them to dig deep and give us everything they have for the team and they always respond. They never give up. That is one reason the past three seasons they have been named the cardiac kids. They will make a comeback in the last inning to win. As far as the player that isn't motivated usually the players handle that. They help motivate them by picking them up and making them a part of the team. The best player on your team to me is the one that can keep everyone motivated and play to their best potential.
6.ILSOFTBALL.COM- How do you promote your program to get student-athletes involved in softball?
Michael Jerman- I feel the best recruiting tool we have is our players and parents. They are the ones talking to other players on how well they like the program and the training they are getting. The biggest seller for us is our off season training that we are doing with Marcy Kritikos. She is a retired college coach who now has the opportunity to give lessons to hundreds of athletes. Her staff are all former college players. When I met her we clicked right away. We both have the same agenda to help make strong young independent ladies! The feeling our athletes have coming out of a work out with her is special. They have confidence and respect for themselves and others. I feel this has helped us the most.
7.ILSOFTBALL.COM- Explain what you envision the off-season portion of your program will entail?
Michael Jerman- As stated before we will this year have a 12 week training session. They are on Saturday afternoons or Sunday mornings. We also have the teams hit one night a week in another facility that we have that has 2 cages in it so they can work out anytime. We also have an open practice in January that we invite the colleges in to watch the girls to help in our recruiting. Last year was the first year we did that and it went very well. We sat down with the coaches after it was over last year to get feedback and Coach Frost- Fischer stated if we ran one every weekend she would be back. It was ran by Marcy and our coaches and was a very fast pace practice that had very little down time only to get drinks. I feel our off season is one of the best in the area.
8.ILSOFTBALL.COM- What are your thoughts vs PGF,ASA,USSSA NSA?
Michael Jerman- This has been a hot topic the past couple years and now with PGF coming on strong there are a lot blogs covering this subject. Now I am only stating my opinion and I know that will open the doors on some people to make comments but again this is only my opinion and experience. They all have their place in the softball world. To me USSSA has a very good program at the younger ages. Their website is one of the easiest and best. For their tournaments you can follow teams during the tournaments and season on how they have finished in certain tournaments. The problem with them and I was on the Board of Directors for the state of IL. until this year when I resigned, is the college exposure at the older ages. That was a big topic I kept bringing up every year. I resigned because now my personal team plays PGF and ASA. I felt they need someone to be on the Board that would participate more and have a presence at tournaments. ASA I feel in the Metro area has fallen down and had to open their eyes up when PGF hit the area hard last year. Playing tournament and Metro's with no fences was very hard especially if you had long ball hitters and they were being played very deep and it took that part of the game away from you. At some of their tournaments there were only one umpire until the semi finals. Playing very competitive that was frustrating. Now with John Radtke getting the 18U Metros last year it was run very well. I also see has been given more ASA?USA qualifiers this year and that will help ASA again in my opinion. PGF to me right now is the King. This is why I say that. There have always been 2 umpires and fences. The teams that come in for the National qualifiers are usually different teams from different states and they are very competitive. I like playing different teams and top teams to see how we perform. Playing the same teams every weekend gets old. I feel that Bill Conroy making Dave Betcher the Regional Director was a smart move. Both do and have ran very good programs. The 2 are also 2 of the top coaches in the recruiting area. Again this is just my opinion.
9.ILSOFTBALL.COM- What other teams in IL and the Midwest high school or travel do good job at competing and getting girls ready for the next level?
Michael Jerman- There is one team that I got introduced to when we were 15 years old. We entered a 16U tourney ASA and 3 weeks before the tourney I was called to see if we would move to the 18U tourney. I told them we were only 15 and they said we would be fine. I said ok. The first game we played the Bartlett Silver Hawks! When they walked up it was women versus children. We lost 21-0 with no errors. We had one delayed steal on them and Brad Denison played with class the whole time. We never gave up but they kept hitting them out of the park they were awesome. In talking to Brad during the game he was very respectful and also started having the girls leave early to get outs. What I learned that day and our girls was priceless. I know some are saying how could a butt whooping like that teach us anything? Well one was that it made the girls realize they needed to work harder to be like them. It also stepped up our game in the next three games we played that day.
Now playing against Brad and his son is always enjoyable and you know you are going to have a close game usually. If you look at the number of girls they have put into college it is very impressive. You don't always hear about his program because he doesn't have 7 to 10 teams but what they do with the success they have to me is second to none. I always try to talk to some of the successful coaches and have enjoyed talking to Brad. He does not have a daughter playing in the program and he gets to coach with his son whom he loves and cherishes the time he gets to spend with him. I can only hope my son will still be in the area and I will be able to spend that much time with him! I just want to say it hasn't gone unnoticed Brad!!! Great job and keep it up.
I would like to thank you for asking me to answer some of your questions and also for this website and blog. I like the more positive threads than the bashing. I hope people enjoy reading this and I know I am nothing special nor am I the top coach or program in the area. I do know I truly enjoy working with young athletes and get tears in my eyes when I get the call when one of my players that they received their offer from their school and they thank you. That is what it is all about! Thanks again.
Thanks,
Michael Jerman
Dirt Devils Softball President
18U Elite Coach