Sunday Morning Chat: Coral Springs Christian Manager Matt Cleveland

Coral Springs Christian’s Matt Cleveland has built the Crusaders’ program from the bottom up. He was told that he would never be able to build a winner at the school, and after speaking with him, I think there is a great sense of pride of what he has accomplished in his time at the school. He also knows that he has the talent to take this program to a level that few in Broward County have experienced. In our interview, Cleveland speaks about coaching styles, why he has never left Coral Springs Christian and some of the top young coaches in the area. Enjoy…

Anthony: Alright, lets start off by talking a little bit about Coral Springs Christian. Your name is always mentioned when openings come up around the county, yet every summer you stay here. What is it that keeps you here year after year?

Coach Cleveland: Honestly, the biggest thing for me is being able to talk to kids about Christ. In my time here, I’ve had kids that were all Christians, teams of kids that were half-and-half. We believe, it’s just that, being a Christian doesn’t make you better than anybody else, or you sin less than people who aren’t Christian or not. So I love that fact that at our school you don’t have to be a Christian to be here and you can show them through the way that you treat everybody the way you treat them and just act like a regular person. Hey, I’m going to make mistakes, too. I’m not perfect. That’s what we believe as Christians. And so, just being able to do that, this year’s team is probably half-and-half you know. The kids that have gotten here, it’s not like we’re pressuring them to become Christians. We just want to be an example, if it was ever in their heart to decide to become one. Just the atmosphere here. It’s not a pressure about what you need to be, we just want to try and be an example, that’s one reason.

The other reason is because I think a lot of people always assume the grass is greener on the other side, and when I took this job, I turned down jobs even in my second and third years when we weren’t good, that were a little better. But I didn’t want to leave having not finished something, and it was a major challenge. If you’ve been around baseball in Broward County, my first three or four years we were in the bottom of the barrel, but the great thing is we are a K through 12 school, so we were able to take a good group of young kids that graduated in 2010/2011 you know, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, those kids all, most of them, came through from like seventh or eighth grade. And then, I knew if we started to win here, that people would want to come, ‘cause I saw all the other programs that were winning. So, I take more pride in the fact that I didn’t inherit something, that we built it here. You know, I don’t want to get too long, but the reason I don’t go anywhere now is my AD is my best friend. He lets me run the show, and we’re getting good players that want to come here. So why go anywhere else?

Anthony: You hit on something that I was going to talk about a little bit later, but we can jump into it now, in how you treat people. Around the county a lot of the coaches have a lot of, probably jealousy is a good word, for other coaches around the county, and you know, it’s really kind of cut-throat. But when you mention your name, you know you’ve kind of stayed clear of that and you have the respect of most as well as when you talk about the top coaches, your name comes up with a lot of them. What is it that’s allowed you to earn that respect from some of these other coaches when you see how they treat each other?

Coach Cleveland: Wow, that’s a good question. I’d like to think of it as just that I just love baseball. A lot of the coaches…I grew up down here so I know a lot of them from growing up down here. Whether it’s playing in the federal league with some of the guys from Springs, guys from you know, Taravella, just getting to know them, I’m just about loving baseball and trying to teach kids to play the game the right way. My biggest motivation is not to win a state championship. My biggest motivation is to coach a kid and get him to the highest level that his ability will take him and when he goes there to go to college or pro-baseball, that even more than just getting him there, that coach says, “That’s the kind of kid I want on my team.” [He] plays the game the right way, [he’s] mentally positive. So, it’s just more about that to me than winning. And I guess maybe people can just see that it’s, the good coaches, and this is the key, the good coaches that have people’s respect is because their major motivation is for their kids. It’s not about their resume.

Anthony: You guys here have some great battles over the years with Calvary Christian. The past few years they have beaten you guys in the regular season, but for some reason, your team has gotten them in the playoffs. What do you think is different for you guys when you get to the playoffs as opposed to the regular season in relation to Calvary?

Coach Cleveland: Hey, that’s the same question for the team from Palm Beach that keeps coming and beating us. They have a great program and they’ve had a lot of talent. They’re well-coached, they play hard, they play ’till the last out. I don’t want to call it being fortunate, you know, in the state playoff system it’s all one game you know, so…we’ve actually played some really bad games against them during the regular season and once again you’re dealing with high school kids, so maybe they’re amped up too much. You know, I think the district championship games have all just been really well-played games you know like, epic battles that, a ball falls here, a ball falls there and it’s somewhere else. I’m just happy that we’ve played well in those three games. I don’t think there’s any secret. I don’t have a formula. I’m just glad that we were better then than when we played them in the regular season. But they also played very well too. You know, so, you’re talking about a one-run game where 11 runs were scored in the seventh inning, and you had a 10-inning 5-3 win, and then last year, I think it was 3-0. So, there’s no secret, just get better everyday.

Anthony: This year your team, really for the first time, was reloaded with several transfers from other programs around the county. How difficult is it when you have this type of a team with talent that you have where the baseball community now expects you guys to play for a state title?

Coach Cleveland: I don’t know, I don’t feel that. I don’t. Like I said, I was telling the kids the other day, you know, I had a bad day, I’ve just been very busy just in life. And practice came on Saturday. We were out there, and it was beautiful, and it was three hours in, and I looked at some of the kids that were standing there and I said, “I just love baseball.” You know, this is just like what I was meant to do. You know, no matter what’s happening, I get out there and everything’s gravy. For me personally, I don’t feel that pressure. I just want them, all of these talented kids, this is the challenge that they all learn the game and they all learn to play it the right way. And understand that it’s a game of failure and that, just because you’re more talented than someone else doesn’t mean that you can just go out on the field and beat them. It’s not like basketball or football.

It’s an individual person, performing for their team at all times. You don’t run a pick for somebody. Ground ball is hit to a guy, he’s got to catch it and throw it. Once he throw’s it. the other guy’s got to catch it. So, I don’t feel the pressure right now. The playoffs are pressure-packed no matter what. And I don’t really want my kids to feel that pressure. Like I said in our preview, I just want them to know when we look back whether we win a state title or go to states, or you know, fall short. that they know they made every effort mentally and physically to grow as a team and then they’ll have no regrets. I want to win as bad as the next guy, but there’s a process that makes people win and we’re not there yet. I look at it as a fun challenge because that’s what I love to do. I don’t feel the pressure to be honest with you. How I’m doing so far, good answer?

Anthony: [laughing] Good. Well hitting more on that point, you’ve had various style times in your years here. You’ve had teams that were short on talent but had heart. You had teams that had a lot of talent that you admitted, fallen short of your goals that you guys have set. Talk about the challenges you face with different types of teams from year to year.

Coach Cleveland: Yeah, every team is different. Two years ago I had seven starters that played for me since they were freshman and five that played for me since they were in sixth grade. So, there were certain things that I didn’t have to repeat to them. But there were also new things that came up. You know, you’re dealing with high school kids you know, who have just become men. You know, you have to deal with the girlfriend aspect, the school aspect. There are so many different challenges. So, I mean, it’s just more, just taking it one day at a time. What is it that I pick up on that a kid may be feeling. A kid could be terrible on the field because he’s having a tough time at home. And dealing with a high school kid it’s hard to separate the two. You know, we’re men, we can do that. But you know, being in touch with the kids lives. Talking to them. I tell them, “Look, anything you ever need off the field, I’m here for you.” I’ve gone late at night and helped my kids in situations, not with the law or anything but, like when they needed to talk. So they, hopefully they know that, once again, I’m not perfect but…just understanding that they’re high school kids and what they’re going through. And I’ll tell them, “Anything off the field, I’m there. Inside the lines, I expect perfection. I’m going to hold you to it.” So, the challenge is, it changes day-to-day, it’s not even year-to-year. It’s more day-to-day and just adjusting.

Anthony: Going back to the transfers, this year the state changed their stance on how they handle transfers. Now they allow transfers even during the school year. We saw several students switch teams in January this year, one came to your school. What do you think of the new rule and how do you think it will change the baseball landscape down here over the coming years?

Coach Cleveland: Well in Florida, a kid’s only supposed to transfer for academic reasons.

Anthony: But we both know that that’s…

Coach Cleveland: I’ll leave it at that. I think there’s an atmosphere here where teachers care for kids and want them to be successful. We have a fun sports program in general; it’s not just us. Our basketball program is very successful, volleyball. Our girls basketball team was good. I’m not ever going to apologize for people wanting to come here knowing what it took to build this program here. My major motivation was people tell me that we would never win here. And anything is possible if you believe in it and work hard. So there’s no apologies for me for people wanting to come here because I have never approached a kid. You know, they come to the school. You know, they see what the school offers. But, to be honest with you, I don’t like that rule. I don’t. I think that they should have kept it how it was before. I’m not going to say no to good players, but I think that if a kid transfers in the middle of the year, they shouldn’t be able to play. You know, but, but, I’ll take it.

Anthony: When you look at other coaches and coaching styles around the county, what is the one thing you look at and think, “That just doesn’t seem like an effective way to coach.”? In other words, what is your biggest pet-peeve from other coaches from the outside?

Coach Cleveland: Let me think about this for a second…

Anthony: There’s just got to be something you look at and just say, “That just doesn’t look like an effective way to get through to these players.”

Coach Cleveland: Well, just staying on my main focus for coaching, and there’s no perfect coach. You know, I’ve made mistakes. I’ve blown up on my team when I shouldn’t have. You know, I’ve probably not blown up on them when, you know like I’ve said, they’re high school kids. I think if you’re always screaming and always just wearing them out all the time, you know they’re gonna get tired of it. They’re not going to listen, you know. I don’t see too many guys doing that. One thing that I think you know, the rough-tough, “LET’S GO, YEAH! LET’S GO!” That’s not baseball, that doesn’t transfer to the next level. You can’t play baseball with peaks and valleys. It’s got to be, you’ve got to be level-headed all the way through. When I tell my kids to be in a game, I want you talking about, what’s the pitcher doing? Is he wiggling his finger on the curve ball? Is he slide stepping? I’m not into the chanting and all that stuff.

And that’s not really a pet-peeve of mine because I don’t care what somebody else does. I kind of felt I’d always be a coach. So my approach goes based on the good coaches I had, and the bad coaches I had, and I think the key thing for a player is to never feel comfortable but to always know where they stand. So like, when I really wear out a player, sometimes I’ll let it sit overnight and then I make sure I talk to them tomorrow so they understand that I’m doing it for their own good, and it’s not about me. The pet-peeve is more just, I don’t have a pet-peeve with a thing another coach does, I just hope that their kids are gonna, that they’re learning what’s going to be successful for them. ‘Cause everybody in South Florida wants to play college baseball or pro-baseball.

Anthony: Along those same lines, what coaches helped — you mentioned coaches that you took things from — what coaches helped you shape your coaching style and which current coaches you think are the best at what they do?

Coach Cleveland: High school?

Anthony: High school.

Coach Cleveland: I don’t want to slight anybody…

Anthony: Or in your past…

Coach Cleveland: I’ve picked up stuff from a lot of people. Like I tell my kids, I’m always learning. I learn stuff from things that my kids learn in the summer and they’ll tell me, and I’ll say, “Hey, I like that.” And it makes sense. I think that some of the coaches that have influenced me, my high school coach was very disciplined on being on time and being professional and not showing emotion. Coach Hansley when I was at Nova was always very organized. You want your kid to be professional, you yourself have to be professional and be organized. There is always practice plan, everything is always written out so the kids can see it. Baseball wise, the little things that make a kid, baseball is a game of little things and the things that really set a player apart over the course of a season, it’s seven or eight at-bats. It’s two or three bunt hits. That’s the difference in high school between hitting .300 and .400. So, I learned a lot of the little things in pro-ball.

I was fortunate my first year that I played George Brett-owned Spokane Indians and he took a liking to me so I just, everything that he told me, I would just write down. And my roommate would make fun of me. “What are you doing?” I’m like “Bro, I’m a free agent. I’m not going to be here long.” I got to learn from Bucky Dent in spring training the next year and my manger at spring training, his name was Garber, I don’t even know his first name, but he was tremendously, like a perfectionist. But you could tell the guy cared about you. And I think that’s the biggest key if you want to get everything out of a kid. You have to expect a lot out of them but know that you care about them and it’s not about you and just winning. So you know, along the line I picked up some stuff.

Two of my best friends from college, Felipe Suarez who is the pitching coach at Nova Southeastern and Norberto Lopez, the hitting coach at Texas PanAm, we all started coaching at a young age, right after our pro careers ended, and they were a couple years older than me, so their advice and guidance when I first started out was a huge help.

Some coaches that do a good job… I think Coach Mucerino does a really good job at Calvary. His teams are always prepared. I think Nick James has done a great job of getting his kids, like I said, getting your kids to play for you and know you care about you. At Westminster, these are the kids I see every year. I think obviously from what I’ve seen, I’ve only seen Flanagan play a couple times but Ray [Evans] is very organized, he’s got a good coaching staff. Let me also make this point, my coaching staff is very important. Like Coach Carp and his experience as far as pitching. I’ve been blessed to have other guys like Dave [Taylor] who has experience. Head coaches can only do so much, so having good coaches around you is important too. Let me throw a couple more names so that I don’t slight anyone…

Anthony: Go ahead.

Coach Cleveland: (Joe) Giummule. I’ve learned stuff from Giummule. I’ll talk baseball with him. (Jorge) Miranda. Coach (Todd) Fitz-Gerald was my pitching coach for one year in between being assistant at Heritage and there. He’s very kind of, mentally tough. He taught me a lot about being mentally tough.

Anthony:Major league baseball always sets the trends for high school baseball. So how much to you think the move back towards fundamentals and away from the home runs you know, being the sexy way to play baseball is going to change the way high school baseball is played again?

Coach Cleveland: The new bats have helped us with that. I think that, all in like four or five years we got rid of the old metal bats, got the new metal bats and then you know, big leaguers, it’s a lot harder to be sauced up and just…so. I think they see understanding that… no mater what Major League Baseball does, they’re not major-leaguers. You know the small-ball aspect is important to win close games. You have to be able to get a bunt down or grind out an at-bat. That’s what we preach. You know, when we see a good pitcher we’re not just going to come out and hit 15 line drives. Good pitching beats good hitting all the time. So you gotta work the count, get the pitch count up. Get them out of the game so that we can get somebody who’s not as good and then we can jump on them. I think it has made an impact. I think the bats have made more of an impact to be honest with you. Gotta hit line drives, you know, you hit a fly ball…Especially in high school, we talk about this all the time. You hit a fly ball, one thing has to happen, a guy has to catch it. I learned this from Ron Pulp, listening to him talk at Mississippi State. If you hit a ground ball, three things have to happen. The in-fielder has to catch it, he has to make an accurate throw and the first baseman has to catch it. We scored three runs against LaSalle because the first baseman dropped a ground ball.

Anthony: You scored three today without a hit.

Coach Cleveland: Yeah! Just doing the little things. Benny making that hit today was big. Just getting it out to the outfield. Just understanding an approach on every swing. I don’t do a lot of small ball early in the year ‘cause I want my kids to understand that I trust them. I want them to learn that I want them to get the job done with the bat. You know, but we practice it everyday, we’re gonna need it down the line.

Anthony: When a player comes though to your program and you hit on this a little bit before, what is the most important, single thing you believe he can learn from you that maybe he wouldn’t learn from another manager?

Coach Cleveland: Ah, that’s another good question…I would say that they wouldn’t learn this from other people, because I don’t like to look at myself as better than anybody. Like I said, I’m always trying to learn something new, as long as it makes sense to me. There’s stuff I’ve learned that doesn’t and then I don’t use it. But maybe it works for other people. To me, the biggest thing in teaching these kids is that, to them, baseball is always their end-all-be-all. You know, and I’m blessed to make a living coaching baseball but I’d be giving anything to just be playing. So, I want them to enjoy it but I want them to also understand that the priorities that a man has. If you’re a Christian or whatever it is that you believe in, God has to come first. We talk about priorities all the time. You know, God, then your family, then school work ’cause you know, baseball is going to end for most of these guys within five years, and most of them, 99 percent of them, in 10 years, they will be not playing.

And after baseball then comes the fun with your friends and girlfriends, last. So, six. We always talk about the six priorities and just teaching them about life and getting them to understand to have the mindset of, enjoy this. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Get better because you love baseball but there’s other stuff that’s more important. Every decision is made that way here. A kid is struggling in school, he’s got to go get his school work done. You know obviously the family understands the commitment to the team, but if something comes up with their family, you know we have practice, hey, you gotta go take care of that. Somebody’s sick or you need to give somebody a ride. Just understanding that if baseball ever becomes number one you’re probably going to become less successful because you’re going to make it too important. It’s a game. Enjoy it. That’s my biggest message in teaching them, ‘cause I want them to learn about life, you know.

Anthony: Your team has one of the top prospects in the nation in Touki Tussaint, even though he’s a junior, he’s drawing scouts to every game. We witnessed the past few years a similar situation with L.B. over at Springs. There’s positive and negative aspects to that attention from a team aspect. Can you talk about both the positive and negatives of receiving that attention?

Coach Cleveland: Sure, lets start with the negatives. The real, only negative is just getting them the team, and I don’t think Touki, I’ve got to be honest with you, I’ve never met a kid who just loves baseball more than him. And I’m sure he’s a kid, so I’m sure it has some kind of effect on him. But he’s not a guy who’s looking in the stands trying to find who’s here, but some other kids will ‘cause they’re high school kids and they haven’t seen this. I just had a scout today tell me, “Are you ready for the next two years?” And I was like, “Yeah, I’m ready.” And he goes, “No you’re not.” The positives are all over the place. People are learning about our school. The word is getting out there. Other kids are going to get seen. Obviously for Touki it’s a positive because he’s done such a tremendous job of just improving and working hard. Two years ago he hadn’t pitched very much. For him to be where he’s at now is just a testament to him. But like I said, wrapping up, negative, just don’t try to do too much, stay focused on the game. And they’ve done a pretty good job of that. And the positive is, it’s good for all the kids. There is no negative really in having them here because it’s good for all the kids. It’s good for him and it’s good for our program and our school. Just keep it on the field.

Anthony: Alright, we’re going to finish with a little word association. I’ll give you a statement and you give me the first word or couple words that come to your mind.

Coach Cleveland: Alright.

Anthony: Your team’s rivalry with Calvary Christian.

Coach Cleveland: Character building and epic.

Anthony: Your assistant coaches.

Coach Cleveland: Invaluable.

Anthony: Biggest thing I miss about playing the game.

Coach Cleveland: Just the playing. I love baseball, just playing.

Anthony: My strongest coaching attribute…

Coach Cleveland: Oh….I hate talking about myself. Uh….just being a life-long learner.

Anthony: Something I need to work on as a coach.

Coach Cleveland: I think the constant challenge is just staying level headed. Because I am a competitor once the game starts. So just always, your kids are going to reflect your emotions. So always try and, that’s always my challenge I’ve had. I think I’ve gotten better at it, but I’m not going to kid myself in saying that I’ve got it all down.

Anthony: Alright, last one. State title at Coral Springs Christian.

Coach Cleveland: It would be a blessing.

Anthony: Alright, thank you for your time. Good luck to you guys this season.

Coach Cleveland: Thank you, thank you very much.

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