Chaminade-Madonna Looks To Build Off Postseason Success

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Chaminade-Madonna got a taste of postseason success last year, making a nice run to the regional semifinals before falling in a solid extra-inning battle with district rival North Broward Prep. The returning guys got a feel for playoff baseball and now part of their job is to help bring the young guys along so they too can get a taste of that deliciousness.

“They are much more settled now after having had that experience and seeing the buzz we made at the playoff level,” Chaminade-Madonna Manager Mike Moss said. “Now they come back and they almost expect that is where we are heading again. So you expect to bring that mentality that that is where we belong. That is what we want.”

The Lions got off to a slow start before turning it on at the end of the season and playing their best baseball when it mattered most. Coach Moss has always managed to get the most out of his players each year when it counts the most, and last season was another strong example of that.

“That gave our team such a boost at the end,” senior Brendan Tuttle said. “We knew we could do it the whole way. At the beginning we started off a little shaky, but towards the end we saw what our team can do when we work together. When you work together the sky is the limit for us.”

The emphasis is always on the end of the season. Coach Moss does not worry so much about the first part of the year, and he accepts that his team is not going to be ranked in the nation or anything like that. He simply wants the squad to work through the process so that they will be ready to compete against those guys who are ranked in the nation once the playoffs roll around. The process takes some time, and the players have to listen and buy in to understand how they need to play the game as a group in order to be successful.

“We played our best baseball game on May 4th last year against North Broward Prep,” Moss stated. “It was a 3-2 extra-inning game and we played hard and we played almost errorless ball. We swung the bat and we came through clutch. We did some things to win the game, so I was proud that we got where we needed to be. We played at our level and were as good as we can be.”

One of the keys to this formula is player development. Coach Moss has always prided himself on working with each guy in his program to ensure they get the most out of them. The Lions typically do not get young, polished superstar players coming aboard, but instead tend to get guys that want to learn to play the game. These guys have the desire and they are going to hustle and come along through the system. Coach Moss calls them program players, because they come in through the program and they learn. Sometimes they might sit for a while but some guys get a chance that get to pop right in. If they have a freshman who shows the ability they will put him in right now.

The key is to recognize talent and recognize where they are with their development and put them in at that point. Some guys need a little more time to develop and get some confidence at the lower levels, and some guys are ready to jump right in with both feet. Coach Moss loves to get guys who are athletes; guys who can run and aren’t afraid to play different positions. They are ball players because they can take what they’ve got and turn it into something. They’re willing to work within the system and accept things. They are gung-ho and they have a little enthusiasm, and that is how the Lions like to build their roster.

“Early in the year we try to go through that process. We try to get everybody starts and at bats and opportunities to show what they can do,” Moss explained. “We do what we can to start paring it down and forming the team that is going to be the group that will have to carry us when it counts. It’s a process, and if you don’t go through that I feel like you are going to rob yourself of seeing a kid that maybe you never gave a chance to because you always go with that same lineup. He might be able to bring something to the table that you didn’t realize once you see him compete.”

With six core seniors now graduated from last season’s squad, the responsibility to lead has fallen on the shoulders of the returning veterans. Five of those departed seniors are now playing college baseball, and each of the seniors on this current roster has that same level of potential in them. Key among this group is seniors Nick Izquierdo and Shane Stockelman, who both got a lot of playing time last year.

“Both those guys got full-time at bats and did very well for us, and they are our leaders,” said Moss. “Joey Baez is another senior that is a big strong kid and could really be a contributor with the bat, and then we’ve got some surprises. We had a couple of guys that came in from Venezuela and we’ve got a nice transfer from Archbishop McCarthy in Justin Pujols. Our other guys are guys who are coming up from JV who are really solid. I am really impressed with the way we are hitting the ball.”

Izquierdo is a three-year starter who paid his dues and sat most of his sophomore year, before earning his playing time a year ago. Now that he is a veteran senior he is embracing the responsibility to lead the team. He has focused on moving away from his role as a junior and stepping into a role as a senior leader.

“I got lucky because I had a lot of good role models of seniors and I just always had a good atmosphere with the coaches my whole life,” Izquierdo said. “I always just try to tell the truth and let them know if they are doing good or not. To me that is the best way to learn. I think I am starting to gain my authority, along with the other seniors. Last year we were really motivated by the end of the year and we were all playing for one another. We just have a winning attitude, and I just hope I can bring a winning attitude at the beginning and not just at the end of the year.”

Izquierdo admits that he loves playing for Coach Moss, who has a big presence in the baseball community. The veteran has learned his skipper’s ways, be it conditioning or base running or pitching. Like all of his fellow returning veterans, they have learned to follow the system and trust that it will work.

Coach Moss has never been afraid to give a younger player a chance. It has been one of the key aspects that has helped his teams always stay competitive, as well as providing an extra push of motivation for young players coming into the program.

“That was one of the main reasons I decided to come here is because I knew the opportunity was here,” said Tuttle, a sophomore who saw plenty of action as a freshman last year. “I have great guys leading ahead of me in the juniors and seniors. I look up to them and they help me since I am younger than them and they have been through these experiences. They give me the example and I learn from them.”

One aspect that has always been a staple for the Lions is playing a tough schedule. Coming from such a deep and dangerous district as they do, the team is assured of 12 grueling district games each year. Outside of that, the coach prefers to load up against competitive teams so they stay sharp all the time and don’t get into bad habits that could come with a lighter schedule. The objective is to play tough teams day in and day out all season long, so that when they get to the district playoffs and beyond it feels just like every other team they have become accustomed to facing.

This approach may not always give the team the greatest win-loss record, as last year’s 12-17 mark proves as an example. Yet the process worked to leave the Lions as one of the last teams standing from the county deep into the state playoffs. In order for this approach to be successful, guys must be mature and understand that it takes some time and there will be some bumps along the way.

“You have to have a feel for what kind of kids you have,” Moss explained. “Some kids it is harder to get that across to them. Last year we would take two steps forward and I would think we are getting it and then poof. Finally at the end we really started playing well and we came out with a very consistent effort night after night. That’s really what it is all about, being able to reach that consistency.”

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