Just ask High Point University baseball coach Craig Cozart.
After going 21-32 in their first season trying to revive a program that last had a winning season in 1990, Cozart and his coaches believed that the school needed an upgrade in facilities to help attract additional talent needed to vie with the Coastal Carolinas and Winthrops for Big South championships and also compete in the NCAA playoffs.
Originally, they thought about coming up with the money for a shelter to cover the batting cages. After extended discussions with a potential donor, Cozart and his coaches shot for the moon.
They decided what they really needed was a building with lounges and locker room and indoor batting cages and pitchers mounds where videos can be made of players practicing and instantly played back so coaches can give instruction.
They tried to put in the best parts of indoor practice facilities where they had coached previously and eliminated what they didn’t like. They had blueprints drawn and an artist rendering done and made their proposal to the potential benefactor.
The out-of-state donor, who remains anonymous, said yes to the wish list to the tune of $2 million, Cozart described the donor as someone who likes baseball and wanted to help in the development of young athletes.
Cozart said the deal took eight months to come to fruition.
“When the donor toured our facilities and toured our campus, we told him what needed to be done as far as the cages were concerned and he was receptive,” Cozart said. “Instead of asking for the minimum, we asked for the maximum.”
He gave much of the credit to assistant coach Bryan Peters for developing a rapport with the donor that made it possible for Cozart and HPU to ask for the money to build a first-class facility, similar to the one built at Central Florida while Cozart was an assistant there earlier this decade. If ground breaking occurs next month as is projected, the structure’s exterior and the practice area will be completed about the time the Panthers begin spring practice in February, about three weeks before the start of the season.
“There was no thought of this building when we took the job,” Cozart said. “But, we recognized if we’re going to achieve our goals of where we want to be nationally as a program, we have to have better facilities to develop talent.”
The building will run parallel to the left-field line from just beyond the dugout down toward the outfield fence at Erath Field. Cozart said the side of the building closest to the field will be about 20 feet into foul territory. In some places, no fencing will divide the building from the bringing up the possibility that a wild throw to third or a foul ball could ricochet off the structure.
“Since there will be no fence, it will serve as the barrier in that area of the field,” Cozart said. “That’s something that we wanted to do to give our field a different feel.”
The main entrance of the 11,000-square-foot structure will face the dugout and will lead to lounge and conference area that will include big screen television and video game systems and a trophy case; and will serve as a media room when HPU hosts the conference tournament in 2012. In the middle section of the building will be a locker room and shower area. The locker room is big enough to contain a locker for each player, eliminating the current sharing among four of the 35 players, plus a shower for the coaches, who now share showers with the rest of the school’s male coaching staff. Cozart said the Panthers will now have their uniforms laid out before every game just like in a Major League clubhouse.
The batting cages and pitching mounds will be in the rear half, with cameras positioned to video players from various angles. Currently, student assistants take videos of players with hand-held cameras.
Cozart said use of the state-of-the-art video system will enable coaches to help a player work through a problem in a matter of days instead of weeks.
That’s in addition to keeping the Panthers from the mercy of the elements. Cozart estimated that he lost about a week of practice time to the weather last season. And that doesn’t count working out with snow covering parts of the field.
Cozart believes as a dedicated baseball practice facility, HPU’s will be the class of the league when finished.
“When you expect your players to perform at the highest level, you’ve got to give them the best resources. It’s all part of the deal.”
gsmith@hpe.com | 888-3519
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