127 - Mark Gibbs: St John’s College HS (D.C.)

Better Men Better Ballplayers Podcast with 

Mark Gibbs; St Johns DC

Sponsored By: 

• Netting Professionals
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BIO

• HC of St Johns DC
• 339–90–1 Overall Record, .788 Winning Percentage in 17 years
• 13, 20-win seasons
• 6 of the seasons St Johns has been nationally ranked
• Before their 2008 season, St. John’s was on the cover of Baseball America, the first team from the mid-Atlantic to ever be profiled in the preview issue. 
• Gibbs has sent 124 players into college baseball from St Johns
• 17 players who were drafted by or signed to free agent contracts with professional teams. 
• The Cadets have won or tied for 1 regular season conference titles (2007, 2010, 2012–19, 2021), 
• 8 WCAC tournament titles (2011, 2014–19) 
• 3 DCSAA titles (2014, 2019, 2021). 
• Many Coach of the year awards (Washington Post, WCAC, USA Today, DCSAA)

NOTES

• The experience that I feel is best for kids and the reality it is, we need to find what’s best for us
• Staying together in the summer and fall has brought us bigger things that baseball
• Outsourced a strength coach (sports performance coach)
•  The HC needs to monitor it all. 
• Bring in people that the HC can trust and let them work
• A lot of what you are dealing with is not on the field
• If you have good people and you trust them that is the best
• Got to have good players and guys that are willing to work
• The guy was just a worker! His work ethic stood out
• They were very prepared in the whole system that prepared them for college
• Pitching, defense and baserunning is what you do to win games
• We prioritize pitching, not just fit it into practice
• In the live stuff we do, that is the most live baserunning situations we can get
• Play more live! Use the baserunners when pitching on mound
• Using their eyes to run the bases
• Base stealing and base running are taught in two different segments
• Year to year we focus on certain things more than others depending on your team
• You have to have guys that can do it (vault stealing/ new school leads)
• You have to have the time to teach it and put it into your program.