It was July and Chad Holbrook was busy recruiting in the South. It's not why he became a coach, but he enjoys chasing talent. And in his profession, he is known as a natural at it.
He grew up watching his father, Eddie, a former men's basketball coach at Gardner-Webb and Furman, put in hours on the road. He noticed his father's diligence and saw how he communicated with players. His father liked the players.
Holbrook likes the "chase," and that's why he was in Atlanta during the summer. It was a Thursday when Ray Tanner called.
"Hey, you gotta get back in town," Tanner says.
Holbrook knew why. Everyone did, really. Tanner has spent a lot of years in the dugout, 16 of them with the Gamecocks, and he was beginning to think of hanging it up.
As the seasons passed, Tanner added administrative responsibilities. He expressed his interest in moving into a high-level administrative role at South Carolina to the university president, Harris Pastides. Tanner is respected around campus, beloved around town.
"Ray Tanner walking into a room in Columbia is like Dean Smith walking into a room in Chapel Hill," says Holbrook, who played college ball at North Carolina (1990-93), then spent 15 seasons there as a coach before moving to South Carolina in 2008.
Holbrook spoke from his office as he prepared for the first official day of spring practice on Friday, his first season as the Gamecocks' head coach, and he's thinking about July.
That Ray Tanner would eventually become the school's athletic director was an easy image to envision. But Holbrook wasn't aware of how serious those conversations had become between Tanner and Pastides; how many baseball coaches become athletic directors anyway?
Holbrook didn't seriously think it would happen, so he didn't think about how, during his four seasons as South Carolina's associate head coach, Tanner included him in meetings on all difficult decisions. He didn't think about how Tanner showed him the way to finesse delicate topics when speaking publicly. He didn't think about how Tanner asked him how he would handle different matters that come with leading a program. All these little ways Tanner groomed his successor didn't cross Holbrook's mind.
It was summertime and future Gamecocks were playing somewhere, so he went off to find them. Then Tanner calls, saying he's an AD and Holbrook is a head coach.
"Baseball is important to a lot of people in the state of South Carolina," Holbrook says. "Replacing a man, coach and legend like Ray Tanner created a whirlwind for me."
Holbrook drove back to Columbia and met with Tanner early on a Monday morning at the Hilton Columbia Center on Senate Street, where South Carolina houses its recruits. They ate breakfast with a couple of school representatives and spoke with Pastides on the phone. Holbrook felt some nerves, not because of fear but because it all came together so quickly.
Tanner told Holbrook all the questions he would be asked at his press conference later that day.
Tanner stayed away from the baseball field during the fall. He's aware of his status in Columbia and didn't want the weight of his presence hanging on the shoulders of a program that's no longer his. He'd call instead, checking in on his coach and asking about those tough decisions.
Oh, there are still many signs of Tanner around the team. The Gamecocks will still have short, crisp practices. Their weight room routine, bunt defenses and signals will be almost identical. Their travel itineraries will be the same. Holbrook saw the importance of details with Tanner, and these are details that have worked at South Carolina.
On Friday, Holbrook will arrive at the ballpark around 7:30 a.m. He'll work out with the coaches, then head upstairs to his office. He'll have a couple of hours of media obligations before heading to lunch with his staff. After that, a press conference at 1:30 p.m., interviews for the players at 2 p.m., then at 3:30 p.m., the first pitch will be thrown for the first scrimmage of the first Chad Holbrook season in Columbia.
Carolina Stadium will be open to the public, and it will fill up as the town comes to see the man who is replacing the two-time national champion icon. People will want a first look at Collegiate Baseball's preseason No. 7 club.
Holbrook says he doesn't feel any pressure to become what Tanner was, to live up to the 738 wins, the six trips to Omaha, the legendary status.
"I'm not Ray Tanner and I won't try to be Ray Tanner," Holbrook says. "I can't try to follow his success."
Sure, he won't try to.
But Chad Holbrook has always licked his lips at the thought of a chase. This is just the next one.
Link:http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/8875749/chad-holbrook-begins-run-south-carolina-head-coach-college-baseball
He grew up watching his father, Eddie, a former men's basketball coach at Gardner-Webb and Furman, put in hours on the road. He noticed his father's diligence and saw how he communicated with players. His father liked the players.
Holbrook likes the "chase," and that's why he was in Atlanta during the summer. It was a Thursday when Ray Tanner called.
"Hey, you gotta get back in town," Tanner says.
Holbrook knew why. Everyone did, really. Tanner has spent a lot of years in the dugout, 16 of them with the Gamecocks, and he was beginning to think of hanging it up.
As the seasons passed, Tanner added administrative responsibilities. He expressed his interest in moving into a high-level administrative role at South Carolina to the university president, Harris Pastides. Tanner is respected around campus, beloved around town.
"Ray Tanner walking into a room in Columbia is like Dean Smith walking into a room in Chapel Hill," says Holbrook, who played college ball at North Carolina (1990-93), then spent 15 seasons there as a coach before moving to South Carolina in 2008.
Holbrook spoke from his office as he prepared for the first official day of spring practice on Friday, his first season as the Gamecocks' head coach, and he's thinking about July.
That Ray Tanner would eventually become the school's athletic director was an easy image to envision. But Holbrook wasn't aware of how serious those conversations had become between Tanner and Pastides; how many baseball coaches become athletic directors anyway?
Holbrook didn't seriously think it would happen, so he didn't think about how, during his four seasons as South Carolina's associate head coach, Tanner included him in meetings on all difficult decisions. He didn't think about how Tanner showed him the way to finesse delicate topics when speaking publicly. He didn't think about how Tanner asked him how he would handle different matters that come with leading a program. All these little ways Tanner groomed his successor didn't cross Holbrook's mind.
It was summertime and future Gamecocks were playing somewhere, so he went off to find them. Then Tanner calls, saying he's an AD and Holbrook is a head coach.
"Baseball is important to a lot of people in the state of South Carolina," Holbrook says. "Replacing a man, coach and legend like Ray Tanner created a whirlwind for me."
Holbrook drove back to Columbia and met with Tanner early on a Monday morning at the Hilton Columbia Center on Senate Street, where South Carolina houses its recruits. They ate breakfast with a couple of school representatives and spoke with Pastides on the phone. Holbrook felt some nerves, not because of fear but because it all came together so quickly.
Tanner told Holbrook all the questions he would be asked at his press conference later that day.
Tanner stayed away from the baseball field during the fall. He's aware of his status in Columbia and didn't want the weight of his presence hanging on the shoulders of a program that's no longer his. He'd call instead, checking in on his coach and asking about those tough decisions.
Oh, there are still many signs of Tanner around the team. The Gamecocks will still have short, crisp practices. Their weight room routine, bunt defenses and signals will be almost identical. Their travel itineraries will be the same. Holbrook saw the importance of details with Tanner, and these are details that have worked at South Carolina.
On Friday, Holbrook will arrive at the ballpark around 7:30 a.m. He'll work out with the coaches, then head upstairs to his office. He'll have a couple of hours of media obligations before heading to lunch with his staff. After that, a press conference at 1:30 p.m., interviews for the players at 2 p.m., then at 3:30 p.m., the first pitch will be thrown for the first scrimmage of the first Chad Holbrook season in Columbia.
Carolina Stadium will be open to the public, and it will fill up as the town comes to see the man who is replacing the two-time national champion icon. People will want a first look at Collegiate Baseball's preseason No. 7 club.
Holbrook says he doesn't feel any pressure to become what Tanner was, to live up to the 738 wins, the six trips to Omaha, the legendary status.
"I'm not Ray Tanner and I won't try to be Ray Tanner," Holbrook says. "I can't try to follow his success."
Sure, he won't try to.
But Chad Holbrook has always licked his lips at the thought of a chase. This is just the next one.
Link:http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/8875749/chad-holbrook-begins-run-south-carolina-head-coach-college-baseball
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