Carty to replace departed Calciano

    GCSU baseball transferred the reigns of power to former assistant coach Tom Carty on Wednesday, Oct. 24. Athletic Director Stan Aldridge promoted Carty to the interim position for the 2008 season after the departure of Chris Calciano.
    Calciano will assume a professional scouting position with the Boston Red Sox in the beginning of November.
    The former head coach led the Bobcats to their first two Peach Belt Conference titles in 2006 and 2007. An impressive record of wins, All-Americans and professional players highlight Calciano’s three years at GCSU.
    “Calciano did a really good job with our program and we hate to see him leave,” Aldridge said.
    This year’s success lies in the hands of an experienced former assistant. Carty served as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for Division I Marshall University and director of baseball operations for North Carolina State University before coming to GCSU.
    The Pennsylvania resident also coached at Division II West Chester University before Calciano signed him as an assistant two years ago.
    “I jumped on the opportunity leaving a Division I situation that I liked,” Carty said. “There is something about having the chance to win national championships and coaching talented players here in Georgia.”
    Under Carty’s direction the pitching staff accumulated a record 2.82 ERA in 2006. Carty, also, coached three pitchers currently active in the majors.
    In most situations a sudden head coaching change may stir up controversy and issues with team chemistry. So far Carty feels the team is behind him.
    “Our players deserve a lot of credit for responding to what could have been an adverse situation to set us back,” Carty said.
    After over 12 years as an assistant coach, Carty finally gets to take up head coaching responsibility and decision making.
    Carty said he is ready for the challenge after watching others for all these years.
    “Coach Carty is handling things real well so far,”  Kyle Hammock, a redshirt freshman pitcher and outfielder, said. “He is open and flexible with the guys.”
    In the past few years most of the starting positions on both sides of the ball were all but locked up by upperclassmen.
    This year’s squad goes into the 2008 season with plenty of youth and open role assignments.
    Carty said younger players have a chance to step up in competitive fall practices as the gaps between seniors and underclassmen tighten.
    “There are jobs to be won because all of our roles are less defined now than they were the last two years,” Carty said.
    The coaching transition gives the players a new look at practice. The intensity level is higher as the staff expects the guys to be more upbeat.
    “There is no down time at practice now,” Hammock said. “The tempo is upbeat because we are either jogging or in concentrated groups.”
    Repetitions are decreased allowing time to perfect mechanics which helps players learn this fall.
    Starting pitching spots remain open during the fall off season. Beyond the bullpen nothing is locked up.
    “My senior pitchers have to step up and they have done a great job so far,” Carty said. “It’s comforting to have those guys who have been through tough battles in the past.”
Aldridge is optimistic about the team contending for another Peach Belt title despite the personnel loss from last year.
    The GCSU department of athletics plans to evaluate Carty in his first full year as a head coach. The official position will be filled by a national search at the end of the spring season.
    The baseball schedule starts off strong on Feb. 1 as the Bobcats do battle in a doubleheader with the No. 1 ranked University of Tampa in Milledgeville.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 1 2007. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry