Collegiate Baseball The Voice Of Amateur Baseball Started In 1958 At The Request Of Our Nation’s Baseball Coaches Vol. 62, No. 10 Friday, May 17, 2019 $4.00 Dads Are Amazing, Powerful Force Story after story can be told of their skills. He even temporarily moved to Denver and Topeka, Kan. for two summers so Nate could incredible fathers who sacrifice play on quality baseball teams. time and money to help their Mitch, the highly successful head coach at sons chase baseball dreams. McLennan Community College in Texas for the past seven years, previously coached 22 years at Big 12 and Southeastern Conference schools. By LOU PAVLOVICH, JR. His younger brother Nate is the recruiting Editor/Collegiate Baseball coordinator at the University of Arkansas and is one of the rising young stars of coaching who also is an ACO, Tex. — Dads are the most precious elite hitting instructor. resource a son can have. This is a special Everything in their lives was made possible by story about a dad who lived his life for his W their dad who passed away from liver cancer a few two boys as they ultimately turned into magnificent weeks ago on April 4 at the age of 81. college baseball coaches and human beings. Nothing brightened up Mac’s days more than Mitch Thompson and his brother Nate were knowing Mitch and Nate were having success in reared in Goodland, Kan. with a population of about life. He was their biggest fans. 5,000. His greatest joy was baseball, and he had The heart and sole of the family was their dad legendary status in the community of Goodland, Mac who coached them in baseball throughout Kan. as he spent many years investing his time and their youth and did everything possible to fuel their efforts in the youth of this town. passion for baseball. He coached numerous years in the Goodland Little That included making 7-hour trips to different League, K18 and American Legion programs. baseball summer camps for Mitch so he could In 1980, Mac led the Goodland K18 baseball team receive great instruction. to a state championship. Other times, Mac would travel six hours or more Mac Thompson Was The Ultimate Dad so his boys could play on select teams to improve See INCREDIBLE FATHERS , Page 2 Art Of Focus Vital For Great Results In Baseball BECOMING A WORLD CLASS PERFORMER In part two of Collegiate Baseball’s special report on mastering precision focus for baseball players, Geoff Colvin answers key areas of this important topic. By LOU PAVLOVICH, JR. Editor/Collegiate Baseball (Final Of A 2-Part Series) EW YORK — What separates world-class performers from everybody else and how are they able to focus at the task Why do some Nat hand when many others can’t? These are questions many have asked for centuries, but not “people work so understood until now. Geoff Colvin, senior editor at large of Fortune magazine, spent hard and with the nearly two years researching this question. He wrote a remarkable book called Talent Is Overrated. requisite intensity? According to Colvin, the short answer to being a world-class That is a much more performer is practicing in a precision manner on a regular basis for 10,000 hours. difficult question. But the subject is obviously much more complex than that. — Geoff Colvin, author “What separates world-class performers from everybody else is a deep question,” said Colvin. CONQUERING PROBLEM OF WET FIELDS — Jesse Cuevas Talent Is Overrated “The simple answer is the thousands of hours these people was one of the elite baseball field maintenance supervisors in spend with deliberate practice. But the question underneath that is the history of the game who maintained Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha for 42 years. He explains what coaches can do to turn See BECOMING ELITE PERFORMER, Page 6 an infield swamp into a playable field. See page 11. Inside C”ollegiate Baseball Web Site: www.baseballnews.com Conquering White Line Fever Rarest Of Achievements Done Hollywood Ending For Maine Tom Hanson gives important Cortland State’s Colin BeVard hits Black Bears were 2 outs away tips on how players can rid 2 inside-the-park homers in the from losing, despite no-hitter, but themselves of this issue/Page 4 same inning during tilt/Page 12 grand slam saves the day/Page 8 Page 2 Collegiate Baseball Friday, May 17, 2019 Incredible Fathers Can Pave Collegiate Baseball The Voice Of Way For Opportunities In Life Amateur Baseball Continued From Page 1 as I could to help my brothers. But I couldn’t because the fire was too He enjoyed watching and hot, and the tires were exploding. Collegiate Baseball (ISSN 0530-9751) is published twice a month coaching baseball, fishing, hunting Marsh and Matt were killed. January-May and once in June, July, September and October and most of all spending time with “I was in shock because I was (14 total issues) by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, Inc., 2515 his family. really close with my brothers, N. Stone Ave., Tucson, AZ 85705. Periodicals postage paid at “Dad had been fighting liver and we were best friends. We did Tucson, AZ. cancer for about two years,” said everything together. Mitch. “My middle brother Marsh was Postmaster: Send address changes to: “He didn’t want to travel to an unbelievable all-around athlete. Collegiate Baseball MD Anderson Cancer Center in Pat Harrison at Oral Roberts felt P.O. Box 50566 Houston for treatment because he that he was so gifted that he had a Tucson, AZ 85703 didn’t want to interrupt what I was chance to be a very high draft pick doing as a head baseball coach. He if he kept improving. Overnight Mail: 2515 N. Stone Ave., Tucson, AZ 85705 knew he would need some help “He ran the quarter mile and Past Publishers: Abe Chanin, Lou Pavlovich, Sr. getting to the Center. did the high jump, pole vault Single 1-Year Subscription Rate: $28 for 14 issues. “However, my dad did receive and was a track star. He was a Single 1-Year First Class U.S. Subscription: $45 treatment in Denver which is a little football quarterback, middle Single 1-Year Foreign Air Mail Subscription: $50 over three hours from Goodland, linebacker, punter, kicker, state Special Team Subscriptions: 11 papers each issue sent to one Kan. champion wrestler, point guard address — $110 (save $198 off the single subscription price), and “But MD Anderson Cancer on the basketball team and all 21 papers each issue sent to one address — $189 (save $399). Center in Houston is considered those things. He actually finished Other Multiple Subscription Offers: Please inquire with sub- the best in the world in dealing second nationally in the Punt, Pass scription department at (520) 623-4530. with cancer. So we eventually got and Kick contest. My brother was him in. They felt they could treat at the Super Bowl as a finalist at Directory the liver cancer he had. They asked halftime doing the Punt, Pass and him to come back in a month, and What dad did was Kick contest. Area Code (520) they would map it out and get him teach the game “My younger brother Matt was Publisher: Lou Pavlovich, Jr. (Call 623-4530) ready for treatment. “ a good athlete as well.” Editor: Lou Pavlovich, Jr. (Call 623-4530 to report stories) “So we took him back. but also taught The loss of lives was devastating Advertising Director: Diane Pavlovich (Call 623-4530) Unfortunately, his liver was starting to the Thompson family. Subscription Department: (Call 623-4530) to fail. life. He taught me “Our faith was the only thing Fax Machine: (Call 624-5501) “He endured two surgeries at that allowed us to get through E-Mail: [email protected] MD Anderson. At the end of those about work ethic that situation. I don’t know how Web Site: www.baseballnews.com surgeries, they felt there was nothing and serving others anybody handles death if you don’t more they could do for him. have faith.” “That was on a Thursday. I got while striving for Mitch said when he got back to 2019 Publication Schedule him back to Kansas on Sunday. excellence. He also the highway, he got to the other January 4 March 8 May 3 September 6 The next Tuesday night, he was vehicle that was involved in the January 25 March 22 May 17 October 4 transported to Denver on a Flight taught me to be accident, and discovered two February 8 April 5 June 14 For Life plane. honest even when it elderly people had also died. February 22 April 19 July 12 “He was having kidney failure, “The Highway Patrol investigated and all the major organs in his body is hard. It might be the accident, and they couldn’t were starting to shut down. So I easier to lie, but he determine what the cause was. Moving? talked to him two days later on the What they found were skid marks Make Sure CB Moves Along With You! phone and asked him how he was would have no part from the van tires that went from feeling. He told me he was feeling To change your address, please write us 30 days in advance if of that. He taught me their lane all the way across the you can. Mail to: Collegiate Baseball Newspaper fine. He just felt a little worn out other lane in this 2-lane highway Dept. Address Change and tired. But he emphasized that about humility and as the van crashed into a ravine 20 P.O.