Missouri Head Coach Tim Jamieson
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TRAINING ROOM 8 COACHES CORNER PRESENTED BY LOUISVILLE SLUGGER MISSOURI HEAD COACH TIM JAMIESON: CHARACTER AND CHALLENGE ©2013 Clayton Hotze Baseball The Magazine Issue 2 • 2013 Page 73 TRAINING ROOM 8 COACHES CORNER PRESENTED BY LOUISVILLE SLUGGER MISSOURI HEAD COACH TIM JAMIESON: CHARACTER AND CHALLENGE hen Missouri and Texas A&M joined the Southeastern Conference prior to BBTM: At the same time, I would the 2012-13 school year, the Tigers’ imagine that being a member of the WTim Jamieson became the lone head SEC is a major selling point in re- coach in the country’s premier baseball conference cruiting in terms of having the oppor- to have 600 victories at his current job. And while this tunity to compete with some of the season has been one full of challenges for a Mizzou best programs in college baseball. team that triumphed in only 12 of its fi rst 32 contests Jamieson: It is, and those teams after winning the Big 12 Conference last spring, have to come here to play. The envi- Jamieson has built a strong foundation in his 19 years ronment they have to play in here is at the dugout helm and signed a two-year extension different than any other environment last fall. they are used to playing in, especial- “We’re so pleased with the job Coach Jamieson is ly early in the year. As time goes on, doing with our program,” director of athletics Mike that will be an advantage for us. For Alden said upon announcing the contract extension. several years we tried to get SEC “Coming off the Big 12 championship, we are looking teams to play us home-and-home forward to the challenges ahead in the SEC. Tim, his series when we were in the Big 12 staff and our students are a tremendous refl ection of and we couldn’t get anyone to come the core values of the University of Missouri.” here. Now we’re provided with that The Tigers have one of the youngest teams in the opportunity. SEC this season, with as many as six freshmen BBTM: Your father was a football manning defense at any given time. The current class coach. Because of that, did you give serious consideration to coaching at a of newcomers also was ranked among the top 25 young age? recruiting classes last fall, which should bode well Jamieson: It was always something that was out there. For me there’s no ques- for the future. Jamieson, meanwhile, relishes the tion I wanted to remain either as an athlete or in athletics. Coaching would pro- challenges associated with coaching against the best vide that as an opportunity. It’s not something that I necessarily aspired to be. But the college game has to offer, which is something he I became a graduate assistant coach while I was working on my graduate degree has done with consistency at Missouri. Along the way and it didn’t take me very long to realize that’s what I wanted to do. I kind of fell in he has posted 14 30-win seasons and become the love with coaching during that time. But athletics had been a major part of my life second-winningest head coach in Mizzou baseball an- since day one and I wanted that to continue. nals, trailing only Gene McArtor’s 733 career victories. BBTM: It appears to me that all successful coaches have a great passion for Jamieson recently spoke with Baseball The Maga- what they do. zine’s Bill Ballew about his job at Missouri and the Jamieson: There’s no question about it. I have a passion for the sport of base- state of college baseball. ball, a passion for the teaching, and a passion for the camaraderie and the effort BBTM: How have you felt about your team’s perfor- that comes along with the ups and downs of being part of a team. It’s a very mance this season? special job. Now that we’re a part of the SEC, it’s being a part of a team at the Jamieson: We’ve struggled at times this season. We highest level. That’s something when you start out in this business that you cer- got off to a slow start due to injury issues and weather tainly hope to do. You want to see how far you can get and how successful you issues. We’ve battled even though it’s been a little can become while facing the greatest challenges the game has to offer. bit fruitless on occasion. Going to the Southeastern BBTM: With your dad being a football coach, was baseball always your passion Conference has been an exciting challenge and it’s or were you involved in football as well? something that in time will be a really good move Jamieson: Like most people my age I played all sports. That’s all there was to for us. In the short term, we’ve had to make some do. We were seasonal players, playing football in football season and baseball in adjustments and discover some new situations. The baseball season and so forth. I was a year-round athlete, like most of the kids I Big 12 is a solid conference where we played in front grew up with. Whatever season we were in, that’s what I was passionate about. I of crowds and in facilities against programs that are loved playing football, basketball and baseball. As it turned out, I was better-suit- the caliber of teams in the SEC. My impression of the ed to play the sport of baseball beyond high school. That’s the path I was given SEC thus far is that there are simply more of them. and the path that I chose. BBTM: You are at somewhat of a disadvantage in BBTM: Dr. James Andrews recently said that he has seen a signifi cant increase the East Division of the SEC by being the northern- in injuries in the past 10 years in young athletes. The reason, he says, is because most school. In the Big 12, you were on a more level they are playing only one sport, which is leading to overuse. Do you believe that playing fi eld in terms of the weather, which can be a young men become better all-around athletes when they play more than one factor, especially early in the season and during pre- sport? season practice. Jamieson: Yes. I think it does a lot of things. No matter what your intentions are, Jamieson: It’s a challenge and it’s something that whether you’re working on your own or working with an instructor, it’s not the you have to embrace. We know who we are and we same as a team environment. The competitiveness that comes with being on a realize that our road is a little more diffi cult than oth- team is very benefi cial. The same goes for learning how to be part of a team. If ers. But that’s not a reason to not win or not do well. you have a sport that you are most passionate about, you can still work on that At the same time, we were supposed to open our sport while playing on a team in another sport. So I completely agree with that. season this year against Northwestern at home and To put all your eggs in one basket, particularly when you don’t know if it’s your had to cancel the series because we had 10 inches favorite because you never played any other sports, is not the best situation for of snow on the ground. Most other teams in the SEC any young athlete. certainly don’t have to deal with that. Page 74 • www.batwars.com • www.baseballthemag.com BBTM: Are there certain qualities that you look for when recruiting potential Tigers? Jamieson: We don’t take shortcuts on character. We would not take someone with an abundance of talent but had a lack of character. That’s something that is paramount with this school and our baseball program. We want players that respect everything they are provided and be appreciative of that. Here at Missouri, we have to embrace who we are, and character includes looking at things and opportunities from a positive standpoint. We have to play more games on the road and sometimes we play in difficult condi- tions. For us to be successful, we have to have kids who embrace that. Work ethic is so important because we don’t have many advantages against the people we play against. BBTM: You realize that being a college baseball player is not as glamorous as many young people think it may be. You spend a lot of time traveling and as a result you have to be very organized in order to get all of your school work done while also doing what is needed to be the best player you can be. Jamieson: That’s right. And when a player comes here, he has to be serious about getting his degree. We do play more games on the road than most other teams ©2013 Clayton Hotze in the SEC, so you have to be driven to have success in the classroom and on the most of it and exceed outside expectations are all fun parts field. Our players do receive a lot of help here. There’s a lot of support for of the job. I like it that way and that sort of challenge has the student-athletes.