Jack Cline

*Story Time* I have heard it said over and over that I am a “Juco guy”. It is often said with the connotation that I am going to push a player to a junior college baseball program instead of the 4 year school of their dreams. Which, when you think for a second would be really stupid on my part. The fact of the matter is at the end of the day, EAP’s success relies on what kind of opportunities our players get after high school. Pushing a player to a junior college program if they truly are ready to succeed at a Division 1 level would be the death knell of my career. I don’t get kick backs from the JuCo’s. I care about my boy’s and I’m not willing to sacrifice their careers for a short term boost to my business. Jack Cline is the perfect case study to illustrate this. Although it should be stated, I met Jack after he was committed to NOC-Enid. His HS coach, and a good friend of mine, Isaac Delaney helped him with that. Jack went to Enid and worked extremely hard with the team and on his own. His work ethic deserves celebration. It is relentless. That is very important to note. Nothing will help you develop if you aren’t willing to seek out and stick with the CORRECT work. He spent his summers practically living at EAP and the school year supplementing team workouts with EAP’s remote programming. His sophomore year it started to click. He shutdown two different very good Division 1 JuCo’s. That’s noteworthy because NOC-Enid is a Division 2 JuCo. There is not light years of difference in the JuCo world between D1 and D2, but there is difference. Jack then earned his way as a conference starter and had a really good season. Honestly not eye-popping from a statistical standpoint, but successful. That summer he visited a lot of the top tier Division 2 programs and was about to commit to one when he asked me “Would you mind please asking UALR just one more time before I commit.” I agreed of course and I am almost positive my exact words to Little Rock’s then recruiting coordinator were “Give him a jersey in the fall and if he doesn’t earn it, cut him.” Next thing you know he’s performing very well in the fall, so they give him some opportunity in midweek games. Then he starts a game, and here we are now an hour removed from watching him throw a complete game 1ER win to put Little Rock in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011. What’s my point? 1. Jack was not ready for something like this when he was a freshman in college. 2. No matter how prepared a kid is to not play for 2 years as they wait their turn at a 4 year school it still takes a toll. 3. There are tons of really great 4 year programs out there that develop well, but two years of live game experience and reps with the starters in practice will often trump even the best development plan. 4. I have VERY close friends that are coaches at 4 year programs. They know if they truly want a player straight out of high school I am elated for him to go there. But the fact of the matter is, they typically want to see what a player can do at the juco level before they spend a roster spot on him too. All that, to say this. I don’t “push” my players ANYWHERE. I try my best to help them(and their parents) see what the path is actually going to look like instead of the romantic vision they see in their head. Too many see the commitment announcement as the goal. The commitment announcement is cool. But I want to celebrate college championship rings, and host draft parties at EAP. Not prey on the FOMO of players and parents by talking a player on to a roster that doesn’t need them right away. @jackcline0 if I’ve recounted your story inaccurately please tell me. Congratulations dude. You are living an EAP success story.

Have a day Jack!!! #EAPdude