Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.Baseball coach Darin Erstad had just given his best hitter a noteworthy compliment before interrupting himself to make sure his audience understood that Kash Kalkowski still has things to prove in practice.
Erstad gushed over Kalkowski's swing — "one of the best around," he said. And Erstad admitted that the .299 hitter, who had more home runs (5) and RBIs (42) last year than any other returning Husker, would probably bat third all season while splitting time between first base and the DH spot.
Then Erstad stopped.
"But again," Erstad said, "if he doesn't want to play hard, I'll have him do a chart in the dugout."
The crowd of about 200 chuckled inside the Embassy Suites in Lincoln during a Nebraska athletic fund luncheon Friday.
Erstad wasn't joking.
"I'm not going to put guys out there who don't earn it," he said.
This is how the first-year NU coach wants to define his program — what he perceives as the philosophy that the hard-working Huskers used to build an annual contender about a decade ago.
Former Husker Brian Duensing, now a pitcher for the Minnesota Twins, spoke a bit about that mind-set Friday night at the Home Run Club's season-opening banquet at the La Vista Conference Center. He was the keynote speaker, introduced by volunteer coach Jeff Christy as a player who represents the "epitome of Nebraska baseball."
Duensing talked about overcoming injuries during his Husker career. And proving himself at multiple minor league stops. Making the majors. Getting sent down.
"Life can be tough," he said. "It can be scary at times. You've just got to find a way to enjoy it."
Erstad's hoping his players adopt that same type of resiliency. But he won't know how they'll respond to adversity until they face it.
He asked the Huskers to commit to a revamped nutrition and conditioning program during the offseason A demanding regimen. They passed that test, Erstad said.
After getting hired, he and his staff added California, a 2011 College World Series participant, to the 2012 schedule to help challenge his group. That series begins in March.
Next year, Erstad said he's working on a nonconference schedule that would include Texas, Arkansas, UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton. Erstad's approach: Play the best to be the best.
"I want to be in Omaha — 30,000 people wearing red, going bonkers in the stands — with 35 guys in red jumping on the mound," Erstad said.
That's a lofty goal for a team that's missed its conference tournament the last three seasons. Erstad knows it. But he's instilling a new culture, with new standards.
"You can save it with the rebuilding — we're here to win," he said. "Now, are we setting (the goals) too high? Maybe. But that's what our mind-set's going to be."
Contact the writer:
402-473-9585, jon.nyatawa@owh.com
twitter.com/JonNyatawa
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
RSS Feeds