As Tyler Deleskiewicz put the finishing touches on a 12-inning affair with Western Kentucky on Saturday, the occasion was a historic one – UW-Milwaukee baseball’s first win under new head coach Shaun Wegner.
While Wegner enjoyed the first win to his name, he made sure to not get caught up for too long on the win, but to stay focused on the present – just as he has in his previous stops as an assistant coach.
“Every day I wake up I want to set a goal of just, be present where you are and do the best you can right now,” said Wegner. “It’s so easy to get lost in the future and what that might look like.”
A dream job for Wegner
That mindset has carried Wegner through his time in a baseball uniform. The former catcher worked his way from walk-on to team captain in his five years playing for the Panthers, hitting .286 across 180 games. Among his most notable accomplishments in black and gold was serving as captain of a 2010 squad that reached the regional round – the most recent Milwaukee squad to appear in the NCAA tournament.
Getting the opportunity 14 years later to lead his alma mater? He couldn’t have written a better script.
“There’s a different sense of pride I feel for this university and for this baseball program,” said the new head coach. “This was legitimately a dream job for me, and I was somehow able to acquire it at 37 years old.”
That he was able to earn his dream job is a testament to his abilities as a coach – Wegner is just the program’s third head coach in 30 seasons. The Panther alumnus had the unique opportunity of learning under the previous two – both as a player, but also former head coach Scott Doffek during his recent tenure serving as assistant coach.
“I want to make sure I do them [former coaches Scott Doffek and Jerry Augustine] right and continue moving the needle forward, continue growing the program,” said Wegner. “Having Scott at my beck and call if I need some advice or some help, that’s huge for me.
“[He] provided me with a wealth of knowledge. He takes the game far deeper than I ever realized the game went.”
Connection the key to Wegner’s success
Sandwiched between Wegner’s stints with Doffek in Milwaukee were stints as an assistant under longtime coaches Matt Magers of Minnesota State-Mankato and John Vodenlich at UW-Whitewater.
The most important thing he learned during his assistant coaching tenures had nothing to do with X’s and O’s. The biggest link among all the successful coaches he worked with – the ability to connect with his players.
“He’s really good at connecting with his players,” said junior Johnny Kelliher. “He always goes out of his way to make sure he’s talking to each and every guy and making sure he knows where they’re at.”
Connecting with players is something that may look different as head coach, but isn’t new to Wegner – it’s something he’s done at each stop, from his first post in Mankato to his most recent tenure assisting Doffek. His experience as a player served as the most important avenue for connection.
“We came from similar positions as players,” said junior Justin Hausser. “He was a walk-on and earned scholarship money later in his career, and I kind of came from the same thing… just being able to connect through his career made a big impact on me and showed me the ropes.”
Kelliher relayed a story from Wegner’s time as an assistant that showed his ability to connect with players.
“It was last year after the conference tournament, we got knocked out and obviously everyone’s down in the dumps,” recalled Kelliher. “All the players got together and we’re just hanging out in one of the rooms and Wegner and [assistant coach Cory] Bigler surprisingly show up.
“It was just hanging out with your friends – it was cool to get to connect on a different level.”
Wegner quickly earned respect from his players, not just through his ability to relate but by his actions in-game.
“Something happened again with umpires, and he ended up getting tossed,” said Kelliher, recalling a series against Youngstown State last year. “Obviously, if you’re the assistant coach that stepped up for a game, you’re going to try and be careful… it shows that he’s not afraid to let loose if he believes in something and say what’s on his mind.
“He didn’t hold back, and he really stood up for the players in that situation.”
That respect stems from multiple areas – empathy, tough love and having players’ backs at all times.
“I think a lot of times players need hard coaching,” said Wegner. “I’ve learned that you can be really nice and have a really good relationship off the field with a player, but at the same time you have to earn respect, and then you demand respect as a coach at times.”
College baseball coach – one title, many roles
The job of a baseball coach often requires wearing many hats – a Division I baseball program features four full-time coaches for 35 players – just one team sport at UWM has a higher player-to-coach ratio.
“I’d be lying to you if I said I knew how to best do it already; year one and I’m still getting my feet wet with some of that stuff,” said Wegner. “Being able to get people on your staff like we have here… is pretty crucial.”
Recruiting players into the program has long been a significant task for a coach, identifying the best and the right players for a program. It involves finding players from all over – nearly half of the roster hails from outside Wisconsin. Coaches also must scout players from both high school and other colleges as almost half the roster transferred into UWM.
During the fall and winter, he oversees development of those players, figuring out how a seldom-used freshman can become a key contributor by his senior year. How can a pitcher throw 2-3 miles-per-hour harder? Can an infielder improve his running speed by one-tenth of a second from home-to-first? Can a lanky outfielder add the strength and power his frame will allow?
Come spring time, he fulfills the role of in-game manager – determining which of his players to start, when to use relievers, pinch hitters, etc.
And perhaps most importantly, he must keep the players happy to get the most from them. With 35 talented young men, that’s no small task.
A fulfilling job, regardless of wins and losses
With a job that features so many roles while demanding success, what makes coaching baseball at UWM a dream?
“The game of baseball is awesome, it’s fun,” said Wegner.
“It’s something that can teach us life lessons, but honestly, this job is way more rewarding off the field. It’s about seeing your players go on and become husbands, seeing them become fathers… the way they interact with family. That’s really what’s so rewarding in this profession.
“I love building relationships. So ultimately, if I can create the perfect father and the perfect husband, the perfect grandfather in the future and get them a good education, that’s going to set them up for the next 40 years of their life and not just these four years, I’m doing my job properly.
“And hopefully [we’ll] win a couple baseball games in the meantime.”