TAYLORSVILLE, UTAH – September 25, 2015 (Gephardt Daily) – Salt Lake Community College Baseball is known to be a great program and with the addition of former Bees pitcher, Jeremy Berg, it seems it could only “get better.”
It’s those two words that David “DG” Nelson, head coach of Bruins Baseball, teaches to both parents and kids to help them through through both a baseball career and everyday life. “Get better,” said Nelson. “If a player is upset or does not like certain things, the best lesson we can teach ourselves and our kids is to strive to get better.”
That philosophy may have also influenced his decision to hire Jeremy Berg, who in 2014 had just finished his six year professional career, four of those years were spent with the Salt Lake Bees. “Berg is a dynamic individual, both on the field and off and he brings not just pitching talent to our program but he knows that hard work and determination helps in overcoming challenges,” said Nelson.
Nelson said he got lucky when Berg’s name came up after a young player on his team was really struggling in this delivery as a side arm pitcher and Nelson turned to others in the baseball community for help. “From rookie to majors, everyone knew Berg was the right one to recruit to help with sidearm pitching,” said Nelson. “Berg was able to help this player so much that he has since gone on to play in a Division I school.”
Berg, a native of California who now lives in Sandy with his wife, is well known for his submarine style of pitching. This particular method is when the pitcher releases the ball underhand, instead of the traditional style of overhead pitching. “It just felt like the right way to throw the ball and was the most comfortable for me,” said Berg. “It never felt as though it was wrong so that was the way I developed my pitching.”
Berg faced opposition to his style when he played at Cal-State Northridge just after high school and the coach wanted to change his pitching to a more traditional throw. Berg ended up leaving the school for a different opportunity but said he left the experience a better person. “They taught me a lot about pitching, it was not a wasted experience,” said Berg. “I was forced as a young man to reinvent myself.”
That lesson may very well be what makes him such an asset to the Bruins baseball program and knowing that changing the way players have already developed is not always the answer. “Working with their techniques and their delivery of their style tends to have a lot more success than changing their style entirely,” said Berg. “Often they find they do better when taught different ways to deliver the same pitch.”
Berg and Nelson seem to have incredibly similar standards when forming a team and developing the young men in their program and both agree that they hold character above athletic ability. “When we look for players, I particularly look for young men who are mentally sound,” said Berg “Learning to focus on the now, and knowing they cannot change what just happened, helps them to stay focused on the job now. They are always being pushed mentally.”
Berg also said that he feels that athletes that have played multiple sports makes for a more well-rounded athlete. “When we learn different movements, we teach our bodies how to develop athletically in different ways and that allows us to become stronger, more solid overall athletes,” said Berg. “I also believe that athletes need a break, not only does it help to preventing a lot of injuries, it helps to take a break from the movements of just one sport.”
Both Berg and Nelson agree that academics is also a huge focus in the development of their players. “We are a stepping stone to the next level for many of our players and without academics in place, it often prevents them from being accepted to bigger schools,” said Nelson. “We focus a lot on their grades, so much that over the last four years, our players have all had at least a 3.0 GPA. Our philosophy to ‘get better’ works in that aspect as well, they quickly learn to understand the importance.”
Nelson adds that he teaches his players to take pride in who they are, where they come from and where they are at. “It matters to understand who they are, what got them where they are today, such as support from coaches and parents, and to appreciate where they are right at this moment,” said Nelson.
Berg says that having the opportunity to work alongside such a successful coach like Hansen has been beneficial in helping him to make the switch from being a pro player to a coach. “Hansen is a really good coach and has a lot of experience, he has been doing this for a long time,” said Berg. “He continues to educate me on a lot of the differences between being a player versus being a coach and what really works best for the players and the team.”
They both believe that baseball is far more than just about a game and those who know how to play it. “We have these kids at a prime age, they are just leaving high school and entering into the real world,” said Nelson. “If we don’t help them to develop character skills at the same time, then we fail them, they deserve the best opportunities that both their baseball careers and life has to offer.”
Under the direction of David Nelson, the Bruins have been highly successful with two Region championships, two top 20 finishes in the NJCAA rankings and a conference championship and has sent over 100 players on to bigger schools. Over the years nearly 20 former Bruins players have gone on to play pro ball.
Berg also offers private pitching lessons and instructions through Rocky Mountain School of Baseball for those who maybe interested. “I don’t want people to think that all I do is to train others in sidearm pitching,” said Berg. “My goal and my job is to help those develop their techniques and skills at all ages as well as all styles.”
The 2016 Bruins baseball roster and schedule is now available at slccbruins.com.
