It's been non-stop for Mayer since taking over as Napa Valley College's head baseball coach
Photos are of Derek Mayer
Photos by Marty James
By MARTY JAMES
There is so much that Derek Mayer has gotten done since taking over as Napa Valley College's head baseball coach last summer.
There are the four assistant coaches that he has named to his staff: Robbie Wright; Wright's father, Bobby Wright, who earned All-America honors at San Joaquin Delta College-Stockton and Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo; Dave Enochson; and Ken Mayer, Derek's father.
There is the fall program, starting in September and ending in December, that players participated in. There were practices 4 to 5 days a week and the Storm played in five scrimmages during the fall.
There are the recruit days, with prospective players and their parents getting a chance to tour the Napa Valley College campus, to see Storm Field and the athletic facilities, to hear a presentation by Derek Mayer, to learn about the program and to also ask the staff questions.
There is the new office for the Storm baseball staff in the Athletic Department.
"It's been my dream to be a head college coach," Mayer said last week. "It's the passion for helping the student athletes learn the process of how to become something more than what they are, potentially.
"I'm happy to be here. I'm living my dream, and I think everybody else here on the staff just feels really kind of the same way. This has all been a blessing really, just coming in and not knowing anybody. And then all of a sudden, I have this program."
Mayer was an assistant coach at Sierra College-Rocklin and Butte College-Oroville.
He was the third-base coach and recruiting coordinator at Sierra for two years (2019-2021).
He was the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Butte (2021-2022).
As the head coach at Laguna Creek High School-Elk Grove, he led the Cardinals to four straight Metro League championships (2016-2019). He was also the conference's Coach of the Year all four years.
He was a coach for the Las Cruces Vaqueros of New Mexico in the Pecos League, an independent league (2012).
"I think that's the goal of any new coaching staff – to come in and change the culture, and to make it their own culture," said Mayer.
"For us, we are trying to make the step in the right direction, as far as bringing in the high-character players that it takes to develop the winning culture that comes along with it. We're concentrated on high-character individuals over time because we're all confident in our coaching ability to develop them as athletes. So, we're bringing in guys that have great grades and are getting high recommendations from their coaches, about on and off the field character. So, we're making kind of just that priority to bring in just the guys that we think will thrive with our style of coaching."
Mayer takes over for Dan Parker, Napa Valley's head coach for the last seven years. Last year's NVC team (13-24 overall, 8-13 Bay Valley) lost six straight to end the season. The Storm compiled a .232 batting average, .338 on-base percentage, and .331 slugging percentage.
Five players from NVC were named to the 2023 All-Bay Valley Conference team.
Owen Schnaible, a sophomore pitcher, was named first-team All-Bay Valley.
Hunter Graham, a sophomore outfielder, was named second-team All-Bay Valley.
Selected as honorable mention All-Bay Valley for the Storm was Mateo Santos, a freshman pitcher-infielder, Raisean Avila-Dorsey, a freshman utility player, and Angel Cota, a sophomore second baseman.
This is a big week, and also a big month, for NVC baseball.
The Storm goes to Sierra for a scrimmage on Jan. 19 at 1 p.m.
Napa Valley has a scrimmage at home, on Jan. 23, against Shasta College-Redding at 1 p.m. at Storm Field.
The Storm opens the 2024 season with a nonconference game on Jan. 26 at Modesto Junior College at 1 p.m.
The Storm plays its first home game of the season on Jan. 27 against City College of San Francisco at 2 p.m. at Storm Field.
NVC will play a 38-game regular-season schedule. The Storm will play a 21-game Bay Valley Conference schedule.
"Every game is just as important as the next. We are not in a position to overlook anybody on our schedule. Structure and discipline are how we're going to implement the IQ and the routine that the guys are going to need to be successful at the next level, because we are the stepping stone as a junior college, to get them prepared for what's to come," said Mayer.
"And so, we're emulating a Division I program as best as possible with the resources that we have to make sure that they're prepared."
The fall was not only about getting out on Storm Field for practices, but also for Mayer and his staff to get the word out about the program, recruiting and hosting players and their families on campus.
"We worked all fall on recruiting and getting a recruiting class put together," said Mayer. "We had really successful recruit days. We have a recruiting program that we've got going."
One of those recruit days was on Dec. 9, when Mayer welcomed 32 student athletes and their parents on to campus. The tour starts at Storm Field.
"We take great pride in our field. It's our home," said Mayer. "If we don't keep it up, it's not going to look the way we want it to. Pride just comes with hard work at the end of the day."
From Storm Field, the tour goes to the weight room and then to the library. The group meets in a classroom, where Mayer has a detailed presentation of program expectations. There is information that is provided for the group, including that of NVC's on-campus housing project, River Trail Village, to be completed in the fall of 2024.
"We get them on campus, so they can see it. And then we follow up with them, about every week. We're planning to bring them back, when they're available to come and see a spring game, to see the actual spring season and what we do on the field itself," said Mayer.
NVC's fall program ended in mid-December. During the break, players worked out on their own, training and weight lifting, said Mayer. The team's first official day of practice is Jan. 15.
"We're full tilt, six days a week, for the next six months," said Mayer.
If they can't get on Storm Field due to the rainy weather and field conditions, the NVC players are working out, either indoors on campus, or at Diamond360Baseball, an indoor facility with batting cages and an outdoor area for ground ball work and pitching, in Napa.
There was a lot that was accomplished in the fall program for the Storm.
"I think there was an incredible amount of baseball information that was absorbed. It's exciting to see them absorb that, and to learn to put it actually in play now in the springtime, is what's going to be exciting," said Mayer. "If players haven't been given certain tools, both physically and intellectually, they're going to struggle. It's exciting to give them the tools to be successful. And then to see how and who kind of makes the best of it."
Mayer was a pitcher at San Joaquin Delta College-Stockton, Missouri Baptist University, and Lindenwood University (St. Charles, MO). He also played for the Reno Bighorns (Reno, NV) and the Marysville Gold Sox. He was a College Baseball All-Star selection as a relief pitcher in the Western Canada Major Baseball League.
"We're constantly preaching, we can show the players the path, but it's them, ultimately, that have to put in the work, to walk through the door. We have everything that they need here to be successful. We have the contacts, to bring guys in and move guys on," said Mayer.
"What we've accomplished in the first four months of being in charge, I think is pretty astounding."
The fall program is an opportunity for the players to get in a lot of work in all areas of the game.
"It's been a journey so far," said Robbie Wright. "Hopefully, they learned a lot (in the fall). We put in a lot of work – dedication, not only from the coaching staff, but from the players as well. So, we'll see what they retained.
"I think it's going to be a fun season. I'm excited."
Bobby Wright loves to coach and teach the game.
"We love the game. We love to teach. And that's the point here – you've got to teach these kids the game of baseball," said Bobby Wright.
* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019 after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016, the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, and the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.