Former Colonel baseball players Rudy Darrow and Kevin Schlegel are lending their knowledge to the Nicholls baseball and softball teams this season as volunteer assistant coaches.

After spending four years as a professional pitcher in the Detroit Tigers’ and Atlanta Braves’ organizations, Darrow returns to Nicholls to gain experience at the coaching level. After receiving a call from Colonel Baseball’s former head coach Chip Durham last summer, Darrow was offered the volunteer assistant coaching position for the 2010/2011 season. But it wasn’t until current head coach Seth Thibodeaux stepped in as the new head of Colonel’s baseball that Darrow accepted the position.  

According to Darrow, he enjoys coaching alongside Thibodeaux because of his intensity.

“I love listening to him talk after the games because he’s a very good speaker; I wish I could talk as good as him.”

Darrow also said that he knows the importance of reiterating the little things after each game from watching Thibodeaux do so. Reiteration helps the team understand.

As a volunteer assistant coach, Darrow is responsible for field maintenance as well as heading the baseball camps for local kids during the summer.  His duties also include helping out associate head coach Chris Prothro with pitching and conditioning during the season.

According to Darrow, one of his biggest assets as a coach is bringing positive energy to the field each day.

“I think being light out there and easy-going helps a lot,” Darrow said. “I always have a positive mindset and positive attitude when we go out there.”

Despite the lack of payment involved in volunteer coaching, Darrow enjoys helping athletes develop into better players.

“You don’t coach for the money,” Darrow said. “You do it because you love baseball, and you love helping kids out.”

After earning the opportunity to play in the minor leagues, Darrow offers his personal experiences to kids as they progress in baseball.

“I’ve been to the top as high as you can go, but I’ve also been to the bottom,” Darrow said. “I’ve experienced both ups and downs, and I think that’s the most important part of coaching—helping kids out.”

Darrow hopes to continue coaching in the future and believes Nicholls is a great start.

“This is what I want to do later in life,” Darrow said. “I know it’s a good stepping stone and this is where I went to school so it’s a pretty good opportunity.”

The Colonel softball team also gained the experience of a former Colonel baseball player on their coaching staff this season.

Kevin Schlegel joins the softball staff after catching two seasons for the Colonel baseball team.  During his time at Nicholls, Schlegel hit .230 with one home run and 33 RBI. Behind the plate, he threw out 13 base-runners while only committing four errors.

Schlegel was offered the volunteer assistant coaching job by head softball coach Jenny Parsons last fall, and he accepted the position as a good opportunity to gain experience at the coaching level. Though there are many differences transitioning to softball from baseball, Schlegel said he’s learning quick.

“I know the basic rules, but I’m still kind of learning on my feet,” Schlegel said.

As a volunteer assistant coach, Schlegel has similar duties to Darrow.

“My primary duty is to help the catchers since I have experience in that area,” Schlegel said. “But at the same time, I help with hitting and anything else Coach Parsons asks me to do.”

Schlegel is also responsible for helping assistant coach Chris Watford with field maintenance.

Like Darrow, Schlegel is also using his volunteer coaching position with the Colonels as a stepping-stone for a future coaching career.

“I always knew that I wanted to be a baseball coach,” Schlegel said. “This is kind of something that popped up to me, and it’s kind of a good opportunity to gain experience at the Division I level.”

According to Schlegel, coaching females requires a different approach than coaching males.

“The biggest difference is that you have to use a different tone with girls,” Schlegel said.

Schlegel has had to adjust to more than just the tone he uses with the softball girls. Schlegel said he is entertained by the conversations he overhears within the team.

“They talk about the same things guys talk about, just the other way,” Schlegel said. “The biggest kick I get out of it is they don’t have a censor of what they say, especially around me or Coach Watford.”

Schlegel is grateful for the opportunity to learn from Parsons.

“She’s a high character, high quality person, and she’s fun to be around,” Schlegel said. “I’m constantly learning from her and Coach Watford.”

As he finishes up the season as a volunteer coach, Schlegel is open to the opportunity for a paying coaching job.

“If a softball job came up, and it was the right thing for me, I think I would take it. I’m still young into coaching so any paying job I would probably jump at.”

Volunteer assistant baseball coach Rudy Darrow walks onto the field before the March 20 game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.