Feb. 15, 2006
The Notre Dame baseball team’s season opener is just eight days away and first-year assistant coach Cliff Godwin takes his turn stopping by und.com for a special “getting to know” feature that is a combination practice report and Q&A. Coach Godwin was an accomplished three-sport athlete while growing up in North Carolina and went on to be a star catcher and Academic All-American with some talented teams at East Carolina. Most recently, he served on the baseball staffs at North Carolina-Wilmington and Vanderbilt before joining the Notre Dame staff in August of 2005.
Q: You have been at Notre Dame now for six months. What are your overall impressions of the University in general and the baseball program in particular?
A:“First off, everyone tells you how great this place is but you really don’t know how great the University of Notre Dame is until you experience it firsthand. Notre Dame is a very unique place, like no other place in the country. The people associated with Notre Dame are first-class and are willing to help you out with whatever you may need. As for the baseball program, I have a chance each and every day to work with one of the best head coaches in the country in Paul Mainieri – a guy who has a great desire to win but at the same time cares about his players more than any coach I have every been associated with. As for our players, they are top-notch. They have a lot on their plates with school and a full-time baseball commitment but they still come ready to practice every day. They are self-motivated and strive to do their best in all aspects of life: school, baseball and representing the University of Notre Dame in a positive light. I have really enjoyed being able to work with such an outstanding group of young men.”
Cliff Godwin’s coaching experience includes stints at Vanderbilt and UNC Wilmington – plus a head-coaching position during the summer of ’05 in the college wood-bat Çoastal Plains League.
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Q: You previously have worked on the staffs at UNC Wilmington and Vanderbilt. What lessons did you take from those experiences and how do you feel they have prepared you for the position at Notre Dame?
A: “Every coach is different and there is always more than one way for college baseball programs to be successful. I have learned that every player on your team has a different personality. It is your job to try and find a way to motivate each individual – know when you can push harder and know when to back off. I also have learned always have your door open – meaning that players know that you care about them and they can come talk to you. The last lesson is to be a tireless worker. Every coach who is successful works around the clock and never says `no’ to a player when they want to work extra.”
Q: Similar to Paul Mainieri, you also are the son of a highly-respected coach, as your father Lewis was the basketball coach at Greene Central High School in North Carolina? You even played for your dad during your three-sport prep career. What did you learn from your dad about sports as you were growing up and how much of his influence is part of your own coaching career?
A: “First off, he influenced me a lot – even before the days of playing for him, he instilled in me a great work ethic. He always told me you must earn everything and don’t expect handouts. Along with this was self-discipline – when no one else was working on getting better, you had to get it done on your own. He truly cared about his players and always did stuff behind the scenes to help them out in a time of need.”
Q: Following up on your sports career, you were an all-star performer in several sports during high school. Did you always know that baseball would be your main sport?
A: “Actually, no. Basketball and football were my two best sports in high school. Basketball was my first love, but everyone around me told me I would end up being a better baseball player in the long run. I was recruited to East Carolina as a athlete so to speak and the coaches felt if I devoted my time to baseball all year long I might end up being a player.”
Cliff Godwin was a three-year captain and starting catcher at East Carolina from 1999-2001, earning ABCA all-region honors in ’01 after batting .322 with 15 home runs and 45 RBI for the 2001 team that went 47-13 and reached the NCAA Super Regionals.
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Q: You actually have some head coaching experience from this past summer in the Coastal Plains League. Tell us about that experience, getting the chance to coach some quality college players from around the country. Current Notre Dame centerfielder Alex Nettey actually was on a rival team of yours in that wood-bat league.
A: “It was a great experience. First off, you got a chance to pick your team in the fall. So the fall was kind of a recruiting process of sorts to put together a team. I actually had [current Notre Dame junior pitcher] Jess Stewart slated to play for me but due to an injury last year he could not make it. It was also another chance for me to manage a team – manage players, playing time, egos, discipline issues, the whole nine yards. I enjoyed running the offense from the third-base coaching box and gaining more experience in that aspect of the game. You also get a chance to communicate with players on your team and see how other programs go about certain aspects of the game, which is interesting. As for coaching against Al Nettey, it was a pleasure . He was the same ol’ Al, just going about his business day in and day out! Al was fun to watch because he plays the game the right way.”
Q: Tell us about your college career at East Carolina. You had some great teams and were pretty accomplished as both a catcher and a hitter.
A: “I was lucky to be able to play for one of the best coaches in college baseball, in Keith LeClair. He was a great motivator and always could get the most out of his players. On all the great teams I played on at ECU, we always had a couple of really talented players but at the same time we had a bunch of over-achievers on our teams as well. We took pride in trying to outwork our opponents in the offseason and on the practice field. Once the games rolled around, we did not think we could lose. Coach LeClair instilled a confidence in all of his teams that was unparalleled. I was very lucky to be able to play in three regionals. We were #1 seeds in each of them and then in 2001 we were the #7 national seed and hosted a regional and super regional. The one aspect of that team that I remember the most was our comradery on the team. Each one of our players had one goal in mind and that was making it to Omaha – personal statistics were a non-factor.”
Q: You also were an Academic All-American at ECU and went on to get your MBA. You have plenty of experience with balancing quality academics and athletics in your life. How does that transfer to your role as an assistant coach at Notre Dame? You must be very impressed with the high marks achieved by this team in the classroom.
A: “You have a better understanding of what our guys are trying to accomplish. They are trying to be great baseball players but at the same time be great students as well. I have said many times how impressed I am with how self-motivated all of our guys are – they are well-groomed in time management skills! I have never worked with a more intelligent group of young men but I enjoy it a lot because it keeps you are your toes as a coach.”
Cliff Godwin – shown here after a Greg Lopez home run in the 2005 Blue-Gold Series – has been working closely with the Irish catchers, hitters and outfielders during the past few months (photo by Pete LaFleur).
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Q: Focusing in on the current team, one of your primary areas is working with the catchers – junior Sean Gaston, freshman Eddy Mendiola and senior Cody Rizzo, plus the valuable bullpens guys Chris Soriano and Mike Many. What are your early impressions of this group and how have the preseason workouts been progressing?
A: “First off, all of these guys are tremendous workers – it takes a special individual to be able to play the position of catcher. They are in the trenches each and every day and don’t always get rewarded for all of their hard work. Sean Gaston has a chance to be one of the best defensive catchers in the country. He is a very good receiver, very knowledgeable of our pitching staff and he serves as a great leader behind the plate. Cody Rizzo has been great because he was asked on the spur of the moment to start catching again. Cody has a lot of experience behind the dish since he caught in high school and some previously in college. He also has a very strong arm, which is obviously a plus behind the plate. Eddy has had a great deal of new information thrown his way since this is his first stint as a catcher. This is the toughest position on the field to play and to have to learn it from scratch is very difficult. Eddy has embraced the challenge with open arms and his work ethic has been tremendous. He has a chance to be a very good catcher one day! Chris and Mike do a wonderful job handling our pitchers in the bullpen. They do a lot of the behind-the-scenes work on a day-to-day basis, which is a great help to our team.”
Q: You’ve also had the chance to work alongside John Gumpf with the outfield group. There are plenty of options at the positions and a great deal of experience returning to the outfield. How would you assess the outfielders?
A: “This could probably be the most experienced outfield core in the country. We have four seniors who will get playing time in the outfield along with one junior. Matt Bransfield will see a lot of time in left field. He’s a solid outfielder and gives you an offensive presence in the middle of your lineup, bringing righthanded hitting power to our lineup. Alex Nettey is slotted to start off in center field. He is a tremendous defensive outfielder with a ton of range. Offensively, he will be a consistent linedrive hitter who will look to get on base at all costs. Cody Rizzo is another tremendous defensive outfielder with a very good arm. Offensively, he is a linedrive, gap hitter and one of our biggest basestealing threats. Steve Andres will see some time in the outfield along with DH and brings power to the lineup from the left side, he’s also a solid defensive outfielder. Danny Dressman, the lone junior, could see time at any of the outfield positions. He’s a scrappy lefthanded batter who hits to all fields, is a very versatile outfielder, has good range and gets tremendous jumps on the ball.”
Cliff Godwin will have the chance to work with many top hitters during the 2006 season, including two-time BIG EAST batting champ Craig Cooper (pictured; photo by Pete LaFleur).
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Q: Consistency on offense and clutch hitting likely will be a big key to the 2006 season. Walk us through the preseason approach with the Irish hitters and what do you think will be the crucial areas to offensive success in ’06?
A: “The preseason approach has been simple. The first two weeks, we worked on just getting our timing down by facing pitchers. The past two weeks, we have been focusing on quality at-bats along with situational hitting. We have been putting more pressure on our hitters as scrimmages have progressed, so they will be ready for Feb. 23. I think offensively we need to have a balanced attack one through nine – if we have quality at-bats, compete in the box and hit in the clutch, we will have a good offensive team.”
Q: Finally, you and the other Irish coaches recently signed an impressive group who will comprise the 2007 freshman class. What are your thoughts on the recruiting procedure, in particular as is relates to Notre Dame?
A: “I feel you are recruiting a different type of athlete – one who is self-motivated and is a leader on his prospective team. A player who does not want just to do good in the classroom and playing field but one who wants to be great in both of those areas. We have signed a very talented group of young men who are going to be great ambassadors for the University of Notre Dame in the future.”