Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello addresses the media in advance of the Vols’ Feb. 16 season opener against Maryland. Blake Toppmeyer/News Sentinel
No time for nerves. Heck, no time for a lot of things.
Like lunch. Or rest. Or anything else that doesn’t directly tie in with Tennessee’s baseball season opener Friday at 3:30 p.m. against Maryland at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, the beginning of the Tony Vitello era.
The 39-year-old Vitello, a college assistant for the past 16 seasons (the most recent was a four-year stint at Arkansas), will be the guy making the final decisions for the first time in his life.
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On Thursday, he spent time on an SEC teleconference getting briefed on the use of two replay challenges this year (as compared to one in last season’s trial). He fretted about the soggy weather that seems destined to plague this weekend. He lamented the flu that ran through his program, ultimately affecting 16 players (and himself, to some extent). Thursday was the first full-strength practice the Vols have had in awhile.
That’s all uncharted territory for him.
“(The season opener) is a helluva lot more fun (for a player compared to the head coach),” Vitello said. “There’s a lot less to worry about (as a player). You’ve got your own deal to take care of (as a player), and you can control most of that.
“There are so many different things you have to cover on game day (as a coach). Friday will go a lot faster than that night went for me (as a player at Missouri).
“I had (a checklist) mentally, but that went out the window with this illness (last week). My No. 1 thing is to get ready and get the team ready. Little things … can wait.”
Right mindset
Vitello and his staff – which includes Frank Anderson, one of college baseball’s top pitching coaches, as well as former Vols and big league players J.P. Arencibia (student assistant coach) and Todd Helton (director of player development) – are focused on putting their players in the proper mindset heading into the season.
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“Friday’s going to be a day where someone is bound to say, ‘Hey, this is what we’ve been looking for all year,’” Vitello said. “I get it, but that’s not true. You really enjoy doing this. The game’s not the reward; it’s part of the process.
“You love going into the weight room. You love going into the cage. You’re not doing it for game day; you’re doing it because you enjoy it.”
Handling adversity
How this team, which is loaded with freshmen (14) and sophomores (14), deals with adversity that is sure to come will be a measure of its staying power.
Vitello said that’s a character trait that’s difficult to coach but important to success. Baseball’s a game of failure. Focusing on the process is a key to survival.
“In this team’s case, adversity is results that are poor, whether it be individual lack of success or team lack of success,” Vitello said. “Is it going to be the ‘here we go again’ mentality, or is it going to be, ‘How can we make adjustments so we can improve upon this?’
“We want to get this thing going in the direction we want so that we’re peaking in May. However good this team is, I don’t know, but I can guarantee you the goal of this coaching staff is to be playing our best baseball in May.”
Tony Vitello was introduced as Tennessee's new baseball coach on Friday afternoon at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. Rhiannon Potkey/News Sentinel
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