Auburn, Ala - - 'Such a great game': assistant softball coach Eddy Ketelhut
'You have to gain trust first': While focusing on fundamentals, Eddy Ketelhut tries to keep Auburn's hitters on an even keel emotionally.
ORIGINAL STORY BY Jeff Shearer - Auburn Tigers
AUBURN, Ala. - Yes, Eddy Ketelhut loves softball. And yes, his 5-year-old son's name is Easton, as in the bat manufacturer. But, no, Eddy did not name his son after a softball bat. His wife, Sarah, did.
"That was my wife's idea," said the Auburn assistant coach, acknowledging the link between the name and the bat. "She's a big softball nut as well."
The Ketelhut family joined the Auburn family in January, when Mickey Dean hired Eddy to instruct the Tigers' hitters.
"Eddy is a workhorse," Dean said. "He's what I call a 'cage monkey.' He just wants to get in there and go to work."
Before coming to Auburn, Ketelhut coached an elite travel team, the Beverly Bandits. Dean recruited some of the Bandits to James Madison University.
Before that, Ketelhut played fastpitch softball for 15 years, including seven on the United States national team.
His first love was basketball. His second love was baseball. Softball? Not so much.
"Basketball was my favorite sport, but 5-10 shooters, they don't need those, so then baseball was the route I took," said Ketelhut, who played college baseball at Central Michigan after two seasons at Seminole Junior College in Oklahoma.
"After college and you know you're not going to go pro, I had a gentleman introduce me to fastpitch," he said. "I didn't want to play softball, and once I got introduced into it, fastpitch softball is just a better game, in my opinion. It's faster moving. There are more things going on. And I just took to it. I was lucky to get introduced to it, and I almost turned it away, because I wanted to stay with baseball.
"I was around a lot of older players who took me under their wing when I was 22. Just became a love and a passion for it, then all of a sudden I wanted to start coaching it and passing it on, because it is such a great game."
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After a few months on the Plains, Ketelhut is enjoying his new surroundings.
"The hospitality, it's something you can't speak about unless you've been in it," he said. "Up north, it's not like this. The 'Yes, sir, yes, ma'am. Thank you,' It's just different culture. The people want to do better for the person next to them. People are so much nicer here. Down here, people will go the extra mile for somebody."
Ketelhut focuses on the fundamentals -- timing, eyesight, hand position -- but he also works on hitting's mental aspects.
"Keeping them positive, because they are going to struggle," he said. "You're in the SEC. There are not many people where it's an easy path. You're battling. That's the biggest challenge. How do we keep the kids on an even keel rather getting too up and down?
"The first thing is getting to know them as an individual. You have to gain trust first. It's been a joy to see them develop in such a short period of time."
While Eddy coaches the Tigers, his family remains in Michigan, finishing the school year. They accompanied Eddy on Auburn's recent trip to California, after spending four days in Auburn.
Eight-year-old Kaylee Ketelhut, whose friends call her KK, found a favorite player in Auburn infielder KK Crocker.
"My daughter's all about KK Crocker now," Eddy said. "The team was very welcoming to my family. My father-in-law came as well, and my mother-in-law. They said the fans were unbelievably nice and courteous."
If you're looking for Eddy Ketelhut, more than likely you'll find him in the batting cage at Jane B. Moore Field, sharing the skills he's acquired in all of those seasons playing fastpitch.
"I'm passionate," he said. "I love the kids. And we are going to continue to get better. We're working hard. And there are bright things to come in the future."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter:
