High hopes for this season's baseball team

Doug Jumelet is the head coach of the baseball team here at American River College. It is his 12^th year with the team, and fifth as the head coach. Last season, the Beavers got off to a great start with an 8-0 record, but then faltered and missed the playoffs. They have started the season at 4-5, but still have high expectations this season. Their conference schedule starts on March 12.

Current: What is your background in baseball?

I played here at American River College. I grew up around this area. I played at San Juan High School. After I left here I went to UC Riverside and played (there) and I helped coach there. I came back here to coach with Coach Higgins. When he retired I ended up getting the job.

Have there been any coaches that have helped you in the past?

Kevin Higgins was one of the biggest influences. He was the head coach here for 18 years and did a great job. He taught me as well as everyone else who played for him how to be a man and to take responsibility for your actions and be accountable. He was a great leader, a great coach. My coach at UC Riverside did a good job also. Both of them are in the coaches Hall of Fame.

Could you describe your coaching style?

I try to treat the guys like they are adults, like they are men. We try to teach the game the right way and the way it's going to be played at the next level, and what they need to do to make it to the next level. I'd say I'm probably not as hard on them as I need to be sometimes, but I expect them to perform and play like players at the next level, and like adults and like men, and to carry themselves on and off the field that same way.

You had a really good start to the season last year, but then finished the season poorly. What happened?

We just went through a stretch where we just didn't play well in any facet of the game. We didn't hit well, we didn't pitch very well, (and) we even made some mistakes defensively for about eight games there. I think we just lost confidence for some reason. Maybe we built up a false sense of confidence early because we had so much success and I don't think we were necessarily that good, to be 8-0 at the beginning of the season, but we were.

What are your expectations of this season?

Very high. We haven't met those expectations yet. We've started off struggling a little bit. We've done some things really well but we just haven't put them all together in the same game. We've got a lot of sophomores, a lot of returning guys. We don't do an official coach's preseason poll, but a lot of the buzz early in the season was that we were one the team's that should be competing for the league championship

What is your proudest moment as a coach here?

My proudest moment as a coach is when former players return and graduate. We had one player, Ryan Knippschild, who was from Cordova High School. I was an assistant at the time, when Coach Higgins was the head coach, and we were talking about him his freshman year. (We were) looking at his transcripts saying ‘man, he might not get out of here in four years.'  He turned it around, got his grades, and actually got out of here in two years. (He) didn't even need summer school after his sophomore year and got a scholarship to the University of Kansas and graduated from there in four years.