20 Questions: Wahoo / Bishop Neumann Baseball Head Coach Kyle Weyers

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Looking for more information about Wahoo / Bishop Neumann High School Baseball? Contact Head Coach Kyle Weyers today! kweyer(at)wahoowarriors.org

What is your team outlook for 2024?
We have a nice mix of varsity experience and youth. Our pitching depth should keep us competitive through out the season. We will need some guys to step up and lead us offensively.

Players to watch in 2024?
Conor Booth – Junior, Nebraska commit. Eli Johnston – Sr, Northeast CC commit Kaden Christen – Soph, Barrett Nelson – Sr, Nolan Van Slyke – Sr.

How long have you been coaching high school baseball?
17 years- 10th season as head

What inspired you to become a high school baseball coach?
I had a high school coach/teacher by the name of Chad Blachford at Lincoln South East. He had a big impact on me as both a coach and teacher. I have always loved the game and and coaching was a great way to stay involved with it. I enjoy being around the guys and being a part of something special.

What is your coaching philosophy when it comes to developing high school baseball players?
We try and start with making the players better people. We spend a lot of time talking about doing things “the right way”. The right way applies to both on and off the field. We have a lot of competition within our program and we feel that asking the kids to constantly compete brings out the best in them. Not all of our players will go on to play college baseball but we hope all of our players will go on to become positive members of society. Being a good person is far more important than being a good baseball player. But we really like when they are both!

Can you share some key principles you instill in your players regarding sportsmanship?
We have a very high standard for sportsmanship with in our school culture at Wahoo High School. We try and hold up that standard. We never talk to the other team or umpires unless it is a friendly conversation. We worry about what we do, and how we do it. Not what the other team is doing or saying.

What is your approach to balancing academics and athletics for your players?
Academics come first and the most important thing our student athletes do. We have a very black and white approach to grades and academics. Do what you are suppose to do or you don’t play.

How do you address the varying skill levels and experience within the team?
We have a wide variety of skill levels we coach. We do not cut any players at Wahoo so every one who wants to be on the team is welcome. It can be difficult to organize practices and we do our best to get every player the appropriate reps. As long as you show up every day with a positive attitude and put in the work you will get an opportunity in practice to show us what you can do. Playing time is earned in practice, if you want to play in a varsity game, earn it in practice.

Can you describe your strategy for preparing the team for important games or tournaments?
All games are prepared for the same way. No one game is more important than the next. We try and keep things the exact same no matter who the opponent is. We try and keep the guys loose and have fun no matter the circumstances.

How do you encourage players to set and work towards both individual and team goals?
We rarely ever talk about individual goals. We have some team goals that we will occasionally discuss but for the most part our kids know if the team is playing well the individual stuff takes care of itself.

What emphasis do you place on mental preparation?
We try and make sure players understand that baseball is a game of failure. How you respond to the failure is what matters. We try not to take ABs into the field and vise versa. Some times that is easier said than done. Our most successful players over the years have been our most mentally strong ones.

What role do statistics and analytics play in your coaching decisions?
We are not a big statistics program. We obviously pay attention to the stats, who is hot and who is struggling but we typically are more of a “gut feeling” type program. The season is so short and compact that analyzing numbers is hard to do.

How do you manage playing time and ensure fair opportunities for all team members?
Playing time is earned in practice. Our players at the younger levels get more equal playing time, at the varsity level the guys who earn the time get to play. Younger players typically get more leniency when it comes to mental mistakes. But it is important to allow kids to fail, let them know what they did wrong, and how to help improve it.

What role do leadership and captaincy play within your team, and how are leaders selected?
We have tried different things over the years but we have figured out that the best way for us is to let leadership develop naturally. We don’t select captains, we let the natural leaders step up and lead. The best teams we have had are when our hardest workers are also our best players. We try to install a since of pride in the program so the younger guys naturally lead when they become upper classman.

What resources or facilities are available to the baseball team for practice and games?
We have 1 full size baseball field and a softball/youth complex in town. It can be challenging with in door practices but we have a gym with a drop down cage (2 cages) and a building with 4 cages and a little extra space to throw pens. We have access to five out door cages once the weather is nice enough.

What qualities do you look for in assistant coaches to ensure a cohesive coaching staff?
We are very fortunate to have quality people in Wahoo that love baseball. We look for people who are all about teaching the kids the game and want to make everything we do about the kids and not themselves. Trustworthy, loyal, hard working, team first, no drama

What advice do you give to players aspiring to pursue baseball beyond high school?
Find the right school for you. Its not about playing D1, D2, NAII, JC, its about getting a degree and being a part of a program where you fit in. And be ready to work hard and live it, or you wont last long.

What services do you utilize to help players that want to pursue baseball beyond high school?
We try our best to promote our players but any more all colleges care about are the measurables. We try and give players resources of when showcases are, camp dates all that stuff. But the reality is, its up to the players to promote themselves by going to PBR evens, camps, contacting coaches via email, all that stuff.

How do you engage with parents to ensure a collaborative and supportive environment for the team?
We hold a parent meeting before the start of the year and ask them to please let us coach their kids. The more voices they hear the worse off they are when it comes to baseball. We explain our evaluation process and how we decide who plays when and where. We try and get in front of any issues before they arise. And if an issue does come up we always make sure the players are the unhappy ones, not the parents

What else should we know about your baseball program?
Wahoo has always been a co-op program. Over the years we have had a lot of different schools involved in the co-op. This is the first year where the only two schools in the co-op are both schools from Wahoo. Wahoo High School and Bishop Neumann High School. We are excited for the opportunity to compete as Wahoo Baseball.