BASEBALL COACHES UNPLUGGED
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BASEBALL COACHES UNPLUGGED
What Does “Burn the Boats” Look Like in High School Baseball?
Ever wonder what it takes to build a championship baseball team in a place where players sometimes have to shovel snow off the field just to practice? South Dakota State Champion coach Jeremy Van Heel takes us behind the scenes of his Brandon Valley High School program's remarkable journey to victory.
When Van Heel recognized his team had championship potential, he focused not on physical skills but on the mental game. "Our biggest downfall was the eight inches between the head," he explains. This honest assessment led to a powerful team conversation where he told his players: "My biggest fear is that you don't understand the potential you have and how great you can be." The mindset shift that followed became their championship catalyst.
The turning point came when they adopted a "burn the boats" philosophy—inspired by the historical reference to Hernán Cortés eliminating retreat as an option for his men. This no-retreat mentality powered an incredible comeback in the quarterfinals where they overcame a seven-run deficit. Van Heel's team went on to win 11 consecutive games to capture the state title, proving that "pressure is a privilege."
What makes this story particularly compelling is the unique challenges of coaching in South Dakota's harsh climate. Van Heel describes seasons where they couldn't practice outside until mid-April due to weather conditions, forcing creative approaches to team development. Yet these challenges build character and mental toughness that translates to tournament success.
Perhaps most refreshing is Van Heel's perspective on the recruitment process. Unlike the prevailing narrative that expensive travel teams are necessary for exposure, he shares the story of his Notre Dame-bound pitcher who played only high school and Legion baseball. "If you've got talent, they will find you," he emphasizes—a message of hope for talented players from remote areas or families without resources for elite travel programs.
Whether you're coaching in challenging conditions or seeking to develop mental toughness in your players, this episode offers invaluable insights for building champions in any environment. Subscribe, leave a review, and join us each week as we continue to unpack the wisdom of baseball's most successful coaches!
Join the Baseball Coaches Unplugged podcast where an experienced baseball coach delves into the world of high school and travel baseball, offering insights on high school baseball coaching, leadership skills, hitting skills, pitching strategy, defensive skills, and overall baseball strategy, while also covering high school and college baseball, recruiting tips, youth and travel baseball, and fostering a winning mentality and attitude in baseball players through strong baseball leadership and mentality.
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Today, on Baseball Coaches Unplugged, you'll learn what one coach who loves winning did with a team that had the ability and expectation to win it all. He explains why, if a player is good enough, d1 schools will find you, and how players expect to shovel snow to play baseball. 2025. South Dakota State Champion, jeremy Van Heel at Brandon Valley High School. Next, on Baseball Coaches Unplugged.
Speaker 2:Welcome to Baseball Coaches Unplugged with Coach Ken Carpenter, presented by AthleteOne. Baseball Coaches Unplugged is a podcast for baseball coaches With 27 years of high school baseball coaching under his belt, here to bring you the inside scoop on all things baseball, from game-winning strategies and pitching secrets to hitting drills and defensive drills. We're covering it all. Whether you're a high school coach, college coach or just a baseball enthusiast, we'll dive into the tactics and techniques that make the difference on and off the field. Discover how to build a winning mentality. Inspire your players and get them truly bought into your game philosophy Plus, get the latest insights on recruiting, coaching, leadership and crafting a team culture that champions productivity and success. Join Coach every week as he breaks down the game and shares incredible behind-the-scenes stories. Your competitive edge starts here, so check out the show weekly and hear from the best coaches in the game. On Baseball Coaches Unplugged.
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Speaker 1:The past month, we've been bouncing around across the country. We went from Gary Gilmore, the 2016 College World Series champion, coastal Carolina head coach, to Brian Warning in Ohio. And now today, get out your hand warmers. We're going to South Dakota. The state champion head coach at Brandon Valley High School in South Dakota, and he also is the head coach of Legion Post 131, head coach Jeremy Van Heel. Coach, thanks for taking time to be on baseball coaches unplugged oh you bet. Thanks for having me. I'm excited. Well, I, I gotta start off. You want to stay? Title congratulations oh thank you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it was, uh, it's been, it was a good ride. I mean it was fun. Um, luckily, this I mean this is my second one here in Brandon. We had one in 2017, and then we had one this year. So it's been a little bit, but it was fun. I mean it was one of those things as a coach I mean, especially with high school kids where all of the pieces kind of line up. We knew we had a really good team. We had a lot of kids last year that were young, they were sophomores that played up, and then this year we had three senior pitchers that were going to go play college baseball, and then we had all these kids that had experience and we had our ups and downs throughout the year. But I mean we got hot and 11 games in a row at the end of the year to win it. So it was kind of fun.
Speaker 1:So was there like a defining moment during the season where you're like, wow, this, this team is special and will kind of set you apart from the competition?
Speaker 3:We knew I mean I hate to say it some of those things. Like we knew we had the pieces and it was just as a coaching staff finding ways to implement, I mean to get them prepared. I mean our biggest downfall was, I mean, the eight inches here between the head. I mean, if we could figure that part out, we are good Because when we played, when we were winning, we played fast, but then all of a sudden we would just take the foot off the throttle a little bit and all of a sudden we just made some dumb mistakes. So I mean we kind of just got together and we looked at the guys and I mean it was just one of those conversations I had with them. I'm like, guys, I don't care what happens here the rest of the year, but my fear for you is not that we lose and don't make state or don't win state. My biggest fear is that you don't understand the potential you have and how great you can be. And then from that moment we kind of just came together and one of our things, I mean pressure's a privilege. I mean, brandon, we've been making it to the Final Four State Championship and getting there numerous times. So like this is something that just doesn't just happen. I mean, we work and do the right things to get there.
Speaker 3:But we kind of went with a model of one of the kids at practice one day said who's going to carry the boats? I mean David Goggins saying, and I was like I looked at him and I said it's not really who's going to carry it, man, it's like let's just burn the boats, so we have nowhere else to go, was it? Hernan Cortez, a Spanish explorer used to do that with his guys. He'd pull up and burn them and he's like hey, guys, we have nowhere to go, so let's just do this. So I brought that to them and I'm like let's burn the boats and let's see what happens, don't back down. And the guys stepped up to the challenge and we went. It was fun.
Speaker 1:Well, high school baseball in South Dakota. I'm here in Ohio. I've never been to that part of the country. Kind of walk us through how the season is set up and what makes coaching unique compared to other parts of the country.
Speaker 3:I mean I'm a member of the ABCA, so we go there, like I'll go to those meetings and watch guys and they talk about practices and practice plans, and you know, I mean we're there's some years that we don't get outside until middle of April, if not even May. Like it's one of those things. You're just at the hand of nature. So like we we don't have contact hours here because we're it's high school baseball is not sanctioned. We're affiliated though, so we follow some of the rules of the high school but, um, we don't have to like go through like the contact hour stuff, um. So here at brandon we do winter workouts through january and february inside, um, and then we start baseball, like after february, march, uh, we do indoor practices, um, we then take a trip down to kansas. Uh, we go to lawrence kansas and play five, six games, that kind of just. I mean, and that's usually. We get there and the guys are like we hit as many fly balls as we can, because it's like we haven't been outside and they're the teams. They're like we're 10, 12, 13 games deep and we're like it just is nice to see a ball in the air, not in indoor lights, um, and then we come back and I mean we kind of have free reign. We do PowerPoints and stuff.
Speaker 3:I know we try to schedule the teams throughout the state. We have A and B. In South Dakota is kind of how it goes. There's 16 A teams and then there's a bunch of B teams. So for A we just do PowerPoint system and then it's you break it down one through 16.
Speaker 3:The top eight teams get a chance to host a super regional and then if you win your best of three super regional, you go to the state tournament, as you can see behind me, which is an eight team tournament, a single game elimination. So it's soon as you get there, a single game elimination. So it's soon as you get there. I mean it's you kind of have to win three games. So I like to schedule our season where you play a double header and so we teach our guys again. We got to win two games because realistically, the super regionals, you win two games, you make it the state and then, if you make it the state, you win your Friday game and then to win the state title you have to win two games on Saturday. So trying to be able to win two games in a row without losing is it's kind of key.
Speaker 1:I like how you plan your your, your schedule out to prepare you for that. And that's the great thing about coaching is you know, when coaches aren't looking at just hey, this game, they're looking at that final game. Yep, that's why you're as successful as you are.
Speaker 3:And I mean it's kind of fun. I mean we actually, since we're not with the school, we have a chance to kind of do our schedule however we want. So you can kind of pick it. Some teams go lighter, some teams go heavier.
Speaker 3:I try to schedule usually every Tuesday is a doubleheader versus a class A team, that's PowerPoints, and then maybe like a Saturday as well, and then I'll sprinkle in some games on maybe Thursday or Fridays that are not even like PowerPoint related. So we'll play teams from Fargo, we'll play B schools and stuff like that. So I mean we can kind of get a lot of opportunities and reps because again, like this year, we actually had a good, a good spring. We were able to get outside. But the year before we got outside, the last week of March, we practiced and then all of a sudden we were hit with a snowstorm and we had feet of snow for three weeks and then it just was. You were at the mercy of all right, like what are we going to do? And we're out shoveling snow off the turf and trying to get to play.
Speaker 1:So Wow, incredible. I mean, you know Ohio, we've we've had days where you know it snows and stuff like that, but definitely not to that extent, that's for sure. Well, when you get into that championship game, you make it to the Final Four there. What, um, what is your message to the guys? You know you take me inside the dugout and to get them prepared for that that game.
Speaker 3:Well, um, you mean to get to the championship game? It actually the kids were locked. I mean, our biggest hurdle was, um, our first game we played was Sioux Falls O'Gorman. It was the semifinals, uhinals or the quarterfinal game. We went out there we were throwing our pitcher.
Speaker 3:We have a kid, aiden Zerf. He's going to Notre Dame, he's pitched for me for four years and I mean he's a complete pitcher, like he's been our guy. We had him on limited pitching throughout the year so he was rested, like he was good to go when a lot of other teams' top arms they were tired. No, aiden was ready to throw. We went out there and he struggled game one.
Speaker 3:The first couple innings we were losing 6-0 after three innings in this game. It was one of those moments where I mean, as a high school player, it's like, oh man, we made it and just shut down. But no, and he kind of started, he set the tone and he kind of rebooted and we had a conversation about we know, that's not you Like. Those walks and those runs are not you Like. That's not who you are, go out the way you can. And he went and pitched a great game, ended up going pitch count through the next, all the way to the sixth inning.
Speaker 3:So it was huge, but we went to the bottom or no, it was the top of the seventh inning and we were down seven runs and we proceeded to just go and we scored and we ended up winning, as the final score of that game was uh, what was it? Uh, 10 to 6. Um, so we, we, it was fun and we did it with him. I mean, he started it, uh, that aiden zur. Again, we had bases loaded, he fouled off some pitches and got a walk and then the next guy hit a double and we had a guy dive into first base to not get out, I mean infield hit, and it just was one of those innings that you could put it together and you're like wow.
Speaker 3:Like we did not quit, we believed in the hard 90. We believed in each other. We burned the boats, I mean after we were down six, like we were not going back and the guys just continued to push. Um, so after we won that game, I mean with this big comeback, um, the next game, we I mean the guys were just super confident Um, we got down again by a couple of runs late and it was the fifth inning. We were down two and then all of a sudden we came back and scored a big inning again to take the lead and just shut it down. And then when we got to the championship, it was back and forth the first couple innings, but it was always one run, one run and then we just went off and you could just see the guys were not going to stop. I mean it was finish on empty.
Speaker 1:That mentality, well you know this is something I've wondered about, you know, when I was looking at some of the info about you on the internet. And you also coach Legion Baseball. Yep, yep, a lot of coaches here in Ohioio don't, uh, necessarily coach summer baseball. It's primarily travel baseball here and uh, there is some legion, but, um, but coaches typically, unless they got a kid playing, their son playing, they typically don't really get involved a whole lot in the summer game. Is that some sort of expectation of you as the coach to coach that Legion team? I?
Speaker 3:mean I think this is. I mean here in South Dakota there's a lot of quality coaches, but I think at a lot of programs it's still hard to find some coaches. So you'll see that with a lot of programs where the high school head coach will be the Legion coach or they'll be the high school coach and coach the junior Legion and they kind of bounce back and forth. I mean I know, like my assistant he does it with me, he helps use my assistant for high school assistant for summer. My JL coach and JV coach does both, because again, I think some of that is we don't have those contact hour stipulations and things like that. So it's kind of easier just to kind of flow. I mean we end our high school and then we have like a week off and then we just go right into Legion for two months. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Is there a different style or approach to coaching the Legion guys versus how you do your high school?
Speaker 3:I mean I it's with the travel ball stuff. It has changed. I mean it's not we, I mean we're a community. So, like our team is our team, and then in the summertime, legion, some, some of the teams, like here in Sioux Falls, they go from having five high school teams to just two Legion teams and then, like Rapid City, they have two high schools and then they have two Legion teams. So again it's all program based and city based, based upon numbers. But I mean we're all community, so it's our guys, we go.
Speaker 3:But we're starting to see some travel ball stuff where kids are. I mean my state tournament team, our final, our final roster, there's 10 that we had playing. We had seven of those guys go do something different this summer, which if it was just going to a collegiate league playing some sort of like amateur ball around here, going to do some travel ball associations with somebody else, or I mean they were focusing on football. I mean. So it was kind of unique this year where we had that. In the past we maybe only had maybe one or two kids that actually didn't play.
Speaker 3:So I don't know, things are changing, but I think Legion baseball is still. There's that part of you're playing for your community. You're playing for the name on the front. Nothing against it. I think baseball is unique in the way that it there's opportunities for everybody to play. There's no excuse to not get better. If you want to play collegiate or go play somewhere like, there's always a place for you or a coach that will work for you. But for me I like high school because again, you're playing for your high school team and then Legion, you're playing for your community, which is kind of fun.
Speaker 1:Being a coach that coaches both spring and summer. With all the crazy stories that you see just flooding the internet, what is your message to parents about their kids' journey? And it's not the parents' journey, it's the kids'.
Speaker 3:Oh, I mean that is. I mean that is a good, very good question. Um, I wish I had a great answer. Um, I mean, but it is kind of like you said, it's the kid's journey. Um, I mean it is hard when all of a sudden, like a player would want to go do travel ball or maybe doesn't want to do travel ball or focuses on football. I mean, as a coach, you just kind of got to be there and say, hey, I mean what's right for you? I mean I have your back, I can help you any way I possibly can. I can communicate to colleges. Still, if you're with somebody else, I mean since I've been your coach, but yeah, yeah, I mean everybody's journey is a little different.
Speaker 3:Um, and I think, with having these opportunities, I mean one thing I've noticed is depth of teams has changed. Um, you're, you're seeing parents, I think more likely. Um, I mean, when we were in high school, like we focused on know your role, do do your role, like understand, be great at your role that day, because it could change any moment. But then when all of a sudden, high school, you're tied to your school and then you go to summer and you're not tied, well, those guys that were role players, that were the backup. Shortstop or I mean the relief pitcher, well, I don't, or maybe it's the parent, I don't want them to be the backup. Shortstop or I mean the relief pitcher, well, I don't, or maybe it's the parent, I don't want them to be the backup. What opportunity can you do? I think that is the part you're kind of speaking at and I kind of went around. Is I mean you kind of just have to let them go and figure out, I guess, what is best for you If it is learning the toughness of competing for a spot or if it is being the everyday guy.
Speaker 3:I know I've had some kids that went and played travel ball and we had colleges show up at our games asking about them. It's the same schools that would have saw them at travel ball. So I don't, I mean I don't know, I guess it's your journey, is your journey. We've had kids that went travel ball and got seen by big schools, but then again we had name drop Aiden. Again, he played Legion baseball. He played high school baseball, didn't do PBR, didn't do any of that, and he just wanted to go to Notre Dame and just gritted it out. I mean it was sending messages, contacting the coach, like and just staying on him. Hey, here's my last outing. Hey, here's my rap soda report. Hey, here's me playing basketball. I mean. So I think again, control your own journey and you can get to where you want.
Speaker 1:Control your own journey and you can get to where you want. Yes, and you know, the great message is there. You don't have to spend thousands of dollars to join a travel team. And everybody talks about exposure and all those things. You're in South Dakota. Yeah, I mean there's probably more treetops than there are rooftops, you know, and so I'm. I mean it's great to hear that. You know, if you've got talent, they will find you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, then I think it's again. It's nowadays with social media. Kids just have to understand you got to put yourself out there. And I mean again, if it's parents that are really interested in trying to get their kids somewhere, well then help your kid, teach them how to get their name out there. I mean contact coaches. I mean you may have to go to a school's prospect camp. You may have to travel somewhere like that and be like hey, I really want to go to school here. I'm going to go show you and here's my stuff, what do you like?
Speaker 1:Well, do you hate losing or love winning?
Speaker 3:Do you hate losing or love winning? Oh man, that is a tough question. I mean the scoreboard's always on. If the scoreboard's on, we want to have more ours than the other team. I mean it's one of those things we want to do that.
Speaker 3:But I am a firm believer in a well-timed loss is very meaningful. I mean success is about the journey, not the destination. I mean you got to find a way. Again, we were a seven seed Let me say that again no six seed in high school and we won um this in our legion season, harrisburg. They won the state title and moved on to the Midwest regional. They were a 12 seed and they won. I mean learning who you are and how to compete is part of the process and losing is part of the growth. Um, I mean, you gotta do it. It's that growth mindset. You got to learn from your mistakes and I mean baseball coaches know you're going to fail a lot more than you're going to succeed and those that learn how to get that valley a little higher are the ones that are going to do a lot better. So yeah, I do not like losing, but I understand it as part of the process.
Speaker 1:I do not like losing, but I understand it as part of the process. Well, I got to ask this one You're in the state where Mount Rushmore is, oh, yeah, and I guess, looking at all of Major League Baseball, the history of the game, who are the four guys that you're putting up there on your Mount Rushmore?
Speaker 3:Oh, no, oh no, oh no, that's a. I mean I'm a Yankee fan. I hate to say it, but in the area where Twins and Kansas City are closest teams, going to Yankees, kansas City games and Twins games, hearing the Yankees get booed back in the 90s, was kind of my thing. So I have to put derrick jeter up there, um, just purely because of who he was, and he was the guy during my time, um, I mean I again, probably more yankees you mean mean Yogi Berra, I mean the dude, the man, the myth, the legend and all the stuff that he did, oh, man. And then I mean I have some weird ones in there.
Speaker 3:You'll know this one, nick Swisher. I just love the. I just loved his energy and how he played the game. Again, there's probably way more guys, but this is just me personally, of like how I envision coaching and players playing. You know what I mean I. I think he was a guy. I remember watching him in Yankee stadium where he just was energy, I mean most of the time Yankees, it's business, it's business but he, I mean had the swish hawk and he just was there saluting and just loved the game of baseball. So I mean that's just one of those odd ones. And then the next one. I mean there's a lot of people you could fit in there. I don't know if I have truly a fourth, but I mean you could, depending on the situation. I mean Nolan Ryan was a dude and I mean you could go down the list. I don't know how about you? Is there somebody you'd throw on there?
Speaker 1:I don't know, I wrote that question down, I thought about it. You know, I almost thought, you know, if I were to pick a pitcher, it'd probably be Nolan Ryan. You know I would say probably Willie Mays, oh yeah, and then you know it could be, you know, probably Babe Ruth. Yep, you know, I would probably say the last one you know, I don't know, I always liked him was Ted Williams. Yep, I mean, you can hit like that, go to war, come back and continue.
Speaker 3:Unless I mean I think it kind of who you are and what you see baseball, I think, is it's kind of how it is, and I mean I really liked that question and I think it's again yeah, again, yeah. I don't think there's a wrong answer. There's a lot of great baseball players.
Speaker 1:Yes, well, it's Jeremy Van Heel, 2025 state champion at Brandon Valley High School in South Dakota. Coach, I know that it's the school year starting up out there for you and you're on a leadership committee and you've got a commitment there. I appreciate you taking the time to be on Baseball Coaches Unplugged, you bet? Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. Special thanks to Jeremy Van Heel, head coach at Brandon Valley High School in South Dakota. On Baseball Coaches Unplugged, feel free to check out our website at wwwathlete1.net. That's athlete1.net. Quickly fill out the form and we'll be in touch. Today's episode of Baseball Coaches Unplugged was powered by the netting professionals improving programs one facility at a time. Contact them today at 844-620-2707, or you can visit them online at wwwnettingproscom. As always, I'm Coach Ken Carpenter. Thanks for joining me on Baseball Coaches Unplugged.
