Jan. 7, 2009

• Click here to download coach Giarratano's PowerPoint presentation

(San Francisco) - USF head baseball coach Nino Giarratano lived multiple dreams in 2008. After guiding the Diamond Dons tantalizingly close to the second postseason berth in program history en route to a 31-win season, Giarratano exchanged the Green and Gold uniform to don the red white and blue of USA Baseball during its 2008 Summer European Tour.

What a summer adventure it was as the Americans posted an unprecedented 24-0 record, highlighted by two victories against the Cuban National Team which would later claim Olympic Silver in Beijing. Giarratano served as the hitting coach for the American squad featuring junior Diamond Don catcher Ryan Lipkin. Team USA won gold medals in the Honkball Baseball Classic (Holland) and the 2008 FISU World Championship (Czech Republic).

Giarratano began what promises to be another exciting season on the Hilltop when he served as a presenter at the 2009 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA). A two-time West Coast Conference Coach of the Year and a three-time National Junior College Coach of the Year addressed "Efficient and Effective Batting Practice" in front of 6,000 coaches from across the country.

"It was just wonderful opportunity to represent the American Baseball Coaches Association and USF Baseball and just talk about baseball," said the Dons' 11th year head coach on the chance to present at the annual convention. "It's something that if you were to put a bucket list together, that was on my bucket list. It's something I've always wanted to do. I've sat in the audience for 20 years and thought about the presentation, so being given the opportunity to present was a humbling experience, but a great one to get up there and give some information. Hopefully, someone took something positive away from it."

Despite jumping at the opportunity to present to his peers, Giarratano had reservations about possibly giving away his secrets to the trade.

"You always want to hold onto what you think is your competitive advantage, but I think it's not so much in what you give away, but how you execute it," commented Giarratano. "No matter what we get from other coaches, you still have to go out there and execute the plan. You still have to be able to communicate effectively with the players and keep your own little secrets about how you motivate people and how you move your group of individuals. At times you're apprehensive but at the same time really glad to share information with your peers."