From South Korea to Australia, former Marine Reardanz took the long road to coaching in Rochester – Post Bulletin

Mark Reardanz remembers it prefer it was yesterday.

The present Rochester Honkers pitching coach was taking an examination in his second yr at NAIA Judson College and was greater than assured that it was not going nicely.

A poor scholar by his personal omission, he was pondering this is able to be the final straw for his baseball profession.

“I simply wasn’t a mature child. Faculty wasn’t for me,” Reardanz stated. “I knew I failed it. I used to be like, ‘I’m not going to play this yr.’”

After the check, he walked straight into the armed forces recruiting workplace. He’s not fairly certain why he did it and he’s not fairly certain why he picked the USA Marine Corps. He does realize it proved to be precisely what he wanted.

Round six months after he walked out of the recruiting workplace, he was deployed in addition camp in California.

The following 4 years introduced Reardanz all over the world as an infantry group chief within the Marines, difficult him bodily and mentally. His tales are practically limitless: Jungle coaching in South Korea when it rained day-after-day for 2 weeks, desert coaching within the 118-degree Mojave Desert, chilly climate coaching on Mt. Fuji and deep ocean coaching off the coasts of Australia, which sadly for Reardanz and his comrades got here after they watched the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week.

Though he underestimated the quantity of swimming concerned, Reardanz stated he wouldn’t commerce these years for the world.

“It made me a stronger individual, mentally, not solely bodily, too,” Reardanz stated. “I’ve a set schedule, the way in which I do issues, like I make my mattress within the morning. There’s issues that I do nonetheless that mentally is ingrained in you in these little issues that I do. It modifications who you might be, and that is why I am glad I did that route. I might be a very totally different individual. I would not be as organized. I would not be as structured as an individual if it wasn’t for the Marines.”

Traci Westcott / Submit Bulletin

When these 4 years had been accomplished, Reardanz knew it was time for the following chapter of his life.

The Marines paid for him to return to high school and end college at Jap Illinois College, the place he graduated with a level in historical past. Whereas ending college, Reardanz then reached out to a baseball coach he knew at one of many native excessive colleges and it turned out that they had an assistant teaching spot accessible. He was a volunteer coach that spring, however found his calling within the course of.

“I used to be like ‘perhaps that is one thing I need to do however simply at the next degree,’” Reardanz stated.

He explored that chance, residing out of his automotive as he seemed throughout the nation for a school teaching job.

He discovered one at NAIA energy Cumberland College in Lebanon, Tenn., as a volunteer assistant below Corridor of Fame coach Woody Hunt.

It was the foot within the door he wanted.

He was then supplied the assistant/pitching coach place at Rend Lake School — a Division I junior faculty in Southern Illinois — the place he has been since 2020. Final summer time, he was an assistant for the Wheat Metropolis Whiskey Jacks — a school summer time ball group based mostly out of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada that performed in Grand Forks, N.D., a summer time in the past attributable to COVID-related restrictions on worldwide journey.

He has turned out to be a pure, using the group, preparation and communication expertise he realized as a Marine. He’s been an awesome match with the Honkers.

“Mark is extremely proficient,” Honkers supervisor Andrew Urbistondo stated. “He’s tremendous strict on his schedule. It’s humorous as a result of we do postgame conferences and stuff and he by no means says something to the group, however all all through the sport, he’s on it. He’s pulling children to the aspect and speaking with them.
“He’s actually good along with his time and organizational expertise, which is superior for us. He’s accomplished an awesome job of constructing relationships and he’s been superior pitching-wise as nicely. Mark’s been nice for us.”

Reardanz has been loving his time in Rochester. Although not a fan of chilly climate, he admitted he’s pleased to be right here in the summertime. He loves the scale of the town, the range of individuals in it and has been a fan of the golf programs to date. An avid golfer, he tries to get out when he has the possibility and has loved Troopers Subject Golf Course. He’s hoping to get on to the Rochester Golf and Nation Membership earlier than the summer time ends.

However in fact his No. 1 aim the following month and a half is to do his greatest to develop this crop of expertise that’s the Honkers. It is one thing he appears to be like ahead to much more than {golfing}.

“I like this degree, I like the summer time ball and that it’s day-after-day, as a result of sooner or later in my profession, I might prefer to get to the skilled degree,” Reardanz stated. “Attempt to get to love rookie ball, Single A — early minor leagues, as a result of I like the event half. That is why I just like the junior faculty degree as a result of it is simply serving to guys get to their dream college, or as a result of they weren’t nearly as good out of highschool to assist them develop into higher gamers to go off to that 4 yr college.

“I wish to do this at knowledgeable degree, get these guys in that decrease skilled degree, if it is impartial ball, and assist them develop to stand up to that greater degree. That is in all probability my favourite a part of the sport is simply serving to guys get higher. That is why I obtained into teaching.”