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PING!BASEBALL
SPOTLIGHT COACH
Nick Restaino
Fordham Rams
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In just three short years Fordham coach Nick
Restaino has his alma mater Rams into one of the top up and
coming teams in the Northeast – if not the nation. When
Restaino took over the Ram reigns in 2005, he inherited a
club which had compiled only a single winning season the six
years prior to his arrival. Furthermore, just three years
before Restaino, the Rams finished a disappointing 13-36-1
and suffered a rocky stretch in which they gave up at least
fifteen runs in five out of six games. However the substandard
ways appear to be a thing of the past as Fordham finished
2007 with a 35-22 overall record (one victory short of the
school's modern era win record) and a 19-8 mark in Atlantic
10 play (topping the previous mark of 17 in 2005 – Restaino’s
first year at the helm), good for second in the conference.
The Rams also placed second in the A-10 Championship, suffering
both tourney losses to at the hands of the nationally ranked
Charlotte 49ers.
On individual level, three Rams garnered
All-Conference accolades in 2007 under Restaino’s tutelage.
Second baseman Eric Reese (362, 4, 35, 14 SBs) was named First
Team All-Atlantic 10 and third baseman Jordan Lert (.280,
4, 46) and pitcher Tom Davis (8-3, 4.05) were named to the
Second Team. Reese also named to the Atlantic 10 All-Championship
team along with pitcher Cory Riordan.
Before being named Fordham’s interim
head coach in 2005, Restaino served as an associate head coach
at Fordham for seven years where he assisted in guiding the
2004 team to its first Atlantic 10 Tournament since 1998.
 When
given the keys to the Fordham baseball program the next year,
his impact was immediate as he guided the club to a 34-17
record, the most wins for a Fordham team since 1997.
The ’04 Rams finished second in the
A-10 East Division and were the number three seed at the Atlantic
10 Championship, so there was good talent when Restaino took
over the reigns. However not being satisfied on the status
quo, he implemented a number of changes in an effort to increase
the number of victories in the Bronx. In developing his own
style and redefining the clubhouse culture Restaino and his
staff asked the players to focus on the things they could
control. This included playing hard the entire nine innings
regardless of the score and striving to improve on a daily
basis. Moreover, they made as much as they could competitive
from practice regiment and conditioning to competition for
playing time.
Recognition came quick for Restaino and the
Rams. He was named the 2005 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year
his first season and one of his recruits, Cory Riordan won
the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year honor after wining 10 games
with a 3.61 ERA. Riordan went on to develop into one of the
premier pitching prospects in the conference and was drafted
and signed by the National League Champion Colorado Rockies
after being selected in the fifth round in last year’s
draft.
In 2006 Fordham had a setback record wise,
finishing 24-32; however it was the sophomore season of Restaino’s
tenure and second season setbacks are far from uncommon. On
a positive note, two Rams, Greg Smith and Javier Martinez
were drafted (14th round, Pittsburgh; 42nd, Washington), establishing
that top caliber players were matriculating from Fordham.
Martinez chose to return to campus and was selected in the
29th round by Seattle in last year’s draft.
Restaino’s commitment to elevate the
Ram program shows when examining the 2008 schedule. Rather
than compile wins against smaller teams, the Rams will tangle
with some of the nation’s elite. Fordham opens with
a three game series verses the Wichita State Shockers in Kansas.
Other matchups include games with UNC Wilmington, Manhattan
(where Restaino was an assistant coach from 1994-95), Sacred
Heart and Rutgers: all teams which have recently played in
the NCAA postseason. Other top tier scheduled opponents during
Restanio’s past two years included non-conference contests
against Miami (FL), Virginia Commonwealth and Manhattan last
year and Wichita State, Miami (FL), New Orleans and Florida
International in 2006.
Fordham has one of the oldest baseball programs
in the county, first taking the diamond in 1860. The university
boasts a 4,152-2,023-50 record over those 147 years making
the Rams the all time leader in NCAA wins for DI - a distinction
Coach Restaino takes tremendous pride in. Despite whatever
successes come for to the university and Restaino he has no
intentions of leaving his alma mater. When asked if he would
ever consider leaving the Rams for a warm weather program,
the answer was an unquestionable, “No.”
“My focus is on Fordham Baseball and
making this program better and better every day, every month,
every season.” Restaino stated, “The administration
and alumni provide a lot of support from the president to
all the athletic administrators. As alum, I think there is
that extra level of pride when going about your work. Fordham
is a great place and I aspire that the baseball program is
an annual contender for the A-10 title.”
Furthermore, don’t expect Restaino
to trade his collegiate coaching status for the professional
ranks either. Impacting and influencing young men’s
lives on a daily basis is one of the most rewarding aspects
of the job for him and he embraces the opportunity to build
character in his players. While leading Fordham to their first
College World Series is an obvious goal, it is not the be-all
and end-all by any means.
According to Restaino, “A very wise
coach once said, ‘It's not about how many championships
you win, but rather how many weddings you get invited to and
how many of your assistants become head coaches.”
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