From fitness tests to Fort Jackson: How the South Carolina baseball team built chemistry in the offseason
Building chemistry is important for any sports team, especially a South Carolina baseball team bringing in 20 newcomers this offseason.
From early morning workouts to simulated military training, the Gamecocks found unique ways to bond ahead to the 2023 campaign.
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This past offseason saw the addition of incoming freshmen and transfers, as well as South Carolina players returning from injury. Mark Kingston credited this development of chemistry to experienced Gamecocks taking initiative and integrating these players into the program.
“This team has really bought into knowing that it’s a lot of new guys. So it was up to our old guys, who have done a tremendous job of welcoming them in,” Kingston said. “I think the older, more experienced guys we got out of the portal have done a nice job of not coming in and doing anything other than saying they want to be a part of a great team and a great program.”
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Kingston added that facilitating a welcoming atmosphere is an important part of his coaching philosophy.
“I am 100 percent all in on just make sure you do right by the players, make sure you’re giving them what they need,” he said. “Providing the structure, the environment, the relationships that they need, and then the rest will take care of themselves.”
The team had many opportunities to grow closer on the diamond through 6 a.m. workouts Kingston scheduled throughout the fall. Jack Mahoney said these practices allowed him and his teammates to bond while performing strenuous tasks.
“As much as those weren’t fun,” he said, “we look back on them and it was an hour and a half of sweating, yelling, so I think that brought all of us together really well.”
The team also made three trips to Fort Jackson, the location of a U.S. Army Training Center in Columbia. Their training regimen consisted of runs through a 1.5-mile obstacle course, a wall climb and team-building mental exercises.
“I thought the guys really just got a good feel of the comradery that’s required, and the teamwork that’s required, and supporting your teammates,” Kingston said. “I think this team really rallies around just supporting each other, being there for each other, problem solving together.”
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While Kingston emphasized teamwork, Will Sanders saw these visits as an opportunity to observe how teammates composed themselves under pressure.
“That’s the biggest thing with baseball,” Sanders said. “How are you going to react when there are 12,000 fans screaming at you, and you got to get a bunt down or you got to execute a pitch? It all comes down to how you handle adversity and what your values are.”
Mahoney said he enjoyed seeing how his teammates reacted to having to traverse these adverse conditions.
“It was really funny seeing these tough guys in the locker room who can move a squat bar like nobody’s business get over a wall… and see them not want to go down that thing,” Mahoney said.
The Gamecocks added 10 transfer portal players this offseason with seven on the offensive side of the ball. Three–Dylan Brewer, Jonathan French and Ricky Williams–came over from Clemson.
Sanders said understanding these players came to Columbia to achieve similar goals and help bring the team closer.
“We brought them in with open arms and they were ready to work, and that’s the biggest thing,” Sanders said. “If they were different people and they acted differently, it would probably not be the same, but that’s just baseball. They want to work. They want to get to the next level, and I think they can help our team this year, so we wanted them to be a part of South Carolina.”
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Mahoney said the chemistry the team has this season is noticeably different than that of the team last year.
“From day one, there’s kind of been a bond in that locker room maybe that we didn’t have last year, and obviously that reflects on the field,” Mahoney said. “Everyone’s molded really well. “All the guys in the locker room get together often and hang out a lot, so it’s a tight-knit group.”
Noah Hall went further to say the team’s chemistry this year was unlike anything he’d ever been a part of.
“I feel like you’re not going to have that type of brotherhood and type of care in pro ball as you do in college. And I want to have just one more year, and I’m very grateful I did that,” Hall said. “This is probably one of the closest teams I’ve been on in my life.”
