Sunday Morning Chat: Jupiter Manager Andy Mook

Today, HSBN Senior Writer Rick Duteau sits down with Jupiter Manager Andy Mook, who shares his thoughts on the tough competition in Palm Beach, the Andy Mook away from the field and his roots at Jupiter. Enjoy!

Rick: Alright, let’s begin here. You’re very familiar with Jupiter baseball, you graduated from the school in ’92 and then coached here for three years under Coach Ferguson before taking over. How much has the familiarity helped with the transition to become the manger?

Coach Mook: It was good ‘cause once I graduated in ’92, left and came back and started helping out Coach Ferguson, I was an assistant, like a real assistant for I think about a year. Then I went up to UF to finish my schooling. Coached JV at Buchholz High School up there. Then I came back and coached again with Coach Ferguson. Then I took over Palm Beach Lakes, then I came back; three years as an assistant and I was able to get the coaching job. So I’ve gotten to see Jupiter progress.

Rick: Even the times that you were away with the other programs did you keep much attention? Did you keep tabs on the guys here?

Coach Mook: Oh yeah! I mean, all the guys. Because you build those bonds working with those kids and even with Coach Ferguson because he gave me a shot to start coaching. I got to be around him as well as all the fellow coaches that he knows where I could learn from.

Rick: Which, that’s a pretty deep pipeline if I’m not mistaken.

Coach Mook: Even Coach Bob Smith over at Buchhoz High School gave me an opportunity to do JV and I got to see things with him too. But with the transition it was fairly easy because being an assistant coach you know the players. Even at a JV level you see the guys; you know them. So when I took over I already knew what was going on. Obviously I’m bringing in some new stuff just because everyone is a little different.

Rick: Do you think it’s easier on the players too when they have that transition with a guy that they’re already familiar with to have in the coaching staff.

Coach Mook: Yeah, it could go good or bad because I think when they first thought, they were hoping I was going to get the head coaching job because…assistant coaches, they’re the good guys. Your head coach is the guy who’s the bad guy. So I think they thought it was going to be like when I was an assistant coach.

Rick: Yeah, so all of a sudden you’re the bad guy! [laughing]

Coach Mook: Now I’m the one making the decisions and now I’m not like that Good Ole Boy that they had as an assistant coach.

Rick: Now your assistants get to be that guy.

Coach Mook: Exactly. The transition is good to be familiar with the kids. Sometimes it can be working good and bad. It depends; I think it’s worked out real well.

Rick: Especially working that close to Coach Ferguson; with a guy like him that’s been there for a long time, I’m assuming that it was at least a thought of his that you would be the guy to follow him. I’m sure he had some guys lined up like that.

Coach Mook: I think so because at first I didn’t really, once I found out, I kinda realized I was not going to be at Palm Beach Lakes anymore, he was one of the coaches, many of the coaches in the area were trying to get me to come over and assistant coach. And then he called me and he was wanting me to come on board and I definitely jumped at that. Towards the end, as I look back as thing were going…

Rick: Oh, he never said anything?

Coach Mook: No, he mentioned, “Well you know, I’m not going to coach forever. I don’t want to do it always.”

Rick: So he was dropping little subtle hints.

Coach Mook: When he did retire, it was kinda like, “What?” We were all shocked, “Are you serious?” Alex McCall and myself were both head coaches [previously]. We had a staff of really, three head coaches for one Varsity program, which is really great. So, it was kinda a shock that he did retire.

Rick: You guys were coming off a regional semifinals loss to Park Vista when you took over; how much of that loss helped fuel your first season last year.

Coach Mook: It was nice fuel because we had some guys, we were young in certain spots because that year we had a lot of guys actually quit, seniors. Then we had to pull up some guys who were younger.

Rick: Especially a program likes yours, in a district like this, if you lose some seniors…

Coach Mook: Yeah, we lost some guys and a couple guys got injured and these guys just stepped right up. And it was good because the first year I took over, those guys got a taste of how close we were. And that fuels it.

Rick: And that’s a lot of this team now.

Coach Mook: Exactly. Last year Dwyer had our number and we got knocked out of the districts, but that fuels it. When you always have guys who return that had that taste when they were that close; so close to that big moment. That’s something to push you. The drive to want more.

Rick: That was actually one of the things I was going to ask you about. You’ve got a year under your belt. You finished 19-7 last year but you didn’t make it out of districts. How disappointing was that?

Coach Mook: That was disappointing, That’s not going to be lie. We expect to win, we expect to win district; we expect to win states. I think every coach has that…

Rick: And it’s a different standard here at this school.

Coach Mook: Yeah, I can’t see a coach that doesn’t drive their players. That’s why you play the game, is to win. To improve to win; that’s the sport.

Rick: Is that a lot of fuel now for this year?

Coach Mook: Yeah, our guys know that we expect to win every game. We go out but we also want to improve because we have a lot of seniors. Once their last high school senior game is over with they’ve got something afterwards. It’s college baseball; going to college to not play baseball. Whatever that they can do to learn and grow. That’s the best thing about baseball, it is a game of failure but it is something you can learn [from]. You learn that life is life but if you can look at how you failed and you can improve on it and enhance yourself and get better, it’s just going to help you out as a person.

Rick: You’ve been in a very successful program for a long time. What were your personal expectations when you took over?

Coach Mook: Personal expectations was to keep it going, one. And two, improve it. That’s my focus. Coach Ferguson did a fantastic job building this program to where it’s at. The parents have done a great job. We’ve got a great group of great parents and community support. And my expectation is to keep it going. To keep it going and to keep raising the bar.

Rick: Even though you had been there as an assistant for three years. What did you learn in your first year as a Manager that made you alter your plan or coaching style coming into this season?

Coach Mook: I think every year you do. You see what other coaches do, how other players respond. I coach somewhat year round. You always want to make adjustments. Baseball is a game of adjustments. You could have a scripted practice or you have a plan set up but something is not going right and you want to work on something here, and work on something there. You kinda have to roll with the punches. Whatever you can do to get the kids better.

Rick: Did you feel the same thing because you’ve already head coached at Buchholz and also at Palm Beach Lakes. Do you take any of the experiences from there and factor that in as you started off this season?

Coach Mook: Oh yeah. You just gotta keep on growing as a coach. I always say if you think you know everything about baseball and you think your way is the right way, you’re going to get stuck in a rut. You are never going to improve. Players are different, people are different.

Rick: Programs are different.

Coach Mook: You’ve got to look at everything and look at adjustments. That’s why we go to coaches clinics. You always want to try and enhance the program and better your kids, you’re always going to learn from it. A lot of people do say, “Well you’re at Palm Beach Lakes, Jupiter is so much different.” And not really; baseball is baseball. It betters the players.

Rick: They’re kids, the kids are the same age.

Coach Mook: You might talk about different levels or caliber of play but you still have to deal with the same thing; fund raising, field prep; a lot of different things. Obviously there are different headaches in different areas.

Rick: Yeah, one of the things, well obviously at Jupiter the expectations are incredibly high. Talk about that.

Coach Mook: It’s a good thing. It’s really good to have high expectations and the kids need to know it. That’s always a battle I think with every program is that things are going good and you just kind of keep there and we kinda get complacent and then you fall backwards. We never want to take two steps forward and then take one step back. You want to keep enhancing and keep going forward and forward. Keep on improving. That goes with everything. At the end of the day, at the end of the year, we should see improvement from all of the guys. And the same thing goes for the JV level and the varsity level. Everybody comes into the program at the end should be better and we keep going forward.

Rick: Especially here in Jupiter, I know that’s something they have always done a good job. One, you have always had a very strong JV program but it seems that you’re always getting guys that make that transition very well. I think there are a couple of guys on this team this year that weren’t necessarily going to make the team and now they’re producing. Zac Hall comes to mind; he’s hit pretty well for you. At the start of the year I think he was going to be a JV player, if I’m not mistaken.

Coach Mook: It’s one of those things. We’ve got a great JV staff to be honest. Our Head Coach and our Assistant Coach, our JV program; those guys are fantastic. We’re all on the same page. We all do the “Warrior Way.” It’s like a minor league system. Those guys do everything the right way, we get the guys, it’s like clockwork. We started plugging it.

Rick: So you get them pretty tailor made for ya!

Coach Mook: We’ve got a wonderful staff. I’m blessed to have those guys around. My assistants for Varsity level and my JV program. They make this program and they help me out.

Rick: People talk all the time about your district and how it’s one of the most competitive in the state. That’s good from a competition standpoint, but does it frustrate you a little bit that only one team can come out each year?

Coach Mook: It’s very frustrating. It’s tough because, I’m not trying to knock other districts but you look at other districts and you see a couple teams that get in. And then you see our district; really all five of our teams can go further than regionals.

Rick: Yeah, this really is a district that five teams can contend at the state level.

Coach Mook: And that’s the problem, at the end of the tournament you only get two of those teams. It’s great if you’re one of those two teams because you are tested. When you go on to regionals and you have a chance to go onto state, you’ve played every game as a big game. And your players aren’t nervous. They’ve had that high level.

Rick: This district has already proven that from its one year in existence last year.

Coach Mook: Exactly.

Rick: Were you surprised last year with Gardens making it this far coming out of here?

Coach Mook: No, honestly, all the teams could have made it. Every game is a battle from last year to this year. Going on to final four, we got knocked out in the first round and were I think the second seed. It’s frustrating. We’re sitting there our season is over with, we definitely know we could have done well in regionals.

Rick: You were 19-7, I don’t remember what the district record was but I know you guys had a pretty good district record.

Coach Mook: We were 5-3, something like that. It was frustrating. We hosted this District so I get to be here and do all the prep work.

Rick: Have the kids taken in any extra motivation knowing that they had to watch other teams celebrate on their field?

Coach Mook: Oh yeah. Especially when you have a rival, Dwyer right down the road and they’re celebrating and I have to be out there to give the District Championship Plaque to them.

Rick: Not quite the same as giving the plaque to Coach Ferguson, is it?

Coach Mook: Exactly.

Rick: Last year your district had Palm Beach Gardens which finished fourth in the District with a 3-5 record, comes out and made it all the way to States. In this type of District is there a feeling that seeding doesn’t matter as much as it would in other districts?

Coach Mook: Yeah, if you’re the one seed you feel somewhat comfortable. But again like last year, Gardens was the fourth seed, I think Wellington was the fifth seed.

Rick: Gardens almost ended it right there in the beginning.

Coach Mook: And that’s the thing. You look at Major League Baseball with the wild card. Get a team out at the end and they start playing and they start believing and they start going with that flow. That’s how the game goes.

Rick: Tell me about Andy Mook away from the baseball field.

Coach Mook: Well, if you talk to any coach we don’t have much “off the field.”

Rick: I guess the other part of that question is, is there an Andy Mook off the baseball field?

Coach Mook: Yeah, I do… that’s one thing…I was blessed to find my wife when I was involved in baseball because I know it’s tough for anybody to be with a baseball coach because we do spend pretty much Monday through Saturday and Sunday at times, every day at the baseball field doing everything we possibly can. So all our time does…we’re on the baseball field, we don’t have much off time.

Rick: Do you find that your relationship is actually, maybe a little stronger because you’ve found someone that is ingrained into the baseball lifestyle?

Coach Mook: Yeah, I think if she would have met me when…yeah, we started dating when I was a head coach. She kinda knew how things went. But she does a real good job. I try and take Sundays where that’s our time and try and stay away. Unless I get up really early, come to the field and she’s not up yet and I come…

Rick: Sneek away real quick.

Coach Mook: I try and balance that. Most guys, I’m not a good golfer, I try to play a little bit of golf here and there but it’s pretty much baseball. It’s year round.

Rick: Yeah, as someone who also has it ingrained in your backbone, I can understand. It’s one of those things you can walk away from. It’s still there in your head.

Coach Mook: Yeah, I don’t go to the Major League games or Minor League games, but it’s just one of those things, you’re always around baseball.

Rick: Each coach has a different coaching style and puts emphasis on different aspects of the game. With you, what’s the most important thing your team needs to do right on the baseball field?

Coach Mook: Hustle. I mean, hustle, hard work. Being a teammate because defense, offense, your pitching, your catching, all around that’s your intangibles that always need to be worked on, always those types of fundamentals. But I’ve always seen teams that play as a team, play as a family and pick each other up, will go further than a team that’s all talented.

Rick: At this point in the year you guys are still undefeated. How happy are you with this team in those regards?

Coach Mook: These guys have been playing with each other for a long time. They know each other, they pick each other up, they make it easy. It’s tougher when you’ve got some years where you have guys who they think it’s about them. It’s all about them. But these guys made it really easy because they play together, they care about one another, they want the best for their other teammate. Even if they’re not starting that day they’re going to want that person to do well. They don’t want them to fail so they can get a shot.

Rick: And it seems like that’s been kind of the result so far. If you look at box scores or read the results of your games it seems like it’s always a different guy doing it this season.

Coach Mook: And that’s what we preach. We have to. If we call for a bunt and our one guy doesn’t get it down and we don’t execute it, the next guy is going to have to pick it up. I mean, I could call for a steal play, a bonehead call by me but my player, the next guy; he picks me up with something good. It piggybacks; it’s all of us working together for one goal.

Rick: Every baseball player or fan has a favorite player that they grow up idolizing. Who is that player that was bigger than life for you growing up, and why?

Coach Mook: I remember I can tell you my grandparents lived in Indiana. I was born in South Bend Indiana. I lived kinda by Notre Dame and I went to visit them, tuned in WGN and I got to see the Chicago Cubs, 1984 was the year and that’s when the guys wore the flip-up glasses. Ryan Sandburg. I idolized him.

Rick: Rhino!

Coach Mook: Rhino, yeah, I idolized him. He’s actually, I worked a lot of camps and I’ve crossed a lot of great Major League Baseball players and autographs and things like that, and he’s the only one I’ve actually reached out to, to autograph a ball.

Rick: And where is that ball now?

Coach Mook: That ball is in my office and that’s the one thing that’s a keepsake of mine. Everything else, doesn’t matter to me.

Rick: And the kinda interesting thing is, that was your favorite player growing up because he kinda epitomized all of the things that you just talked about regarding your team. Hustle, hard play, those were the things that helped to get him…I think he’s a Hall of Famer now.

Coach Mook: Yes, he is a Hall of Famer. I’ve actually read up on him, I follow him still. You know, I was hoping he was going to be the Cubs Manager. But…

Rick: Ever get a chance to meet him?

Coach Mook: No, I have not. I would love to. I’ve met Tony Guinn and talked to him and some other Major League ball players and managers but he’s the one guy, I don’t even know if I’d know what to say. I’d be a stuttering guy, he’s my idol. All of the other guys I’d be like, “Hey, how ya doing?” Whatever, but him…

Rick: The others are just guys…

Coach Mook: Yeah, exactly. I understand that they’re talented and they had a great career; you pick their brain and learn things. But this guy, I’d be like “WOW!” I don’t know what to say to this guy.

Rick: You guys are playing some very good baseball right now. What improvements still need to be made and what has to happen for you to reach your goals and make it to Fort Myers?

Coach Mook: We need to make sure we don’t get complacent. We have to keep with the same frame of mind that we have to get better. We could play flawless baseball, throw a no hitter. Just a perfect game all around but we still have to come to work the next day. If we win or lose, that’s the past, we learn from the past so we can take it to the present. And that present will take us to the future.

Rick: And it seems like last year was almost a micro chasm of that. It seems like you guys, it was a lot of highs and lows throughout. You guys did very well in the Selective Recruiting Tournament. It seemed like they had different moments where they were at those highs. Was there a lot of where you’re seeing it now where you’re saying, “I’ve got to find a way to lure them back and keep them in the middle.”

Coach Mook: You always gotta find certain ways to motivate them, to inspire them. To get them to keep going with what you’re doing. These guys are a very good group of guys that we have this year because they listen, they’ve seen it; and again, they’re returners. They’ve seen the writing on the wall. And that’s kinda part of the job of the coach. We’ve got to motivate. We’ve got to do certain decisions. We’ve got to do certain things. It becomes, you’re a psychologist.

Rick: Except at the high school level [laughing]

Coach Mook: Just like teaching, you have to put on many hats.

Rick: What are some of your long term goals as a manager?

Coach Mook: I would love to see pretty much all my players be successful. Winning games would be great. Winning district championships, state championships; that’s icing on the cake. Does it make you a great coach? Does it make you a good coach? I think when you see your guys move on and improve and become better people that gives me pleasure. When I’ve got returning players who, when I was an Assistant Coach or Head Coach for, and they come back and they see me, “Thanks Coach!” That’s great.

Rick: Do you get to see a lot of your players? I know Gainsville is a little bit away.

Coach Mook: Gainsville, I have not seen any of those guys from the JV level and I was only there for one year. But when I was at Lakes, I still keep in contact with one of my players in the Coast Guard; actually I think he went to the Marines now. But I’ve got a couple of other guys that will keep in touch with me. I don’t Facebook, so….

Rick: So you’re the guy who doesn’t [laughing]

Coach Mook: I don’t think so, I don’t Facebook. But we just had, John Corper our catcher came up to hit. He’ll be out tomorrow probably after 2 o’clock.

Rick: With a program like Jupiter, where you’ve had so many players that have been successful at levels beyond the high school. And I know there’s a lot pride as you say, “Warrior Pride”, a lot of those guys come back. Talk about the opportunity for the team to get the input from the players besides the coach at that level.

Coach Mook: Oh it’s great, I welcome it. Like Miles Mike he comes out before he has to report for the Padres. Taylor Davis came out before he had to report for the Cubs. And it’s great because they want to get their work in but they’re also, they give back. When Miles is throwing a bullpen or live hitters, he’s working with our catchers. And that’s a great learning experience for our guys because these guys are so approachable, they like talking to the kids and helping them out and they get to learn from those guys. And it’s funny because as a coach you can tell them a hundred times what’s going on, but they hear it from someone else, they go, “Oh, wait a minute…”

Rick: Someone who they idolize and know they’ve been where they’ve been.

Coach Mook: “Oh, ok…Coach was right! Now it makes sense.” Parents will tell you that. You know, when parents are raising their kids…[they say] this and this, but then the kid will hear it from someone else, “Oh, Mom was right! It makes sense.” But it’s great; I welcome it. I really try and get the alumni to come in. I haven’t been able to do the alumni day like Coach Ferguson used to do where there’s a game and everything but I’m trying to put that in the works.

Rick: Well, you had a little bit of something like that when you had the honoring of the field.

Coach Mook: Yeah. But that’s something that I want to try and do where I have a day where we bring alumni out and have a picnic or cookout. Give back to them, because the alumni and their parents helped build Jupiter. So we have to give them credit, not be like, once they’re gone, “Alright, see ya!”

Rick: Now with the new field I’m sure you guys are looking forward for an opportunity like. The alumni had a lot to do with helping to put this together.

Coach Mook: I’ll tell you what, that’s one thing I definitely want to give credit to is all the former parents that put their blood, sweat and tears into this field and into this program. It’s phenomenal what they’ve done. That’s part of my job, to make sure that I keep it up to their standards and try and elevate it from what they’ve established. Our field I need to get that back rolling…

Rick: And it’s such a unique field, too. As we talk about Warrior’s Pride, you have one of those neat little things with the wall in left field that kind of adds something unique for your team.

Coach Mook: Oh, definitely. And my parents did a good job because we couldn’t get it up last year. We got it up the Gardens game and then right after the Gardens game it came down.

Rick: Oh no.

Coach Mook: Yeah, my parents volunteered. They came out with a couple of contractor guys, or some guys to come out with a lift truck and they put it up yesterday.

Rick: Oh that’s awesome.

Coach Mook: Yeah, it was fantastic! Again, we’re blessed with great parents. They really support us.

Rick: Alright, we’re going to finish up with some fun questions. We’ll give you a choice and you pick one.

Coach Mook: Ok.

Rick: Peanuts or Sunflower seeds?

Coach Mook: Sunflower seeds.

Rick: Yankees or Red Sox?

Coach Mook: Neither.

Rick: [laughing] I kinda had a feeling you were going to say that coming as a Cubs fan.

Coach Mook: I would probably go with Boston since they took so long to go to the World Series.

Rick: Well, how about St. Louis or Cincinnati?

Coach Mook: Well, I’ve got to go with St. Louis because my buddy Jason Motte.

Rick: There you go. Movies, thriller or comedy?

Coach Mook: Comedy.

Rick: A state championship and a five-year coaching career or no State Championship and a 20-year coaching career?

Coach Mook: Twenty years.

Rick: Country or rock ‘n’ roll?

Coach Mook: Rock ‘n’ roll

Rick: Pitching or hitting?

Coach Mook: Hitting.

Rick: Ok. Last one. Scott Benedict or Joe Russo?

Coach Mook: Ooohh, G-d! I’ve got to go with Joe Russo because he was, when I played here he was my assistant coach.

Rick: There you go [laughing] Well, Coach, I just want to thank you and wish you guys good luck for the rest of the season.

Coach Mook: Thank you! I appreciate it.

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