The 722 miles trip from Valley Stream South HS to the University of Notre Dame would take about 11 hours to drive.
It took their pitching coach, Chuck Ristano, roughly nine years to make the trip, however, due to coaching stops at his alma mater, Sacred Heart University in 2005, Monmouth University from 2006-09 and Temple in 2010 .
In regards to Monmouth he said, “it was probably the best learning experience I’ve had. I worked for a great guy who demanded a lot of me and it made me a lot of what I think I am today.”
He truly believes that those coaching experiences have all been beneficial and allowed him to become a better coach.
After establishing himself as a versatile coach that also handled recruiting and travel responsibilities, he was offered the job at Notre Dame–which he admitted he could not turn down.
Now entering his sixth year with the Notre Dame program, he has been an integral part of the Fighting Irish’s ability to get players to the next level. He has coached eight players that have gone on to get selected in the MLB Draft.
The school’s reputation speaks for itself.
“Notre Dame is a place people dream of. After spending five plus years there, I can understand why,” said Ristano.
It was founded in 1842 and remains one of the most reputable institutions in the country. They have tremendous standards for their students to qualify academically.
For a baseball coach, this can sometimes be a blessing and a curse.
“It does make it a challenge because of the academic part and, quite honestly, the cost does filter a lot of kids away,” he said.
But he went on to add that “when we find the right kids it makes for a really special relationship.”
Being that Ristano is from Long Island and Head Coach Mike Aoki is from New England, Notre Dame has been more active in the Northeast territory than many elite Division-1 programs.
The perception of the northeast is that the talent pool is not comparable to that of the southeast and west coast.
Ristano knows that is not the truth and, in fact, the players from this region may be better equipped to handle the rigors of the Indiana climate than an athlete from, say, Texas.
“We understand not only how good the baseball is in this region but we know the kids are tough enough to deal with the variable of playing baseball in a climate that’s not always ideal.
“I won’t say we’re bias towards the northeast but we have some deep connections,” he said.
When recruiting athletes, there’s one other factor that helps. It’s that other sport team they have that happens to be the only college team that is nationally televised every week.
“Football is a huge part of the experience. I won’t tell a kid to come to the school because of the football team, but I think that Notre Dame football helps us to be visible on the national scene. They do such a good job of representing the ideals of Notre Dame.”
We are beginning to see some players from the uber-talented upcoming graduating classes sign with Division-I schools. Keep an eye on that becoming a trend in the months to come.
