by P.J. Potter<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bouncing from high school baseball to the MLB and back, pitching coach John Habyan<\/strong> has finally been given a chance at the college level.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the right place at the right time,\u201d said Habyan, who was hired as the new assistant coach in July 2015 to manage the Hofstra<\/strong> pitching staff.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Habyan was drafted in the third round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Baltimore Orioles in 1982 out of St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School in West Islip.<\/p>\n

After a few years in the minor leagues, Habyan was called up in 1985 as a relief pitcher. He spent the next 11 seasons at the major league level, finishing with a career 26-24 record and 3.85 ERA in 348 appearances with the Orioles, Yankees, Royals, Cardinals, Angels and Rockies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not many college coaching staffs around the country where your guy has so many years of big league experience on the mound,\u201d Hofstra head coach John Russo said.
\nAfter his professional career ended, Habyan returned home as the head coach for St. John the Baptist for 17 years.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cHis teams at St. John the Baptist were arguably known as always the best team and best coached teams on the Island,\u201d Coach Russo said.<\/p>\n

Since coming to Hofstra, Coach Habyan understands his pitchers are already highly skilled and that his job entails guiding the players more so than teaching them.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor my end, this is easier than coaching high school baseball, dealing with Division I type athletic talent,\u201d Coach Habyan said. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit closer to what I was used to at a professional level, so it\u2019s a little easier to relate with these [college] kids than the younger kids. I\u2019m just trying to get [the pitchers] where they want to go, whatever level that may be. I try to build off their strengths.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Habyan also keeps in mind that he is no longer at a professional level or a head coach. There has been no problem with allowing Coach Russo to run his team the way he has been since 2012.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t try to come in with some type of major league mentality and [say] \u2018this is the way we have to do things,\u2019\u201d Habyan said.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, Coach Habyan is just as excited to get on the field as his players after spending the last month practicing in gymnasiums and the bubble, relishing the opportunity to go out and work with college students.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe loves every day that he\u2019s here on the job,\u201d Coach Russo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy game plan for the next five weekends is to get my pitching staff up to speed for conference play. I\u2019m ready to get started. I\u2019m excited \u2026 but it\u2019s a progression,\u201d Habyan said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by P.J. Potter Bouncing from high school baseball to the MLB and back, pitching coach John Habyan has finally been given a chance at the college level. \u201cIt was the right place at the right time,\u201d said Habyan, who was hired as the new assistant coach in July 2015 to manage the Hofstra pitching staff. Habyan was drafted in the third round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Baltimore Orioles in 1982 out of St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School in West Islip. After a few years in the minor leagues, Habyan was called up in 1985 as a relief pitcher. He spent the next 11 seasons at the major league level, finishing with a career 26-24 record and 3.85 ERA in 348 appearances with the Orioles, Yankees, Royals, Cardinals, Angels and Rockies. \u201cThere\u2019s not many college coaching staffs around the country where your guy has so many years of big league experience on the mound,\u201d Hofstra head coach John Russo said. After his professional career ended, Habyan returned home as the head coach for St. John the Baptist for 17 years. \u201cHis teams at St. John the Baptist were arguably known as always the best team and best coached teams on the Island,\u201d Coach Russo said. Since coming to Hofstra, Coach Habyan understands his pitchers are already highly skilled and that his job entails guiding the players more so than teaching them. \u201cFor my end, this is easier than coaching high school baseball, dealing with Division I type athletic talent,\u201d Coach Habyan said. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit closer to what I was used to at a professional level, so it\u2019s a little easier to relate with these [college] kids than the younger kids. I\u2019m just trying to get [the pitchers] where they want to go, whatever level that may be. I try to build off their strengths.\u201d Habyan also keeps in mind that he is no longer at a professional level or a head coach. There has been no problem with allowing Coach Russo to run his team the way he has been since 2012. \u201cI don\u2019t try to come in with some type of major league mentality and [say] \u2018this is the way we have to do things,\u2019\u201d Habyan said. At the end of the day, Coach Habyan is just as excited to get on the field as his players after spending the last month practicing in gymnasiums and the bubble, relishing the opportunity to go out and work with college students. \u201cHe loves every day that he\u2019s here on the job,\u201d Coach Russo said. \u201cMy game plan for the next five weekends is to get my pitching staff up to speed for conference play. I\u2019m ready to get started. I\u2019m excited \u2026 but it\u2019s a progression,\u201d Habyan said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[460],"class_list":{"0":"post-6253","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-archive","7":"tag-archive"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n