Friday Feature - Baseball Assistant Brian Schweiger

CALDWELL, Idaho - Over the past eight years, College of Idaho assistant coach Brian Schweiger has brought professional baseball experience into the dugout for the Coyotes.
 
After advancing within the Seattle Mariners system to as high of a level as AAA, Schweiger's journey within baseball would end from a player perspective in 2006.
 
During his time in the minors, Schweiger played for teams in Arizona, Washington, California, Texas and Wisconsin, spending plenty of time on the bus traveling all around the United States with the dream of one day making the major leagues.
 
Schweiger, a 16th round selection by Seattle in the 2003 MLB First-Year Players Draft, spent four seasons in professional baseball before transitioning to a position as a bullpen catcher for the Mariners in 2007. 
 
While not a member of the active roster, his path had taken him to the highest level of baseball.
 
In Schweiger's first year as bullpen catcher for the Mariners, the team headed to Chicago in June to play a series at Wrigley Field against the Cubs.
 
"I am warming up the starting pitcher in right field and we are pretty close to the fans so you can hear what they are saying," Schweiger said. "A couple of fans started talking with me and said 'Brian Schweiger, went to high school at Fontana, played three years at Cal State San Bernardino and played four years in the minors.'"
 
"I stopped warming up the pitcher, turned around and said 'why are you stalking the bullpen catcher?' They said 'not stalking, we just do our homework on the bullpen catcher.' They were doing homework on a no name guy that warms up pitchers. I thought that was pretty cool."
 
Schweiger had the opportunity to work with plenty of strong arms in his role as the bullpen catcher.
 
Some of the pitchers on the 2007 and 2008 Seattle roster included Felix Hernandez, J.J. Putz, Arthur Rhodes, Jarrod Washburn and Erik Bedard. In the field, Ichiro Suzuki, Adrian Beltre and Raul Ibanez were a few of the notable position players.
 
The experiences gained from his time in the Mariners organization and then as an assistant at CSUSB and Los Angeles Valley Community College prepared Schweiger well for his current role at C of I.
 
"Brian is a vital part of our program," said baseball head coach Shawn Humberger. "His time playing professional baseball, and especially his time as a bullpen catcher in the big leagues - where his daily duties included throwing batting practice to some of the best hitters in the game, hitting ground balls to some of the best infielders in the game and catching bullpens for some of the best pitchers in the game - has given him a great insight into player development. He's been able to combine that insight along with his knack for developing strong relationships with people to really help our student-athletes develop on the field and as human beings."
 
It's hard to argue that the position with the Coyote baseball program has been a near perfect fit.
 
"There are a lot of things that I love about C of I," Schweiger said. "I love that we are one big family. I love that everyone is trying to help each other and I love that my job is never the same. One day I am getting concessions ready for basketball and another I'm a game manager at football games. Then I'm coaching baseball and working with players and trying to get them better at baseball and also trying to help them become a man. I hope I am able to work at C of I until my boys are old enough to come to the school. That would be awesome."
 
Those two boys, Crew and Beckett, can commonly be found everywhere their dad goes on campus, including the J.A. Albertson Activities Center, Wolfe Field, Simplot Stadium and everywhere in between.
 
"It has been unbelievable to have my sons come to work and hang out," Schweiger said. "The boys are in hog heaven when they come to work and when they are able to hang out at the field. I have been really lucky to be able to bring them to work. I can't really express that enough. How many jobs do you know that allow you to bring your sons to work and everyone loves it? I work in a special place and I am really thankful and lucky to work at The College of Idaho."
 
Many people and experiences led the man commonly referred to as "Schwags" to the coaching position on the Caldwell campus.
 
"There have been a lot of coaches that have helped shape the way I coach," Schweiger said. "My old catching coach Roger Hansen from the Mariners taught me how to teach catching and how to get the best out of each player's talent level. Roger was a no-nonsense type of coach. If you played terrible that day he would let you know. On the flip side, if you did something right, he would be the first one to pick you up."
 
Multiple coaches influenced him before professional baseball as well.
 
"Don Parnell was my head coach at Cal State San Bernardino," Schweiger said. "Coach P really taught me how to be organized for practice and how to run a practice. He is like a father figure to me. If I have any questions about baseball or about life I can call him anytime. Kurt Stange was another coach that helped me along the way. He has known me since I was a sophomore in high school and I was lucky enough to play for him at Cal State San Bernardino and then coach with him as well. He really showed me how to work with pitchers and how to call a game. He is another coach that I look up to as a father figure."
 
Over the last eight years in Caldwell, working with Humberger has been another great opportunity to continue to learn.
 
"Being able to work with Hummer the past eight years has been very rewarding and very knowledgeable as well," Schweiger said. "I have learned so much from him including infield, hitting, strategies, running practices, recruiting and fundraising to mention a couple of things. He is a true friend and coach."
 
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the remaining games on the 2020 baseball schedule for this spring were canceled, ending the Coyote season early.
 
"That was a tough one," Schweiger said. "The players kind of knew what was going on and they had a pretty good approach on everything. Hummer brought them up and told them that our season was canceled. Pretty much everyone said 'this sucks', and we moved forward. We felt really bad for the seniors who really didn't get a chance to play their last game."
 
Austin Van Horne, Matthew Clay and Nick Kindred were the three seniors on the roster for the Yotes this spring.
 
A large contingent of the roster will return however in 2021, providing optimism for continued growth within the program moving forward.