Former MLB Star Chad Tracy Brings Big League Mindset to Team NC 12U Squad

How would you like to be a softball parent of a young athlete who gets to have an ex-Major League Baseball star prep your daughter on how to act, walk, talk and learn the mindset of someone who’s played at the highest level of ball?

That’s exactly what’s happening in North Carolina as Chad Tracy, a 10-year infield at the MLB level, has recently brought in a 12U team into the Team North Carolina (or “Team NC”) organization.

Tracy is a Charlotte native who went to West Mecklenburg High and then on to East Carolina University where the Pirates were a #1 Regional seed in all three years he was there. He was drafted in 2001 by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 7th round after his junior year at ECU. He finished his college career with a .339 batting average.

In his first full season in the minor leagues, Tracy was named the Texas League Player of the Year at the AA level playing third base for the El Paso Diablos and the following year he was named Arizona’s Minor League Player of the Year (AAA). 

The lefty-hitter made his MLB debut in 2004 and for the Diamondbacks hit .285 with eight home runs and 53 RBIs earning him recognition as the Arizona Diamondbacks Rookie of the Year.

In 2005, he batted .308 (7th in the National League) and had a slugging percentage of .533 (10th best in the NL) and the next season would hit 20 homers and 41 doubles.

Tracy played with Arizona from 2004-2009 and is in the Top 10 in franchise history in many offensive categories including being 6th in doubles (153), 7th in batting average (.280), 9th in games played (704), 10th home runs (78) and 10th in slugging percentage (.453)

He also played for the Cubs, Marlins, Hiroshima Carp and Nationals from 2010-2013 and played primarily third and first base in his long professional career.  
   
The North Carolina native retired in 2014 and since then has focused his attention on his family including four daughters and has been a softball coach at the club level for several years. He recently joined Team NC after competing against the program frequently in the past.

In March of 2018, Tracy opened Ultimate Performance Sports, a 37,000 square foot indoor training facility with 14 batting cages and 20,000 square feet of turf, in Matthews, North Carolina where he intends to help develop the next generation of college softball and baseball players. 

We caught up with the 38-year-old coach and instructor to get his thoughts on his approach and philosophies taking his pro experience to the future stars in fastpitch softball…

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How do you think your professional experience helps in developing young female athletes?
My professional experience helps me with our young female athletes because I know what it takes the play at the highest level.  I was fortunate enough to play in college and professionally for 14 years and during those years I learned from some of the best in the game.  Now, all of that information and experience is available to my girls. Our sport is a game of failure and how we deal with that failure will affect your success.

How do feel joining Team NC will help you as a coach in developing your players and helping them get recruited?
I have played against Team NC for a few years now and I can tell that they are always well-coached. The work that the organization has put in on the recruiting side of things will be invaluable for our athletes.

What do you feel you bring to Team NC with your vast experience in baseball at all levels?
I have traveled all over the world including Canada, the Dominican Republic, Japan, and all over the United States and feel I have a different perspective than most because I have played in all types of settings–from third world countries to the nicest major league ballparks; in front of 55,000 in Japan to the back fields in Spring Training when there were no fans.

I have also been hurt and had to fight to get back on the field after multiple surgeries. I have been a starter, a pinch hitter, played infield, played outfield, hit leadoff and hit clean up–all in the Major Leagues. There is not much I haven’t seen on the ball field!

Talk about some of the main differences you see in baseball and softball on the field the field… 
The differences in baseball and softball are slight. There is no leading off of bases and holding runners on in softball. The angle at which the ball is being pitched is another difference.  The baseball comes on a downward angle because they are on a mound and throwing overhand, thus, creating the downward angle.

That being said, in my opinion, there is nothing fundamentally different in the mechanics of both swings. I absolutely love the pace of the softball game.  It is a much quicker game with a lot more smallball that puts pressure on the defense.

Do you see any differences in the baseball swing versus the softball swing?
There is no difference, in my opinion, except for where your eyes pick up the ball out of your window.

What are your main goals for your young team?
I want to help them to keep improving athletically, grow their knowledge of the game, play the best competition in the country, excel academically and be good teammates.

You’ve been around hundreds of coaches in your playing career… what are some things you learned from them that you will bring to your team? 
Some of the major ones would be: 1. You are never as bad as you think you are, and you never think you are as good as you think you are. 2. Stay Humble. 3. If you are thinking about your mechanics during the game, you are already beat. 4. Just Compete.

What are your coaching “non-negotiables” in what you insist your players do or not do when playing for you?
I’m pretty simple: play hard and be on time!