The fall semester of 2015 has concluded for the Tigers of Chattanooga State Baseball and they finished with a 3.32 team GPA. They had three players that finished with a perfect 4.0 GPA for the semester and nine finished with a 3.5 or higher overall.
“We couldn’t be happier with the work that was done by these young men and all of the people on our campus that help them out throughout the semester,” said 13th year Head Coach Greg Dennis. “These guys put in tremendous time and effort and have to balance that with all of the outside commitments and distractions that come with being a college student in the 21st Century.”
The Tigers stay busy the entire fall as they are on the field six days a week from mid-August through the middle of October and then working out and conditioning from then through the end of the semester.
“During our on the field part of the fall these guys are sometimes here from 7 a.m. for study hall till 9 p.m. at the end of our high school fall league ball games,” says Coach Dennis, “The amount of time and effort that goes in to competing at the level this program has for the last decade or so is all consuming. The support staff that is available here at our college is superb and we try to utilize every available resource.”
The Tigers also boasts currently seven players that are a part of the college’s recognized Global Honors Program. “These guys are exceptional students and are in an environment where they are highly-challenged above and beyond the normal student,” says Coach Dennis. “Their demands are exponentially more difficult and they juggle these unbelievably well and continue to achieve at high levels on and off of the field.”
The Tigers just concluded their off season program where sophomore Nate Schmal won the 13th Annual Superstars Competition. “Nate had a phenomenal fall season for us and is certainly a fine addition to a rather prestigious group to have won that title while here. He is also a member of the Global Honors Program and represents the program in the classroom extremely well.”
The guys finished their fall semester last Tuesday with the annual six-mile run on the River Walk and Schmal won that also with a 43:30 time.
“That closes the fall for us and it is a great way to do it as the guys get to truly see what great shape they are in and how their work has paid off,” said Coach Dennis. “The last guy finished at 51:45 overall so it is obvious they have come a long way from where they were in August.”
The Tigers will be back to begin practice in early January and the season begins early in February. “We are extremely excited about this group. We lost a bunch of really, really good players from our Conference and District Runner-Up team from last year and we know that it is going to be a challenge to get back to that level. Our goal is to try and prepare these guys both mentally and physically as well as possible and challenge them to work and compete at the highest level possible. I think we have done a pretty good job of this over the past 13 years. Our record bears it out, we feel.”
Follow more about the Tigers on Facebook (Chattanooga State Baseball) or on twitter at chattsttigersBB.