Successful Coaches: Brian Mitchell

To be the head coach of a team, one needs to have a good work ethic and a vast knowledge of baseball. From making practice plans to deciding final line-ups, every little decision can determine a team's success. In this article, the head coach of the Iowa City High Little Hawkeyes, Brian Mitchell, discusses his time as a head coach, how he got there, the upcoming season, and what it means to be successful.

SUCCESSFUL COACHES SERIES
Presented by Chloe Williams- PBR Iowa Intern (2021-2022)

Brian Mitchell, Head Coach, Iowa City High Little Hawkeyes

Mitchell has been head coach of the Little hawks for the past 10 years. He grew up in Iowa City and attended the University of Iowa and played college for them. He moved onto the Blue Jays organization and then they fired him. “After that, I got into business, got a normal job, and had kids,” he said. 

As his kids grew up he knew that he wanted to be involved in their baseball life. “I just wanted to help the school that I graduated from to develop a baseball program that I thought could have success.” And that is what he did. “It's been a lot more challenging along the way than maybe I would've thought. I certainly feel really good about where we are as an organization from top to bottom right now.”

Mitchell attributes what success means to him to the kids he coaches. He says, “I think success is kids that understand what it takes to go to work day in and day out and really develop, as players, as student-athletes and, really understanding that it takes a huge commitment to be really good at anything you're going to be doing.”

He also says, “I think that the most success that we have is that our kids really understand how to work, how to enjoy it, how to be around each other, and be good teammates. But, it's how you represent yourself and your school, and everything that you're doing and going about that, with a hundred percent conviction is success to me.” 

Mitchell is very proud of the program he has helped. He says it is, “A program of opportunity. There's a lot, we're always trying to create opportunities by providing space and the necessary things that they need to get better.”

Describing the culture of the team he says, “You have to be great teammates and just be around each other and your coaches. Literally wanting to be there. It's not a chore, but wanting to be in a fun environment. For me, that's what our culture has become.”

Looking into this year Coach Mitchell is optimistic about the state of his team. “I'm looking forward to and just seeing how good they can become because they've got a lot of people that have been pulling for them for a long time. I look forward to each individual kid, seeing how good they can get and especially from last year to this year,” Mitchell said. 

He has helped the little hawkeyes prepare for this season. “We get started after the first of the year. We've got a really great football coach that helps us with athletic development. So we get a lot of speed and agility going right away. While we get our arms going at the same time.”

However, coaching is never easy and there are difficult decisions to be made. “Coaching may come across as rosy, but, you have 50 some kids in your high school, from freshmen all the way up to varsity. Every day somebody's got something going on. Understanding how best to approach that kid that you might know has some challenges or isn't quite meeting what we think the expectations for them are. It's day to day, you deal with how best to approach some situation.”

Mitchell has had a great amount of success with the Iowa City High team and this year will be no exception. Him and the Little Hawkeyes are looking forward to playing a great season of baseball.

Chloe Williams is currently a senior at Johnston High School and has been working for Prep Baseball Report Iowa as an intern since September 2021. She has been managing the Johnston baseball team since she was a sophomore and has also worked for the Iowa Sticks team as a data collector. In the fall, she plans on going to the University of Iowa to major in data science.

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