LEWISTON, N.Y. (WKBW) — Niagara University begins every practice with a 3-minute breathing audio exercise, which head coach Rob McCoy and the rest of his staff implemented in 2015.
"For breathing and visualization, we listen to audio that before practice and games just to try and get us centered."
McCoy took over as head coach in 2009, and he's worked to add players who bring the type of 'culture' that will benefit the overall team.
However, keeping a team together only gets more complex with the new era of the transfer portal.
"If you have a bad year or two bad years in a row, you're at the mercy of whatever happens, but we're still going to try and get the kid that is a good fit for us."
Despite the challenges of the transfer portal, McCoy and his staff have found over a dozen transfers at the right time. These players, like Eric Rataczak, have brought positive leadership and the skills to match, a testament to the team's successful recruitment strategy.
The Purple Eagles are off to their best conference start in program history.
"This is my first year at the program," said Rataczak. 'If you had told me this was the team culture and the standard that is expected around here, I would've never guessed that this year is more or less successful than the other years."
The 23-year-old is an example of the talent Niagara University has been able to add on its roster. Rataczak is currently in the top three for batting average in the conference and top 40 in the country.
"He has pro aspirations. He's gotten interest from 3 to 4 teams, so it's a success story for him," says McCoy.
