Who Plays Pathway Baseball? Texas Oilers

Who Plays Pathway Baseball? Texas Oilers

Our look at high-achieving club programs that dig into the menu of Pathway Baseball events has taken us coast-to-coast; we stop in the heartland for our next entry with the Texas Oilers. Based in the eastern side of the Dallas Metroplex, the Oilers fired up in 2012 under the direction of Danny Hamblin and Kyle Hancock, who played together at Rowlett High School and earned DFW player of the year awards in 2003 and 2005, respectively.

Hamblin played collegiately at the University of Arkansas and was a two-time MLB draft choice. Hancock went straight to professional baseball and played four seasons with the Colorado Rockies organization.

Today, the Oilers have 43 teams ranging from 8u all the way through high-school age, along with three facilities used for training and instruction. We visited with Kyle Hancock recently to learn more about the reach and growth of the Oilers program.

Q: Concluding a playing career is never easy; how did coaching become the next area of interest for you and Danny?

A: It was a unique situation for Danny and I, collectively. His path, once he was done playing, he did the grad assistant role at Arkansas, coached there, trying to identify if that was the route he wanted to go from a coaching perspective. For me, when I got out of pro ball I had the opportunity to scout professionally. Once I understood the timelines and how long you'd be away from home, that was something I was trying to get away from. I wanted to stay involved in the game; with the fact Danny and I played together in high school, we've been best friends for a number of years. Growing up in the select and travel ball scene, we joked years ago that whenever you're done playing, I'd love to start an organization with you and see what we can do.

I finished playing in 2012, and once I got home that fall we hit the ground running. We always wanted to be around the game and give back to the players.

Q: In the deeply competitive scene of Texas club baseball, how did you get it off the ground?

A: Starting up, we called our old high school baseball coach; he runs a camp every summer, and we essentially asked for the contact list so we could make some phone calls and see if we could drum up some interest. At the foundation of it, we just wanted to coach, with maybe 12-18 sets of families to start. We set up a meeting in the stands of Rowlett High School; it was shocking and humbling and exciting when we saw half the stands were full. People, especially in the surrounding neighborhoods and cities, just wanted something fresh and new. Danny and I had played at a high level, and you had a perfect storm as we got into it – especially with this location, there wasn't a lot happening on the east side of the Metroplex.

It doesn't get old for us. We just try to do things the right way, do right by our players and be honest with our families. We've felt through that and trying to do it the right way, the rest will take care of itself. We have a lot of great relationships with other organizations, and a lot of them do things very well. I feel many would say the same about us. We had never envisioned where we are today after 10 years. We've been able to scale at a rate that we can manage and keep a great handle on the teams in the program. We know the families.

Q: What are your priority concerns in terms of developing the older-age teams that have played with Pathway?

A: It starts with networking for us. We try to get to know as many high school coaches across the Metroplex as possible, develop those relationships along with the college coaches in the region and surrounding states. If we are going to expand our footprint, who do we need to go see? As we are building our rosters, we are truthful with people and put our best foot forward. If we can land the type of kid we're looking for, that's great. When it comes to building the roster and getting in the right events, we know we can put our guys in front of people to allow them to showcase their abilities and play at the next level. As an organization, from high school down through youth, you won't sustain long term unless you are doing those things.

You have to put the right kids on the field, have a good product, coach them up, but if you're not attending the right events and not getting guys in front of the right people, you're spending money for no results.

Q: Are you more interested in continuing the type of training you had as a youth player, or are you trying to establish something new?

A: It's a hybrid. The pillars of how we were raised in the game and the foundation, how to play the game, I don't think that will ever change for Danny and I. We tell our guys, the game rewards those who play it the right way and humbles the guys who don't. From an instructional and coaching standpoint, you have to understand the game is constantly evolving and also, each individual player responds to coaching differently. We come at it from all angles. We look at metrics and tools to provide feedback, but we're cage rats – we're going to get in the cage and work. There are a lot of things we'll throw at guys to get them as well-rounded as possible, especially, in preparing them to potentially play in college, have that feel so when they get there, it's not a shock to them.

Q: How has Pathway Baseball provided value to you and your families?

A: We always look forward to coming to Pathway Albuquerque; it's been a great event and we've signed a lot of guys out of that one.

The communication and transparency, the full-on understanding that we know what we are getting into at a Pathway event, is huge. Being able to call in, ask questions, hear the outlook, anything we need to know, (Pathway director) Gino (Grasso) provides, and it's been that way since Year 1. The first year we went to Albuquerque, we were fortunate to win that upperclass event, and when we left we said anytime they have this event, we are coming back. It's been a ton of fun; the tournament is run extremely well, and more than anything, the colleges are really engaged. They are willing to talk to guys, moving around at the games. With the teams Gino gets in, it's not a run-rule fest, the games are competitive, and that only helps the atmosphere.

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