Baseball | 11/1/2020 10:16:10 PM
Corey Paluga is the only head baseball coach Elmira College has had; he started the program from the ground up beginning in its inaugural 2015 season. Paluga and his staff earned the 2017 Empire 8 Conference Coaching Staff of the Year Award, after the Soaring Eagles clinched a playoff berth on the final day of the regular season and appeared in the E8 Tournament as the No. 3 seed. He's mentored numerous E8 All-Conference honorees, two D3baseball.com and one ABCA All-Region award winners, as well as Elmira's 2016-17 Male Athlete of the Year, first baseman Dylan Bellinger '17. In the classroom, the EC baseball team has won three consecutive ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award under Paluga's tutelage.
Corey Paluga - Today's Leaders
Coach/Administrator Name: Corey Paluga
School: Elmira College
Title: Head Baseball Coach & Compliance Assistant
Year at Current Institution: 7th season
College Attended/Class Year: Lynchburg College ’06 (undergraduate), ’09 (graduate)
Playing Career: Lynchburg College baseball 2002-06.
Favorite Professional Team: Chicago White Sox
Favorite Movie: My Cousin Vinny
Favorite TV Show: The Office
Last TV Show You Binge Watched: Chicago Fire (currently)
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Cookie Dough
Recent Community Service Projects Your Teams or Departments Have Worked On: As recent as last year, our athletic department worked hand in hand with the youth at the Elmira Community Center.
How Does The Empire 8 Stand Out Among Other Conferences: The high level of competition across multiple sports and the promotion of student-athletes other than athletic success.
Favorite Memory as a Coach/Administrator at Your Current Institution: Clinching our conference tournament berth on the last day of the regular season in 2017.
Who Was Your Biggest Mentor and Why: Percy Abell, former head coach at Lynchburg, because he’s the reason I started a path in coaching college baseball. If he hadn’t offered a graduate assistant position to me, I would likely be teaching math at a middle or high school.
Most Rewarding Aspect of Being a Coach/Administrator: Watching the development of young men as people and athletes from their first day as freshmen to successful alums.
What Have You Learned About Yourself as a Leader and In Your Role: It is more important to focus on what we can control, and less on what we cannot control. When we face things out of our control, we can control how we react and move forward.
What Type of Leader Are You: I view myself as a leader of people, not a leader of athletes. The impact our athletes make in this world will go far beyond the impact they make on the field.
What Are Some Positive Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic You Have Experienced? I’ve been able to spend more quality time with my wife and three kids, pay more attention to living a healthier lifestyle, and re-evaluate where we are and where we want to go as a baseball program.
How Have You Had to Adjust as a Coach or Administrator to the Pandemic? I’ve had to learn to be more patient and refocus more on the mental health of our athletes as compared to the baseball development.
Advice for First-Year Student-Athletes: Start building positive habits now. While mistakes will happen, your college years are the ground floor in preparation for life after graduation.
Advice for Graduating Student-Athletes: Life is hard. Surround yourself with people who love you and who care about your health and well-being. That support system is important to overcoming adversity in life.
The Empire 8 Conference's “Today’s Leaders Compete Here” Series features a coach or administrator from one of its member institutions who exemplifies leadership.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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