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WCL BASEBALL Road less traveled Rogues assistant Nielsen spearheads valued Adventure Club for players By Kris Henry Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 8, 2015 @ 7:27 pm By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 8, 2015 @ 7:27 pm » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> When baseball players venture outside their secure surroundings for a summer playing with one of the West Coast League franchises, it’s a safe bet that they’ll hear some coaching tips along the way. Stay quiet and quick to the baseball. Keep your shoulders steady to maintain your balance. Just your basic advice designed to maximize a player’s potential. When you’re a player in the Medford Rogues organization, you’ll definitely pick up valuable tips from the likes of head coach Josh Hogan and pitching coach Jeff Lyle … but there’s another side of baseball, and that’s where assistant coach Aaron Nielsen comes into play. “For me, it’s about leading with your heart and being a great person,” says Nielsen, in his second season with the third-year franchise. While Nielsen certainly can help players with any flaws they may have, his role with the ballclub has always been more about strength and conditioning, for the mind, body and soul. “For me, I like to see men develop,” says the 34-year-old coach. “Being in the game as long as I have, I’ve seen a lot of bad men in the game. My goal is just to show guys how to mentally prepare and become adults and be a leader and have fun in life and really realize that baseball is just a part of it and you can’t obsess about the game.” Nielsen can routinely be found counseling players throughout the summer, discussing areas well beyond the baseball diamond and making himself available for whatever need may arise. One of his more grand projects is Nielsen’s Adventure Club, which sounds a heckuva lot more formal than it truly is. Born from Nielsen’s adventurous soul and desire to get out and about and see what life has to offer, he basically opens up those experiences to the Rogues players each summer. “I remember after the first game, coaches said something about a hike or possibly going to the river and floating down and it was just whoever wanted to go could go and whoever went went,” says Rogues pitcher Justin Mulvaney, who carried a 3-0 record with three saves and 0.93 ERA into Saturday’s game in Corvallis. “Ever since then, it’s just been about once or twice a week where we’ll go find something to do like hike or float the river or just go hang out with the dudes.” From hiking Table Rock Mountain to jumping off rocks near a waterfall on the Illinois River to swimming Emigrant Lake, the Adventure Club has not been shy about finding fun. The group usually gets together on the second day of their road trips as well and tries to enjoy whatever the day brings. They’ve walked along the beach in the Puget Sound, hiked a host of trails and hung out in more riverbanks than they can name during the dog days of summer. “Pretty much anywhere we are, we always try to find an adventure,” says Nielsen. “It’s almost like as soon as you get out, you find it. Most of them we know about, like at Emigrant Lake or the cliffs to jump off at the Illinois River.” The Adventure Club can be as few as four players with Nielsen, who often has had 1-year-old daughter Blakely in tow, or upwards of 20. The object is to have fun and offer a chance for players to come together and bond. “We never make anybody feel like they have to do that sort of thing, like jumping off a bridge or a cliff, but they love coming along because it’s quite an adventure,” says Nielsen. “Some kids from Southern California have never been to things like we do so they get really excited.” That was true for Rogues catcher T.K. McWhertor, who is from Newport Beach, Calif., and has made it a point to expand his horizons this summer while also honing his baseball skills. “We’re all coming out here for summer ball and I just wanted to experience a different thing and get out of my comfort zone a little bit,” says McWhertor, who is batting .321. “It’s been fun.” “I remember this one day off where we found this waterfall and it was really fun because we were jumping off it,” he adds. “It was a pretty big waterfall for me, I don’t know about the other people, but that’s what made it so much fun because we were all trying it together.” It’s the camaraderie and the common bond of experience that Nielsen truly loves bringing to the Rogues. “In our sport, we deal with negatives all the time,” he says. “Those are just little nuggets of awesome — that’s what we call it — that we can put into our day to offset the pressure. Once we started adding those, we noticed not only our attitudes were improving but our overall performance was improving.” All of the extracurricular adventures spearheaded by Nielsen have complete support from Medford Rogues General Manager Ian Church, who only wishes he could join in as well. “What Aaron does better than anyone I‘ve met is bring people together and utilize team chemistry to enhance the on-field experience,” says Church. “Some of the championship teams might not have the best talent overall but they have better team chemistry and that’s what Aaron builds. He gets the most out of people by raising their expectations and getting people to come to a common goal.” “He’s a special person, he just exudes energy and exudes confidence and he instills it into our players,” adds Church. Rogues pitcher D.J. Wilson (2-1, three saves, 1.44 ERA) says being part of the Adventure Club has been invaluable to his experience this summer. “I think the time off the field is really where you build friendships and where you come together as a team,” he says. “When you go to the field, you get to be there but when we’re there everyone’s focused on baseball. On off days that’s when you get to relax with each other and get to know each other.” “Adventure time was probably the highlight of my summer,” adds Wilson. “Besides just playing baseball, the highlight of my time here was the off times we had and what we did with it. We definitely didn’t waste it, we were definitely looking for something to do and got to go out and see Medford for what it really was.” All thanks to Nielsen, who went to North Medford High as a freshman and sophomore before moving to New York and eventually graduating in 1998. His mother still lives in Medford and he cherishes his chances to return to Oregon in the summer. “Coach Nielsen, he’s probably the best guy I’ve ever met,” says Mulvaney. “If I don’t meet anyone half as awesome as this guy, I would call him to be the best man at my wedding. He is the absolute dude. We all love the guy and he loves us back. He’s an awesome person through and through and the positive attitude he has is something you can’t replace.” And to a man, the Rogues who took part in Adventure Club hope that it is a feature that won’t soon be replaced. “For the kids coming here next year, they should definitely see that part of Oregon and not just think it’s game, workout, practice, game, workout, practice,” says McWhertor. “There’s other stuff to do so they should definitely see it all. They won’t be disappointed.” Reach reporter Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, [email protected], www.facebook.com/krishenryMT or www.twitter.com/Kris_Henry   By Kris Henry Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 8, 2015 @ 7:27 pm » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. fantasy football Rookie Rankings and Top Team Names for Young Stars Aug. 8, 2015 at 2:00 pm DFS: Rookie and Sleeper QB's to Target Early Aug. 8, 2015 at 12:47 pm Analyzing Top Value Picks at Each Skill Position Aug. 8, 2015 at 12:28 pm Projecting Top DraftKings Performers at WR Aug. 8, 2015 at 8:00 am Fantasy Football Mock Draft and Position Strategy Aug. 8, 2015 at 7:00 am Risky Players to Avoid in Fantasy Football Aug. 7, 2015 at 1:47 pm calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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