What do the baseball teams from Waukesha West of the Classic 8, New Berlin Eisenhower of the Woodland West and Wauwatosa East of the Greater Metro Conference have in common?
They 'Own the Zone.'
If you are a fan of these three teams or have seen your team play against them, you may have noticed when these teams are batting that the third base coach — usually the head coach — is yelling out verbal signals.
Own The Zone Sports software was developed with both the coach and the player in mind. It works by using an advanced computer algorithm to randomly assign each offensive or defensive play a unique 3-digit code.
Players wear a quarterback-style wristband with a key indicating what each code represents. Because each code has been randomly assigned and because every time the coach uses the software the numbers/code rescramble, it is impossible for the opposing team to pick the signs.
Montez the pioneer
Chad Montez's Waukesha West team was one of the first teams to use it, and the Wolverines just completed their fourth year using the system. This year's team was the first that used the system all four seasons.
There are 17 college national-championship teams that use the system, and Montez first learned about the system at a national baseball clinic.
'College teams used them for calling pitches, which we do as well,' Montez said. 'But because of the college venue, where they have big crowds, they use the traditional signs when they are batting. If there is a nice-size crowd, you wouldn't be able to hear the signals.'
Montez, who has coached for 18 years at West, started like most coaches with traditional signs.
'Everyone is looking for a competitive edge,' he said. 'Teams try and steal signs. We were leery of that. When we used the traditional baseball signs, we had a lot of them. It was complex. We used up a lot of practice time to get the players squared away. It took up time to rehearse them.'
How it works
There are a sequence of three numbers — one across, two numbers down. The coach will yell out 'One, 52.' It is similar to a bingo card.
The players all wear wristbands showing the card, where they see the horizontal number on top and the vertical number on the left and look to see where they intersect. It might say bunt, suicide squeeze, hit and run, steal or it could be a dummy call and say nothing.
The coaches are pleased with the results.
'Through my coaching experience, you see kids miss signs,' New Berlin Eisenhower coach Mike Vahovick said. 'Kids still miss signs, but not as frequent. It's easier for them to read than remember. Here it is; they can see it on their wrist.'
Near disaster
Brian Karas, who has been the head coach at Tosa East, remembered an incident that made him change from the traditional signals to verbal signals.
'We had a runner on third, and I put on the suicide squeeze,' Karas recalled. 'As the runner (Riley Poe) raced home, the batter (Ben Joyce) swung and hit a line drive headed for the runner's head. The ball was a foot from the runner's face before he ducked out of the way. I knew I had to find something better.'
Karas knew Montez used the numbers system, so he made one up for the Red Raiders. He has different numbers on five sheets, and he uses a 5x5 grid.
'My first years doing it the traditional way, we missed a lot of signs,' he said. 'It was them, me, a two-way street. It's much easier now. Most kids are visual learners. It makes it easier, they are more accountable. They still miss some signs, but it's rare.'
Vahovick, who also checked with Montez, said his kids didn't dive right into the new system.
'There was a little bit of hesitancy at first,' he said. 'It was still new, and they're creatures of habit. But I think it works well. It's been highly successful. The kids are open to it.'
Vahovick said sometimes other teams tried to distract his players.
'We got a lot of flack from other teams,' he said. 'They started yelling random numbers. But my guys can distinguish my voice, so it's not a problem.'
Montez said he uses the system on all levels, so by the time his players move up to the varsity, they are used to it. He is really a fan of the software and changing the cards.
'It's pretty much pick-proof,' he said. 'We have 15 different combinations. We run new cards, change the cards when we play a team the second time. We also change them for the playoffs.'
Montez pointed out another positive.
'The kids like it a lot. They think it's pretty cool,' he said. 'There is a football philosophy to it. Football players wear wristbands. They are really excited about it.'