Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2004 | 10:04 a.m.
As much as UNLV baseball coach Buddy Gouldsmith admits that he never would have recruited a player of his size or ability, he would have liked to have heard otherwise in his younger days.
"It was patronizing, to a point, but everyone always said, 'You're a coach on the field. You take control out there, and that's what we need,' " Gouldsmith said. "When you're playing, sometimes that doesn't sit well.
"I didn't want to be a coach on the field. I wanted to be a really good player."
Gouldsmith will begin to discover if he's a really good Division I coach Friday night, when he makes his debut as the Rebels' head coach in the opener of a three-game series at Cal State Fullerton.
When Jim Schlossnagle left for Texas Christian University in the off-season, after a two-year stint that transformed the Rebels into winners, the UNLV administration quickly promoted Gouldsmith.
A native of Sacramento, Gouldsmith, 35, began hearing about his coach-on-the-field prowess halfway through high school. Arm problems plagued him as he continued his career, with that label, at American River Junior College.
A diminutive catcher, he could hit for average, but that didn't satisfy expectations he had set for himself.
He even went into private business, after graduating from Cal State Sacramento, for a spell. Eventually, he was responsible for managing more than 100 people at a publications distributorship.
That ability to manage a variety of people, creating goals to meet objectives, eventually mingled with one of his passions to steer him back into baseball.
"The love of the game," Gouldsmith said. "I wouldn't have done what I did on an academic level if it weren't for baseball. It's what kept me going. As a player, stature-wise, I was challenged. I never would have recruited myself, and I don't mind saying that.
"And everyone told me the same thing ...'one day, if you want, you'll have a future in this game.' But it was never as a player. I can't wait for Friday. I'm really excited."
Senior-laden UNLV is coming off a 47-17 season that culminated with its first trip to the NCAA tournament in seven years.
The Rebels defeated San Diego State and first-year Aztecs coach Tony Gwynn in the Mountain West Conference tournament finale in Albuquerque.
Then they rallied to win two games, after an opening-round loss to New Mexico State at the Super Regional in Tempe, Ariz., before getting eliminated in a 16-1 drilling by Arizona State on its own field.
Gouldsmith hopes to build on the foundation that Schlossnagle set, gaining national exposure and consistency for UNLV to where it can establish itself as a baseball power capable of hosting regionals.
When Gouldsmith was at Tulane, the Green Wave advanced to the College World Series the season it played host to such a regional.
"That was not just by coincidence," he said. "Our opportunity would be better if we got a chance to host. I'm confident in our administration and in the support our program has gotten over the last two years.
"But it's those teams that are (in the postseason) year in and year out that are the ones who get to host, I don't care what anyone says. It's that respect, and you have to show them that you can be a good host."
Under Gouldsmith, UNLV has already achieved some measures of respect. Baseball America tabbed the recruiting class he signed during the early-signing period last fall as a top-10 national group.
His fellow league coaches have picked the Rebels to win the Mountain West regular season crown, and two preseason polls had UNLV barely missing top-25 national recognition.
To get into that lofty group, Gouldsmith will rely on junior outfielder and team captain Eric Nielsen, a Silverado High product who hit .365 in 2003.
Nielsen didn't slow down in the summertime Cape Cod League, finishing with a top-five batting average in the famous offseason wooden-bat league.
Gouldsmith expects Nielsen to establish himself as a team leader, on and off the season. The Rebels will miss the production of Pat Dobson and Fernando Valenzuela, who combined to hit 26 home runs and drive in 141 runs last season.
However, Nielsen might have more to offer.
"Fernando and Dobson were great players, but neither one had leadership qualities," Gouldsmith said. "Fernando stepped up a bit at the end of the year, helping guys understand the game and respect the game. But that was it. Eric was in the shadows of those other guys.
"Now, he's really solidified himself in that role. I think people listen to him now."
When senior right-hander David Seccombe (3-1) returns from a mysterious arm ailment in about three weeks, according to the UNLV medical staff, last year's rotation of Matt Luca (5-0), Jake Vose (8-4) and Seccombe will be intact.
Matt Minor, a transfer from the Community College of Southern Nevada's national championship team last season, will start '03 as UNLV's closer, and Gouldsmith is eager to see submarine set-up men Jason Guerra and Shane Clatterbuck change the pace on foes.
Gouldsmith himself will be a change of pace for the Rebels, who were micro-managed on every square inch of Wilson Stadium by Schlossnagle.
The former manager achieved undeniable success, but at a cost. Many upperclassmen were not disappointed when he bolted for Texas.
"Jim's personality is quite a bit different than mine," Gouldsmith said. "I'm pretty calm. It's a thinking man's game, it really is."
The coach has learned plenty about the game, and himself.
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