Every Wednesday, TCNJ Athletics will profile a coach from one of its programs. Today, it's head baseball coach Dean Glus. Glus finished his 13^th season as head coach in 2020 and 29^th season overall at TCNJ. In his 13 seasons as head coach, Glus has compiled a 311-190 record. The Lions have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each of the last four seasons prior to the cancellation of the 2020 season. TCNJ also won NJAC Championships in two of the last three seasons.
 
As one of the longest tenured coaches at TCNJ, including time as an assistant, what do you find most special about the TCNJ community?
 

• The caring and support from the entire community.  The head coaches have always been a close-knit group of people pulling for the same goal: to make TCNJ the best place for student-athletes to attain success on the playing surface and in the classroom.  The athletic administrators and the campus administrators care and work hard to make each one of the programs successful.

 
The TCNJ baseball team is a yearly contender for the NJAC title and a spot in the NCAA Tournament. How do you maintain that level of competitiveness every season?
 

• First, you have to work hard every day and keep finetuning the program to the latest and newest information and data to be the best. Second, you must have dedicated and qualified assistant coaches to help teach, communicate and spread the word about TCNJ baseball, and I've been very fortunate to have great assistant coaches.  Third, you have to find the student-athlete that buys into what we are doing here at TCNJ in all aspects from baseball, the weight room, academics and having the character and integrity to be able to go out there and represent TCNJ with class. 

  
What has been your favorite on-field memory as head coach at TCNJ?
 

• Every day I step on the field with my players is my favorite. There are so many but couple that stick out are the three NJAC titles that we won, all on the road.

 
 What is one thing that people outside the program or the TCNJ community would be surprised to learn about you?
 

• When I was coming out of high school, I had a choice to make. I could go play baseball on a full scholarship or go out on the Professional Bowlers Tour.  I had all the sponsors I needed to go out on tour but I did not want to lose their money, so I took the scholarship. And it was one of the best decisions that I ever made.

  
Going back to your time as an assistant coach, what is something that you didn't realize would become such a priority after you assumed head coaching duties?
 

• I was very lucky to work under Coach Dell as he gave me the opportunity over 16 years to learn many facets of the operations side, but a couple of the ones I didn't know the full extent of were the scheduling of games and the budget, and the time frame for each. 

Inside or outside of baseball, who has had the biggest influence on your career as a head coach?
 

• Well, that is a long answer but my dad gave me the opportunity to go after my dreams and stick with it.  I could not have done it without my parents.  Coach Dell gave me the opportunity to be his assistant coach for 16 years and I would not be in the position I am today without him.  In addition, the other head coaches at TCNJ.  I used to go and watch Coach Hamilton with football, Coach Ice with wrestling, Coach Marsh, Castaldo with basketball, Coach Pfluger with lacrosse and field hockey, Coach Russo with soccer and all the other coaches. I would go and watch their practices, see how they ran their practices and observe their game time attitude and demeanor.  If you are going to learn from the best, you can watch the best coaches in the country right here at TCNJ.

  
Do you remember your first win as a head coach?
 

• I sure do.  Where do I start?  It was our spring trip in Arizona and we opened up our trip with Concordia-Chicago at South Mountain Junior College, which was about 10 minutes from our hotel.  The players and coaches knew our departure time and then we left.  We get to the field and then I realized that two of my top assistant coaches were not there and they missed the vans.  TCNJ baseball works on Glus time, which is always two minutes fast: departure time is 2:00, we leave at 1:58. I could not worry about the situation because we had batting practice and infield/outfield to complete but I was nervous that that were not there.  I finally had enough time to call them and ask them where are they at and they said, "We will be down in a minute to leave." I said, "We left 90 minutes ago."  Well, you could have heard a pin drop! They got there in time and we won the game.  

  
Do you have a favorite story from a bus ride, a practice or from the spring trip to Florida? 
 

• I don't know if this is my favorite but on our bus ride to Florida for our southern trip, we leave at 10 p.m. so we can try and get to sleep.  When it is time for lights out and getting some sleep, guys come prepared for sure.  They bring sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows,  but the best are the onesie pajamas that some of the guys wear.  It gets better each year. 

  
You've had assistant coaches move on to other coaching positions in college baseball. Is there any piece of advice you shared with all of them before they left?
 

• As I hire new assistant coaches and their desire/dream is to continue to coach college baseball, my advice is to take what you taught and learned here, use it and be you.  The reason why you have this next opportunity to move on is your knowledge, your ability to communicate with the players and the person you are.  Work hard, pick the brains of all the coaches around, learn from your mistakes and have fun.

 
 How has college baseball at the Division III level changed, if at all, since you arrived?
 

• It has changed so much in my 30 years.  Back in the day, we used to play 40-50 games in the fall, practice seven days a week for about eight weeks if not more.  Today, there are more restrictions, which for the most part are good.  The bats have changed, the ball has changed, and the equipment is better and safer than it was.   The number of teams that go to postseason in the NCAA as grown from like 32 to 56.  The rules have changed, some for the good and some for the bad.  However, what hasn't changed is that the NJAC in baseball is still the best Division III conference in the country.

  
How often would you say you speak with former players, and are the conversations usually related to baseball or not?
 

• I try to send out emails a couple of times each semester to check on them and to announce some of the things that are or will be taking place with the program.  We have an alumni game in the fall along with alumni day in the spring (hopefully we can get back to both of those soon) and it is always great to see the alumni and their families.  There are alumni who are baseball coaches who I see out at games and the conversations always turn to baseball and families.

 
Extra Point (Question from last week's coach's profile, Scott Dicheck) - What have you missed the most about TCNJ during the pandemic?
 

• I miss seeing my players every day and helping them become better students, better players and better people.  It is one thing on a Zoom call but it is nothing better than seeing my guys that I love in person.   I also miss seeing my colleagues and administrators, and just being around people who I respect and care about deeply.    

 
 Pose a question you would like to hear answered by our next coach.
 

• How have you tried to stay in shape and eat well during the pandemic and quarantine?