Louisville Baseball's Barksdale to Speak at ABCA Convention
January 05, 2011 | Baseball
Jan. 5, 2011
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - University of Louisville volunteer assistant coach Xan Barksdale will be one of the featured speakers at the 66th Annual American Baseball Coaches Association Convention, set for Jan. 6-9 in Nashville, Tenn.
Entering his fifth season with the Cardinals, Barksdale is scheduled to speak on "Preparing Catchers For Success" on Saturday at 4:40 p.m., ET at the Opryland Hotel. More than 3,500 coaches are expected to be in attendance for three and a half days of non-stop baseball.
Barksdale, who joined the Louisville coaching staff after spending three seasons as a player in the Atlanta Braves system, works with the Cardinal catchers and assists with the hitters as well as other administrative duties. During the 2010 season, Louisville catcher Jeff Arnold earned Second Team All-BIG EAST recognition after hitting .306 with three home runs and 32 RBI. Following the season, Arnold was selected in the 26th Round of the 2010 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the San Francisco Giants.
In 2009, Arnold earned All-BIG EAST Tournament honors and was a Preseason All-BIG EAST selection for 2010. Under the guidance of Barksdale, Louisville catchers had a stretch of 77 consecutive games from 2007 to 2009 without committing an error behind the plate. In 2008, Louisville catcher Derrick Alfonso earned first-team All-BIG EAST honors throwing out an impressive 20 of 32 baserunners while working with Barksdale. During the 2007 season, Alfonso was named second-team All-BIG EAST, throwing out 29 of 60 would-be baserunners.
Louisville will open the 2011 season at the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Feb. 18-20. The Cardinals' home schedule will begin with a three-game series against Toledo on Feb. 25-27 at Jim Patterson Stadium.
