By KEVIN JAKAHI
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Kainoa Correa took a different career path to reach his dream job in the major leagues.
The 2006 Waiakea graduate wasn’t drafted after four years as an infielder at Puget Sound.
Instead, he kept climbing the collegiate coaching ladder. He spent three years at Division III Puget Sound as an assistant and four years at Division I Northern Colorado.
The Cleveland Indians hired Correa on a full-time, multi-year contract as a minor league infield coach. He’ll instruct the organization’s youngest and newest infielders, bouncing between low-level teams and working with multiple rosters.
He starts Jan. 1 and heads to organizational meetings. After that, he reports to spring training in Goodyear, Ariz., where he’ll be based full-time and do light traveling from there. At least, the weather will be better than Ohio, and he’ll be a plane ride closer to home.
There’s one BIIF connection within the Indians farm system. Jodd Carter, a 2014 Hilo graduate, played at Advanced-A Lynchburg, where he batted .239 with 11 homers and 46 RBIs and had a .716 OPS last year. Carter is an outfielder and unlikely to work with Correa.
It’s a rare opportunity for Correa to land a job within the MLB coaching structure because organizations routinely hire former players.
“It still hasn’t really sunk in yet,” he said. “I couldn’t be more excited about the this opportunity. It’s a special opportunity to work with the best players in the world, alongside the top coaches in the industry. I can’t wait to get started teaching and learning.
“It’s nearly impossible to get an on-field job in professional baseball as a non-former professional player. Thankfully, the Indians are an incredibly forward-thinking organization that puts a high value on your ability to teach and communicate.”
So how does a guy go from Hilo to Tacoma, Wash., to Colorado to the Cleveland Indians?
“The Indians were looking for someone who specifically could build relationships and work with young infielders from diverse backgrounds across the lowest levels of the organization,” he said. “They started researching people to fill that role and thankfully their research led them to me.
“The assistant director of player development called me out of the blue the week before Thanksgiving. I completed a couple phone interviews and the next thing you know I was sitting in a conference room at Progressive Field in Cleveland in a suit answering questions and demonstrating drills in front of the front office for eight hours.”
At Puget Sound in 2014 and Northern Colorado in 2016, the teams broke school records for fielding percentage. That opened the door for Correa to be a primary guest speaker at Washington, Kansas, Stanford and many other camps.
Last summer, he was named head coach for the 17U Northwest region USA National Team Identification Series squad. He helped select prospects to compete at the national and international levels.
“The Indians liked that my infield drills and techniques were innovative and forward-thinking,” Correa said. “They liked that I incorporated principles of motor learning, skill acquisition, and strength/conditioning in my teachings. And most importantly, they liked that I was willing to continue to learn and grow in their already successful system.
“My philosophy is the ability to fluidly adapt and respond to the unpredictability that infield-game play requires. You want to be gritty and pretty. Gritty — lunch-pail carrying and everyday attention to detail. Pretty — simple, smooth, in rhythm, and repeatable.”
And now that Correa is in Hilo’s MLB brotherhood there’s a story to share about Kolten Wong, the St. Louis Cardinals second baseman.
“Kolten gave me an opportunity to come to Florida last year and watch him and work with him at the Cardinals facility,” Correa said. “That gave me the confidence to know I could potentially coach on the pro side. Jake Lamb from the Diamondbacks has also been amazing at reaffirming in me that I could make the jump as well.
“It doesn’t matter where you came from, even if you’re from a small town in the middle of the Pacific. If you truly work tirelessly at perfecting your craft, opportunities will come your way. I’m excited to honor my grandfather and carry on some of his teachings at the highest level. I hope he would be proud.”
Coach Jimmy Correa died on Sunday, Feb. 7 in 2016. He was 96 years old. Coach Jimmy started the family business of teaching baseball, and his grandson Kainoa Correa is carrying that legacy to the big leagues.
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Correa flew home on Tuesday and before he heads to his new job he’ll host a youth infield camp on Saturday, Dec. 23 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Ken Yamase Memorial Stadium. For information, call 936-1640.
