Play Ball Kid

Lessons learned from a Savannah Banana & college coach with Tyler Gillum

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Episode notes

“My life goal is to have a positive impact on 1 million people through baseball, education, and exercise.” - Tyler Gillum 

Tyler Gillum enters his 13th year coaching college baseball and his 11th year at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, AZ. He is the Associate Head Coach at SMCC primarily working with the infielders and coaching third base. He is also a coach with the Savannah Bananas.

Gillum is also Health & Wellness faculty where he oversees exercise science, nutrition, health & wellness, and physical education programs. He is a certified strength and conditioning trainer, holding certifications in FRC (Functional Range Conditioning) and TPI (Titleist Performance Institute) and leads the baseball strength & conditioning program at SMCC.

SMCC Accomplishments:

  • 80 D1 transfers
  • 7 draft picks
  • 344-194 overall record
  • 28 all-conference players
  • Cumulative Team GPA over 3.0 (10 Total Years)
  • 2017 lead the country in Stolen Bases (200)
  • 2018 finished 2nd in fielding percentage (.974)
  • 2019 14 D1 Transfers (Most in program history)

Baseball Systems, Camps and Courses Creator:

  • The GreenLightSpecial Baserunning System
  • “All You Can Eat” Infield Camps
  • The Growth Toolbox “Developing Skills to Change Your Life”

Gillum is a mainstay on the summer coaching circuit. He currently enters his 11th year coaching summer baseball. He will be returning to the Coastal Plain League with the Savannah Bananas for his fifth year. In his four summers in Savannah, he has compiled an overall record of 139-53 leading the entire league in wins in that time frame. In 2021, the Bananas won the CPL Championship going 40-10 on the summer with 13 ALL-CPL Selections.

He spent the 2017 summer with the YD Red Sox in the Cape Cod League (27-16) where they led the league in stolen bases (68). 2014-2016 was spent with the Brazos Valley Bombers in the Texas Collegiate League, winning 3 TCL championships with an overall record of 138-31. With Gillum coaching 3rd base, the Bombers led the TCL in many offensive categories highlighted by breaking the single-season stolen bases record with 161.

Gillum has spoken at many coaching clinics around the country including the American Baseball Coaches Convention in 2016 and 2018. Some of those topics are Infield Play (Developing Dudes on the Dirt), Baserunning (The GreenLightSpecial System), and Player Development (The Growth Toolbox). He has also been interviewed on multiple podcasts such as “ABCA:Calls from the Clubhouse”, “Ahead of the Curve”, and "Dugout Chatter".

Gillum graduated from Latta High School in Oklahoma in 2005, where he was a member of four state championship teams. He then spent two years at Seminole State Junior College. He finished his playing career at East Central University earning a degree in Kinesiology (Teacher’s Certification) and a Master’s in Education with an emphasis in Sports Administration.

He and his wife Danielle have a 1-year-old boy Camden.

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