Issue date: 3/30/07

At the end of last baseball season, IUP's head coach asked himself, "How can I contribute to a more successful athletic program?"

One of Jeff Ditch's answers takes place not on the practice field or in the dugout, but on a more unlikely medium for a coach: the Internet.

In January, he launched the "WINwithCLASS" Web site, designed as a motivational tool for student-athletes by including content that highlights achievement and provides inspiration.

"The site is another way to help student-athletes be successful," he said. "As a coach, I am responsible for their athletic experience as well as their academic experience. This is another tool to enhance those both in a positive way."

The idea came this past Thanksgiving with the help of a Web-savvy friend who helped Ditch obtain the domain winwithclass.com. In maintaining the Web site, Ditch has found what he calls "a nice evening project." He learned to design the site with Microsoft Frontpage and also writes most of the content, and assistant coach Anthony Rebyanski, an August 2006 IUP graduate with a communications media degree, creates the Web site's graphics and desktop backgrounds using Macromedia Fireworks.

The Web site, which was featured in the Feb. 26 edition of The NCAA News, highlights community and academic achievements, names a baseball student-athlete of the week and features a section called "Reach Out for Advice," where guest columnists share insight on various topics. Among the columnists include IUP football coach Lou Tepper, women's basketball coach Cindy Martin and assistant athletic director Ryan Smith, though not all of the columnists are associated with IUP athletics.

"Some are written by IUP coaches, but one column is written by an Iraq War veteran. Other ones are by baseball coaches at other schools."

WINwithCLASS is the online extension of the baseball team's academic support program that Ditch created upon arriving at IUP before last season.

Goals of the program are for baseball players to recognize academic, social and athletic success by stressing accountability and attentiveness. This is done through participation in study halls, tutors and classroom progress reports. The team also aims for 100 percent classroom attendance.

"Our team is my priority, and I will do anything within my power and time frame to make us as successful as we can be socially, athletically and academically," he said. "The site just fits with what I think are important values for our team."

Expanding the Web site is placed highly on Ditch's priority list, as well. Plans are underway with the Communications Media Department to create a baseball video that can be used as a recruiting tool. One of his eventual goals is to post a daily entry with updates that would benefit or promote the players, but he suspects that this is improbable until the offseason. He hopes that people will visit the athletic department's main Web site during the season for team information and statistics and they will visit WINwithCLASS during the offseason.

"That is the time when we are doing most of our community service," he said. "It is important to recognize that we go beyond IUP campus, too."

Ditch hopes to reach student-athletes outside IUP and points out that the site does not focus solely on baseball.

"I'm trying to reach all student-athletes," he said. "Naturally, the site will have a strong twist toward our team because that's my priority, but something beneficial for all students is on there."