By Phil Wade
Indiana Executive Director

Back in 2011 I had the opportunity to interview Washington Nationals reliever Drew Storen, a former standout pitcher at Brownsburg High School. Storen and the Nationals recently clinched the National League East and are headed to this year's playoffs.

After struggling last season, Storen has had a tremendous 2014 campaign posting a 1.23 ERA and 0.97 WHIP with seven saves (baseballreference.com). The Brownsburg native's success, especially of late, gives him a great chance at landing the closer job heading into the playoffs.  

Below is the interview with Storen from March of 2011. 

PBR: Talk about you're days of playing baseball at Brownsburg High School, having an undefeated season going 35-0, and winning a State Championship.  What did you enjoy most about your time at Brownsburg?

Storen: High school baseball was a lot of fun for me.  A lot of the guys I played with actually played on the Brownsburg Little League World Series team in 2001.  That experience created a fanfare in Brownsburg, and made it into a baseball town.  When we all got to high school I felt like we carried that momentum over and fed off that.  My favorite part was winning of course, but seeing the excitement and fanfare we were all able to create in Brownsburg was something I'll never forget.  

PBR:  There has been a lot of talent in Brownsburg as of late, with a lot of players moving on to college baseball powerhouses and then moving up to professional baseball.  What is it about Brownsburg that produces such talent?

Storen:  In my situation I never expected to get where I was.  My goal my freshman year was to get good enough to have the opportunity to walk on at Purdue.  Once I realized I was getting the attention, as I got older, is when I started to realize I was good enough to play in college and possibly get scholarships for it. The combination of coaches we had growing up, the good coaching at Brownsburg high school, as well as organizations like the Indiana Bulls, taught us how to play the right way. Brownsburg little league was a great experience for me, and I'm sure the other guys, and was a big factor in us learning the game and helping us get to where we are now. We all grew up together, loved baseball, and luckily had the talent and built on that and then were lucky enough to build careers out of baseball.  

PBR: What did you do to prepare for you high school seasons?  Did you take lessons during the off season? Play fall ball?

Storen: First, I'm a big believer in playing multiple sports.  I played basketball through my junior year in high school and believe that really helped me have a good balance and kept me athletic. I didn't want to get burned out on baseball and didn't want to overdo it, so playing multiple sports was a big deal for me. 

When it came to doing baseball related things during the off season I would play fall ball with the Indiana Bulls and then also work out at Round Tripper Academy with Jay Lehr, who I still work with.  He has really helped me mature as a pitcher because of his great knowledge. I always wanted to get better and was willing to put the work in to get that done.  I also loved to throw back then, just as I do now. I am a big believer in long tossing and just throwing the baseball in general, so I would do a good amount of that to strengthen my arm and get ready for that upcoming season. Now, I wouldn't throw 12 months out of the year as I normally would take a month or a little longer off from throwing depending on how my body felt.

I can't reiterate enough the importance of having a good balance and not making the game a job.  A lot of younger kids are specializing in one sport at such an early age and when they do that their parents put so much pressure on them they end up getting burned out. Kids should play the game because they love it.  If they lose that they'll never get the results they want and will be miserable.  Baseball is a tough game to play, especially where I?m at now, and if I got burned out on it I would have a hard time continuing to play.

PBR: When did you start to get interest from college coaches?

Storen:  It started during my sophomore summer when I first touched 90 on the mound.  I was at the University of Tennessee for a tournament with the Bulls, and after that game I talked a lot with one of their coaches.  That summer is really when my name first got put on the recruiting map. What really helped me back then was that I had good grades and colleges really took notice to that.  After Tennessee I started to get major interest from a lot of colleges and because I had those good grades, in a sense, I was able to pick where I wanted to go to school.

PBR: How important are grades when getting recruited?

Storen:  Grades are the reason I got into Stanford. Regardless of how good you are, the chances of getting a full scholarship for baseball are slim to none. Schools don't have enough baseball scholarships to give out a lot of full rides, so good grades really make a difference.  Having good grades shows you have good character and makes you a more attractive prospect. You can't always control your arm strength and baseball abilities but you can control how good your grades are. If you work hard at that it adds to your overall package going into college.

PBR: Comment on your experience with the Indiana Bulls.

Storen:  I started playing with the Bulls organization when I was 13 years old. When you play for the Bulls you play against top level competition and that really helped me get better as a player.  Quinn Moore and the other guys in the Bulls organization taught me how to play the game the right way.  When I first started playing with them I didn't really understand what it meant to play the game the right way but it's something I learned during my years there. I believe I earned more respect from colleges and scouts because of that. We played in tournaments where a lot of colleges and scouts attended, so that really helped with me with recruiting. A lot of players before me that played with the Bulls moved onto to play college and professional baseball and paved the way for guys like me. When you play for the Indiana Bulls college coaches and scouts already respect you more because of their history and success. I give a lot of credit to the Bulls for helping me get the opportunity to play at Stanford as they saw me play with Bulls 3-4 times.

PBR: As a freshman at Stanford you pitched in the College World Series, how did you handle that pressure?

Storen:  I saw Stanford play in College World Series a couple of years prior when I played in a tournament in Omaha.  I couldn't believe how awesome it was and never imagined I'd ever be there. That post-season experience my freshman year at Stanford was the first time I'd really ever felt any pressure when pitching. During the super regional we played Cal State Fullerton on ESPN. I came in to close that game with the tying run on second and only one out. I knew all of my friends were watching and started to get really nervous.  I kept thinking of how embarrassing it would be to give up a homerun or game tying hit on national TV with my friends and family watching.  However, right before I went in, I told myself that I never expected to be here in the first place and if something bad happens who cares.  I wanted to have fun with the situation and whatever happened, happened.  Since then I've never really let the pressure get to me and try to just have fun with situations like that.  Playing in Omaha for the College World Series was a great experience and one of my best memories playing baseball.?

PBR: Compare the workload in college to high school.

Storen:  In college you learn time management. I had to learn to prioritize things in order to get things done.  At Stanford the academics were more intense as well as the baseball.  I had to limit my socializing, time playing video games, and things like that in order to stay on top of my grades and my game.  Learning how to do that has really helped me with where I am now because I know how to handle certain situations.

PBR:  What are your goals for this upcoming season?  Do you ever want to become a full time starter?

Storen:  My number one goal is to be consistent.  I love closing games and want to learn more about that and get better at it. Closing is a whole different ball game and I'm constantly feeding off the older guys who have been closers.  Getting a better grasp on closing games is something I'm doing now and will continue to do.

If the Nationals organization wants me to start I absolutely will.  However, I really enjoy closing because of the adrenaline and pressure that comes along with it.  If I could be a clo er the rest of my career I'd be very happy.

PBR:  Is there any advice you'd give to today's young prospects?

Storen:  Have fun and enjoy it.  Take pride in what you do and how you play. If you take pride in everything you do, play the game the right way, and do things the right way, then the results will take care of themselves.  If your goal is to play at the next level, then put in time and work that is necessary but don't force anything.  Baseball is a game so have fun with it. I'm having just as much fun now as I did when I was younger.