January 8, 2009

Kendall Rogers
Rivals.com College Baseball Editor

For most of the past 13 years, Kernen has been a playwright. But his personal tale has him returning to the college dugout, where he takes over a fledgling program at Cal State Bakersfield.

"I will miss writing plays for the time being, but building the Bakersfield program is my new project," Kernen told Rivals.com. "If I'm going to coach here, I'm going to make a full commitment. That means giving up writing for a while."

Kernen started his coaching career in 1978 as the pitching coach at Cal State Fullerton, but left in 1982 to handle the family business because his father fell ill. Kernen returned to Fullerton in 1987, then followed Titans coach Augie Garrido to Illinois, where Kernen spent one season before getting the head-coaching job Cal State Northridge, where he was 240-154-3 from 1989-95.

But following the '95 season, Kernen resigned at Northridge and moved to New York to write plays. He also enrolled in a dramatic writing program at Columbia. Kernen never wrote anything professionally before going to New York.

"I never wrote anything when I was a kid and really just started to love it around the time I was at Northridge," Kernen said. "I had always been interested in plays as an audience member and a huge fan of theatrical films. In two years after moving to New York, I began to convert plays into screenplays."

Kernen has had seven plays produced, including "And Other Fairy Tales" (1997), "A Graveyard Symphony" (1997), "Galleria degli Angeli" ("The Gallery of Angel") (1998) and "Musica de Mariposa" ("The Music of the Butterfly") (1999).

"And Other Fairy Tales" and "Galleria degli Angeli" have been turned into screenplays, and "Galleria degli Angeli" was a finalist in the Oglebay Institute National Playwriting Competition.

Many playwrights aspire to have their work turned into films, and Kernen said he believes his plays would be popular in the European movie markets.

"Independent films are more along the lines of what I'm looking for. Let's face it, movies in Hollywood these days are made for 15-year-old boys," Kernen said. "My work is more along the lines of Sam Shepard-type of topics ? you know, people working their way through some real problems."

Kernen's plays have yet to hit Broadway but have been performed at small theatres in New York.

"You basically write plays because you love it, not because you want to make money or have fame," he said. "There are a lot of really talented actors and other performers in New York that are completely poor. It's pretty sad when you see someone like that making nothing but you see someone with far less talent making millions elsewhere."

Don't expect any new plays from Kernen in the near future. He would love to continue writing, but his new goal is turning Cal State Bakersfield into a winning program. Eventually, though, Kernen would like to turn the program over to a younger coach and return to writing.

"Coaching baseball and formulating a lineup is a good comparison to formulating a production," Kernen said. "You find actors, they rehearse, you see performances, you have a budget. ? I would also say the personalities of an actor and baseball player are a little different. Actors tend to be insecure while baseball players are confident."

CSUB players originally were surprised by Kernen's background, but they have grown to respect him for what he has accomplished as a playwright and baseball coach.

"He comes off different ways to different guys, but we all really respect him," junior Nick Shannon said. "He brings stories about acting and writing plays into some of his speeches, but we don't really think about it too much. Some players joke with him about it."

Nobody, though, is joking about Kernen's next project.

Building Bakersfield

For most of his life, Kernen drove on Interstate 5 and Highway 99 between Los Angeles and Fresno, trying not to think too much about Bakersfield. To most Californians, Bakersfield always has been a little cow-town between big cities, but things have changed.

Kernen remembers when Bakersfield had about 70,000 residents. Now, the city has a population of almost 330,000 while the metro area has a population of almost 800,000.

While progress has been a focal point for the city the past few years, Cal State Bakersfield has made massive improvements to its athletic department, including moving from Division II to Division I. Most important to Kernen, the school has added a baseball program for the first time.

When school officials announced they were starting a baseball program, several applicants came forward. But after rummaging through the names and interviewing candidates, Kernen ? who had experience with a new program at Northridge ? was the most intriguing to athletic director Rudy Carvajal.

"His track record is such that he understands how to have a successful program in this region and against elite competition," Carvajal said. "Former players of his that I spoke with had nothing but positive things to say about the way he improved their lives both on and off the field."

When Kernen first was approached about the possibility of coaching at Bakersfield, he had a pretty simple question for his peers: "Why would I want that job?" But the more he studied the situation and realized the school raised $6 million to move to Division I, the more he became enamored with the idea of coaching the Roadrunners.

"After I found out how much money they were throwing into the program, I knew they were a little bit more serious than I previously thought," Kernen said. "There isn't another university within 100 miles of Bakersfield, and we'd be the only game in town. It really has elements of something special."

In addition to local fan support, Kernen believes local businesses, unlike when he was at Northridge and Fullerton, will be willing to support the program. He says those factors already have made the job worth taking.

Kernen also is pleased with the commitment shown by his players. Because of its transition period to Division I, Bakersfield will not be allowed to make an NCAA regional until the 2011 season. But the players have worked hard and bought into his vision.

While many schools emphasize the technical aspect of baseball during fall and spring workouts, Kernen does things differently.

"I've never had a player come into one of my programs that knows what it means to be a world-class athlete," Kernen said. "These days, with showcases and summer-travel ball, the players aren't training on a regular basis. When a player comes here, all we do is train to become a world-class athlete."

As an example of Kernen's plan, the Roadrunners recently had to run three miles in 21 minutes or less. If a player can't run three miles in that amount of time, he isn't allowed to practice with the team. The training isn't limited to physical things, such as running sprints, miles and other cardiovascular workouts. Kernen's plan also includes an important mental aspect.

"I've been privileged to watch Boris Becker win Wimbledon on Centre Court, and I found out how he accomplished that. I also know why Tiger Woods is so great at golf ? trust me, it's not all athletic ability ? and why Jerry Rice is the best receiver in football history without being blessed with great speed," Kernen said. "I've studied great performers and figured out how they've been able to succeed both physically and mentally."

Kernen realizes the program can't make an NCAA regional until 2011 and has instituted a 30-month training program for his players, which he also utilized at Northridge. Developing an attitude and culture is the first order of business.

"There are thousands of baseball players who can field a ground ball, but what separates the men from the boys is the level of character and how you train to become a better player," Kernen said. "We're trying to create a culture with a bunch of personalities, so we can't even think about winning this season. It's about our team individually and establishing the base of the program."

The players, meanwhile, understand that a culture is being built. But they also want to make an on-field impact.

"We're trying to become great athletes, but winning definitely is high up our list as players," Shannon said. "We want to make a statement and show people that we're going to compete for a postseason berth when 2011 rolls around."

Perhaps when that happens, Kernen will have enough material to write another play.

Kendall Rogers is the college baseball editor for Rivals.com and Yahoo! Sports. He can be reached at rogersk@yahoo-inc.com.