Vols baseball coach Josh Elander makes his stance clear on Tennessee’s home run celebrations
No team in college baseball has received more attention for home run celebrations over the last several seasons than the Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols are the posterboys for dugout celebrations.
The Tennessee Vols debuted a new home run celebration on Tuesday night in a win over Belmont.
Tennessee ditched the famous fur coat and daddy hat in favor of a hockey goalie mask and a hockey stick.
The vibes from the new home run celebration must have worked because the Volunteers hit six home runs in the 11-1 win over Belmont.
Josh Elander shares his stance on home run celebrations
Tennessee head coach Josh Elander was asked about the new celebration after the game.
Elander, who is in his first season as the Vols’ head coach, made it clear that he’s on board with the celebrations as long as his team respects the game and keeps hitting homers.
He also addressed the fact that he wasn’t sure where the new home run celebration came from (though he suspects assistant coach Ross Kivett had something to do with it).
“I’m out of the loop on that completely, to be honest,” said Elander when asked how the new celebration started. “I saw the hockey stick and the mask, and there might be a culprit in this room, but we’ll see. But it’s probably Coach Kivett. Knowing him, he’s a big hockey guy, an Ohio guy.
“But hey, I’m good with it as long as they respect the game when they get off the field and they get in the dugout. Any prop they want, I’m all for it if they keep hitting homers.”
Now is the time to get hot. Maybe the good vibes from the new celebration will help Tennessee carry some momentum into post-season play.