Alex Trezza - Senior Manager of Business Development, GameChanger

[00:00:04] Speaker A: Welcome to the abca's podcast. I'm your host, ryan brownlee. Baseball is a story told across generations through the players, the moments and the gloves that shape the game. Now that story comes to life in Rawlings, the Finest in the Field book available now for pre [email protected] each of the 50 gloves is presented through detailed photography and paired with immersive essays that place the artifact within its historical context. Captivating imagery, period advertisements and additional memorabilia further illuminate the era each glove represents. Reserve your copy [email protected] and be among the first to experience baseball's evolution as told through the story of these iconic gloves. This episode is sponsored by Netting Pros. Netting Professionals are improving programs one facility at a time Netting Professionals specializes in the design, fabrication and installation of custom netting for backstops, batting cages, dugouts, BP screens and ball carts. They also design and install digital graphic wall padding, windscreen turf, turf protectors, dugout benches, dugout cubbies and more. Netting Professionals is an official partner of the ABCA and continues to provide quality products and services to many high school, college and professional fields, facilities and stadiums throughout the country. Netting Professionals are improving programs one facility at a time. Contact them today at 844-620-2707 or infoettingpros.com, visit them online at www.nettingpros.com or check out NettingPros on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn for all their latest products and projects. Make sure to let CEO Will Miner know that the ABCA sent you now onto the podcast. This week on the ABCA podcast is Game Changer Senior Manager of Business Development Alex Treza. Treza played 12 years professionally in the minors and independent baseball, getting drafted out of Stony Brook. Treza then moved on coaching collegiately at Anna Maria College, Delphi University, University of New Haven, Sacred Heart, Long island and Boston College. Treza got out of coaching to work for game changer in 2021. In this episode we discussed Treza's playing and coaching career, life after and how game changers helping the youth and travel baseball world. Let's welcome Alex Treza to the podcast here with Al Treza. Alex Treza, senior manager of Business Development for Game Changer but former associate head coach at Boston College Head coach at Long island, but also as an assistant Stony Brook alum and played pro baseball for a long time. But Alex, thanks for jumping on with me. [00:03:08] Speaker B: Yeah, thanks for having me. Ryan Long partnership with ABCA and happy to be here chatting it up. Both of us been in baseball a long Time. So this should be pretty fun. [00:03:18] Speaker A: Yeah, you and I are on similar paths, like former D1 coaches and then trying to find a way to impact the game of baseball in a much broader sense now. [00:03:28] Speaker B: Yeah, you know, I first I thought I would always be a player forever. Right. And then you realize that's over and then you get into the coaching world and really, you know, as, you know, start to love being with the guys every day and helping develop, you know, young players, not only as players, but men. And then, you know, you transition into, you know, outside baseball, into the corporate world, so to speak. And the great part is we're both still able to affect the game and, you know, use the relationships we've had, you know, through that time in baseball to grow the game. So it's been fun being on this side. It's different than being in the dugout, but, you know, still really connected to the game. [00:04:05] Speaker A: And you are a multi sport athlete in college. I didn't realize that, like, you tinkered around with hockey still a little bit in, in college. [00:04:13] Speaker B: Yeah. So grew up playing both sports, you know, and before we jumped on, we're talking about like playing multiple sports at the youth level, but, you know, we played hockey during the hockey season and threw the stuff in the, in the closet and then played baseball during the baseball season. So, you know, carried that through. At one point, you know, almost talked, took the hockey route as the main sport, but got really lucky at Stony Brook. Coach Sank, who just recently retired. We still have a great relationship, but he was a hockey and baseball player when he was in school at Cortland. So he, he was, he was a little bit more understanding when, you know, going there on a baseball scholarship. And I say, hey, can I play club hockey? And he's like, yeah, you know, thinking it was going to be like this little thing. But, you know, club hockey has really started to become a big thing at the collegiate level. And so I was, I was lucky enough to play both for my first two years at Stony Brook and then really start to focus on the baseball side in the draft year and stepped away from hockey, but recently started playing again hockey just to stay in shape and, you know, better than going to gym every day. So that's been pretty fun. [00:05:26] Speaker A: Did you have a scout eventually say, hey, you probably need to put club hockey down? [00:05:32] Speaker B: No, I think I was pretty grounded in the sense that I was, I was playing both at a pretty high level at that point, but baseball was the path and I kind of had this idea that I would do it for my freshman and sophomore year and with the draft coming up as a junior, you know, probably let's just focus at that point on baseball. So I kind of, you know, I had that plan all, all along. I'm sure probably someone said, hey, what are you doing? And every time you get a, a bump or bruise at the rink, I was like, oh God, like, I hope I'm not gonna mess something up. So it was a little bit of everything. But, you know, I think I, I had a pretty good understanding of like when I would cut that off and just focus on baseball. [00:06:15] Speaker A: Did you feel like you were more prepared for that junior season because you didn't play hockey that year or, or was it any different for you? [00:06:22] Speaker B: You know, yeah, you could probably say that. I, you know, just more focus, you know, being in a cage longer and not being out of practice with hockey. The great thing about club hockey though, it, it enabled me to do both because you're only practicing twice a week with club hockey and playing on the weekends. So there were some times when I'm running from lift and practice to the rink. But yeah, I think, I think now thinking about it, probably I was more prepared, but I was very, I was pretty structured about how I did things while I was playing the two. The one thing that's interesting is that my junior year is when I converted from an infielder to catching as well because I was a left handed hitter. So it gave me much more time at that point to really, you know, do more of that transition and start to learn how to catch. [00:07:12] Speaker A: Do you think Coach Saint gets enough respect for the job he did at Stony Brook and what he built there? [00:07:20] Speaker B: Yeah, I think he's respected at a high level, but I'm not sure that the, the warm weather schools realize kind of the challenge and what he was able to accomplish at that university. You know, he started that job, I believe, as a part time coach in a D3 program, made it really good. I think he then became full time. He probably wasn't making any money though, you know, but did it full time as D2 and made it a great program and then transitioned it to Division 1 and then takes them to the World Series, you know, in that kind of epic win at the regional at lsu, which was crazy. So I will say we always being there as a, as a, you know, player and as an alum, we always thought that we can get to, you know, Omaha, but to see it actually come to fruition and that, that staff with, you know, his assistants that have now Moved on, you know, and doing a great job as, as coaches. But it was, it was fun to see and you know, there's a lot of reminiscing about that group that did that. But you know, in that cold weather in, you know, a mid major state school, to get to Omaha is pretty special. So, you know, it's, I think when you step back, you realize how much of a accomplishment it was. [00:08:37] Speaker A: It's almost impossible. Yeah, it's almost even for teams in that part of the world, even just to go to the regionals is a big deal. That's almost like your college World Series is getting a chance to go to the regionals. [00:08:48] Speaker B: Yeah. And I think, you know, listen, you know as well as I do at that level, like unless you win your conference in those smaller conferences, you're not, you're not getting a bid. It's, it's very tough. But what's interesting about that year, there was almost three or four warm weather or cold weather schools that made it because I believe Kent State made it that year too. And I think St. John's lost in a super regional too. So that would have been really interesting. But you know, pretty cool to see those, those cold weather schools make it to the promised land, so to speak. [00:09:20] Speaker A: By the way, to my former position players that I love, Curtis Smaller played for me at Iowa, and then Adam McGinnis is still coaching, but both were hockey guys. [00:09:29] Speaker B: Wow, that's awesome. [00:09:30] Speaker A: And Adam's an Illinois guy, which you don't normally see it. You know, Curtis was a Wisconsin guy, so you saw it. But like Adam was a central Illinois guy, so like he, he played a lot of hockey growing up. They were two of my favorites. Interesting though, did you ever feel like your stride length was different coming off skates and then run? And that was always the thing. Like Curtis could fly. Adam was an okay runner, but he was a catcher. It just seemed like their stride was different because they were on skates for so long. [00:09:56] Speaker B: Yeah, well, I was never a runner, so I just tried to hit it far and jog a lot, so. But I thought where you were going was. It actually affected my. From shooting like, like a slap shot, you know, when you're on skates, it affected my stride in the box. So like, sounds weird, but early in the year, like I used to get out my front foot a lot just because it's, it's more like a slap shot, which is pretty interesting, but that's probably where it affected me most, I think. [00:10:26] Speaker A: But also the toughness piece too. Like I Felt those guys were tough, like, mentally tough. [00:10:31] Speaker B: I like to think I'm tough, but I don't know about that. But, you know, when I made the transition to catcher, like, I used to joke, and throughout my career as a catcher after that, that was the closest thing I can get to hockey on a baseball field. So I felt at home with all the gear on. [00:10:47] Speaker A: How's that transition for you? That's not an easy transition in the middle of college to go back there, and. And you made the transition to first base, too. I think everybody thinks going to first base is easy. I think first base is a really hard transition for somebody that's never played there. [00:11:02] Speaker B: Yeah. Honestly, I was always on the left side of the infield, so just transferring over to that side is. Is one that's pretty tough. But to your point, I used to say it all the time. I still say it. Like, first base is tough. Right. You're dealing with pickoffs. You're dealing with, you know, ground balls that you got to flip to the pitcher on the move. You know, you're just in a lot of things, turning double plays and getting back to the bag. There's a lot going on there. So that was. That was an adjustment, for sure. I definitely made my blunders over there. Catching. Catching was tough, too. I mean, I. I had to grind it out. I remember. And if you ever get sank on a podcast. I don't know if I remember this because he has such a long career, but there was a point that year in. In the spring, we were down in Flor, and I had, like, five past balls, and I think we were in the second inning. You know, I'm just battling ball. You know, I got bruises everywhere, and I was just like, I'm done. I come in the dugout. I just don't want to do this. Anything anymore or whatever, and he's like, put your crap back on. You're going. You're going back out there. We'll figure it out. So there was definitely a learning curve, but, you know, it actually turned out to be that was where I was the best ever as a player. Like, defensively, like, I started to take pride in that. And really, you know, managing pitchers and blocking balls in the dirt and doing all the things that catchers do. So the transition was tough, but it was worth it. And really, it gave me another tool that was, I thought, was one of my best things, which was. Was, you know, playing defense for sure, behind a plate. [00:12:31] Speaker A: What do you feel like helped you most from a blocking and receiving standpoint because for somebody that's never done it, I was the opposite. I caught all the way until I got to high school and then luckily switched outfield and infield. But I think that's really difficult transition for somebody that hasn't really had to focus on receiving and blocking at that level. You know, what were some of the things that you focused on to help you get through that transition? [00:12:55] Speaker B: Yeah, I think. I think the biggest thing is your whole life. And when I. When I teach catching here and there now, and certainly in college, like, we used to do this thing where I would flip a ball at a guy while we're having a conversation just like this, and they would catch it. And I said, that's the biggest thing you're going to have to get over your whole life. When something's thrown at you, you're taught to catch it. Now I'm telling you to, you know, stop thinking about that and let the ball hit you. Right? So I think once you learn to, I don't know if this is the right phrase, but be dumb enough to not try to catch it and let it hit you, that was the big thing for me. Just realizing that, you know, your body now becomes the thing that has to control a baseball, that was the biggest. And as far as receiving, you know, I always had pretty good hands, so I felt like that came a lot more naturally to me. But, you know, deciding that you had to get in front of balls and block them without putting your glove there, that was probably the hardest thing for me. [00:13:53] Speaker A: And then going to first as far as scooping like that, I think that's the biggest thing with first base because, yeah, if you play defense at a high level, you're going to have a good defensive first baseman. [00:14:05] Speaker B: Yeah, it's funny, you know, that's a big part of the game, and just being able to, like, adjust around the bag to go backwards and catch high throws and, you know, switch feet and stuff like that. So I was just watching some clips yesterday of Lombard, the young, you know, infielder with the Yankees. And, you know, I made some great plays. They were showing these clips, but, like, almost every ball was in the dirt or like a high throw that the first baseman, you know, made a great play on. So to your point, at the high level, right, the. That first baseman's got to do a lot of things to, you know, finish plays, so to speak. Right. So definitely a challenge getting over there and a lot to work on, but it really just, you know, it's. It's a skilled position. That I think gets overlooked. [00:14:48] Speaker A: I give you a lot of credit for still going 12 years, right? In probation. [00:14:52] Speaker B: 12 years, yeah. [00:14:55] Speaker A: Credit to just keep going. [00:14:57] Speaker B: Yeah, you know, it was. It was interesting because they got drafted and played with Detroit for five years, and then you get released. And at that time, independent ball was really just starting to get going. Right. So got a call almost immediately after I got released from Detroit, I think, in 2005. And then, you know, from there, like, got a call and they said, you want to come play independent ball? And I'm like, what the heck is that? You know, I'm like, do you guys take BP every day? Like, you know, you know, so. But went and actually had a great experience. Really learned about myself as a player because there was less coaching, less player development. It was just like, go out there and perform in the game and figure out what. What works for you. So did that for two years. Got re signed by the Rockies and went to spring training with them and played through that spring, got released by them, and then, you know, ended a bunch of years at the end of my career in independent ball. So, you know, the journey was like, windy, but, you know, it was great. And to be honest with you, I. I started to realize that I was probably going to coach at some point, but every year playing, I learned something I didn't know before, you know, from just being in that process with the guys every day in the locker room and, you know, learning for yourself again, because there's less coaching and development and more like figuring out how to win and do the things that work for you to get ready to play every night. So I started to get worried, like, at the end of my career, if I don't play, man, I wouldn't have learned what I learned last year to be able to pass on the players. So it was almost like holding on because I was like, I was getting smarter by playing because I was around such great people that have played a long time as well. So that was kind of part of it too. And now a part of it is you just can't let go. Maybe you get that call again, which never happened. [00:16:44] Speaker A: So I loved my indy ball experience because it was still built on winning. And, you know, you'd get around those guys that had just gotten released from organized ball and they would just tell such a different story about. It's not always about the best guy or it's performing the best, it's going to get innings or, you know, at bats. It's still a. Based on development at that level where I did appreciate my indie ball experience of where it was still built around winning. [00:17:08] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, we've. You probably have a ton of stories too, but, you know, we've had. We would sign guys, they would come in and not perform well one or two nights and then they were, they were back out of there. So I think you, you had to figure out how you can perform at a high level and do it quickly because, you know, they weren't in the business of developing. It's in the business of like winning baseball games and trying to put the right team together each year to win a championship. So totally different experience. [00:17:36] Speaker A: Mine was in a tryout period because even though I played in Evansville and had a really good career, they really didn't know much about me. So mine was in a trial period. So the first game I'm playing, we had a runner at third base with one out and I hit a ground ball to second base and I go touch first and I'm going back to the dugout. Runner didn't score from third, but he got sent home that night. So, like, that's how I ended up making the team because the guy that I was competing with didn't know enough on a routine ground ball with the infield back, didn't score. And so he got. Coach Taggart sent him home after the game. [00:18:10] Speaker B: Wow. Yeah, Evansville, that's a, that's a great place to play. [00:18:13] Speaker A: They've done a really good job there because it's still bossy field. Bossy field still there. They pack it there. They've done a really good job as a franchise. And Evans. [00:18:21] Speaker B: Yeah, that's awesome. Never got to play out there. I was on the east coast. Right. Played in, in Worcester and when North Shore Spirit down on the north side of Boston, on the North Shore, so. But there's a lot of good leagues, a lot of good baseball being played [00:18:34] Speaker A: outside of us, especially now with the draft. Like, that's the thing with the limited draft, the limited teams. There's really, really good high level independent baseball now because there's just not as many spots for guys. [00:18:47] Speaker B: Absolutely. So. And it's good to see guys go give it a shot and get signed out of there and then do well in the minor leagues. And you know, ultimately some of them get to the big league. So it's pretty cool to see for sure. [00:18:58] Speaker A: Still hard for me to believe that the minor leaguers don't get paid for spring training. Yeah, I still have a hard time. We talked about in the office the other day, man, Kurt Birkins. But I really have a hard time wrapping my head around it that those guys don't get paid for spring training. [00:19:14] Speaker B: Yeah, we just, you know, we ate in the calf every day and stayed in the dorms at Tigertown when I was with the Tigers. And you know, you definitely, you're not doing it to get rich at that point. Like, hopefully you got a little bonus if you were lucky. Right. That you're living on and mom and dad are helping. But yeah, that, that, that month is like, you know, you want to, you want to get assigned to a place and start getting a paycheck more than anything. [00:19:36] Speaker A: Was it a hard adjustment for you then getting into coaching? Because I, for me, because you played for so long and you're coming out, it's not like you're a 21 year old or 22 year old assistant coach. Like you'd had a lot of years under your belt. So I think your experience and then you're older. So I, I feel like you probably made a pretty good transition to coaching just because you were older. Yeah. [00:20:00] Speaker B: You know, and, and to that point, like my last couple years, like, you know, I was basically a player coach at that point. Right. I'm running the pitching staff. I'm, I'm talking close with our manager, which was Rich Gedman at the time, you know, so I'm learning a ton and, and managing a game, you know, definitely in game, like, like a coach, like a manager. So the transition was a little bit easier for me, especially being a catcher and, and what I just described. But I kind of saw the writing on the wall and I was like, I, I have to start to make this transition into coaching if I want to do it. So what I, I was lucky in these perfect situations. Worked out where my last two years, I actually did start coaching in the off season. So I coached at a Division 3 school called Anna Maria College, which is in Paxton, Mass. Which is right outside of Worcester, which worked out perfectly for when our season, you know, got, got underway, so was able to coach there. And actually Chris Calabella, who's a good buddy of mine who played in the big leagues, he was, he coached with us too because he's from Massachusetts. And then the second year got real lucky and actually got a full time job and still was able to play at the University of New Haven. Chris Solano hired me at the time and he just took, took over that, that job in New Haven and we got connected and I had a Delphi University like in the middle of all that. So Like I was still playing. And it actually went. Now I'm thinking about. It was like Anna Maria one year, Adelphi another year, and then into New Haven. So I had this Runway while I was still playing, before I was like officially done playing and then coaching. [00:21:37] Speaker A: Did it take you a while to adjust to evaluating and recruiting? [00:21:41] Speaker B: No doubt. I mean, especially because I didn't, you know, I'm looking at a pro ball player my whole Life, right? So D3 level. I didn't know, you know, I was looking at guys with D1. I'm like, let's get this guy. And they're like, yeah, he's not coming to our school. So that was a transition. I was lucky enough to just do D3 for one year. And then the D2 conference that, you know, Adelphi and New Haven that I was coaching in was a Northeast 10, which was super competitive. So we were getting a borderline mid major D2 type of player. And then that transition out of that into Division one at Sacred Heart and then beyond, right. That's where you start to really like, it got a little more challenging, right, because you're trying to figure out, you know, is this a Division 1 player that can impact us and then moving on, like to the acc, that's a whole nother level. So I think, I think I was lucky to be around some really good head coaches at the time that had been in it that I was working under. That helped me kind of start that evaluation process and see kind of, you know, how you start to identify guys that can play, you know, at that level where you're at at the current time. [00:22:45] Speaker A: And also who's going to show up too, because that's a different thing too, like seeing the talent, but then also getting them to say yes to come to school is two completely different things. [00:22:54] Speaker B: Yeah. And, you know, it's funny, over the course of your career, it's like coaching, you know, you first get on the phone trying to explain what, you know, a school like Anna Maria is. Hey, I'm, you know, I'm a coach from Anna Maria. And they're like, what's that? Where is it to, you know, getting to a place like, you know, Boston College and the ACC where, you know, they're super excited and know already more about the school than maybe you at that point. So that was always interesting, calling guys and trying to have to explain where the school is, what it is to. To a place like that where it has a lot of notoriety already. So that, that was a fun transition for me. As well. [00:23:30] Speaker A: Well, and especially Mike Gambino, probably a elite, one of the elite recruiters we've had in the game, you know, also maybe doesn't get a lot of credit, but those of us that, that know Mike have been around Mike know how good evaluator and recruiter he. He is still and was back then too. [00:23:46] Speaker B: Yeah, he's done a tremendous job and now, you know, not only at BC but now doing it at Penn State and you know, he former player and then also, you know, pro scout. Right. So he had this really. I learned a lot from him. Right. Because he, he was able to take what he, he knew about the college game and marry how he did his evaluating as a pro scout. Right. Which really helped me. And also like our system and getting really good players to B.C. that, that eventually went on to play in the big leagues and he's doing it again at Penn State. So very fortunate to be able to work under him during that time. [00:24:21] Speaker A: Did it help you to take over a program before you went to BC as a head coach? [00:24:24] Speaker B: Did it help you 100%. I mean, there's so much behind. [00:24:28] Speaker A: You realize it's not as easy as you thought it was going to be being a head coach. [00:24:32] Speaker B: Yeah. Being an assistant is awesome. Right? Because at the end of the day it's not you. I think you also, you know, I was a little older like we talked about when I started. But when you're a young guy, you think you know the right way to do things. Right. And then when you're, you're the head guy, you realize like, oh, maybe I was wrong about those things because xyz so you know, there's a lot of administration type of things. There's a lot of budget, there's a lot of alumni relations, there's a lot of scheduling. There's a lot more to it than showing up at the ballpark, getting your team ready. So it was eye opening for me and it undoubtedly helped me when I transitioned to bc. So it was, I think a necessary step in my career for sure to, you know, ensure that I was successful moving forward. [00:25:16] Speaker A: Did you have any misses in recruiting? I think we all had misses. Did you have any misses? [00:25:21] Speaker B: A lot. I think we all had a lot. [00:25:22] Speaker A: And it's not, it's not your fault, like you do the evaluation part, but the X factor is really how hard a kid is going to work when they show up on campus and then can they handle the challenges that come with playing at that level? Like you're never going to. You're never going to be able to get that right 100% of the time. [00:25:39] Speaker B: Yeah, I think, listen, there's a whole process that every coach has, right? It's how good is the player, what's his grades, like what's the character and makeup, what's the projection. So there's so many things that go into that evaluation process and then there's, you know, there's sometimes it's like, it's like emotional and you have a gut about something. Right. So I think it's really hard to be right all the time. And ultimately it comes down to what you said, like, how is that kid adjusting to being away from home, the education, the strength and conditioning to being on the field every day and then, you know, how much desire does he have to be the best player he can be? So, you know, once they got on campus, trying to cultivate that and, you know, develop that, I think that's part of it too. But, but it's tough. The game, the game has a really good way of weeding guys out, which is pretty, you know, it's a tough thing for some guys to handle when they're, you know, they've always been the best player and then the game challenges them. So did I have misses? Yes, I had a lot of them. But fortunate to have some guys that, that made it and made us look good, so to speak. [00:26:47] Speaker A: And then you also have the reverse too. You have the late bloomers on the mound and the, the plate. Maybe a guy that you think might be a role player but ends up being one of your best players because they haven't fully matured yet and then they figure it out in college. [00:27:00] Speaker B: Yeah, that's always the best part. And for me, like identifying those guys that are under the radar and then became our Friday night starter or a guy who, you know, was an and French guy and then, you know, goes on to play in the minor leagues, in the big leagues. Like that was the, that was the, probably some of the funnest moments because they were overlooked. Right. And those, those are the guys that kind of like, I don't know, made you feel really good at the end of the day that they, they were able to accomplish all that they did and you had the foresight to maybe see it before anyone else. [00:27:34] Speaker A: And you have strength training administration on your LinkedIn profile. Yeah. [00:27:39] Speaker B: So while I was playing, I was always interested in, you know, strength and conditioning. So I got certified through ncsa. I think it was National Strength and Conditioning Association. So did a bunch of personal training with, with athletes in the off season to honestly make some money. And I thought it was a fun way to do that. So did that for a while. I actually did. Did that quite a bit with our teams early on in coaching because you're, you know, you're wearing a lot of hats as an assistant. So at Anna Maria Adelphi New Haven, and then even at Sacred Heart, like help run our program or be an extension of our staff there. So that was pretty cool for me to kind of like roll it all into one, the baseball and the training [00:28:25] Speaker A: part of it and also develop a little bit different relationship with the players, too, being in the weight room with them. [00:28:32] Speaker B: Yeah. And I think especially at those lower levels, they might not have a full time staff, you know, strength staff. So being able to be with them every day and also teach them, you know, what they should be doing away from the ballpark, that was fun for me, not only for the individual guys, but as a, as a program. Right. To be able to make them understand that, hey, we can build this little program that, that helps the whole ball club, and that happens away from the field, you know, before practice, after practice, or what have you. So, yeah, it was, it was a fun piece of what I did. Again, many hats as an assistant at those levels. [00:29:08] Speaker A: You said you're doing hockey again. What other workouts are you mixing in? What did you keep from. Because I kept some of my workouts. That's a lot of what I do in the mornings is stuff I was doing with our players. So I kind of kept some of [00:29:19] Speaker B: those workouts, I think similar stuff, and, you know, just trying to stay in shape, but, you know, some of the basic little workouts, much less weight and consistency, but, you know, I think that gets ingrained in you, you know, and I had never worked out at all really, before I got to Stony Brook. And when we got there three days a week with the. The strength staff and recovery and stuff like that, I mean, I was cooked and I was not strong at all. So you learn a lot. And to your point, right, you carry on the things that kind of work for you and what your experience was. So do a little bit of that stuff and just try to be as active as possible. [00:29:57] Speaker A: Then how'd you transition a game changer? [00:30:01] Speaker B: So, you know, I think a lot of. A lot of things happened around, you know, when Covid hit, you know, for us as college coaches at that time, you know, seasons getting shut down, uncertainty. And I actually got to spend a lot of time with my family during COVID because we Were shut down. Right. So went on a couple of vacations. My family, I got to spend some time with my nephew. And it was kind of eye opening for me, to be honest with you, because, you know, as a college coach, you know, you are inundated not just with this, the regular schedule, but recruiting. So being able to spend time with them just kind of like it stuck in my brain during the 2021 season when we went back. And I loved what I did. I loved where I was at at bc. I loved our players, our recruits that were coming in, but, you know, made a decision, my family, to kind of step away and just try to figure out if I wanted to do this for another 10 or 15 or 20 years. And when I did, that became more apparent to me at the time that I. I wanted to spend more time with my family and try to figure out if there was something other than just coaching I could do. And got lucky that there was a job opening opening at Game Changer. Applied for it and been here four and a half years. Right. So it's been a tremendous, you know, transition in my career professionally. And I didn't realize how awesome Game Changer was until they hired me and got to start working behind the scenes. So that's basically how I got the Game Changer. And it's going well so far. [00:31:36] Speaker A: Yeah. And shout out for Band, our youth stage sponsor. [00:31:39] Speaker B: Thanks. We love doing it and we'll continue to do that moving forward. [00:31:43] Speaker A: How much have you guys evolved in the last four and a half years? Seems like a lot. [00:31:47] Speaker B: I mean, a ton. Basically, when I arrived, we were still under 100 employees at the time. I think I was probably like the 86th employee, if I remember correctly. And they were still like, you know, the main. The main tech in that space, but they were still small. And I think now we're, you know, north of 250 employees. As far as the tech itself, Right. They had just started getting into live streaming at the time, so connecting that really robust foundation of what the app is, which is the scoring with that streaming. So I came in at a time when this company was on an upward trajectory, which it still is, but it was a rocket ship at that point. When you started to connect the video to the scoring platform, is that the [00:32:35] Speaker A: biggest piece now, connecting both? [00:32:39] Speaker B: Yeah, but we're doing some really other cool things. Right. Our platform is always free to the coaches, which is really awesome because we're giving them this great tool that they can manage their team with and develop their players and keep everyone connected. So Some of the really cool things that we're doing now for them are like player and team insights that happen just from scoring the game. So like, you know, bobbling up really important information that they would have to spend hours trying to figure out like how many times the team swung her to first pitch in the game. Right. What's their line drive percentage, like quality of bat percentage. So things like that, how many times their pitching staff through first pitch strikes. Right. Or you know, one, you know, a challenge count. We're spitting that information out just from scoring the game. So it's been really cool. We're actually just about to launch something that I think is going to be really impactful, which is lineup recommendations that happen from AI. So it's going to be really cool. Like, you know, coaches always think they have the best lineup, but even the ones that do are going to start to look at, hey, what are they suggesting? You know, that this thing's spitting out. So excited about coaching tools that can really affect the players and the families that are associated with the teams. [00:33:49] Speaker A: Yeah. I have a friend that coach middle school, he's coaching high school now, but he started two years ago, AI with with lineup recommendations and scouting report stuff and he loved it. He said immediately they went from scoring like two or three runs a game, that they were scoring double digit runs with just a couple lineup tweaks with the same team, but just a couple lineup tweaks. [00:34:09] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. It's cool to have, you know, an AI assistant. Now that's coming from your information you're inputting into the system. You know, some other great things I think. You know, like we have the pocket radar integration, right. That is, you know, tracking every pitch. And the velo, we have a great partnership with them. And then also after the game it's telling your high and low velos, your average velos. So that's really impactful stuff, you know, at the youth level. And really what we talked about at the beginning with the video, you know, we have 1080p video. Now we're getting into fixed cameras, which has been really awesome. So fix cameras in ballparks. And we have partnerships with companies like Pixelot where there's an integration. So you walk into a ballpark, you scan a QR code and you have this high level video in some cases with AI switching. Right. That's feeding right through your game changer page. So we're really trying to connect all the aspects of what's happening in youth sports in one place. Right. So it's valuable to the coach, the players, and then, you know, the families, moms, dads, grandmas and grandpas that can't be at the game. So, you know, more to come. Our, you know, our team is doing such a great job of building these, these features either free or a really low cost entry point. So exciting. And things are moving fast with tech now. So like things are changing even month to month, month and week to week at this point. [00:35:35] Speaker A: And those of us that are in this space, we know how good participation is at the younger levels. But then kind of when they get to the big field, there's a little bit of that drop off. If you had like a magic wand, how would we continue to keep that participation strong from the small field to the big field? [00:35:52] Speaker B: Yeah, I think participation is a definite, that's a high point of conversation at this point. Right. Because there's other options, right. From other sports or even other things that kids are interested in. So I think just growing the game at the little league level. Right. And trying to keep them interested in the sport. You know, sometimes it's boring at those levels. Right. Because balls are going all over the place. So, you know, it's back to the education piece. I think local community is really doing a good job volunteering and having fun clinics and different events for players not only playing, you know, actual games where there's a winner and a loser. So I think making the game fun at the really young level is important and then continuing to grow that moving forward with really good education from coaches, things they can get online and really keeping the game fun. I think at the end of the day, even the guys in the big leagues, right, it's about fun, which is a big part of that equation. Even though it's a job for them. [00:36:53] Speaker A: Did you have to adjust coming out of coaching with the little more free time than you had before, you know, yes and no. [00:37:02] Speaker B: But like, I, I tend to fill my time with a lot of baseball still. Where, you know, I live down in Boynton Beach, Florida now. [00:37:09] Speaker A: Right. [00:37:09] Speaker B: So I have Lynn University, which I have a great relationship with Rudy and his program. So on a lot of afternoons you see me over there hanging out, like loitering. Luckily, Rudy lets me hang out with the boys a little bit, you know, and things like that. I have a great relationship with Stoneman Douglas down here in Fitze, which is right around the corner. So I tend to hang around baseball a lot. I guess the biggest transition time wise was like sometimes being like, oh, I don't, I don't have a game this this weekend, you know, and my night, my dinner is not always like up and down, whether we won or lost, as far as my mood. So there's a little more downtime. But it's been. It's been really well received by me and my family, so it's been good. [00:37:51] Speaker A: When was your first ABCA convention? Was it when you switched the. Probably. When was your first one when you first got into coaching? [00:37:58] Speaker B: I think so. I think I went. My first time with Adelphi University, I went with our head coach, which was Dom Scala at the. I think I want to say that's 2011, and I believe it was in Nashville that was my first experience. Yeah. So it's been a. Been a long amount of years going to abca. It's always been great. And Nashville is one of my favorite spots that we go in the rotation. But, you know, it. It's grown so much. There's. There's so many great places and good places to experience along your kind of your tour every year to different cities. [00:38:31] Speaker A: What have been your thoughts kind of the evolution of the convention? Because I think it's. It's grown immensely. It's crazy to me. [00:38:38] Speaker B: Yeah, I think it's been great. There's so many different things besides the trade show or the speakers now that you can kind of get intertwined with and really experience, whether it's product demos from all the great companies that go or, you know, breakout sessions with coaches or, you know, you know, things like that. So I think to me, just being around so many smart people in the game in one place and even having coffee with someone that you. You haven't seen in a year or so and catching up and learning about the game is always great. And really those relationships for me, along with all the great things you guys have done to, to make it a really interactive experience at the beginning of the year, I think are all, you know, parts of why it's so successful and will continue to be moving forward. [00:39:26] Speaker A: And the newer generation too. Like, that's what I enjoy the most now is you have the new people coming into the industry, whether that's a vendor or a coach or just somebody just shows up. Like, I think that's the cool thing for me now being a 51 year old is you're starting to see the newer generation get involved with everything. [00:39:44] Speaker B: Young guys have a lot of energy, so they keep it interesting. But it's. It's crazy. You know, we talked about like game changer in tech, you know, moving faster and faster now. So like every year to me is like, it's like how it was for five years, you know, before that. So it's always really interesting to be at the show and see how far things have advanced, whether it's coaching tools, coaching philosophies, the show itself, it's just like it's going so fast year to year. It's, it's amazing to get on site and experience all that. [00:40:17] Speaker A: All right. Give some inexpensive experience that somebody that's trying to get into the baseball industry right now, maybe their first year out of college and they're trying to get into the baseball industry right now, give them some inexpensive experience. [00:40:27] Speaker B: And as far as coaching or anything, [00:40:30] Speaker A: you've been on both sides of it now. So what would be some tips? [00:40:35] Speaker B: Well, I think just really assessing like what, what you're passionate about. Right. There's great opportunities to volunteer and coach. I think there's great opportunities in it. Again, sports tech and the sports business in general. There's so many internships, opportunities to be part of organizations, schools, you know, coaching locally or travel ball programs where you can probably not going to get paid a lot to start, but really, you know, almost use it as like a, you know, grad school type of experience where you're learning on the job and starting to hone your skills, whether it's business or coaching. But I, I think the sports industry is just exploding right now and there's so much crossover now between business and sport. There's so many great opportunities to use your experience in whatever, you know, game you've, you've played growing up, in our case baseball, but to really do something fun every day, you know. So I think more than ever there's just a lot of opportunities if you, if you know where to look. [00:41:39] Speaker A: Do you have a fail forward moment? I mean, I think we all but something you thought was going to set you back, but looking back now, it helped you move forward. [00:41:51] Speaker B: Yeah, honestly, I'll go back to playing. Right. Like, you know, I always thought playing for a long time was a good thing and a bad thing. Right. And I got a little antsy towards the end and we talked about, you know, coaching while I was playing. That was really the, the brainchild of like me and my dad and my mom, you know, my family sitting down and go, okay, what's next? So thinking, you know, thinking ahead but like at the time being like, man, I played a long time, like, am I behind the eight ball? That was kind of the fail forward moment for me where I thought it would hurt me, but it helped because I Was learning more about baseball. I think I made, again, a really good decision to start that process while I was playing. And if you look at my career, I know people used to be like, wow, it went fast to get to the ACC as far as like, you know, from an assistant at D3 to a head coach at Division 1 to an associate head coach in the ACC. But that was by design. I wanted to move fast because I had, I didn't waste 10 years, but I was, I was 10 years behind of someone who just came out of, you know, playing and went right into coaching. Yep. [00:42:56] Speaker A: Yeah, that would. I was the exact opposite. I was lucky. I just played a year and an indie ball and then got into it. But yeah, he's chasing you a lot more though now. Like, you do, like, guys that played for a long time, they're getting spots because they do have value in other ways. They maybe have not evaluated or done some of that stuff, but they've got a lot more experience in the game from a playing standpoint. [00:43:17] Speaker B: Yeah, I think the game's changed so much. Right. And there's more spots on the coaching staff where you can, you know, insert that guy who just got done playing, you know, during our time. Right. You kind of. And this is not a knock, but, you know, we had to pay our dues, so to speak. Right. We had to do those jobs for free or for 5,000 bucks a year. And, you know, we're working another job before we came to the ballpark, you know, at night in some cases. Now there's a little bit more straightforward path in some, in some respects. But I think in general, you got to pay your dues because it's. It's not, it's not just about doing that. It's just learning what that industry is about. You know, coaching is not just, you know, showing up to the field every day at the college level. There's so much more that goes into it that's important. So it takes time to learn those skills and hone them to be ready to take on a full time position. [00:44:06] Speaker A: You have any evening or morning routines you stick to every day? [00:44:11] Speaker B: Well, the first morning one is coffee. First thing for sure. You know, coaching really got me. Gambino, if he sees this, will laugh because, you know, we built a new ballpark. We said, where are we putting a coffee machine? You know, we're on the road or like, are we taking the Nespresso machine? So we always had a coffee around us, but coffee for sure in the morning, but then always try to move my Body, you know, get in the sun early in the morning. I'm lucky down here in Florida, I can do that. But try to get my day going and move my body and get outside if I can just to get my day going because, you know, as you know, now being away from coaching, right. We're in front of our computers way more than we ever were, so. But yeah, just get moving in the morning, try to get outside. [00:44:53] Speaker A: Any books, podcast recommendations? [00:44:56] Speaker B: Great question. [00:44:59] Speaker A: Or movies, TV shows? [00:45:02] Speaker B: I'm a big, like, I do read a lot. I'm trying to think now some books that I could share here and do listen to a lot of podcasts. I listen to a lot of like, you know, a wide range of different podcasts and that, from comedy to political stuff. So I'm a little bit all over the map on that, so I won't share. But TV shows like, I think all the usual suspects like Landman and, you know, Ozark when it was on and, you know, Yellowstone. [00:45:34] Speaker A: Big Ozark fan. [00:45:36] Speaker B: Yeah, it was awesome. So hopefully Breaking Bad might be coming back. [00:45:39] Speaker A: A lot of similarities to Breaking Bad. [00:45:41] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, no doubt. A lot of no doubt. Yeah. But yeah, I'm big. I'm a big show guy. Another guy will laugh is John Murphy, who was a coach with us at, at bc. It was at army as well. Now I was running a recruiting business and evaluation. But we always talk like, you got any shows? Like, we're texting back and forth. So there's. There's always something on the horizon to watch. So we're trying to always, like, make sure we're in the know with that. [00:46:05] Speaker A: I just finished From Strength to Strength book by Arthur Brooks. I would highly recommend it. It talks about thriving at the second half of your life. [00:46:14] Speaker B: I love that. [00:46:15] Speaker A: Very good. Comes at a very different perspective for like, high achievers, like people that have just, like been grinding away forever. Well, that, that part's gonna go away at some point. So, like, how do you continue to re. Engage as maybe some of your skill set diminishes? Strength diminishes. So how do you. How do you still thrive? Kind of that second half, it was really good. I just finished it. So anybody listening in? If you want to pick it up, especially if you're getting in your 50s, late 40s, 50s. From strength to Strengths are really, really good book. Very good. [00:46:45] Speaker B: That's awesome. And as we're. We're talking about this too. Like, one of my favorite books is the Alchemist. You've read it? It's just a great, great book. About journey and, you know, you know, your personal kind of, you know, journey towards where you're going. So I always, I tend to always have that and I've read it like 10 times. But it's always, it's always an awesome book. [00:47:05] Speaker A: I think you have those few where you can go back to them and revisit them because as you get older, it's going to speak to you differently if you reread something that you really liked at a certain age. I think if you go back to it, it's going to speak to you differently as you. As you have more life experience. [00:47:21] Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. So it's always good to go back and reread stuff. Old man in the Sea is another one for me. I read it a million times. It's just like the stories. So I don't read. When I was coaching, I read more books like you were explaining, you know, about coaching and you know, things like that, like the Energy Bus and things like that. But now I tend to read stuff that's more like kind of relaxing and fiction in that sense. So it's been great work. [00:47:48] Speaker A: Some final thoughts before I let you go. [00:47:52] Speaker B: Final thoughts. I'm grateful for our relationship and our relationship with ABCA in general. This game has given me so many great relationships, you know, that I talk to on a daily basis or, you know, like, like you and I, we only talk a couple times a year, but it's like we talk every day when we jump on that phone call. So the gram is. The game is great. I think it's in a good place, you know, in me personally and Game Changer, I want to just continue to affect youth through sport and, you know, continue to grow the game. So I'm happy to have our relationship personally and with abca. So great things moving forward for, for the game in general. [00:48:32] Speaker A: Thanks for your time, Alex, and thanks for everything that Game Changer does for baseball. I appreciate you guys. Thank you. [00:48:37] Speaker B: Thanks so much, Ryan. Appreciate it. [00:48:40] Speaker A: Game introduces you to a lot of great people over the years. I've always enjoyed my time with Alex at the ABCA Convention and the State association clinics. Thanks again to Alex and Game Changer for being our presenting sponsor for the youth stage at the ABCA Convention. Thanks again to John Litchfield, Zach Hale and Matt west in the ABCA office for all the help on the podcast. Feel free to reach out to me via email our brownleebca.org Twitter, Instagram or TikTok to coach beyond IBCA direct message me via the MyVCA app this is Ryan Brownlee signing off with the American Baseball Coaches Association. Thanks for leaving. Better for those behind. [00:49:29] Speaker B: Yep. [00:49:29] Speaker A: Wait for another. And the world will always return as your life never for yearning and you know that way wait for another [00:49:55] Speaker B: day. Sam.