Episode Transcript
[00:00:04] Speaker A: Welcome to the ABCA's podcast. I'm your host Ryan Brownlee.
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LSU Shreveport Assistant baseball coach Jordan Schwellenbach has been named the ABCA Soldier Sports NAI Assistant Coach of the year following the pilot's historic 2025 season. It culminated in a perfect 59.0record and the program's first ever NAI baseball national championship.
In his first season with the Pilots, Schwumbach served as the team's recruiting coordinator and pitching coach, playing a pivotal role in guiding LSUS to one of the most remarkable achievements in collegiate baseball history. Under his leadership, Pilots pitching staff rewrote the record books, setting new program marks for era, opponent, batting average and whip, all of which also led the nation.
His ability to develop talent, prepare pitchers and instill confidence on the mound was instrumental to the team's undefeated run.
Schwellenbach spent the Previous seven seasons at the highly regarded Central Methodist program, leading them to seven consecutive opening rounds and a national runner up in 2021. Prior to his time at CMU, Swellenbach spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Saginaw Valley State University.
Let's welcome Jordan Swellenbach to the podcast.
[00:03:29] Speaker B: Here.
[00:03:29] Speaker A: Jordan Swellenbach, ABCA NAI Assistant Coach of the Year, LSU Shreveport.
Magical undefeated season, but after seven seasons at Central Methodist, but time at Saginaw Valley State too, as well. So, Jordan, thanks for jumping on with me.
[00:03:44] Speaker B: No problem, man. Thanks for having me.
[00:03:46] Speaker A: How was the White House?
[00:03:48] Speaker B: It was great. You know, it was an experience. But I'll say the best part, besides seeing Trump, was seeing the guys that we hadn't seen since we sent them home, you know, in the spring that graduated, that are off doing things. I mean, we had pitcher come from Netherlands back home to come, and then, you know, our catcher was in Spain visiting his girlfriend. He flew back for that. So just seeing those guys and I think when you get a new group in here, you lose sight of, you know, some of the things that happen because you're so focused on what's next and being able to go and kind of, you know, put a bow on that was. Was great for us.
[00:04:25] Speaker A: Did it allow you to kind of reflect again on last year?
[00:04:28] Speaker B: Yeah, it did. You know, you know, Steve Jones was our assistant last year. He's the head coach at New Mexico Highlands now, and we haven't seen him since he took that job. So seeing him was great. And, you know, it just kind of brings back everything. And, you know, like, our head coach's kid got to go and just seeing, like, him and his face light up when he sees the, you know, the guys from last year, I mean, it just meant a lot to us. And being able to spend that time, you know, time with them. And then, you know, also just hearing lsu, who was there with us, and hearing them and talk about how they were following our season and what we did was special, you know, because obviously they won their second one in three years, which, you know, is unheard of at Division one, you know, nowadays that that's going to happen.
But just hearing them reflect on our season was kind of cool, too. Of. You don't really realize how many people, you know, you touch. But.
But yeah, it was special for sure.
[00:05:21] Speaker A: Had you been to D.C. before?
[00:05:23] Speaker B: Have not, no.
[00:05:24] Speaker A: It's a great city.
[00:05:26] Speaker B: Yeah, it's awesome. I mean, we were there so fast and quick and we flew back out, but, you know, and you got something going on all the time.
But I mean, it was great, like, just leading up into, like, getting off the bus and going through the checkpoints to get to the White House. And then, you know, just the whole experience of being in that. In that special place. I mean, it was great. And, you know, a lot of our guys that hadn't gone there either, just seeing them and, you know, and be. And seeing their faces light up, you know, when Trump and, you know, Brad and Jay are walking in behind them, I mean. I mean, there's pictures of that. I mean, that those are. Those are going to get hung up in our. In our clubhouse and be here for a long time.
[00:06:06] Speaker A: It makes you proud to be an American.
[00:06:08] Speaker B: It does. It does. It was awesome. And, you know, a lot of our guys, you know, whether. Whether. Wherever you stand, you know, politically, I mean, it was. It was great to be able to go.
[00:06:16] Speaker A: All that goes away up there. It really does. Like, once you get to D.C. and you see the buildings and you see everything that's there, like, all. All of what's going on in America goes away. When you go to D.C. and see everything, it's awesome.
[00:06:29] Speaker B: No, it does. And I'll. And when we were on, when we were in the capital, I mean, one. I mean, obviously we're in a shutdown, but I think that was.
It was actually better that that was going on because we got to see everything. I mean, the whole place was open to us. You know, we were like the only ones in there.
So just being able to have access to seeing all that stuff, you know, it was awesome.
[00:06:50] Speaker A: What'd you learn from Nate, Brett?
[00:06:55] Speaker B: I think what I learned from Nate was just how fiery and competitive and, you know, and like, if you. And I think I. And Brad has a lot of this too, is like, if you don't say something to them and teach them something, you can't expect them to know, you know, and we just harped on all the small details every day and, you know, and just the competitive drive and everything, you know, that's with them in the classroom, missing assignments, communicating with professors. You know, I was a small campus there, so, you know, you gotta know everybody, and everybody in the town knows you. And, you know, I think it was about presentation and how you hold yourself, not just at the field, you know, but in town, because if you represent yourself in the wrong way, you're, you know, the program looks bad. And I think he was a prime example of that. And, you know, that's why I was there for so long, you know. You know, it was Hard to leave that place and, you know, but he was great. I mean, I. Seven years. I mean, it didn't feel like seven years, you know what I mean?
When I went there, I went there to get my masters, you know, and then I ended up getting that and being there for, you know, playing a long time thereafter. But, no, he's great.
My wife, we love him. My parents love him. You know, my brother played for us there, my middle brother, you know, he loves him. He's still there in town, so, I mean, just. He's special. And winning at that place, I mean, for people that have never been to Fayette, Missouri, I don't think they understand what he's had to do to win there. I mean, it's unbelievable.
[00:08:32] Speaker A: Do you feel like your personality is a good counterbalance to that? I mean, you. You seem like you've got. You got a different personality than that.
[00:08:43] Speaker B: Yeah, I would say. And I think that's what made us so special, you know, is you gotta. You know, I always said, like, as an assistant, I'm just gonna take on the opposite of whatever our head coach's personality is, because you can't give too much or not enough, you know, on either side. And, you know, and he. I just, you know, he loved every one of them, and so do I, but it was just a different way.
And so he always used to tell me, too, you know, hey, you know, today, like, you know, I'm gonna get on this guy, but you gotta be there on the backside. And I was like, well, you already know that's gonna be me, you know, and so it's not going against them. It was just, you know, getting them kind of locked back in and. And doing those things. But I think that's what made it so great for so long, was just having that balance of. He knew I knew what he was, and he knew what I was. And we've kind of played to it pretty good, you know.
[00:09:37] Speaker A: How far apart in age are you and your brother?
[00:09:40] Speaker B: Well, Mason is.
I think I'm nine years older than Mason, and my. And Spencer's 25, so.
No, it's 27. 20. 25. So, Mason, how was that?
[00:09:58] Speaker A: Because I played for my brother in college also.
[00:10:03] Speaker B: You know, I think there I could have been a little more brother at times, you know, and less coach.
I think if I could go back, I would do that a little. Little different, you know, but I. You know, and I hope, like, I hope he knows I love him and, you know, but it was just for him, he was doing both he was pitching and hitting, and there's never a break, you know, and so.
And I would say he. He was kind of better with my style. I don't think he liked if Nate got on him a lot, and Nate knew that, you know, and so he would always be like, hey, you go take care of him. And, you know, I think a lot of times I maybe handled it in a way where I would do it a little bit different now, but, I mean, he's.
He's good. You know, if he wanted to play longer, he could have. Honestly, I think he. He's just like my little brother, except for just a little bit slower, you know, But, I mean, he. He was great. He was one of the, you know, five or six guys that came back for that third year after Covid and, you know, got us there. That had been with us a long time, and, you know, we're one. One win away from, you know, winning the whole thing. But, I mean, he's a big reason. He's a big reason why I, you.
[00:11:18] Speaker A: Know, I feel like I was good because of my brother, too, and the same thing. Like, it was more coach player relationship at that point. But I think you have to do it that way.
I don't think you can do it as a family member. I think you got to do it with the coach player relationship because I think it sends a. I think it sends a bad message to the team with that. Not that you're showing favoritism, but I do feel like a family member's got to be harder on their own family member if you're gonna make it work.
[00:11:43] Speaker B: Yeah, it was different because my. My parents are, I wouldn't say laid back, but my dad is big on. They just gotta know you love them, you know, like, those players got to know you love them, and if you care for them enough, they're going to play for you. And, you know, today. Today's age is a little different because a lot of these kids haven't taken hard coaching, you know, when they get to us, and a lot of them haven't been coached, you know, period. That's just kind of how it goes. And for him, like, I just think I pushed him a little bit, and I think in the moment, maybe he. He resented it a little bit. But I think if you asked him now, I mean, I would say he, you know, he could go back. I think he would do things different. I always say I wish I would have coached before I played, because, you know, I think you just don't understand, like, what's like, why you're being told some of the things you're being told, why you're being pushed. And then when you step into the different pair of pants, I think you understand. You're like, oh, like, man, well, I could wish I could go do that again, you know?
[00:12:47] Speaker A: How long did it take you to figure that piece out when you got into coaching?
[00:12:51] Speaker B: I mean, Right away? Yeah, right away. I mean, I was.
I had just graduated, 22 years old, and you. You know, you go to the rival Division 2 school 30 minutes down the road, and, you know when you're going out for a mountain visit and you're getting heckled by your old teammates, you know, But I think the first couple weeks, you're, like, trying to get them to understand, and you're like, man, that guy's kind of acting like me, you know, And I. If I could go back, I completely understand, you know, but now I think that I've gotten a little bit further removed from it. I don't see it as much of, like, you know, but, man, early on, I was like, dang, if I could just go do this a little bit more, you know, or that. A little bit better, or maybe not gone home and been like, man, why. Why am I.
Why does that guy not like me? Well, you just didn't. I guess you just. You know, it's about sometimes how you're perceived, you know, instead of what you're feeling. So. No, but it didn't take me very long after that to realize was Jordan Bishop at Northwood.
He came in the year after I left. Yep.
[00:13:55] Speaker A: Yeah, he's done a good job.
[00:13:57] Speaker B: Yeah, he's. He's been great.
[00:13:58] Speaker A: Good example of just staying to what you believe as a coach and not varying from it.
[00:14:03] Speaker B: No, I agree. When I. So my first year at Saginaw Valley, he. It was his first year at Northwood, and so we battled out with them.
You know, I always felt like we played him tough.
You know, obviously there was. We had a kind of a rivalry going there with Northwood and Saginaw Valley, but, I mean, he's just won everywhere he's been, and, you know, like, me and him always had a good relationship, and, you know, I think he just kind of let the dugout have fun and do their thing. And I think in the moment when you're playing against them, you're kind of like, man, like, are we crossing the line there? And then, you know, you see him down the road and, you know, you kind of.
That's probably the way it needs to be done. You know, if you're going to be like that, be like that all the.
[00:14:49] Speaker A: Time, you know, directed to their own team like that. No, and I don't ever have an issue with anything like that. And sportsmanship's going to be a big talking point here at the convention.
I think as long as you direct it to your own team, you're good. Like, the rest of it's fine. Just direct it to your own dugout.
[00:15:07] Speaker B: Yeah, like, we're telling our guys, like, if you're going to be up there, like, you better be there for nine. You know, don't. If you're going to be down here and you don't want to say anything, then you need to be like that for nine innings. Don't come in and out. And I think they're a good example of down 5 or up 4. Like, they're the same way.
And I think that's gotten them back into a lot of games. You know, when they were at CMU or when he was at Cincinnati last year, that got him into a lot of games. And, you know, they don't give up. And the dugout, you know, you know how it is. You're at home and you're losing, and all of a sudden you get a big hit, and not only does your fans get into it, but the dugouts going. And, I mean, they can. It can spark something real quick.
[00:15:45] Speaker A: You know, what do you feel like sets winning programs apart?
[00:15:52] Speaker B: You know, obviously, you got to have the right people, and you got to get the right people in.
But I would just say, you know, it's not always about the best players. I think it's about, you know, who becomes a team the quickest. You know, we're dealing with that right now. You know, we got 27 new guys in here, and we're telling them, like, you know, every day, Brad's like, hey, you know, we got a. We're a roster right now, but how quick can we become a team? And the ones that want to fight for each other and care about each other and, you know, play for. Play for each other and not just yourselves, because, you know, we. Baseball is individualized. You know, individual success can help a team. But, you know, are you willing to, you know, wear the pitch inside? Are you willing to bunt guy over? Are you willing to hit behind a runner at second? You know, those are the small things that I think we talk about that. That really matter. And, you know, you know how baseball is. It's going to come down to one or two things. At the end and who can do them the best and.
Or when you're up two and you got bases loaded, two outs, like, can you put them away? You know, And I think that was what set us apart at least last year, was just, you know, we didn't play a lot of close games on paper, but there doesn't, you know, we played plenty of close games throughout the game, fifth or sixth inning, and you got to put somebody away. And we did that. And you see, you know, you watch on TV and teams aren't doing that and you let somebody back in the game and the momentum changes. And like, I just think that we never let that momentum shift last year.
But, you know, just doing the small things, like, you watched, you know, LSU last year, like, they do all the small things really, really good. And it's hard to beat when you get to Omaha. And, you know, they don't. You don't make any mistakes. Like, how are you going to beat a team that doesn't make any mistakes? You know, you got to beat them, you know, and it's going to be tough to beat a team that's, you know, just as talented as you if they don't ever make any mistakes.
[00:17:42] Speaker A: How do you develop that to just keep the gas pedal down? It's really hard to develop, you know. How do you develop that?
[00:17:49] Speaker B: Yeah, it's tough.
I would just say, you know, we're on them all the time about, you know, like, we got the momentum or, hey, you know, we got to get back in the dugout. And it's easy for us last year because we had three All American starting pitchers, you know, but we play so fast. I think our plan going in and a lot of teams tried to slow it down with how fast we were playing and our tempo and style play.
But our goal, we want to be in the dugout, not in the field, you know, and it's like the old adage of the football, like, you want your offense on the field and your defense on the sideline. And that was our. That was what we kind of went with. And I'll tell you, like, when that pitcher in the other dugout feels like he was only in there for two minutes, like he's walking back out and saying, again, like, already, you know, and like, when that happens, you have them and like, we. We're not stalling in the box. We get in the box, we're fast. We're waiting on the pitcher. Our pitchers are waiting on their hitters. Umpires are going to slow us down, you know, And I think the pitch clock has only helped us, you know, because it forces them in a little bit quicker. And, you know, I think it just goes back to, like, there's things that you practice and other teams practice and try to prepare for us, but when you throw in to, like, them thinking now about what the clock says right there instead of, like, what pitch is coming, I mean, we already.
We won, you know, and, like, when we were at the World Series, first time that you had visual pitch clocks, because, you know, they're going in this year for any I. But, you know, first time that we had them visually, and there was one, like, on both sides of where the hitter could see, and you could see the hitter just staring at that thing till it got to about 10 seconds. And I'm just like, what? Like, that doesn't make any sense. Like, you don't even. Like, you're not even. You don't remember what pitch just happened. You don't even know. Like, you know, you're thinking about the wrong things. And, like, that's when we're in the dugout, like, what pitch you want to call. Well, it doesn't matter, you know, it doesn't matter. Like, throw, strike, you know, and that was our biggest thing is just, you got to try to remove some pressure from you and put it on them. And if you can keep applying and applying and applying, pretty soon, you know, it's going to happen. And, you know, it's baseball.
Not every time it happens. We had a line drive, right, the shortstop. Like, it's baseball, you know, like, we just try to tell our guys, you know, like, hey, you're gonna. You're gonna dump one in. You know, you're gonna dump one in. Like, it's gonna even itself out. And.
But I think for us, if you look at our hitting stats and, like, we just. It kind of spread throughout the lineup, and if someone didn't have a good day, it was just, hey, like, your time's coming. And just trying to keep them and instilled in that and believe in it. And it's hard, though, to talk to, you know, practice it, because how do you simulate that? You know? But for us, you know, just staying on them in the dugout about, it's. We gotta go, like, we gotta go like, you know, and when you're 40 0, you know, it's not hard at that point to be like, gentlemen, like, today's not the day. You know, like, today ain't gonna be, you know, but when. When it's early in the season, then, you know, nobody's focused on that.
You know, I think you just got to kind of let them. Let them be, you know, and so we just thought we practice them hard and we're on them at practice, and you just let them play during the game, you know, like, you just gotta trust what you're talking about all week, you know.
[00:21:12] Speaker A: Have you adjusted to the culture in Louisiana?
[00:21:17] Speaker B: Oh, it's different.
It's different.
It was 80 degrees last year on Christmas Eve, and my wife was not happy.
Not happy. Well, you know, I'm from Michigan, so it's whole. Whole different world.
But I would say it's.
It's kind of similar to Missouri. Honestly, the only thing that's different from where I was in here is, you know, I went from a town of 2,000 people to a town of 200,000, you know, which is a lot easier to get to the grocery store, you know, in this town than it was. Was there. But I'm a big Cajun food guy anyway, so I think it kind of fits right up my alley of where we're at.
But, yeah, I mean, I've been here a year and a half now, so we're still kind of getting used to it. But, I mean, there's definitely a lot more going on, which is. My wife appreciates that.
[00:22:18] Speaker A: So do you have other tips for developing relationships with this generation of players?
[00:22:28] Speaker B: You just got to be personable, I think. And for me, that's easy. I think for some, they're. They're trying to learn that. But I think it's, you know, get comfortable being on the phone and talking to. Talking to kids, because at the end of the day, like, what you're selling is great, but they just want a relationship, you know, when they get here. And, you know, like, you know, we're recruiting kids that aren't necessarily from Louisiana. We can be bringing in a kid, you know, from Venezuela or from California. And when they get here, they might not be, you know, what it looked like in the pictures, you know, because trying to get a visit in, especially with how late everything's happening now, you know, the kids committing in the middle of their junior college season and. Or in the summer when they're in the portal, and it's like, hey, man, Shreveport. Downtown Shreveport looks nice, but we're not in downtown Shreveport, you know, and so they get here, like, they got to have somebody to fall back to and, you know, and have a relationship and, you know, something back home is happening. Like, you got to know, you know, their parents, names, you know, what's happened to someone's, you know, grandma or grandpa years ago, or you got to have something that you can fall back on and keep them here and keep them comfortable. Because nowadays it's just too easy to leave, you know. And so how do you keep, you know, everyone here? And I think Brad's great at that, too. I mean, we sat. My first year was last year, and, you know, I wasn't responsible for bringing any of those kids. And I got here late July and, you know, we had a lot of returners and we sat exit meetings last year. And I'm like, man, you know, these kids, there's no way that this kid thinks he's going to play. And I'm like, we're going to lose four or five kids that break. They're going to want to go play. And we lost nobody. And the meetings are done. And I'm like, brad, like, what's that about? And it's just like, they love being here. They love the school. I mean, we're nai school with 10,000 students at it, you know, like, there's a lot more going on here than athletics, you know, and a lot of other nais. It's not the case. You know, they got JV varsity. It funds the whole school. And, you know, and I think that's what kind of makes us special. And you saw, like, last year, we had kids flying down and driving down to Lewiston that weren't dressed. And, you know, if you want look at all of our pictures of the dog plow on the field, like those guys got on the field, you know, and people are trying to keep them off, but like, coach, like, I wasn't, you know, I came out from the stands with two outs. Like I'm getting out there, you know, and it's just a special, special place. And, you know, we have 44 guys here this fall. And it wouldn't surprise me again if, you know, they're all going to want to stay. I just. It's special. It's hard to explain if you've never been to Shreveport, you know, it's. It's hard to explain.
[00:25:03] Speaker A: Centenary. That's the last time I've been there. Oh, yeah, Long time ago.
So where'd you start then, this fall? You got a bunch of new arms or, you know, maybe returning guys. Maybe didn't pitch as much because you had three All Americans. So where'd you start with your pitchers this fall?
[00:25:19] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, first, I think the running joke with a lot of them at Lewiston last Year that weren't dressed, that were pitchers was like, coach, I could pitch for them, you know, or like, they're watching the game in the stands and like, coach, like, coach, I'm on the wrong team, I think Coach. And I'm like, hey, your time will come. And, you know, we. We brought, you know, I would say from the pitching side, like, we had a lot coming back, but, you know, obviously you lose the three All Americans, but, you know, and some pieces in the bullpen, but, you know, it just gives a couple guys a chance that maybe we're throwing out of the pen last year or didn't get many innings, you know, because those starters for us, they ate a lot of innings. And when in our conference is playing three. Three games on the weekend and a midweek.
In our midweek, we were just kind of full staff in those games, an inning or two here, and, you know, some of them got a chance to pitch. But, you know, we lost Brock Lucas week before the season last year, and he came back middle of the year. He started the national championship game. And I think if you ask him, you would have wanted a little bit better showing, but he already thrown two times in the World Series, and, you know, he gave us all he had last year, but he's going to get a chance to come in and do some things. He brought some pieces in who we think are talented, but again, it's, you know, we want to go fast, we want to do some things, and, you know, we're doing things a little bit different.
So just from that standpoint, I think we're to a point now, you know, we start a little later. It's 100 degrees, you know, in August, so it's like, you want to put them through that, or do you want to save it for the end and go three weeks into November? So, you know, we're. We're getting built up here on some innings. But I mean, we're talented. Like, we're. We're very talented. We have a lot of pitchers, which isn't always great, but, you know, when we're battling, competing, and, you know, we always tell them, this is back at my time at Central Methodism, you know, we pitch great there, too. It's just guys, you're not competing against each other.
You know, like, if you're in the dugout or you're charting and you're hoping that this guy doesn't pitch good so you can pitch, like, that's not how. How we're going to do it here. You know, like, that guy out there. He represents our staff and what we're doing and, you know, the things that we believe in and, you know, like, we got to be behind each other. And if, you know, I catch one of you guys not being behind each other, like, that's not going to be a good deal because, you know, we're. Everybody's going to get a chance, you know, and I think we're going to give some more chances this year. You know, we had three guys start the season at the end of the rotation, and they stayed the whole way. You know, how many times that happened, you know, and so we're just telling them, like, you know, a lot of new guys, a lot of returners, just blend in, get along with each other, do things the right way, you know, like, and if you can do those things, if you can pitch with tempo and you can mix it up and throw strikes and, you know, control the running game, like, we're going to be there at the end again, and we're going to have a chance, you know, and that's all that matters. But, you know, how hard it is getting, you know, 27 new guys, you know, going in the right direction.
[00:28:13] Speaker A: Use a stopwatch on those guys to get them going, because sometimes the tempo is probably not what they're used to.
Yeah, well, when you get them to adjust to the tempo, besides just kind of forcing on them.
[00:28:23] Speaker B: Yeah, we. We got. We got our pitch clocks installed a couple weeks ago, so that helps now. But, yeah, in the bullpen, I mean, we're just. You're just constantly behind them, like, tempo, tempo. Let's go. Let's go. You know, and if they can, you know, and that gets them really, you know, speeding up, but the game's going to speed up on them sometimes, you know, and so putting them in a situation in practice during the bullpen, that's going to kind of simulate that. And, you know, like, we're just trying to make it tougher, you know, than what it's going to be on the mountain, the game. And.
And with how quick we're throwing the ball around and getting a sign in, like, there's no choice but to speed them up, you know, but, you know, for me and Brad, the first couple weeks of inner squads were biting the tongue, like, hey, they're going to work faster. And, you know, I think the perfect example always is, is just seeing somebody go out there that's a returner and does it, you know, and having them and just saying, like, hey, like, that's how it's supposed to Be done.
And it's not hard because all you gotta do is turn the film on with them, a blast your staff and say, you see how he's throwing at 14 seconds left? You know, like, when that hitter turns his head, like, we're going, you know, like. And. But it's got. You gotta train to be like that, you know, not every pitcher can. Can throw bullets like that, that quick. And so we're training that a little bit in the bullpen of getting them on the mountain, get him going.
The stopwatch is up sometimes, but a lot of it's just, you know, like, we're putting the new guy or the old guys up there first, and they're going to watch and then we're going to kind of go from there.
[00:29:51] Speaker A: How are you handling their innings then the fall? Like, how for an outing, for a guy, how do you split those up? When you get into intersquad.
[00:30:00] Speaker B: Right now, the most anyone's thrown is two.
This week, we're. We're kind of building it up a little bit. There's going to be a couple guys that go through. We got a couple guys throwing today that are going to bounce back and throw either Saturday or Sunday. Again, one ending today wanting just trying to get them similar to the season, but also not. You're not doing anything crazy because we're not. You don't want to lose anybody in the fall, but you just got to see if they can do it, you know, and so I think we'll probably go. Go no more than three. And obviously a lot of it's just on the pitches anyway. You know, we really don't want to get, you know, anybody up over 50 right now. But it all depends, you know, it's different nowadays. In the summer, some kids play and pitch, you know, 12 games. Some kids don't play at all. So you get these guys in here in August and you're like, you gotta try to figure out where everybody's at. You know, not everybody's in the same stage and so. But it's our job to get them kind of built back in and understand where they're at and what they need.
You know, I think this year we had a team that didn't throw a lot of summer ball. So the build. We had to kind of build them up a little bit more than we had in the past.
Whereas, like, last year, like, we had Isaac Brody, who had just thrown 100 innings his junior year, and then he went through a full summer, and you get him back here and you're like, hey, buddy, you're done till, you know, middle October. And so just understanding their arms and, you know, like, we have a, we have an arm scale rating that we use one through five, how they feel every day. And, you know, they just got to be honest with it, you know, like, I'm not going to be mad if you're at a 1, like, but we're just going to have to take steps to, you know, getting, getting you back into a five. And, you know, our athletic trainer is Megan Neffendorf, you know, Brad's wife. And I mean, she's been to a lot of places. She was at Division 1 with baseball. I mean, she's been really good for the arms. I mean, she, you know, like, I tell them, like, are you. Well, you go into the training room. Well, well, no, I said you need to be there every day.
Like, you, you had a shoulder injury two years ago. Like, why are you not there every day? You know, like. And so just getting him into a better routine, you know. And, you know, you get all these new guys here. You got to break some habits, you know. And I think at this point, you know, six and a half weeks in for us, you know, we built some, we, we broke some bad habits and now it's just, you know, let's keep continuing to get better. And then once you get in the spring, we always tell them falls harder. Like, we're going to push you to a point where you're going to get to the game and you're going to be like, oh, boy. Like, it feels way slow, you know, it feels way too slow right now, but it's not slow, you know, and so that's our goal.
[00:32:39] Speaker A: So those guys, because you are going later. So what's kind of the off season look like to get bought, build up? Like, how do you have them completely shut down if you're going later and you're more competitive? Are you kind of a slow burn before the season starts back up for practice?
[00:32:55] Speaker B: I think last year we were more slow burn because we had a lot of guys played in the summer. Whereas this year, you know, I mean, we had guys showed up in August that had only been playing catch for like a week or two, you know. And so this year I think we, you know, Brad and I talked about it the other day. You know, I think once the fall's done, I mean, we're gonna still have a. Have them go out there, you know, individually and throw and do some things and try to not take a break at all. You know, somebody needs A week or two, that's fine. But we're gonna try to run this all the way to the season because, you know, we haven't, you know, we haven't stressed them, you know, enough to. For them to need something like that. But, you know, we'll go. We'll go kind of more individualized on that part, but this year, like, we'll just try to build them up. And then you never, you know, you send kids home for Christmas break in the nai, and you start the last week of January, it's like, you know, I always say to people, like, the fall is the fall.
You can have a picture that through great all fall. He goes home, he doesn't throw at all. He comes back, the Velo's down six miles an hour. That guy can't throw, you know, Whereas you have a guy that comes back that didn't throw great in the final ball, but he worked hard because you told him he may not pitch. And, you know, he comes back and he's throwing strikes, and you're like, oh, my gosh, this guy can help us, you know, so we always leave a spot for a surprise, but then, you know, you always are going to have that one guy that you counted on that didn't come back and do things right. And, you know, you leave. They leave for three weeks during Christmas break. You got to be able to trust that they're going to do things right. Not everybody does, but that's the hardest part. You know, you get back here and it's like, all right, gentlemen, like, here we go. Like, let's see who did what, you.
[00:34:35] Speaker A: Know, what's that look like in season, then, with their bullpens? You have. You have many guys that throw two bullpens in between the week, or is it standard one bullpen?
[00:34:44] Speaker B: You think a lot of our bullpen arms will throw twice during the week?
We try to get back to the mound as fast as possible.
So, you know, if we had a guy throw Saturday, two innings, and we don't play till Friday, Saturday, again, like, we're going to try to get that guy on the mound, like Tuesday, and then maybe he goes a little lighter on Thursday, day before, or if he comes in on Monday and he wants to just touch it, you know, because we're big on.
And the catch play guys are out there ripping balls, coming back in. Well, we just saved that. We go on the mound, you know, get a. Get a catcher in there, and we throw five, six, seven, whatever they need on, you know, on the slope, because you Know, and that I'd say that's something that my youngest brother just talked to. Like, we're the only, like, think about this. Like, can you imagine a three point shooter during the week not shooting threes?
Like, are we the only sport that's like, well, we don't want pitchers to get on the mountain? Like, you know, like, I just. And it's just unbelievable, you know, like, well, what do you mean? Like, could basketball players, they don't shoot free throws during the week, you know, and I get the arms a little different. But for our guys, if they're four or five on the arm scale, like, why are we not throwing today?
You know, and so I agree.
[00:36:01] Speaker A: I think that's why we have command issues because guys aren't off even if the catcher short.
[00:36:06] Speaker B: Right? And a couple of our guys were like, a couple guys this summer were like, coach, like, you got to like, give me something. And I was like, here. I said, listen, I said, get them on the mound. Like, get him on the mound. And we have some new guys this year that were kind of like, coach, I'm like, just, just trust me. Like I said, what's the difference between when you're coming in from long toss and you are at 60ft and you're throwing what looks like 100 miles an hour to a pitcher who can't catch it versus going on there, just throw six fastballs at 50ft. Yes. Like I just told people, I'm like, get them on the mound. Like, get them on the mound. Like, we have our progression in there for normal bullpens, you know, that we, that we do. But like, get on the mountain. If you, if you, if you can't throw a change up for a strike the other day, like, get them, put them all the way back to 65ft and get a feel for that change up or that splitter and work on those things like you're back on the mount on Thursday.
Like, get them going, you know, like what we play today.
Inner squad. And we had some guys that are throwing today that threw like six fastballs at 50ft yesterday. Just, you know, whatever makes them feel good about coming in, you know, and doing that. And so a lot of that's just got to be communicated. And obviously the hardest part is getting catchers during the day that can go sit back there and do those things. And like, our catchers class schedules right now are brutal this fall and so we're trying to work through those, but it's just, that's just the way that, that we've done it here and well before, well before I got here.
But I think, you know, Brad's always been like that. And when I got here and I was like, brad, we gotta get him on the mound. Like, why are we not in the mound? He's like, we gotta be on the mound. And so having two pitching guys that are like, we gotta have them on the mound, like, you know, like they're gonna, they have no choice, you know, and like, you know, obviously if they're like, coach, I'm a two, like rather have you, you know, get a good stretching, go see the trainer and maybe go. We go light toss. But like, even those guys, they want to get on the mound, you know. But it helps during the season when you're at the World Series, you're in opening round and your two days rest and everybody's like, how's, how's Isaac rody throwing on one day's rest, another 80 pitches and doesn't want to come out. Well, it's because he's been forced to the mound so often, you know, like, he would always, he was always the one that was coming up middle of this. Like we're in the middle of the season, conference weekend, and we got Kobe Reeves, the second team all American, going in game three. And this guy's coming over saying, coach, I'm ready, like, hey, you know, if he. I'm ready to go. And I'm like, go put a jacket on and like sit down, dude. You know, like, so that was, it's funny, but that's just how we were last year and that's, I think, why we had a lot of success. And it's, it's helped this year, you know, not like junior college. Some division ones, they don't get these kids on the mound. So like just trying to get them to learn and to do things kind of the way that we want. And it may not be the right way, you know, but, you know, if they buy.
Yeah, but if they, if they, if they just come in to buy into something and get into a routine because a lot of them haven't had one, you know, like, we feel like it's going to help them.
[00:39:14] Speaker A: What is a normal bullpen progression then for you? If you have a standard bullpen day, what's the normal progress progression for the pitchers?
[00:39:20] Speaker B: Yeah, we start at 50ft. Catch her down right away if you throw.
[00:39:24] Speaker A: Thank you.
Thank you. Catch her down right away. If they're off the mound, the catcher's down. Thank you.
[00:39:29] Speaker B: We throw. If you throw 90 miles an hour, first pitch to be 90 miles an hour, 50ft. Catchers hate that.
First pitches. And we always have a gun in there. And it's not always for the fastball as much as it's for the off speed.
Because as, you know, like.
Yeah, and you can develop really bad habits with the, with the off speed. If you, you know, I always say, like, hey, listen, if we're, you know, if we're throwing the fastball today at 80, I'm like, please, just throw the, Throw the fat. Throw the off speed at 100, because the fastball, you're always gonna have better feel, you know, am I behind it? You know, am I trying to sink it? You know, the off speed. Like, you know, you see all the time, like, you get guys out there that can't, that can't flip it, and you're like, why can't they flip it? And I'm just like, go show me the video of the last bullpen. I can tell you why they can't flip it, you know, and so we're 50ft, fast balls, and they're down the middle. Like, if, if it's in or out at 50, it's going to hit the lefty or the righty hitters. So we're down the middle, and then we're, you know, once they're, once they establish, you know, strikes, like, there's some guys that pop it 90 mile an hour wearing the catcher's glove for four, they're moving back to 55, and we're going to spin in that 55 breaking ball slider. They can throw some fastballs there as well.
Some, some of our guys, depending on how they're throwing the change up, they can throw the change up there if they want.
But then we go straight from 55 to 65, and that's change up and splitter and two seam or sinker, and we're just trying to be down there, you know, and so if it's bouncing off the plate or the catcher's got to kind of scoop it up, we know at 60, it's going to play really, really well.
Again, we're staying down the middle, and then we come to 60, and they can kind of do whatever they want at 60, but at this point, I mean, they've already thrown, you know, 15 or 16 pitches. So sometimes the dummy, the hitting dummies in at 50, and it travels with them. Sometime it just, sometimes they just bring it in at 60. It kind of depends on how they've been throwing. You know, like, if we have some Guys that. That did have some command issues like that. Hitting dummies at 50 right away, hit her down right away, and then we're going to kind of move it back with them.
Rhodey roadie used to throw with a lefty dummy and a righty dummy in the batter box at the same time. And he used to just. He used to just pipe them in there. And, you know, Ziegler, he. He. He didn't like that.
He didn't like that. So we just kind of did his. He. His issue was sometimes he could. He struggled with the lefty. So we like to get the lefty in there with him.
You know, for whatever reason, roadie lefties had better numbers, better metrics against them. And then we're just like, buddy, like, you gotta move like he was so far on the side of the mound, like his heel was on the rubber. And I'm like, your change ups your best pitch, like you're starting that inside on him. They're not ever seeing it as a strike. So he was kind of bouncing around the pace based on the hitter, but just small things, things that people wouldn't even think about that matter. And maybe. Maybe it wasn't the smartest thing or it goes against the book. But for us, I don't know why.
[00:42:38] Speaker A: More hitters and pitchers don't move more.
[00:42:42] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, we've had to move a lot of guys to the middle. You know, back a long time ago, everybody was in the middle. And then for whatever reason, they moved the righty over, the lefty over.
But the first thing that my brother did when he got moved up to the Braves was, you're going to the middle. You got pitches that move this way, you got pitches that move this way. Like, let them play and let them tunnel. And we moved a couple guys a couple weeks ago to the middle that just kind of had stuff that plays both ways. And they're like, oh, coach, coach, like I said, it's just. You don't even think about it, you know, but it's like, it's perception of the hitter and, like, I don't care what you've done for five, six years. Like, we. If we gotta be better, like, if you want the hitter to have a tougher time with you, like, that's what it's gonna take. Like, why are they not swinging at my slider, Coach? Because you're starting on this far the side of the mound and starting on the outside black and running off. They never see it as a strike. Yep. Like, they're never Gonna swing at that. Like, if it's not a strike that, you know, 80% of the way, it's. It's tape, you know, And a lot of people, they don't, you know, they're hearing this for the first time, but that's what we're here for. And, you know, I think it's a great destination for guys that want to come and pitch. When you have the head coach and the pitching guy that are, you know, I mean, they're both backgrounds of pitching.
[00:44:02] Speaker A: Like, gets their eyes in the zone more, too.
[00:44:05] Speaker B: Yeah, 100%.
[00:44:06] Speaker A: I think a lot of it with command for pitchers sometimes is just their eyes. Their eyes aren't in a great position position, or they can't see their location.
You know, you can talk all you want, but I think the glove side guys have a lot less of the plate to work with. And guys that are on the arm side of the rubber, I agree. You know, for me, you got a lot more of the plate to work with. And their eyes can get to the inside on the opposite side batter a little bit easier because they can see it better. Like, I just think. I think the bullpen's a great, great time to just tinker with stuff and just feel. Figure it out.
[00:44:37] Speaker B: No. 100. And we're, you know, like, we talk about arm slot in there a lot. Like, hey, throwing like this and, you know, just to see. Because, you know, you got guys that get. Get a little bit stuck up in here, you know, so we're just, hey, try to throw sidearm, and they throw one. You're like, how'd that feel? Like it wasn't sidearm, you know, but just getting the thought of, like, being a little bit lower, you know, and our biggest thing is. And I. And somebody asked me the other day, and they're like, you know, if you're getting players and you think that, like, that guy's good enough, just good enough right then, and your plan isn't to get him any better, like, it's not gonna work, you know, like, here it's just like, yes, like, we're recruiting some of the best guys that can go any higher, that maybe don't get a chance, that maybe we're at Division 1 academics, whatever it is, and it's like, we got a chance to get the best guys, but when they get here, it's like, all we're thinking about is, man, that guy can be so much better. Like, can you imagine if we get a splitter in that guy's hands? Like, what that, you know, and, you know, for us, it's just development. And it's in season, like, you got to get like, you know, we had the pitcher of the year, and there was times during the week where he had to work really hard because teams were battling with them. And we're like, Isaac, like, watch this. And he was very good. Like, he was very, very good. And a guy that never gave up any runs. He didn't have to listen, you know, But I'll tell you, like, if anybody wants to say, like, what's so special about Isaac Brody, like, the dude, listen. And he always wanted to get better, and it didn't matter if you went seven innings, 13 strikeouts, and only gave up two hits. Like, we got. We. We tried to get better, you know, and that was with everybody on the staff last year. And then you start to see some guys, if you look that maybe didn't pitch for the first 20 games of our season that started really throwing big innings for us late. Like, it's because they got better, you know? And, like, if you, like, for us, it's, prove it in the bullpen and then prove it in an inner squad, and then we'll trust you to go do. A lot of guys are like, well, coach, just why am I not pitching? Like.
Like, the bullpen's. The bullpen's not good, you know, Like, I'm not, you know, if you can't throw a good. Good in the bullpen, like, there's no way you can throw good, you know? And I'm not talking about, like, pregame, where some of the guys. Where Kobe Reeves throws the worst pregame bullpen of his life against Louisiana Christian and then throws a no hitter. Like, I'm not talking about. We joked about that all after the game because I get in the dugout and Brad's like, how do you look?
And I said, he looked. He looked okay. But in my mind, I'm like, man, he was horrible in the bullfriend. And like, Kobe was. He'll laugh when he sees us. He'll die laughing because he knows exactly what I'm talking about.
And it happens a lot. And then after the game, I'm like, hey, Brad, like, didn't want to tell you, like, before the game, but I think he threw like, two strikes in the bullpen, you know, and you're like, settling them down as he's ripping an energy drink still. And I'm like, kobe, like, you need the opposite of that right now. And he goes out there and shoves it. But that's how it happens sometimes, you know, So I just tried to be that buffer, you know. How do you look? He didn't look good down there.
He might have saw two bad pitches because he looked pretty decent, you know.
[00:47:53] Speaker A: So you meant to split fingers. When, when are you kind of adding or changing the arsenal a little bit for guys?
[00:48:04] Speaker B: Right away. I mean, right away, you know, you. And it's not even that they had to throw it.
It's just you. You put it in their hand and see how it feels.
You know, it's a pitch that's taken over right now. I will tell you when we have good success against our hitters. I think this offense that we have is. It could on paper probably better than what we had last year.
When we have success this fall, it's because we're throwing the change up in the splitter, right on right. And you know how hard it's the hardest pitch to hit in baseball. Left on lap.
You know, I think a lot of them are trying to develop this kick change nowadays. Like, we don't like that here in this program. It just, it gets pushy, you know, and, and so guys that come in that don't have that, we're like, here, try to splitter and then we can kind of work back off of it, you know, like, hey, do you need to have a couple more fingers on it? You know, maybe think change up and throw it, you know, but there's a couple guys that throw it now that are like, they don't even remember, like, they don't even think they remember a time where they didn't have it, you know, so we got a good mix. I'd say we're about 50, 50 on who throws the sport or who throws a change up.
But it's like any pitch, like, or we're just trying to constantly tell them, like, don't try to make it move, you know, like, you see all these pitches where they're moving so much and sliders are moving so much, and I'm like, man, like a 74 mile an hour slider when you're throwing 90, that moves this much. Like, that's not going to work. Like, let's get a little tighter. Let's. Let's let it get 880.
It's a harder pitch to hit. Hitters don't want to see that, you know, and so a lot of it's just cleaning, cleaning that's that small stuff up.
But guys that buy in quicker and the guys that have done it like, like that have been, have seen so Much success on it. But, you know, like, it goes back to, like, if you can't control the fastball and you can't throw fastballs for strikes and you can't get people out with just your fastball, like, it's going to be hard. You can't just go in there and throw 90% off speed. Like, if the hitters are good, like, they want that, you know, I'll. It's a good, good thing for us. Like, last year, our pitchers got to see it firsthand. Like, people thought that if you throw us off speed when we were hitting, like, late in the count, like, we. They were going to get us. Like, we. There was a point in the season last year where all we could hit was off speed. Like, because we had saw it so much, you know, you see it so much, and we just hammered it. And there would be games where fastball blown by us. Fastball fouled off late, breaking ball, good pitch hammered the left center. Like, man, that was down. Like. Yeah, but, you know, like, if you.
In our conference, we saw it for like three weeks in a row, you know, now you finally got a guy that throws up her 80s. That's like. Well, we're like, oh, guys, like all week we're like juicing the machines up, you know, we're juicing the machines up and like, guys, we got to get back on it. We haven't seen that in a while. And then, you know, like, just feed us a pitch that we can hit, you know? And so our pitchers were just, you know, because they like to go off speed. Everybody wants their off speed late. Put them away. But like, I'm like, guys, are you. What? Like, just watch. Like, what do you. It's. You can come in with the plan, but you got to be. You got to watch the hitter. Like, I'm like, you know, the plan is good. The scout report is great, but when the guy falls too off way late, like, you gotta maybe change the plan. A guy can't hit off speed to. Maybe we go up, you know, up and out or up and in here with the fastball and read swings.
Yeah, I mean, that's, you know, too many people. I talked the other day with Nate. Actually, it was funny because I told him, I said, nate, I said, when are people going to get back to watching the hitter read the sling?
You can think that, like, big league.
[00:51:55] Speaker A: Guys aren't getting good enough to make adjustments pitch to pitch.
Some are the elites, but I mean, come on. Like, maybe in that bad adjustment, but they're not Good enough to make, make them prove it.
Make the hit or prove it.
[00:52:11] Speaker B: I agree. Same with hitting. Like, you can go in and tell the hitter, you know, tell your hitters like, hey, this guy's 90% fastball clothes are coming in. But maybe that day the coach is just spamming the slider. Like I shouldn't have to tell you on deck that the guy before you got four sliders. And I think that's why we were so good last year was we didn't need to tell them that much. Like there's been years where, you know, here and where I used to be, where you give them all the reports. Here's what it is. Whereas last year we just said, hey, less is more. Tell them the velocity, tell them that they throw, you know, if they have a change up other than that, leave them alone with the breaking ball because they know everybody throws one. Let them figure out the spin on their own. While we were just kind of throwing the machines on what that picture looked like without saying, hey, this is the pitcher that's going to throw on Sunday. But we had a lot of guys coming in, hey, coach, remember on Thursday that, that slider machine, that's the same slider as this guy? Yeah, we, that was like that for a reason, but it was just interesting.
Like some teams you got to give a lot, some teams you don't. So I think just being able to, to be, you know, flexible and understand that it's about them, you know, like it's about them.
[00:53:21] Speaker A: Does it make it easier to play defense when your whips 98.
[00:53:27] Speaker B: They made a lot of plays for us.
Hey, they made a lot.
[00:53:30] Speaker A: I think it's harder sometimes on defense though, like when, because, because you really have to stay dialed in because you may not get a ball for, for an inning or two. So, like, you really have to stay dialed in defensively.
[00:53:41] Speaker B: Yeah, I think our shortstop was the best shortstop in the country. And it makes it easy when you got a high motor guy out there setting the tone and the example and you know how it rubs off, you know, and so that's been the biggest thing. You know, we're trying to replace him, you know, and he's, he's here helping us coach. He's trying to graduate and you know, we're helping him out there, but having him back and he's, he's all over those guys and, you know, Brad's kind of taken over the infield and he loves doing infield defense. I mean, someone's got to film that and send it in One day for a documentary. Because that's. That'll be everybody. That's, that's. That's. That's comedy. But getting them to understand. But I'll tell you, like, we. We had a lot of our success last year because of how good we were defensively. And it's not about making the special place. It's about the routine plays. And, you know, it's as simple as this run around first base, ball to the outfield, gotta move to his left four steps, like that ball's got to go to second, you know, like, you got it. And we did that all last year. And once, you know, every time you do something right in the outfield, grounded short, you know, six, four, three. And we're in the dugout, whereas a lot of teams and a lot of outfielders, they want to throw that guy out, but you got to split them. You got to keep a double play in order. And again, it goes back to the beginning of, like, doing the small stuff. Like, we're talking about that every day, you know, like when. When you throw to the front bag and when you throw to the back bag, and the more chances that we could have to get ground balls because, you know, like, I would say, like, we induce a large amount of ground balls and, you know, and we may not have the best arms in the outfield, but it's just throwing it to the right base, doing the right thing. But that's got to be communicated on the backside. Starts with the catcher, you know, like, loudest voice, most important position. And a lot of our success last year was about how good our catching was, how good the communication was.
And, you know, when you're. Yet when you're trying to get someone's attention in the field to take three steps over or get in the gap or, you know, we're playing here and they're on you right away, it's easy to make those adjustments. Like, we're not having to yell six times out there. You know, like, pitches throw eyes are back in the dugout where we need to be adjust really quick. And again, it just goes back to some things that you don't think about. But that helped us. You know, everything mattered last year, going 59 and 0. Like everything mattered. You know, people are like, how'd you do it? Well, everything was important, you know, like, everything that they did mattered to them. And if we're not eyes on one time, we're trying to move them to the line or we're trying to play no doubles and a guy hits Both like, we're 58 and 1, you know, and, and we believe that, you know, we're trying to tell this team is like, we could send the same 40 guys out again this year that we had last year. We won't go undefeated. It won't happen again. I said so. The goal is not to lose any games. Let's just do things right, react and battle adversity, and that's in game and, you know, during the week. And if we can do the things that we can control, well, then we're going to be just fine. You can't control strike three. Looking on a pitch that you thought wasn't a strike or, you know, you're stealing second, you feel like you're safe, Guy takes you on, your ways, he rings. You can't control those things. You know, we don't have challenge and replay here, you know, so, like, how are you going to respond? Are you taking that to left field?
You know, and now you're running into a ball too hard and it gets by you, and a guy hits a triple when it's a single. Like, you know, those things we got to shake and, and do better on. But, I mean, we're getting there. Like, we're getting there, but it's just, can they get the weight of, you know, coming in after a team that went undefeated and, you know, take some of that. It's not, guys, it's done. You know, like, it was great. Like, that's what Brad and I were saying. Like, we love to go into the White House, but it's kind of a relief of like, we put a bow on it, it's over, we can go on to the next thing.
[00:57:34] Speaker A: You guys talk about that up tempo, but, you know, there's got. Again with decision making, you can't run like your hair's on fire. You know, where's that balance where, you know, offensively and on the mound, we're going to work fast, but also we have to make good decisions defensively on the bases so we're not running around like our hair's on fire.
[00:57:52] Speaker B: Yeah. I just think, like, we do, when we do a lot of infield work, we're doing a lot of, like, I would say fast tempo. Like we're doing like 6, 4, 3. And then like it's come back to the pitcher, 1, 2, 3. And it's, you know, 3, 6. Like, we're doing a lot of stuff so fast that when they get in the game and they actually get the prep step and get to a spot and there's only one ball being hit. Like, I think it slows it down for him. And so it may look like chaos when people show up and they're like, holy smokes. Like the ball's flying all over the infield.
But then you get to inner squad and the game's over and everybody's like, coach, that was, that felt slow, coach. But I'm watching the clock and you know, and it doesn't look, it's not slow. And so when you're not scrimmaging for the first four weeks of the fall, I think there's a lot of maybe not hesitation but like, is this gonna work from the new guys?
And then once you get out there on the field for the first, you know, inner squad, I think they come back in. You're like, oh yeah, like coach, it's slower, you know, and that's the goal. Like we want to slow it down. And you know, we do a thing that pitchers hate the most and we do a lot of PFPs and they hate it, you know, like they don't, you know, coach PFPs again. Like, yeah, we're doing, you know, we gotta go, we gotta make throws. And I'll give them the benefit of like, it is always harder when you're in a line of like 15 pitchers and you get one of every 15 throws versus your 60 pitches into the game and you get a ball back to you and you gotta go to like I, I tell him, I said, I know it's hard, but if you can do it now then you can do it then, you know, and so try to put them in game like situations as possible and sometimes harder and more up tempo situations that they're gonna see.
But you never know, like, you know, people get hurt, Guys, you know, get hurt for a week or two during the season, like so making sure guys are moving around, they're comfortable here, there and somewhere else and having, you know, plan A, B, C and D. Because you never know in the season, you know, what that's going to be like.
[00:59:55] Speaker A: Do you have a fail forward moment? You have something you thought was going to set you back but looking back now, it helped you move forward? Could be personally or professionally.
[01:00:08] Speaker B: No, I think my, my wife would tell you that my greatest weakness is my loyalty because I am too loyal sometimes to everything and the people I work for. And I was there for seven years at Central Methodist because of, I was, you know, I felt like I owed something to Nate, gave me a chance to do something.
And in 2021 when we got, you know, runner up in the country. I, I felt like, you know, hey, we gotta, you gotta win something. And then my, you know, I'm actually for it because of her. You know, she was the one that was like, you know, it's time to go do something else, you know, and she worked for the school there too. And, you know, there were some things that kind of happened with her and she just said, you know, we're, we're leaving. Like, you got two weeks to find something.
And I knew Brad, you know, so I called him and I was like, hey, listen, like, why you said we're leaving? Are you really leaving? And I was like, my wife said we're leaving. Nate. Nate knows, he understands. Obviously he's not happy about it, but, you know, you know, we're great friends and I think it took us a while once I left, we're in that weird stage of, you know, life without each other. And now we're great. We talk almost every day. But she's pushed me to, you know, to go. You know, I've never applied for a job. Like, I don't think it's right. I think it's just where you're at, where you need to be at. And, you know, your loyalty. Someday you'll be rewarded. You're gonna get the call, you know, to be a head coach at a great program because of how loyal you are. And you know, and I'm not. There's nothing against the people that bounce around and do things. Like, I have great friends that have bounced around and gotten great chances and opportunities now.
But, man, I think there's something to be said for people that are loyal and want to be somewhere for a long time and you know, and obviously financially, you know, you know, it's the assistant coaching pay at non Power 4 Division 1 isn't the greatest, but, you know, we just live upon, you know, you know, if we're lucky enough and blessed enough down the road to have a chance, like, and it's your chance, like the loyalty, like, you're going to get repaid, you know, it's hard.
[01:02:19] Speaker A: It's hard though, when, when you don't see it get rewarded. I think that's the hard part with that is there's definitely no instant gratification with that.
[01:02:27] Speaker B: Yeah. And I think for like me and her talk, you know, during the season last year and you know, before the season, she's like, it's, you know, like I told you, it's 85 on Christmas Eve. You better win a national championship. And I'm like, listen, like, I'll never.
[01:02:40] Speaker A: Go back to the cold, though.
[01:02:42] Speaker B: Like, no, I can't. I can't say that because my parents are in Michigan. They're going to be mad because, you know, we got a seven month old now and they're like, you got to move back.
And I'm like, what, what am I leaving? You know, why I'm at. Why would I be leaving? But last year, you know, we're.
We go to the opening round undefeated, and I think we just sat down and we said, hey, listen, like, this is all because of everything that we've been through and, you know, how loyal we've been and we did things the right way. And, you know, I try to teach all the gas and the guys that we have here that are helping coach. Like, listen, like, it doesn't matter if you think that the hitting's not being taught right or the pitching's not being taught right, or what the head coach said after the, after the game was what you would have said. It doesn't matter. Like, all that matters is your loyalty that you're going to show to the head coach, to the players. They need to know that you can trust them. The head coaches know that you can trust them. You have to have a relationship with these people. That stuff carries so much weight. That matters so much. And people don't understand that because at the end of the day, when your name's called to run a program, like, you're going to want those people supporting and backing you up. And you never know, one day you know what's going to happen. And, you know, like, we thought, you know, maybe my family's big, like, you know, was bragging to go somewhere else and get an opportunity somewhere else. And, you know, hey, are you leaving? And it's like, that'd be great to go Division 1. Like, that'd be great. But for us right now, like, we're just trying to go win another national championship and do it the right way. And obviously there's so many steps that have to happen, but we believe, like, God put us in this position to be in Shreveport, Louisiana, and impact these kids here. And, you know, and the community here has been great. I mean, we had a thousand people standing up, waiting in the pouring rain for our first game in the regional last year. And our guys are coming out of the dugout during the rain to land. They're like, holy, we don't have enough seating for these people, you know, and. And I'm just trying to, like, just get into the town of, like, you know, they're, hey, we're excited for this season. And I'm like, I hope we have enough stands. You know, like, are we bringing in portable bleachers? I'm telling our AD all the time, hey, what's the. What's the seating look like? Because we fit 100 up there. Like, if people are showing up and talking about going for 60 in a row, like, we're going to want to get more seating, you know.
[01:05:03] Speaker A: So for you, with having a newborn, how has your schedule changed?
[01:05:09] Speaker B: Oh, I mean, it helped with scouting during the season because, you know, she's. You're holding her, you're trying to watch and trying to figure out who's going to do what. Well, I met. She was born a month early in. In March. They're right in the middle.
[01:05:25] Speaker A: Right in the middle of it.
[01:05:27] Speaker B: And her first month of her life was spent in the nicu. So, you know, as soon as the game's over, you're trying to hurry up and get out as fast as possible to get over there. And Brad was great with that.
What are you doing here still? Why are you here?
Like. And so. And he understands. And, you know, obviously, it put a lot of pressure and strain on my wife. She teaches, you know, middle school history, and, you know, I appreciate her, like. And, you know, she was always like, you know, it sucks without you here. And, you know, we're in Hobbs, New Mexico, for a conference game, and she just gets home. You know, she's home for the first weekend, and you got to miss that. But, you know, having her on the field when we. When we go to the World Series, you know, on a program that had been so close two years in a row to going and being a top five and not going, you know, nothing in baseball is worse at any level than being a top five seed. And you don't go, you know, and that's any level. You don't see Division 1 Texas last year, you know, great season, don't go. I mean, I'm sure it's, you know, they're itching to get back out there this year. And, you know, for us, it was just a little bit of relief of, like, we're going back, and, boy, we know what we're bringing with us, you know, because we're packing the pitching and, you know, and we're going to be able to go do it. And, you know, having her on the field with my wife after, it was special because, you know, not sleeping and her being home and having to be on the FaceTime to see her and, you know, knowing how tough it is, you know, my mom was great. She kept flying for Michigan to be here with her when we were gone, and, you know, and then being able to. To win and have the National Championship trophy with us. And now my wife's calling her the national champion baby. She hasn't lost yet, so, you know, all those things, but, you know, we're just, you know, everything happens for a reason, and we knew that, you know, when she came home and said, hey, I'm pregnant.
You know, we're doing the math, and we're like, oh, boy. Like, you know, it's. It's gonna be. You know, you hope you're in a good position, you know, and. And then it's like you're not even talking about recruiting and doing, you know, and, like, a lot of that stuff is. Just makes it tougher, but, I mean, you know. Yeah.
[01:07:33] Speaker A: I mean, it gives you an opportunity to get away from it.
[01:07:37] Speaker B: Like, taking her to daycare every morning now, it's like, you know, now it's like, yeah, like, you're. You know, might have been tough, but now it's all worth it, you know.
[01:07:47] Speaker A: Winning this award, does that kind of put another bow on this, too?
[01:07:51] Speaker B: Yeah, for me, I think it's. It's just about all the. Everything that I've gone through to get here, you know, and obviously, we had a special group and the award, like, I always tell my wife, like, the awards for you, like, it's. It's. It means more to her than it does for me. Obviously, it's very special to me, but for me, you know, it just means that our guys are really good, and we did the things the right way, and, you know, we played every game. You know, everybody can say, like, we played every game to win, played every game hard, but it doesn't always happen.
[01:08:19] Speaker A: Every team does that.
[01:08:21] Speaker B: Yeah. And. And it just. Like, a lot of them, like, at the White House, like, and seeing them in D.C.
you know, it's about those guys. Like, it was never about me. You know, I'm the. I don't coach a base. You know, I don't. I just. You know, we just get the pictures ready, and, you know, like, I just. Brad called the pitches. He was. We kind of have a weird system of calling them in.
And I just told him, like, if we're gonna go fast, like, I'll help you, and we'll talk about what we want to call, and I'll show you the chart every time, and. And we talk in between innings. And I can deal with the pitchers in the bullpen, but, like, we want to move fast. Like, you got to get these signs in, and it worked really good. So for a lot of people, like, man, he's just a guy that stands in the background. That's how I want to be. I just got to be there to pick them up and keep them going and doing those things. And for me, I think if you ask anybody, my personality is out there and it shows up, and, you know, there's not. And when you bite, when you have a personality like that, you can't take a day off, you know, because as soon as I take a day off with it, I got people saying, what's wrong? What's going on? And so we tell them they got to keep it, you know, outside the gate when they walk in. Like, that's the same thing for us. You know, we had that conversation a couple days ago with the players and with the. With the. With one of our young coaches. It's like these players, they just. They're going to respond to what you want to bring them, and someone's got to bring the juice. So, you know, why not us?
[01:09:44] Speaker A: You know, it's the best way to go about it.
[01:09:47] Speaker B: Yep.
[01:09:47] Speaker A: Jordan, thanks for your time, man. I appreciate it, man. I appreciate it for you and see you in Columbus. Appreciate it.
[01:09:53] Speaker B: Yes, sir. See it.
[01:09:54] Speaker A: Congrats to Coach Swellenbach and the entire LSU Shreveport program on this honor and their historic season. Can't wait to see what this season has in store for the Pilots.
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 brownleeabca.org Twitter, Instagram or TikTok CoachBabca or direct message me via the MyBCA app or. This is Ryan Brownlee signing off for the American Baseball Coaches Association. Thanks and leave it better for those behind you.
[01:10:39] Speaker B: Wait for another little and the world will always return as your.
[01:10:49] Speaker A: Love is there before your name and.
[01:10:53] Speaker B: You know that I wait.
[01:10:59] Speaker A: Wait for another.
[01:11:04] Speaker B: Day.
[01:11:09] Speaker A: SA.
