Live from NHSI Part 3: Coaching Conversations

[00:00:04] Speaker A: Welcome to the ABCA's podcast. [00:00:06] Speaker B: I'm your host, Ryan Brownlee. Get the Pro treatment and design your very own custom Rawlings Glove just like your favorite big league stars. Choose from countless patterns, web types, lace colors and more to showcase your unique personal style. Start with a pro design and change it up with your team colors or build yours completely from scratch with your name, number and state flag. Visit Rawlings.com to design your custom glove today. Happy fielding. 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. 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 Netting Pros on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn for all their latest products and projects. Make sure to let CEO Will Minor know that the ABCA sent you. Now on to the podcast. This is our final installment of on location interviews from Cary, North Carolina and USA Baseball's NHSI Tournament coaches. Today we are joined by Venice's Craig Faulkner, Corona del Sol's David Webb, Collierville's Jeff Munier, Wesley and Christian's Mo Blakeney and Stony Brooks, John Brewer. Congrats to Coach Faulkner and Venice High School on bringing home this year's championship. Let's welcome everyone to the podcast. [00:02:30] Speaker A: Truth Craig Faulkner, Venice High School 2018 inductee into the Florida High School hall of Fame. Correct. [00:02:37] Speaker C: Sounds right. [00:02:39] Speaker A: Well, what's your experience been out here so far? [00:02:41] Speaker C: Yeah, it's been a great experience. You know, we came here, Venice High School Baseball came here in 2012, 2013. It was a great experience then. And you know, this year is the same. We had our first game yesterday. It was a really good game, played some extra innings, came out on top, ball call, foam run. So pretty. As exciting as it gets. [00:02:59] Speaker A: What did you learn from Skip Burtman? [00:03:01] Speaker C: Listen, I learned a ton from Skip Burtman. What a mentor he was for me. I owe a lot of my coaching knowledge to him. You know, I learned how to run a program. I learned how to, you know, all facets of the game. I was a catcher. He was a catcher. So, you know, I learned everything about top to bottom on how to run a program, how to call a game, how to work with players. What a great coach. Very fortunate to have gotten to play for him. [00:03:26] Speaker A: Do you use any of his stories? [00:03:28] Speaker C: Well, you know, it's funny you ask. I use all of his stories. I wrote a book, you know, on pre game motivational stories and he wrote a lot of the stories that I used and I wrote a lot of my own stories. So he wrote the forward to it. So, you know, I'm a motivational guy like he was. But he's the real inspiration for that. [00:03:45] Speaker A: How do you motivate this generation of kids? [00:03:48] Speaker C: Well, I think it's just like any generation. They enjoy competing when you got. I've had some great group of kids and they like to compete. So when you give them a story about competing, about being the best that you can be, it fires them up and focuses them in. You know, we want to get to a high level of awareness, a high level of focus. Skip said that all the time, and it's the same today. [00:04:10] Speaker A: Did you know LSU's program was going to turn into that when you were at lsu? [00:04:14] Speaker C: Well, I knew with Skip Burtman coaching it, it was going to turn into it. You know, he gave us our goals from day one, what he wanted to do at lsu. And as we watched them come true one after the next, we knew that that program was going to be a great program. I mean, we got to go to the College World Series a couple times, you know, in his first four years there. So, you know, we knew what he said was going to come true. And, you know, it was, it was an amazing ride to play at lsu. [00:04:40] Speaker A: What'd you take out of your experience with professional baseball? [00:04:43] Speaker C: Well, I learned, you know, I continued to learn in professional baseball. I had some great coaches, Jerry Narin, Chris Bando, a lot of catchers that I continued to learn about the game from. And I learned how to deal with players and how to see the biggest moments of the game. You know, that's a, that's a tough thing to do. But as you get older and get more experience, you know, you learn little things that can put you over the top that maybe some other coaches or some other players, you know, don't know. But professional baseball was really good for me and just, you know, the daily grind of getting it after it every day, playing under pressure, playing in front of people, and to be able to pour that into high school Sports has been great. [00:05:23] Speaker A: Where do you start with your catchers? You new catchers that you get at Venice? Where do you start with them? [00:05:27] Speaker C: Well, the most important thing about catching to me is receiving the ball well. You know, there's a lot of different ways to do it, and I don't try to change, you know, different styles, but I want to catch the ball firmly and I want to keep a strike. A strike. If we can steal a couple strikes, we want to. But, you know, my big thing is, first of all, just receiving the ball well. And then we go into the blocking and throwing and running the game. You know, mainly getting your pitcher to throw his best game has got to be what you're wanting to do as a catcher. [00:05:54] Speaker A: Do your guys do some of the glove patterning stuff where they're starting low and trying to bring the ball back? [00:05:59] Speaker C: We don't. We don't. If a catcher does that, then I'll work with that. But, you know, I didn't, you know, coming up in my era, we didn't do that kind of stuff. I felt like I could get under the low pitch and pull it up. I felt like I could get on top of the high pitch and work with it and keep it in the zone. But, you know, it's. I'm not against all that kind of teaching, but I like to. I like to catch the ball firmly and keep it pretty close to where you catch. [00:06:21] Speaker A: It was the goal always to come back to Venice High School? [00:06:24] Speaker C: No. I wasn't sure what my goals were. I knew I wanted to coach. I coached one year professionally with the Orioles and really enjoyed that, but had a special needs son and decided that being in the high school level was when I could be closest to him and be home getting him to the doctors and helping my wife raise him. So that kind of dictated where I coached. And it's been a great 30, 30 years. [00:06:48] Speaker A: Talk about Clint. I love the energy. He's out there doing his thing. Talk about Clint a little bit. [00:06:52] Speaker C: Yeah, well, Clint, you know, Clint wants to, you know, for a while he was a bat boy for us. You know, he plays Special Olympics baseball, basketball, bowling. He does it all. But he loves being with the guys. The guys treat him great. You know, he feels like he's graduated from being a manager. Now he's down syndrome. He's 30 years old, and now he thinks he's a coach. So we put him out on the field as a coach. He couldn't make the trip up here this week, but. But he's doing great. And he loves being out with the players. [00:07:20] Speaker A: Hard fought win yesterday. Is that a typical game for you guys yesterday? [00:07:23] Speaker C: Well, I don't think it's typical. These guys are fighters. They, you know, it's hard. Started trying to think back to how many times we walked off a game with a home run, especially in a, you know, in a big series like this and a big tournament like this. It hadn't been that many times, but we've done it a few times. It's always a lot of fun. Our kids, you know, our kids reacted to it well and, you know, the big, the big talk today is, you know, that's yesterday. Now we got another good team to play today and we're up for that challenge. And you know, trying to get them motivated about today has been what we've talked a lot about, this type of. [00:07:56] Speaker A: Format get you guys ready for the playoffs. [00:07:57] Speaker C: Yeah, it is because we start playoffs the next games when we get back to Florida. And that was our goal coming here, that we would see great pitching, we would see good teams and we could really, you know, polish our game a little bit. Sometimes you don't learn about yourself without playing really good competition. You don't learn where you fall short. So our goal is always to have a difficult schedule so that when we get in the playoffs, it's easier than it is during the year. That's, that's what we try to do. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. But we've had a lot of success with that and, you know, we're hoping it's going to take us through this year as well. [00:08:30] Speaker A: You have to manage your pitching a little bit different this week because you do have playoffs coming up. [00:08:33] Speaker C: Yeah, well, you know, but yeah, that is a concern because we don't start playing until next Tuesday. But you know, we've thrown our top pitchers already and probably won't bring them back. We'll throw another one today. Probably won't bring them back in this tournament regardless, because we started our district tournament and stuff next week. But you know, we have a depth, we have a lot of depth of pitching. We have some young guys who haven't got to pitch a lot of varsity this year, but they're, you know, 90 mile an hour guys, 92 mile an hour guys that we're looking forward to getting in some of these games under this pressure so that, you know, as they start to help us and maybe even through the playoffs, we do a 2 out of 3 in Florida now in the regionals and we're probably going to need some of these young guys, so we're hoping to get them in these games. [00:09:14] Speaker A: Has your coaching style changed much over the years? [00:09:16] Speaker C: Well, it has changed some. It's probably a little tougher on the players, but they could handle it. You know, back in the. When I first started coaching, at least that's what my players tell me. But, you know, players change and, you know, coaches who don't change with it, you know, they're out of the game pretty quickly. But I haven't changed how I coach, how I call a game, how I work with players. Just maybe how I approach them is a little bit differently than it used to be. And maybe I'm not so hard, you know, that they can't approach me. I try to approach them more, try to build more relationships with them. So it's more relationship building, but still getting the good baseball knowledge into them. [00:09:53] Speaker A: What is the key to calling a good game? [00:09:55] Speaker C: Well, you know, at Venice High School, you know, we pride ourselves and, you know, walks to strikeouts. We only, you know, we try to strike out four or five guys to every walk. And we do that usually. I think that's the key, making sure a pitcher call the pitch that he can throw, you know, so we don't get behind and counts and things like that. And to know, you know, what can this pitcher throw in this situation? What can he. I think that's my greatest asset to coaching is calling pitches, maybe because I was a catcher and that's what I did. But I feel like it can have the biggest influence on wins and losses. Making sure you don't walk guys and when to pick and when to do the little things and, you know, all the small things that we learned at LSU and to put your team every percentage chance to win. [00:10:41] Speaker A: How much time spent in the bullpen on 11 counts with your pitchers? [00:10:44] Speaker C: Well, 11 is the most important count. You know, you're going up or you're going down. And we want to throw the, you know, the best pitch in the best location, whether it could be a breaking ball, if you just threw a breaking ball and barely missed. But, you know, throwing your best pitch in the best location is what we try to do there. And that, that's a thought for our pitchers. Our pitchers know that pitch is important. Two, two pitches are also important. So we, we, we focus a lot on those. [00:11:08] Speaker A: And you bring up a good point where they just missed with a breaking ball and then being able to come back with it, because I, I don't think enough guys call that breaking ball if they Just missed because that's a pitch they just threw. Talk about that, that thought process a little. [00:11:21] Speaker C: Yeah. I think you know your pitchers who can make adjustments because there are some that are really good at it. In fact, some of them, when they throw a bad breaking ball, it misses or whatever, they know you're going to call it again and they get comfortable with it and they get confident with it because they know the hitter is not looking for it. And if you can just drop that pitch in there for a strike, it's usually going to be successful. So we do that a lot. We talk about making a quick adjustment in the bullpen a lot. And that is a secret to one of our successes is being able to do that. So. So when a pitcher knows it's going to happen ahead of time, they're not surprised by it. Even if they miss with a pitch that you're going to come back with it. I think it's a valuable thing to do. And as long as you're talking about it a lot and working on it, it works. [00:12:01] Speaker A: What's some shout outs before I let you get back to work? [00:12:04] Speaker C: Well, you know, I really, you know, the town of Venice has been great. Our community is awesome. We're a one school town and they're always behind us. So you know, I've got a lot of texts from people back home just wishing us well. So like shout out to our community and the great things they're doing and it's just really cool to be a part be with a bunch of great guys and great coaches up here and what a great tournament. You know that USA runs up here. It's always exciting. There's tons of scouts here. You know, the atmosphere is electric. It's just a great place to play in a tournament. I wish we could come here every year. [00:12:39] Speaker A: Thanks for your time, coach. [00:12:40] Speaker C: All right, thank you. [00:12:43] Speaker D: Hey. [00:12:43] Speaker A: With David Webb, Corona del Sol. Congrats on getting here and the year you guys are having so far. [00:12:48] Speaker E: Thank you so much. Yeah, thank you. I really appreciate that. It's been fun so far. [00:12:52] Speaker A: You guys played great yesterday. Just talk about that a little bit. [00:12:55] Speaker E: You played our game. Our game is we don't have a ton of juice, we got a few home runs, but I mean, let's just be honest feel we play on is pretty big back home. So we get the ball on the ground, get the ball in the line, run the bases. We're not afraid to drag, not afraid to sack guys over, play a full on team game. We just can't wait to sit back And. And hit home runs and score runs. So we play it. We play a fun brand of baseball, and that's kind of the way we played yesterday. [00:13:20] Speaker A: And you had a good week. Good couple weeks before in Arizona, right before you got out here. [00:13:24] Speaker E: Holy cow, that was a tough week. We played Brophy that week and Hamilton and. And just facing a lot of good arms, a lot of good hitters, two of the better programs in Arizona and came out3.0 that week, which is. Which is. I can't complain. Can't complain about that, that's for sure. [00:13:41] Speaker A: What'd you relay to the team coming in today? [00:13:45] Speaker E: Gratitude. Gratitude, man. Gratitude to be here, get them to stop, look around, notice how different is from where we're from and the opportunity to be here with friends. I just always remind them that there's one shot with this team. You get one shot one season, and then next year's team, we got some guys coming back, we got guys leaving. It's not gonna be the same team, though. So just embrace the moment, constantly be where your feet are and enjoy the trip. And I'm a lot more. I don't know in this. It's fun to compete, but I'm a lot more relaxed because it takes care of itself, the energy, the effort, which are big with us. So just let the chips fall where they may. [00:14:25] Speaker A: Is that the magic thing with co coaching? Every year is different. [00:14:30] Speaker E: Yes, there. There is. It's tough in high school because you kind of get what. You get to have a philosophy of, you know, we're gonna bop this year. I mean, it's all personnel based. So if you have personnel that's. That's not a bunch of boppers and guys that can do other things, then you just got to find ways to adjust and win. And that's kind of what we do on a yearly basis. Same thing with pitching. We got guys who are really firm this year, can get the ball by people a lot, but we haven't always had that. So we've had to learn to manipulate the ball a little bit, run the ball in a little bit, change up a way, tilt some guys. So it's all. It's the beauty of high school baseball, truly for me. [00:15:07] Speaker A: How comfortable is it for you coming out here? You've spent a lot of time with USA Baseball, so how comfortable is this for you coming out here? [00:15:14] Speaker E: This will be my first of three trips this year. I take on average one to three every year for USA Baseball for some event, I must be making the right choices, not getting in trouble because they keep asking me back, so. But it's just. This is hallowed ground. That's what I told for me. Being able to wear USA in your chest and go internationally and see what that's like, and then being able to help in any way that I can. Whatever they ask me to do, I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it happily, because I get to be here. [00:15:47] Speaker A: How proud are you as a USA alum of the indoor facility? [00:15:50] Speaker E: Oh, my gosh. What a. Jeez Louise. I just. I. I've seen it. So I started in 1998 with USA Baseball in Tucson, and I was at High Corbett Field, which has kind of just been rebuilt and rebuilt and rebuilt. Everything's so. So old there. And then the word came out in the early 2000s, hey, there. They got a bid out, like, 10 million for who wants USA baseball. And I think they're going to move across country to North Carolina. I'm like, oh, man. I wonder if that's going to end my time with North Carolina or with USA Baseball. And so we're moving all the way across the country to this place called Caryon. I'm like, all right. And I didn't know if I was still going to hang on, but they asked me to come be involved. And I've seen it kind of evolve from Tucson to here, and this is just unbelievable. This. This complex is so special. [00:16:37] Speaker A: Did you think you're going to be a Corona this long? [00:16:40] Speaker E: Yeah. Yeah, I did. It's funny. My kid. My kid played in this. In 2019. We. Everybody seemed to think that I was gonna leave after he graduated. It was like this rumor going through, and people are like, oh, is this your last year? I'm like, no, no. My son's gonna go play in college, but I still want to coach. I'm gonna teach, so I'm not gonna just. Just teach and not coach. So I really don't have a timeline. I promise my two younger assistants who've been with me for about 18 years, both of them, and they've grown up with me. I promised them that I'd stay through their kids. And one's a freshman this year, and the other one's an eighth grader. So, yeah, I got a few more years in me. [00:17:21] Speaker A: And talk about Tanner. I mean, he's a USA alum, too. [00:17:24] Speaker E: He is. He is. Talk about the most loyal guy ever to have as an assistant. Started with me in 06, I think was his first year. And he has had so many opportunities, you know, went with me in. In 2009 and 10 with the old 14U team. Then he assisted for a couple years on a couple of 14s. Then I got asked to be the skipper of the very first 12U in 2013 and I took him with me. And I don't know if it was the next year or the year after he actually was a skipper, which was of kind of cool because he's an assistant high school coach and he got an opportunity and went out there and won gold, which was great. But he has had so many offers too to go to other big programs. Every time a big opening in Phoenix, he's like, no, I'm good. Just does not want to be a head coach. I see why. But yeah, he's definitely one of the most loyal, great coach. I'm super fortunate you had an opportunity. [00:18:18] Speaker A: To play for your dad. [00:18:19] Speaker E: Yes, I did. [00:18:20] Speaker F: How's that? [00:18:21] Speaker E: It was amazing. I had watched his, his teams for years just dominate. They were so good for so long. And just like anything else, you know, where things kind of age out the district kind of aged out that he was in the talent was getting a little less by the time I got there. I think he saw. I think he saw the best of his talent in probably the 70s into the early 80s by the time I was there. I graduated in 91. We were all right. But I still, I learned an amazing amount from him. And as a coach and as a player that I, that I used. [00:18:53] Speaker A: Pitching is your strength of this team this year? [00:18:55] Speaker E: You would think so. Yeah. Yeah, I would have to. I don't know, man. Got me confused on that one. I thought it was going to be. And on paper you would definitely think that is. And they have been lights out. They really have. But our ability to find ways to score runs like yesterday, they weren't balls off the wall. They weren't. They weren't all, you know, setting records on exit velocity. But they get it done. This team is. They're gritty in the correct sense of the word. And they also just, they have a knack to bring effort every day. And that's not just out here, that's in practice. I mean, I'm talking to you. Our practices. I wish I could film every day because then I could use that model for next year and go, this is what it's like, guys. This is what guys who practice productively. [00:19:39] Speaker A: Look like and how proud of you are them because you can, you can feel the energy out of that team, out of that dugout. Like watching you guys yesterday, you can feel the energy Coming out of that dugout and the way they play. [00:19:49] Speaker E: They have. Okay, so we. We've had. In the last couple years, we're not as we've had transfers in the past, but some guys came in, they were very talented. They liked playing, that they like that, like, happens. They talk to other kids who happen to not be fitting, whatever it is. And they came to us. And you're always worried because I have had ones that have come in and you're like, there's a reason why he left. You know what I mean? That is not the case. Every single one of these transfers has bought in and they've meshed. And we were worried about the beginning because there was a fair amount of them. I was like, is this gonna work? Because we've seen it fail, and it has worked unbelievably. And I see him at the hotel, I see him at practice, like, Brett Crossland, who's throwing tonight, he's just a big teddy bear and he's a goo goofball, and he talks to everybody. I was telling my two assistants, I'm like, check it out over there. You had Brett sitting there. He was a senior, you know, gonna get drafted, going to Texas, Big dog on the mound. He's sitting with a freshman, two sophomores and a junior. Not one other senior in sight. And they're just cracking up, eating breakfast this morning, like, this is the beauty. I love it. And it's how they fit in. They've just bought in. And when you guys bought guys to buy in, it's going to be fun. [00:21:01] Speaker A: What have you loved about teaching? [00:21:02] Speaker E: Oh, man, I love teaching. I do. I tell you, I. I love getting up in front of the class. I take pride as much as I do in coaching and teaching. It's. It's kind of my beef with those coaches who don't. And I'm at the age now where I'll tell them, I'm like, you're here to teach, man. I mean, and the same thing with our students. Those guys know whatever they do up in the building is what they're going to do out there, so they better get it done. But I absolutely love it. I teach American history, which I've taught for 27 years. And then in 2016, I can't believe they were so irresponsible. They gave me a class called Pop Culture in America, which is basically, I'm teaching movies, I'm teaching music. I'm going through decades. I mean, it's a dream come true for teaching on a daily basis about three Classes a day. I get to do that. I mean, basically stealing money from the state. Arizona right now, but I love it. [00:21:55] Speaker A: Do you have a favorite pop culture decade? [00:21:57] Speaker E: Oh, 100% 70s. I'm a seven. I'm an 80s kid, so I know 80s, you know, Gen X. People are going to hate me saying that, but I am, I am sold on teaching kids that 70s music is the great sleeper decade of music. And I introduced it to all of them. I just finished the 60s right before I came. So when I get back, we get back Sunday morning on Monday. I'll be hitting the 70s, starting 70s. [00:22:22] Speaker A: I am too. I listen to all genres. [00:22:24] Speaker E: Yes, me too. Love it. It's amazing. These kids and my, my goal is just to get their brain wrapped around, you know, making your own mental playlist. I call it that. Add this to your mental playlist. I'm very careful not to insult their music. I say, hey, just take this and let's add it to your mental playlist that you got for sure. [00:22:42] Speaker A: What are some final shout outs before I let you go? [00:22:45] Speaker E: I just want to shout out to my, my family. My family is easy to deal with. They, they support me unconditionally. My wife's been with me. We've been married for 28 years. And I just, I'm so appreciative they let me do this for so long. They're all texting me right now talking about the tournament, us being here. They wish we were here. And they're just my favorite people on this planet. They truly are. I love my family. So give them a shout out for sure. Anytime, Anytime. [00:23:20] Speaker A: All right, here we're Jeff Meunier, Collierville High School, but had a chance to watch you guys yesterday. 19th season and 9th as head coach, correct? [00:23:29] Speaker G: 10Th as head coach. Yeah, including that Covid year, you know, so it's really nine. You know, that one really doesn't count. [00:23:36] Speaker A: So we talked earlier, I was really impressed with your guys team yesterday. So just talk about this group as a whole. [00:23:42] Speaker G: We, well, obviously you can tell we got a lot of senior leadership and they're real, you know, they all get along with each other. They, they understand, you know, how to approach the game each day and each practice and you know, they do the little things, you know, not only on the field but off the field that matter, that make them great. [00:24:07] Speaker A: This group, how many of these guys participated? That 22 and 23 group that were in the state finals. [00:24:14] Speaker G: So all the seniors there, you know, that are on this group were there too. [00:24:18] Speaker A: So I told you that you have one of the most physical high school teams I've seen in a long time. Is that weight room? Is that genetics? What is that? [00:24:28] Speaker G: We busted in the weight room. We got an outstanding strength and conditioning coach. His name's Austin King. He's been with me for a while now. Played for the Dodgers. So he's got a baseball background and does an outstanding job of motivating them in the weight room every day. [00:24:46] Speaker A: That started freshman year. [00:24:48] Speaker G: Oh, yes, yes. [00:24:50] Speaker A: What's training like for freshmen as opposed to maybe seniors? [00:24:53] Speaker G: Well, obviously at the beginning, you were teaching them, you know, the how to. How to lift. But we bring them in early in the summer to kind of teach them everything, and then, so when they join the entire team, they're not overwhelmed and scared and, you know, stuff like that. [00:25:10] Speaker A: So how much is that teaching with the freshmen? We're just getting the basic movements down for them. [00:25:15] Speaker G: Oh, obviously it's. It's big because, you know, they're coming in, you know, they don't. They've never done this before. Their eyes are wide open. They don't know, you know, what to expect each day. And that happens even in our first practice because, you know, when we get together as a team and start baseball stuff, too. So. [00:25:35] Speaker A: And that's a culture thing. Right. They see the older guys. Okay, the older guys are doing this. The older guys are in that routine of lifting even in season. Is that part of the culture then, too, where they see the older guys are doing it? [00:25:45] Speaker G: No doubt. And this group has led them, you know, and, you know, it's my dream and desire that those young guys, you know, carry this tradition on, you know. [00:25:56] Speaker A: Plus, you have a lot of guys going on to play in the next level, too. [00:26:00] Speaker G: Yes. [00:26:00] Speaker A: And different. Different levels, too, which I appreciate. [00:26:04] Speaker G: Yep. We're very fortunate. You know, it's getting tougher and tougher the way college baseball is changing now. And, you know, it's going to be harder, you know, as the years go on for these guys to be able to play college baseball at a high level. So you're going to be really good. [00:26:22] Speaker A: You still handle most of the pitching duties. [00:26:24] Speaker G: Yeah, I've got a really good pitching coach, too. His name's Andy Sheridan. You know, I've turned that over to him, but I always have my nose in that. So is that hard? [00:26:35] Speaker A: I think about that at the college level a lot. It's hard to get two pitching guys around each other, sometimes for the right reasons. [00:26:42] Speaker G: But how do you guys manage that sometimes, you know. You know, I'll voice My opinion and everything, but, you know, you got to give your assistant coaches the authority to make decisions. And I've got a great staff and trust them tremendously. They've got a lot of experience, so makes my job a lot easier. [00:27:01] Speaker A: Is that typical outing for Ahri yesterday? [00:27:04] Speaker G: Yes. He's a big game pitcher. You know, he's done it his whole career. You know, he threw a no hitter in the state tournament, so. [00:27:13] Speaker A: Great mound presence. [00:27:14] Speaker G: Yes, yes, great mound presence. And he's a leader. You know, he wants the ball in the big games and I don't mind handing it to him. [00:27:22] Speaker A: You have any field maintenance tips? [00:27:25] Speaker G: Well, you just got to have a passion for it, you know, that's one thing that, you know, I really take pride in. I used to do it by myself, you know, before we moved to the new high school. And now we have a company helping us out with that. But, you know, I always put my 2 cents in with that too. So. [00:27:45] Speaker A: Is that hard to let go too, for those of us that are passionate about field maintenance, like, it's hard to. [00:27:51] Speaker G: Let that stuff go too, so. But I let them know when something's not up to my standard and stuff like that, and we get it fixed. [00:27:59] Speaker A: But do you still spray the lips out? You take the hose and spray the lips out? [00:28:03] Speaker G: We do. We do that in the off season? I do, yeah. [00:28:07] Speaker A: That was my Sunday decompress after a home series. My assistants thought I was nuts, but I'm like, I've got to decompress from the weekend. So I would take the hose out and. And wash out the lips on Sundays after our games. [00:28:21] Speaker G: The biggest change is not being able to cut the grass. You know, that was my decompress right there. And not able to do that anymore. [00:28:30] Speaker A: With an older group. Does your messaging change coming into this year? I mean, you said some of these guys been with you for four years. They've heard the same thing for four years. Does the messaging change at all? [00:28:40] Speaker G: Well, you know, being invited to this tournament was. It was a big plus for us, you know. You know, and I told him there's not many schools in the country that get a chance to have a chance to win a national championship. [00:28:53] Speaker A: So machine BP yesterday, machine BP today. How often do you guys hitting off the machine? [00:28:59] Speaker G: All the time. All the time. I just feel like it keeps our swing short and because you can't simulate the velocity, you know, with throwing it and what I. In the past, you know, when I first started, we would do a lot of machine and then as the season started we'd get into throwing live arm and I felt like our swings got longer and longer as the season went on. So we just made a commitment to doing that. And, you know, I credit that to Coach Green. He was at, you know, he's coached Division 1 baseball for a long time and he brought that to us and so it's been very successful. [00:29:38] Speaker A: How do you kind of nurse your hitters through that? Not always the easiest thing. In the beginning you got to get comfortable because you're going to get busted up sometimes. You're going to get your knuckles busted up. So how do you kind of relate that to the guys? Like, hey, we, we're trying to challenge you, so it's a little bit easier to hit games. [00:29:53] Speaker G: Exactly what you said. The challenge of the hitters each day, you know, we're blowing up the freshmen when they come in, you know, but as the year goes on, you know, and they get better and better at it and then that's how the development as a hitter, you know, in our program. [00:30:08] Speaker A: I also do appreciate the fact that 2k round is your first round out of the chute too. So how long have you done that? [00:30:15] Speaker G: We always do that. [00:30:16] Speaker A: So 2k rounds right out of the chute. [00:30:18] Speaker G: That's right. [00:30:18] Speaker A: Love it. [00:30:18] Speaker G: That's right. [00:30:19] Speaker A: Love it. [00:30:19] Speaker G: And we do situational rounds depending on the day, you know, or what we see in the games. You know what we're not doing very well. [00:30:26] Speaker A: What do you relay to the hitters with your 2k? Are you making them, what type of adjustments, if anything with two strikes, we're just, we. [00:30:33] Speaker G: We spread them out, make sure that front foot's down and, you know, just trying to put the ball in play. So. And we've done a really good job of that this year. [00:30:43] Speaker A: Yeah, I thought yesterday your guys bashed from top to bottom and that's. I'm always intrigued by what teams do pre game and I love the fact that you're out or challenge them. And then it showed in the game. [00:30:54] Speaker G: Yesterday for your hitters and they've been tremendously focused too. You know, that's been the big thing. I don't know if you can see that, just looking in, but they're motivated. Yep. You can tell. [00:31:07] Speaker A: What's some other shout outs before I let you get back to work? [00:31:11] Speaker G: Just so grateful for the opportunity to be here. You know, it's a tremendous opportunity, trust representing the state of Tennessee in this event and hopefully we can keep this thing rolling and see what happens. You know, I told the guys today when we met in the morning. I said, there's not many times you wake up in the morning and you can. Do you have a chance to do something special. So good luck today, Coach. Thank you. [00:31:41] Speaker A: All right, here with Mo Blakeney, Wesleyan's coach, we're talking baseball. It's funny how life works, and that's the magical thing with the baseball community, is, you know, somebody that knows somebody. And Jamie Carroll speaks very highly of you. [00:31:56] Speaker D: So, man, you know, it's such a small world. You know, like I told you, I got the utmost respect for Jamie Carroll. You know, everybody, the old Expos guys. I was over there talking to David Post. As you know, he's with the Padres, and it's almost like a family reunion when you come to these events, man, seeing all your old friends that you played pro ball with. So it's just a great fraternity. It is. [00:32:12] Speaker A: Elon hall of Fame, played for Rick Jones. [00:32:15] Speaker D: I played for Mike Harden. And Billy Best. [00:32:17] Speaker A: Okay. Oh, Billy Best. [00:32:21] Speaker F: For sure. [00:32:22] Speaker A: For sure. What'd you learn from professional baseball? [00:32:25] Speaker D: Oh, man, you know, I learned more from my failures than I did my successes. You know, I was. I wasn't even supposed to play baseball. I was a college quarterback, started four years at Elon and didn't want to go to spring football practice, so ended up going out for the baseball team and ended up hitting two home runs in the end of squad game. Let's say I started center fielders, but football came easy to me. I could throw the football 70, 75 yards in there. I could run well, but baseball, man, I struggled with the curveball and struggled with the consistency of my swing, and I had to work at it, and I hated failing, so I just went to work. [00:32:54] Speaker A: How do you relay that to this generation? That there is some struggles with. That's a beautiful part of baseball, but that's what comes with playing the game. [00:33:02] Speaker D: Well, I'm just gonna tell you right now, I mean, this generation now is. It's tougher. It's tougher. You know, a lot of them. [00:33:12] Speaker A: Well, social media has a lot. Everybody know, like in the old days, nobody knew if you had a bad game, if you have a bad game. Now, everybody knows you had a bad game. [00:33:20] Speaker D: That is true. But, you know, like, for me, with my son, I wanted to give. I didn't want him to go through the struggles I went through, so I made sure I was kind of well off, so he didn't have to go to those struggles. But me not wanting him to go through that struggles, man, didn't give him the wherewithal to sit here and have to fight for something. And that's how our kids are today. Some of them just don't know how to fight. That's why you see the transfer portal, if I'm not playing, I'm gonna go here, you know, instead of just sticking things out. And that's just the way the world is now. So once we're trying to. What we're trying to do is give these kids the kind of mental toughness to be able to succeed. That's it. [00:33:48] Speaker A: And there's that false narrative with this generation that everything is supposed to be easy for them. And I think we gotta try to bring that back to where that, that's part of the life journey is. You are gonna have to work. And it, it is part of the struggle. But that's the great thing with the part of the struggle too, dude. [00:34:02] Speaker D: That's baseball's the game of life. You know, you're gonna fail more than you succeed at. And that's the way life is. You know, you gotta get knocked down and then keep on coming. That's just the way that you gotta be built to do. Because at the end of the day, if you want, eventually every child is gonna have to feed their family and they gonna have to learn how to do it. And ain't nobody gonna be giving them anything. So they gotta sit here and learn how to fail and succeed right now. [00:34:23] Speaker A: And I love your energy, but by the way, have you always been that way? [00:34:26] Speaker D: That's the only way to be. That's the only way to be, man. God gave us, you know, blessed us with our bodies and bless us with being able to have this opportunity to be out here. I'm gonna come out here with the most energy I could possibly come out. [00:34:36] Speaker A: Here with format here, help you guys get ready for the playoffs. [00:34:39] Speaker D: Man, this is the best. I mean, this is awesome. USA Baseball and having this event. We've been fortunate to be here two years and I've learned more being here than I've learned anywhere. So I am. My hats are off to Brett Curl and. And everybody that's here that do what they do. I'm very appreciative. [00:34:55] Speaker A: You have some high profile players on the team. How do you help them manage their expectations? [00:34:59] Speaker D: Man, at the end of the day, man, I just teach them like I teach every other kid, man. You know, they, you know, although they are high profile kids, they just want to be taught just like everybody else. And a lot of coaches be hands off of them. Josh Hammond, Sam Cozart. I'M going to be hands on. And whatever I see, I'm going to tell them. And they trust me that I'm going to tell them the truth. And even though that truth is agreeing to disagree, that is my truth. And I reserve the right to be wrong. But my 52 years of being on this earth, more times than not, I'm not. [00:35:26] Speaker A: And elite players want to be coached, correct? [00:35:28] Speaker D: They want to be coached, yes. When Josh Hammond came here, he said, coach, I need you to coach me. He said, whatever you see, I want to know whether I agree or disagree with it, let me know. And that's the way it's been. So that's why, Sam, Josh, those guys I have great relationship with because they know that I love them first and foremost. So therefore I'm going to be truthful with them. [00:35:46] Speaker A: Any advice for coaches that are taking over program for the first time as a head coach? [00:35:52] Speaker D: Try to make sure that you keep the parents out your ear. Make sure that everything is about the individual kid. It's not a transactional, it's a. It's, you know, you have to have a relationship with your players at the end of the day. Now, at the end of the day, I'm the big black buck and I'm gonna drop the hammer, but I'm gonna drop the hammer with love. And so therefore I love them. So they'll listen to the things I tell them. [00:36:11] Speaker A: Any shout outs you want to give before I let you go, man, just. [00:36:13] Speaker D: Shout out to Jamie Carroll, man. Look, been wanting to get in contact with you, Jamie Carroll. Much respect to you, brother. [00:36:19] Speaker A: Thank you, sir. [00:36:20] Speaker D: Thank you. [00:36:23] Speaker A: All right here with John Brewer, Stony Brook School. What'd you relay to the guys after the game yesterday? [00:36:28] Speaker F: Yeah, you know, it's just continue to be resilient. You know, the guys have been resilient all year. We're playing very good baseball teams here and you know, you know, things can swing quickly and we didn't get off to a great start there in the first inning in the hole against Watson, who's one of the top pitchers in the country. It's going to be tough sledding, so just, you know, the guys, they stay the course and they've done a good job of that this year for the most part and haven't really. I don't have to have many talks with them. I expect a great performance today, rest of the tournament. [00:37:00] Speaker A: How do you balance kind of playing a really challenging schedule, but also maybe getting some wins in here and there. [00:37:07] Speaker F: Yeah, you know, for us, this is my 16th year, believe it or not, and one and lost enough. So for us, we really want to challenge ourselves, be the best version of ourselves, feel like we have the team of veterans and then our 2028 class is special. And so for us, this is something we, you know, if we take some losses here and there, it's worth it compared to playing weaker competition. We want to find the best version of ourselves, and this is playing games like this all across the country. And here at USA is the only opportunity to do that. So we look at it as a challenge and a great thing for our program. [00:37:46] Speaker A: And kids feel like this format gets you guys ready for the playoffs. [00:37:49] Speaker F: Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, it's Yesterday we saw 96 with a nasty slider and change up when we're ahead in the count. 2, 1, 3, 1. You know, you just don't see that much back home. And we're going to see another one with KAR today. There's no better competition that you can have for playoff. For personal development, which we talk about in team development, you can't get better than this. So we're fortunate and blessed. [00:38:19] Speaker A: You got any tips for practicing inside? [00:38:21] Speaker F: Well, yeah, it's. It's warm out there. Outside, it's just miserable. I'm obviously, with my accent, I'm from Georgia, and it's been an adjustment for me, but for us, it's just, you know, we try to keep the main thing. The main thing we get indoors, we get after it, we have accountability and our practices are tough and challenging for whether we're hitting, you know, or in the cages or, you know, the expectations of doing our infield, outfield right as good as we can do it indoors. You know, it's just our process and our expectation whether we're indoors or out. And so the kids know that. [00:38:59] Speaker A: I think the challenge for those of us that have coached in cold weather is making sure arms are ready. When do you kind of start the arm on ramp for your pitchers to be able to make sure they're ready? [00:39:08] Speaker F: Absolutely. We start in December. That's when we start. To be honest, our biggest challenge is, you know, we lose the kids for Christmas break. And so we're starting up there in mid December, the on ramp. And then we lose them for two weeks and they head home because we're boarding school. And so what we have them do is they send us videos, send us updates of what they're doing on their throw days and stuff like that, a band work and making sure they're doing their recovery, which is really most important for Us. And so we have a pretty strict timeline from about mid December on, and usually when we head to spring break, which is in late February for us, we're going to Arizona, California, Georgia. Our guys ready to throw about 60, 65. And we've had great luck with our arm care and stuff, and. And we've been relatively healthy since I've been to Stony Brook. So, you know, typically, the mid December is a great time for us to start that process. [00:40:10] Speaker A: What's the great thing and the unique thing about the boarding school environment? [00:40:13] Speaker F: Well, when I was growing up in Georgia, boarding school was for the bad kids. So I was threatened that. Threatened with that one a lot. So when I heard about the opportunity. My son's autistic and my wife's from New York, and she wanted to move back home and be with family. Heard about this great place, Stony Brook and boarding school. And they were looking for, you know, a coach and had a lot of these great kids at Stony Brook. Jaden Stroman. Just a lot of young talent that were ready to go to the next level. And I kept hearing about this boarding school. I was like, I don't know about this. And, you know, my head of school, Josh Crane, my athletic director, Dustin Monis, you know, took my wife and I on a tour, showed us the dorms where we would be. And honestly, it's been the greatest thing of our life just having these kids 24 7. They may not say that, but having them 24 7, their academics, their nutrition, their baseball year round, it's a great thing. [00:41:06] Speaker A: How's the experience been for your son? [00:41:08] Speaker F: Well, he's getting some of the best services in the country there in Long island in the Three Village school district. So, you know, at the end of the day, family first, and his name's Caden. And the accommodations and just the therapies and all the things that Kaden's getting has been a blessing for us and that we could not ask for any better. Host of special ed teachers and therapists and all the people who surrounded us with love during a tough time. And, you know, quite frankly, we were not getting that quick enough in Georgia. So it is state to state. And as soon as we moved to New York, therapy started happening quickly, and it's been fantastic. And he's. He's five now, and he's starting to make some noises. He's a little boy, so we're excited. [00:41:56] Speaker A: Love it. Love it. Talk about Aiden Ruiz a little bit. [00:41:58] Speaker F: Yeah, he's special. You know, last year I would tell scouts all the Time, I can't explain it. You know, all I can tell you is Derek Meter, when the, when the lights are the brightest, you see some the of amazing things out of Aiden. And he's got that sixth sense that you just can't teach. The game is never too big for him. He has a general, general just love and passion for the game of baseball. It's all he thinks about. It's all he eats, sleeps, drinks it just. Best defensive shortstop I've ever coached, best bat and ball skills I've ever coached, and just the sixth sense of baseball that you can teach. He is a very special baseball player. [00:42:43] Speaker A: Still working with Team Elite Liberty. [00:42:45] Speaker F: Yeah. Yeah. So Coach Romantini and myself with Polycraft, he and I started Team Elite Liberty there in the North. You know, we, you know, we dabbled around with it and had just a couple teams in the program because we're so busy with our programs with Stony Brook and Polycraft. But, you know, we've had great kids come through, come through there, including our kids, kids at Stony Brook and Paulie Prep. So, yeah, you know, we still hammer away at that a little bit, and it's been great. [00:43:10] Speaker A: What are some tips for athletic fundraising? [00:43:13] Speaker F: Well, as much as we travel, it's very important for us. You know, we do a ton of. We just finished a television raffle which netted us $3,000. You know, doesn't seem like much, but it goes to the kids. Food, hotel rooms. And so that's big. We do a big, big Texathon at the beginning of the year. It typically brings us in, on average 60,000 a year. Kids and families do a great job of that texathon, and they use it to help cover the culture of their trips. So those two are real big ones for us. We typically end up getting from charities and things like that, since we're Nonprofit, typically around 100,000 a year, and it costs about 115, 120 a year to run our program if we want to travel and do the things that we want to do. So the fundraising kind of helped. The Texathon is really our biggest one, and we'll add some more as we go along, but that'll always be a staple for us. [00:44:09] Speaker A: What do you love about baserunning? [00:44:11] Speaker F: I love base running. I've had a pretty good offensive team this year, and so what I've had to do is I've had to adjust. I don't have to do the things that I've always done. At some point, you let these guys kind of go and that's been a. [00:44:27] Speaker D: Big adjustment for me. [00:44:29] Speaker F: Base from as I was in my baby is what I did back in Georgia to compete with those blessed trinities and Bears, Bufords and all of them. And for me, it's just the aggressiveness, the passion of it. You know, for us, it's just being on green all the time. And my kids, a lot of coaches say you're not even giving signs, and these guys are still when they want and the answers a lot of times, yeah, I trust our kids. We practice it, we rep it. I trust them to make the right decisions, and I trust them to have a safe aggressiveness on the bases and run guys out of the ballpark if. [00:45:03] Speaker G: That'S what it takes to win this. [00:45:04] Speaker A: I feel like it's the best way to play. [00:45:06] Speaker F: Well, high school baseball is. And, you know, you'll see if it comes down to you'll see us use it, you know, sometimes we don't. When you play in a cozart or a Watson like yesterday, you know, if you get opportunities close, you better. You better start unveiling a little bit. [00:45:23] Speaker A: What are some shout outs before I let you go? [00:45:24] Speaker F: Yeah, well, the biggest thing is just our school for allowing us to be here. We're a high academic institution and our teachers, you know, are going above and beyond to accommodate our kids as they do study halls every day. And we're very blessed to have a supportive community back at the school. Obviously, my wife, who was raising an autistic kid a lot of times by herself, and it's not easy. He's an awesome kid. He's a gentle kid, a loving kid, but she's having to keep up with him and he's here on this trip and she takes a lot of that on the chin, so, you know, couldn't do this without her. There's no way. And just my coaching staff, I got wonderful coaches from Ryan Horstman and Dustin Mullins and Noah Bacher all the way to Anthony and Taliano. The love that they put in towards our kids year round, it's unmatched. And I really push my coaching staff sometimes too hard. I have high expectations, and these guys stay the course. And so I'm just so appreciative of friendship first off and their work ethic with our kids. [00:46:29] Speaker A: Thanks for your time. [00:46:30] Speaker F: Awesome, man. Thank you. [00:46:34] Speaker B: Best time of the year. With high school and college championship season upon us, get out there and support your local high school and college championships. Thanks again to John Litchfield, Zach Hale and Matt west, and the ABC office For all the help on the podcast, feel free to reach out to me via email r brownleebca.org Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok Coach Babca or direct Message me via MyBC app. This is Ryan Brownlee signing off for the American Baseball Coaches Association. Thanks and leave it better for those. [00:47:01] Speaker A: Behind you. [00:47:18] Speaker F: Wait for another and the world will always return as your life. [00:47:29] Speaker D: Is never for your name and you. [00:47:32] Speaker C: Know that way. [00:47:37] Speaker D: Wait for another. [00:47:43] Speaker F: Day.