NJCAA Div. III World Series Coaches

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This week we sit down on location with the eight head coaches at the NJCA Division III World Series in Auburn, New York in this week's ABCA podcast from Surry Community College's Mark Tucker, Brookdale Community College's Johnny Johnson, Oakton Community College's Belfrado Suny, Niagara's Matt Klingersmith, Dallas College Richland's Jimmy Brennaman, Northern Essex Community College's Jeff Mejia, Century College's Matt Erzar and RCSJ Gloucester's Rob Valley. Congrats to Gloucester's players and staff on winning their third national championship in a row. Let's welcome everyone to the podcast. All right here at number six seed Surrey, Mark Tucker. AD has been the head coach multiple times here at Surrey, but had AD since 2005 but 3612 record. Congrats for being here. [00:02:58] Speaker B: Yes sir. Thank you for having me. [00:03:00] Speaker A: What's the strength of this year's club? Looks like you're kind of balanced between hitting, pitching and defense. [00:03:05] Speaker B: Yeah, I think you're right. You know, haven't hit a lot of home runs this year we don't have a tremendous amount of team speed, but pretty much one through nine we swing it pretty well. Got some balance in our lineup and pitchers for the most part have kept us in the game and we played pretty good defense. So it's really just trying to pitch it, play a little defense and get some timely hitting. [00:03:27] Speaker A: Any players to key in on this week? [00:03:29] Speaker B: Yeah, Elijah Palmer's had a great year for us. Elijah has. He's a St. Monaventure signee. He was a Region 10 Player of the year this year. Also Zach Helms. Zach was our Region 10 and Mid Atlantic District tournament MVP as a pitcher. So those two guys are key for us, you know, throughout our lineup. We have some guys we have a lot of confidence in, but you know, Palmer hits in the middle of our order and really kind of gets us going. [00:04:00] Speaker A: Any good surprises on the roster? Maybe guys you didn't expect it to do anything or maybe not get as much time to have? [00:04:05] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. We've had a tremendous amount of injuries this year. Our assistant coaches and I were looking at the other day. I think we've had 18 kids that started the year in the fall that are no longer with us due to either one reason or the other. And most of those have been through injuries. So we've definitely had some guys step up. We lost our starting right fielder, Colby Umbarger, who was in the East Carolina transfer and Jayden Johnson's filled in there, done a great job. So, you know, all the way around we just had guys step up all year. [00:04:36] Speaker A: Prepare any different this week for coming. [00:04:38] Speaker B: Up here on the turf? Our local high school was nice enough turf football field, so we've been on the turf football field for the better part of a couple weeks at Surry Central High School, which is actually next door to our college. And we have a great partnership with them. So it's great to get out there and use the turf. So we haven't taken any ground balls, I don't think. And two weeks off of grass, so we've just been exclusively on the turf. [00:05:03] Speaker A: When's the last time you played in 50 degree weather with rain? [00:05:07] Speaker B: Hasn't been that long ago. [00:05:08] Speaker A: We get spoiled every time. It's been that long ago. [00:05:10] Speaker B: Yeah, so. But it's definitely going to be a little bit of a shock coming from high 70s, low 80s. Yes, sir. [00:05:17] Speaker A: Any adversity this year? Looked like only lost back to back games a couple times. But you guys have been 20 and one since I think in March. You guys have been rolling since the end of March. Yes, sir. [00:05:28] Speaker B: Had a rough series against Caldwell, who won our regular season, and we dropped three games to them. The third one being a really tough loss. Kind of gave that game away. And ever since then, things have really clicked. Like you said, won 15 in a row, 19 out of 20. So we just. We kind of have. You know, it's kind of. For us, the sum is greater than the parts, really. You know, we kind of put it all together as a team and played really well. [00:05:53] Speaker A: What do you credit for that turnaround? Was that player driven? Was that you having a conversation with them? [00:05:58] Speaker B: No, I think it was all player driven. I think everything was based around our players. I think they gained some confidence in winning some games. We had a couple big non conference wins, beating Catawba Valley, which is in the D2 World Series in Enid. And I think those were a couple big wins. And I think it kind of showed our kids that they could play at this level. [00:06:22] Speaker A: How many World Series appearances for you? [00:06:25] Speaker B: For me as a Coach, it's been 27 years between appearances. 1998, Batavia, New York. I was a young coach then, and I got handed a couple lessons by veteran coaches, especially Barry Davis from Gloucester in game one. We had an appearance in 2017 at Tusculum. I was the athletic director then only. So this is our third World Series appearance. [00:06:52] Speaker A: How have you balanced your AD responsibilities with coaching? [00:06:55] Speaker B: It's been tough. Been really tough. Our softball team's actually in the D3 Softball World Series this week, so I was hoping to get out and see our ladies play. And unfortunately, that may not work out unless we have some weather issues, but it's been tough to balance that out. But, you know, just trying to put our student athletes first and foremost. [00:07:16] Speaker A: How do you handle that as an athletic director? I mean, it probably helps that you had a coaching background. Going to athletic director, correct? [00:07:22] Speaker B: Absolutely, yeah. I mean, stepping away and coming back to coach, there's a few things that are obviously different. You know, the timing stuff has driven me crazy with the pitch clock and those type of things and all the other stuff that goes into it. But, you know, at the end of the day, it's baseball, and it's been played the same for, know, over 100 years. So that's definitely helped, though, having that background. [00:07:50] Speaker A: What tips would you give for somebody that does have to do AD responsibilities and also coach? Because we have quite a few member coaches that have to do both. [00:07:57] Speaker B: Absolutely. Have a good wife, number one. And I'm thankful to have a great wife, but family support is definitely important. For that. But, you know, it comes down to time management and prioritizing things and trying to certainly delegate. We've got some good assistants on our staff this year, not only with baseball, but softball as well. So trying to, you know, trying to delegate some responsibilities to them is important. [00:08:21] Speaker A: What do you use, time management wise that maybe you didn't use early in your career? What do you use now that helps that maybe you didn't use early in your career, time management wise? [00:08:30] Speaker B: Well, you know, now everything's more electronic in terms of everything that we're doing. So, you know, that's been a big help. I'm not a great tech savvy person. Thank goodness I got some family members that can help me with that. But, you know, that's a big thing that's helped me throughout, saving some time and so forth. [00:08:50] Speaker A: What does the state of North Carolina meant to you? [00:08:52] Speaker B: The state of North Carolina? Oh, it's tremendous. I mean, I love where I live. I love the school I'm at. And we have a great president. Our president, Dr. Shockley's actually up here. In fact, we ate breakfast this morning together. He's supporting our student athletes. He's gone to softball, hoping to get back for the banquet tonight for baseball. So he'll be around at both locations. He flew in a couple days ago to Syracuse to support both of our teams. So, you know, the administration support's been great for us. We truly appreciate that and our student athletes. So it's been a great ride so far. [00:09:29] Speaker A: Any tips for hiring good people? [00:09:33] Speaker B: Yeah, just, you know, trying to find someone that fits your needs and your location and so forth. That's the big thing, really. Just trying to find that right fit. [00:09:46] Speaker A: What are some other shout outs before I let you go? [00:09:49] Speaker B: My family. Two and a half year old grandson, Grayson, who I'm anxious to get back and see and anxious to watch him grow up. My daughter who's gonna be up here, Avery, she's actually a graduate assistant at the NJCA national office. So it'd be good to reconnect with her. Chris Parker, longtime friend. [00:10:10] Speaker A: Chris, coming up too. [00:10:12] Speaker B: Yeah, he texted me as soon as. [00:10:13] Speaker A: We first time here. [00:10:14] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely. Yes. And Chris texted me as soon as we won and see you in Auburn. So looking forward to, you know, seeing Chris. We've been dear friends for a long time, so. Yeah, it's just been great. You know, I was the D3 baseball chair for the past three years and vice chair before that. So last year I was here in Auburn. Didn't think I'd Ever come back to Auburn, I'll be honest with you. But here I am and it's been great to reconnect with all the folks that run the tournament here and you know, all the friends. Wally Reynolds, who was my vice chair, and Dan Blair who's now running it, good friend of mine. So it's been great. [00:10:49] Speaker A: Thanks for time. Mark, good luck. [00:10:50] Speaker B: Absolutely. Thank you for having me. Thanks. [00:10:55] Speaker A: Number three seed, Brookdale, Johnny Johnson, 49 record coming in, 26th season here, Brookdale. So congrats for being here. [00:11:02] Speaker C: Thank you very much. [00:11:04] Speaker A: What strikes to this year's club? 380. 17 batting average, 135 doubles, 40 triples, 44 home runs. [00:11:11] Speaker C: Yeah, this team is just an average bunch of guys. You know, this is probably the least talented team we ever had here, but probably our hardest working team. They just battle straight through. They bought into the system and they're working hard. Like I said. Same thing with the pitchers. There's no outstanding pitchers but they all compete and throw strikes there. [00:11:28] Speaker A: What do you contribute to triples? [00:11:31] Speaker C: We have some guys who can run, you know, like I said, we're gap hitters. They hit the ball in the gap and a couple guys can run pretty good. [00:11:38] Speaker A: What are the players to watch this week? [00:11:40] Speaker C: Our catcher is probably one of the best hitters in the region, Shane Andrews, and the region player of the year, our center fielder, Declan Sheehan. Came out of nowhere, didn't even play high school baseball, but made himself into a legit baseball player. And our shortstop does a great job. You know, he's a lockdown shortstop. Justin Diaz should be Justin Lopez. [00:12:00] Speaker A: How does he go from not playing in high school and then deciding to play? [00:12:03] Speaker C: I think high school coaching. There's a kid that had some talent, just needed to be coached and he bought into the system and he ended up being a pretty good hitter. [00:12:11] Speaker A: How did he reach out to you and say, hey, I haven't played high school baseball, would I like to play? [00:12:15] Speaker C: A lot of guys just come and try out for a team. We have two programs, Ocean County College and Brookdale, right next to each other and they come here to try out. I never cut anybody. Everybody, come on. I let them cut themselves, you know, because I said, listen, if I didn't recruit you and there's somebody out there better than you, it's gonna be very hard to play here. And usually the first half of the day they're gone, next day half em are gone and there's always eight to nine stragglers that stay on, get better. Some red Shirt end up playing pretty good for us. [00:12:42] Speaker A: Any surprises on the roster? People you didn't expect to play that had good years? [00:12:47] Speaker C: Sheehan Kidd's number one kid, you know, he's been. And in our fourth, third baseman, Junior Nunez, who played behind an All American national player of the year last year, Rocco Brzniak. You know, he was just sat on the bench last year, worked his butt off and he became a pretty good third baseman for us. And he's had some timely hits. And our freshman right fielder, Casey Gardner, at first the game was a little too fast for him, but now he's starting to pick up on it. [00:13:12] Speaker A: How do you handle that with your freshman? Maybe with trying to handle the transition. It's going to be fast for them. How do you help them through that transition? [00:13:18] Speaker C: You know, the way our program works. Our sophomores run our program, you know, that's why I put a lot of pressure on our sophomores to carry them to freshmen until the halfway point, because I always call this the freshman 25 by 25 game 25. Their legs are dead, they're hurting, and they said, no way, Coach, I'm in great shape. But they've been trained for the last four years of their life to play 25 games. They don't realize it and everyone comes back and says, you're right, coach. But now once they get over that hump, they start understanding you're not freshmen anymore. And it just would just drill in your head, listen, you can play here. [00:13:49] Speaker A: You prep any different this week coming here? [00:13:51] Speaker C: No, it's the same thing. Like I said, this team, you can't put pressure on them. Because teams in the past, we've had some outstanding, you know, Division 1 guys getting drafted. This is an all average team, how they got here, you know, it's just a whole team together. Like Glasser is a great team in our program and we can compete with Glasser anytime. It's just we got to play a perfect game to beat anybody. [00:14:14] Speaker A: What does that do for you guys? You beating Gloucester, the district, you know, because it's been 18, 18 in a row, right? [00:14:20] Speaker C: Hey, pretty much it was. [00:14:21] Speaker A: I mean, so what's Northampton had Northampton. [00:14:24] Speaker C: There and Cumberland like the last couple years. I thought we had a better team, talent wise, but it's just they know how to win, man. Rob's a good guy. He's a good friend of mine. They know how to win. But difference this year is it's on a neutral site. They're tournament instead of at their home site. You know, it's a different thing. But it's just our kids. Our kids, I hate to say, are stupid. They don't understand who Gloucester is, You know, I mean, they just go out there and play baseball and do the best job they can. They battle. They never quit. [00:14:50] Speaker A: Have you had much adversity, start of the year 12 0. [00:14:54] Speaker C: No, honestly, not. Not all. They just. They just kept on competing. They. And the longer they got, we played, the better we got. [00:15:03] Speaker A: And quick turnaround for the districts was last Saturday. Yes, correct. All right, so pretty much same routine that you've had? [00:15:12] Speaker C: The same thing. You know, we had a day off there. We. The problem is we had rain back home the whole week. So we were inside the, you know, gym taking our cuts there, and the kids were loose, and they, you know, it's an experience. They enjoy your time. We've been here plenty of times before, but I said, just enjoy your life. You're not gonna remember your batting average, but you remember this time. Dog piling, you know, in these districts, playing against some of the best teams in the country here. [00:15:35] Speaker A: Real estate developer. I mean, how did you initially be like, okay, I can do this, but also, I can coach too. [00:15:42] Speaker C: You know, it's just. It's so weird. When I first got out of college at unlv, I was playing pro ball, and then a friend of mine said, hey, I got a coaching job for you, freshman. I said, I don't want to get into the coaching. And he ended up leaving to go play for the Dallas Cowboys. Then I got addicted to it, and then it just happened. And my job as a real estate appraiser, you make your own hours, you know, you do your own appointments. As long as you get your work in, you make your pay, you know, you pay for your family. It makes it worse. It's tough during the season. [00:16:10] Speaker A: Who'd you lean on initially to help you on the baseball side, coaching wise, when you first got into it? [00:16:16] Speaker C: Honestly, it was all myself, like I said. I had one friend of mine who played with me at Brookdale back in the day, Steve Swenson, who came with me from. From Bloomfield College. He helped out. And then I had four of my assistant coaches all play for me. So they were coaching me for 19 years. They ended up some of my best friends. They're younger than me, was in their weddings. And those guys, we were a family. Now they all have families, and they moved on. And my main guy, Eddie Galante, who's been with me for the last 14 years, finally got a job on campus so he can't coach anymore. So my two new coaches are doing a great job. Jay Blackwell and Jerry Malanga. [00:16:53] Speaker A: Have you had to adjust your coaching style at all over the years? Is it different? [00:16:57] Speaker C: Yeah, the same way I am. Like I said, I'm a tough coach to play for. I demand perfection, you know, But I'm gonna put my arm around you and tell you I love you. You know, our thing is the family. You know, I'm gonna push you and push you. I'm never gonna let you be average. You know, I just one of those kind of guys. And if you want to be average, go somewhere else where you have to wear it right way, you know, I play for some great coaches. Charlie Drean at Miami Dade, you know, Paul McLaughlin is a Hall of Famer at Brookdale and at UNLV. You know, coach Dalembar just taught you to do things the right way. I'm an old school guy and that's. [00:17:26] Speaker A: The art of it too. Like, how do you know as a coach where, okay, I'm going to push them up to this edge, but I'm not going to send them over the. [00:17:33] Speaker C: Edge either, you know. But the key is once you get on them and then you tell them what you're doing and put your arm around them and say, listen, this is why we're doing it. And that's where your sophomores come in and your assistant coaches. Because we have to have my assistant coaches have to be the guy, the good guys, because I'm the tough guy and I'm gonna put their arm around them. And these kids know when I rip on them, it's not cause I hate you. Cause I want you to get better. I'm frustrated for you. [00:17:55] Speaker A: Any other shout outs before I let you go? [00:17:57] Speaker C: My family, my daughter is gonna have our second baby down in Florida. You know, my grandson, 2 years old. If I can wait around for 18 more years, he'd be my shortstop down the road. [00:18:07] Speaker D: What? [00:18:08] Speaker A: Has being a grandparent changed your perspective on life? [00:18:10] Speaker C: Tell you what, it's the best thing in since sliced bread. I love my daughter, but I tell you what, being a grandparent is second to none. [00:18:17] Speaker A: Thanks for your time. [00:18:18] Speaker C: All right, guys. Appreciate you do a great job. Thank you. [00:18:23] Speaker A: All right, number seven seed, Oakton head coach Belfrado for 13 seasons. Correct. Your 13th season. [00:18:29] Speaker E: 13. [00:18:30] Speaker A: Also an Oakton grad, but 34 and 28 and then 2018 national champs. So thanks for jumping on with me. [00:18:37] Speaker E: No problem. [00:18:38] Speaker A: We go way back. [00:18:39] Speaker E: Yes, we do. [00:18:40] Speaker A: Way back to Iowa and Western Illinois days. What's the strength of this year's team. [00:18:46] Speaker E: I would say, you know, the chemistry has been really good with the club and I think offensively we're, we're pretty sound. Oakton through the years has been an offensive club for sure. And I just think this is one of my better teams offensively for sure. Especially towards the end of the year, we started putting it together, you know. [00:19:09] Speaker A: And we talked off camera your guys schedule, and I think that's the hard part from the outside looking in, is your schedule is going to be a little bit tougher than some other teams at your level. [00:19:18] Speaker E: Yeah, we're playing D1s, D2jucos, and a lot of scholarship money out there and quality teams. There's no off days anymore in Region 4 for sure, so it definitely gets us ready if we can get, get to the World Series. For sure. [00:19:35] Speaker A: With your weather, early doesn't always acclimate for you to be outside, so there might be some ups and downs a little bit early in the year for y' all, too. [00:19:42] Speaker E: Absolutely, absolutely. You know, we started out in Florida, we played really well, and we got back home and it was cold and took us a while to get rolling. But, you know, once again, I think we're hitting it at the right time and we'll see what happens. [00:19:58] Speaker A: How do you handle that from a training standpoint? You go to Florida, we all dealt with that in the upper Midwest. You go to Florida, you get outside for a while and then you come back and you're inside. How are you handling kind of that competitive piece when you're, when you're stuck inside for a little bit? [00:20:10] Speaker E: Yeah, it's just like a daily grind. Just trying to make sure we stay healthy and, you know, fight through those things. [00:20:19] Speaker A: Any players to watch this week? [00:20:21] Speaker E: Collazo is pretty good. Ricky Collazo, he signed with St Leo's he's definitely an offensive threat. Pepe Butachi, our three hitter from Venezuela, he's a really good player. You know, those are the two guys that make us go, basically, for sure. [00:20:40] Speaker A: Any surprises this year in the roster? Maybe guys you didn't expect to contribute as much as they have? [00:20:45] Speaker E: I got a freshman center fielder, Nick Bergen, he's hitting ninth. Really good center fielder. He gets it in the gaps for sure. He's been a big part of this. What I like about this team is a lot of freshmen. I think freshman starters. Tyler Heath, the first baseman, in my opinion, is one of the best gloves in Region 4. You know, I put him down for Gold Glove. Not sure he's going to get it. But you know, he's right up there with Collazo offensively and he's a freshman, you know, and his brother is like our 10th or 11th guy and he's going to be a starter for me next year, Brandon. And you know, once again, there's our depth is good. I like the chemistry. They're grinding together so, you know, we'll just see what happens. [00:21:32] Speaker A: Winning this in 2018, do you relay anything to the players coming up here. [00:21:37] Speaker E: What I learned from 18 to this team? Well, in 18 and 17, we were 12 games under.500 and then we, the same team, came to the World Series and won it. This team was 12 games under.500 and we're back to the World Series. So I'm hoping history repeats itself. [00:21:57] Speaker A: Yeah, you had a seven game skid in the middle of the year in April. How did you get that thing turned around? [00:22:03] Speaker E: Just basically just told them to keep on grinding. You know, we're playing some really good teams and it's going to get us better, you know, as we get towards the finish line. [00:22:13] Speaker A: So that's easier said than done. I mean, was that player driven to try to get out of that because a lot of teams would panic or even shut it down at that point. How did you kind of keep everybody together? [00:22:24] Speaker E: You know, I got a good coaching staff. We worked hard with the guys and we just were trying to keep positive with them. Told them that good things are going to start happening. So just keep their heads up, that's all we can do. You know, it's a game of baseball for sure, you know, that for somebody. [00:22:44] Speaker A: Doesn'T know how good junior college baseball is in the state of Illinois. What would you tell them? [00:22:49] Speaker E: It's good. Illinois, solid baseball for sure. Region 4 is very good. You know, I always said there used to be a couple games where you call them off days. There's no off days anymore. You know, as a head coach, you want to try to get guys in and give them opportunities. But it seems like every day is like, it's, it's like a. You gotta put your battle. It's like a battle every day, you know. [00:23:16] Speaker A: So what do you feel like has helped you the most in your career at this point? [00:23:20] Speaker E: Defibrillators, I guess. Yeah. You know, I mean, it's nice to have two of them on the bench with me now. So. I don't know. I've been doing this a long time and I've been around some really good players in the Frontier League and even when I was with the Chicago Cubs for five years. It's, you know, you learn a lot of things and you just try to, you know, bring it, bring it and pass it on to other people. [00:23:49] Speaker A: What have you taken out of your Frontier League experience? [00:23:53] Speaker E: Just, you know that I learned that in the Frontier League there's really good players and they're coming from NAIA programs, they're coming from Division 2. It doesn't matter where you're at, you can be seen and you can be something special. And that's the one thing about the Frontier League. It's guys that are trying to get opportunities and they're coming from all over the place and at different levels. If you're a baseball player, you're going to find a way to get to the top. [00:24:21] Speaker A: Have you seen the talent level risen with the 20 round draft? Have you seen the talent level rise in the Frontier League? I still think it's the best independent league because it's still a younger players league. Correct. You can't be a certain age and play in the Frontier League. [00:24:34] Speaker E: I've been there since 2012 and it's crazy. I mean, Schomburg Boomers just had a pitcher that was sitting at 97 and he was there probably about eight days and the Phillies just signed him. So we've had. The velocity is just crazy. Now in the Frontier league they're, I mean 94, 95. You're seeing these guns and being a guy you're saying why are they here? How did they get? But I. [00:25:03] Speaker A: There's not as many spots. No, there's just not that many spots for me. [00:25:06] Speaker E: And they're there and they're in the Frontier League. And then you get guys that are like really good players. Like we had a guy from Florida State, Quincy Neaporte, and really good hitter at Florida State and came with us and he was the MVP of the Frontier League. And you know, these guys are, you know, just still grinding. They're good baseball players but the talent level is just crazy. It's crazy. [00:25:30] Speaker A: What's my other shout outs before I let you go? [00:25:32] Speaker E: What was that? [00:25:33] Speaker A: Shout outs. You want to give me a shout outs before I let you go? [00:25:37] Speaker E: Just want to shout out to everybody in, you know, Region four. Wally Reynolds does a good job for us. Thank you. And just looking forward to this tournament. See what happens. [00:25:48] Speaker A: Appreciate your time, Bill. [00:25:49] Speaker E: Just make sure my defibrillator is ready for Gloucester. [00:25:56] Speaker A: All right, number one seed, SUNY Niagara, Matt Klinger Smith, head coach since 2006. But right now we're running on a 490 record coming in, so congrats. [00:26:06] Speaker F: Thank you. [00:26:07] Speaker A: I was trying to think about the modern era because Shreveport's in a high school, they're both undefeated, and I don't think that's ever happened in the history of college baseball. So you guys are pressing into some unprecedented territory here. [00:26:21] Speaker F: Yeah, you know, I don't think about that. I just think one game at a time. [00:26:25] Speaker A: What is the strength of this year's club? I mean, I thought it was a typo.419 batting average with over an 1100 OPS for you offensively, yeah, our strength is offensive. [00:26:37] Speaker F: You know, our pitching's no slouch either. Obviously, when you get a top 150 prospect. Matt Bauer, committed to the University of Tennessee. Our number two, Aiden Paul, committed to High Point. Eric Woodley, our number three committed to Arkansas Tech. And our number four, pitcher, St. Bonaventure. And our clothes are going to St. Bonaventure. Are all D1s and a respectable D2. But our offense has been unbelievable. 1 through 9 can hit it out of the park. [00:27:03] Speaker A: What are some other names maybe we should be keying in on the roster this week? [00:27:08] Speaker F: Gavin Boyle, he's committed to Southern Indiana. An outfield. They're returning All American for us. Dalton Harper, our catcher has done a great job, is already getting Division 1 interest. Our shortstop is going to Townsend State. Nigel Sebastianelli, we have a lot of D1s at the plate. Cooper Rozano is a Division 1 bounce back freshman for us. Mikey Shaffer's been solid in the four hole all year for us. And Brady Hill, a Mercyhurst Division 1 commit. [00:27:37] Speaker A: What are some keys to developing team offense? [00:27:40] Speaker F: Have good assistant coaches. They make me look good, I'll be honest. We hired a new coach. Dan Brick this year has helped us and Todd Muklich has been really well offensively and helped us get back to our ninth World Series. But it's just keeping things loose in the dugout. And we don't talk about much on mechanics. We talk about getting our foot on time and being on time for that one. [00:28:04] Speaker A: What are some things they do training wise with the guys that maybe you guys weren't doing before? Offensively. [00:28:11] Speaker F: A lot of heavy bets, you know, a lot of training that way. We also have trackman and other data and we track a lot of hand speed. You know, the average big leaguer is somewhere in the high 70s and we had some guys there. So we track a lot of hand speed and a lot of track man data and backspin on the ball. [00:28:32] Speaker A: Do you feel like that's the biggest metric, hand speed that you guys have relayed to your players that's helped them. [00:28:37] Speaker F: Yeah, because now we're living in a velocity era, you know. So, yeah, hand speed is big for us. [00:28:43] Speaker A: Any surprises on the roster? Good ones. The guys that are contributing that maybe you didn't expect coming into the year? [00:28:49] Speaker F: Yeah. Chris Finonciaro are our starting center fielder and he's got interest from George Gwinnett to Carson Newman. Division twos and really good nais. We recruited him as a pitcher, had an arm injury and he's been a blessing in center field. He never thought he'd be a two way runs a six three sixty has been clutching our nine hole. [00:29:12] Speaker A: Have you relayed anything to the guys? You've been here before, so anything to the guys about preparing for this week? [00:29:19] Speaker F: I said don't take your eye off the snake because they'll come back and bite you. Just step on it. I'm like, every team here knows how to win, so it's a marathon. I say because every team's got here because they've won. [00:29:33] Speaker A: You face any adversity during the year 49 and oh, it looks like maybe six, one or two run games the whole season? Have you faced much adversity? [00:29:40] Speaker F: We have not. But we prepared ourselves because like I always tell ourselves, our greatest opponent is ourselves. Yeah, we play ourselves in this game. [00:29:47] Speaker A: But that in itself is pressure, like to get that sort of a win streak going. That in itself is adversity because you're dealing with the outside noise of keeping that win streak going. [00:29:57] Speaker F: Yeah, it is. We don't look at that. We talk about the next 90ft for us and our next 90ft is right now it's looking in front of us as century. [00:30:08] Speaker A: Again. I'm intrigued by just the rolling of it. How have your guys been able to just reset like, okay, that game's over with. We're resetting for the next game. So it is just talking about 90ft. [00:30:19] Speaker F: 90Ft. [00:30:19] Speaker A: Love it. [00:30:20] Speaker F: You know, for us. And then hopefully our 90ft are to get through these teams and at home is our home run and hopefully to bring home a national title. [00:30:29] Speaker A: You have a large coaching staff, comparatively to some of the other D3 juco teams. Is that on purpose? [00:30:35] Speaker F: Yes, I, you know, the more eyes we have, the better our student athlete's going to be, whether it's in the classroom or on the field. [00:30:42] Speaker A: What did you Learn from Mike McCrae at Canisius? [00:30:46] Speaker G: A lot. [00:30:47] Speaker F: You know, like me and him have a special relationship. He texted me, I texted him in the Big Ten regional. He's been like a father to me. First of all, obviously how to pitch. You know, his staff's always been tremendous and he took me under his guidance and talked about mechanics with me and broke down cuff elbow routines and everything. And the second thing I've learned, he is one of the best at managing practices. So we take a lot of stuff from when he was at Canisius University and manage it into our stuff. We learned how to compete against each other because that is our greatest component. We always talk about playing at this level all the time. Well, it starts at practice. [00:31:29] Speaker A: I think the thing I got from him, especially when he was at William and Mary, he kept his set rotated so like his Friday guy might start on Wednesday. Yeah, he just kind of kept the same four or five guys. Do you do that? [00:31:41] Speaker F: We do the exact same. Love it, love it. And like our, our top draft pick, he's been our number two and he's going to stay in our, our spot. We've always kept the same rotation and we play the matchups just like him. If it's lefty, lefty or a percentage. Yeah, we, we looked at what our matchups are already. We kind of over prepare. [00:32:00] Speaker A: Are you still competing in the Mooney in the men's league? [00:32:02] Speaker F: I do not now. I was playing up in Canada. I was playing in an indie ball league last year was my last year playing up there. But yeah, I had a good run there and I was up for Cy Young the year before that. At 39. It was kind of like a Jimmy Morris story. Playing in the pro leagues and still playing at 39, 40, 41 and having kids and getting in a closet clubhouse with 20 year olds and 25 year old men and Dominicans again made me feel like I was a little out of shape. [00:32:32] Speaker A: I mean for you to keep competing at that level for that long, how'd. [00:32:36] Speaker F: You keep yourself in shape again? Going Back to Mike McCrae, you know, his lifts, his mechanical kept my arm in great shape. You know we always talk about glove side and catching your arm up to your body and I really bought into that and it kept me great shape to keep pitching in my 40s. [00:32:53] Speaker A: Did you ever throw BP from full distance? [00:32:55] Speaker F: I did this year and our team, I threw one hitter against them in nine innings which made me feel good here. And then I'm driving home, I'm like, wait, I'm not that good. [00:33:04] Speaker A: Any other shout outs you want to give before I let you go? [00:33:06] Speaker F: Yeah, I want to thank our school administration. You know, for the support that they give us, obviously, our athletic director and our new president's journey. I want to thank my wife and my. My two kids and my family for all the support they give me because baseball is a long season. It is a marathon season, and people don't realize double headers and how long it is. It's a thankless job. [00:33:27] Speaker A: Appreciate your time, Matt. Good luck. [00:33:29] Speaker F: Cheers. [00:33:32] Speaker A: All right, number four seed, Dallas Richland. Jimmy Brannaman, since October 22nd, correct? [00:33:38] Speaker G: Yes, sir. [00:33:38] Speaker A: Coming in with a 35 and 22 record. So congrats. Appreciate it. Congrats. Back to back World Series appearances. [00:33:45] Speaker G: Yeah, back to back. So, Richland, I think I want to say 2009 was. Until I had gotten to Richland the last time they had made it. So good to be back and hopefully do a little bit more this year. [00:33:59] Speaker A: What'd you take coming out of here last year? [00:34:02] Speaker G: It was just a really cool experience. You know, I myself, as a player coach, I've never, you know, made it that far in the postseason. So, I mean, that was just, you know, pretty neat experience. And now that, you know, we had a taste of it last year, now you kind of, you know, when you get knocked out, you're. You kind of have that itch. You're like, okay, like, I don't. I want to win it now. [00:34:29] Speaker A: Was prep then different this year as opposed to last year? Learning some things coming out here. Last year different. Did you prep any different? [00:34:37] Speaker G: I don't think so. You know, I think we ran into some really good teams last year playing Gloucester, who, you know, ended up knocking us out or, sorry, they put us into the losers bracket and played Eastfield for like the 10th time last year up here. So, you know, we knew pretty much, you know, what we had to do there. But, I mean, as far as, you know, what we do day in and day out, you know, I would say we didn't necessarily change a whole lot. I'd say our team's a little bit different dynamic this year than the team we brought here last year. [00:35:20] Speaker A: So what's different with the dynamic? [00:35:24] Speaker G: Just kind of how we play? I. Every team I've had, we've been really aggressive on the base pass, and this is the least amount of stolen bases I've ever had as a head coach, maybe even assistant. But, you know, we just banged the ball around the yard a little bit more this year, so I kind of had to pick our spots more, I guess you could say when to, you know, roll the dice on when to run or not. [00:36:00] Speaker A: That's the art of coaching though is like you've got to tailor your, your style to your team's strengths. [00:36:05] Speaker G: Yeah. And like the thing for me was like I was a speed guy, you know, I, you know, I was the guy if I hit the ball in the top of the batting cage, I was, my round was done, you know, it was on a line on the ground and you know, so that's kind of the style of the teams I've always had and it just really wasn't the case this year. [00:36:28] Speaker A: What are the strengths of this year's team? Seems like pretty balanced between hitting, pitching and defense. [00:36:32] Speaker G: Yeah, I think we're a little more well balanced. I think we have more depth on the mound. I think we handle pressure pretty well. You know, as a, as a former coach, you know, you're always trying to dissect stats. But like one thing that really stuck out for us was we've been really good in close ball games. So you know, I guess that would be one thing we did do different this year is we did a little bit more simulated inner squads where you know, it starts in the seventh inning. It's a two run, three run ball game. You know, we got to hold a lead or you know, along those lines. And personally I think it's paid off just because we're putting them in that kind of environment a lot. [00:37:26] Speaker A: You're cultivating late, late inning action which is hard in practice. You can't always emulate that unless you specifically put them in those situations to get them comfortable with being in those situations. [00:37:38] Speaker G: Absolutely. [00:37:38] Speaker A: What about some players to watch this week? [00:37:41] Speaker G: Probably our number one, Trey Smith. He's outfield first base. We kind of halfway through the year started working that first base and did a really good job. I think he's maybe made one error there the entire year. Leads the country in doubles sitting 4:40 with 12 or 13 home runs. Now I think the impressive thing about him, you know, besides our conference, I mean we're pretty much just surrounded by Division 1 junior colleges so you know, that's pretty much all we play in the non conference. But Trey, his OPS and his slugging percentage is actually better against the Division 1 junior colleges than our own conference. So his average is a little bit lower. But I think the last time we looked at is like 4:10. So he's kind of doesn't really matter who we're playing. You know, he's going to hit and then probably on the mound. I would say Braun far he's eclipsed the 100 inning mark. I think he's at 102 now, you know, not a ton of punch outs, but he's got four different pitches. He can, you know, throw for strikes. It's coming this way and it's going that way. You know, guess. Hitters got to guess which way it's going. [00:39:05] Speaker E: So was that your call to move. [00:39:07] Speaker A: Him to first base or did he come to you? [00:39:10] Speaker G: Well, yeah, I mean, I would say it was our coaches coaching staff's call. We felt like we had a log jam in the outfield and just really had a hard time, you know, just creating a lineup. And that's kind of, you know, when we took off is when we moved him to first base and then. [00:39:31] Speaker A: And he had never played first before. [00:39:34] Speaker G: No, that's not. [00:39:36] Speaker A: People say it's like you can just throw a guy over there that's not. You have bunch situations like where to play, like, give him a lot of credit for, for doing that. For me, I think it's the most underrated defense position on the field is first base. If you're bad there, it kills you. If you're good there, it saves you, but if you're bad at first, it kills you. [00:39:54] Speaker G: Yeah. And, you know, some. Some of his other teammates, you know, obviously it worked out really well, but this late in the year, how much time we've worked on bunt defense since we've moved him to first just because, you know, he's a guy that, you know, hasn't played there. And I, you know, I was a former outfielder, I thought, told him, hey, you know, you run the bases during bunt defense, so you're not really. All you need to know is which base to back up. So just how much thinking is actually involved, especially at that position. [00:40:30] Speaker A: So any good surprises on the roster, guys that you didn't think were going to contribute that have. [00:40:38] Speaker G: I wouldn't say I didn't think they could. We had a third year guy this year, just kind of. Just rags to riches, kind of. [00:40:49] Speaker A: He. [00:40:49] Speaker G: He's been at two different junior colleges. He tore his ACL his senior year in high school. Sean Amarante, I think he said around 350 right now with 12 home runs, you know, and we, we had a lot of questions, you know, after, you know, what the season last year, because he didn't play a whole lot, Maybe only had 40, 50 at bats. But, you know, we, the big reason we brought him back was because he was a great team guy. And I mean, I always say the game, the game never rewards the wrong guys. And, you know, I think he's a great example of that, of, you know, kind of did his time and, you know, never complained. One time, I can't think of one time he came to me and said, why am I not playing? You know, and, you know, he just worked his butt off and, you know, he was first team, all region, all conference. And I think he'll be up for, you know, nomination for All Americans. So pretty sweet for him. [00:41:51] Speaker A: It's almost like having a fifth year senior at a four year school. I mean, because he's seen everything he's gonna see at that point and you just hope that, okay, just go out and play now because you've been through all the experiences that you're going to go through. [00:42:05] Speaker G: Yeah, I think the example for him is, you know, Trey Smith. I mean, he's a big strong guy, but he'll be the first one to tell you, Sean, Sean can hit the ball further than he can. You know, it's kind of like I'm trying to think of the old Angels hitters is like Trout and drawing a blank on the other one. But, but they would always say Mark Trumbeau could hit the ball further than the two other power guys they had. And, you know, maybe he didn't have as many home runs. We were like, no, you know, that guy's got the juice. [00:42:40] Speaker A: With your tough schedule, the schedule you gotta play down there. How do you deal that with your guys? Because obviously your weekends might be a little bit different than your midweek games. [00:42:49] Speaker G: Yeah, I mean, well, I mean, you know, especially early on in the year, you know, we played a series with Boja Perez, we went out to Amarillo and played, you know, played Vernon, who had a really good year as well. I think the best finish they've ever had as a program. A lot of that I think goes back to just how, you know, I was brought up as a player playing for Mitch Hennis, who's at South Florida now. You know, we at Lincoln, when I played for him at Lincoln Trail, we'd go down to Florida every year and usually, you know, just get our butts beat in. But I think just the figuring out what we're good at, what we're not good at, what we got to touch on more. You know, I, wins are great and trust me, I want to win more than anybody. But, you know, when you're playing against really good competition, you know, you're hoping this is when it shows up. And I, I don't know if it's the reason why we've ended up Here the last two years, but I don't think it's hurt us at all. [00:44:04] Speaker A: Do you feel like that helps your practices more too? Because you do have a better understanding of what your team needs to work on because you maybe getting exposed. [00:44:12] Speaker G: Yeah, you know, especially like, I mean we, we hammer the two strike approach. I mean you, you don't get many days in Texas where you're not seeing, you know, 89 mile an hour fastballs, you know, with some decent off speed. So, so, you know, just kind of keeping the guys glued in and locked and you know, our conference top to bottom this year has been a lot better. Just some, some new coaches that have popped up in our league. They're doing a pretty good job, I think. And you know, I think yeah, we may not have these, you know, eye popping records or anything like that, but. [00:44:56] Speaker A: Your hair and that's all. [00:44:57] Speaker G: Yeah, I mean, I, I didn't really get into coaching to, you know, see how many women wins I could have attached to my name. [00:45:05] Speaker A: What did you learn from Mitch Hannis and also Kevin Bowers by the way too, because I, I say it a lot. I think Mitch is probably at least top 10, but probably top 5 most underrated coaches we have at any level. [00:45:17] Speaker G: Yeah. [00:45:18] Speaker A: What did you learn from those two? [00:45:20] Speaker G: Just the toughness and the grind and you know, just having the ability to outwork people, people, you know, and just really being prepared, you know, for, you know, when you might get that shot. Because you know, a lot of guys, you don't know when, you know, that shot might come. But yeah, I would say a lot of it, you know, stems back to my time with them and, and good. [00:45:48] Speaker A: End game decisions, I think. [00:45:49] Speaker G: Yeah, I think. [00:45:50] Speaker A: Great endgame coach too. [00:45:51] Speaker G: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, I think I probably not here right now if, you know, had I not played for those guys. [00:46:04] Speaker A: Frontier League alum. [00:46:06] Speaker G: Yeah, way back in the day. Me too. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Didn't last very long though. I got a brief snippet of it and then I realized I wasn't very good. So I thought it was good. [00:46:21] Speaker A: You know, it comes for us all at some point. At some point you'll figure out like there's guys way better than me. [00:46:27] Speaker G: Yeah, 100%. [00:46:29] Speaker A: What do you feel like has helped you the most in your career at this point? [00:46:34] Speaker G: Honestly, it was probably my second year of being a head coach at Frontier. I, you know, was fortunate to get elevated to being the head coach there. I was an assistant for three or four years. Head guy left, he took another job in Mississippi and We had a, you know, really good team. We had the best season that program's ever had. Won 36 games, made it to the post season for the first time in that program's history. I think we had nine or 10 guys go Division 1 that year. So, you know, for that to be my first year as a head coach, you know, I probably thought, you know, I got a lot of this figured out already and then I kind of got, you know, punched in the mouth, as Mike Tyson would say, my second year, probably, probably the most talented team I've ever had. And, you know, I think we went 23 and like 30 or something year. Actually, one of my players on that team, he's actually playing for Mitchanis down in South Florida right now. But I, I don't know, I think I kind of forgot who I was, you know, having all that success year one, I definitely got wrapped up in just, just about winning and not really, hey, this is what you have. This is what you have to do to win. And I was just so focused on, you know, the end result to where, you know, that's, you know, you could talk about, hey, that's the, the black eye of my coaching that year, of my coaching career. But for long term, I think it's been the most beneficial year. [00:48:27] Speaker A: Yeah. We talk about fail forward moments on the podcast a lot. [00:48:30] Speaker G: Yeah. [00:48:31] Speaker A: And I think it's how you deal with that part. And who knows, like, if you don't have a year like that. [00:48:37] Speaker G: Yeah. [00:48:37] Speaker A: You may not be at the point you're at right now, because I think the game is beautiful that way as it does humble you. Like, as soon as you think you have everything figured out with baseball, baseball's gonna remind you immediately, whether it's coaching or playing, that that you still have things to learn and work on. And I think you have to go through seasons like that to grow as a coach. Because if everything's great all the time, you don't ever make any adjustments. [00:49:00] Speaker G: Yeah. [00:49:00] Speaker A: But I think you learn more from that and I think you're a better coach down the road because you have some, some struggles. [00:49:05] Speaker G: Oh, 100%. [00:49:07] Speaker A: You know, what would you go back and do different? Like, so say, say you're that first year head coach because we have a lot of first year head coaches. [00:49:13] Speaker G: Yeah. [00:49:13] Speaker A: Say you have a year like that. What would you have done differently going into that second year? That, that to maybe not have that happen? [00:49:23] Speaker G: Probably spend more time developing the, just the team culture. That's where I, you know, I think I didn't create as good of relationships with my players that year because I was, you know, I was thinking about W's and hey, let's, let's try to go further in the postseason. And you know, I'm, I'm a pretty laid back person overall, but I just, I, I think I was looking at things just really selfishly and you know, if you're, you're a coach, you know, your calling's to lead and lift these guys up. And if I, if I had to say anything to any coach, you know, just getting into it is, if you get into it for yourself or, or the money, you're probably not going to last very long because one, you're not going to get much money when you start out. But you know, if it's just about you, I mean, you know, when you're, when you're retired, 70 years old, you know that that phone's going to be pretty silent when it's all said and done. [00:50:34] Speaker A: The game is weeded out. Most of those people, it will. The game, the game is good in that way that if you're in it at all, coaching for the wrong reasons, you might make it a little bit, but at some point you're no longer going to be in the game of baseball. [00:50:51] Speaker G: Yeah, I mean, you gotta love it, you know, so if there's a day comes I don't like being at a baseball field, then it'll, you know, I'll probably be the last time you see me. [00:51:02] Speaker A: What are some other shout outs before I let you go? [00:51:06] Speaker G: Shout outs? Probably some of my former coaches. Coach Goff at Purdue, coach here at Ohio State, you know, big, you know, just a lot of things I learned playing for them, you know, I still interjected into my program, so. Especially the hit by pitches. [00:51:31] Speaker A: Thanks for your time. Appreciate it. Good luck this week. [00:51:33] Speaker G: Appreciate it. It. [00:51:36] Speaker A: All right here, number five. See Northern Essex, Jeff Mejia, head coach since 2013, but coming in with a 328 record. So Jeff, thanks for jumping on with me. [00:51:45] Speaker H: Absolutely. Glad to be here. [00:51:47] Speaker A: What's the strength of this year club? I mean it looks like.360 team batting average,230 stolen bases, 3.61 team ERA. So that's impressive numbers, by the way. [00:51:57] Speaker H: Thank you. Appreciate that. Yeah. Strength of the team. I'd say this year we've, we've been able to weather adversity very well. We've been in probably more close games this year than any years past and they just find a way to keep getting it done. [00:52:15] Speaker A: At what point with the close games were you like, okay, this team's got to figure out how to win those close games. [00:52:22] Speaker H: Pretty early on actually. We started our season down at the Russ Mat down in Florida and we had two 9 inning, 7 inning, you know, two 7 inning double headers with Herkimer and we got beat in one and then the next one we walked off on them and I was like, okay, this team starting this could be a fun year. And it just carried on up north from there. [00:52:46] Speaker A: Have you always stolen bases like that? [00:52:48] Speaker E: Have you always run? [00:52:49] Speaker H: Yeah, we've always been an aggressive team. Philosophy's always, if we get a lead, we're going to be ultra aggressive. You know, if we're down a handful, we'll be a little more conservative. But you know, we're going to, we're going to put the pressure on the defense. You know, being at the ABCA conventions, you know, I never miss a base running clinic and you know, Coach Roberts was the first one I really like took to. So we try to implement that as much as possible. [00:53:15] Speaker A: Yeah. How much are with your guys? How much is a hybrid? How much are kind of the new school stuff? How many guys are using the old school stuff? [00:53:23] Speaker I: Pretty much. [00:53:24] Speaker H: Mostly it's a combination with our guys. You know, depending on the situation. We don't like to show a lot of the new stuff. Yeah, that camera just went off so I don't know. [00:53:35] Speaker A: It's still going. Okay, that's a good. I know it always shuts, but then it's still running. It's still running. So when you implement that with your guys, the running portion, as soon as practice starts. [00:53:45] Speaker H: Yeah, as soon as practice starts in the fall, we use our fall really to figure out what we have and then what we need to bring in for the spring we play every weekend. We play a lot of Division 1 four year schools up north for recruiting purposes, but we're implementing everything right away. We work on base running every day. [00:54:04] Speaker A: How many guys will you have coming at the break? [00:54:07] Speaker H: Every year is a little different. This year we had four, I believe. Year before we had two. Just really depends what we need. And you know, with the state of baseball right now, especially with the transfer portals, one, a lot of guys get left out. Two, a lot of guys are getting, you know, released or you know, told to find someplace else at the end of, you know, division one and two falls and if they're local and we've built a relationship with them, we could be a great landing spot for a lot of those. We, we've done really well with that. [00:54:39] Speaker A: With such a quick turnaround for those players coming in at the break, how do you help them acclimate with the team in the spring since they haven't been with you guys since the fall? [00:54:47] Speaker H: Yeah, so we, we go indoors. Our, our facilities doesn't really have a lot of spots for us so we rent an outside facility which is, which is fantastic. And we just right away we get after it. Our fundraising actually helps us quite a bit doing that. We run youth camps and all the players work them. So you mix the new guys with the old guys and you know, just kind of like old school. Put them together and they'll figure it out. Stay out of the way. [00:55:18] Speaker A: Who are some players to watch this week? [00:55:20] Speaker H: So man, Manny Castro, absolutely. Third baseman. I think he's one of the better players in the country. Really can get it through. Done defensively as well as offensively. Jacob Cotter, our shortstop's another one, left handed hitter. Not a huge young man, height wise, but boy, like when you see a swing you'll understand. Another one would be Thomas Farrado, big first baseman, you know, our catcher who's a freshman, he's got a big arm behind the plate. I think he threw out 17 or 18 guys this year, which is school record. And then on the mount we have a couple sophomores and then Ingberg Paulino will come out of the pen. He's been really good for us. But then the freshman, you know, you have Jacksono, Eric Bridges, Lawson Burch who's been on fire late in the season, you know, and Jack Kelleher who's been on one actually is coming back from a nose break. In pre game Monday, the championship game, he was backing up third and took a ball, so he's coming off of that. But we're really young on the mound, but they've been outstanding. [00:56:33] Speaker A: Any good surprises on the roster? Maybe people you didn't expect to contribute that are contributing? [00:56:37] Speaker H: Yeah, we had a midseason transfer from Southern Alabama. Really looked at Anthony Marino. I mean he's just a baseball player, right? He was a two way at Southern Alabama. He had shoulder surgery so he's not on the bump right now, although he's been throwing some bullpens when he's healthy. He's a mid-90s guy, but we have him playing second base, tearing it up and then you know, you get him on the bases and he's, he's something special to watch. So he's been a great surprise for us. [00:57:07] Speaker A: 8Th World Series appearance, correct for you. [00:57:10] Speaker H: I believe it's 9 or 10, 9. [00:57:12] Speaker A: Tell your Sid to update your website. [00:57:14] Speaker H: Yeah, they haven't updated it in a while. [00:57:16] Speaker A: How do you prep for this? [00:57:18] Speaker H: So it used to be different. We used to have a week off because our region had an automatic bid. We don't anymore. So we have to go down and play the New York City regional champs. So there's not a whole lot of difference. You know, we finished that series on Saturday. I gave them Sunday to, you know, have a day off and then right back at it Monday. We do our practices a little bit lighter than usual. You know, let them healthy up, just kind of walk through keeping their confidence up. [00:57:49] Speaker A: With your freshman, you've had so many throw innings. How are you kind of managing their workload? Maybe the most they've ever probably thrown in their life. How are you managing their workload this time of year? [00:57:58] Speaker H: Yeah, it's actually kind of the opposite. High school baseball. Massachusetts. Massachusetts. You know, these guys will typically, all these guys are starters and they would go every other game for their high school, you know, plus 100 pitches. So with us, it's actually been. We had to manage. Okay, you have seven days off now. You got to get your pen on this day, you know, you're in the bullpen, you might get an inning here and inning there. So it's. We've been keeping them live. I have a first year pitching coach in Tyler McDonald who plays, played for us then he went on and played for Division 2 Franklin Pierce. He's been great with organizing the pitches. He's done a fantastic job. [00:58:37] Speaker A: You know, as to be expected with the schedule. You play early, probably going to come out of the gym and maybe lose some games maybe that you wouldn't later on in the year. But you guys are 21 and 1 at that right now in your last 22 games. 21 and 1. So you guys are rolling. Do you kind of expect that early in the year, especially going down to Florida and playing those teams, that it might be a little bumpy in the beginning of the year? [00:58:57] Speaker H: Yeah, it's, you know, it's a year to year thing. This year being so young, you know, I kind of factored that in. We always put in. One of the things with Russ, Matt I like is you can put in teams you would like to play. You don't always get them. I always put in for the hottest teams. You know, I want to see the competition, I want to see our guys, what they're going to do. So, yeah, it was kind of to be expected this year. Obviously you go down there you want to win them all, but no panic, we use it. We get a lot of guys, a lot of playing time. The goal with our Florida trip is to come back up north knowing exactly what we got. And then it's a lot easier if there's a guy that may not be getting the playing time up north when he knew he got his opportunity in Florida, than opposed to a player never getting an opportunity. We don't over roster, you know, we'll keep like 28 active guys, so you're going to get opportunities with us. I'm a big believer in that. Maybe if we stop winning, I'll go to that. You know, some of these schools got 40, 50 man fall rosters. We don't do that at Northern Essex. [01:00:00] Speaker A: How are you blending your military background into your coaching style or maybe some leadership stuff with the team? [01:00:05] Speaker H: Yeah, definitely. It's adapted over time. I was actually just talking about it. My former players will say I'm a lot easier now on the guys than I was, you know, 12 years ago when I took the job. But it's the military element is always there. We're very structured. Time management as a coach, I think is probably the most underestimated skill. So I definitely get that from the military. You know, my son who played at U Main, coached with me last year here he actually just enlisted. He just finished paratrooper school and now he's in Fort Bragg with his unit, getting ready to go do his next training. And, you know, talking to him after airborne school, he's like, dad, I definitely see where you, you've built your coaching regiment and how we, how we get after it. So, you know, the greatest uniform I ever put on was the United States Army. You know, greatest thing I did outside of my family was serving Operation Desert Storm, putting that flag on my shoulder, that stuff. I'm so grateful for our country to give me that opportunity. And you know, my dad was a vet, my uncles were veterans. I have a nephew older than me that served in Desert Storm with me. So now my son serve and it's kind of what our family believes in. You know, you serve your country, then you live your, you know, you live the fruits of that and you know, the greatest country in the world. [01:01:30] Speaker A: So I think kids now need more accountability than ever. How are you keeping your players accountable? Might be different now and keeping them accountable than when you first started, as we all did back in the old days, but how are you keeping players accountable now? [01:01:42] Speaker H: Yeah, we take an old school approach to that for sure. Our standards do not, do not, you know, dip. You know, we, we hold you very accountable. We don't have a ton of team rules, you know, run hard to first base, show up on time on the field, but off the field, we hold them to an even higher standard. You gotta, you gotta. You know, when we leave, like yesterday we left the restaurant, I had a couple come over to me like, wow, what a bunch of nice young man you have. They're very respectful little things like walking off the bus, thanking the bus driver every single time. When we check out of a hotel, you'll see our guys with the trash bags, taking them to the dumpster. I believe old school stuff like that. Some people will say this new generation is pretty self indulged and that's fine, but we're not going to cater to that. We're going to do the right things on and off the field. [01:02:36] Speaker A: You know, people say that about this generation, but I think this generation buys more in the community than the past generations. I think they're about building a community and I think this generation buys into more about some. Something bigger than themselves than past generations has. [01:02:51] Speaker H: I totally agree with that. I've been saying that for a long time and this. And I've been around long enough to see the different growth. This particular group the last four or five years. Groups, they're very more accepting of others. They're very more group oriented, right? They want to be part of something. It's almost like they long for it because maybe they didn't get it at a younger age. So now they get to the college and now they're starting to feel like, hey, you know, this is, this is about everybody's here to help you, but you're here to help everybody. I love it. I think this generation's, the country's in great hands. [01:03:29] Speaker A: Any other shout outs before I let you go? [01:03:31] Speaker H: Obviously my wife, my daughter, you know, my daughter Isabella graduated Clemson. They had a good game last night and we were watching that. She was there during the Trevor Lawrence era, so she had a good time. And then, you know, my wife, I couldn't do this without my wife. I mean, she's the rock of my family. You know, she's been through a lot and she, she's always there and she could. During the, she didn't make the districts this year, but she was saying, she was telling me she was looking at the game changer, like, all right, get him up, get him out. So if she was a coach, I'd probably need 72 pitchers. Because if you throw a ball you're probably going to get taken out, but she loves it, you know. And you know, any good coach would tell you if you're going to have a successful life outside of baseball and a successful marriage, you have to have an extremely understanding wife if you're going to be a coach. [01:04:22] Speaker A: Thanks for the time, Jeff. [01:04:23] Speaker H: Good luck this week. I appreciate it. [01:04:24] Speaker A: Appreciate you. All right here, eight seed century matters. Our head coach four season. [01:04:31] Speaker B: Correct. [01:04:31] Speaker A: As head coach. [01:04:32] Speaker I: Four season at head coach. Coach at century. Yes. [01:04:34] Speaker A: 43, nine record. Congrats by the way, especially coming out of the upper Midwest. That's a tremendous record. So when did Century start? [01:04:42] Speaker C: What was the first year of the school? [01:04:44] Speaker I: First year of the program was 2010. 2010. [01:04:50] Speaker A: So I thought it had been fairly recent. [01:04:52] Speaker I: Yes. [01:04:52] Speaker A: For you all. [01:04:53] Speaker I: Yeah, the, the rab and former baseball coach got it started and did a tremendous job going to the World Series five times. So this is the first time being back since, since he just turned into a. Just an ad. [01:05:06] Speaker A: What are the strengths this year? I mean it looks like 358 team batting average and a.344 team ERA. [01:05:13] Speaker I: It's been honestly. And then the one I think has been kind of the one that's not talked about is how well we play defense. It's been nice turning some double plays that we hadn't in the past year and just making the, making the plays on a routine basis. And our pitchers know that they don't have to get everybody out now, have they? Yeah, it's been, it's been kind of nice. And they hitters, they hit and it's fun to watch them. It makes me have a pretty easy job at third base where I just had to point them in or shake their hand. So it's been a pleasure coaching this team. All three facets have worked pretty well. [01:05:50] Speaker A: Who are some players to key in on this week? [01:05:52] Speaker I: Well, the Seth's in the lineup for sure. They sit right next to each other in the lineup. Seth Nelson and Seth Tierney. Seth Nelson has been our guy, just probably our most consistent guy. And he has 15 bombs on the ear and hired him right behind a guy with 14 and then a guy right behind him with 12 makes it a little bit easy to. To make sure that they get a hit. You know, Nelson, Nelly's been moving all over the plate. He's been short second and first for us and Tierney's been our DH for Spaceman. And yeah, they've been running into the ball and then biggest guys have been our shortstop, pitcher, Hunter Ginther. You know, he Plays short every day and then when on the last game of the weekend he gets to throw and blow it out for us. So it's been fun to watch. You know he sits and operates low nines and. And it's kind of nice to have that guy as your four on a weekend. [01:06:47] Speaker A: How do you manage his workload? We get a lot of questions on dual players. So how do you manage his workload since he has your everyday shortstop but also pitches, how are you managing his workload? [01:06:58] Speaker I: More of it's been a conversation with him throughout the process and just what he needs and what to take care of him. The plus has been we haven't had to run him too long and luckily in a fourth game against a lot of our teams we've been in hand where we can give it up to the bullpen or the game's over in run roll. So biggest thing is having conversation with him. We haven't had have him play defense the next day other than the one game in the playoffs. So you talk about being able to. Able to help a guy out during that process. It's. It's been really good. So it is a lot of conversations with the young man and also knowing that he has the affinity to I want to throw all the time and I can. So don't tell me I can't. I'm trying to understand what he needs to be successful. [01:07:46] Speaker A: So with midweek games when does he does he bullpen for. [01:07:50] Speaker I: For this weekend? [01:07:51] Speaker A: I mean during the year. I mean because you're playing midweek games too is your everyday shortstop and not. Not like you can just carve out hey go throw a bullpen because may I be starting to shorten that day. [01:08:01] Speaker I: He typically throws a bullpen on the midweek day after the game or the next day is typically when he has done it. [01:08:07] Speaker A: Love it. Love it. Any good surprises on the roster guys? Maybe you didn't expect to have the. [01:08:13] Speaker I: Years they've had a bunch of them. I mean I guess the pitching staff just as a whole has been. We knew we had a good base when we started off our second game. We gave a game to Iowa Central. We were leading and and gave up 11 the next inning because of walks and not doing those things. Now Iowa Central can play a little bit. Obviously they're in the College World Series also. But the fact that we said here you can have some and the conversation the next week was if we're going to be what we want to be, that can't happen. And surprisingly they listen and we have not Given teams opportunities to score a lot because we haven't. When guys get hit, there's not a walk or a plunk that gives them a run. And so just our pitching staff as a whole, I mean Nathan Bunyard has been our front end. He's been awesome for us. And then Max Hudlow and Joey Koch just been great starters. And then Shane Pellen, our back end guy, and Seth Luther, who was a starter, now is a back end guy. They've just done some great things for us. And it's a bunch of other guys that I named the whole staff. But it's, it's, it's been fun and being able to go to point down the line and the guy getting the job done for you. [01:09:25] Speaker A: What is it about upper Midwest kids? Because their development timeline because how many of you guys played multiple sports in high school? [01:09:32] Speaker I: I would say most of them. Yeah, most of them. I love it. I know this body doesn't look fun. [01:09:40] Speaker A: To see him grow though like, because you know that's going to happen. They played, you know, some especially get an Iowa or Minnesota kid. They maybe have played three or four sports in high school or you know, once they just decide to play baseball full time, they're going to grow. [01:09:54] Speaker I: You get to see some jumps with those guys. And I look at the three sport athlete. I was from small town Northern Minnesota, so I played three sports. And the fact that I think you get around different teammates, you get different, find different ways how to deal with adversity or being a winner. Like we have a couple guys that want state, state hockey tournaments and, and if you've ever heard anything about Minnesota State, high school hockey is, it's nuts when you can fill up the XL Energy center for five straight days and the whole state should basically shut down to watch. And you got some guys that have won championships doing that. So it's, it's pretty cool. And you talk about that development bit like it's, it's awesome watching our guys and if there's something that's ingrained into our guys, they show up early, they try to beat me to the park and which sometimes they do. Like they're, they're awesome in that. I was just talking with Matt with Niagara about we do our PBR event in, in the fall and, and how much they grow from that to now. And it's, it's almost like maybe we need to move it back just because you get to see those extra couple of numbers that our guys can put up in that development. But overall like the development that Those guys that are three sports esport athletes. Yeah, you can see some big jumps out of nowhere. [01:11:06] Speaker A: You prepare any different this week coming out here? [01:11:09] Speaker I: Yeah, we were inside because it rained. This rain has followed us the whole way. No, but yes. I mean, yeah, it's literally been the rain that's followed us, but no, it's. It's been get your swings in, take care of your body, and it's the time to just do what we've been doing and play your best baseball. [01:11:27] Speaker A: And that was one of my questions, too, about indoor practices. You know, how do you emulate some of that competitive stuff being inside? Because I think that's the biggest question we get from coaches is compete, is how do we bring competitiveness into our practices. [01:11:45] Speaker I: It's a challenge, I will say, just for me personally, when you're inside, I just feel like it's about process and skill set. So I think we get to spend more time on some skill set stuff than the south does, just because that's our only option. But yeah, trying to figure out little games, little twists to make it fun. Like, we played golf one time that was entertaining golf with the pitchers. So they. If they hit a spot, it was, you know, this. And so then they got to play topgolf. We've done some of those weird things, but, like, ultimately you got to get guys that want to win and want to compete. So it's. If they don't want to beat their. Their roommate for dishes, doing dishes, like, then I. I don't know what you're doing here. Like, you got to win those little battles. [01:12:29] Speaker A: Any adversity for you all? I mean, obviously early in the year, you get outside, you're playing, but you've been 38 and three since then. So, I mean, obviously for you, have you had much adversity here down the stretch? [01:12:41] Speaker I: Adversity in guys coming from injuries, guys dealing with a little bit of that. Like, our whole outfield had a hamstring issue. So we. This is the first time in a month that we actually have everybody back. We did get one injury in the championship game, but we'll see where he's at. The. The adversity is more the focus like that. We've just had that you can't give teams opportunities to take wins from us. And we, you know, we took some midweek losses, but our guys bounced back from those. Well, and, you know, have had the maturity of, like, this is what we're here to do. We're our goal. We didn't talk a lot about making it Here it was kind of this is what we're going to do. Especially we lost, I don't know if you know this, we lost 24 to 22 game in the championship in the second championship last year. So they got a taste, they wanted it and they thank God came through and took care of business and did it and really in really well. I mean we 10 run three teams in the, in the playoffs and so yeah, they executed when they needed to execute. [01:13:44] Speaker A: What were your big suggestions? Moving to the head coaching position. [01:13:49] Speaker I: You know, when I took this role, I moved over from. So I'd been a head coach at Dakota county and Mesabi Range before this and this was an awesome move to a program that had won. The school is going to take care of me on the, taking care of my family, doing all the, all the stuff that makes the coaching part a lot easier. So it was one of those like, yes, I got to do it. And knowing the head coach and be in front of me is for years that it was, it was a good situation. So coming to a program that you look up every day and have to look at Valor's and know that that's the expectation and 30 wins is the minimum like that, that was a little bit, that took a little bit. You know, you kind of think, well when you get it that it's all going to be hunky dory and everything's going to work. And so through the three or four years it was a little bit of like what works to get this team to get to where they needed to be. And obviously talent helps. I mean weird. But there wasn't a lot of like game adjustments. I guess the biggest thing that I had to my previous teams had to be a speed team because my field was probably the biggest field in the Midwest at Dakota county. And now I played a little bit more hitter friendly so I can recruit some guys that play a little bit of that donkey ball. And so like this team's a perfect match of guys I can run into some balls and some guys I can run. So I get a coach kind of how they are. So that's what I'm excited about. That I'm able to do what is needed to do. Not just say like we gotta run or we gotta hit. We can, we can do all the things that we need to and be the best you. [01:15:25] Speaker A: So what do you feel like's helped you the most in your career at this point? [01:15:31] Speaker I: Helped me in my career? Well, I guess, you know, support from. My dad was a coach for 42 years 38 as I head coach. He's in the High school Hall of Fame in Minnesota. Always having that support. Support from family, support from my wife, knowing that I have a weird, weird job and that things aren't normal. To be fair, I also made. [01:15:57] Speaker A: It is normal for baseball. Outside looking in, it's weird. But if you're in baseball, like, it's not, it's not weird. [01:16:04] Speaker I: But I also married a weirdo. She's a zookeeper, so she also lives a different life. And I've. I have a hobby farm back home, so I also live a different life. So it is, it is that. [01:16:18] Speaker F: But a lot. [01:16:19] Speaker I: Just throughout your career, I mean, I've worked so many random jobs just to make a living doing this. And the fact that now I'm teaching and coaching and have a stable spot to be at is awesome. I mean, I learned how to carry lumber. I got, I worked at Edible Arrangements. I did a lot of random jobs just to make a dollar spraying lawn. Like, you know, that's what you do to, to make it. And I'm, I'm glad I did it. I'm glad I don't have to do it anymore. But yeah, it is the. [01:16:46] Speaker A: Because that makes who you are same thing. I think all of us had I harvested for a little bit. Like, I think we've all done that. But I think it makes you better for it when you do get to a spot where you don't have to do all that stuff. I think it makes you better for it because I think you appreciate where you're at a little bit more. You don't feel as entitled to it. [01:17:04] Speaker D: Yes. [01:17:04] Speaker I: And I think it also helps when you have the young assistants that like, well, why don't. Why can't we do this? Why don't we do this? It's a little bit easier to have those conversations than, you know, the guy that just, you know, played division one or power four, power five, whatever you want to call it now, and then did a little bit of pro ball and now he's with us and understanding that, yes, we have to get pizzas after game because that's the only thing our budget and all those things that like, those things got to get done and they got to get done at affordable price. And it is what it is. But yes, it does. It does harden you in the fact that you know what it needs to. [01:17:39] Speaker A: To get done allows you to appreciate a little bit more than two, correct? [01:17:43] Speaker I: Absolutely, Absolutely. [01:17:45] Speaker A: Any other shout outs you want to give before I let you go? [01:17:47] Speaker I: No, other than My wife and kids at home. I appreciate everything that they do and just talked to them last night and yeah, they're running around being crazy, so she's got her hands full. [01:17:59] Speaker A: Thanks for your time, man. [01:18:00] Speaker C: Appreciate it. [01:18:03] Speaker A: Number two seed here, Gloucester with Rob Valley. Been on the podcast with me multiple times, but 56 record. I think it's 18th season as head coach this year. [01:18:11] Speaker D: This is my 16th at Gloucester. All in all, I guess we're over 2020 now. Yeah, who's counting? [01:18:19] Speaker A: Yeah. Always a pleasure to talk to you. [01:18:21] Speaker D: Thanks Ryan. [01:18:23] Speaker A: Strength of this year's club, 69 home runs, 388 team ERA. And probably not a great spring to hit a lot of home runs either. [01:18:31] Speaker D: No, we played in terrible weather all spring. This is one of the toughest ones I can remember. And you know, really the wind, you know, played a factor in a lot of games and most of the time at our place when it's, when it's cool or cold, it blows in. So we had to manufacture and create some, some, some runs different ways and then some days it played more true and, and we could run it out of the park. But there have been some days where, where we've had to, had to create our runs and that's okay because I think we, we, we strive our goal and, and traditionally we're a balanced offense. You know, I'm not opposed to hitting a three run homer, but I, if, if you're going to win 50 games pretty consistently and you're going to try and win a championship, you know, as often as you can, you, you have to have more than one, one trick in the bag. And we pride ourselves in being prepared to win in a lot of different ways. [01:19:19] Speaker A: Yeah. And this week doesn't look like the weather's going to be great. I mean, still going to get it in. But that may be to your advantage this week because you've worked on it all year. [01:19:26] Speaker D: Let's hope I'll take any advantage we could get this week. [01:19:29] Speaker A: Any players to watch this week? [01:19:31] Speaker D: You know, we, we our right fielder, RJ Mastaro, his numbers indicate and his play indicates he, he would have had a great chance to be national player of the year. He missed a period of time. He broke his hamate bone earlier in the season and it cost him four or five weeks. Sometimes that injury cost the guy seven or eight weeks. Fortunately for rj, he was able to come back and you know, he's playing, you know, pretty much pain free. So we're excited. He's our lifeline. He's Our leader. He's a big hitter in our offense so he's definitely a player to watch. [01:20:07] Speaker A: What was he doing in his downtime? We've had to deal, all of us have had to deal with, with that. [01:20:12] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:20:13] Speaker A: At some point because their rest of their body can move. You're just waiting for the wound to heal basically. So what he do in his. [01:20:20] Speaker D: He's a worker. He's a worker. What did he do? He coached first base. Sometimes, you know, we, we had to give him a job, you know and because to be honest, he and, and I, I wanted him to feel like he was part of the team. I didn't want to just leave him alone and be sad and he's starting to get sad and so I just, I kept coaching him, I stayed on him and he would do some things, he'd do some top hand. Then eventually he was able to bond and. But we sent him out to coach first base just to make him feel. And then I'm pressing him to do a good job coaching first base because I wanted him to feel like he was, he was still in the flow. [01:20:51] Speaker A: Love it. [01:20:52] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:20:52] Speaker A: Any good surprises on the roster? Maybe guys you didn't think were going to contribute? [01:20:56] Speaker D: You know, we, we brought in in the mid year and we expected it. We left a little room in our roster. Our 32 man roster which is relatively small by college standards, but it's large for us historically. We try to keep 30, 31. This year we had 32, 5 mid years and 3 went in the lineup right away. So our Luca Reyes immediately plugged in in the outfield. Nick Slojic immediately plugged in first base. DH and why am I. Oh, and Alex Apicella has played third base for us right away. So we were able to plug those guys in immediately and it was a big plus for us. You know, it was a big boost for us. They solidified our team and I kind of sensed that there would be mid years and we prepared for it and we, you know, we tried to identify the best players and I think we got, you know, some really good ones. [01:21:52] Speaker A: Do you think that's the way of the world now? [01:21:53] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:21:54] Speaker A: With mid year transfer? Yeah. [01:21:55] Speaker D: Yeah. I look at our recruiting and I don't. I'd rather wait and recruit and make promises than make promises and have to go back and have tough conversations. So. I mean there are so many transfers out there right now. How can we pass them up? Good players, good, you know, great people who just will need a landing spot and especially all these players who, who don't have a resume yet. You know, they're at division ones, they're really good players. They don't have a resume. Come in and play and show everyone how good you are. That's, that's, I believe what will be our recipe for success moving forward. [01:22:34] Speaker A: How do you help those guys acclimate? They haven't been with you all fall. How do you help them get ready for the spring when they just got there? [01:22:39] Speaker D: There, you know, that's, that's a little bit of an art, you know, just is blending your team and making it, you know, welcoming to the new player. But, but the expectations and nothing's handed out and I, if I gave us any credit, we're consistent at treating everyone equally. I think the smaller roster lends to that. The expectation is high. You really earn your keep by your work ethic and how good of a team teammate you are. So as long as someone comes in and plugs in and they're a good teammate, right away it, it tends to work out. [01:23:12] Speaker A: How's your prep? You had a fairly long layoff from the district tournament, correct? [01:23:16] Speaker D: No. Just one week. Just one. Yeah, we played, we played last Saturday. [01:23:20] Speaker A: Just one week? [01:23:20] Speaker D: Yeah. Yeah. [01:23:21] Speaker A: Just not a lot of time off. [01:23:23] Speaker D: No, no. So like a normal week, you know, we would have liked to have had a midweek game in there, but a normal week and we had rain up at our place, so we, we had to move inside on, on Wednesday and Thursday. But we worked on the things that you could work on. We worked on first and thirds, we worked on bun offense, bunt defense, pitchers through bullpens, hitters. You know, we tried to, you know, continue to keep our swing, stay in the flow, keep our rhythm. So I think we're okay. [01:23:48] Speaker A: You think that's one advantage of being inside is fundamentally you're going to be better. [01:23:52] Speaker D: 100%. 100%. It takes the X factors away of, of really especially for a hitter when, when you're inside, your process oriented, when you're outside, you tend to be result oriented. And we don't hit. If you came to watch us hit a batting practice. And I have to say this sometimes to some coaches who come watch us to recruit our players. We don't hit a showcase bp. We're hitting a process oriented batting practice. And this is who they are and this is how they build their swing every day. It's not a lift and launch. We not getting excited if it goes over the fence. So no, inside is kind of okay. And, and we have really good indoor, you know, we'll hit. We have eight cages, six hacks, so, like, we can really get a lot of work done in an hour to, you know, two players to a cage with every tool they need in there to. To develop. So we do it. [01:24:42] Speaker A: Have you faced much adversity this year? Started? 19 and 0. [01:24:46] Speaker D: You know, we. Yeah, yeah, we definitely have. The. We haven't had at any given time, other than I think I'll be able to write it tomorrow. We haven't had our best lineup. All in all, at the same time. It's been a hamstring, it's been a hamate bone, it's been a quad, it's been a rolled ankle. We haven't had it. We haven't had it. And I think we're just. We're on the mend. I think we're just at the point where we'll write what we would consider to be our best lineup. [01:25:19] Speaker A: Did you say much to the guys after Brookdale? [01:25:22] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, we. We talk. We talk more to debrief a game than we do to pump up for a game. We. And. And that was a situation because there's. There's a lot of things moving, like what will happen, what were the expectation, you know, we. I could have gone with that postgame different ways. It could have been fire and brimstone and we're not good enough. And I don't know what the bid. And I said, you know What? We've won 50 games and we didn't win this game. And this is a game. We had won that against that opponent. We'd won that game 18 straight. So we expected to win. We had won that game four times. We won by extended leads. But then we got our feelings hurt in the last day and we played poorly. [01:26:06] Speaker A: So. [01:26:06] Speaker D: So we deserve to have our feelings hurt. But I wanted to be honest with them because they have the Internet. They could figure it out, too. I said, we have won our way into the World series. We have 50 wins. We've been number one in the poll from start to finish. We have had every first place vote from start to finish in the polls. We have earned our trip to the World Series. So we need to act like it, you know, and we need to prepare. And we, you know, and we'll be. And I think they didn't know what to expect of me. So we. We come. So that was a Saturday. We took Sunday off. We go out to practice on Monday. I don't think they knew what to expect from me. It was very quiet. It was very quiet. And to me, I scripted it out. We had the plan. We were just rolling in like a regular practice. You know, this is the way we prepare. And by the end, and then by the next day, we were fine. I thought about taking them fishing, but. Which we had talked about, but I said, nah, we, I don't know if we deserve fishing, but we, we definitely deserve to have a, have a real practice. [01:27:00] Speaker A: You know, they call it an after action review. Do you have a checklist, kind of a debrief for post game or maybe like the next practice that you go through the game, like, okay, this was great. This is what needs to get better. Do you have a checklist that you go through? [01:27:12] Speaker D: It's not so much about what happened yesterday or what happened in the game, because we can't control the biggest play. The season is the next play, biggest at bats, the next at bat. And so really that it's, it's to be, it's to put in perspective how, how did we get the result that, that we have, win or lose and what's next? Like what, how do we, what do we then take? What's the message that we've learned and what's next? It's, it's always what's next. It's. And I think that the culture of that, it's helped us in our lineup. You know, when you, when you see your best player go down, it's next, man up. We don't spend a lot of time in any of that talking about what just happened. We, we don't have. Our post game talks are not very long. And sometimes I look at the other team, they're on a knee and they're out there for a half hour and I say, how much does this team want to hear right now? And it's not, it's what's next? What do we have to do? And it's more action oriented that way than a postmortem of how did we die? [01:28:10] Speaker A: Is there more pressure on guys? [01:28:11] Speaker G: During the World Series? [01:28:14] Speaker D: We have in our lineup pretty consistently. We start seven freshmen, and now in the pitching staff, we're a little bit more mature than our pitching staff. I think that's where our growing pains have been. And 50 and 6, you say, how many pains did you have? But I don't evaluate it that way. Like, how can we get the peak performance? We have played like freshmen an awful lot. We've talked about, we're not freshmen anymore. We're not freshmen in our transfer. We're not freshmen on the field. We're not freshmen in our playing experience. And we just need to make that shift, whether it be a mind shift or whatever it may be that we need to start playing like sophomores, which is no veteran by any stretch anyway. But we just need to play. I don't know what the nerves will be. We don't build it up too much. So whatever they, they do now, we did a point of emphasis for us, there's a point of emphasis in our hitting talk every time. Our point of emphasis one day this week was, was breathe and composure. And we talked about, you watch any at bat, think about the most important major league at bats you've ever watched in your career. Go back and watch them. And I said, and we do this a lot. Go Google, find out what was the biggest at bat and then tell me what that hitter's composure was like. It's almost like they sleepwalk into those at bats. It's not a, you know, no one's squeezing the bats. Not rah rah. That I think was a bit of our downfall in the region tournament is we, we didn't have the best composure we could have had. Sometimes the at bat carried into the defense. But we'll see if the message resonated. We'll have much better composure out here. [01:29:57] Speaker A: I used to explain as they look like they're underwater water and when you look at flow state, everything is in slow motion. [01:30:03] Speaker D: Yes. [01:30:04] Speaker A: Best performance you've ever had is going to be in slow motion. So if you can put yourself underwater. [01:30:09] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:30:09] Speaker A: It does allow you to maybe relax. [01:30:11] Speaker D: Yeah. And flow state, that's a term we've used. I read once they, they talk about the hard blue glow. [01:30:17] Speaker B: If you've. [01:30:18] Speaker D: If you've seen that term. Yeah, yeah. [01:30:21] Speaker A: There's some other shout outs before I let you go. [01:30:24] Speaker D: Just shout out to my family at home who, who is been so supportive. And my kids have a million games this week and my wife's running them all around and she gave me the message she gives every year. If you're going to be away and leave me to get to all these fields and all these tournaments, you better win. So my wife, Sarah, we're trying. [01:30:44] Speaker A: Rob, always a pleasure. Appreciate your time, man. [01:30:46] Speaker D: Thanks, Ryan. Appreciate you. [01:30:48] Speaker A: If you haven't made the trek to upstate New York and the Finger Lakes, I would put that on your bucket list of places to go. Beautiful part of the country up there. Thanks again to all the coaches for taking time out of their schedule to talk with me and the NJCA for always being a great host. Thanks again to John Litchfield, Zach Halen, Matt west in the ABCA office. For all the help on the podcast, feel free to reach out to me via email rbrownleighbc.org Twitter, Instagram or TikTok. CoachBabca direct message me via the MyABCA app as Ryan Brownlee signing off with American Baseball Coach this association. Thanks and leave it better for those behind you that way yep wait for another day. [01:31:43] Speaker G: And the world will always return as your life never for year and you know that way. [01:31:57] Speaker I: Wait for another. [01:32:03] Speaker A: Day.