[00:00:04] Speaker A: Welcome to the ABCA's podcast. I'm your host Ryan Brownlee.
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[00:00:57] Speaker B: This episode is sponsored by Netting Pros. Netting Professionals are improving programs one facility at a time. Netting Professionals specializes in the design, fabrication and installation of custom netting for backstops, batting cages, dugouts, BP screens and ball carts. They also design and install digital graphic, wall padding, windscreen turf, turf protectors, dugout benches, dugout cubbies and more. Netting Professionals is an official partner of the ABCA and continues to provide quality products and services to many high school, college and professional fields, facilities and stadiums throughout the country.
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[00:02:09] Speaker A: Vince Colby was honored with the 2024 ABCA Pacific Association Assistant Coach of the Year for his season at Palmar College. Colby helped the Comets to a 3611 overall and 232 conference record in 2024. Colby is entering his fourth season working with the Palomar catching crew and coaching first base. Colby's role as first base coach and his expertise in developing the team's catchers have been crucial to the team's success over the past three seasons. Prior to Palomar, Colby coached hitters and outfielders at Moorpark College and also coached at Agora High School.
Colby played collegiately at Moore park from 1999 to 2000, moved on to play at Bellevue University University in Nebraska. Colby is also a successful entrepreneur, owning multiple companies including EPR Recruiting, Crest Haven Financial and Colby Ventures 1959 let's welcome Vince Colby to the podcast.
[00:03:04] Speaker B: I hear with Vince Colby, ABCA Pacific Association Assistant Coach of the Year third year at Palomar, but have previous stops at Moorpark and then Agora High School, correct?
[00:03:14] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:03:15] Speaker B: Congrats on the honor.
[00:03:16] Speaker C: My man's pretty awesome. Pretty Lucky, Surrounded by great people. So yeah, yeah, man, I, I'm living the life right now in San Diego at Palomar with the coaching staff. So I'm pretty lucky. I'm real lucky.
[00:03:30] Speaker B: Hey, what's pro fire sourcing?
[00:03:34] Speaker C: So I own a recruiting company. Not in the baseball field, but in Fire Security, Low Voltage, Nationwide. And that's another division of what I've got. The business is EPR recruiting and then profile sourcing.
[00:03:47] Speaker B: So yeah, I saw you had some other ventures that you ran on, on your bio. So how, how do you marry that with, with coaching?
[00:03:56] Speaker C: Well, okay, so the funny thing is when I coached at Moorpark College, you know, I had a 2500 stipend, which wasn't a lot, but I was young and I could eat top ramen and not, you know, you know, not living the good life, but I, I had to, I had to actually step away from coaching for about 10 years and try to build a business and make my way to the point where I'm at now where I get to enjoy coaching and I don't have to worry about it paying my bills or doing lessons and stuff like that. I always laugh with Ben, our head coach. I go, man, I go, dude, you would be a hell of a business owner if you actually did it. Because managing people and managing that amount of people is, you know, I mean that's, you know, that's a Fairly large business. 50 to 60 employees on a day to day basis and keeping people motivated. I think a lot of, a lot of head coaches would be really good businessmen if they have the inclination to do it.
[00:04:48] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean they're, they're CEOs now. The, the head, the head coach is a CEO now.
[00:04:53] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. Especially with all the moving parts, you know, the nil, the money, the sponsorships, the camps, managing the people. I mean, dude, I. Some guys don't get paid enough. Somebody, some guys are doing a hell of a job and not getting paid enough. I know a lot of coaches aren't getting paid enough, so.
[00:05:11] Speaker B: But it seems like a lot of guys that have gotten out once they get into the real world because they're used to the, the work ethic piece in baseball. They kill it when they get out in the real world.
[00:05:21] Speaker C: Yeah, it was, it was funny. I wrote an article on LinkedIn, I think like 10 years ago on why I hire athletes. Division one all the way to juco and people seem to love it and just simple, same thing, work ethic, how they go about their business, what's, you know, and dealing with Failure. Failure is the biggest one, especially in sales. A lot. A lot of baseball guys are good at sales because they can understand that, you know, you're kind of working the process rather than the result, and good things will happen over time.
[00:05:50] Speaker B: So same thing with recruiting. You get told a lot. So, I mean, how did you. How did you fall into that part with the recruiting piece? So what businesses are you recruiting for?
[00:06:03] Speaker C: Okay, so basically, like, I mean, fire security, low voltage. So guys are doing like, hard access, you know what I mean? Access control, fire alarm, fire suppression, and then like specialty stuff like Halon250, which are like airplane hangers and stuff like that. So years ago, I. I owned a.
A print company where I did, like, car wraps. I was a car wrapping guy in LA, along with like 7,000 other people. And so a buddy of mine goes, hey, man, I think you'd be really good at this because you talk well. And, you know, and so I went to do it, and I. Unfortunately, I worked for a really shady guy and he didn't pay me. And then one of. One of my former players, who ended up being a rather large businessman owning a lot of large companies, goes, hey, man, do you want to try to do this with me? I'll pay and we'll build it. And so we started in 2015, and now we got like 42 employees day to day and rocking. So it's a. It's a good little deal.
[00:07:13] Speaker B: At what point then did you. Did you feel like, okay, I've got that in line, and now I can get back into coaching baseball?
[00:07:20] Speaker C: It was. I sold my interest in the business about six months before COVID and I moved to San Diego with my wife. And.
And then I was like, it's actually pretty funny. So, like, I. I sent my resume everywhere in San Diego to every juco, and I'm like, hey, man, I'm free. You know, like, here's my references. Bill Pintar, the Foresters, so on and so forth. Nobody called me. Nobody called me until my. My contractor knew Jason Schmeiser, who's the field guy and the infield coach at Palomar College. And he goes, hey, man, I think you guys played against each other. He was on the San Diego Waves. I played on the Foresters, like, years, like, forever ago, you know. And he goes, you guys should go play golf. So we wouldn't play golf. And then Jay's like, dude, you're coming to coach. And so I talked with Ben, and then I started coaching in Palomar as rad.
[00:08:18] Speaker B: Did you play for Mike Evans at Bellevue.
[00:08:21] Speaker C: I did, yes.
[00:08:22] Speaker B: How was that?
[00:08:25] Speaker C: He's a good guy. He's a good guy. Yeah.
You know, I, it was a little culture shock for me in Nebraska, going to Nebraska from SoCal because I didn't get my grades, but he's a good guy. He won.
He's a good guy.
[00:08:40] Speaker B: And I was going to ask you that too because obviously way different climate going from where you're from to out there to play in a spring. Was that the first time you'd ever had to play in cold weather?
[00:08:51] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, yeah. Like, and getting the field ready and then practicing and like leaving it like five to go to a. I think it was like a driving range at like 4am and you're just doing. I'm just going. I'm looking at my buddy like, hey, hey, you went here? And I'm like, hey, you should come with me. And I'm like, oh, dude, man. But, you know, it was fun.
It was good. We won. You know what I mean? We. I mean, it was a little bit. It was funny because it just. There's a lot more thinking on his end on like double fake squeeze and fake slash drag. And I'm just like, wow. Wow. All right. And then, you know, because I played California juco at Moorpark and that's like gorilla ball during the area, the, the timeline there. So.
[00:09:38] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, my boss that I worked for at Iowa was at Creighton forever. So running that, that Omaha circle of coaches. So I know a lot about those coaches in that area. How do you, I mean, you skipped over a lot of schools to go to a four year school from Moore Park. Did you have any other options?
[00:09:55] Speaker C: I mean, yeah, I did, but I didn't get like, I, I, yeah, I didn't get my grades. You know what I mean? So I'm like the perfect story for guys because I, like, I could have, I, I could have gone anywhere. Long Beach State, Miami wanted me. And then they, I sent the transcripts and they just laughed. They're like, all right, talk to you later, dude. Later, bro. And so I played for the Foresters, for Bill. And who was it? It was, it was Mike Evans, assistant. He was a scout for the Diamondbacks. And he like, he came up to me when we're in the NBC World Series and was like, hey, where you going? And I'm like, I got nowhere. So he's like, well, why don't you come here? And I'm like, all right, let's, let's do it. So that's where we ended up.
[00:10:42] Speaker B: Yeah, that's a throwback story because it doesn't happen too often like that anymore where guys are sitting around that late.
[00:10:48] Speaker C: Yeah, well, I mean, but I had no other option. You know what I mean? I could have gone, you know, whatever, you know, NAIA, D3. That would have let me in with my, you know, my terrible grades, so.
Yeah.
[00:11:02] Speaker B: So have you had a chance to reflect on the season, on the last.
[00:11:07] Speaker C: Season that we had? Yeah, yeah, absolutely. You know, I, like. I don't know. I think, you know, I mean, you know, what happened during the season.
[00:11:16] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I know you guys lost the Santa an in the regional.
[00:11:19] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, the. The season, to me last year was pretty, like, poignant because my wife passed away in October of. Of cancer, and so took me a little bit of time, like, work my way back. I was kind of, like, dipping my toe out there on the field. And then once she passed away, about two weeks afterwards, I came back out and, you know, started working with the kids and just had a blast. And losing a Santa Ana is kind of bittersweet because, you know, we seem to go back and forth in the years past. We beat them, I think, two years before, and they. They beat us. And then, you know, I just come up short, just a little bit. Just a hair. One knock, and we got it the last game, you know.
But overall, I mean, the season that we had, the last three years are just. I mean, I. I can't believe I'm this lucky, you know what I mean? To. To be around the staff and. And win as much as we do and have the quality kids, you know, I. I got no complaints, you know what I mean? And I want Santa Ana. I want them again this year if we can get there and then see if. What we can do.
[00:12:31] Speaker B: So it'll be fun with what you were going through. Is being at the field a release for you?
[00:12:37] Speaker C: Yeah. I mean, I think everybody that's in baseball, you know, like, if you surround yourself with good people, good mentors, like, it. It was the best thing ever. And even. Even being around the kids that knew what was going on, that had met my wife and, you know, like, knew me, and, like, you know, I came back and one of our starting catchers came over and gave me a hug, and I. Dude, he almost broke me. I almost started crying right there because I couldn't help myself and. But, like, just, you know, like, little stuff like that, you know what I mean? Just little. Little appreciation from the players for what you do and how you do it and showing up and helping out, I mean, that was, that was huge, man. It was huge.
[00:13:17] Speaker B: What are some other things you've learned from Ben about running a program that.
[00:13:23] Speaker C: He is, he's organized, he's got a plan. He's got a plan that's a little bit further down the road. So everything is about prep, process, and getting to the point of execution at a later date. Right. So, I mean, watching him manage a game, how he utilizes a little bit of the psychology on how to motivate certain players, how to, how to bring down the temperature with others, I think that's a master class. And that's, you know, I think some of the best people that you've ever been around, you can watch that. They know somebody's temperament, they know how to get under their skin, take it back, add a little bit, you know, and I think that's, I think that's, that's what I've learned the most, is watching him deal and then be able to make an impact in a small moment that will reap rewards at a later date. You know what I mean?
[00:14:25] Speaker B: Your main responsibility, working with the catchers?
[00:14:27] Speaker C: Yes.
Yep.
[00:14:31] Speaker B: What do you think? I mean, how much freedom are you giving those guys on some of the new stuff that. That's out there?
[00:14:37] Speaker C: I mean, it depends on skill level, let's put it that way. The guys that can do it, I, I just let them. I let them go, you know, because they, they prove me. They haven't proved me wrong, but they, they proved me right. Like, hey, you're. You're good enough to do this. We work on it every single day. We have individuals for about 45 minutes every day. So we're working on, you know, snatching low strike right knee down in the primary and, and going from there. Some guys, they need, we need. You know, some of my guys, we need to minimize what they're trying to do because they don't have that ability to necessarily do it. And we need to work on it in order to get, get them where to where they can, but it's going to take some time. Some guys just have the gift and you're just like, dude, go. You know, we had, we had McConnell also last year who's at Hawaii, and basically he taught me. I just, I, I sat back and I go, hey, dude, whatever you want to do, I'm good, man. You just tell me the program and we're good. And I got that same, same guy in Hunter Stencil, a guy that's been, he got injured last Year. And so he's here for the third year. But, like, him and Carter Jerson, those guys, like, I just sit back and I go, hey, what do you guys want to work on today? And then my other guys, I'll try to refine it and we'll try to have a baseline of what we do every day.
[00:15:57] Speaker B: But are those guys comfortable with giving target and then their gloves going to the ground and bringing the ball back into the zone or how. How. How are they receiving styles?
[00:16:07] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. I mean, we work on that every single day. We got the keyhole, which is one of the best. We got the man array. We got all the tools and, like, setting up and target. I think the. The hardest part right now is trying to set up for target with the timeline that we have in order to get it done, to get the sign down, so on and so forth. Because we haven't gone to the automated system with, you know, the watches and stuff like that. We're still given, you know, ear. You know, we got a, you know, Apple AirPod in one ear and giving. Giving the information.
But, yeah, I mean, they're. They're super comfortable. And these guys work it on it, Work on it every single day, so it's fun to watch.
[00:16:43] Speaker B: Do you think that's been the biggest adjustment for the west coast schools is trying to get things in quicker?
[00:16:49] Speaker C: I think for sure, yeah. Because now, even the jc, I think this year we actually have a clock, which is going to be interesting to see how that works and how fast it's really going to be. Because I think in the years past, I think our umpires kind of gave us a little leeway here and there, and now it's, you know, now we got the shot clock, so it'll be fun.
[00:17:09] Speaker B: Do you guys ever let your catchers run the game, then speed things up?
[00:17:14] Speaker C: No, no.
[00:17:15] Speaker B: Our.
[00:17:16] Speaker C: Our pitching coach is always getting the signs and going from there. I'm sure he has some shorthand as far as what he's doing with the signs in order to get something in, because he'll be on the clock as well. But, you know, I. No, I wish it was that way, but, like, you know, I mean, you've been in this game a long time. I remember, you know, that was the goal of a catcher back in the day in college, if the. If the head coach trusted you to call the game because you knew what you're doing, you knew what the game plan was, and that was kind of like, you know, an honor to be able to get there.
[00:17:50] Speaker B: Yeah. And be Able to do that, earn that. Right. It's also harder at a 2 to your school too because you're, you're working on so many other things with them that, that taking that off their plate sometimes easier for guys.
[00:18:02] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. Like having those discussions and the time that actually takes to develop something like that, you know, and I, but I think, I mean, is there any D1 that just trusts their catcher to call the game at this point?
[00:18:15] Speaker B: No problem, right?
[00:18:17] Speaker C: With all the analytics. No, you know what I mean?
[00:18:19] Speaker B: The amount of information that's out there, it's almost impossible.
I completely understand the pro level, but they're at the field a lot longer than, than what the college games are.
[00:18:29] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah.
[00:18:31] Speaker B: So hard to do. So the first place you're starting with catchers, when you get them, you know, when school starts for you all, where's the first place you're starting with the catchers when you get them.
[00:18:42] Speaker C: As far as like setting up, how to set up, where to get out.
Probably a little bit of body positioning. Some guys are real tall. Some guys, you know, press their chest a little bit. So I think for me like that's, that's where we start and then we go from there. I think the biggest, you know, the biggest thing is we, we work a lot on, you know, catch play, throwing a second. I think that's real important, especially with the pitching staff that we've got. You know, not allowing teams to run on us is a huge deal. And then obviously, you know, the first day in probably Jaeger bands and a little weighted balls to just have a program to go to get bigger and better, you know, and then go from there.
[00:19:28] Speaker B: What weighted ball exercises you having them do?
[00:19:32] Speaker C: Let's see, it's what's the, not momentum. What's the, what's the big pitching play? Drive line. Yeah. So we got the driveline balls in the, I think the 9, 12 and 15. And then they'll do some overload and underload with our, our plyo, not our plow with our weighted ball wall that we have. And they'll kind of just go from there on a day to day basis.
[00:19:58] Speaker B: How strict are you then with long toss?
[00:20:03] Speaker C: It's hard because we, we run pretty fast and things can happen. I try to allow them at least two or three times a week to just go where I don't have them have to go in the bullpen right away and start catching pens and stuff like that, but it's not a must.
I, I, I'll try to tell a guy like, hey dude, it's probably, you need to stretch out, you know what I mean? Get a little bit stronger, do some pull downs. I mean, the information's there. I think you probably got to see it. I mean, how old are you?
[00:20:35] Speaker B: 50.
[00:20:36] Speaker C: 50? I'm 47. So Jaeger bands and then with his yoga and all the stuff back in the day with pull downs and you can see a big result. It's pretty cool. All the, all the information that's out.
[00:20:48] Speaker B: Here now, how are you mixing guys in with bullpens then to save on their legs with your catcher? How many catchers you guys carrying right now?
[00:20:55] Speaker C: I got five. And so, yeah, and I, I wish, you know, there's some guys, I'm like, man, I wish I could, you know, red shirt them that, you know, injuries happen, guys have to come in, you got to use them. But yeah, five guys.
The problem is I don't have to really manage anything. The only thing I got to manage is my, my two starters want to catch every pet because they just, they're, they're gluttons, you know what I mean? And I'm just like, dude, I go, hey, like let's take a, you know, hey, why don't you take a break? No, no, no, this guy's got good stuff. Coach. I wanna, I wanna, I wanna get in there. I'm like, all right, dude, like what? You know, so we, instead of managing, what I think I did is I bought a set of Normatech boots and I just let them use the Normatec and just like, hey, dude, you're gonna do whatever you're gonna do, get after it and then hopefully you guys can repair your body. We just got a cold plunge out there, so if they want a cold plunge out at the field, they can do that. And I will, we'll go from there.
[00:21:54] Speaker B: I love the Normatec.
It saved our catchers. It saved, it saved them.
[00:22:00] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:22:01] Speaker B: I think there's a lot of theory too with catchers because they are more like long distance runners to, to using the cold plunge more just for, to save their legs. For sure.
[00:22:12] Speaker C: Yeah. Anything you can do to get rid of any inflammation within the body, especially in those joints. But it's funny, like, you know, a 20 year old kid, 20, your 20 year old knees catching every day, dude, you like, you feel good. I mean, you got sprint, you know, you got springs in your legs, you know, but you, you'll see it, you'll see it around game 20. Coach. Ah, you know, I mean, a little. We're playing three times a week and this is going, you know, all right, come on, let's do some PT and get you going, man. It'd be good.
[00:22:42] Speaker B: Then how often you have them throw during the spring, then pre game, how are you rotating guys in? Who, who, who warms the pitcher up, who catches in and out? Who throws in and out? How are you rotating guys in for that?
[00:22:55] Speaker C: So my starters are usually in the pen, and they're catching, they're warming up our starter, and then I'll have my. My two or three guys out on the field doing in and out. And then.
Yeah, I mean, that's. That's really it. My. My starter's usually in the pen that day working on their own program, flexibility, stretching, doing whatever they need to do, because at this point, I can trust them. And then, yeah, just doing in and out with my other three guys.
[00:23:24] Speaker B: Guys have a hard time getting ready. You guys start playing early in the spring. Guys have a hard time getting ready, or is it just right because they're California kids and they're used to it?
[00:23:33] Speaker C: Well, the weather, it kind of helps, you know what I mean? Because right around the time, it's going to be nice and warm, we're going to get going, you know, I.
They have no issue. My catchers don't, you know what I mean? At least. Like, it used to be back in the day in high school, what I used to make guys do, because they'd come out just flat. And it's not at the college level because guys are better, but at the high school level, I just. I'd make them run four laps around the field, just getting fired up before the game, just loose and lathered, you know, I try to tell them, like, you know, you know, I'm not in shape at all anymore. But, like, that was a process back in the day where, like, you took it upon yourself to go get loose and do your plyos and do everything before the game. And it. And it was almost like a badge of honor back in the day, at least when we played. Like, you would see guys out there doing their own wind sprints and their own stretching program before what? You know, listen to Ken Rizza on a. On a Walkman, you know what I mean? Before the game or whatever it is. And then.
But now, like, kids have, you know, their static stretching and the whole thing that they go through, and they. Some of them feel like it's good enough, other guys don't. And if it. If it's a no, if they don't feel good enough, then I'll do the classic, like, we'll do hamstring stretches, you know, and we'll do the static stretching where I push, pull a little bit and just kind of open them up.
[00:24:55] Speaker B: It's called PNF stretching.
[00:24:56] Speaker C: Pnf.
[00:24:57] Speaker B: You don't see it as much anymore, but I. I swear that's why we didn't get hurt back in the days, because we did a lot of PNF stretching.
[00:25:05] Speaker C: Yeah, PNF stretching. We. When I was at Moorpark, we started doing pnf. PNF stretching. And I don't think we had a. We significantly less pulled hamstrings throughout the year with that. And I don't see it done as much as far as, like, partners, you know, I mean, with, you know, butterfly or, you know, whatever it is. But. Yeah.
[00:25:28] Speaker B: What'd you take from the high school side to what you're doing now?
[00:25:36] Speaker C: That's a tough question.
Oh, I. I can tell you what I took. I don't want to be a head coach.
That's it, man. Being the assistant high school level, like, yeah. I mean, I think you can imagine what Southern California, fairly well off area high school is and what it is, the animal it is itself. And I had a couple opportunities and I'm like, nope, I'm good, man. I just. I'll be an assistant. I'll be able to, you know, I don't want to deal with anything, any of that. But no matter what, I mean, like, coaching at any level, the kids are awesome. They haven't changed. I don't think we've changed. I think the games changed a little bit as far as, like, the celebrations and what kids want to do and show off and do stuff like that. But I don't know.
[00:26:25] Speaker B: I don't know how much are you guys communicating with parents?
[00:26:31] Speaker C: Zero. Other than, hey, how you doing?
[00:26:34] Speaker B: Interesting to me. It is so interesting to me how every program is different with that. Some have a lot of. Of involvement and then some it's like, hardly any at all. Which I think. I think it's awesome because again, like, every program is completely different and find what works for you.
[00:26:50] Speaker C: Yeah, I. I think at. I mean, when I. When I say zero, I. I'm talking about if a mom and dad want to talk to Ben or us about playing time, that's off limits. Like, your. Your son's a man. He's 18 years old. He can come and talk about it. As far as, like, hey, how you doing? Good to see you. You know what I mean? No problem with that. Like, hey, you know Let me hop on the barbecue and let's have a barbecue with the parents after the game. Let's do that. But you know, the, the nitty gritty, the decision making and the game of baseball, that's on them, you know what I mean? And that's kind of a nice position to be in at any level, if you could do it. It doesn't happen at the high school level anymore.
[00:27:30] Speaker B: No, not at all.
[00:27:31] Speaker C: No. No.
[00:27:32] Speaker B: What are you sending guys home with over, over winter break as far as what to work on and when you communicate in that with them, like roles or, or maybe what they need to improve on for the spring.
[00:27:46] Speaker C: Let's see with the catchers, they'll have a program that they can come out and do every day.
We're not limited I as far as what the D1s are as far as time at the JC level. So I live close. So if they need to work, like, hey, I'll come out and help you out. But I think the biggest thing is, you know, some guys, you know, if.
I mean, I always tell everybody before the season do yoga because all the bulk that you put on in the weight room up into this point, if you can stretch so you're just not tight walking into the season and then trying to play catch up to get loose enough and play free and easy. So I think that's one big thing. And then, you know, I mean, that's pretty much it.
[00:28:37] Speaker B: You stay with yoga during the spring?
[00:28:40] Speaker C: Yeah. Our, our outfielder coach has a kinesiology degree, so he'll run. He runs the weights at 11 every single day. And then he'll do yoga two to three times a week. But also like, hey, if we play, you know, back to back two days, it might just be a yoga day, you know what I mean? And trying to loosen up and relax.
[00:29:01] Speaker B: I completely agree. We did it. Yeah, we did. We tried to do two to three days a week. And same thing with hamstrings, lower backs. I think it, I think it eliminates a lot of the issues that they have in season. Yep.
What would you like to see out of catchers that you're not seeing right now before they get to you?
[00:29:28] Speaker C: Blocking.
Blocking and understanding what it is. And you know, a lot, a lot of guys come, you know, we're lucky. Southern California. Most of the guys that, that come to us, they, you know, they've got a catching coach and most of the places where we recruit, you know, some of these guys won't have a catching coach. They'll come and we're Going to try to play catch up and then try to figure out how to do it, how to anticipate it, what to think about, how to buy in, and then, you know, I think that would be the basic basics for everything.
That's one of the hardest things to do. When to do it, how to do it, when to try to back, you know, backpack ball.
Yeah. Blocking.
[00:30:17] Speaker B: How often are you guys blocking?
[00:30:20] Speaker C: Probably once or twice a week. That's about it. I try to, I, I, I will go and watch pens and I'll put the onus on the guys, like, hey, I need you to block in the pens. I need you to buy in here. I need you to work here. And so just me being around, watching them, you know, and trying to block in that situation because, you know, we, you know, during the fall, we got 80 guys out there, probably 45 of them are pitchers, and, you know, maybe five or, you know, maybe 10 can hit the zone consistently. Other guys are all over the place. So just working on that and then bringing it to the game and then kind of going from there and then maybe watching a little video. We got the what, what system? We got Pixelot, so they can, they can go online and watch themselves and see the mistakes that they made. And we'll kind of go over that and just make slight adjustments here or there.
[00:31:12] Speaker B: There's. That's really the only time you really can work on it is pen and, and games. Honestly, you can do all the blocking drills you want, but you still have to be able to do it off. Off a live ball, off pitcher.
[00:31:22] Speaker C: Yeah, that's like, I'm trying to, like, we'll set up the hack attack and you know, you know, I try to make it variable in the zone, out of the zone, but they, they know they can see it move. And I'm just like, this is not even like, I, I go like, you know what I mean? It's almost like I got to put something in front of it so they can't see it move up or down or whatever it is. But yeah, in the pens and then kind of going from there and then them to buy into that mentality and then watch it come along. It's pretty rad, you know what I mean? And then, you know, like, you know, at every program you got some guys that are good that kind of pass it on to the next guy and willing to talk to him about it. I think that's the best thing that we've had at Palomar because we, we've never just lost every single guy that's been behind the dish. It's always, one guy was a freshman, one guy was a sophomore. He's out. All right, sophomore, freshman.
And then just kind of buying into the program and what, what and who they are.
[00:32:20] Speaker B: You guys are in a huge area for instructors. So how much communications, and you mentioned it, everybody's got their kind of own instructors. How much communicating are you guys doing with. With the private instructors?
[00:32:30] Speaker C: Zero. Zero. I. I like, I don't. I just. It's a weird deal where, like, I mean, I'll have a conversation with a kid if I think what the instructor is teaching is not correct. But I haven't had that situation. I mean, the guys that we've had have been pretty, Pretty darn good. So the instructors, I don't even know their name. Good job, guys. You're doing an awesome job. I appreciate you, you know, but, yeah, there's. There's not much.
[00:32:59] Speaker B: Do you have a fail forward moment, something you thought it was going to set you back, but looking back now helped you move forward? Could be baseball, could be personal, could be anything.
[00:33:07] Speaker C: Yeah, no, I'll tell you, when I was coaching at Moorpark College, I was a young guy, I thought I knew what everything was and who, you know, and I, you know, and I was, you know, I had an ego, you know what I mean? And it ended up cost me my job with. Working with Mario Porto, who's an awesome guy. He was my assistant coach when I played at Moore Park. Amazing human being, great dude. And I lost it in a playoff game. We were playing Riverside, end up winning the Final Four that year. And he made a call that I didn't like, and I chirped from the dugout and this is the man that I, I care about and, you know, hey, man, the best dude ever. And he had to let me go because, you know, he's like, hey, you know what I mean? I can't. I can't have you doing that. And I go, yep, you got it. So every place that I've gone forward, I've had to think and, you know, for young coaches, like, yeah, you want to be, you go wherever you want. But I think the biggest point is, is it's somebody's program. They put the time, energy and effort into it. And if you're going to be there, only add, don't subtract. So I think that's the biggest thing, is that all I'm trying to do is add every single day to the crew that I'm with and be, you know, like, just not take or not affect someone's life. All I want to do is add. I want to bring, you know, whatever, whatever I can to the table and not take anything away because I'm an assistant coach. I don't get paid anything to be at Palmar. Ben and our other coaches are paid, you know, I mean, that's their living. I can't affect them in that way by doing something dumb along the way, I hope.
[00:34:52] Speaker B: Yeah, but you still have reactions to things. How are you able to kind of take that pause before you react?
[00:35:00] Speaker C: I, I think now I'm just 47. I'm just too tired, you know what I mean? I don't sleep good. I don't sleep eight hours a night. I'm up at 4am every day. And I think, I think it's just reps, right? It's the same thing, coaching reps. You see, you see stuff, you see an umpire blow a call, you see some weird stuff, and then how are you going to react to it, you know, and, and you're not 20 years old anymore. And this isn't, you know, like life or death, at least at my level, you know what I mean? Because I'm not getting fired if, if we lose, you know what I mean? But I think, yeah, just go from there.
[00:35:35] Speaker B: Have you always been an early morning person?
[00:35:38] Speaker C: No, no. But once you start working a real job and starting, you know, like when we started our business, EPR recruiting, we. We dealt with New York, which means we started at four to start at seven. And then that just became the thing. And then now I couldn't sleep. It. I. My sleep in is like 6:30. I'm lucky if I can get through that.
[00:36:00] Speaker B: I think anybody can train themselves to do it because I'm an early riser now, but I was not. And I think anybody can train themselves to do it. It's just like any other habit. I think you can develop that habit. And a lot of my friends that work on the west coast, they're up at that time because of the east coast time change.
[00:36:17] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. And I think the funny thing is like I, I like, I actually hired my players when we first started the business. My ex players and I go, hey man, you get here like 430 or 4am and they're like, dude, what? And I go, I go, trust me, I go, you're done by 233. You got the rest of the day. You can go, you know, do. And, and slowly but surely after about like six months, like, okay, all right, this is not bad. You know what I mean? Because most jobs you got to deal with traffic, especially in California, where my business is at. Going home at. At 5 o'clock at night is just. It' fun. Not fun.
[00:36:54] Speaker B: And you're a good spot. Delmar, right? You live in Delmar?
[00:36:57] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. Not. Not bad at all. You know what I mean? Right on the beach, close to the freeways and, you know, just, you know.
[00:37:04] Speaker B: The tracks right there too.
[00:37:06] Speaker C: Yeah, I got, I got the. Yeah, we got the track. The track's not a bad place.
[00:37:10] Speaker B: My dad and brother, four years ago out there, huh? It's like a palace.
[00:37:15] Speaker C: Did you, did you go to Brigantine pregame? A little bit.
[00:37:18] Speaker B: No, no, no, no.
What are some final thoughts before I let you go?
[00:37:26] Speaker C: Well, one of the things I want to definitely say is I was thinking about it. I wanted to say a thank you to Ben, obviously, for hiring me. Let me be a part of what's going on.
I want to thank Ken Wagner, who's my high. My college coach at Moorpark College. The best human being and, and pretty much the.
My goal as a human being is to be like him. And I fall short every single day. He's an amazing human being, obviously. Mario Porter, Mario Porto at Moore Park College. Now he's the head coach. And Bill Pintard for being rad. Just a good dude, man. Just a fun guy to be around to play ball back in the day. I have some of the best memories and also, you know, him doing the thing with hugs for Cubs. Going to the children's hospital was impactful and yeah, obviously, you know, come full circle and my wife passes away and, you know, a lot of the coaches and a lot of the family and friends donated to Ross Wonders, which is. She had a special form of cancer, genetic mutation. So I want to, you know, thank anybody that donated to that and helped help them out for the research and other than that, man.
[00:38:35] Speaker B: Yeah, anybody. I'm having a block dive into that form of cancer and, and maybe help out a little bit. Where, where can they. They find to help out?
[00:38:43] Speaker C: So you can go to the website. It's Ross Wonders. It's R O s 1 D E R S and it's basically a genetic mutation.
My wife, it mutated on her. Before we knew it, she had stage four lung cancer. And you know, we had, we had a good two years where we got to travel and do as much as we could and try to have as much fun. So if somebody wants to look at that and, and help out, that would be amazing. And I you know, and then, you know, if you ever see me, I'd love to give you a hug and say thank you.
[00:39:15] Speaker B: Yeah. Appreciate you, sir. Thanks for having me, brother.
[00:39:21] Speaker A: Congrats again to Coach Colby and all of our assistant coaches of the year with some of the other convention program we had. I had to push this release to now, but wanted to make sure Coach Colby got his recognition. I look forward to award season every year. Be here before you know it. I know everyone is right in the middle of their seasons right now and want to wish you all the best of luck. Thanks again to John Litchfield, Zach Hale and Matt west and the ABC office for all the help on the podcast. Feel free to reach out to me via
[email protected], twitter, Instagram or TikTok coachbabca or direct message me via the MyABCA app. This is Ryan Brownlee signing off for the American Baseball Coaches Association. Thanks and leave it better for those.
[00:40:00] Speaker B: Behind you.
[00:40:08] Speaker C: And your life is not for your name and you know that way Yep Wait for another day and the world will always return as you reach and you know that way Wait for another.
[00:40:42] Speaker B: Day.
