WEBVTT - Jim Schlossnagle Shares Keys to Success; Talks Why He Left TCU 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:00.600 Ravvy. 0:00:01.320 --> 0:00:02.760 Good to see again, buddy. 0:00:03.160 --> 0:00:06.240 You two buddy you ready, how you feeling good? 0:00:07.240 --> 0:00:10.360 Feeling great? Man, We're off to a great start. I'm 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:14.120 excited to talk to coach Slosnagel to night and fired 0:00:14.200 --> 0:00:16.120 up to go through a lot of stuff, a lot 0:00:16.120 --> 0:00:19.119 of stuff on his plate right now too, right, yeah. 0:00:18.960 --> 0:00:20.960 So, Coach Losgel, I mean this time of the year, 0:00:21.040 --> 0:00:23.800 as you know justin this is all about this is 0:00:23.800 --> 0:00:26.239 all about college baseball. I mean, that's kind of the 0:00:26.320 --> 0:00:28.600 lane we're in here. We're about to start regionals. The 0:00:29.240 --> 0:00:31.920 conference tournaments are over, the regular season is over, and 0:00:31.920 --> 0:00:35.040 now we're going to get into the regionals. You got 0:00:35.360 --> 0:00:39.879 sixteen different regions, each with four teams. This is our 0:00:39.960 --> 0:00:43.080 bracket of sixty four. You got the top ranked team 0:00:43.080 --> 0:00:45.600 that's been the top ranked team all year long, and UCLA, 0:00:46.080 --> 0:00:47.839 and then you got the others that follow You have 0:00:48.040 --> 0:00:50.199 Georgia who I just saw at who for Alabama. It 0:00:50.400 --> 0:00:53.840 was an amazing experience and a real credit to the 0:00:53.840 --> 0:00:56.800 way that they were able to play. You've got coach 0:00:56.800 --> 0:01:01.040 los Nagels Longhorns that are amongst the favorites, not the favorite, 0:01:01.080 --> 0:01:03.840 to get to Omah this year and play in the 0:01:03.880 --> 0:01:06.880 College World Series. So it's a really exciting time. He's 0:01:07.000 --> 0:01:10.199 very familiar with getting to Omaha. He did a whole 0:01:10.200 --> 0:01:13.480 bunch with TCU. I think it's seven times that he's 0:01:13.520 --> 0:01:16.039 been to Omaha. Of course was there last year with 0:01:16.080 --> 0:01:20.200 Texas A and M. But for baseball fans, there's two 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:23.399 things going on right now, the Women's College World Series 0:01:23.800 --> 0:01:29.200 and again fundamentally, it's like watching the women's college basketball teams. 0:01:29.319 --> 0:01:33.360 You can learn a ton regardless if you're playing baseball 0:01:33.440 --> 0:01:36.880 or softball, from the way that the women play softball 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:39.880 the way that the women play basketball. So there's two 0:01:39.920 --> 0:01:42.160 really good things that are happening right now. It's the 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:45.320 Women's College World Series and of course the Regionals, then 0:01:45.360 --> 0:01:47.920 the Super Regionals and then the men's College World Series. 0:01:48.240 --> 0:01:50.880 But I think it's great, and you know, I understand 0:01:50.920 --> 0:01:53.880 that it's an opportunity for us to coach to talk 0:01:53.920 --> 0:01:57.880 to coach loss and it's an opportunity for our teammates 0:01:57.880 --> 0:01:59.919 to get the questions in as well. 0:02:00.520 --> 0:02:03.080 Yeah, so if you're if you're watching, feel free to 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:06.280 throw questions in the chat tonight on YouTube. You may 0:02:06.320 --> 0:02:09.040 need to, or you do need to sign up free 0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:12.080 account if you don't have one. Uh, it's very quick. 0:02:12.280 --> 0:02:15.160 Just take five, five ten seconds to do that. Ask 0:02:15.200 --> 0:02:18.000 your questions and you get a shot to ask anything 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:20.720 you want. And that's that's what's amazing about you know, 0:02:20.760 --> 0:02:23.680 the experience up to to this point, and the unique 0:02:23.680 --> 0:02:26.200 part of UH from the dugout right rabbi and and 0:02:26.520 --> 0:02:29.120 a lot to talk about with the regionals. Man, this 0:02:29.200 --> 0:02:31.440 is UH, this is this is one of my favorite 0:02:31.440 --> 0:02:34.080 weeks of the year. Man, it's it's such a fun week. 0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:38.320 If you have never experienced a regional, it's one of 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:41.079 the it's one of the best experiences as a sports fan, 0:02:42.040 --> 0:02:44.800 let alone a baseball fan that you can It's it's intense. 0:02:45.400 --> 0:02:49.160 Every game matters, every pitch seems to matter. The the 0:02:49.200 --> 0:02:52.640 intensity and and as you kind of start talking to coaches, 0:02:52.680 --> 0:02:55.560 which is which is something I do all the time. Uh, 0:02:55.840 --> 0:02:57.800 it is so hard to get out of a regional 0:02:57.840 --> 0:03:00.160 because you have to be the best of four and 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:02.240 when you get to super that's really hard to which 0:03:02.280 --> 0:03:03.760 I'm excited to talk to coach tonight about. 0:03:03.760 --> 0:03:05.440 But it's really hard as well. 0:03:05.440 --> 0:03:08.000 But you just have to beat one team twice and 0:03:08.080 --> 0:03:12.240 so sometimes getting through that regional can be extremely difficult 0:03:12.440 --> 0:03:16.080 or you know, you get a team that's been seated 0:03:16.080 --> 0:03:19.480 a little lower than you know, you maybe think they 0:03:19.520 --> 0:03:22.239 should have, and they're coming in with forty three wins 0:03:22.240 --> 0:03:24.440 and as a as a four seat, you know, and 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:27.240 so it's just not easy. And at this point, everybody's 0:03:27.280 --> 0:03:30.959 got a great arm. Usually there's there's good pens involved 0:03:31.040 --> 0:03:34.400 or great offenses. So it's just a fun time of year, Rabby, 0:03:34.440 --> 0:03:36.280 It's one of my favorite weekends of the year is 0:03:36.320 --> 0:03:38.360 the NCAA Baseball Regionals. 0:03:38.360 --> 0:03:38.600 Man. 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:41.640 Yeah, and I think the other thing that happens is 0:03:42.040 --> 0:03:44.840 and I'll share some stories from Hoover, Alabama, which I 0:03:45.040 --> 0:03:47.520 honestly I'd never been there. This was the first year 0:03:47.600 --> 0:03:49.600 they got a chance to go to the SEC tournament. 0:03:50.000 --> 0:03:52.800 It is a special place, and I'm in Alabama a 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:56.760 lot during the winter. I drive from Atlanta or Birmingham 0:03:56.800 --> 0:03:59.920 to touch GALOOSU to call Alabama basketball games for the 0:04:00.200 --> 0:04:04.000 SEC and other areas around there. Hoover, Alabama is a 0:04:04.040 --> 0:04:06.560 really unique place. I mean, there's a part of it 0:04:06.600 --> 0:04:09.600 that almost looks like it's a Disney World. Every home 0:04:09.720 --> 0:04:14.000 is gorgeous, the facility the baseball field is incredible. Short 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:16.080 of the weather being a little bit unpredictable, and it 0:04:16.160 --> 0:04:19.279 was again this week. It's as neat and as nice 0:04:19.480 --> 0:04:23.440 and as inviting as you can find for a college 0:04:23.480 --> 0:04:28.320 basketball baseball facility. The games were competitive, Georgia ended up 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:31.240 winning this thing. And to your point, every team's got 0:04:31.240 --> 0:04:34.680 good arms, every team has superstars, and every team's going 0:04:34.760 --> 0:04:37.560 to need one or two guys to step up and maybe, 0:04:37.880 --> 0:04:41.240 you know, OutKick themselves a little bit or play over 0:04:41.279 --> 0:04:44.599 their skis a little bit. And this weekend it wasn't 0:04:44.880 --> 0:04:49.320 Daniel Jones who was the MVP. It was Kenny Ishikawa 0:04:49.400 --> 0:04:52.800 who impressed the heck out of me with his back 0:04:52.839 --> 0:04:55.320 to ball skills. He was in the middle of everything, 0:04:55.839 --> 0:04:59.160 and on a team that's loaded with superstar players. He's 0:04:59.200 --> 0:05:02.480 a really real, really good player. But you would circle 0:05:02.600 --> 0:05:05.240 other people. And if you're gonna go through the regionals, 0:05:05.279 --> 0:05:08.920 through the Supers and through Omaha, you're gonna need you're 0:05:08.920 --> 0:05:11.320 gonna need the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth guys to 0:05:11.400 --> 0:05:15.040 contribute as well. And nobody knows that better than our 0:05:15.040 --> 0:05:18.039 guest coach, Jim Schlosnaga. You want to welcome in the 0:05:18.080 --> 0:05:24.200 coach there. He is man coach loss. Thanks so much 0:05:24.240 --> 0:05:25.880 for joining us here on dirt from the dugout. We 0:05:25.920 --> 0:05:26.560 appreciate it. 0:05:27.040 --> 0:05:28.839 Yeah, honored to be here. Thanks for having me on. 0:05:29.040 --> 0:05:31.320 Been following what you guys have been doing and putting 0:05:31.320 --> 0:05:34.080 out great podcast content and everything. So looking forward to 0:05:34.080 --> 0:05:35.040 hanging with you guys tonight. 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:38.160 Appreciate that. So was that a fact? I mean, you're 0:05:38.160 --> 0:05:40.599 gonna you're gonna need everybody, right, I mean this is 0:05:40.680 --> 0:05:44.920 not just Dylan Valantis and where we're good or Mendoza. 0:05:45.000 --> 0:05:47.520 We're gonna need and every team through the course of 0:05:47.560 --> 0:05:52.200 these rounds. You're gonna need some some guys to step up. 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:57.240 Yeah, I mean, I think, uh, in any tournament format, 0:05:57.400 --> 0:06:00.320 especially the regional, it's a it's a four team to ornament. 0:06:00.520 --> 0:06:02.560 You can win in three games. You can lose it too, 0:06:03.200 --> 0:06:05.200 or I've been a part of them where you lose 0:06:05.240 --> 0:06:07.200 the first game and have to win four or five games. 0:06:07.240 --> 0:06:11.040 So the depth of your pitching certainly gets tested. But 0:06:11.080 --> 0:06:12.800 you need your best players to play well, and then 0:06:12.839 --> 0:06:18.120 you need those supporting cast players to execute when they're 0:06:18.120 --> 0:06:20.560 asked to. And you know, the super Regional, if you're 0:06:20.600 --> 0:06:23.280 able to make that, it's it's the best two out 0:06:23.279 --> 0:06:25.360 of three, So you don't go as deep into your 0:06:25.360 --> 0:06:28.360 pitching normally, but then when you get to Omaha, especially 0:06:28.360 --> 0:06:32.200 now since it's a condensed schedule over about ten days 0:06:32.279 --> 0:06:36.159 versus about used to be two weeks, your pitching depth 0:06:36.160 --> 0:06:38.360 can get tested a lot there too, So it takes 0:06:38.360 --> 0:06:39.200 the entire team. 0:06:39.640 --> 0:06:42.760 Right, it's a great night. Get your questions in and 0:06:42.800 --> 0:06:45.160 you're looking at the head coach of the University of Texas. 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:48.440 That's Jim Schlosnegel. He's had an incredible resume, he's had 0:06:48.480 --> 0:06:50.560 an incredible run. He's on his way to the Hall 0:06:50.560 --> 0:06:53.599 of Fame for sure, at least in my opinion, between 0:06:53.600 --> 0:06:55.120 when it get at Texas A and M when he 0:06:55.160 --> 0:06:58.240 did at TCU. But let's just roll the tape back 0:06:58.279 --> 0:07:00.760 a little bit. Coach here for people who are watching, 0:07:01.200 --> 0:07:04.760 and our live show is really designed for parents of players, 0:07:04.800 --> 0:07:09.360 young players, high schoolers, college players. You know you got 0:07:09.400 --> 0:07:12.600 into this game, but it was other sports that you 0:07:12.640 --> 0:07:16.800 were playing, and finally you focused in on baseball in 0:07:16.840 --> 0:07:19.040 a short way. If you can't, how did we get 0:07:19.080 --> 0:07:21.520 from where you were as a ten year old to 0:07:21.560 --> 0:07:22.440 where you are now. 0:07:23.880 --> 0:07:27.040 Well, I grew up in western Maryland and in those 0:07:27.120 --> 0:07:29.240 days you played football in the fall, basketball in the 0:07:29.280 --> 0:07:33.000 winter baseball in the spring and some legion baseball in 0:07:33.000 --> 0:07:35.680 the summer, and then started it all over again with 0:07:35.720 --> 0:07:38.360 summer basketball and football camp. And so I did that 0:07:38.400 --> 0:07:41.880 all the way through high school. Baseball was not my 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:44.520 favorite sport. I was actually a bigger college basketball fan 0:07:44.560 --> 0:07:48.040 than anything, but baseball was the thing I had a 0:07:48.120 --> 0:07:50.160 chance to play at least a little bit. In college. 0:07:50.480 --> 0:07:52.920 I went to Elon, a little school in North Carolina 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:56.240 and it's in AI school. When I was there, it's 0:07:56.240 --> 0:08:00.320 now Division I school. And in my sophomore year, college 0:08:00.320 --> 0:08:02.360 coach called me in and I was a journalism major. 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:05.280 I was actually hoping to become like Carl Ravich and 0:08:05.320 --> 0:08:11.600 be a journalist of some kind. And my college coach said, hey, 0:08:11.640 --> 0:08:13.920 I think you'd make a good coach. You need to 0:08:13.920 --> 0:08:17.960 think about changing your major, and long story short, I 0:08:18.040 --> 0:08:22.280 did and got super fortunate. I was a student assistant 0:08:22.280 --> 0:08:24.760 coach my last couple of years of college, and then 0:08:24.840 --> 0:08:28.640 got super lucky in nineteen the summer of nineteen ninety 0:08:28.640 --> 0:08:31.440 two and got a job at Clemson University as a 0:08:31.480 --> 0:08:34.720 volunteer coach at twenty two and that got my college 0:08:34.760 --> 0:08:37.400 career started. But it just tells you about the impact 0:08:37.440 --> 0:08:40.520 of a coach, right, And I looked up to my 0:08:40.600 --> 0:08:43.839 college coach so much that he taught you know, he 0:08:44.679 --> 0:08:47.960 saw something in me that made me change a career 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:50.120 path and it turned out pretty good. 0:08:50.640 --> 0:08:52.280 All right, So justin I know you want to get 0:08:52.320 --> 0:08:53.880 in here, just let me follow up on that. I 0:08:53.880 --> 0:08:57.160 think it's a really interesting point for parents and for coaches. 0:08:57.760 --> 0:08:59.880 Is you had a coach who was willing to have 0:09:00.080 --> 0:09:03.439 a hard conversation with you, who put it out there 0:09:03.480 --> 0:09:06.760 and said it may be time to think about something else. 0:09:08.160 --> 0:09:10.800 You then learn from that you certainly had to have 0:09:11.000 --> 0:09:15.080 hard conversations. Is there some kind of guideline that you 0:09:15.120 --> 0:09:19.040 can give to either parents or coaches who have to 0:09:19.080 --> 0:09:22.440 deliver the tough message and on the other side, how 0:09:22.480 --> 0:09:26.280 you learn to deal with receiving a tough message. 0:09:26.520 --> 0:09:29.040 Yeah, you know, I think one of the greatest traits 0:09:29.080 --> 0:09:31.439 I think a person can have, and I always tell 0:09:31.440 --> 0:09:33.920 our players one of the greatest one of the common 0:09:33.960 --> 0:09:37.119 traits of all the great players that I've coached is awareness. 0:09:37.240 --> 0:09:41.400 Like they're self aware. They have a good combination of confidence, 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:44.839 but they're also they have humility. They're humble enough to 0:09:45.240 --> 0:09:48.680 be coached. They're humble enough to be told you know, 0:09:48.760 --> 0:09:51.320 what they need to do to get better or where 0:09:51.320 --> 0:09:55.480 they stand. And even at that age, I was I mean, 0:09:55.600 --> 0:09:57.160 all I had to do was look around and see 0:09:57.280 --> 0:10:00.760 my talent level as a player compared to you know, 0:10:00.840 --> 0:10:03.319 an NAI World Series team, which is what I was 0:10:03.360 --> 0:10:05.680 a part of, and and it was pretty aware. I 0:10:05.720 --> 0:10:07.680 was pretty self aware that I wasn't going to be 0:10:07.760 --> 0:10:09.559 playing in the major leagues and maybe get to play 0:10:09.600 --> 0:10:13.000 a little bit in college. But my college coach called 0:10:13.040 --> 0:10:15.240 me in and said, you can keep doing this or 0:10:15.280 --> 0:10:18.360 you can really get a jump start on the rest 0:10:18.440 --> 0:10:20.800 of your life, which is which was going to be coaching. 0:10:21.040 --> 0:10:24.160 And so I learned a lot from that. And certainly 0:10:25.040 --> 0:10:27.920 as a leader in anything you have to have, you 0:10:27.960 --> 0:10:30.959 want to tell people the truth. Certainly you want them 0:10:31.000 --> 0:10:32.440 to you want to do it in the right way, 0:10:32.480 --> 0:10:35.160 and you want them to know that you care. So 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:39.079 that way, when they received that message, even though it 0:10:39.160 --> 0:10:41.199 might be tough for them to hear in the short term, 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:43.800 they know that you have their best interest at heart. 0:10:43.880 --> 0:10:47.160 And so it's definitely a moment that I remember, and 0:10:47.240 --> 0:10:49.280 I remember where I was standing when he told me that, 0:10:49.800 --> 0:10:52.080 and I try to keep that in mind. You know 0:10:52.160 --> 0:10:54.520 when I have to deliver. I don't know if it's 0:10:54.559 --> 0:10:57.920 tough news, but just reality. You know, have real conversations 0:10:58.400 --> 0:11:00.920 with a player, and I think if you're not telling 0:11:00.920 --> 0:11:02.960 them the truth, then you're leading them down a path 0:11:03.000 --> 0:11:09.280 it's not reality. And I think young people can handle it, 0:11:09.360 --> 0:11:11.240 you know, I truly believe that. 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:16.880 Okay, Yeah, it's awesome, awesome feedback there, Jim. And one 0:11:16.880 --> 0:11:19.240 thing I want to kind of get into is you've 0:11:19.240 --> 0:11:24.120 been able to sustain the success, which I think has 0:11:24.160 --> 0:11:26.640 been one of the most challenging things, as you know 0:11:26.720 --> 0:11:29.000 better than anyone for any coach, right and all the 0:11:29.000 --> 0:11:32.680 coaches that I talked to, there's so much change that's 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:35.480 happened in the NCAA in the last let's just say, 0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:38.439 ten years. But you've been able to adapt to that. 0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:40.840 And if we're being honest, there are some coaches that 0:11:40.880 --> 0:11:44.520 have struggled to adapt to that. You know, historically great 0:11:44.559 --> 0:11:48.920 coaches that have really struggled in that transition. What have 0:11:49.040 --> 0:11:53.320 you done to win throughout all the years and all 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:57.960 the change that we've seen, and it just seems like 0:11:58.000 --> 0:12:01.200 you just don't skip a beat man, Well. 0:12:01.080 --> 0:12:03.800 I appreciate you saying that. I mean I've obviously I've 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:06.120 had been fortunate enough to work at great places with 0:12:06.240 --> 0:12:10.480 athletic directors that at they reward success. So as we've 0:12:10.520 --> 0:12:12.920 gotten better as a program, whether it be U NLV 0:12:13.120 --> 0:12:16.079 or TCU or A and M, and certainly now Texas, 0:12:17.080 --> 0:12:19.240 you know, you're you're able to work with people that wanting, 0:12:19.720 --> 0:12:22.680 that want that want to keep moving forward. I would say, 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:26.200 for me, I'm a pretty boring guy. I don't play golf, 0:12:26.360 --> 0:12:28.240 you know, I like to fish every now and then, 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:32.400 might be two or three times a year. Baseball is 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:34.320 I mean, this is a lifestyle for me. This is 0:12:34.320 --> 0:12:38.079 not a profession. This is a lifestyle. And so, uh, 0:12:38.120 --> 0:12:41.559 you know, college baseball and baseball in general, and youth baseball, 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:45.120 I'm a big fan of it. So and I'm also 0:12:45.480 --> 0:12:47.280 you know, I'm on the board of our American Baseball 0:12:47.280 --> 0:12:49.720 Coaches Association, so I get to be a part of 0:12:49.760 --> 0:12:53.719 some really cool conversations about moving our game forward. And 0:12:54.360 --> 0:12:56.400 I mean adapt or die, right, I mean, you better 0:12:56.800 --> 0:12:59.560 if you don't like it, then you better choose something else. 0:12:59.600 --> 0:13:02.120 And so you know, I don't have to always agree 0:13:02.200 --> 0:13:05.120 with the way things have changed in college baseball, but 0:13:05.160 --> 0:13:08.480 if you want to keep coaching, especially in the Southeastern Conference, 0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:11.720 then you better be adapting. And what is it? You know, 0:13:11.760 --> 0:13:14.920 don't hate the player, hate the game and against some 0:13:15.360 --> 0:13:18.000 of the parts of college athletics we can't control right now, 0:13:18.760 --> 0:13:21.440 but you just have to deal with it. And I 0:13:21.480 --> 0:13:23.040 do think at the end of the day, this is 0:13:23.080 --> 0:13:27.440 still about character and leadership development through the sport of baseball. 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:30.000 That's really what I see my job as. Yes, we 0:13:30.120 --> 0:13:32.800 have to win, but if I can get super talented 0:13:32.840 --> 0:13:36.640 young people to all move in the right direction and 0:13:37.480 --> 0:13:40.120 become a great teammate and be supportive and play for 0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:43.960 the team even though there's all kinds of outside distractions, 0:13:45.440 --> 0:13:48.480 then we're going to have success. And that's really what 0:13:48.520 --> 0:13:52.040 my focus is is keeping the whole battleship moving forward. 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:55.160 Right, that's the whole, that's the pat riley. You know, 0:13:55.480 --> 0:13:58.520 it's definitely not about me. It's about we and the 0:13:58.520 --> 0:14:01.320 disease of me and all the those things. It's that's 0:14:01.360 --> 0:14:04.319 a very very important point here. Uh, we have questions 0:14:04.320 --> 0:14:06.120 here that we're going to get to. But three things 0:14:06.120 --> 0:14:08.720 that you said that triggered the thought and memory of mine. 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:11.840 A and news director in Binghamton, New York told me 0:14:11.880 --> 0:14:14.320 that I was not going to be the weekday sports guy. 0:14:14.480 --> 0:14:17.600 So rather than just quitting or changing my major, I 0:14:17.640 --> 0:14:21.040 sort of took a screw that mentality and and plowed ahead. 0:14:21.520 --> 0:14:25.200 That was one thing I had a father who told me, Yeah, 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:27.040 since you didn't get that job, maybe you want to 0:14:27.080 --> 0:14:29.720 try something else. I wasn't quite ready to do that, 0:14:31.200 --> 0:14:33.440 but you did say. And this is a question we 0:14:33.520 --> 0:14:35.560 got from somebody here. He said, what did you change 0:14:35.560 --> 0:14:36.000 your major? 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:36.320 Two? 0:14:36.400 --> 0:14:38.120 You know, you you you, you decided to get out 0:14:38.120 --> 0:14:39.080 of it. What did you change it to? 0:14:40.200 --> 0:14:43.240 I changed it to education because I was completely planning 0:14:43.320 --> 0:14:46.040 on being a high school coach, you know, I I 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:47.920 you know, so I need to get my teaching certification. 0:14:48.040 --> 0:14:50.240 So I actually did my in the spring of my 0:14:50.240 --> 0:14:53.520 senior year. I did my student teaching six weeks in kindergarten. 0:14:54.160 --> 0:15:05.680 Uh yeah, Utah kindergarten. What's that? Utah kindergarten, kindergarten, physical education, kindergarten. 0:15:05.720 --> 0:15:10.080 Pe I did for six weeks. And what are we 0:15:10.200 --> 0:15:12.720 doing a high school? High school teacher or kindergarten? I 0:15:12.800 --> 0:15:16.200 take kindergarten every day. Really, high school was a lot 0:15:16.240 --> 0:15:18.840 more challenging, but and I was playing on I was 0:15:18.960 --> 0:15:21.240 headed back to I graduated. I was going to go 0:15:21.280 --> 0:15:24.320 back to Elon and do my grad school, but I 0:15:24.360 --> 0:15:26.520 got super lucky working a camp at Clemson in the 0:15:26.520 --> 0:15:30.920 summer of ninety two and a bunch of inc double 0:15:30.960 --> 0:15:33.960 A rules changed and they created this thing called a 0:15:34.040 --> 0:15:37.560 volunteer coach, and so I was a volunteer coach in 0:15:37.600 --> 0:15:42.240 the very first year of volunteer coaches, which, as you know, RAVI, 0:15:42.360 --> 0:15:45.920 they had that in college basketball too. You had restricted 0:15:45.960 --> 0:15:50.400 earnings coaches and you had volunteer coaches. So that's how 0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:51.040 I got started. 0:15:51.800 --> 0:15:54.640 Yeah, no earnings. Well, I just I'm curious. Kindergarten, what 0:15:54.680 --> 0:15:56.760 are we teaching the kids? Are we doing summersaults? Are 0:15:56.800 --> 0:15:58.880 we doing push ups? What are running around? What are 0:15:58.880 --> 0:15:59.240 we doing? 0:16:01.240 --> 0:16:03.520 I'm not sure what a curriculum was back then, but yeah, 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:06.440 I mean you're you're getting kids moving like they playing 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:13.000 kickball and uh you know, yeah, gymnastics I don't remember, but. 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:16.080 Game of tag whatever, it is, just just burn energy, 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:18.160 just get it, get it moving around. 0:16:18.520 --> 0:16:21.000 Even active. I mean, do they even still have physical 0:16:21.080 --> 0:16:24.920 education in in uh middle school and high school? Now? 0:16:25.600 --> 0:16:30.840 Can I just presidential with the Presidential Physical Fitness Award? 0:16:31.120 --> 0:16:31.760 Did you do that? 0:16:31.840 --> 0:16:33.640 Yeah, oh yeah, for sure. 0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:36.800 That I remember. I don't know. I don't know that happens. 0:16:37.200 --> 0:16:39.800 I could never get said in each man sad and 0:16:39.800 --> 0:16:42.760 reach killed me on that. 0:16:43.800 --> 0:16:47.560 Climb the road right, no chance. I never got the 0:16:47.640 --> 0:16:50.640 leg thing correct. I couldn't wrap the legs around. Look, 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:53.120 we digress. Uh, here's a good question for you. And 0:16:53.120 --> 0:16:56.320 this this applies to every level. It comes from Mark. 0:16:56.360 --> 0:16:59.440 He says, what's the most underrated trait in a player 0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:02.720 that he never shows up on a stat sheet? Good question? 0:17:03.960 --> 0:17:09.400 Yeah, I would say, you know, their ability to handle adversity. 0:17:09.560 --> 0:17:12.879 You know, I mean just, I mean without question. You 0:17:12.920 --> 0:17:15.920 know when you Rabi, you've seen. We have a kid 0:17:15.920 --> 0:17:18.679 on our team named Anthony Pack who was the you know, 0:17:18.680 --> 0:17:20.800 he's the SEC freshman of the year. He'll be in 0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:23.800 the conversation for the National Freshman of the Year. And 0:17:24.359 --> 0:17:27.720 he's just And it comes from, I guess, the way 0:17:27.920 --> 0:17:31.440 most kids are raised. And he has two great parents. 0:17:32.000 --> 0:17:35.520 The way Anthony walks in the building, the way he 0:17:35.560 --> 0:17:38.040 walked in the building the first day he was able 0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:42.000 to take coaching, he had a ton of failure until 0:17:42.119 --> 0:17:45.439 you know, Troy Tilwhiskey, our hitting coach, really found a 0:17:45.480 --> 0:17:48.240 good you know, kind of hitting move for him to 0:17:48.280 --> 0:17:51.680 be able to execute to have more success, and then 0:17:52.600 --> 0:17:56.719 his ability to navigate through the Southeastern Conference and the 0:17:56.760 --> 0:18:00.080 expectations and playing at Texas, which is a lot for 0:18:00.160 --> 0:18:03.439 these kids. I would say, I would say that, you know, 0:18:03.520 --> 0:18:07.080 that's that's really going to define any baseball player, you know, 0:18:07.280 --> 0:18:09.600 especially a hitter, is your ability to move on to 0:18:09.680 --> 0:18:12.040 the next day, whether you've had a good day or 0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:14.520 a bad day. And I think that's you know, for 0:18:14.520 --> 0:18:17.600 for parents out there, it's okay for them to have 0:18:17.640 --> 0:18:20.679 a bad game, like, uh, you know, it's okay for 0:18:20.720 --> 0:18:22.880 them to go over four. You know, maybe they went 0:18:22.920 --> 0:18:25.080 over four because they hammered the ball four times and 0:18:25.119 --> 0:18:29.359 went at somebody. But I think letting not it's not 0:18:29.600 --> 0:18:33.919 it's allowing them to process the failure or the adversity, uh, 0:18:34.040 --> 0:18:37.359 and see the opportunity in the in the adversity is 0:18:37.400 --> 0:18:41.199 such a great parenting skill. We all don't hate to 0:18:41.200 --> 0:18:43.480 see our children hurt. I have a son and a daughter. 0:18:44.040 --> 0:18:46.720 But at the same time, we all know, no matter 0:18:46.760 --> 0:18:49.280 what they choose to get into, whether it's sports or 0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:53.320 whatever other business, the most successful people are the ones 0:18:53.359 --> 0:18:57.040 that fight through the failure. I mean, I've screwed up 0:18:57.080 --> 0:18:59.400 so much as a college coach. I mean I've had 0:18:59.400 --> 0:19:02.639 success because I've screw and learned prof you know, and 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:04.480 I think that's the case for everybody. 0:19:05.880 --> 0:19:08.080 Yeah, Jim, what do you do to I mean, obviously 0:19:08.240 --> 0:19:10.640 the SEC is it's you know, kind of its own 0:19:10.720 --> 0:19:14.119 level now right, It's just so challenging. What do you 0:19:14.240 --> 0:19:18.800 do to get your guys ready mentally? You know, physically 0:19:18.920 --> 0:19:21.000 obviously we can kind of talk about that all day 0:19:21.000 --> 0:19:23.159 long too, but you just kind of hit on it. 0:19:23.240 --> 0:19:26.240 Just the mental challenges that that comes with, right of 0:19:26.400 --> 0:19:29.600 coming in and performing in that those environments, and when 0:19:29.640 --> 0:19:32.600 you start to struggle, you know, there's a lot of 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:35.600 chatter now right. You have social media. There's more coverage 0:19:35.640 --> 0:19:38.600 in college baseball than ever, so they hear it now right. 0:19:38.640 --> 0:19:41.640 There's there's just a lot of stuff coming at them. 0:19:42.080 --> 0:19:45.800 What do you do away from the field, away from 0:19:45.840 --> 0:19:49.680 the games, I should say, to mentally prepare your guys 0:19:49.720 --> 0:19:50.960 for the big moments. 0:19:52.400 --> 0:19:55.240 Yeah, so this is this is certainly a topic that 0:19:55.320 --> 0:19:58.480 I love. I really think it's a secret to the 0:19:58.520 --> 0:20:01.480 success of our program. Since two thousand and six, I've 0:20:01.480 --> 0:20:04.639 worked with a guy named Brian Kane, who's now blown 0:20:04.720 --> 0:20:07.840 up and works with about twenty five or thirty major 0:20:07.920 --> 0:20:11.439 league players. He studied under Ken Ravisa, kind of one 0:20:11.440 --> 0:20:13.439 of the godfathers of the mental game of baseball. And 0:20:13.880 --> 0:20:16.520 it's really at the at the foundation of our program 0:20:16.600 --> 0:20:19.040 and from the from the very first day our kids 0:20:19.040 --> 0:20:23.879 get on campus. We talk about routines, both your daily 0:20:23.960 --> 0:20:27.679 routine and then also your you know, your your routine 0:20:27.760 --> 0:20:32.600 during you're at bat and you can't control where you know, 0:20:32.840 --> 0:20:35.440 you can't control once you've hit the ball, you can't 0:20:35.440 --> 0:20:38.960 control where it goes. There's so much luck involved in baseball, 0:20:39.280 --> 0:20:43.200 but you can control yourself, right. So the basic premise 0:20:43.240 --> 0:20:45.320 of what we talk about is you cannot be in 0:20:45.359 --> 0:20:48.840