Latest / Dugout Dish Baseball Recruiting Podcast powered by EMD Baseball / Multi-Sport Athletes, Leadership & Culture — What This College Coach Recruits For — St. John Fisher Head Coach Brandon Potter - EP. 160

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Multi-Sport Athletes, Leadership & Culture — What This College Coach Recruits For — St. John Fisher Head Coach Brandon Potter - EP. 160 · Dugout Dish Baseball Recruiting Podcast powered by EMD Baseball

• 0:02
  Speaker A: Hey, parents and coaches, are your kids using the right glove? The most important skill for youth athletes to learn is how to play proper catch. The problem is most youth gloves are made with bad leather and are too big for small hands. They actually make it harder to play catch. That's why former Major League Baseball shortstop Kevin Smith created Cali Gloves. Cali gloves are crafted from 100% Japanese kip leather and are the perfect size for kids. All Cali gloves come with palm slits, finger loops and elastic wrist lacing that encourage proper hand placement. The right closing patterns and give kids more confidence to go make plays. Cali gloves even allow parents to break in the glove without stretching out the fit. It's the glove Kevin wishes he had growing up and the glove all his teammates want for their kids. Visit caligloves.com to learn more and help your kids play better catch. Cali Gloves K a l I gloves.com
• 1:10
  Speaker B: welcome to this week's edition of the Dugout Dish podcast. I am Andy Kirikidis, joined by my Wonderful Co host, Mr. Keith Glasser. How are we doing?
• 1:18
  Speaker A: Great. How are you?
• 1:19
  Speaker B: Good. Excited to have another guest on the podcast tonight, somebody who is up in Rochester with you. So we'll. I'll kick it over to you for the intro.
• 1:29
  Speaker A: Yeah. We're in the five eight, five again tonight. Tonight our guest is Brendan Potter, the head ball coach at St. John Fisher. He has built one of the most Success, successful Division 3 programs in the country. Think. I don't even know if you know this. We did the math today, but 447 wins, 5 empire, 8 championships, 6 tournament appearances, and a 2016 Division 3 World Series appearance. Coach Potter, welcome to the show.
• 1:54
  Speaker C: Appreciate that. I did. I knew some of that. I did not know how many wins. I'll be honest.
• 1:59
  Speaker A: We were doing some math today. And as. As a history major, I'm not the best. So I was plugging it into my computer and hitting the ad sign and it got to 447 and I was like, wow, that's a lot of wins.
• 2:10
  Speaker C: I appreciate that. Yeah. Yeah. And I remember more.
• 2:12
  Speaker A: Congratulations.
• 2:13
  Speaker C: Thank you. Appreciate that.
• 2:15
  Speaker A: Now we're super excited to have you on. You know, I think you're one of the better coaches in the Division 3 realm. Not just saying that because you're on our show and you live here in Rochester, but I've watched what you've done from afar. When I was at rpi, we were fortunate enough to play each other a couple times. I think the last time we played, we had an Impromptu February. We were just talking pre show about the weather and how terrible it's been. We had an impromptu like 60 degree day in February and we were like, yeah, let's do it. And it was like 62 at first pitch and like 26 at last pitch. Yeah, we decided to play a marathon like 14 to 10 nobody could feel. Then we just left the yard a thousand times and the St. John Fishers got the better of me. But guys, super excited to have you on. But before we get going, if you could just give the listeners a rundown how you ended up at St. John Fisher.
• 3:04
  Speaker C: I appreciate you guys having me on. Yeah, I went to real small high school and actually went to junior college route for a year out of high school. The, the current coach at Cornell, Dan Pepicelli, was the head coach here at St. John Fisher, recruited me, played. I'll be honest with you, I don't know if I really thought coaching was, it was something I was going to, you know, do as a career. But as I started to get into my junior senior college, Coach Papacelli really talked me about, encouraged me to, hey, maybe this one you want to pursue. Spent a year with him. I actually had the opportunity to go out and do a couple years as a ga, Minnesota State, Mankato, which I'm not sure if you know, really where really a powerhouse Division 2 program in the Midwest. It was great. It was an unbelievable experience. Learned a ton onto California to California, juco for a year. And then I was really fortunate at a pretty young age that Dan Papicelli, who was still that coach here at that time, moved on to Clemson University of pitching coach. I came back here and I've been here since. So it was, it was a pretty quick progression to become a head coach. I'm not sure if I was quite ready at that age to do it, but you know, you learn on the fly and it was probably really good to just kind of get thrown, thrown into the fire and figure it out. And it's been great ever since and I've enjoyed every minute of it.
• 4:30
  Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I was never a head coach, but I know that me and Keith talk about it quite a bit. Like that change is, is, it's different. And when you got to figure it out when you're young, I'm sure you've learned quite a bit and probably leaned on some of the lessons that you learned from some of the coaches that you played for and some of the coaches that you, that you ultimately worked for at a couple really good, really good programs. But you've certainly figured something out. As we alluded to at the top of the podcast, you know, 447 win wins for those of you who are counting, is is quite a bit and I'm looking forward to, to diving into some, some conversations about some of the key parts of your program and things that are really important to you. But as some of our listeners know, one of the first things we'd like to dive into is how do you, how do you go about finding guys that are going to be a good fit for you at St. John Fisher? And kind of what does that recruiting cycle look like for you guys?
• 5:26
  Speaker C: Yeah, I think it's just an ongoing process. It's continuous. I, I, it's, it's, you know, for us it's St. John Fisher. Most of our players are going to come typically within a three hour radius, three, three and a half hour radius. So it's what we really concentrate the area obviously we're looking for the majors that really fit. Finance, accounting, business, sports management, the sciences, you know, we're academic institutions. We're looking for is the major fit, you know, and then it starts the process of do we think they fit in a lot of different areas? You know, I think it goes without saying we want to all have good people and they do the right things. You know, are they driven, are they mature? And that's a tough one because you're recruiting some young kids who are 16, 17, 18 and their pride expectation isn't for them to be all that mature. But the more mature you are, typically the better baseball player you're going to be. And that starts obviously on the phone and through, you know, some communication, getting them on campus, those types of things. But for us, when we're talking about recruiting calendar, you know, we really start to look at a class ahead or, or Obviously we're in 2026 right now, the 27s. Sometime around, you know, the Thanksgiving that, that time frame, we start looking ahead for us and that's what's worked for us. Obviously it's different everywhere. We seem to typically get done with our current class around October, November and then we immediately start on the next one. But you know, we're looking for well rounded baseball players and well rounded people that are really, you know, interested in a lot of things. And you know, one of the questions I always ask recruits is what else do you like to do besides baseball? What else are you interested in? Are you really competitive just outside of baseball in the classroom or if you're a basketball player, football Player, whatever it may be. So it's, there's a lot that goes into it and it's probably some science and some art to it. It's, it's probably a little bit of everything.
• 7:34
  Speaker B: Yeah, obviously you've had some success finding some guys with the, with the amount of wins that you guys have had. And you know, I think a lot of times, you know, we get a lot of questions around metrics and, you know, how much does that play into the process versus the in game performance? You know, you talking about, you know, being looking at guys who are probably in like a three hour radius. Where do you kind of sit on the fence of how you evaluate metrics versus the value you put in the in game stuff? I think that that's something that always can use some explanation in terms of how coaches are actually viewing that information.
• 8:10
  Speaker C: Yeah, we're always going to view it. I, I think it's just, you know, it's another tool in the toolbox. You know, for me, I want to be able to get out and see guys play in person. But you know, certainly, you know, you see, you know, someone puts up some type of certain number, whether it's, you know, pitching velocity or Xavier, whatever you want to talk about, it definitely can, you know, pique your interest. But for us it's, then we want to get out and watch them play and do they play the way that we think fits into what we want or what we need or, you know, will make us a better baseball program or can we develop them even further? You know, I think it's a combination of, of the metrics and can you play baseball? You know, I, I think it's the metrics doesn't always mean that you're going to fit what we, what we like to do or what we want to do. You know, and I don't think we have something that says, you know, every guy has to throw this or every guy has to run this. That's not, you know, there's, there's great baseball players that didn't have a great 60 time. So it's for us and for me in particular, I want to get out, watch them play and really get my eyeballs on them and see, you know, how they move around the field and, and how they hit in certain counts in, in how they, you know, can they throw a, a three, two breaking ball or can they throw an oil breaking ball? Those types of things. You know, the game is definitely. Pitchers are all throwing harder now. I think, I don't think that's a Secret, right. Everybody's throwing harder now. To me, it's about can you throw strikes, can you spring breaking balls? Is, I think, how you're going to have success at the college level. I mean, velocity helps absolutely. And, and obviously guys, they can hit the ball hard and there's, there's exavilo.
• 9:46
  Speaker B: It's.
• 9:46
  Speaker C: It's going to help. But can you play defense? Can you throw? You know, we're watching for defenders. Can they, can they throw? You know, can we use them in multiple positions? Are a position. There's a position flexibility with them. It's something I usually look for. Good athlete, does he play other sports, those types of things. So there's a lot that goes into it. There's just not one thing. It's, it's. For me, it's. I like to get on, watch them play a lot of games. And I kind of know when I see it.
• 10:17
  Speaker B: Yeah, I think it's really good for people to, to kind of hear that from a lot of different coaches, but understanding that, yeah, the metrics do, you know, to a certain extent, maybe catch your eye. But to your point, when you show up and watch them play, are they doing the things that you value? Are they going to, you know, be able to have some skills that are going to translate to, to what you guys ultimately are looking for in a player? When you go watch guys outside of the physical, right, like the obvious, the velocity and the bat speed and, you know, the things that people gravitate to, what other things are you paying attention to to help clue you into that a guy might be a fit for your program?
• 11:05
  Speaker C: You know, I hope, I hope that if I'm going out to watch a guy, there's been some communication, so I know a little bit more about them. I mean, that's not always the case, but, you know, are they bouncing around the field? Are they having fun? Are they smiling? You know, are they enjoying it? Do they. We ask a lot of guys, especially at this level, you know, you have to love the game. You have to love baseball. It can't just be something that you just want to, you know, do. You got to love it and, and you want to get. Want to. You want guys who want to get better at it all the time. So I'm really watching some of their body language. Are they bouncing around? Obviously we're going to ask a travel coach, life coach, you know, how well do they take coaching? Or are they. Are they good listeners? Are they good learners? You know, do they have an appetite? Delicious and learn, you know, do they want, do they want to get better? So you know, a lot of times I'll watch from afar down the left foot line, right? And I'm just, I'm just watching body language, hustling on and off the field, you know, are they bouncing around, they engaging teammates and you know, I'm hoping there's communication prior because every kid's a little bit different, you know, and everyone's demeanor is a little bit different and how they play the game. So hopefully you learn a little bit more about that before you do go watch them. But that's not always the case. But guys that bounce around the field and flying around engaging teammates and smiling and having a good time, they obviously stand out. And I think we all want to be surrounded with players that, you know, are, are enjoying themselves out there and you know, having a good time is supposed to be fun, but we also, you know, want to get better, we want to win.
• 12:35
  Speaker B: Yeah, the, the competitive nature for guys is something I, I always tried to tease away. I always loved the two sport athletes and, and guys who competed kind of year round. Is, is that something that, I mean, I know up in your guys area a lot of kids have to take the winter offer, a lot of them play another sport. Is that something that you value in the recruiting process?
• 12:56
  Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, I, I mean it's one of the, you know, the first few questions when I start a conversation is what other sports do you play? You know, and really can be anything, you know, and, and you know, do you, do you want to win? Do you want to get better? What are your goals? What are your expectations, like aspirations? Like what's the standard that you have for yourself? Like, you know, those are all things that we eventually get to with them and ask them or when they're sitting in the office, we're having a face to face with them. But yeah, I, players that want to play multiple sports, you know, I think it's a really positive thing, you know, and, and a lot of coaches say that because, you know, it, you train other muscles and competitive and do all those things. And there's a lot of truth to that, but just the ability to stay active and wanting to compete I think is, is really, really important. You know, it's. Baseball's really hard and it's, there's a lot of failures we all know and we, and there's a lot of, you know, talk about that and other sports I think can help with that. And, and I think there's a, there's a lot of positives to the sports that have some physicality like hockey and football and wrestling and you know when you get knocked down you got to get up and in baseball it's a little bit different because you're getting knocked down probably more mentally than you are physically. But you know, you, it's. We want tough kids and they can, that can handle that. So playing other sports I think is a really, really important. I would encourage kids to play multiple sports. I know that I, like you said, I know in the area we're in a lot of guys don't do it, but I wish more would.
• 14:26
  Speaker A: Yeah, the, the multiple sport athlete I, I hope makes a comeback in the near future. And it was interesting. I was watching, I mean people listen to this. They know that I wrestled in high school, but I was, I was watching the wrestling national championships over the weekend and they made mention multiple times of guys who were wrestling in the finals and the semis and stuff. But like they were all, a lot of them were multiple sport athletes in high school. I think the guy who ended up winning the, the championship at 197 was, he was originally. He was recruited as a running back to Minnesota too. And he's wrestling at 197 and won a national championship. Like it's, it's not just, you know, it's not just coaches talking about in baseball but you see people who succeed at the highest levels of what they're doing and they didn't just wrestle their whole life or they didn't just play baseball, they didn't just play foot like they played other sports. And it's not necessarily, you know, yes. The obvious of you know, you're training more muscles and your injury prevention goes down. But like you, I think there's a lot of truth in it that you're generally speaking those guys aren't like the best at all three sports in which it is that they're playing. Right. Like they're, you know, hey you, maybe you're really good at baseball and maybe you're just an average wrestler, but it's one on one and you want to compete your butt off to not lose. Like there's something that you learn in that because it's going to pay dividends in another sport and further on down the line and you know, maybe you're not the guy in football, you're part of a team like that teaches you that aspect of when you get to college, if you're playing baseball, like you're probably not going to be the guy you the, the guy the second you set foot on campus as a freshman so you've already kind of learned how to fit into a team and become a role player and learn your role and be really good at it to get better as you go and hopefully become the guy as you get older. And I think there's other traits outside of the obvious of the athleticism and the things that everyone likes to kind of cherry pick off of that, like the social aspect of it and the compete aspect and the things that actually you try to, you try to get out of guys, the toughness aspect like you said, like you can learn more of that playing more sports because you're probably not going to be, I mean, unless you're, you know, a really good player and maybe a class D school in New York like, but you're probably not the guy in everything. So you know, I think that there's just, there's way more benefits to it and I, you know, to your point with baseball, I think that we've gotten to a point with where we're, this is, this is a very hard game. We talk about it on here all the time. You said it like it's a, it's a tough game to try to do 12 months a year. You need a break from time to time mentally just to get away and go do something else, compete in something else and you know, you'll probably come back refreshed and feel a hell of a lot better about yourself in baseball than just by getting away for a couple months. If you're the parent of a high school baseball player with college aspirations, you already know the recruiting process can feel overwhelming. Endless showcases, non stop emails and big promises with very little clarity. That's why we recommend Diamond College Showcase Camps, the nation's premier academic baseball showcase. At Diamond College Showcases, every college coach in attendance is there with a purpose to coach, instruct, evaluate and recruit. Every player is seen, every player is engaged and every family leaves with a clear understanding of where they truly stand. This is not a mass camp. College coaches run the drills, evaluate every athlete and provide honest professional feedback that you can trust. Diamond College Showcase camps are built for serious student athletes who value both baseball and academics. If you're looking for transparency, clarity and a recruiting experience that respects your time and your players future, Diamond College Showcase is the place to be. To learn more, visit diamond collegeshowcase.com
• 18:15
  Speaker C: well, I think, I think the two sport athlete or three sport athlete, it's also, you know, when you go to college and one of the things we, we talk to them a lot about recruits is just the time management part. And, and you know, the old saying like it's good to be busy and, and it's good to do keep yourself busy and be occupied and have a structure and have a schedule. And I think that more sports you do, it probably shows you have the ability to do that because when it does, when you do get to college, it is going to be essentially around, you know, the whole year type of sport and it prepares you for that. But yeah, I think it does. There's a lot of positive, there's a lot more positives and negatives to it. Absolutely.
• 18:58
  Speaker B: I always come back to the team portion of it where I think youth baseball and specifically travel and kind of the current state that it is, is that a lot of it has become very individual focused and baseball itself lends it, you know, can lend itself to be a very individually focused game with, you know, the, the pitcher and the hitter and, you know, all that stuff. And I think there's something to be said about playing on another team, a sport like basketball or football or soccer, where you have to be a part of a bigger unit. Because I think the reality is, and we've talked about this a little bit on the podcast before, but when you get to college, baseball isn't individuals in a lineup, it's a team. You function as a team, you play offense, you don't hit. And some of the concepts that you run up against in college about, you know, how an offense functions, how a defense functions as a unit, they're a little bit foreign to a lot of kids when they step onto campus because they've never really experienced that in high school or travel because it's usually like, hey, you know, we've got three or four guys who can hit and we got a guy who can pitch. Like, we'll win some games in high school versus, you know, how do you move a line? How are you a part of an offense? You know, how do you contribute as the eight hole guy versus the guy who hits in the three hole? And it's, it's not just a bunch of guys who can hit who are put together. It's, you know, you're a unit pulling in one direction. You've got bullpen roles and you've got starter roles and you've got midweek starters. And there's, it's just, it's the same rules. It's 60ft 6 inches, it's 90 foot bases. But it's a very different game when you get to college from high school. And I think that some of the guys who played other sports, you know, maybe they only played them until they were 14, 15 years old, but kids who grew up playing other sports, I think, I think you're more prepared to take on what is going to be asked of you when you get to college because of it.
• 20:50
  Speaker C: Yeah, I absolutely would agree with that, too. And there's a lot to be said. We just talked about where you get to college and you got your offense, your batting order all has to pull in the same direction and no different than your pitching staff and every. And. And everything else like that. But you're 100, right? And I, I think that the best way to learn that is probably playing football and soccer where you are a part of a bigger unit. And I, I don't know in baseball at the youth age, if that's always something that, that you're gonna, you're gonna experience. And going back to what Keith said is like, yeah, you is probably the first time when you get to college as a baseball player that you are probably not one of the top players on the team. And I think that's a big adjustment for a lot of guys. You know, it's, it's. And if you are one of the best players, you're one of the best players, you're not the best player, and you're playing with grown men typically. So it's, There's a lot of adjustments to, to, to playing college baseball that I think that, you know, not everyone thinks about. And other sports can really teach you those things.
• 21:58
  Speaker B: Yeah, the, the type of competition in college is, Is very different too, because, you know, you play your whole fall, like you compete with the guys who are in the same uniform so that you get a chance to play guys in another uniform. And I think that that's lost on people too, because a lot of the stuff that happens when you're in high school and travel ball is that, you know, if you're one of the guys who's going to play in college and high school, you probably not wondering if you're going to end up in the lineup that particular day, and you probably haven't had to do a ton to earn it, because it's probably pretty obvious that you're one of those guys who should be in the lineup. But, you know, if you're, you know, if you're the fourth infielder and you need to go out and earn a spot so that you pencil them into the lineup like your competition isn't the team in the other dugout, it's the team, it's all the guys who are in your dugout. And I think that that's foreign too, that the competition, a lot of your daily competition is actually the guys that you're, you're trying to win games with. And that can be a little bit of a different experience of like, well, shoot, I got to beat somebody out to get in the lineup. Like, I got to outperform my buddy where it used to just be like, well, hey, I'm the shortstop. They're going to pencil me into the two hole and I'm going to show up to the field, you know, for 25 high school games and everything's going to be all good. And, and, you know, you could be the shortstop for the first three weeks of the season, really struggle and, you know, ultimately kind of get moved out of the lineup because you've got decisions to make as a coach, like, hey, I got to put the best guys out there. And that's a, that's a learning curve. I think for a lot of freshmen when they first get there is like, oh, wait a minute. My real competition is the guys that I'm in the cafeteria with after practice.
• 23:42
  Speaker C: Yeah. And I think that that's, that's really accurate. And, and probably some of the biggest competition they face is themselves. Right. And, and some of the struggles that come with being a freshman and just how difficult baseball can be and just controlling what they can control. And then in reality, they can't really control if they're going to play or not. That's, that, that's the coach writes the lineup, but they can control how prepared they are, you know, their ability to listen and learn and take things in. And so it's, it's, yeah, they're, they're competing against themselves and they're competing against absolutely the guys they're eating lunch with and dinner with and stuff. It's, it's tough. It's a grind and, and it's a lot of fun, though. You know, I, I, it's college baseball is, I had a great experience playing and, you know, I, I think that it's four or five years that most guys that played it said probably miss it.
• 24:43
  Speaker B: Yeah, the, the NCAA tournament from basketball, Mark, quote, unquote, March Madness is going on right now. And I've seen some pretty awesome press conferences. A couple. The one that sticks out to me is a young man from Howard talking about how impactful his coach is, how, how impactful his coach has been and the bond with his teammates and how this is stuff that he'll take with him for the rest of his life. It's things that he'll teach his kids, and I think that's the hardest thing to put a finger on for. I know what it feels like. You know what it feels like. Keith knows what it feels like. I mean, shoot, me and Keith have probably talked five days a week minimum for the last almost 20 years. And the bonds that you get as a player and the things that you go through with your teammates and the things you learn from a coaching staff, everything. It's hard to put a finger on how awesome that experience is. And you know, we get caught up in the stats and the wins and losses, but that experience of being a college athlete, I, I, I think is, it's something that you got to earn, but I, it, it's such an, a valuable and, and memorable part of your life when you're 18 to 22 or 23 years old and, you know, you got to work hard to get there. But it's, it's such a cool experience and it's probably the thing that I miss most as a coach is looking back on it. It's not the wins and losses. It's, you know, the impact you can have on a kid and the relationship that you can build there is, you know, I'm sure you've, you've developed plenty of those over the years with your guys.
• 26:23
  Speaker C: Yeah, you know, one of the things I've, I don't know how many years in a row, I'm serious, guys that are seniors probably roll their eyes when they hear it, but I tell our team all the time is, listen, in five or 10, 15, 20 years, you're not going to remember what you hit, but you're going to remember your teammates and you remember, you know, going to an insulated regional and doing those types of things, and it goes back to pulling in the same direction with the lineup and whatnot. And it's not really about your at bat. It's about the team because you're not going to remember that at bat. You're going to remember, you're going to remember the bus rides and winning and celebrating and all the things that come along with that. So you're right. And it is, it is a great experience. And you know, it's, it's a, it's a, it's a really rewarding experience as a coach. When you have those guys come back and tell you much they miss it, you know, and how much they wish they could could do it again or still playing. It's you know, it's one of the things probably when I was a head coach at such an early age, I probably was unaware of that a little bit, how impactful that is. Now when I, when I hear guys come back and say those things, or we're traveling and playing in Florida, wherever, and we have alumni show up and guys that played and they still follow the program and they're still that interested in it and that, and that consumed within asking, like, how we're doing and, you know, or texting after a big win and those types of things, or, you know, we played, we played home this past weekend and guys come back and watch. So it's, it is, it's, it's, it's a pretty cool thing. It's, it's, it's a great thing to be part of. And, and I, I hope that, you know, there's a place to play for everyone, and you just got to find that place and you'll have a great experience.
• 27:58
  Speaker B: I mean, you've been, you've been at this for a while now, and, you know, you've got all those wins under your belt, and that obviously doesn't come by mistake. What are some of the core tenets, like some of the foundational components of your program that you think have helped kind of build that? I mean, obviously, outside of the talented players that I know you've had, I mean, I know you've had some draft picks and some guys who've been really successful, but, you know, what are the things that you really focus on from a coaching perspective, from a program perspective that you think have allowed you to be as successful as you've been?
• 28:30
  Speaker C: Well, you know, you have to have good players. Like, there's no secret, you know, and I agree. We've had some really talented kids and some really good programs, really good players come through the program. You know, it's, it's, I, I, you, you to me, they have to know you care about them. And I think once they know, like, hey, coach cares and the programs cares and the institution cares about this, they're going to buy in more and they're going to, you know, they, they, they want, they need to want to do it for themselves and, and also for each other. And so each kid's a little bit different. You got to kind of figure out, in my opinion, like, them and what gets them to go in that direction. And then it's about, as a head coach, in my opinion, steering them that way. And each team's a little bit different each, every year. It's a little bit different in the direction or how they need to be pushed or how they need to be pulled back, however you want to look at it. But we've had really good players. I think we set them up to be successful. I think we are player led. I talk to them about the players about that all the time. Really good programs are player led. I think we, we set standards and not necessarily goals, but standards. And this is the standard we're going to try to meet all the time. And sometimes it's hard to hold that standard. It really is. And we got to remind them about it and stay on them about it. Like this is the expectation, this is the standard. And you know, I think when you get buy in, you can, you can really, you can really see it as a coach and you can see what direction they want to go and they're, they're, they're, they're all point in that direction. It's, I don't know if there's one thing I can tell you, like, hey, this is what I think it is. You know, every year it's a little bit different and you just got to get the right guys in the, in in the right spots and just kind of let them go with it and then just guide them in the right, in the, in the right direction as best you can and hopefully, you know, pull from your experiences as a coach and, and this is what we need to do here and this is what we need to add or subtract whatever it may be. But good players is the key. You have to have good players and then, you know, you really have to give them the freedom in my opinion, to, to really go out there and, and fail and experience it and learn from it and just keep pushing through, pushing through, pushing through. And we've, we've had obviously some really great seasons. We've had great, great seasons. Didn't start out well and we righted the ship and they really were player led and we got it on track. And those are probably the most rewarding seasons, to be honest, is when you have some failure and you can watch them figure it start to really take off. And, and I think one of the things I'm really proud of is obviously we talked about, you know, the alumni coming back and, and being a really positive influence and stuff like that. But is, you know, the, the years where it, it's, it is up and down a little bit and, and we figure it out at the end and when the conference or going into a tournament and those types of things it's, it's, it's unbelievably rewarding. And, and listen, I, I hate losing more than I enjoy winning. And one of the reasons that I still do that is because I want the players so badly to experience going into an NCAA tournament or going to a World Series. It's something they'll never forget. And you really, you really want that for them. And I hope that we can always, as coaches, convey that, that, you know, we're really here for you, we're pushing, we want you to do this because we know how impactful that can be and the memories that come with that.
• 31:59
  Speaker B: But
• 32:01
  Speaker C: it's a lot of hard work and we put a lot of time in and that's what I tell every crew. I'm just gonna, I'll work as hard as I can for you, put in as much time as I can, and we'll do it together.
• 32:13
  Speaker A: It's so true how every year is different every year. I don't even know if we could probably do a whole podcast on this, but how year to year, even though everything is kind of the same, it's drastically different given who's now in leadership roles and the team you have and the guys who came in and how everything goes. And it's, it's funny because I texted someone last week who was off to a slow start and I said, you know, just stick with it. Everything's going to be all right. Like, you know, in 15, we had a really good team at RPI. We lost in the regional final to Cortland, who won the national championship that year. And then the next year, you know, we graduated a lot of guys, we had four All Americans on that team that, you know, that were graduated. We rolled down into the old Russell Matthew tournament and I think we went 010 and started like 1 in 13 on the year. And it was, it was a completely, obviously it's a completely different year. But you know, we were playing a lot of freshmen, we were playing a lot of sophomores. We were playing guys that hadn't really been able to play yet to that point. And we were, we ran up against, I think we played like five ranked teams in Florida. Like we had no business playing against them at that point in time. But because we were good the year before, that's what we got. But we ended up, you know, we ended up writing the ship. We ended up losing in the, in the conference championship final that year to, to Union. Jake Fishman, who pitched in the big leagues, like single handedly beat us. He like went CG, punched like 12 and then hit, like, two home runs and a double, and we lost like, 3 to 1 or 3 to 2 or something. It was absurd, but it. Like, you know, if. If we hadn't had the. If we hadn't had the really good year in 2015, I don't know if with the same, you know, the. The. The kids that came back and experienced it, I don't know if we would have righted the ship and made it as far as we did that year. And there's. There's something to be said about it. Like, the. The wins and losses, like, you know, sometimes they. They can. They weigh on you, and I'm the same way. I despise losing. But you can learn more about your kids and your team because it helped us moving forward with, okay, this is what we need to do with how we go about preparation. This is what we got to do with this group. And it started to really take a turn, you know, within the next. That year and subsequent years after that. But, you know, it's such a different. It's a different thing that I think I. It took me a long time to learn as a coach, and it obviously took me a little bit of time with being a head coach, just because with COVID getting thrown in there and then I had. You know, half my team was not allowed to play, and I played 14 games with 16 players, so I was. I was running out pitchers in the outfield and DH and pitchers. It was wild, but it was. It was honestly probably one of the most fun seasons of my life coaching because, you know, you just had to figure it out. It was like playing sandlot baseball every game, and it was a lot of fun, but it helped us in 22 to where, like, you know, we were up against some adversity and we didn't have the season that we wanted. But, you know, I also had half of a team that hadn't played in two years, and then, you know, I stepped away, and Jason did a great job, and they, you know, they knocked down the championship last year, and a lot of those guys that, you know, were kind of the core members of that team as seniors were freshmen who kind of went through the ringer and had to figure it out for, you know, that first year. So, you know, it's. It is so different year to year. And I'm glad you mentioned that. I don't think we've ever really talked about it, but it's. As much as you want things to stay the same and your. Your Core tenants and the things it is that you believe in, that you're going to do are going to stay the same. But the team identity and the things you do shift year to year based off of, you know, the guys you have and what's going on.
• 36:14
  Speaker C: Yeah, you know, I, I, One of the things we try to get through them is, listen, if we're going to be known for anything, let's be known for. We play really hard.
• 36:23
  Speaker A: Right?
• 36:23
  Speaker C: Right. Like, we can control that. So let's play as hard as we can all the time. And if, if, if somebody asks us what our identity is or what we do, we play hard. And, and, but every year it is different. And, and, you know, we, we've had years that we've been really balanced as a, as a team, and we've had years. We've pitched, you know, really, really well and been in the top 10 of pitching or whatever. We've had years. Our offense has been unbelievable. And, and you got to be able to win a lot of different ways. And it's just like, from year to year, kids, your players can be a little bit different. They have a lot going on in their lives or internships or, you know, and, and things change with them as well. So, you know, it's, it is, it's really different every single year. And I think that's, you know, it's tough because when we play our first game of the year, it's, it's, it's a real game, like, and you got to start to figure it out. Is, you know, you just mentioned Keith. You went 0 for 10 in a tournament. We've done that, too. We've gone to Florida and opened up 2 and 9 or whatever, and we really had to figure it out. But you do, you learn a lot, and you learn a lot about your players, and they learn a lot about themselves, and they probably learn a lot about us as coaches, too, because, you know, it's, it can be hard on us, too. We have to, you know, maintain a level head and figure out how to get them through it. So it's fun, though, you know, and you got to step back from the wins and losses, like you said, sometimes be like, all right, it's going to be all right. We're going to figure this out. We have good players and we're going to do it. But yeah, it's, it's, you know, it's, it's baseball. It's hard. Baseball's hard.
• 37:53
  Speaker B: You hit on. And Keith mentioned it, too, but, like, standard, like, that's the one thing that doesn't change year to year for you guys, it's. It's like, all right, like, we're gonna play hard. At bare minimum, this is going to be our identity. And I think that that kind of guides it. But you hit on something else. And a couple other coaches who've been on here have mentioned is player led teams. And I've coached teams that weren't player led, and you feel like you're constantly trying to pull them in the right direction. And I've coached some teams that had some fantastic leaders on it. And you feel like they're an extension of your coaching staff. How do you. Do you try to identify some leadership characteristics during the recruiting process, or do you feel like that's some stuff that can kind of be cultivated in your program if you've already got some leaders who are there and can kind of set the example? Or is it maybe even like a little bit of a combination of both? Because I feel like that's something that can really tip the scales for a particular team and a program in general is like, if you've got some guys that are always willing to hold the line, you never really get that far off course.
• 39:03
  Speaker C: Yeah, we. We've had some really, some great leaders. And I think it's both ways. Like, I've had guys sit in my office and career pass and be like, this kid's really impressive. And you can tell he has leadership qualities or he, you know, was the president of his class or captain. You know, you. You kind of knew that. And then there's guys that are pretty unassuming and you're not sure. But when they get here, you can just see it from the first day they practice like he is going to take charge. And there's different types of leaders, as we all know. There's guys that are vocal, there's guys that aren't. There's got to lead by example and so on and so forth. But in my opinion, if you're going to be a leader on a baseball team, you better practice hard every single day and play hard every single day. That cannot waver. And our best leaders practiced just as hard as they played to the point we tried to say, all right, we don't need you running into the fence in, you know, practice number two of the season, diving for a ball, but you'd rather that pull them back a little bit. And, you know, I think that's a really common trait of leaders, whether they're outspoken leaders or they're. Or they're more Quiet. They play hard and everyone can point to them and say like, you know, did you practice as hard as him today? And you know, we have some, you know, I have some, you know, obviously like you said, I've done this a long time. We had, we had a couple all Americans and you know, we had a national player of the year the one year and we had, he came in my office, he, this, this kid end up being all American, a multiple time all American. But he came my office, he said hey, you know, I, my, my goal this year is I want to win, I want to win national player of the year. And he was already an All American the previous year. And I said well, you know, that's, that's, that's a great goal. It's, it's really difficult to do. As we know there's one national player of the year. And he said well, you don't think I can do that? And I said, well, I don't think you can do that because you don't practice as hard as the other. The kid playing on the other side of the you. And I'll give the. Now at this, he's unbelievably successful. He ended up being all American again. But he, after every practice came over, almost every practice came over and told me I out practiced him today from that point on and he was an unbelievable leader and it really showed. So you know, I, I think that, that your leaders need, need to be, want to be pr. Coached hard. They want, they should be able to, they should practice harder than everybody else. You know, I always tell our shortstops, you better be running everywhere everyone looks at the shortstop, you better be running everywhere on the, on the baseball field. And obviously goes without saying your catcher should have some leadership qualities and those things as well. It's just like your ace, your ace can be unassuming on the mound, but he better probably have some leadership qualities and want the ball all the time. So it's. Yeah, I think it's, I think it's both. I think it's both. You know, and in my years here I had a great leader and he, I don't know if he said five words in the five years he was here, but he, he was a leader and he, because he, he did it on the field every single day and he practiced harder than anybody else. And I think everyone on the team, clearly everyone on the team knew that. So it's, it takes, it takes, it takes both ways, Billy, to play obviously play hard and then have some leadership, leadership qualities.
• 42:26
  Speaker A: I think you bring up something interesting, too, like the fact that you can, and this happens in multiple programs. I'm not just saying that it's you, but you're here and we brought it up. But the fact that you can tell one of your best players, like, I don't think you can do it because you don't practice hard enough, and you get a. You get the response out of it in which you're hoping for. But you can challenge them to the point of like, hey, I already know that you're good, but if you want to make that next jump, this is what you have to do. You need to be able to do this day in, day out better than everyone else, harder than everyone else that's going to make. Get you to make the jump. And I think it's not just. It can happen with him. It could happen with a kid who's the 35th kid on your roster. But, like, those tough conversations are going to happen to you when you get to college, because inevitably, you're probably going to walk into the office at some point, be like, hey, why am I not playing? And here's the list. Because as coaches, we all know, and I used to tell this to my guys all the time. Like, you. You might think that you, like, I'm not watching, but I see a lot. I like, I'm actually paying attention to a lot more than you think I am while we're doing this, everything it is that we're doing. And then, you know, it takes that. Usually that first conversation where it's like, well, okay, on Tuesday, I watched you in BP just absolutely take three horrible rounds of batting practice, make zero adjustments whatsoever out in the dugout about your rounds, walk out to your position, and then proceed to kick three balls while you were taking fungos. Like, what about that makes me want to put you in the lineup? And you see kind of that aha. Moment of like, oh, gosh, he saw that. Like, yeah, man, I saw that. Like, nothing about that. Me even, like, in that moment, I don't even know if I want you on the field. I think I'm contemplating just throwing you out because you're bringing down everyone else and you. But I think, like, being able to have those conversations, it goes back to, like, like, your kids know that you care. You can have those conversations where, like, it's not a personal attack on you. This is just what I.
• 44:29
  Speaker B: If.
• 44:30
  Speaker A: If this is what you want to do, this is what you need to do. Because I've seen it done before, and this is what it takes and you're just not at that level yet. This is the jump you have to make. And like, those conversations can be tough, but at the same time, like, if you want to be coached and you want to be good, those are conversations that you're going to have to have and take that feedback and then go do what it is that you're talking about. It's the same thing, recruiting process, right? Like you, you got to have a conversation about where you're at and where you fit and where your deficiencies are and where, what you're good at so you can get better at them. So that gives you a better opportunity to be able to go find a place that you can play college baseball at. Up
• 45:08
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• 45:50
  Speaker C: yeah, I, you know, I don't think when I played, I realized, you know, the coaches listened and were paying attention to everything. Right. Like, I, I was probably naive. I didn't realize that. But you know, Keith, you're absolutely right. Like, I try to, I watch everything and try to listen to everything, and I think they are aware of it, but more so than at least I was when I played. It's, it's, it's a. The leader, going back to your leadership thing. It is unique. And having those tough conversations you're talking about, Keith, you know, you want your players to be able to ask those questions and then be willing to listen to, to the answer and then, and then take something from it. Like, that was a great conversation. You know, was it difficult? Like, yeah, it's not always like, hey, I don't think you practice as hard as this person. But I knew him well enough. I knew the response I was going to get from him. I knew that was going to be the response. You know, he was that type of kid. He wanted to be the best. And he took it as, you know, he, you know, he, I think appreciated it. Like, okay, well, I'm going to prove you wrong. And that's what we want as Coach, like prove us wrong and you know, we want a whole team of guys like that. But like, I, I think for, for young people especially like in baseball, like we, we keep going back to. It's hard, it's, it's hard to look in the mirror sometimes and say, oh, I'm not great at this. Right? Like, you know that that's the really difficult thing to do for everyone. So I think that when we can give them that information, you know, hopefully it's, you know, I, they, hopefully they understand it's because we're trying to make you better. Not only baseball, but it will probably help you in, in life and in class and when you, when you leave college and have to do all those things like baseball, you know, it's said all the time, but it's a great precursor to when you get out of college and you're gonna have to get in the real world. The real world's hard and so is baseball.
• 47:39
  Speaker A: One of my favorite things my guys started doing, I think it was 2019, one of our captains was hitting in, I think he was, let's say group two and like their group had a great group, great round. And he was like, he walked, like, walked straight out, said it loud enough. So everyone who was picking up all his curious, like, yo, Glass, I think Group 2 is by far the best group today. And I was like, okay. And then like one of our other captains is in group three. And he was like, well wait a minute, like we haven't hit yet. And it started this like domino effect of every single day. Every single group was like, would come up, be like, yo, like we're gunning to be the best group today. And then it started carrying over. Like we would do, I would, because we were short on numbers in some instances, but I would do like three team coach pitch where one team's down, one team's in the field, one team's hitting and I would just rotate them through and so it like, it would go quick with like six, seven hitters and it would like, it would be an all out battle for who, like, who was going to score the most runs, who was going to be able to execute the best on situational hitting and who was going to be really good defense. Like, and it was just an all out battle of just everyone trying to compete. And it all started with one of our captains being like, hey, we were the best BP group today. Which like, in the grand scheme of things doesn't matter, right? Like, it, it's not, it's not something that Matters. But it was like that spark that just kind of ignited a fire of guys who just really wanted to compete in everything. And it started to really carry over for us. And it was. I just thought it was awesome because then it, like, you were able to have, like, you were able to kind of. I don't want to say get into guys, but be like, you know, they started getting on to other guys for not doing what it was that were standards in our program where. And I've said this before, but, like, if we hit a ball in. In coach pitch or in an inner squad, if you skied it, like, my rule was you touch second base, like, you had to run hard out of the box and hit second, but, like, guys didn't do it. Like, you had other. Other guys then started being like, hey, man, we touched second here. Like, we don't. We don't peel off at first base. We don't walk. Like, we. We run hard to second base. And it started to carry over into everything. And I was like, all right, we're. We're making a lot of the progress it is that we need to make. And because we were young that year, like, I think we ran out seven freshmen and sophomores in 2019. So, like, we were young. We needed to, like, teach them a lot of what they needed to do. And it started with a. He was a juco guy. He was a juco guy who's a senior. And it just kind of. It was the spark that kind of the. That jumped us. It was awesome.
• 50:15
  Speaker C: Yeah. I, like, obviously they wanted to challenge each other, and I think that's a positive. And then. And I always know when our leaders, when we're going in the right direction, when they're willing to hold each other accountable, when it's not the coaches or the assistant coach, head coach, it's when they're holding each other accountable. We're going to be pretty good. And, you know, I think it's really hard for them to get to that. That point where, you know, I'm going to hold my teammate accountable, but I'm also friends with them, and I want to go eat lunch with them. And, you know, and. And my message typically is like, listen, this. There's. They're still your friends, but you got to be able to hold each other accountable all the time to the standard that we have set with the ultimate thing is that having a great experience in winning baseball games, and it can be hard for some guys to do that or some people, obviously, of that age group to do that. And that's the biggest challenge, I think.
• 51:09
  Speaker A: Yeah, I think it's probably the hardest thing for younger guys.
• 51:11
  Speaker C: Yes, absolutely.
• 51:12
  Speaker A: To be able to look your best friend in the eye and be like, hey, man, you're not doing what you're supposed to be doing. And we had a guy who he hit every day after practice, and he had a phenomenal career, played professionally for a couple years, and now he's a bullpen catcher for the trip in AAA right now. But he would every day. He was a baseball lifer. He was a rat. It was awesome. But I remember I, I got into our team the one day, like, he would hit no matter what. Good day, bad day, hot, cold, didn't matter. Like, he would go take extra swings. I remember one day I was like getting into people and I was like, after a game, we didn't really play all that well. And I was like, you know, Wheat, we've gotten away from doing the extra work. We do the bare minimum and then expect that that's going to be the, the we're going to be okay. And the previous year I had done something similar and everyone stayed after to go hit. I was like, and today is not the day where everyone's going to stay after and go hit. And I looked at him, I was like, you can, because you do it every day. Everyone else, you're going home. But they're like, when you have those guys. And he was, he was a quiet type guy, but he would always take younger guys with him and be like, hey, come on, let's go hit. Like, hey, you stay with me and hit. And it, like, it. When it, when you have somebody or three, four or five guys that do it, all of a sudden more guys start to do it. It becomes, I think, easier for them in the moment to then be like, start holding guys to account. Where when it's one guy doing it and no one else for two weeks, then, like, that becomes a little bit more difficult. And it's all to say, like, it is, it's difficult in college too. Like, aside from that stuff, like, there's a lot more going on, you know, like. And I was in a unique position at RPI where my guys were rocket scientists, literally, where, you know, they had to. Sometimes they can't stay after practice and hit because they have some giant project that's due where they're trying to, you know, save the world, where, you know, some people don't have that other school. So, like, you had to, it was a, a tightrope walk. You had to do from time to time.
• 53:20
  Speaker C: Absolutely.
• 53:21
  Speaker B: You get that culture that starts to build itself. And I. I remember my freshman year at Marist, and I probably should have hit even more than I did because, you know, that was. It probably could have been better on the offensive side of things. But I remember being there as a freshman and seeing some guys who had had success and had been really good players and seeing them go from practice straight to the cages and kind of having the moment of like, all right, well, I guess I got to. I got to at least do what they're doing. Like, if I'm going to stick around here, if I'm going to have a chance to get in the lineup, like, if the kid who hit.340 last year with 10 pumps is going to the batting cage after we just practice for three hours, if. If I'm going to get in the mix here at all, I probably need to follow him. And, you know, you kind of learn that stuff as you go, but it's easy to look at the rest of the guys that don't do it and be like, ah, well, they're not doing it. Like, I can go just shower up and go to the cafeteria. But then when you see the best hitter on the team or the two best hitters on the team, don't even break stride after practice and go straight to the batting cage. The kids who want it or the kids who want to try to be good or be a factor in program, like, you kind of find yourself going over there, and all of a sudden it's like, well, you know, we got eight guys hitting after practice every day.
• 54:45
  Speaker C: It.
• 54:45
  Speaker B: It changes the culture of things. And I was really lucky to walk into a program. When I first got there, they were coming off of three NCAA tournament appearances in a row. I think they went like 41 and 11 the year before. So I had a bunch of older guys that knew what it took. And I felt extremely lucky to walk into that with, like, I had a blueprint. All I had to do was follow. And I think that that's unique. And, you know, when you have that with players with good leaders, kids who play hard, kids that really care about the product and the process, you. You start to get this. It's kind of a machine that runs itself with those freshmen that you. You talk about that you come in, you sit across the desk, and you go, hey, that kid's got some leadership qualities. Well, if he walks into a program with some guys who know how to lead, he's going to get elevated. So when it's his turn to actually lead. He one, has the traits that are needed, but two, he's also been taught by some of those guys just from being around it. And I mean I got to imagine that that's certainly played a role in your guys consistent success since you've, since you've been there.
• 55:51
  Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. I think we've always had guys that always want to hit more and do more and in the weight room and you know, I think in the biggest thing do is what you just said is, is following guys the weight room and you know, like, well, if he's doing it then I should probably be doing that. He's the best player, one of the best players, 100%, you know, and it goes back to just, you know, it's cliche or whatever, but just, you know, you got to be able to put it, put in hard work and you got to be willing to do it. And you know, at this level we ask a lot of guys and, and you know, the lift and hit more and do all those things to get better, but yeah, absolutely, it's, you're, that's what you hope for as a coach. The guys are always wanting to do more and go above and beyond and do the little things and as we all know, the little, little things lead to big things and you know, put in the work and, and one of the things I, I, I've told a lot of teams or probably every team at this point, but like you don't want to look back in two years or five years, 10 years, whatever, and say what if I just a little more right. Like that's not a great, probably not a great feeling. So you know, just do it now. And yeah, we have, we've had some great results and, and I think guys have had some great experiences, but absolutely, it's, it's definitely player led and I think we've had a lot of really good players come along that want to do the extra work and ask a lot of questions and how can I get better? And what can I do? And, and, and willing to do it and willing to listen and, and willing to learn and willing to put the work in ultimately.
• 57:29
  Speaker B: Yeah, I remember having a conversation with a, with a young man who's, who's playing in the Ivy League right now. He's playing at Columbia and he's plays with his hair on fire. He'd play super hard. He's, and obviously you got to if you're going to play for Coach Brady, but I remember talking to him kind of as he was Getting ready to go to campus and saying to him, hey, just, just find the best guy and just do what he does. Find their best player and figure out what he does on a day to day basis. And that'll give you a pretty good chance of, of figuring out how you're going to fit into that program. Because that's a player led program by, you know, one of the, for my money, one of the best coaches in the country. And you know, for any high school kid who's getting ready to go into college or any college kid who's listening to this, I mean, I think that's one of the best pieces of advice I could give you is if you're a pitcher going on to campus, find out who the ace is and figure out what that dude does on a day to day basis and then you can start to adapt to how it fits to what you do. But there's, there's going, if you go into a good program, there are going to be examples of what you're supposed to do and if you follow along, usually going to, you're going to figure out how to do it. You're going to figure out how to go through that process. Because that learning curve as a freshman is hard. It's hard. That first fall is, is, can be quite the eye opener for a variety of different reasons. And if you can, you know, kind of attach yourself to one of the better players hips and just figure out how they go through makes that learning curve, you know, far less steep.
• 59:02
  Speaker C: Yeah, one of the, I think that starts in the recruiting process. You know, about finding the best player for best pitcher, best hitter, follow them around. One of the things that we really like is we like to recruit, to come visit campus and watch a practice. And usually when they're watching practice, it's one of the things I point out is hey, this is so and so and he's an all region pitcher or all American pitcher or ace or whatever you want to say. And you know, when he was on campus as a freshman, he kind of started here and he built himself up to that just to start those conversations and they can kind of have an idea. But I think it really helps too is like, like about the development piece and how are you going to develop me as a player? We get that question a lot from recruits and you know, I can talk about that process or you can probably come watch a practice and see what it's like. And do you like practice? Do you like how the coach acts in practice or the assistants or the other players And I think gives that interaction between the current players and the recruit. I tell a lot of recruits, listen, you're gonna, I get it. They all want to like that coach or they want to, they all want to like the coaches. The reality is you're probably going to spend, I don't know how many hours a day or week with me. You're going to spend a lot more with the players. So the more you can get to know the players and do I want to be around those guys and do I like what they're about? Are they competitive, so on and so forth. Whatever you're interested in as a recruit, that's who you're going to be around all the time, 24 hours a day, essentially. So I, I like to get that process going and it goes both ways. You know, we'll ask players like, you know, did you, did you like that recruit? And so on and so forth. But I think that's really important. You know, that's a question we get a lot. And I think it's no different than, you know, we try to get them into a classroom and see what a classroom is like. Obviously that's where they're going to be developed academically when they're here and do they like it? So, you know, when they, when they get on the field or when they're sitting in the stands to watching us practice, I think it gives them a lot of feedback. You know, it's fast paced. It's probably, you know, it's really fast paced and it's, it's, it's pretty intense and it's, guys are practicing really hard and I think it can be, you know, some probably may have an idea because they've been other college practices or whatnot, but it's probably eye opening for some and I think it's a good thing.
• 1:01:12
  Speaker B: Yeah, the college, the college practice is, that's an eye opener for a lot of guys. And I mean, I think you, you, you hit it. Something that me and Keith try to stress with, with the families that we work with and you know, just in general. And sometimes it's tough because some of the recruiting timelines can get sped up a little bit, especially at the div. Or it might not quite line up that way, but the visit, the face to face communication with a coach, if you get an opportunity to go watch a game or go watch a practice, I think it's going to tell you a lot about the program that you're walking into, how the guys present themselves, how the coach communicates with players. And you can really get a really good feel for that program. But you also get it, you know, you get a behind the scenes look at what it looks like to be a college athlete. Right. A college level practice, regardless of whether it's junior college, division one, two or three, it's. It's completely different than anything you've experienced as a high school player. The organization, the intensity, just the movement of the players, the quality of the practice, the quality of the catch play, the quality of the bat practice, the drill work, it's. It's very different in a really good way. It is a really, really well run practice is, it's a work of art. And if players, if you're listening to this and you have an opportunity to go and experience that and your timeline allows you to go watch a college practice, you should 100% take that coach up on that opportunity. And if you can't do that, that face to face communication being, being able to set your feet on that actual campus, it's a huge piece of the puzzle because at the end of the day you got to be happy at the school, not just when you have your baseball uniform on.
• 1:03:00
  Speaker C: Yeah, we really try to get most, you know, and obviously we're on a little bit different timeline, the Division 1 or Division 2 and so on and so forth. But during the fall we really to get guys up, watch practice, watch a fallball practice and just experience it. Same with, you know, whoever's bringing mom and dad or whoever's bringing them up to watch it as well. So they have an idea of, hey, this is what it's like. Yeah, it's a great experience.
• 1:03:26
  Speaker B: Well, I got to imagine that it's important for you that face to face as well, right?
• 1:03:31
  Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. We, we face to face communication with recruit is. I like to get them on the phone as well. Obviously, you know, we text messaging and stuff, but the phone I think is important as well. And that type of communication and obviously face to face is the most important. Yeah,
• 1:03:52
  Speaker B: yeah. I think that, I think the new rules across all levels has, has helped with a lot of that. I think it's forced a lot of coaches. It's gotten us out of this system where you're committing kids before you actually meet them in person, you know, more specific to the Division 1 level. But I think the new rules have, have slowed that stuff down where I think it's allowed coaches to get a better character evaluation. But I also think it's allowed kids to explore more options where you get to go and see schools you get to go and make these visits and you start to get to make a better decision and ultimately, you know, hopefully find the right fit.
• 1:04:29
  Speaker C: So, yeah, it's a big decision. You should. You should visit a lot of schools, right? And, you know, when you commit, we. We're hoping it's because this is where you want to be, you know, and that's. It's an. You should take as much, in my opinion, as much time as you need, and you should visit as many schools as you can, visitors, many that you want to, and really get a big, you know, broad perspective of what's out there.
• 1:04:54
  Speaker B: On. In kind of the spirit of that, I'd love for you to kind of leave us with some parting wisdom in terms of some advice that you would give, you know, families and players that are going through this process. Some. Some stuff to think about.
• 1:05:12
  Speaker C: You know, I think my biggest piece of advice now with everything that goes on is just to probably take a step back, slow down, and then take your time. Don't get caught up in what other people are doing, right. And make the best decision for you, for yourself and your family. Ask a lot of questions. And just, you know, I think that a lot of recruits, when they get on campus and whatnot, they know, and it's. It's where you're comfortable and where you think you can be successful and do. Where you think they have a lot of tools to help you get to the point that you want to get. And everywhere is a little bit different. But I. I think that just slowing. Slowing down is a. Is a positive. We tend to be in a rush nowadays with everything, you know, so that would be my biggest piece of advice. Slow down. Visit as many schools as you can, ask as many questions as you can, and lean on the people that really have your best interests. You know, like who do you. Who. Who's always going to be in your corner. That's probably who you want to be asking.
• 1:06:24
  Speaker B: I think that's some pretty good advice. Well, coach, really appreciate your time. It was that. That hour or so flew by. I think there's a lot for people to unpack. I think you said a lot of really valuable things. And for those of you who have not been keeping track, go check out St. John's Fisher. They. They win a lot of baseball games and obviously, best of luck to you and in navigating the weather this week up there in Rochester. But, you know, we'll be. We'll be keeping tabs and really appreciate your time.
• 1:06:57
  Speaker C: Appreciate it. Thank you very much. Thanks Keith.
• 1:07:00
  Speaker A: Thanks, coach.
• 1:07:01
  Speaker C: Thank you.
• 1:07:02
  Speaker A: All right.
• 1:07:02
  Speaker B: Thanks for listening, everybody.
• 1:07:03
  Speaker C: Thanks, guys. Thanks, Andy.
• 1:07:05
  Speaker B: Thanks, coach. Thank you for listening this week. If you're watching on YouTube, go ahead and hit that subscribe button and smash that like button for us. Check us out on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, as well as Spotify. You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram MD Baseball. If you want to find out what me and Keith do to help families and players navigate the recruiting process, go ahead and check us out on emdbaseball.com take a few minutes to check out our new online academy. I promise you'll get some good information out of that. Thanks again for listening. Check in with you next week.