Latest / From the Coach's Mouth / Episode 41: A Very Special Holiday Episode 2025

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Episode 41: A Very Special Holiday Episode 2025 · From the Coach's Mouth

0:00
I say it all the time, be a great teammate first.
0:02
That's the most important thing, right?
0:04
Be the best of, be the best of whatever role you have to be
0:07
that day. If that's being in the dugout,
0:10
cheering your team teammate on, then you'd be the best person
0:12
that does that. If that's coming in as a pinch
0:15
runner, then you do that, right? If it's coming in as a pinch
0:19
hitter, be the best that you can be at that and be prepared to do
0:21
it. Whether you live northeast, West
0:22
or South, the best fast pitch info comes from the coach's
0:28
mouth. Welcome to the From the Coach's
0:45
Mouth podcast with your host Jay Bolden and Ken Krause.
1:10
Hello everyone, this is Ken. And this is Jay.
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And we're here for a very special holiday episode of the
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From the Coach's Mouth podcast. Ken, is that like one of those
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special episodes of Blossom back in the day?
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Yeah, a little bit, you know, but not quite.
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Hopefully we don't have to go into all of those socially
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conscious topics, but we are going to have some fun today.
1:33
I think talking about really kind of the year in review.
1:37
We're on episode 41. Jay isn't that hard to believe.
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Yeah, it is. I mean, you know, I think we've
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been pretty consistent throughout the, the year and I'm
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excited to see what next year holds.
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I know we've been talking to a lot of potential guests and it
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was some big names in there and then some other, you know,
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unknowns that can come out and help coaches grow.
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And I think that's I'm excited for for what next year's going
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to bring for the podcast. And it's grown.
2:01
I think it's, you know, honestly, this was just
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something that I, I think we wanted to just do just to have
2:07
some fun with. And it's kind of grown a little
2:09
bit and we're get, we've had some great feedback from people
2:11
this year and, you know, it's just, it's awesome.
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So for those of you who are listening and this past year, we
2:16
really appreciate you all. And yeah, I'm excited for this
2:20
episode too, Ken. Yeah, me too.
2:22
And you know, I, everybody, thank you so much for listening
2:25
to us. I know it sounds like we're
2:26
wrapping up already, but no, thank you for listening.
2:29
We appreciate everybody getting in.
2:31
Definitely appreciate you sharing it with your friends.
2:34
So you know, if you want to do that right now, smash that like
2:37
button, share it with someone that you love, someone you think
2:40
might get some value out of this and help us continue to grow the
2:43
podcast, which will help us continue to attract more guests.
2:47
Because nobody wants to come on to a podcast that's going to
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three people in their basement. Yeah, definitely not that.
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So hopefully I'm thinking about maybe, you know, talking my
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T-shirt guy, get some T-shirts made maybe next year.
3:01
And you know, anybody who maybe shares the podcast out, I'd send
3:05
it, send you out AT shirt or and definitely going to get some
3:07
stickers. Even thinking about getting a
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banner put up in my facility for people to to see and you know,
3:13
and and do that, just try to get the word out there a little bit.
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And yeah, I'm excited. I'm excited for next year.
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So we'll see what happens. Awesome, I might even try to
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clean up the background here even though we haven't been
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using video. You know, I look at the
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background where I am right now and it looks like I'm doing this
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out of a supply closet somewhere.
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You mean you're not? I thought you work.
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No, not quite. It's just a room where when we
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don't want to have things sitting out in the main part of
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the house, then it all gets dumped into here.
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So. Yeah, yeah.
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I have one of those too. So I understand completely.
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I think we all, everybody listening probably has one of
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those rooms. So, yeah, absolutely so.
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And a couple of drawers too. Of course, y'all definitely have
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a couple drawers like that, maybe two or three actually.
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So let's today let's why don't we talk a little bit about like
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let's look back on on what we've done over the year, maybe talk
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about some of the episodes and some of the guests that we've
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had. I think it'd be good to to
4:08
reflect on that and then we can throw our our little insights in
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here and there as we go along. What do you think about that,
4:13
Ken? Jay, that sounds like a great
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idea. All right.
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Do you want to go first or you want me to go first?
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Well, actually I'm OK with going first.
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So forth. OK, I want to talk about what
4:24
was our very first episode. Spotify does a thing.
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I'm trying to remember what they call it now.
4:29
I think it was like rap 2025 where they give us a bunch of
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stats. So I'm going to start with our
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very first episode, which was Rick Paulie, which maybe it's
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just because it was the oldest episode or he was the oldest
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guest. Sorry, Rick.
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Oh boy. But oh boy, that was definitely
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our most popular episode that we had.
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Either, like I say, people went back and they were listening to
4:53
it, they saw Rick and they wanted to do it.
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Or there were a whole bunch of people that sampled it in the
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beginning and went, jeez, these guys.
5:01
Yeah, and then that was it. But I'll say so I want to say
5:03
something about Rick. I mean, what what a great
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person. I mean, he's super, super
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important not just to us, but to the entire fast pitch pitching
5:12
community. The guy is like a, he's a
5:14
savant. Honestly, I really feel like he,
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we're blessed because he's, you know, been our mentor for years
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and we've worked alongside him with at clinics and, you know,
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on our, on our weekly calls with him on Tuesdays and that whole
5:27
group. But you know, he's just been not
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just for us, but the entire fast pitch pitching community.
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I mean, the guy has been a resource for not just like
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recently, this has been for years.
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And so he's, he's incredibly important in the in the fast
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pitch community. And, and you know, I don't know
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anybody more knowledgeable than that man.
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I mean, and not, and the best part, Ken, I think you'll agree
5:48
with me is like, he is absolutely not afraid to try new
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things. I mean, he's been there, done
5:53
it, seen it, right? And he's still out there trying
5:56
to learn and grow. And I mean, that's just he's, I
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think that's a lot of the reason why people probably listen to
6:02
that episode is because the guy has so much knowledge to just
6:05
give and put out there that, you know, if you're a, if you're a
6:08
pitching dad or a pitching, you know, mom with, with a kid, I
6:11
think that's a, that's an episode you wanted to turn, turn
6:14
tune into because just you might pick up some good information to
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help your kid out, you know. Yeah, no, I agree.
6:20
And that's the amazing thing about Rick is that of a lot of
6:23
people in his position would just say, OK, well, I've learned
6:26
what I've learned. I know what I know I'm going to
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go out there and I'm just going to push that out there and, you
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know, I'm satisfied with it. But not Rick.
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I mean, he'll tell you, I think he said he's changed more in the
6:38
way he teaches pitching in the last five years than he did, you
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know, in all the years prior. So, you know, he just has a
6:45
thirst for knowledge. And he just keeps on trying to
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learn. And he loves discussing things
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with you. And if you bring up a topic that
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throws him off, you'll stay up all night thinking about it.
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And yeah, sure statement. It's just great to see that
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someone at his level still wants to learn.
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So anybody else who's out there that thinks they know it all,
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you know, I would say take a fake a cue from Rick.
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Listen, listen to that episode, hear what he's talking about.
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We're planning on having him back on very soon.
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So it'll be interesting to see, you know, going back just over
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the last year and see, you know, does he still agree with
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everything he said then? Yeah, yeah, can't wait.
7:29
He's going to be great. So I'm going to I'm going to go
7:31
with mine and actually believe it or not, I'm going to go with
7:33
the second episode we had with Sheets.
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I feel like, you know, for me that I was so amazingly happy
7:41
when he agreed to be on the podcast.
7:43
The guy is just, I mean, he does it the right way and he does it
7:47
for the right reasons. And that is to create better
7:50
people, not just better players. And I really feel like that's a
7:54
lot that's missing out on, on what's going on today is it's
7:57
it's very transactional. And he makes it not so
8:00
transactional, you know, talking about person first, student
8:05
second, player 3rd. And really he comes through on
8:09
that, you know, teaching these his young men down there at
8:12
Georgia how to tie a tie, how to hand, how to how to, you know,
8:15
prepare themselves for a job interview after this, you know,
8:19
the proper handshakes, all, all. And also what he does is, is,
8:23
you know, I thought it's just great.
8:25
He takes time out of his practice plans to do things
8:29
where he focuses on the mental side, the mental health and
8:31
well-being of his of his players.
8:33
And I think for me, that's one that resonated with me a ton as
8:37
a coach because it's more than just the the wins and losses.
8:41
It's more about the connections you make and, and watching these
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young men and young women grow up to be successful in their
8:47
field after after baseball or softball's over.
8:50
So Sheets was, I thought, awesome.
8:51
Plus the energy that guy brings, how can you it's just so
8:54
contagious. How can you not want to run
8:56
through a wall after you talk to that guy, you know, So he was he
9:00
was great. So Sheets, thanks again for
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being on here and we appreciate that for sure.
9:05
Yeah, no, that was definitely a great conversation.
9:07
You know, so upbeat, so positive, loving what he does.
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I mean, that's what you can hear more than anything else.
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And I think that that's an important part for any coach is
9:17
if you're not loving it, if you're not, you know, really
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enjoying the idea of helping young people become bet the best
9:24
version of themselves, as they say on Ted Lasso, then, you
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know, what are you doing it for? He really embodies that.
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All right, another one I'm going to pick.
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And just because, you know, she's somebody that's meant a
9:36
lot to me through my coaching career, and that's Cindy
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Bristow. She's a legend.
9:42
She's a Hall of Famer. To have somebody like Cindy just
9:45
take the time, you know, she does all of her own stuff to
9:48
take the time to, you know, chat with us and talk about all the
9:52
different things. You know, what it was like when
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she was playing, you know, some of the things that she's working
9:57
on now. And in fact, again, another
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lifelong learner, someone who's never been satisfied with where
10:03
she is, always trying to find new things and willing to change
10:08
what she's been doing if she finds something that's better.
10:11
Ken, I'll tell you what, I could talk to her hours on hours on
10:14
hours. That was probably one of the
10:16
best episodes that I was like, I, I don't want this lady to get
10:20
off. Like, can we keep talking?
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Not only was she just knowledgeable, she was
10:24
absolutely hysterical too. You combine, you combine those
10:29
two things together and I'm like, let's go.
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That's those are the people I want to be around because when
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you're done talking to her, you feel good about yourself.
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And she was she that was a great, a great episode.
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And I really again, another person who's who we I remember
10:45
the question asked her like, you know, has your teachings changed
10:49
or And she just laughed at herself.
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She's like, Oh my goodness, Ken. Absolutely.
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You know, she's like, I wish all the videos and all that she was
10:56
just, you know, she was so she was so great about it too.
10:59
And again, another another legend, legend in the game who's
11:02
really out there helping people. So her Curveball Chronicles is
11:06
great, you know, and again, she's that was a great guest and
11:09
I, I'd love to have her back to just to talk to her.
11:12
I don't, we don't even need to talk softball.
11:13
I just talk about the Dodgers or her mom or whatever.
11:16
But she was fantastic and that was a great episode.
11:20
Yeah, absolutely. You know, like you say, she's
11:22
just, I think you can talk to her about just about anything
11:25
and have a great conversation. Yeah, she's great.
11:28
So the one that that I was floored and just blessed and so
11:33
happy that she joined us was Lauren Hager, right?
11:37
The whole thing for me is, yeah, she made that post, I think in
11:40
2017 when she first started doing lessons, talked about how
11:45
the ball doesn't face second base behind me or center field
11:49
behind me, right? How the balls palm up, you know,
11:52
and she's not doing hello elbow, right?
11:54
And she shows a clip and and these were just things that she
11:57
was experiencing when she was an instructor that first started,
12:00
you know, and and can you and I were talking just before we
12:02
started recording this podcast of these kids that we get that
12:05
come in and the mechanics is like somebody had to teach you
12:09
that, right? Somebody had to teach the
12:11
athlete out of you. And you know, that post for me
12:15
and, and just to have her on and again, what a special softball
12:18
player, right? One of the only 5050 people
12:21
around, I mean, fifty home runs, right?
12:23
And, and, and just she could hit, she could pitch, she could
12:26
do it all. And then for her to post
12:27
something that she's seen in her lessons that we, you and I see
12:31
all the time too. It just resonated with me.
12:33
And I was when she's she agreed to be on the podcast.
12:35
I just, I thought it was awesome and, and can't thank her enough
12:38
for spending time with us. And that was early, right?
12:41
That was like early some of our earlier episodes that we got
12:43
going with her. So that was a that was a really,
12:46
really good episode. And, and I think, you know,
12:48
having Lauren on was just great. Yeah, no, I agree.
12:51
You know, just listening to somebody and I think, you know,
12:53
one of her best stories was talking about how she struggled.
12:57
You know, when she was in college, she was not the number
13:00
one pitcher for four years. She was #2 behind another great
13:04
pitcher. But, you know, she said when it
13:06
was finally her time and, you know, her coaches told her, you
13:09
know, you need to change up. And, you know, that's one of
13:12
those things, you know, we're going to divert a little bit
13:14
from kind of the topic of today, but that's one of those things
13:17
that amazes me. How many college pitchers have
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told us that that they didn't really develop a change up in
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until they were in college? How can that be going on?
13:27
I mean, I know speed is wonderful, but change of speed
13:30
is even more effective. You know, if you're a parent of
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a of a pitcher or you're a pitching coach, get that change
13:39
up going early, get that thing developed so that girl can throw
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it and make it look like she's throwing it as hard as she can
13:45
throw. It's going to be your fast, best
13:47
fastball of the day. And it turns out to be just
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about 1/3 of the speed or 2/3 of the speed.
13:53
I guess, you know, the 10 to 1215 miles an hour slower.
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That is so effective. And it just amazes me that how
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many pitchers you see don't have that yet.
14:05
Yep. What about you?
14:06
What was what was another one? Ken, that you?
14:09
OK, I'm going to put a couple of them together, and that's just
14:11
because, you know, these are a couple of our good friends,
14:14
Linda Lynch and Pam Savage. Yes, great episodes, both of
14:19
them. Both of them.
14:21
Yeah. You know, we enjoyed talking to
14:23
them so much. You know, we talked to them in a
14:25
different context just about every week.
14:28
But to get them on, and I know that they were both a little
14:30
nervous about coming on and doing it, which is of course
14:33
funny to us because we're just a couple of dopes doing a podcast.
14:37
Pretty much. But they're, you know, they were
14:40
nervous like this was going to be on ESPN or something.
14:43
But, you know, we had great conversations with both of them.
14:46
I mean, Linda talking about, you know, I could listen to her
14:50
stories about, you know, the old days of when she was first a
14:53
player and the people she played with and the things she learned.
14:57
Her whole thing with, you know, the rowing thing just in the
15:01
middle, you know, kind of in the middle of her softball career,
15:03
she just gets bored with it and and decides to go out and be a
15:08
competitive rower instead. And then, you know, and then
15:11
Pam, you know, on the very first U of I softball team, she was,
15:17
you know, the pitcher of the year for that team and then had
15:20
an injury and wasn't able to play anymore.
15:22
But, you know, became a pitching coach and really started looking
15:26
into it. And, you know, one of her
15:27
driving forces was, I don't want anybody else to get hurt, like I
15:31
got hurt. So she thought, you know, maybe
15:33
I should look into this a little bit more.
15:35
And instead of riding on what she had done, she went out there
15:39
and she found good information. And she's teaching kids the
15:42
right way to pitch and having a lot of success with it.
15:45
Yeah, not only that I we're spoiled, Ken, because we get to
15:48
spend Tuesdays with both of those, you know, and amongst
15:51
others, but you know, we're spoiled to have those two and,
15:54
and their thoughts and ideas about pitching every Tuesday,
15:57
you know, and I think that that's just something that's
15:59
really cool to see. And they both have so much,
16:02
they've both given so much to help me grow and you grow as as
16:05
a better pitching coach, you know, you know, like they say
16:08
it, it takes a village and we have a really strong village,
16:10
which is super cool. And those two are, are
16:13
absolutely awesome because they give so much.
16:15
Yeah, I agree with you both. I could listen to both of them
16:18
talk about their stories, you know, just about everyday.
16:21
So. And I think Linda, people don't
16:23
give her enough credit that that Lady is like she.
16:26
I call her the legend. That's Linda Lynch, the legend.
16:29
Like. She's been through it, she's
16:31
done it. She's played against some of the
16:33
best ever to Chuck a ball, you know, and still humble and still
16:37
learning and still growing. I mean, just incredible.
16:40
I mean, most of she's like a lot of the driving force of of what
16:43
we're doing. She's the one always exploring
16:46
things, you know, and it's just great.
16:48
So, and, and again, it's it's great when we had a chance, when
16:51
we got the the motor preference stuff, we got certified and went
16:54
through that class out there at James's place, you know, all of
16:57
us were together. So that was cool.
16:59
You know, it was really cool to do it and see and talk to them
17:01
in person too. So yeah, I agree.
17:03
Those two are super huge. And those are both great
17:05
episodes with really good stories from both of those, both
17:08
of them so. Yeah.
17:11
Yeah, I'm going to go with with 1 here.
17:13
And again, I, I don't know, outside of Rick Pauly, the next
17:18
person I, I would turn to and do turn to about pitching is Josh
17:22
Johnson, Dr. Josh Johnson, you know, at Virginia Tech.
17:25
I don't again, this is a guy who's who is absolutely pushing
17:28
the envelope, you know, with bio mechanics and, and movement.
17:33
And when he was talking about researching and talking to
17:37
javelin throwers, right, for pitching, like that's just such
17:42
outside the box and, and what's the correlation between those
17:46
two? And just, again, that's a, and
17:48
all of the stuff, the biomechanical assessments that
17:51
he does down there in his lab, you know, and the guy is just in
17:54
it like he's in it. He wants to learn, he and he
17:57
also wants to help people. He has that wonderful newsletter
18:00
that comes out. I think, you know, it's like, I
18:01
think once a month or so on. And it's just filled with
18:04
information and, and stuff on studies and, and just, you know,
18:09
it's, it's just awesome. And so like to have a person
18:11
like that. And again, who's a, who's a
18:14
pitching coach, you know what an amazing, an amazing school with
18:18
a tough conference. And yeah, so having Josh on here
18:22
is just that was great. Just really great.
18:25
Yeah, I mean, you know, I read his, you know, his, his
18:28
newsletter every time it comes out.
18:30
And half the time my head hurts when I'm done reading it.
18:33
You know, just the, the studies that, you know, he comes across
18:36
and all that. But it's, it's amazing to see
18:40
the research that's out there and, and it isn't just the
18:43
individual pieces, but when you start putting it all together in
18:46
the aggregate, you really start to get a feeling of what you
18:51
should be doing, what's important, what isn't important,
18:54
what people waste time on as well.
18:57
So, you know, I it's just, it's a great thing to read.
19:00
So I, I got to tell you up the story, knew him prior when he
19:04
was at Ball State. So I had him come up and talk to
19:07
Illinois Coaches Association up, you know, years ago.
19:11
That's that's where I kind of met him first.
19:12
And we would converse here and there.
19:14
And then when I was at Loyola, we were at Florida Atlantic and
19:17
we were playing, he was at Mississippi State at, at the
19:20
time there, he was a pitching coach there and, and all that.
19:22
So we're all playing and, and I'm, I'm sitting behind home
19:27
plate trying to watch and scout the other, the other teams and
19:31
the pitchers and what not. And there's a gun, a stalker
19:35
that's reading every pitch and every pitch, spin rate.
19:39
And Josh has their GA there recording every pitch out of
19:42
every pitcher's, not just not just his every pitcher's there
19:46
like spin rate. And that's a person who wants
19:49
that data is going to use that data.
19:50
That's where data becomes important to you, right.
19:53
Wasn't ball flight information, Ken, It was spin rate and speed.
19:57
And so we got together later that weekend, went out and and
20:00
had a a drink and something to eat and.
20:03
We were just talking about that he was just like, yeah, you
20:05
know, we're, you know, this person threw this, this hard and
20:07
had this much spin and, you know, it was and that kind of
20:10
thing. It's just that's the point.
20:11
It was like he's such into that side of just exploring with data
20:15
and the biomechanical stuff. So it was great.
20:19
And also good to catch up with him there too.
20:21
And it was great. Grateful that he came on our
20:23
podcast especially early as we started too so.
20:25
Yeah. I mean, that's the amazing
20:28
thing, I think for, you know, all the guests that we've been
20:30
able to, you know, pull off, but you know, we've started to get a
20:32
following. You know, people are starting to
20:35
know who we are and you know, we're definitely seeing we had
20:38
some nice comments. This is the best softball
20:41
podcast out there. But you know, there were some
20:44
people that really took a chance that they'd be wasting their
20:47
time coming on because we didn't have much out there.
20:51
Guys like sheets and and, and Josh, you know, they, they came
20:55
on very, very early on. You know, I mean, Rick's a
20:58
friend, so it was nice of him to do that.
21:01
But, you know, some of the others where, you know, they're
21:03
more acquaintances or even people that we don't know very
21:06
well and to just say, hey, you know, we'll do.
21:09
Yeah, sure, I'll talk to you. And I think that's one of the
21:11
great things about the whole softball community, by the way,
21:14
is it's so giving. I think people are willing to
21:17
share what they know. And nobody, well, I shouldn't
21:21
say nobody because, you know, that's too all-encompassing.
21:23
But I think that the majority of coaches, especially those who
21:27
have accomplished some things, they know that they didn't get
21:29
there by themselves. So they're more than happy to
21:32
turn around and share what they know with others and help others
21:36
grow. And and that's why we've seen
21:38
the game improve so much, don't you think?
21:40
I I agree 100%. Like I, I think that's it too.
21:43
I also want to really quick talk about one another episode and
21:46
it's kind of leads into what you're talking about.
21:49
But the episode with Helen Pena at Ball State, that is something
21:52
that is not in her realm. Like she does not like doing any
21:55
of this and for her to step out of her comfort zone to do that,
22:00
to come on here and talk to us like again, can that's the
22:03
softball community, helping the softball community grow, right?
22:07
And I think that's the that's the beauty of this is that it's
22:11
really about giving back, right? Like we're trying to help other
22:14
coaches. All these other coaches are
22:16
trying to help other coaches, but at the same time, we're also
22:18
helping each other, right? That was this was an Ave. for
22:21
Helen to step out of her comfort zone and to do that.
22:23
And she actually made a post on Twitter about it and was
22:26
thankful to us for allowing her to have to do that.
22:29
And I think, Ken, that's what this is about, right?
22:31
Like that to me was that's the coolest thing ever for to hear
22:35
that, you know, we helped another coach get out of their
22:39
comfort zone so that they could grow.
22:41
Man, that's that's the power of what this is really about,
22:44
right? And to help others, it's about
22:47
I'm going to take something from Sheets and I'm going to take
22:50
something from Patrick Murphy. And that's servant leadership,
22:53
right? And that is you doing it without
22:56
having to get any of the credit for it, right?
22:58
It's not about you or me, Ken. It's more about how we're
23:01
helping other people. And like you said, I would, I
23:03
think I told you this, I was at a coaches clinic which was held
23:09
in Peoria. And I'm walking and they're
23:11
like, hey, Coach J. And no idea who this person is.
23:15
Love your podcast, man. You and Ken are great.
23:18
Love listening to you. I like that.
23:21
But like that right there. And I'm like, hey, so I walked
23:23
over talking like thank you so much for listening.
23:25
He's like, he's like, yeah, I listen to it every week.
23:27
He's like, and my daughter as well.
23:28
I make her listen to it too. And I'm like, I'm like, well,
23:31
thank you for listening, you know, but that's I mean, that's
23:33
what it's about, right? It's about just an Ave. to help
23:36
other coaches grow and you know, and you do a lot of that with
23:40
your your blog, your softball blog, that you do softball
23:43
success. I mean, that's huge.
23:44
I people read that all the time And and you know, I'm trying to
23:47
get some more content out there on my page.
23:49
That's just helping people and I think that's what it's about.
23:52
So I thought that the episode with Helen was huge, not just
23:55
for us, but for her as well too. So.
23:58
Oh, that's so cool to hear. Yeah.
24:00
I mean, I've been enjoying the content you've been putting out
24:02
on your Facebook page. So you know, the be bold, fast
24:04
pitch, everybody that's listening, you should be
24:07
subscribing to that. And, you know, we're following
24:09
it or whatever it is you do on Facebook.
24:11
But yeah, you've had some great posts.
24:13
In fact, you've made me jealous a couple of times.
24:15
I'm like damn, I wish I would have written that one.
24:17
It's just. I stole one.
24:19
When you steal them all and, and I've like I've told you before,
24:22
I've stolen plenty of your things too.
24:24
It's not about stealing. It's about Sharon, right?
24:26
Nobody is. No one's reinventing the wheel.
24:29
It's just there. You know, those are just my
24:31
thoughts. Like I just these thoughts pop
24:33
in my head or something triggers me.
24:35
Like I'll see something. I'm like, that's just that just
24:37
triggers me, you know what I mean?
24:38
And so I'm just like, OK, let's let's write this down, let's
24:42
make it thoughtful so people understand it and then let's go
24:44
from there. So I mean, yeah, I don't know,
24:46
it's more of that. But it at the same time too, I
24:49
don't want to put too much out there that I sound like I'm, you
24:51
know, preaching and that's not where I'm at, so.
24:54
Well, I don't have a problem doing that obviously.
24:56
That's OK though. I've been doing that blog
24:59
forever so. Yeah, and it's a great blog.
25:01
It's awesome. Well, I and I've gotten to the
25:03
point now where sometimes I have to go into the blog and I have
25:06
to search on a topic or a title that I came up with.
25:11
And sometimes I find, yeah, yeah, that is a great title.
25:13
And I thought so eight years ago when I wrote that blog post.
25:17
So got to come up with something else, another one that I want to
25:20
talk about. You know, I mean, we had, I
25:22
mean, we loved every guest that we've had so far at least.
25:25
So I almost feel bad doing this just because, you know, if we
25:28
don't mention someone who was on there, I hope that they don't
25:31
feel bad. It's just these are kind of off
25:34
the top of the head. But anyway, I want to talk about
25:36
Rob Cruz, you know, so he's a hitting guy and just talking to
25:41
Rob. He, you know, he has his own
25:43
podcast. He talks to Rick Paulie now and
25:46
then he talks to a lot of other great people and you know, just
25:49
it's fun. First of all, the listen to his
25:51
cadence and the way he talks. It's kind of laid back, but he's
25:55
got a lot of stuff and a lot of great ideas.
25:58
And I loved how he talked about, you know, how next year at this
26:02
time, I may be teaching something completely different.
26:05
It's all about, you know what I learned and you know what works
26:09
and, and trying to individualize the instruction to the player.
26:13
You know, also talking about, you know, he loves to talk about
26:16
the SEC and says, you know, what works, you know, on your local
26:20
travel team may not work at the SEC level.
26:23
So you want to always be looking.
26:25
Don't take success for granted. Don't, you know, mistake success
26:29
for being really, really good at what you're doing.
26:32
You know, always get out there and try to see what are the best
26:35
in the world doing, how are they going about doing it?
26:38
What are their similarities? What are their differences?
26:41
What's important, what isn't, and how do you get yourself
26:45
better every single day? Yeah, and did you see the last
26:49
episode with him and Rick Paulie?
26:50
Yeah, yeah. Oh, that is if you, if you're
26:53
listening to this podcast right now, go find Rob Cruz's last
26:56
episode with Rick Paulie on it about how the game, what is it's
27:00
the travel ball, right? How travel ball has has changed
27:03
and those kinds of things, right?
27:05
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I watched.
27:07
I got most of it, watched almost all of it and I can't remember
27:10
the title of it, but it was absolutely fantastic and it's a
27:13
must watch, must watch and listen to for parents.
27:16
It's really good, really good, so.
27:19
Yeah, and I, I listen to it a lot of my podcast listening
27:23
happens in the car, you know, when I'm driving, driving the
27:26
lessons and, and all that. So I don't get to see too many.
27:29
That's kind of one of the reasons why I think we felt it
27:32
was never important to do video for our podcast because we are,
27:38
you know, we're the type that listen more than we watch.
27:41
You know, there are certain times when video would be
27:43
helpful, but as you always say, Jay, you and I have faces for
27:47
radio, so. This is a very true statement.
27:49
So one that I want to talk about is Emma Lemley, right?
27:53
Like we had in here, we have an Athletes Unlimited player come
27:56
on our podcast to talk to us and to talk about pitching.
27:59
And I'm pretty sure that we're going to have an Athletes
28:01
Unlimited coach come on here hopefully next year, Ken and I
28:05
think. The.
28:07
Works of putting that together and I think that's going to be
28:09
great because we can ask some questions about what that league
28:12
is like and and the growth of that league and I think that's
28:15
used to but Emma was great and what a great person to talk to
28:18
super bubbly and and you know my favorite quote from her is like
28:22
I still throw the ball over the catcher's head like that.
28:25
Like here you get like, you know I, it's I say it all the time to
28:28
my my players. I'll throw one that's super high
28:30
and I'm like, hey, listen, Emma Lemley was on my podcast and
28:33
said she still does that. So we're OK, you're OK too.
28:36
You'll lock it in. But I thought that was a great
28:38
episode as well too, so. Yeah, I was working with the new
28:41
pitching student last night. That was her second lesson and
28:44
trying to get her out of her comfort zone, get, you know,
28:46
bring more of the athlete out in her, get her more aggressive.
28:49
I think she's still kind of of the mindset that she has to
28:53
throw the ball over the plate or at least to within her dad's
28:57
reach. And I was telling her, I said,
28:59
you know, have you ever watched a game, you know, college game
29:02
on TV? So they throw balls away, too,
29:05
you know, I mean, yeah. I mean, when you're working at
29:08
it, you know, and especially in the cage or something like that,
29:11
you know, don't feel like you have to be careful.
29:14
Get out there and you push that envelope, find out what you can
29:16
do. You know success lives out there
29:19
on the edge of the envelope. Yep, I agree.
29:23
So I've just got a couple more Ken and we can go through all of
29:25
them. I've listened to every single
29:27
one of them, you know, and and I love all of them and there's
29:29
some really good highlights and all of those.
29:32
But I I would be I would kick myself if I didn't talk about
29:36
the Carrie Blalock one. I mean, I'm, I'm a Saluki and
29:39
that was that was a great moment just for me to talk to her
29:43
because what she did there at SIU, you know, for me was meant
29:47
a lot. And you know, I would I would
29:49
still go down there if I had some of my kids that I had that
29:52
were at other schools that would go play SIU in in March.
29:55
I would try to get down there on the weekend, stay the weekend
29:58
and go see all the old stomping grounds.
29:59
But and plus just the knowledge that she had another Hall of
30:04
Famer on here who's was and again.
30:06
Walking the Hall of Famer. Yeah, yeah.
30:09
And and talking about still doing it the right way, that
30:12
it's about the relationships, right And how her coaching has
30:16
changed over the years for that. It's it's really about making
30:19
the connections with those players.
30:21
And I think for her, you know, she's seen that because now that
30:25
she's moved on from SIU and kind of retired from there, but still
30:29
helping at Johnny Logan all the time she's spending now with her
30:32
former players playing golf or going to weddings.
30:35
And I think that's that's when you have a chance to look back
30:38
on on that career and be like, yeah, you know, I actually did
30:40
do it the right way. And so that was a great episode
30:43
for me, Meant a lot to me. As you can see, every morning I
30:46
wake up there, Ken, and get that SISIU alumni coffee going.
30:51
And yeah, I'm proud of proud of that.
30:53
And, and was really great to talk to her.
30:55
So I meant a lot to me. Yeah, now that was a great
30:58
conversation for sure. In fact, I mentioned her last
31:01
night to one of my students and just talking about how we talked
31:04
to her and some of the things that, you know, she was saying
31:07
and, and about how, you know, when she went back to watch.
31:11
And I asked her if she said sits in the bad parent section.
31:14
And she says, Oh yeah, absolutely.
31:18
Yeah, that's great. You know, filling a part.
31:20
Yeah, actually, that was Courtney.
31:22
She mentioned that. She said, yeah, my, yeah, my dad
31:24
sits out in the outfield, you know, and says way behind the
31:26
fence, you know, and he's doing game changer at the same time.
31:30
So, you know, he must be really depending on those umpire
31:33
signals. But yeah, you know, it's just I
31:36
think that he people will look at it and say, you know, I don't
31:39
want to get in my daughter's way.
31:41
I just want to go out there and enjoy the games and see what
31:44
she's doing and, and root for her and root for her team mates
31:47
and, and, you know, that's, that's the fun part of it.
31:51
You know, that's what people have to remember.
31:53
I think sometimes there's too much emphasis on the recruiting
31:57
aspect. Not everybody wants to play in
31:59
college, right? Not everybody's going to be able
32:02
to play at the college that they would like to go to.
32:06
So that's a consideration as well.
32:08
You know, I mean, I've certainly seen it.
32:10
If you really want to play, there's a place for you, but it
32:13
may not always align with the type of school that you want to
32:16
go to. If you want to go to a big
32:18
school and you don't have big school ability, then you know,
32:21
maybe you'll have to play club there, which is another viable
32:24
option for you. Or if it's really important to
32:26
you to play softball, then you may, you know, you're going to
32:29
have to maybe go to a different type of school then would be
32:31
your first choice. So those are options that people
32:35
have to, you know, consider as they go into it.
32:39
But you know, the point being that the originally people were
32:44
playing softball because it's fun, they like to compete, they
32:48
enjoy the game. Sometimes it's gotten a little
32:51
too much about college recruiting and, you know, you
32:54
forget the original purpose of it.
32:56
So hopefully, you know, we'll remember more of that and you
32:59
know, more of that will come out and just get out there and enjoy
33:02
the game. And then you know, the rest of
33:04
that is gravy. Yeah, I agree.
33:07
I agree. Great points on all of that,
33:09
Ken. So do you have any others you
33:11
want to share? Because if not, I want to switch
33:13
gears a little bit if you're OK with it.
33:15
OK. I think, you know, the only
33:17
other one I'm going to mention right now was just because he's
33:19
local to us, Joe Kinsella over at Lake Forest, You know,
33:24
there's a guy that's been there at that school for a long time.
33:27
He's been doing it right. He talked about how he has
33:31
pictures that are all over the place.
33:33
He puts together a staff. He doesn't look for five kids
33:36
that can throw 65 miles an hour. He's got one of those.
33:40
He's got one that throws 50 miles an hour with great spin.
33:43
He has other girls that do other things and, you know, really
33:46
tries to mix it up. And, you know, he uses his
33:50
pictures as a toolbox, which is, you know, I think it's a great
33:54
thing. You know, it's to find different
33:57
players that can contribute different things.
33:59
I know he does that all the way through the lineup, you know,
34:02
but it's really the, the people aspect of it.
34:05
So I I enjoyed listening to him talk about all that stuff.
34:08
And he's just a great guy. Like I've worked several camps
34:11
with him and every time it's just, it's always a pleasure.
34:14
He just, he does it the right way.
34:16
The information he gives out to the kids, the players is just
34:19
incredible. And he's just a good guy.
34:21
And that's why he's always there.
34:22
They always invite him because he's good.
34:24
They wouldn't invite you if you're not good, right?
34:26
So right. You know, same with you.
34:28
That's why you get invited, because.
34:29
You're good. I'm like the last straw.
34:31
They're like, hey, listen, somebody got sick on the way
34:34
here. Can you be here in 15 minutes?
34:36
Oh, that's not true. I'm sure that you're a top
34:38
choice there, Jay. OK, but anyway, he just does it
34:42
the right way. And and I remember the first
34:44
time I met him and and worked a college camp with him, I was
34:47
like, yeah, I like this guy. He does it the right way.
34:49
You know, the way his interaction with the players was
34:51
great too. So yeah, Joe's great.
34:53
And he's and again, he's got a great program up there at Lake
34:56
Forest and he does it the right way and he's and he knows what
34:58
he's looking for and and it it's it's awesome.
35:01
So yeah, that was a great episode too.
35:03
And he's local to us, which is great.
35:05
So but I want to switch, I want to switch gears a little bit.
35:08
Ken, we've talked a lot about all these awesome episodes.
35:12
I want to talk not so much about episodes, but you can throw them
35:14
in there if you want. Two things I want to talk about
35:17
real quick is, is what are you looking forward to you
35:21
personally, right? Doesn't have to be podcast
35:23
related in the new year in 2026. Could be something that you want
35:27
to you're looking forward to learning about doing more
35:31
lessons. I don't know whatever that might
35:32
be. And then the other one on that
35:35
is now that I now that I said that I forgot what the other one
35:38
was. Oh, now it pops back in that 50
35:42
plus age range is that wonderful thing.
35:44
What are you looking for for this upcoming college softball
35:48
season? Because honestly, Ken, we're
35:50
literally about, I want to say what, 6 to 8 weeks away from the
35:55
first pitch being thrown? We've got softball that's coming
35:59
first week of February up at the Rosemont Dome.
36:01
DePaul has their Dome up there. Got some great teams coming in.
36:05
People, people will be down in Florida, all those wonderful
36:07
tournaments. So what are you looking forward
36:09
to personally and then what are you looking forward to for this
36:13
softball season? All righty.
36:14
Well, I think, you know, that'll relate to the last episode we
36:19
recorded with Prashant or Prashant, sorry, I keep saying
36:22
his name backwards. It's Prashant and you know,
36:26
action types learning about that.
36:28
I'm really looking forward to, you know, diving into that and
36:31
learning more about how people move and the mental aspect of
36:35
it, the personality aspects of it so that I can even do a
36:39
better job of working with my kids and helping them to find
36:43
the optimal way to do things. Another thing I'm looking
36:46
forward to is I've got some new tech on the way.
36:49
We had heard about Panther tech. They have a sensor you can put
36:54
on that helps with proprioception.
36:56
I don't know about you, but I get some kids every now and then
36:58
I'll ask them, you know, did you feel that?
37:00
And I'll say, no, they have no idea where they are in space.
37:05
And so this will help to give them an indication you set the
37:09
range of where they should be. And you can either have it buzz
37:13
and vibrate or Bing and vibrate, whatever it does, if they're in
37:18
the right range or if they get outside of the right range, you
37:20
can either use it as positive or negative type of reinforcement.
37:24
But, you know, something to help, you know, I already have
37:27
two or three kids in mind that, you know, I think, OK, if I can
37:30
get them to feel it with this, then it'll help shortcut that
37:35
learning curve. So those are a couple of the the
37:38
things personally that I'm looking for as far as a college
37:42
season, Gosh, you know, it's just so incredible to watch.
37:46
I have my DVR set to, you know, to capture pretty much, I guess
37:51
every game that's on TV, or at least it's on certain channels,
37:54
I don't get to actually watch them all.
37:57
At some point I have to just go through and clear out forty of
37:59
them. But it's just such a such a
38:04
great thing to see. It will be interesting to see
38:07
how, you know, there's that whole leaping thing going on now
38:11
the, you know, the semi crow hop and to see is that going to be
38:15
called? Are they going to be watching it
38:17
or are people just going to be jumping like Bruce Lee, you
38:21
know, ninja leaps to get, you know, to land and then throw the
38:26
pitch from there? So I'm curious to see how that's
38:28
going to affect the game or if it's going to affect the game or
38:32
if it's going to get called, if they're going to allow it, you
38:34
know, And then other than that, of course, always just seeing
38:37
great players doing what they love to do.
38:40
How about you? Well, I think personally, I'm,
38:44
I'm on the same line, along the same lines with you, the, the
38:46
action types of something I really want to dig into.
38:50
I feel that that's going to help again, how we can connect the
38:52
brain to movement and why this happens or that happens.
38:56
And, you know, big loop, small loop are, are things I really
38:59
want to dig into and helping kids or players get back to
39:03
where they're in the big loop. And so I, you know, I think
39:06
that's one of the biggest things where I just want to dive in on
39:09
that and, and get as much information as possible.
39:12
So that's, that's the one area I really, I really want to focus
39:15
on personally. Again, learning as much as I can
39:18
from our group, I think is another thing to trying and
39:21
exploring new things, thinking outside of the box on some of
39:23
these things, allowing kids to move the way their bodies meant
39:26
to move, I think is important. So I think that's personally
39:29
where I want to be for the softball season.
39:32
What I'm really hoping my favorite part of this is when I
39:37
love the mid majors because some of those kids were overlooked by
39:40
these Power 4, Power 5 schools, right?
39:43
And I feel like seeing what mid major is going to be ranked in
39:47
the top 25, right? Like last year we had Florida
39:49
Atlantic that had some really good stuff.
39:51
Liberty, right? There's another one I mean.
39:54
Yeah, that was a Cinderella story.
39:56
What Louisiana, yeah, what Louisiana Tech did to LSU last
40:02
year, not just once but twice, shows you that it's not always
40:05
about how hard you throw the ball.
40:06
It's about how you make people miss it.
40:08
And defense and speed put pressure on defenses.
40:12
And I think that was something that was really important.
40:15
And how important defensive is at that, at that level.
40:18
It's funny. Can I want to?
40:19
I want to move. Sidebar off of this is I had AI
40:22
had a kid come in the other day and they were talking like, Oh
40:25
yeah, you know, I only had like 4 strikeouts and I'm like,
40:28
that's amazing. You know, I'm like, look at the
40:30
women's College World Series. Like you don't see double digit
40:34
strikeouts every game, right? All those kids can hit, you
40:37
know, even in our level NAIA, D2D3, everybody can hit.
40:40
So you're going to see less and less of that.
40:43
And that's where the defense really has to be a part of it.
40:45
So I'm like, you're getting 4 strikeouts.
40:46
That's pretty Dang good. Let's let's continue to build
40:49
from there. And I think people need to
40:50
realize that it's it's the older you get, the harder the hitters
40:53
are to get out. And we need to make sure you
40:56
understand your defense is just as important.
40:58
So getting that weak contact and stuff like that.
41:01
So I'm I'm interested in digging into into that.
41:05
And again, watching what mid majors can act can can make some
41:09
noise. I just I love it and yeah,
41:11
that's to me the biggest thing and I want to go watch can you
41:14
know, like the first weekend in February, I want to get up there
41:17
to the Rosemont Dome and I want to go see some of my kids throw.
41:20
I've got five, I think 5 kids that are going to be up there
41:23
that weekend and see him. Yeah, it's, you know, Ken, this
41:26
is something I and and I again, I had AI had one of those
41:30
moments of OK, yeah, I, I think I'm, I think I'm doing a good
41:34
job, right? Like, yeah.
41:35
And I was like, wow, this, I'm going to have 17 kids this year,
41:39
Ken, that are going to be pitching at the Division One
41:41
level. Wow, that, that's amazing, Jay.
41:43
And I can't like it's just, it's humbling.
41:46
I'm not even knocking like, you know, division two and any I and
41:49
D 32. I'm proud of all those two.
41:50
But it's just like, wow, like, OK, like you take a look back at
41:53
that and and and it just humbles you.
41:56
And I'm grateful. I'm grateful, you know, like
41:58
grateful that those those parents and those people
42:01
believed in what I'm doing. And I know you feel the same way
42:04
too, Ken, that, you know, people believe in what we're doing and
42:07
I think that's, that's huge. So, but yeah, I was a very
42:10
humble moment. So I'm excited to go see them
42:12
and watch what they can do this year, good or bad.
42:14
You know, I'm still, I'm still there pitching coach and I'm
42:16
still there to help them as much as I can.
42:18
And it's, it's cool. It's, it's great, though, this
42:21
time of year for me too, is, is fun because they all come back
42:24
and they still want to do lessons, you know, and it's so
42:27
cool. It's so cool.
42:28
I'm like, they come back and guess what?
42:30
Guess what? We're still working on stuff.
42:32
It's not like they just made it like, here we go.
42:34
We got to fine tune it again. Let's get after it.
42:36
So those are the two things that I'm looking for one, personally
42:40
and both watching this softball season.
42:42
Plus, I would be mad at myself if I did not mention that I'm
42:46
super excited for what Saint Xavier is going to do this year.
42:50
Like, our goals are there, our kids are there, we're excited.
42:53
I'm excited to get this going. We have a hard schedule this
42:56
year and I can't wait to see what our kids can do because
42:59
they've put a lot of hard work in and I'm excited for our
43:01
pitching staff this year. That's great.
43:03
So do you think you've got a shot at the, you know, whatever
43:07
the World Series, you know, the season ending tournament?
43:11
I I think we do can, we've made it to regionals every year and
43:14
that's by winning your conference.
43:16
And we get out to the regional and we'll play some tougher
43:19
competition. And it's, they're tight games.
43:21
And our head coach has done a great job of, of putting some
43:24
tighter games towards the end of our schedule this year just so
43:27
we can have that feeling when we go there.
43:29
And I think that's important. And we start out where we,
43:32
we're, we play some tough competition.
43:34
We come out play like the number 14 team in the nation in the
43:38
first, the first game out. So there's that.
43:40
Then we go to a couple tournaments where we're playing
43:42
in the top ten. We go down to Gulf Shores.
43:44
We're playing more teams in the top ten, you know, and I think
43:48
that's it. We just we got to I just got to
43:51
get over the hump and I think this is this year is is the year
43:54
that we can do it. It's it's there, the talent is
43:56
there, the coaching is there. The kids are bought in and I'm
43:59
excited to see it And and again, I think they can do it.
44:02
I really think they can do it. So.
44:04
That's great. I mean, I'm, I'm glad to hear
44:06
that. Good luck with that.
44:07
I, you know, I, you never know what's going to happen in the
44:10
season. You know, you get a couple of
44:12
key injuries and all of a sudden you're scrambling, you know,
44:15
but, but you know, next person up right, they have to go in
44:18
there. You know, every, every negative
44:20
like that, that, you know, where there's an injury or, you know,
44:23
something happens. Some, you know, maybe there's a
44:25
death in the family and somebody can't make a game or something
44:28
and you give somebody else an opportunity to step up and show
44:32
what they can do. And I think, you know, so that's
44:34
one of those things that you know, that I want to just talk
44:37
about real quick for those, you know, kids that are on the
44:40
bench, you know, maybe you're not playing, you know, if it's
44:43
travel ball, you're not maybe playing on Sundays.
44:46
Get yourself ready. Always be ready to come in
44:49
because you can't always tell when you're going to get your
44:52
opportunity. But when it comes along, you got
44:55
to be ready to do it. You got to be able to step in
44:57
there. You have to be able to show
45:00
that, hey, you know, I can do the job and you know, you do
45:03
that and you just never know. It could wind up in, resulting
45:08
in more playing time for you down the road.
45:11
Yep, you have to be prepared. I think that's a big thing.
45:14
A lot of these colleges have large rosters and when it's your
45:18
moment is called, you have to be ready to do it.
45:21
And then guess what happens then if you do it in that moment,
45:24
you're going to get more moments.
45:25
And again, continue to do that. So, and I say it all the time,
45:29
be a great teammate first. That's the most important thing,
45:31
right? Be the best of, be the best of
45:34
whatever role you have to be that day.
45:37
If that's being in the dugout cheering your team teammate on,
45:40
then you'd be the best person that does that.
45:42
If that's coming in as a pinch runner, then you do that, right?
45:46
If it's coming in as a pinch hitter, be the best that you can
45:48
be at that and be prepared to do it.
45:50
So and yeah, I'm excited. This college season is I think
45:54
is going to be great, you know, both at the highest level and
45:57
you know, I love watching the D2 stuff.
45:59
You know, you got Lewis University out there and you got
46:02
University of Indian Indies are both great programs.
46:05
We've got our buddy Kyle up there at Hillsdale, another good
46:09
D2 program. It's going to be exciting to see
46:12
what these these programs do at all all these different levels.
46:15
So yeah. Right.
46:16
Yeah, You know, Speaking of D2, I've got my girl Jenna Kosnoff
46:20
down at Maryville. I'm excited to see what her, her
46:23
season's going to look like this year.
46:25
She she's been starting since she was a freshman.
46:28
She's gotten better every year. A big hitter for them, you know,
46:32
big stick. I think they, you know, they're
46:33
putting her into a larger role. So, you know, it'll, it'll be
46:38
fun to see that part of it. I always love watching, you
46:41
know, when my kids are playing in college, you know, they do
46:44
make it and, you know, they're out there and love to see the
46:47
stuff they're doing. And yeah, I'll be seeing Jenna.
46:50
I think over the break. I'm going to see Juliana from
46:54
North Central. She's coming in for a couple
46:57
pitching lessons just to get tuned up before the season
47:00
starts. Maybe Gwen, you know, a couple
47:03
of others. So, you know, looking forward to
47:06
reconnecting with them, seeing where they are, you know,
47:09
hearing their stories, you know, some good, some bad.
47:12
But some of I think what we do with our kids sometimes, you
47:16
know, depending on what school they're at or what their
47:17
situation is, you know, we're counselling.
47:20
We're helping them with that mental part of the game, helping
47:23
them get ready for whatever is going to come up.
47:26
Yeah, I'm putting them to work, too.
47:28
I have one of my kids from Toledo who's coming home and
47:31
she's going to be at my, you know, my daughter's practices.
47:35
For a. Break yeah she'll be there and
47:37
we'll be doing some last season pitcher and utility player there
47:39
so she's coming in going to be going to be working with my
47:42
daughter's 11 U team so it's exciting to it's I love when
47:46
they get a chance to to give back to the game it just means a
47:49
lot to me so you know and I'm sure it does for you too so.
47:53
Awesome. Yeah, absolutely.
47:55
You know, it's just, you know, this is the time of the year
47:58
where we reflect back on everything.
48:00
And I think for the From the Coach's Mouth podcast, it's been
48:03
a, you know, a great first year. You know, I haven't gone back
48:07
and listened to the really early episodes.
48:10
You know, I mean, the one with Rick was pretty raw.
48:13
I'm sure you know, I mean we. Had to find our footing.
48:16
Yeah, You know, we've gotten, hopefully we've gotten better at
48:20
it. I hate to think we got worse in
48:21
our approach. We kind of found our rhythm.
48:23
I'll say this, Ken, like I've listened to plenty of.
48:25
Podcasts and the our flow is really good, right?
48:31
Like the way that you take care of things on your end to make it
48:35
sound it is it's it is. Well, it is well done because
48:39
I've heard other ones. They just hop on and go here we
48:41
go. And then there's nothing.
48:42
I mean, I'm like, man, our even my wife goes, man, you guys
48:44
sound really professional. I'm like, yeah, funny, ain't it?
48:48
As far from that as possible, but I mean it really does.
48:51
So again, thanks for you. Thanks to you for all you do.
48:55
Again, this is a 2 headed monster and there's nobody else
48:58
I'd rather be along this journey with than you, buddy.
49:00
So I appreciate you. Same here Jay and I appreciate
49:04
you everything. You do.
49:05
You've lined up some great guests for us, you know, and are
49:09
continuing to do so. I'm excited for who we're going
49:11
to have coming on in the new year.
49:13
And I think it's just going to keep getting better and better
49:16
and, you know, getting more insights and hopefully, again,
49:19
people are finding value in what we're doing, finding that, you
49:24
know, certain things at least resonate with them.
49:27
They go Oh, and that's, you know, I think why we try to
49:30
sometimes get, you know, coaches to talk about, you know, their
49:34
insecurities or their, you know, do you ever feel like a failure?
49:39
Do you ever feel like, what am I doing?
49:40
You know, I should just give it up And it's it's always amazing
49:43
to hear those high level coaches that we get to speak with who
49:46
have, you know, the same concerns that, you know,
49:49
everybody else does. Yep, I agree and I'm.
49:53
Excited to have more of them on here so they can share that with
49:55
more people. So we, you guys know you're not
49:57
alone out there. And, and some days it's great
50:00
and some days it's just not so great.
50:01
You know, that's the journey of coaching and journey of playing
50:04
sports too, right? So, yeah.
50:07
Well, anything else can you want to talk about?
50:10
No, I think that pretty much wraps it up.
50:12
For today. Awesome.
50:14
Well, everybody who's listening. I'll let Ken close it out, but
50:17
just wanted to say again, thank you.
50:18
And it's been a great year for us.
50:20
It's, it's, it's blossomed into something that I think Ken and I
50:23
both didn't know it could get to.
50:25
And we're excited to continue to do it.
50:27
And we're both driven to, to continue to, to provide good,
50:30
good stuff for you guys out there.
50:32
But can't thank you enough for those of you clicking like and
50:34
sharing it and coming into lessons and saying, hey, listen
50:37
to the podcast. And it was great today we're
50:38
saying screaming at Ken and I going, hey, we're sending us
50:41
that message like that means a lot to Ken.
50:44
And I know Ken and I have both shared messages with we shared
50:47
with each other and from people that have said, man, I really
50:49
love it what you guys are doing. So we appreciate you and thank
50:52
you for listening. And I hope you all have a very
50:55
Merry Christmas and a happy holiday and a great happy New
50:58
year to all of you and where you look forward to 2026 for sure.
51:02
Yes. And I I second that, you know.
51:04
Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, happy Kwanzaa, whatever,
51:09
whatever it is. If you know, if you're a Druid
51:11
and you celebrate Saturnalia, you know, great for you too.
51:16
Anything like whatever holiday, whatever winter holiday you're
51:19
celebrating, that's great. Try to take some time off if you
51:22
can, you know, get a little bit of downtime in there.
51:24
You get yourself revved up for the next year.
51:26
All righty. So that's it for us this week.
51:28
Thanks to all of you for listening and the kind words
51:31
you've been sharing with us. If you like what you're hearing,
51:34
Please remember to give us a like, leave a comment and share
51:37
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51:40
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people find us. On behalf of the From the
51:52
Coach's Mouth podcast, have a great rest of your week and
51:55
weekend and have a Happy New Year.