Latest / From the Coach's Mouth / Episode 45: Alisa Goler

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Episode 45: Alisa Goler · From the Coach's Mouth

0:00
Because that's what it comes down to and it's not talked
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about enough. And if you ask any of these big
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time coaches, they'll tell you sometimes it's not just bringing
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in the best kid. It's got to be a kid that you
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know can fit your system that you've had created and flourish,
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have the field in. Your car or on the couch?
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Get your pass from the coach's mouth.
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Welcome to the From the Coach's Mouth podcast with your host Jay
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Bolden and Ken Krause. Hello everyone, welcome to the
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From the Coach's Mouth podcast. This is Ken.
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Here is always with my good buddy Jay.
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Jay, how you doing? Pretty good Ken.
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It's been a good start to the season.
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Had a few bullpens the last two weeks with the girls at Saint
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Xavier. They're looking pretty good.
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It's exciting when the kids come back and they're they're anxious
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or not anxious, but excited to get the the season going and
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everybody looks in shape and did some work over break.
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So excited to get the season going here in a few weeks.
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So yeah, things are good. How about you?
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Yeah, everything's going well with me kind of rolling along.
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Had some snow this morning. It's mid January so I guess
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shouldn't be a total shock. Yeah, right.
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It'll be 50 by the, you know, by noon and then 35 again tonight.
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So just kind of how it rolls. Yeah, You know, one of the
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ironies is that I finally, after all these years, I finally asked
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for Christmas for a space heater for one of the facilities that I
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work in because it on the really cold days, there'd be ice going
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down the wall. So I finally got it.
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And then the weather's the weather's been in the 40s and
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50's the whole time. It's that's.
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Yeah, that's kind of how it works, man.
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It's just that it's the karma of things, so.
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I guess I'd rather have it that way where I don't have to come
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in and hook it up and use an extension cord so they say to
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never do so. I don't want to set the place on
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fire here, but smartly, yeah, yeah, Hopefully it'll be OK.
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Yep. So, speaking, should we get
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going here? Yeah, I was going to say,
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Speaking of Midwest weather, we've got, I think we got a
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great guest today from the Midwest and I think why don't
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you give some people some information about this amazing
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guest we have today. All righty.
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Sounds good. Well, we are beyond excited to
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talk with today's guest because she's had an amazing career both
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as a player and as a coach. As a player, she was a three
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time All American at the University of Georgia, a three
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time All SEC First Team selection, and in 2009 was the
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finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year.
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It's no wonder considering she set single season records in
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Georgia for batting average, slugging percentage on base
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percentage, home runs, extra base hits, RB is, and total
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bases. OK, I got to take a breath after
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all that. When she finished her collegiate
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playing career, she was drafted to the Chicago Bandits in the
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National Pro Fast Pitch League. In 2011.
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She was named the Rookie of the Year and in her seven-year pro
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career she was twice selected to the All NPFS team.
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While she was still playing. She began her coaching career in
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2014 as the hitting coach at Roosevelt University.
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Two years later, she moved to Syracuse University as its
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infield and hitting coach as well as recruiting coordinator,
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then went on to join the staff at Penn State where her focus
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was on improving the Nittany Lions offensive production.
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In 2020, she was named head coach of the Western Illinois
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University Leathernecks, a position she still holds today.
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She was also an assistant coach with USA Softball's 2024 Women's
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Elite Team as well as a 2024 Under 18 Women's National Team.
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Then in 2025, she was named the head coach for the inaugural
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season of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League's Blaze, where
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she helped the league achieve a strong launch and set it on the
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path to long term sustainable success.
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Today, she's here to talk to us about her successes on and off
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the field, as well as the challenges of coaching at all
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these different levels. Ladies and gentlemen, please
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welcome Elisa Goler to the From the Coach's Mouth podcast.
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Thanks for having me. Today.
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Welcome. Hello, Elisa, How are you?
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I'm. Great.
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I am enjoying, as you said, the fact that it's going to be 42°
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today in Illinois. Yeah, it's been a strange
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January for sure. Yeah, I mean, even yesterday was
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just beautiful. You could get outside and you
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know, outside took reps outside. It was great.
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So yeah, it's fantastic. We'll take what we can get,
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especially in Midwest. So I'm kidding.
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So Lisa, I want to, I'm going to get into it right away with you,
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man. I have a little bit, I know a
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little bit about your background, but I want other our
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listeners here to to understand your background kind of.
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So take us back to your playing days.
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Like where did you grow up playing the game?
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How did it all start for you? Great, great topic.
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Love it. OK, so I am a SW suburbs kid
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through and through. Love to try to recruit up there
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still. My mom still lives up there.
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I grew up in Flossmoor, so that's like where I first
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started doing the whole, you know, like T-ball and forward
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from that point. When I was in 6th grade, we
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moved out to Frankfurt and anyone that's from that area
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knows that like, you know, the Lincolnway schools tend to be
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pretty good at softball. So just I got kind of lucky
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where I was going to be filtered through that when we moved out
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there. I lived in Frankfurt until I
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went off to college. I started playing travel ball
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when I was being like 8, which is again, pretty common.
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I think at that point it was a little bit early.
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Now, you know, now it's like I get emails from people that are
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like, oh, class of 2040 something.
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And I'm like, Oh yes, we're playing pretty competitively
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early. And I I do appreciate that my
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parents kind of realized that I needed a little bit more of a
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challenge earlier than later. So I have to ask you, if you
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grew up in Flossmoor, how long were you there till?
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Till 5th grade. OK, so then you know, you know,
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in your mind there's only one Aurelio's and that's the one in
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Homewood. And you know what?
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My mom taught in Homewood for 40 years, so we frequented that a
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lot. OK, I have a buddy who grew up
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there and that's what he always says.
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There's lots of Aurelio's. It's the best pizza, but you
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really have to go to the to the home to get the food.
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I had a birthday party there when I was little.
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We had a birthday party there for me where you got to make
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your own pizza in the back so. Oh, really?
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But yeah, and then as far as like, you know, the everybody
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always wants to ask me like, oh, who'd you play travel ball for?
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Which is hilarious because I was like 20 years ago.
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It's not the same. But like, Frankfurt Flames,
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Orland Park, Sparks. And then I ended up playing down
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the line for the Southern Forest, which was more out of
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southern Illinois. But a lot of people don't know
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this. My travel ball coach for that is
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the ever popular Texas Tech head coach Jerry Glasgow.
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He was my travel coach, college coach and pro coach at one
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point. Wow, he just couldn't get away
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from. Him, man.
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To coach, wherever you go, I'll follow you.
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So what positions did you play and how did that shape how you
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see the game today? Good question.
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Shortstop through and through, which is not surprising because
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you know, everybody knows this. Jay will tell you it doesn't
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matter the level, if you can recruit a class full of
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shortstops, you're still going to do that because you're just
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going to do whatever. And in my Georgia signing class,
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there were like five of us that played short and then we just
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kind of got put wherever and and nobody cared because that's just
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how it goes. But as far as how it's shaped, I
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mean, I think when you play, if you're truly playing the
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position well, I'm not not really talking about like, you
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know, your glove, your, your arm.
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I'm talking like if you're playing that position the way
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you're supposed to be, where you're a leader on the infield,
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you're thinking ahead, all of that.
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I think it, it just helped me when I got to college because I
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was playing for a coach that she was, she didn't want us to be
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robots. She wanted us to think for
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ourselves. And I do think that that gave me
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a, a really big advantage over maybe other people that I hadn't
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played a position like that where you have to really think
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on your feet and have high game IQ.
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So I, I do think that that put me in a good spot even when I
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moved to third base, because in college I played mostly third
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base. I played some shortstop but
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mostly third. Did that autonomy on the field,
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did that carry over into your coaching?
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Do you approach your players the same way?
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Exactly the same. I don't think I realized when I
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was in the system at Georgia that that's what we were doing,
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which is normal. I don't think a lot of times as
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an athlete you're so tunnel vision that you're just trying
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to. But when I got out and I started
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coaching, really when I got to Syracuse and I was in charge of
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doing a lot of things, is when I realized, like, OK, yeah, I saw
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what she was doing and I understand why we were so
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successful because she wasn't having to do a lot of
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micromanaging. She just explained what she
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wanted and then she let us do it.
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Hey, I wanted to ask you, you've had a lot of success in your
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career, you know, really a stand up player.
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Were you always a star, even from a young age?
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Or were you ever on a team where the coaches didn't really seem
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to think much of you or, you know, you didn't really get the
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playing time that you would have liked?
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I think I was always offensively like a three hole growing up,
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which means that like, you know, everybody thinks that you're the
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best hitter defensively because I, I've never been even, you
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know, when I, when I was like playing college and pro and
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you're like at your fittest, I've never been the prototypical
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body type of a short step. And so I think when I was
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younger, I would have some people that maybe overlooked
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the, the reads or the angles or the ability.
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And so I think at times I had I had coaches that were maybe like
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moving me out of position because they didn't give me
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necessarily a fair shake. And I say that and it sounds
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like me where I'm like, I should have played short.
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No, that's not what I mean. I'm just saying I think that I
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had at times people that were making assumptions before they
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actually worked with me. It never would be like, you
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know, wanting to change a team or anything like that.
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It was more of I found myself having to.
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I would be moved around position wise a lot during a season.
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Yeah, and you had to prove yourself.
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I, I just was curious because you know, there's a lot of kids
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out there that, you know, are playing and, you know, maybe
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they're playing well, but they, they have coaches that just
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don't seem to like them for whatever reason or don't they
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just, they don't fit what the coach is looking for.
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And so I think, you know, sometimes it's helpful to hear
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that someone at your level and someone who's done everything
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that you've done that you experienced at at times too,
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that there was somebody who said, you know, well, she
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doesn't look like a shortstop. Yeah, I'm not going to put it.
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I'm going to add to that. I was lucky where I had really
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good support system and both my parents, I had a dad who was
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your typical softball dad that would have done anything.
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But I had a mom could be like, well, then I guess you better go
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work harder. So while I did go through that,
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I never had anybody in my corner that was like, you're right,
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this person doesn't know what they're doing.
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We're going to move teams. I had to work for stuff.
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I do want to make sure I note that because that seems to be
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something that isn't always the case these days.
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Yeah, very much so. So I want to ask you, what did
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softball teach you about yourself before you even thought
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about coaching? I think the discipline aspect
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when you're younger, all you know is that, hey, I can't, I
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have softball. I can.
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I got to go to practice. I can't, I got to do this.
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It sounds like it's, you know, you do sacrifice a lot now.
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They all love that. For the most part, all of us
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love the game as we're growing up.
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But like when I look back and I'm like, I always put that at
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the forefront. I missed, I missed weddings.
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I, I did other stuff because I needed to train or because I was
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in my college season or my pro season and I would never miss a
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game for, you know, that's discipline at the end of the
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day, yes, it's a little bit of sacrifice, if you will.
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But I think like when I look back, I, I have been very
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disciplined for the entirety of my life because now as a coach,
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it's the same thing. You don't, I don't just not go
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to practice. Like, you know, I think that's
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the biggest thing I think everybody wants to talk about.
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Oh, it taught me how to deal with failure.
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Life is really hard outside of softball.
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That's not the only reason I've had to deal with that.
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I've had to deal with loss, grief, all of that.
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Softball is just another Ave. that sometimes presents itself
12:45
like that. But I think at the end of the
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day, it just taught me that if I really wanted to be great at
12:52
something, I either had to put it at the front and stick with
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it or not. So you had a a great career at
13:00
University of Georgia. You were a three time All
13:02
American. Was there a moment you're
13:04
playing career that changed how you approached competition?
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So my freshman year at Georgia, I I hit like let's say 295 and I
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hit two home runs. OK, that's not necessarily a bad
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freshman year, but my sophomore year I hit 455 and I hit 24 home
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runs. So I like drug tested every
13:25
weekend, right? But why I bring that up, You
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know, I went, I had my exit meeting with my coach like we
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all have at the end of the first season.
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I went home, I went to work with my dad over the summer because
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that's just what I did. That was my guy.
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And one day, for no reason at all, something just clicked and
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I started hitting the ball a lot harder.
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It was weird. I couldn't pinpoint it.
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I just noticed that the ball was going off my bed harder.
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And I came back to to campus in the fall and my coach is like,
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she's just kind of sitting there looking at me because I'm, I'm,
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I'm like literally launching entire rounds of balls over the
14:02
fence suddenly. And I didn't used to do that.
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So she like pulls me in her office and she said, you know
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what is going on. And I'm like, I don't know.
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I just you tell me to go home and keep working.
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So I just went home and kept working.
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And then like, I don't know, I just, I think of that season
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because I don't know what it was, but if I hadn't taken what
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my coach told me in my exit meeting and gone home and done
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it, I don't know if I have the same trajectory of a career.
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And so I think it's just more of sharing.
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Like if you're lucky enough to have a coach that sits you down
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and gives you actual info in your meetings or your exit
14:37
meetings or says, hey, that was good, I believe in you.
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Anything like that? Because I don't actually think
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all kids get that. But if I hadn't done that, if I
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had just got home and been like, oh OK, like I was a starter, my
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numbers were pretty good. That's fine.
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I don't know if if it would have clicked for me.
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It kind of felt like it was pay off even though I still can't
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pinpoint it for doing the right thing.
14:59
It wasn't just like Flintstone vitamins or.
15:01
Something still don't know? We'll tell you when people
15:05
laugh. Yeah, yeah.
15:07
It's interesting that even to this day there's nothing you can
15:10
look back on and say this is what changed it, but obviously
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something, something somewhere along the way changed and you
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know, look at where you got now. I know I wouldn't give you a
15:20
better answer than that, but that's the reality.
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Yeah, no, that's fine. How did your own struggles or
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failures, if you had any as a player, influence how you coach
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athletes today? If you ask my athletes now, and
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Jay knows a little bit because he's got, I have a pitcher that
15:38
had work with Jay. So he he kind of gets the
15:40
inferior info too. But one thing that makes me
15:44
really proud when I talk to them is they all truly know that I
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value mental health. I think that is unfortunately
15:53
sometimes it's a buzzword that can be used because people maybe
15:56
can't pinpoint what that means. But I've been really, really
16:00
honest with my kids about my own career with it.
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We've set the standard to where we can have open communication,
16:08
judge free Ioffer, for example, mental health days that they can
16:11
cash in on if they need. And to me, that's the biggest
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thing. I had a really good career.
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I was blessed and it was a long career and I had some really,
16:20
really bad low moments when I probably shouldn't have on paper
16:24
been having low moments because my numbers were good.
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So I constantly try to remind myself that if I was going
16:30
through that throughout my college and pro career, even
16:33
high school traveled and I had the year I had, I would be
16:38
willing to bet that on any given day, I've got a kid who's really
16:40
struggling. And I think I was just more
16:43
embarrassed. But it wasn't as talked about.
16:45
It wasn't as widely discussed. I did see a sports psychologist
16:50
at times, but even then, like people would kind of poke fun at
16:52
me because nobody did that. So it was like, oh, what's wrong
16:55
with you? Why are you going to do that?
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But that's like my biggest, my biggest thing that has kind of
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affected how I coaches. I don't ever want a kid to feel
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like there's something wrong with them.
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And again, Jay was shaking his head when I said that.
17:08
But like, it's really important to me.
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And I I tell people and families on their recruiting visits if,
17:14
if that sounds like an eye roll to you, you're not a right fit
17:17
for my program. If we can't understand that
17:20
sometimes people, yeah, I'll have this.
17:23
For you, Alicia, just because I've had conversations with with
17:26
that player and the most important thing is it's genuine
17:30
from you. So I think that's the biggest
17:32
thing. Like you said, it's a buzzword,
17:34
but I think the players really appreciate that from you and
17:37
your staff, Colin as well, right?
17:39
It's genuine. So I think that's the biggest
17:42
thing because mental health is thrown around and all that
17:45
stuff, but I think when it's genuinely coming from a person
17:48
who knows or you know cares about you, that's when the
17:51
athlete connects and, and I will say knowing you and knowing
17:55
talking to that player, it is genuine.
17:57
I appreciate that. Do you think that, you know,
17:59
that's especially important on for female athletes?
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Because, you know, one of the things I've heard female coaches
18:04
talk about is they'd say, you know, you guys have to
18:07
understand you say something negative to us.
18:09
We believe you and we listen to that and we hear that more than
18:13
we hear the positive. So I mean, has that kind of
18:16
been, was it your personal experience, has that been your
18:19
experience with your athletes and does that kind of influence
18:22
how you approach things as well? There's so much.
18:24
I mean, for one, majority of female athletes are
18:27
perfectionist. It goes hand in hand.
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So no, again, I'm the same like knowing that yes, you're going
18:33
to absorb more times than not the negative over the I probably
18:36
could give one of my kids like 10 compliments in a day, but if
18:39
I RIP them one time, they're going to leave and be like she's
18:41
in it. So like, I understand that, you
18:45
know, does that mean that I shy away from giving feedback?
18:48
No, of course not. I just think you have to build a
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relationship to where they know that you're not just coming at
18:53
them if you're doing that. But I think the other aspect of
18:57
it is just it's unprecedented times for social media, for all
19:02
kinds of stuff. I didn't have to deal with that.
19:04
I am so thankful. I tell them all the time.
19:06
I love that I didn't have Twitter just came out when I was
19:08
like a junior in college. I'm so thankful that I don't
19:11
have to do that because you've got cyber bullying, you've got
19:14
body image stuff like all it, you know, it's just there's so
19:18
much that they have going on and I don't know like it.
19:23
We need to make sure that we're prepping them for life after
19:26
school. But I think sometimes we all,
19:28
myself included, and I think I do a pretty good job with it,
19:30
but we need the reminders that like they are literally fighting
19:34
for their lives day-to-day. But like that's what that's what
19:38
college is. So there's just a lot, but I
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think male athletes, I don't want it to, it's not just a
19:44
female thing. There's a lot of male athletes
19:45
that get stuck on stuff like that too.
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I just think it's athletes in general.
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For the majority of them, they're perfectionists.
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They can't handle sometimes if they're not up to par.
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So, Alicia, when did the coaching bug bite you?
19:58
I actually wanted to go to law school and right here I got an
20:02
opportunity when I was still playing pro, like you said, to
20:04
work at Roosevelt. I mean, my first coaching job
20:07
made $2500. I spent all of that driving back
20:12
and forth from the suburbs to the city for practice that year.
20:16
The only reason I did it is because.
20:18
I had been out of school for, I got my master's and I was out of
20:21
school for like 2 years and I was like, I got to find
20:23
something else to put on my resume.
20:25
I was kind of debating doing the law school thing, but I was
20:28
still playing pro. So in my head I'm like, well, I
20:30
don't, I don't think I can do both until I'm done playing.
20:33
I got to ride this out. So Lauren Lappin, who's a really
20:37
good coach, he was one of the other assistant coaches at
20:39
Roosevelt at the time. Amanda Scott, who's now the head
20:41
coach. I'm so was the head coach.
20:43
They were like, well, just just help us out.
20:45
Like you'll, you'll like it. It's fine.
20:47
It's not going to have any issues.
20:49
You could train on the side. So I really just did it as a
20:52
start to see if I even kind of liked it and it was fun.
20:56
I mean, the Roosevelt life is very different than the Syracuse
20:59
life. So when, when, when Syracuse
21:02
called me, then it's like the same conversation, like family.
21:05
I'm like, well, I guess I should try Division One before it's too
21:08
late. And then now I'm still doing
21:09
Division One and I've not gone to law school.
21:11
So I just keeps feeling like opportunities that are presented
21:17
where it's like, I need to try this while I can.
21:19
I think I always was meant to coach in some capacity.
21:23
I mean, maybe it ends up where I just coach high school.
21:25
I don't know. But I I really didn't know that
21:27
I was going to have the drive to be a college coach until I
21:31
actually that thrown into it. And hey, you know, it's never
21:34
too late. There's always, you know, law
21:35
school will always be there if you decide to go well.
21:37
If we keep going with this crazy nil route, it's going to be
21:40
coming sooner than later, so. Yeah.
21:45
So, you know, what kind of an impact does that had on you, you
21:48
know, as a coach and, you know, as a program?
21:51
The nil stuff. The N yeah, the nil stuff.
21:54
I mean, Western's not really any.
21:56
It's not just western, it's any any small mid major is not
22:01
really in the same realm anymore as it's a very lengthy
22:07
discussion. What I would say is I don't say
22:09
this in a negative way. I'm AI think the growth and
22:12
opportunity. I want women to get paid.
22:14
I want women. I want some players to get paid,
22:16
but I wish I could have got paid.
22:18
So this is not me saying like, Oh my gosh, I hate it.
22:20
I hope it stops. No, like opportunity is
22:22
excellent. It's just the reality is that
22:25
what Division One looks like I don't think will be the same in
22:27
a couple of years because you're not going to have people that
22:30
can can computer hang in there resource wise, not even like
22:34
record wise, I'm talking like resources.
22:36
So it'll be very interesting to me kind of how that works its
22:39
way out. But for me at Western that's not
22:42
something that is necessarily a hot topic.
22:45
We have some that have you know like product deals and things
22:48
like that, they love it. But I don't have $1,000,000.
22:51
Check for Nigel here. I wish.
22:54
I did, darn it. So.
23:00
I want to. I want to go back.
23:01
Some wealthy alumnus. Yeah, Yeah.
23:04
You never know, right? Yeah.
23:06
So I do want to go back and ask you a a question about your
23:09
early coaching days. What, what mistakes do you did
23:13
you make as a young coach looking back on it?
23:15
And is there, you know, looking back, is there anything you
23:17
could change about what you coached or, you know, how you
23:21
handled that I talk about as a young coach?
23:24
Yeah, I think that's a two-part answer because a young head
23:27
coach versus a young assistant associate is different too.
23:30
As a, you know, obviously I started as an assistant slash
23:33
associate coach. I think that when you're young
23:39
and you come out of the ranks, it's First off, you only know
23:44
how to teach the system that you came out of.
23:46
I was blessed where I did come from a good system and I came
23:49
from a system that, as I kind of said earlier, taught us a lot,
23:53
taught us how to think for ourselves.
23:54
But you know, like when you're young and that's all, you know,
23:57
what happens when you get a kid that isn't able to work in the
24:01
system or in the language that you're using.
24:04
And when I think back, I, I don't want to say it was a
24:07
mistake, but I think it, just like any young coach, it takes
24:11
you a while to figure out how to, how to adapt, how to be able
24:13
to speak to every kid differently if you have to all
24:16
of that. And I think that's just normal.
24:18
Like I look at I've mentored several young coaches on my
24:21
staff here at Western. I have the same conversation
24:24
with them because I learned from it.
24:25
It's like, hey, what happens now when X person can't understand
24:29
what you're saying? What do we do next versus get
24:32
frustrated or try to keep just doing the same thing hoping it
24:36
clicks? You know what I mean?
24:37
So I don't want to say it was necessarily a mistake.
24:39
I think it's just a learning curve.
24:41
Of course, I wish there were times where I would have figured
24:43
it out faster, but I think that's what comes with the
24:45
territory of being a young coach.
24:48
As a head coach, I will tell you the the players that I coached
24:52
my first two years at Western, if they showed up to practice
24:56
and saw me now, their jaws would drop because when I went in, it
25:01
was not a good situation. I had to be super authoritarian,
25:04
disciplinarian, which is not me at all.
25:07
Like Jay could tell you that. I'm very easygoing, sarcastic,
25:12
like, you know that. But there were, I had to really
25:15
lay down the law, if you will, because the culture, how things
25:19
were being conducted was not up to my standard.
25:23
So again, I don't, it's just I don't think I was able to form
25:28
the same relationships and trust with my kids that I have now
25:31
because I'm able to be my more authentic self.
25:34
Do I regret doing that? No, of course I wish I could
25:37
have both, but I think it's what I had to do.
25:38
What I would say is if as I continue coaching, anytime I
25:42
switch jobs, I have told myself to learn like you have to be as
25:46
authentic as possible from the start to be able to build these
25:49
relationships. Sometimes you maybe have to feel
25:53
a role that you're not comfortable with if your boss
25:55
tells you that. But you know, it's hard.
25:58
It's just, I look back and sometimes I hate the fact that I
26:02
probably had players here that had me as a head coach that
26:04
didn't feel like they knew me or didn't think that I liked them,
26:07
which is not the case. But it's what the role called
26:10
for in the moment. And it's tough.
26:13
I do, you know, I do sometimes feel bad about that because I
26:15
look at how I am with my kids now, like I love them.
26:18
They've run through a well for me and I think they know I'd run
26:21
through a well for them, but I don't think that was always
26:24
maybe the case of how people felt here at first.
26:26
Yeah, obviously that's got to be a lot more fun for everybody to
26:30
is that, you know, I mean, you still have your roles.
26:32
They still understand that, you know, you're the boss, but it
26:36
doesn't mean that you have to be a jerk about it, you know, and
26:38
that you you can be more a part of them, you know, that you guys
26:43
can have that kind of relationship and and, you know,
26:45
that definitely spills over on the field.
26:47
I think, you know, anybody that's been through that will
26:49
know that you can get compliance by being authoritarian, but it
26:54
doesn't necessarily mean excellence.
26:57
Yeah, there's a big difference between that.
26:59
But like you say, sometimes, yeah, the role calls for that.
27:03
You just You have to establish the boundaries first before you
27:07
can start breaking them. It's hard.
27:09
Everyone told me when I became a first time head coach, they're
27:12
right. They're like it's hard.
27:14
Like you're going to get thrown in the fire and you got to
27:16
figure it out and I'm on your 6th year and I feel like I
27:18
finally got the hanging. That's six years.
27:21
Like that's taking a long time. Hey Jay, on a scale of 1 to 10,
27:28
how important do you think brush contact is for pitchers?
27:31
It's pretty high up there, Ken, probably a 10 since it's hard to
27:35
get maximum speed or accuracy without it.
27:38
Yeah I agree, but have you ever had a student who struggled to
27:41
get good light brush contact? Sure.
27:44
All the time, in fact, especially when they've been
27:47
taught hello elbow and are trying to throw around their
27:50
hips or they're sliding their hips out of the way doing that
27:53
crazy ninja move. So what do you do when you run
27:56
into this situation? Keep railing on them until they
27:59
get it right. I used to do that a lot, but
28:02
then I learned about a product called Pitch Squeak Ken.
28:05
Pitch squeak. What's that?
28:06
It's a cool little armband with a squeaker inside of it.
28:10
Like a dog toy. Yeah, kind of.
28:13
So how does it work? Well, you slip the armband onto
28:17
the pitcher's forearm and you set it so the squeaker is where
28:20
the brush contacts should happen.
28:22
Then when the pitcher goes into release, she tries to get it to
28:25
squeak like this. If she makes it happen, she got
28:30
brush. If there's no sound, she knows
28:32
immediately and can make a correction.
28:34
Wow cool, so she gets immediate audible as well as tactile
28:39
feedback. Oh, there you go again, showing
28:41
off with those big and technical words again.
28:44
But yeah, she can feel it and hear it.
28:47
Doesn't really work. You bet it does.
28:50
I use it with my students all the time and it helps them learn
28:53
how to get brush contacts pretty quickly if they practice with it
28:57
sounds. Neat.
28:58
Where can I get one? It's easy, Ken.
29:01
Just e-mail support@pitchsqueak.com and
29:05
Jason, the inventor of it and a Poly Girl certified pitching
29:09
coach himself, will ask you how many you want and send them
29:12
right out. I'll do that today.
29:14
Thanks, Jay. What's that address again?
29:17
You bet, Ken. It's support@pitchsqueak.com one
29:23
more time for those of you who are listening,
29:25
support@pitchsqueak.com and don't forget to mention in the
29:30
e-mail that you heard about it right here on From the Coach's
29:33
Mouth podcast and you'll receive 10% off.
29:39
Did you have any mentors that helped you with some of that?
29:42
Anybody that you can point to that really maybe you still go
29:46
to with questions or issues or anything?
29:49
Like that, I'm very blessed with my circle.
29:51
I do have a lot of people that I constantly have conversations
29:54
with. Now.
29:55
There's been some that like have been like, you know, hitting
29:57
people I go to or defensive people I go to.
29:59
But as far as like adjusting to being a young head coach, Coach
30:04
Perry at Illinois, she's one of my big ones.
30:06
I call her all the time. You know, like Tara Archibald,
30:09
who was at Eastern Illinois, who's now at Texas Tech with her
30:12
dad, Jerry. Tara was unbelievable at Eastern
30:14
with what she did with very similar resources and situations
30:17
as me, was constantly in her ear.
30:20
Still am. You know, obviously, like my
30:21
coach Lou Georgia, who just got inducted to the Hall of Fame a
30:25
month ago, I would still, I still ask her questions, Jerry.
30:29
I just, I have a lot. And I also have other people
30:32
like like Tracy Addicts who was at DePaul, who's now at
30:34
Elmhurst. I talk to her all the time.
30:36
I think that sometimes when people think of mentors, they
30:40
think, oh, I need to go find the person that maybe has made the
30:42
World Series runs or been. I try to find people that have
30:46
had, have had to go through similar situations that I've
30:49
been through and have been successful.
30:52
I think sometimes our our softball world is guilty of
30:55
passing over people that should be getting the interviews
30:57
because they've done a lot with a little and stuff like that.
31:02
The ones that I want to know, I want to hear from.
31:04
Yeah. And I think that the way people
31:07
look at it from the outside, they see the stuff that's on TV,
31:11
they see the Women's College World Series, I see, you know,
31:14
super regionals. They see those wealthy teams,
31:17
those teams with a lot of resources that are there
31:20
perennially, and they don't realize that there's so many
31:24
other schools out there and there's so many other coaches
31:26
who are doing great things, but they're not going to get to that
31:30
particular dance because they're limited in in what they can do.
31:35
I mean, that's what's important. I don't take away from that.
31:37
There's some phenomenal coaches like that that I do have as
31:40
resources that I use. But giving you insight into me,
31:43
I like to reach out to people that retain their rosters, don't
31:47
have full time staff, don't have complaints against them
31:50
constantly. How are you running your
31:51
culture? Like that's the kind of stuff
31:53
that I think is the most important for me right now is
31:56
asking those kind of questions. What do you how do you run
31:59
practice when you don't have much endorsements?
32:02
How are you so successful? Like that's a lot of the mentor
32:05
conversations that I try to have.
32:07
I mean, sometimes I ask, OK, how would you deal with this
32:09
situation? A lot more times than not, it's
32:12
asking people that are successful in and out how
32:15
they're doing stuff with what they have.
32:19
Elisa, I want to ask you, I'm going to give you 2 questions
32:21
here. 1 is when you took over and got the job at Western
32:25
Illinois, what was priority number one?
32:27
And two, this the statement that you just made about doing, doing
32:31
more with less. Yeah, I think Ken and I have
32:33
talked to, you know, NFCA every time they put out that, you
32:36
know, kind of like, hey, what would you recommend us do?
32:38
And I'm like, I want to see mid major coaches or high school
32:41
coaches get up there and tell me how they use their space.
32:44
Because not everybody is at Florida and has, you know, all
32:48
these beautiful 6 hack attacks and all this stuff.
32:51
You know, like I want to hear from the mid majors who are
32:54
still using the college gym for indoor practice because that's
32:57
more relatable to me as even a travel ball coach, right?
33:00
Like I, I think those are the things.
33:02
So I know every year I put it on there NFCA let's and they're,
33:04
they're doing better. Like they've had Christie from
33:08
Saint Louis up there doing stuff.
33:09
So I'm starting to see more of that.
33:11
But I agree with you. I think the less, you know,
33:13
doing more with less is the big thing.
33:15
So, but bring us back to Western Illinois.
33:17
You got that job. They said you're, you're the
33:20
person we want. What was, what was #1 priority
33:23
for you after you signed that letter there to take over?
33:28
When I signed, it was when I signed my contract, I started
33:30
July 1/20/20, which was peak COVID like couldn't remember.
33:35
That's when we were watching all stuff on athletes go live like.
33:39
So for me, the first thing that I I did as soon as that went
33:45
through and I signed my offer letter was there were only 16
33:50
athletes on this roster. And I was like, oh boy, that is
33:53
not. So I started calling every
33:56
travel ball coach that I have built up a good relationship
33:59
with. Now, when I say good
34:00
relationship, I'm talking if my, if my job is on the line, have
34:06
they proved to me that I can trust them that they're sending
34:08
me a kid that's going to be a good fit?
34:10
OK, I'm not talking good relationship like, oh, we get a
34:13
lot of traction. They e-mail us a lot.
34:14
No, I'm saying like people that I have worked with that when
34:17
they're like, hey, this kids, the real deal, she'll grind it
34:20
out. And it's and it came true like
34:22
when you got them there. So I started calling all of them
34:25
and I was like, I've got money. I have lots of money.
34:27
I need to bring kids and I need to be able to trust you because
34:31
I obviously none of us can go watch them right now.
34:34
Who do you have that you think would be a good fit that I can
34:36
get on a Zoom call with and try to grab them?
34:38
Because July is late, you know, like, so that was going to be
34:42
for the signing class in November.
34:44
I did pick up two late transfers from the same kind of scenario.
34:48
So I ended up having 18 on my roster that first year.
34:51
But that was the I mean that that was impossibly like, that
34:54
was really hard. I like back and I'm like, what a
34:58
fever dream of recruiting. I hope I never have to go
35:01
through that again. Yeah, that was the biggest
35:04
thing. And then after that, it was
35:05
trying to figure out who I could bring in that would be willing
35:10
as a pitching coach to kind of stick it out for more than a
35:13
year, because that felt like that was going to be really
35:16
difficult is if I can only get a one year person.
35:18
And at a school like Western where Mccomb's located, the
35:22
reality is that there is a lot of turnover here with any sport.
35:25
And they're they're they're second or third assistants.
35:28
And so I was really trying and I got lucky because he's still
35:31
with me after six years. So obviously I kind of nailed
35:33
that one. Yeah, it.
35:35
Was good. Yeah, yes, he's a good human
35:38
too, which is kind of the most important thing, but yeah.
35:40
What traits do you look for when you're recruiting athletes?
35:45
So, you know, anybody can go out.
35:49
I say this with love. My mom can come out recruiting
35:51
with me and we can sit down and she can tell me off the bat who
35:54
looks the most athletic, who has the best arm, or maybe who hits
35:58
the ball the hardest right now. Would I love all of those kids?
36:02
Yes. Do I get those kids?
36:03
No, they're going, you know, it's not a lot of times it feels
36:08
like what I'm looking at softball tangible wise, because
36:11
off the field if they're a turd, excuse me language, they're a
36:15
turd. If they don't have great grades
36:18
for a legitimate reason, they're not my kid.
36:20
I don't really want to have to put forth that their effort on
36:23
that side of it. That's not me.
36:25
Like I don't want to do that. My kids will tell you that.
36:27
I have no tolerance for that. So, but softball wise, if I'm
36:31
looking a lot of times it's OK. So who can fit in my system that
36:36
I can make better that's got some tools right now?
36:38
Because that's what it comes down to and it's not talked
36:40
about enough. And if you ask any of these big
36:43
time coaches, they'll tell you sometimes it's not just bringing
36:46
in the best kid. It's got to be a kid that you
36:48
know can fit your system that you've had created and flourish.
36:52
So if I look at a kid, for example, that maybe I'm going to
36:56
get technical, but if I look at a hitter and I kind of like what
37:00
they're doing, but let's say that they're really bad about
37:02
like arm barring or something, that's a really tough thing to
37:05
fix. That's a lot of holes in their
37:08
swing. I'm not sure if I have the time,
37:11
maybe if I don't need that kid for a year or so, but if I need
37:14
that kid to come in right away, I'm not sure that's the best
37:16
fit. So I'm trying to evaluate your
37:19
like a two to four tool athlete that has stuff that I really
37:23
think I can immediately make them better on.
37:26
And I don't, I don't know if everybody understands that.
37:30
I think like when I go to watch a travel ball coach is like, Oh
37:33
yeah, this, this kids got an absolute rocket of an arm.
37:36
And I'm like, yeah, but I can't fix that other stuff that's not,
37:40
that's not a good fit for me because I, I don't know how it's
37:43
supposed to get better. So it, it's, it's trying to
37:46
figure out what we see where there are certain areas, whether
37:50
it's defensively or offensively, that we really believe we can
37:53
get better in one calendar year. I don't know if that's what you
37:58
were wanting me to tell you right now about what I'm looking
38:00
for because I think everybody's like, oh, I want good.
38:03
You know, I want someone that's like a good first step or this
38:05
or that. Sometimes I don't get that.
38:06
I have to figure out, can I get them there?
38:09
Do they show me enough that I can get them there?
38:11
And if they don't show me enough, then I don't know if I'm
38:13
willing to risk that. I'm that kid.
38:16
But no, I think that's interesting though.
38:17
I think that does answer the question because it's there's a
38:20
lot of things that don't necessarily necessarily show up
38:24
on a stat sheet or doesn't show up in data that you can pull off
38:28
of technology. But it's just recognizing here,
38:32
here's my need, here's what I know I can fix, here's what that
38:37
kids probably going to do for the rest of her life and can I
38:41
live with it? And if I can't live with it,
38:42
then I'm going to pass and look for somebody that's closer to
38:45
what I'm looking for. Yeah, that's pretty well said.
38:50
So now you got them, you got them, you recruited them, you
38:52
got them. So what does player development
38:54
look like day-to-day at Western Illinois University?
38:57
It looks like hardly any, any data, etcetera, because I don't
39:03
have the money for it. I actually talked I, it's funny
39:07
that you brought that up about the NCA, the NFCA thing, because
39:10
I did the, the fireside chat for hitting.
39:12
And like, the first thing I said is I was like, I have no staff
39:14
and I have no technology. So let's talk about what, what I
39:17
have to do every day. But from a pitching side, we've
39:21
been able to get a little bit of tech because you need to have a
39:24
little bit of something. And so he's able to work in
39:27
JB's, those Logitech balls and all.
39:29
The pitch logic. Logic Canada.
39:30
I love it. Yeah, I love them.
39:32
Yeah. Yeah, we just want those, which
39:33
is exciting because it's giving him a little bit of that besides
39:36
the general stalker gun, etcetera.
39:38
So the pitching piece is there. You know, I don't want to speak
39:40
too much on it because I'm going to sound like a, but it's the
39:45
general. But you obviously need an idea
39:47
of their Velo, their spin. I think from our end it's making
39:51
sure that as we up their pitch count is it, is it going down?
39:56
Is it being affected, right. That's your very basic side of
39:58
the pitching that I'm going to give you.
39:59
Like hitting wise, they are absolutely pushed from day one.
40:04
So I'm not a front toss person. Front toss doesn't do Jack.
40:08
I don't do that. They know that when I tell you
40:10
I'm not a front toss person, they said front toss may be one
40:12
time the entire ball because I don't care if you can hit a home
40:16
run on a front toss pitch. That does nothing for me.
40:18
I tell them that on the recruiting trip, if you don't
40:20
like machines or Velo, you are not our good fit for controller.
40:24
What does the development look like?
40:25
Well, sometimes it's as simple as me using my phone to record
40:28
them from the side so that we can look at their video, right?
40:30
That's not a lot. I don't have blast motion.
40:32
I don't have any of that. What I have is different
40:36
pitches, different parts of the cage and the ability to tell
40:39
them, OK, flat out, if you're not barreling this ball up, we
40:42
have a problem. So how do we figure out how to
40:45
do this? And if you can go from working
40:47
on a curveball and barreling 2 out of 10 to 8 out of 10, you
40:51
got better. OK, And that sounds very
40:54
rudimentary, but that is literally how we have to do
40:57
stuff here. And it's not been a problem for
40:59
us because we hit over 300 last year and we had the OBC player
41:01
the year. So it's it's very much trying to
41:04
cater to each kid. I can't use the same verbiage,
41:07
but they do all do the same general drills and whatnot.
41:10
I was blessed with coming from good hitting coaches between
41:14
Georgia and Jerry, it's a lot of the same general stuff.
41:17
I'm not saying we necessarily are are having the same like
41:20
verbiage, but it's the same things at its core.
41:23
I think most sitting coaches across the country, we all do
41:26
the same girls. They're not a secret.
41:27
Everybody can pretend like we don't.
41:29
We all do the same things like we do the same, you know, So if
41:31
this, if I've got a kid that's got a movement pattern that's
41:34
kind of off and I can just give them a cue, then that's what
41:38
we're going to do. Lots of verbal cues, lots of
41:40
trying to use direction spots in the cage for visualization,
41:44
stuff like that. And then defensively, same boat.
41:47
I don't have a lot of space. I've got some turf I can throw
41:49
down. I use the the hell season
41:51
language. I use the hell out of my my
41:53
junior hacks for defensive reps too, because I don't have enough
41:56
coaches anymore bodies. So you know, we can get a lot of
41:59
reps as well. And it's just if I've got a kid
42:02
that's struggling with maybe a backhand or something, we're
42:05
just going to we're going to wrap the hell out of it and then
42:07
we're going to do a little bit of video so they can see.
42:10
And that's pretty much what it looks like.
42:12
It's not super glamorous, but it works.
42:15
And you know what? Like, it's really forced me to
42:17
become a more well-rounded coach being here.
42:19
Yeah, There's nothing like having to solve problems to help
42:23
you really think through it and then be able to apply it.
42:25
And if you do get more budget or you get more opportunity to
42:30
expand on the technology or something like that, it'll just
42:32
make you that much better. No, I mean, I would love it, but
42:36
at the same time you can have all the tech in the world if you
42:38
can't actually explain to your kid you're not doing your job.
42:42
So I view it as maybe if that time comes, I'll be I'll be OK
42:45
because I've already had to explain and demo the amount of
42:48
demoing that Coach Gohler still does.
42:52
I got to like. I like working everyday because
42:54
I got to say demo shape. Hey, I wanted to ask you
42:58
something. So you mentioned about that you
43:00
don't like front toss, that you prefer machines.
43:03
That's interesting because you know, at least for a while
43:06
there, there was a whole thing against machines said it's not
43:09
realistic, it's not doesn't really translate.
43:12
You obviously feel differently. Yeah.
43:15
Also, I don't care what people like.
43:18
I think that at the end of the day, if they were going to be
43:20
facing a 55 mile an hour pitch down the middle in a game, I'd
43:23
do it. But I'm not saying that we're
43:27
not saying that we're seeing the average between 60 to 64.
43:31
At least one pitch is going to really break.
43:33
Jay knows usually it's a curveball, maybe it's a rise
43:36
ball, but I don't. I just, they know it.
43:40
Like that doesn't help us. Is there a time and place for
43:43
it? Sure.
43:43
If I've got a kid that is in a mental funk and needs to come in
43:45
and do that, we can do that one-on-one.
43:47
But I'm not doing it with the group.
43:48
Not when we're better served prepping a 66 curveball that
43:52
really moves. So in a game, it doesn't look
43:55
like it's moving like that. Like I just, it's OK.
43:58
Not everybody has to agree with me on it.
44:00
I don't care. I don't bother me.
44:01
This is how I am. I want to make sure that when
44:04
they get in the game, they feel like they have been in the
44:06
freaking trenches at practice because I am not nice with how I
44:10
work with them. Like they, it's hard.
44:14
They are crumbling in the cage. But we need that because if the
44:17
first time they're struggling is in a game, I have failed them.
44:21
So that's how it is. They know it, they embrace it.
44:24
I am obsessed with my group this year because they never
44:27
complain. They just go and like they'll
44:29
leave practice and they're like, all right, that was that was
44:31
that was brutal. I'm like, you're right.
44:32
It was. And tomorrow you'll be better at
44:34
it. It's fine.
44:36
And that's just kind of like how it is.
44:37
Well, and I'm sure your goal too is to make sure that the hardest
44:40
thing they have to face is practice, that the game becomes
44:42
easy, relatively speaking. You know what like you just
44:47
feeling goes overrated about this.
44:49
Yeah, make the game fun. Yeah.
44:52
But again, I know that I they trust me on it because I built
44:56
up that credit with them. When I first got here, it wasn't
44:59
like that. So at least I want to Fast
45:01
forward a little bit here to your experience with Athletes
45:04
Unlimited. So what did what did that teach
45:07
you about elite competition? And to add on to that, how did
45:11
that, you know, being around those professional athletes, you
45:13
know, impact how you coach your college players?
45:16
OK. Don't let me forget the second
45:17
part of that question. You might have to bring that up
45:19
again. So the first part, as far as
45:23
what was the like being around them, I think I had an advantage
45:26
going in in the sense that I played for seven years myself.
45:29
So kind of remembering what I used to feel like I wanted from
45:32
a coach when I needed space, when I needed help, all of that.
45:35
Now they, you know, each athlete's still different, but I
45:40
do think that that in itself was important because I knew going
45:43
in like, all right, so we've got a week and a half of spring
45:46
training. What do we need to cover?
45:47
So we are ready to go because I think when you're even when I'm
45:51
like with the USA stuff, sometimes people almost shy away
45:54
from the coaching because the athlete is elite.
45:57
But like they still, there are still things that there need to
45:59
be discussed or you know, like that you're having someone
46:03
manage or run through a practice for you.
46:05
So I would say that was the biggest advantage that I didn't
46:09
go in feeling like I didn't know what to do.
46:11
I had a plan going in. I literally had the entire first
46:13
week of practice plans written out before I went in as far as
46:18
being around them and what it taught me, it's the same.
46:22
It's it's actually hilarious. I'm going to say this and you
46:24
guys are going to laugh. It's like the same as coaching
46:27
my group at Western. That group, the group that I
46:31
had, they were wonderful. No two kids or no two women,
46:34
sorry, swing alike. No2 women have the same drill
46:39
that they need to get back on track.
46:41
And it really made me feel like about how I am here where I
46:45
don't, it's the same deal. Like I don't have many.
46:47
I don't have cookie cutter swings here.
46:49
We don't do that. I have to have different
46:51
conversations that accomplish the same thing with each
46:53
athlete. I need them to feel like they
46:56
can trust me, that I need to be able to listen and actually
46:59
hear, you know, so a lot of it with similarities, even though I
47:03
coach a small school and, and those are obviously the best of
47:07
the best, but being around them, it's a little validation as
47:11
well. Like sometimes it's easy to feel
47:13
like if you're not winning a lot of games, you're not a good
47:14
coach. You don't know what you're
47:15
talking about. And selfishly, I kind of needed
47:18
that. I needed to know that I could
47:20
still sit and see something in a swing and tell someone that and
47:23
have a conversation and have them be like, you know what, I
47:25
do feel that you're right, or, you know, stuff like that.
47:28
So it was an amazing experience. AU is really, really, really
47:33
trying to break the mold of what professional softball should be.
47:36
You know, I really look forward to seeing where they're going in
47:38
the future. And I was very lucky to get to
47:40
spend a lot of my time with those athletes, still have
47:42
conversations with them now, like they're just good people.
47:45
So I wish every athlete in that realm success as they keep
47:49
going. What was the second part of the
47:50
question 'cause I already forgot it, I told.
47:53
It was it was just how you how what you learned there kind of
47:57
helps you coach your kids at at Western only.
48:00
I was, I've got a, I've got great kids on my team at
48:03
Western, but I had one that did an interview recently.
48:05
And I, I always try to listen to when they do interviews because
48:08
I just want to hear what they say.
48:09
And it was really, really cool because she had this moment
48:12
where she said in the interview that Coach Kohler has worked
48:16
with like super high level athletes and we still talk about
48:19
the most important thing is kindness.
48:21
And it made me so happy because we do talk about that stuff.
48:27
We talk all the time about the softball piece and how we want
48:29
to win games and we want to compete and we want to execute.
48:32
And I need you to do this with your legs when you hit or I need
48:34
you to like or I need you to do this with your pit.
48:37
Like we talk all the time about that.
48:38
But at the end of the day, it is still about, I need them to be
48:42
good humans and I want them to graduate and like, you know, go
48:47
out into the world and, and understand that piece and, and
48:50
we talk all the time about it because I don't want us to miss
48:53
the mark with it. And it's hilarious because it
48:56
was the same conversations in the summer.
48:57
I'm like, I want you guys to get paid.
49:00
I want you all to be successful to have long contracts.
49:03
But like we need to make sure that if there's a little kid
49:06
that comes for the only time to see a pro game, that they see
49:09
what they should see at a pro game, you know what I mean?
49:12
And so a lot of parallels with that, but that made me that it's
49:16
that made me the happiest I probably have been as a head
49:19
coach was hearing a kid say that because it makes me know that
49:21
I'm not saying things that are falling on deaf ears.
49:23
So, you know, you mentioned about the kid that maybe come
49:26
and see one pro game and you know, getting the right
49:29
experience out of that. How important do you think it is
49:31
for young athletes to see professional softball and see it
49:35
as a viable option? You know, it's been there, but
49:38
it's not been in the States, right?
49:39
It's been in Japan where everyone knows that's like the
49:41
Mecca of opportunities because you you get paid a lot of money
49:44
now there's a lot of pressure that you get paid a lot of money
49:46
there. I think just between social
49:49
media and TV coverage, having it consistently in the States is
49:54
that's everything because that's how people see it.
49:56
That's how the random dudes at the sports bar suddenly tell you
49:59
that, oh, I like softball, It's pretty fast-paced because it's
50:01
on TV. It's just there.
50:03
I do think AU is providing an environment where moving
50:07
forward, it will actually be a viable thing for college
50:12
athletes to say. I think I want to go play pro
50:14
for a bit because they'll be able to get to that point where
50:19
they're making enough money to be able to do that.
50:21
The goal, not from just my mouth, I know this is what AU
50:24
wants to. The goal is to get to where
50:27
they're making enough money that they wouldn't have to have a
50:29
second job during the year because training and doing that
50:31
is difficult, right? I mean, I lived it first hand
50:34
there this year. No, but it could be there in a
50:36
couple years and that'll be a big deal too.
50:38
So I think it's huge. I think any kind of coverage
50:42
that you get just makes it that much bigger of a deal.
50:45
But you know, there are going to be kids now that are coming out
50:49
of middle school or or younger that are going to start saying I
50:52
want to play for the the blazer, I want to play for the the
50:55
spark. And that's amazing.
50:58
It's never been something there's never been continuity
51:01
with, with anything like that. So I, I just, I'm proud to have
51:05
been a small part of that year one.
51:07
Well, and something that I've found, I don't know if Jay has
51:10
found that as well with his players, but a lot of times the
51:13
younger kids, you know, you say, oh, so who's your favorite
51:16
college player? Who's your favorite, this or
51:18
that? And they can't name anybody, you
51:20
know, and that's a shame that they don't have someone that
51:22
they can directly look up to. So if a you can do that and give
51:27
them, you know, where you ask a 10 year old or a 12 year old and
51:30
say, Hey, who's your favorite player?
51:32
And they can say so and so on this team.
51:35
I think that would, again, that'd be a really good
51:37
indicator that you're getting to where you want to go.
51:40
Yeah. And you know, like the reality
51:42
is that where it's been missing is you get these players that
51:46
you watch that go to the World Series for a year or two and
51:49
then they dissipate. They can't.
51:51
People aren't going to follow them in Japan because they don't
51:53
even know about the JDL's website.
51:55
That's the Japan. They don't even know about their
51:57
website or that they can follow. They're not going to do that.
52:00
And so we've been missing the mark where people build their
52:02
brand and then they, they just go away as far as fans know.
52:07
And so I think the ability to finally start following these
52:11
players that they grow to love throughout their college careers
52:14
is, is, I mean, look at like Sam Landry is a perfect example
52:18
right now. That girl, everybody loves them
52:20
some Sam Landry. And they should because she had
52:22
a great career and now they get to keep watching her.
52:24
So Naija will be the next Geordie Ball or Geordie from
52:29
Marina. They'll, they'll, the next ones,
52:31
they'll come out and people are going to get to keep watching
52:33
them hopefully. And that's a big deal.
52:35
So Elisa, you know, you're, you're involved in so much.
52:39
You got Team USA, you've got Athletes Unlimited, you're head
52:42
coach at Western Illinois. What, what keeps you motivated
52:46
through the grind of, of all of those seasons?
52:52
Oh. Gosh, you know what?
52:54
I do that stuff. The reason that I have done the
52:59
the USA and the AU stuff, I mean, it's fun because the fun
53:02
piece doesn't leave when you're playing versus coaching.
53:04
It's fun. But the reason I've done that is
53:07
because I want to make sure that I'm still pushing myself out of
53:10
my comfort zone to learn as a coach.
53:13
I'm doing it to be the best head coach I can be for Western right
53:16
now. And I do think it has paid off.
53:19
I think at times I almost feel a little bit guilty because I
53:22
don't want anyone to think that that's not my priority.
53:24
It is, but professional development as a coach, it's not
53:28
always there and that's kind of where I found that like if I
53:32
have to flat out go do it and be hands on and figure it out,
53:36
that's been helpful both as like, hey, I like that we do
53:39
this or you know what, this I just example, maybe you know,
53:43
like with USA, there's certain defensive schemes that we do or
53:46
bunts or first and third stuff like that.
53:48
I've come back before and been like, all right, I'm changing
53:50
what we're doing because I like this better.
53:52
And sometimes, like, if I didn't put myself in that environment,
53:56
I may not have learned that because my circle, maybe they
53:59
don't do anything different than I do.
54:01
Not like it's a bad thing, but it's it's given me a lot of
54:04
chances to to be around people that I maybe normally would have
54:07
never had the chance for and to pick their brains.
54:10
It's been a lot though. I like it.
54:13
It's it's been great. But yeah, it's been a lot of
54:15
times where I'm like, man, I'm very softball heavier right now.
54:18
This is a lot. But I don't, it's not like I'm
54:23
going to shy away from opportunities to keep trying to
54:25
grow, to be a better coach. What do you do for your own
54:27
mental health then? You like you say, it's a lot of
54:30
softball. So what do you do to kind of get
54:33
away from it or to keep your mind clear so that you can be
54:36
focused? I love to travel.
54:38
I work to travel is what I like to say.
54:40
I meant to vacation. Have you?
54:46
What did you say I was? Just going to say, have you been
54:47
anywhere interesting lately? I was in Mexico last week for a
54:51
few days. OK, just go do that.
54:53
Last summer with USAI was able to go to Italy country school,
54:57
so it's been good opportunity. Yeah, it's been very blessed.
55:01
But for me, I my mental resets come from sometimes I joke, but
55:06
I'm being serious. Like a small getaway is a is a
55:10
good reset for me. I also, anybody that knows me
55:13
well knows that my brother and my mom are my that's my system
55:19
right now. I don't mind.
55:20
We lost our dad, my dad a couple years ago, so I don't have them
55:22
anymore. But a lot of times I can kind of
55:25
fill my cup by spending time with my my immediate family as
55:28
well. My brother is also a college
55:32
softball coach, so sometimes our schedules can be a little tough
55:35
to coordinate, but between those two, that's really makes me
55:39
happy. And did I see that?
55:41
Did I see that you guys also played in the fall?
55:45
No, we didn't play in the fall. We play in the spring, yeah.
55:49
Oh, you're going to see him in the spring.
55:50
Awesome. That's great.
55:51
That's great. Go there in the spring.
55:53
So I can't bring, I can't be giving him a free scouting
55:55
report in the fall. Where does he coach?
56:00
He's in Illinois. OK, OK.
56:04
Yeah, so the other coach goal the better coach bowler.
56:10
So just a just a couple more questions for you today, coach.
56:13
Again, thank you so much for spending time with Ken and I-1
56:17
lesson a player taught you that you'll never forget.
56:20
It's just, I think most coaches are going to tell you the same
56:22
thing. I think it's just that I don't
56:25
really think I'll, I, I've not had any kids that have had great
56:31
careers or great single seasons that have said to me like, I'm
56:34
really glad that you were invested in me just as a hitter.
56:38
It's always been that the, the person has to come first.
56:42
It has to be the building block of it, the relationship piece,
56:45
like has to drive your, the success and all of that.
56:49
It's been the same at every school I've been at.
56:51
People crave humans. Well, like, especially these
56:53
younger athletes that are trying to work through so many things
56:57
in their life at this time and all that, that the the human
57:00
piece has to be there. And it shouldn't be surprising
57:03
if it's not there, if they don't feel like they had a good
57:05
relationship with you, you know, so.
57:08
Yeah, I would. I would imagine that the COVID
57:10
season probably really emphasized that when you had
57:14
that kind of taken away. Any coach will tell you that
57:16
that was like the worst time to try to coach through for a lot
57:19
of that. But I just, yeah, I have learned
57:23
that. I've learned that I really have
57:24
to keep making the effort to make sure that an athlete feels
57:28
like I really both want to get to know them and do know them.
57:33
And I think as coaches we struggle sometimes because we're
57:35
like, no, I am trying. They don't know.
57:36
Like we, we have to keep trying. It's on us.
57:38
It's not on the kid, it's on us. We have to keep doing that.
57:42
If if you could leave athletes and parents and young coaches
57:45
with one message, what would it be?
57:48
Hey can I give a couple answers? Sure, as many as you want,
57:52
absolutely. I'm going to address parents
57:55
first. If you are, if, if an athlete is
57:58
lucky enough to have supportive parents, because it's not always
58:00
the case, but if you are that person, find a way.
58:04
If you're a single parent, find a way to do this.
58:07
If there's two of you, find a way to do this.
58:10
There needs to be a healthy dose of support, almost like blind
58:14
support, right? Because it's your child, but
58:16
also that piece of realism. If they go off to school and
58:21
they've had too much realism, they're broken and I have to
58:25
build them up. If they've gone off to school
58:27
and they've always had someone that has protected them, not
58:30
forced them to have to be accountable or work through
58:32
stuff, I have to then do that too, right?
58:36
If they can get a mix of both, they're better off and they have
58:40
an advantage going in. It does not matter what program
58:43
they're at. But parents, I really believe at
58:46
their core, they're doing their absolute best for them.
58:48
But I'm saying like there needs to be some of both.
58:51
There's a problem when an 18 year old is being told for the
58:53
first time, hey, that's not how we do things.
58:55
And there's also a problem when I'm telling an 18 year old for
58:58
the first time, hey, you know, you're good at softball, right?
59:02
So if you can provide some version of that as they go, it's
59:07
a good thing. And, and the other piece is your
59:10
kid, if you're that parent that doesn't show up to the games
59:13
that they're not playing, and you need to cut that out because
59:15
you need to show your kid that they've got more value than
59:17
being on a starting lineup or, or hitting three home runs or
59:20
something like that. Please don't let them go through
59:22
life thinking that their only value is when they perform to
59:26
athletes. I mean, I'm not speaking as a
59:29
Western coach. I'm just speaking as someone
59:30
that's been through a lot of the same stuff.
59:35
You know, it's just the reality is that life is really hard
59:40
sometimes if if softball is not going well, that can feel like
59:44
that's the end of the world. It's not.
59:45
There are a lot of great things that can happen outside of
59:49
softball, a lot of bad things that can happen.
59:51
You kind of just have to when things are good, you got to ride
59:53
it out. And when things are bad, you
59:55
have to just know that it doesn't stay that way forever.
59:58
I think, you know, as they go through and they're trying to
1:00:01
figure out where they want to play and all this find find
1:00:05
yourself a coaching staff. It doesn't matter the level.
1:00:08
It really doesn't. I'm so sick of that narrative.
1:00:10
It doesn't. But find yourself the coaching
1:00:12
staff that when you feel like things are hard, you can come in
1:00:15
their office and talk to them and actually talk to them.
1:00:18
Not just come in and say I'm not hitting well.
1:00:19
What do you see? I think there's there's a lot of
1:00:23
kids that miss the mark on that when they go through the process
1:00:26
and you have to have that. You can't survive your college
1:00:29
career if you don't have that. It's really hard.
1:00:32
There's no excuse for hard work. You can't really cheat that.
1:00:35
You're either going to have it or you're not.
1:00:37
And if you don't have it and you don't play, well, oh shit.
1:00:44
I could go on and on about this, but I'm just going to leave it
1:00:46
at. That All right, I have one more
1:00:48
question for you and this one is a little bit out of left field,
1:00:51
but understand that I'm pretty good at doing research.
1:00:53
Do you have any hidden talents, something that people would be
1:00:57
surprised to learn about you? I can play guitar and I have a
1:01:02
collection of guitars. Does that count?
1:01:04
Sure that counts. What's your favorite brand?
1:01:09
I watched one. Really interesting.
1:01:11
Yeah, you are an Illinois girl. Yeah, I actually took it in
1:01:17
senior year of high school. I can take an art class or a
1:01:19
guitar class, and I opted for a guitar, so here we are.
1:01:22
Yeah, but yeah, I don't. I mean, that's probably.
1:01:27
Anything say in the dance realm? I did.
1:01:31
I Irish danced until I was eight.
1:01:35
Really. Yeah.
1:01:37
That's very Southside Irish. Yes.
1:01:39
Yeah, My, my mom was all about it.
1:01:42
And finally, my dad's like, no, we're not doing this.
1:01:46
Yeah. I got a softball practice.
1:01:49
Yeah. But I do that for a while, won
1:01:51
some competition medals and all of that.
1:01:53
I'm sure I've got some pictures somewhere in the archive that I
1:01:55
could find for that. I love it.
1:01:57
Yeah, that's fun. Yeah.
1:02:01
All right, well, again. Elisa, thank you so much for
1:02:03
spending time with Ken and I today.
1:02:05
We've finished up here just about an hour.
1:02:06
We don't want to keep you any longer.
1:02:08
Thank you so much for joining us.
1:02:09
And Ken, you want to you want to say thanks and take us out?
1:02:13
Yep, yes, for sure, Elisa, we really appreciate it, all your
1:02:16
time and all your insights and everything.
1:02:18
It's great to talk to you and we hope to you, you have a great
1:02:22
season. Good luck on that and the things
1:02:25
keep going well for you. Appreciate it.
1:02:27
Can I say one more thing? I got to say one more thing
1:02:30
before she leaves. If anybody who's listening into
1:02:33
this, they are playing at the Rosemont Dome to start the
1:02:36
season off and I think that's February 4th, 5th and 6th.
1:02:40
DePaul is or 567, right? That Thursday, Friday, Saturday,
1:02:45
Yeah, so they're starting. You can come see Western
1:02:47
Illinois play at the Rosemont Dome inside against DePaul.
1:02:50
They're their other teams as well too.
1:02:52
So you we've got Division One softball right in our backyard.
1:02:55
Come watch Coach Goler in the In the Leathernecks battle.
1:02:59
Yeah, we'll be there. All righty OK, well, that's it
1:03:03
for us this week. Thanks to all of you for
1:03:05
listening and the kind words you've been sharing with us.
1:03:08
If you like what you're hearing, Please remember to give us a
1:03:10
like leave a comment and share this podcast on your social
1:03:13
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1:03:16
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1:03:20
And if you you're so inclined, you can also leave us a great
1:03:23
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1:03:26
On behalf of the From the Coaches Mouth podcast, have a
1:03:29
great rest of your week and weekend.