Latest / The Layback Podcast / Nate Hoffman, LHP at Bethany Lutheran College (Ep. 63)

Transcript

Nate Hoffman, LHP at Bethany Lutheran College (Ep. 63) · The Layback Podcast

0:00
Hey everyone, welcome back to the Layback Podcast.
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Joining us today is none other than left-handed pitcher at
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Bethany Lutheran College up in Minnesota, Nate Hoffman.
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Nate is a Chicago native. For you visual crew, I'm sure
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you saw the Bears flag over his right shoulder.
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For the auditory listeners, yes, there is a Bears flag over his
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right shoulder. So I know he's hoping for a
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better year. Yeah, that's our sports are kind
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of a downfall right now, but hey, I'm only up from here.
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Yeah, he's a he's a White Sox fan too, might I add, ladies.
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And gentlemen, so struggle of its own.
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So it could be worse. Could could be a Rockies fan so.
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If overcoming a UCL tear and getting back on the field this
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season wasn't enough, he also had to go through the White Sox
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season of last summer and then the Bears and whatever you call
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what they're doing right now. But good draft, right?
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That that's. What?
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Yeah, we'll take it. We'll take it.
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But yes, as you all know, I don't like to talk too much in
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the intro. I've probably talked more than I
1:02
even like to hear. So with this, I'm just going to
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dish it off to Nate. Let him pick up the pieces for
1:07
anything super interesting or important that we may have
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missed in the process. Obviously, as you said, I am a
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left-handed pitcher out of Bethany Lutheran College up in
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Mankato, MN. I am recovering from Tommy John
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surgery. I did get surgery from the New
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York Yankees team doctor. I know a guy whose name is Kurt
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Semel. He actually hooked me up with
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Flex Pro Grip. He said if you want to do this
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whole pitching thing right, this is what you got to use.
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And at first I didn't use it a lot because I didn't know what I
1:35
was doing. And then UCL tear happened.
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I was rehabbing and then came back to school in August.
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I got on the phone with is it Gavin I think Yep Yep.
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Got on the phone with Gavin. We wrote up a little program
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then go back home for spring break.
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I go get rehab with next era PT dot at Push Performance in Tempe
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AZ and they posted a picture of me with the flex program doing
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blood flow restriction. Flex program slides into their
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DMS. It is like whose devices that
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that is? That's awful.
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We need to get him a brand new device.
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So then Adam comes into the picture and he's been such a
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great help and it's been a true blessing just to be able to get
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to where I need to be today. Well, I appreciate you sharing
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that. Yeah, that's, that is basically
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exactly what happened. I saw you still had the old felt
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Velcro device that had to be cutting up the forearm a little
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bit. Velcro used out of necessity for
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a while. That was not fun trying to heal
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that up so. But hey, we we got you now with
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the ski bootstraps. Hopefully it's a little bit
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easier on and off. Oh yeah, it's, it's great.
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I've had no issues whatsoever. That I guess explains a little
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bit how you and I ultimately got connected.
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And I know you were working with Gavin for a while, but as soon
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as I saw Nick and the Next Era crew post you with the out of
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date device, I had to step in, get you headed with what we're
3:02
using now. But let's walk things back a
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little bit if you want to talk through the baseball career and
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maybe even you ended up at Bethany.
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Yeah. So going into eighth grade, my
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family moved from Chicago to Arizona as it was for my dad's
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job. And I kind of took that as like
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a new, like a new baseball opportunity because playing
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baseball in Arizona and in Illinois, two different two
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different animals we're talking about here.
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I mean it it's just a completely different level of of skill and
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talent. So then going into high school,
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I got cut. My freshman year coach was like
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if you're lazy, you're out of shape, you're not fit for the
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program right now. I took that as an opportunity to
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not only get better, but to actually like work on myself and
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to be the player that I am now. Sophomore year made the junior
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varsity team, didn't really play much, just do the grades and
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stuff is during COVID. So everything was kind of all
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over the place. Junior year made varsity and
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senior year made varsity. Great, great, great times, great
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people. You know, I wouldn't wouldn't
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replace them with anything. So senior year we're just we're
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going all over the place, right. I'm starting to get the
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recruiting going on. You know, I got a bunch of other
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schools hit me up from California, Washington, all this
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Midwest, East Coast schools. My current head coach, Ryan
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Craig, text me one day and he's like, love to have you out here.
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It's a great program we're building.
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You know, we got we got the guys to do it for you.
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And at first I was kind of like, it's Minnesota.
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I was already kind of dead set on a different school in, in
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Iowa. They gave me a full ride and
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they were like, we want you. But Bethany was like, we want
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you more. And I'd kind of like, I'd say I
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kind of blew Craig off a little bit.
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Wasn't really responding to him because I was so dead set on
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this other school. And they're like other schools
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like we can't can't get you in your ACT scores too low.
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So well will suggest you to our JUCO that is kind of like our
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like a sister school. Kind of like a feeder program,
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yeah. Yeah, I like a feeder and I'm
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like, I love that. But I got a school who wants me
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just as bad if not wants me more than you.
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So I called them up that same day.
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I was like, let's get this done. Like I I want to be a part of
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your program. And it's it's great.
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The program is it's awesome. And we just went back-to-back to
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back winning the regular season, just won our conference
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championship. That was awesome.
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I mean, we got got the guys to do it every.
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It's, it's such a fundamental and sound program.
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I mean, you're you're getting everything you ask for here.
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I mean, I got AI got a good friend of mine who goes, who
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goes to Harvard and he's like, dude, we don't have the
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facilities that you have at a Division Three school.
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So that that kind of says something a little bit.
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But I think Bethany is, it's a great school.
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It's a great program. They're always there for you.
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It's a very small, small community, very tight.
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Everyone kind of knows everyone. Doesn't matter if you're from a
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different country, if you're from 20 minutes down the road,
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everyone knows everybody. And I think that's something
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really great about the school. That's awesome.
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I'm glad you found a home, especially with that little
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wrinkle in the process, right. You were ready to sign to go
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somewhere else, and whatever divine intervention the universe
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had at play ended up pushing you elsewhere.
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And now you've gotten to be a part of some amazing
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championship caliber teams. I mean.
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You're yeah, I mean, it's, it's been, it's been awesome.
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I've been the best two years of my life.
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My life. Obviously last year was a little
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different and I didn't get to play.
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But I mean, just the just being there like with the guys is, is
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just great. It's just a great time.
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It's a great family and I love them a lot.
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We got a bunch of core guys leaving this year.
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They've been there since I was a freshman and I mean, they've
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been, they've been nothing, but they've been nothing but great.
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So I've it's all love. Well, I'm really excited to get
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into that community aspect, especially within the team in
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the athletic program, a little bit down the line when we talk
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about your rehab, but now let's even talk about injury history a
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little bit. So were you ever faced with
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anything with the elbow, arm, shoulder prior to your ultimate
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blowout last season? Yeah, So in high school I kind
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of had the same same thing. I'd say I'm a firm believer that
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I partially tore my UCL in high school and I just rehabbed it
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with Next Era for so long that it just kind of went away.
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It kind of healed itself junior year kind of had it bothering me
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a little bit when I'm like a month of not throwing, just
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rehabbing. Senior year happened over
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pronated on a change up on our summer trip and it just was
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throbbing. It was bothering me.
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I was like OK, I kept throwing and it just it kept getting
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worse every day I'm like OK, something's got to change.
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This is hurting. If I keep going, something is
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going to happen. So they shut me down for three
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months my senior year come out to college and a lot of the
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things that I have back home in Arizona I don't have out here.
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So I think that kind of had to do with it.
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It also could have just been weather change, different
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environment different like diet. Obviously a lot of a lot of core
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factors have to come and play for that.
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But I definitely am a firm believer that I partially tore
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it in high school, rehabbed it for so long, just went away and
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then unfortunately I completely blew it off the bone in March of
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24. So was an experience for sure.
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It's a pain I would not wish on my worst enemy.
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Well, even building up to that ultimate blow out in March, what
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was that transition in the college ball like for you in the
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fall of your freshman year? You already mentioned not having
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the same resources, right? You've been working with Next
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Era and Nick for that crew for a while.
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You no longer eating home cooked meals every single night.
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You're not sleeping in the same bed.
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You've got a roommate, You've got somebody else setting the
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schedule for you. Is that a difficult transition
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for you? Yeah, I mean, I'd say it was.
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It was relatively hard just getting used to it.
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Like I don't got my mom waking me up at 7:30.
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Everyone like, hey, you got to get up and go to school.
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It's like I don't got class till 12:30.
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I can sleep in as long as I as I need to.
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It was definitely difficult. Just the aspect of having a
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practice so early, like in the year and just like the way they
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do it is so different from high school.
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It was definitely hard at first, but getting getting used to it
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was I think the worst because especially like the dining hall
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at school is open for so many hours and you know, you got
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certain meals at different hours of the day.
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Sometimes you got classes that go into practice, sometimes
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you're missing half of practice because of a class.
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It's a lot of things that I think a lot of people take for
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granted is like, I'm going to college, I'm away from my
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parents. This is going to be easy.
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Everything's going to be pitch perfect and it's it's just not
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you get there. It's like, oh, kind of miss my
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mom waking me up at 7:30 in the morning and I kind of miss
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having home cooked meals and stuff being there for me when I
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get home. It's definitely an experience
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for sure. Yeah, I can even think of the
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rude awakening that I experienced like a couple days
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that I didn't have morning classes.
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Maybe the first class was at 10 AM or something like that.
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And the cafeteria closed in the mornings for me at 9:30 and I
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would stay up later on those nights not realizing how staying
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up later on Monday night would then impact my performance on a
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Tuesday. Also I was finding myself either
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skipping breakfast or instead of getting eggs and a bunch of
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protein in the morning then I'm just making oatmeal in my room
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and. Yeah, it was screwing myself.
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How? The day, Yeah.
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I mean, that's how it kind of was for me.
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I mean, I'd call myself a night owl.
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It takes me a while to get to sleep.
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I don't, I don't fall asleep quickly.
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I mean, you got to put about every melatonin pill in me to
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get me to fall asleep. I can't.
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I could, I could play it, I could pitch a perfect game, go
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workout, go run a mile and I'd probably be up till 1:00 in the
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morning. I wouldn't be tired at all.
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Like I takes me forever to fall asleep.
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And I definitely think that was that was hard, especially with a
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roommate who fell asleep so early.
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I mean, that kid would close his eyes and next 30 seconds he's
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asleep, he's already snoring. I'm like, dude, it's 9:30 at
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night, what are we doing? But it was definitely hard
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because when he's asleep, you don't want to make too much
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noise because if you wake him up, he's going to be all pissed.
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Finding that sleep schedule in colleges, I think it's key no
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matter what your classes are, if that'll you have a class at 8:00
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AM, going to bed at 10:30, even if it's like shutting the lights
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off and putting your phone down for 30 minutes just to help you
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gain that tiredness. That's that's what I do
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sometimes, you know, there's times I can't sleep, I'll turn
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off whatever I'm doing, I'll just sit there and next thing
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you know, I'm, I'm asleep. So I definitely think that's a
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big part of college is trying to find that that schedule.
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Yeah, yeah, that's a big hack for sure, to a certain extent.
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And it does take effort, which is so weird to say that it takes
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effort to figure out what works for you, and what stinks is what
12:30
works for you Also might not be what's perfect for the schedule
12:33
that you're having to deal with. It isn't perfect for anyone to
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go lift at 5:00 AM or 6:00 AM or whatever, but.
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That's. What you have to do?
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Yeah. You know, especially lifting
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that early in the morning, like you got no nutrients in you, you
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don't, you barely got any water, you're dehydrated.
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It's like this is going to be 1 hell of a lift.
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I can tell you that we're going to be crushing, crushing 80 LB
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bench presses with no nutrients in me.
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But I definitely think finding, for example, my second semester
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schedule, I don't have classes till 1:30 and 2:30 every day.
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So that's, that's like every college kids dream.
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That's like paradise. You can stay up as long as you
13:11
want. You can sleep until noon and
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then, you know, you wake up, you shower, you go to class.
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That definitely kind of affected me a little bit because I'd wake
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up at 10:30 not having breakfast till 11:30.
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At that point, just call it brunch.
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And by the time I'm done with that, you know, it's time to go
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to class. And it's like I don't have time
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for a second meal during practice.
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I'm, you know, starving. You know, we don't got any food
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at the field. And then I come home and it's
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like, I don't want to cook. So I end up going out and it's
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like, OK, something's got to change here.
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I got to, you know, wake up a little earlier, have that time
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to make the breakfast, have that time to get a lunch and me have
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enough time in between. If I need to mix in a snack, I
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can. But getting, I think getting
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three meals a day is very. Important.
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I love that you're talking about this personal accountability
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piece and the things that you even struggled with.
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So now how did these things maybe translate to the field?
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Did you come in to Bethany with the level of performance that
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you expected or because of some of these external factors where
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you may be lacking a bit on the bump?
14:11
Yeah, I definitely think being in high school, you kind of have
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everything set for you. It's like, OK, parents made
14:17
breakfast, I go to school, you're getting out at a specific
14:20
time in college. It's like, OK, I got to wake up
14:23
on my own. I got to make my own breakfast
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somehow. If you live off campus, on
14:27
campus, you got to be prepared mentally for the day.
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Having like even writing down like plans during the day, like
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writing things I'm going to get done definitely helped me a lot.
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And I definitely think it affected me at first because
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it's like I'm going to have breakfast, not lunch, go to the
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field, be starving and have it impact my performance because
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the only thing I can focus on right now is what am I going to
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eat? Like that was a huge, a huge
14:53
factor that. OK, so then even in the fall, I
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know what you're subjected to. Granted, it's all you've really
15:00
got new experience since you've only been at a Division Three
15:03
level, but Division 3 is subjected to different rules.
15:07
There's limited practice schedules.
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How was it working through those?
15:11
Like captain's practices or like the player LED practices?
15:15
Yeah, no, I mean that's. Probably a completely different
15:19
world than most people in the college baseball sphere are used
15:24
to. Oh, definitely all coaches
15:26
practices, we're always doing defense, we're always doing some
15:30
sort of hitting. If pitchers need to throw
15:32
bullpens, we're throwing bullpens.
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If we're doing full team defense, that's, you know, fun
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coverages, PFPS, 1st and thirds communications.
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Like that's all of that is with the coaches practice, but with
15:43
captains it's yet there. You hit, you have other pitchers
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hitting you fungos off the side. I wouldn't really say it's goof
15:50
around time, but it's like, OK, now is the time to just get some
15:53
work and you can have a little fun, But it's also time to be
15:56
focused because there's sometimes we do have some
15:59
coaches watching just to see who who puts in that extra effort,
16:03
just to see who who wants it more than every everyone else.
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I definitely think that's good because people do tend to notice
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that and like, OK, coach is watching like I got to put, I
16:13
got to do something better here than everyone else.
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And then we know I, I love captain's practice.
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I think it's a great time to, especially when coming in as a
16:22
freshman, having those captain's practices were like, OK, this is
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my time to meet all, all the players that are here, all the,
16:27
you know, all the JUCO transfers, all the other
16:30
freshmen that are coming in. But the coach's practice is your
16:34
time to focus up, lock in on the drills, know the signs and all
16:38
that stuff. It's definitely two different
16:41
aspects to a practice. And maybe in your own
16:45
development, were there different skills that you have
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learned whether it was your freshman fall or your sophomore
16:52
fall? Granted, I know you were
16:53
rehabbing throughout your sophomore fall, but are there
16:57
different skills or nuances within the game that you've
17:01
picked up on? Because as you said, the coaches
17:04
practices are so drill focused or so team oriented, you're
17:09
trying to accomplish a goal, get out and be done with it.
17:12
You're subjected to these tight time windows versus captain's
17:16
practice. Maybe it's not completely
17:18
laissez faire, but you are with the boys and I'm sure there's a
17:23
little more camaraderie to it or like kind of joshing around with
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the crew. Yeah, no, I would definitely say
17:33
I learned a lot of like controlling yourself and
17:35
controlling the game. Like when we would do live ABS,
17:38
that's always like, OK, I got to throw this pitch and I got to
17:41
get it back in there. I got to throw this pitch right
17:42
away. And if I don't throw this pitch
17:44
right away, I got to go to this. It's all about controlling
17:47
yourself and controlling the aspect of the game.
17:49
Yes, there there's a pitch clock that we use.
17:51
A lot of people are like, this is too fast.
17:54
Like I got to get going right away.
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It's like, no, you got 20 seconds to work with.
17:59
It may seem like a short time, but in reality, like if you're
18:01
controlling the game, you're controlling yourself in the
18:04
aspect of what's going on around you, 20 seconds feels like, you
18:08
know, an hour. Controlling what you have going
18:10
on around you definitely helped me a lot.
18:12
If that's like stepping back, like if we're doing a drill on
18:16
coach's practice, stepping back, like, OK, I'll watch the older
18:20
guys do it because I don't want to go up there and mess up.
18:22
And I feel like, you know, an idiot when I go up there, I mess
18:25
up and everyone's like, oh, this guy doesn't know what he's
18:27
doing. He doesn't know the drill.
18:28
So I, you know, I step back. I watch the other guys, see how
18:31
they do it on specific plays. And if I don't know the play,
18:34
I'll watch it. I'll, you know, memorize it in
18:37
my head. And I'll go up there and, you
18:39
know, if I got a question, talk to the coach about it.
18:41
I definitely think controlling what you have going on around
18:43
you helped me a lot. So now let's Fast forward a
18:46
little bit. You're gearing up for the
18:48
season. Did you know what your role was
18:50
going to be going into your freshman year?
18:53
Was it just kind of like hoping for innings at some point?
18:56
Going in, I definitely thought I was going to be kind of like the
19:00
bullpen guy because in high school I was the everything guy.
19:04
You need a starter, you can have me.
19:05
You need a long relief guy, I'm the guy.
19:07
You need me for one, one pitch, I'm your guy.
19:10
That's how I was in high school. That's how I was expecting to go
19:13
into college. Had a really good fall and then
19:16
had our exit meeting in the fall.
19:17
Our coaches like you're going to be one of our starters this
19:19
year. You know, you got the stuff, you
19:22
got what it takes to be a college pitcher.
19:24
Like your stuff's untouchable if you only throw your fastball.
19:27
Like you're going to do just fine in a conference.
19:30
That that fired me up because of the only time I've been a legit
19:33
starter was travel ball. High school team was just loaded
19:36
with Division One commits. It's so hard to even like get in
19:40
the 1st place because everyone was just so damn good.
19:43
But then going, I'd say in the winter, had a really good
19:46
winter. Everything, everything was kind
19:48
of the same. You're going to do great things.
19:50
Just keep being yourself, you know, be you trust your defense.
19:54
And what's funny was I go up there, first game was against
19:57
Saint Mary's. It's down South in Minnesota.
20:02
I go out there, first pitch of the game is like an oppo triple.
20:06
And I'm like, OK. Welcome to college baseball.
20:08
Nate Hoffman, right? I'm thinking I'm going to blow
20:11
this fastball right by him. It's going to be awesome.
20:13
No, it was probably an oppo triple, and it was definitely a
20:17
big welcome moment. And then we went on our spring
20:21
trip to Washington. That was an experience of its
20:25
own. That was something else.
20:26
Got the start against Puget Sound and I went two innings.
20:30
I had five KS, like three walks and that's kind of what it all
20:36
happened. Just it happened so quick.
20:38
Everyone's like what pitch did you tear the UCL on?
20:40
I'm like, I don't know, just happened.
20:44
It happened so fast. Like I didn't even, I didn't
20:46
even hear a pop when it happened.
20:48
I'm like, OK, first inning goes by and start hurting a little
20:51
bit. I go, OK, something's not right.
20:54
Let's maybe do some bands, do some bands.
20:56
I feel all right. I go back out for the second
20:58
inning. It's throbbing at this point.
21:01
I mean, I can't, I can't feel anything.
21:03
Elbow below and it's hurting so bad.
21:06
Get out of the the second inning, go out for the third
21:09
inning and I probably throw like 3 warm up pitches in like the
21:13
dirt and I'm like, yeah, I'm good, I'm good.
21:15
Let's get let's get going. Third baseman comes over to me.
21:17
I'm like, dude, I think I'm done.
21:19
He goes, what do you mean? I go, I can't feel my elbow.
21:21
I think I'm done. And batter comes up.
21:23
I throw 2 pitches in the dirt. I look over my culture.
21:27
I'm like, I'm done. No.
21:28
And everyone's like, what is he? Is he calling off a pitch?
21:31
What's what's going on? And I start walking off the
21:35
field and I point at my elbow. And then it just everyone was
21:38
like, that's, that's not good because everyone was, you know,
21:42
Hoffman's going to be the guy this year.
21:44
He's you know, he's going to, he's going to win rookie of the
21:46
year. If he keeps up what he's doing,
21:48
you know, he's going to be our future starter for his whole
21:51
career. And then that happened and it's
21:53
like, what do we do? So it was, it was definitely an
21:56
experience. OK, so kind of a complete, I was
22:01
about to say full circle, but that would be wrong.
22:03
It's a 180 from the trajectory that you're expecting, right?
22:06
Everything's feeling good. You overcome the the triple to
22:10
start off your college career. You're feeling good, you're
22:12
getting caged, you're getting punches, getting good results,
22:16
team has talent, and then all of a sudden you're pulled from it
22:20
with the top of an elbow. And so how soon from there do
22:24
you get into surgery? Do you try any rehab?
22:27
What what played out? Yeah, so I talked to my athletic
22:32
trainer about it. At first all he thought it was,
22:35
it was like a a muscle. Something happened with my nerve
22:39
or my muscle because it was so cold.
22:41
And I look back at it now and it's like, OK, who's the idiot
22:43
that didn't wear long sleeves and raining and cold weather?
22:47
Me. That was definitely a dumb
22:50
mistake by me. But at first he's like, you
22:53
know, something could have happened with your nerve or your
22:55
muscle, but something just to look out on.
22:57
So we did a test the next day and he shifted my elbow and it
23:02
popped and I was like, that felt really good.
23:06
And our trainer goes, yeah, let's get you an MRI.
23:09
I'm like, oh, great, that can't be, can't be fun.
23:12
So I get the MRI the following the Wednesday after our spring
23:17
trip and I go in there and this is our this is our coach's guy.
23:21
He was a team position with the Padres for a while.
23:25
This is his go to guy. You need an MRI, you need
23:27
surgery, you're going to go to this guy.
23:29
So I went there, did the MRI and he was like, you're going to get
23:33
the results on Friday. Just stay optimistic.
23:35
And I think that's how everyone is when they tear it.
23:37
Very optimistic. You're like, why didn't tear?
23:39
I'm going to be back in no time. But like in the back of your
23:41
mind, it's like I'm done. It's like it's it's over.
23:45
So get that MRI done on Wednesday and I go to practice.
23:50
Just happy to be there. Honestly, I can't play.
23:52
I can't do much. Coach comes up to me after
23:54
practice, he goes, yeah, you, you tore your UCL.
23:57
And I'm like, is it full or is it like partially he goes, oh,
24:00
it's full. I go, great, that's fun.
24:04
So he's like, we're going to get you red shirted.
24:06
We're going to do the things necessary for you in the
24:08
program. And I go back to the guy that
24:12
did the MRI and he's showing me the MRI scan of my elbow points
24:17
at it. He goes, what do you see in this
24:19
MRI? And I go, I don't know what I'm
24:21
looking at. He goes exactly.
24:22
You have a grade 3 tear. Everything in your elbow is just
24:26
gone. Every nerve is gone.
24:28
Everything is just, it's not there.
24:30
That's why you didn't feel anything when your trainer did
24:34
that test on you because nothing was there in the 1st place.
24:37
So that was definitely a rude awakening.
24:39
I was very upset. I'd say for a week, I think
24:41
everyone would be honestly, you're doing so good.
24:44
And then you get season ending surgery.
24:46
It's like, goodness, how how worse can this get?
24:50
So then got in contact with Kurt Semmel.
24:54
He's like, you want to get surgery done right?
24:57
You got to go to Christopher Ahmad up in New York.
25:00
He's Yankees team doctor because you can go anywhere.
25:03
You can go to Arizona, you can go to guy in Minnesota who works
25:07
with the Twins. You can go anywhere.
25:09
He's like, if you want to get this done right, you need to go
25:12
to Ahmad. And I was like, deal, we're
25:15
we're doing it. Get on the phone, get on a Zoom
25:17
call with Ahmad. He's like you are the perfect
25:21
person for TJ 3, which is the palmaris graft out of your wrist
25:27
or the hamstring graft out of your knee and the internal
25:32
brace. So that that shortens up the
25:35
recovery time just to about a year shorter than the original
25:39
time. Again, he's like, you're the
25:40
perfect guy for this. We're going to get it done.
25:43
You're going to be back in the year and you're going to be the
25:45
best pitcher. I was like, OK, let's do it.
25:48
Flew up to New York April 15th. I had surgery the 16th.
25:55
He's like this could be an hour long surgery.
25:58
We're going to get you prepped and all that.
26:00
And I was done in 43 minutes. I think that's pretty good.
26:04
If if you're asking me, I think if a surgeon's getting a elbow
26:07
surgery done in 43 minutes, I think that's pretty impressive.
26:10
I mean, he did, he did it. He did an amazing job.
26:13
I mean, the team was great. It was a true blessing to just
26:17
be able to even go there in the 1st place.
26:21
It was awesome. So you get surgery.
26:24
You can get the hybrid reconstruction as a mod has
26:29
coined TJ 3, and then we're off and running on rehab and
26:34
recovery. You said you ultimately got the
26:36
surgery on April 16th. Did you go back to Minnesota for
26:40
school? From there, did you head
26:42
straight to Arizona to be with family?
26:44
What played out after the actual operation?
26:48
Yeah, so I got got the surgery and our coach was like, I think
26:51
you should come back to school, get it done, just finish it out
26:54
through the year. At first I was like, I'm not
26:57
going to be able to do anything. What's the point of me coming
26:59
back? And I'm sitting there, I'm like,
27:01
I got to go back. I got to go finish school.
27:03
I got to be with the team. We're on a 16 game, something
27:05
like that winning streak. I cannot be with the team when
27:08
we're doing stuff like that. So I go back to school, finish
27:12
school, started my rehab out there.
27:14
Those first couple weeks of rehab is just can you open and
27:18
close your hand? Can you squeeze this?
27:20
It's like, yeah, I guess I can do that.
27:24
And then I go back home. I get hooked up with a place
27:27
called Diamondback Physical Therapy.
27:29
It's about 30 minutes from my house.
27:32
I mean, they were great. The guy who owns it, his dad
27:35
played in Major League Baseball. He also had Tommy Johnson.
27:38
He knows. He knows all the rehab for it.
27:40
It was, it was great. So small victories in the rehab
27:43
I think are what kind of kept me going because like, every day
27:47
I'm doing the same exercise. I'm doing the same weight and
27:50
then you're able to extend your arm more and then you're able to
27:53
take off your brace and you're able to do more weight.
27:56
And it's like, OK, everything's coming into place now.
27:59
And then you start throwing and it's like, my God, I'm back.
28:02
Like I'm able to throw the ball now.
28:04
Like this is this is awesome. And, and I mean, it's, it's been
28:07
great. You talked a lot about those
28:10
little victories. I like to harp on those a ton
28:14
because the process is so long, it's grueling, there's ups and
28:18
downs. It's not always clean.
28:21
You mentioned little things like gaining range of motion or
28:25
picking up the ball to throw again.
28:28
Were there other little victories that you were really
28:32
pleased with that maybe you didn't expect to celebrate?
28:36
Yeah, honestly, being able to take off my brace, I'm sitting
28:40
in the brace for three months. You're finally able to take off
28:43
this brace you don't need to wear anymore.
28:45
It's like, Oh my God, finally I can get out of this stupid thing
28:49
of hardware that's sitting on my arm for three months.
28:51
You got to tighten it every day. You got to put it on.
28:54
I think that was definitely a big one, getting out of that,
28:57
like bad headspace, I'd say, especially after my surgery,
29:01
even before my surgery, I was like, like, is it really worth
29:04
it? Like I'm in college, I'm getting
29:07
Tommy John. Like should I, should I call it
29:10
a career? Should I just call it getting
29:12
out of that headspace? I definitely think that was
29:14
hard. Just in general, it took me a
29:16
while just to get out of that, that bad headspace.
29:19
And I think definitely like I opened the Bible, started
29:22
reading it and I definitely think talking with God about it,
29:26
having him work through your issues with that, praying about
29:29
it, I definitely think that helped a lot because I wouldn't
29:32
be where I am today without him. I mean, I wouldn't be throwing
29:36
off the mount if I didn't do the things that he wanted me to do.
29:40
So I definitely think just talking with God, I definitely
29:43
think helped a lot. Well, good for you finding that.
29:46
That's that's powerful. And I like that you're able to
29:50
express that every, everybody finds their power, their drive
29:55
in many different ways. And that's awesome that you were
29:58
able to look inside and find that.
30:00
Let's bring this back to your progression and where you're at
30:04
with the rehab. We mentioned earlier the impact
30:07
of your teammates. Obviously during the summer, the
30:10
first three months of your rehab, you didn't have your
30:14
teammates with you. So I, I'm sure it felt a little
30:17
bit more isolated when every day you're just going to the PT
30:21
clinic or to the gym on your own.
30:23
How good did it feel to step back on campus in the fall and
30:29
have the guys that you're in the trenches with?
30:31
Oh, I mean, it was, it was great because at that time I was
30:35
already throwing. So they're like get on the mound
30:37
now. Like you need to start pitching.
30:39
It's like, OK, relax, relax. Like I got a couple more months.
30:44
But it was very exciting just to be back with the guys know,
30:46
being able to actually be on the field again.
30:49
I definitely say putting on even just the practice uniform,
30:52
putting on that practice uniform was like, wow, I'm actually able
30:56
to practice with the team now. Because at first I was just, I
31:00
show up in shorts and I just sit around and watch.
31:04
And now it's like, OK, I can do the drills, I can start throwing
31:07
now I can be with the team. And it was it was it was
31:10
awesome. It was just just great.
31:12
And then what was your integration back into practice
31:15
like? Because it's not like you were
31:18
really going live to guys when you step back in the fall, you
31:23
still have the guardrails to an extent.
31:25
I I know that's a funky space. And it's hard to ask the
31:28
question because sometimes rehabbing guys, especially in
31:32
smaller programs that don't have managers or don't have help,
31:35
rehab guys can kind of feel like you're a glorified bat boy.
31:39
And that's really hard for a while.
31:41
Like, yeah, you want to support your team, but also I know you
31:45
as an athlete, you want to be out there, you want to be in the
31:47
pen or you want to be in the field.
31:49
Getting better at what you do, not just helping.
31:52
Helping is great, but you have a career to look after for
31:56
yourself as well. Straight from when school
31:58
started, I was able to be with the team just doing the
32:01
stretches. I mean, my practices I had kind
32:04
of my own, I'd say my own practice plan.
32:06
It was stretch, get all of my stretching done.
32:09
Because if I, if I missed one thing of stretching, it's like,
32:13
OK, this could go wrong, something could happen again.
32:17
So I'd get all that done, I'd get my throwing done and then
32:21
that, that'd pretty much be it. I'd get my throwing done.
32:23
And then it was just Swatch around, you know, have fun with
32:27
the guys that let them, let them do the stuff that they need to
32:30
do. And when it's time to have that
32:32
fun, you go have that fun. But it was very, very short for
32:35
me. On the days I wouldn't throw, I
32:38
do a little bit of conditioning just to get get something going.
32:42
But for a while it was just super, super short practices for
32:44
me, just throwing. And if, if it was like we're
32:47
going to do PF PS, I would stand there on the side and just be
32:51
like, OK, here we go. No ball.
32:53
So it was, it was very, very short.
32:55
And then it progressively got more and more and more to the
32:59
point where it's like, OK, I can do PF PS Now I can do 1st and
33:02
3rd coverages. I can do bunt place.
33:03
I can do all that stuff with the team instead of just sitting on
33:06
the side and be like, when am I able to do this?
33:09
So it started off very small, progressively built up to the
33:12
point where getting off the mound was an everyday thing was
33:17
it was a lot of fun, lot of fun. Did you ever think you would get
33:20
to the point where you said, gosh, I can't wait to do bunk
33:24
plays at practice? Oh my gosh, it was every day was
33:27
like, man, what I do to do some bunk plays right now, what I do
33:31
to do some PF PS and get some drill work and I throw 60 feet
33:37
and it's like there's my practice for the day.
33:39
I'm done. Every day was like, when am I
33:41
going to be able to do these types of things with the team
33:45
again? And eventually I got there and
33:47
it was. It's a lot of fun.
33:47
It's a lot of fun. I'm sure maybe the most
33:51
glorifying part of your practices with shagging in the
33:54
outfield, because you actually we don't.
33:57
We don't shag at all. All right, For the for the most
33:59
part, we don't shag. If it's like a heavy, if it's a
34:03
heavy BP day, we'll go out and shag.
34:04
But usually after the pitchers are done with their things,
34:07
that's pitchers don't go left, but do your homework, do all
34:11
that stuff. So we don't really, we don't
34:13
really shag a bunch. But definitely during, I think
34:16
during pregame BP is when we have the most fun because it's
34:19
always like, OK, the outfielders need their reads, but it's like
34:23
a pitcher gets near the ball, like I'm going to go get that
34:25
ball. The outfielders can go get their
34:27
own balls, but then they call us off and it's like, OK, you can
34:30
go get that ball. I'm done.
34:31
Just that aspect of just being with all the guys and having a
34:35
lot of fun is yes, it's legit. And when did you make the
34:39
transition to getting off the mound and eventually starting to
34:44
face hitters? So where in the rehab maybe like
34:47
how many weeks or months if you remember or maybe just like the
34:51
timeline of the year? Yeah, so I started throwing off
34:56
the mound a week before Thanksgiving.
34:59
Every player knew. All the coaches knew.
35:02
So when I first stepped on that mount, everyone was like stop
35:04
what you're doing. We're going to go watch Hoffman
35:06
throw. All the coaches were behind the
35:08
plate watching. Every player was like just stop
35:11
what they were doing, watching because that's, you know, that's
35:13
a big moment for a lot of a lot of pitchers who are getting
35:16
Tommy John. You know, getting off that mount
35:17
is it's a big moment. It was it was awesome.
35:21
Say the least. Just getting back out there.
35:22
It's like, OK, just a couple more months I got to go and I'll
35:25
get there. Asively gaining intensity with
35:29
pitches in that rehab work in with next era writing me
35:32
programs they're getting me specific percentages of like
35:36
when I need to throw how many days I need to throw.
35:39
It was great started throwing live.
35:43
It was more simulated live. It was mostly just fastballs,
35:47
but that was in end of January beginning of February.
35:51
So what I did make a bunch of big below jumps between that.
35:55
I mean, going live the first time was definitely frustrating.
36:00
Like with all my pitches was definitely a little frustrating
36:03
because it's like if I over pronate this change up my UCL
36:08
going to tear again. If I overthrow this curveball,
36:11
if I do it too early or if I do it too late, see, I'm going to
36:14
tear again. It's not going to I just got it
36:16
surgically repaired. But it's frustrating that that
36:21
first live baby back. But it was a lot of fun.
36:23
It was just a lot of fun. Get back out there.
36:26
Having all the hitters be like, your stuff sucks, but we'll get
36:30
there. Your stuff's not good right now,
36:32
but when you get there, it's going to be good.
36:34
It was. It was a lot of fun.
36:36
Maybe a question more about the stuff, were you throwing the
36:41
change up in the breaking ball as a part of your return to
36:44
throw program? When was that mixed in?
36:47
Because you hear that preach differently from a lot of
36:50
different places and a lot of the newer age more I guess
36:56
revolutionary esque programs that are coming along now.
37:00
You're seeing an earlier introduction to the mound and
37:02
earlier introduction to breaking stuff rather than holding those
37:07
things for later. Because we recognize that just
37:11
because you've thrown a fastball, it doesn't mean you're
37:13
prepped to throw the breaking ball or the change up.
37:16
And same thing with the mound. The mound places different
37:20
stresses on the body than the ground does, and even there
37:25
there can be less stress. At a certain point, once you've
37:28
gotten past just light tossing, you might as well get on the
37:31
mound because the torque levels on that are going to be less
37:33
than when you're doing long toss.
37:35
You're seeing that a lot more often, which I think is great.
37:39
But for your process, you, it sounds like you had a lot of
37:42
different cooks in the kitchen to an extent.
37:44
You had the doctor in Minnesota, you had Doctor Ahmad, you had
37:49
two different PTS out in Arizona, and then of course,
37:52
your athletic trainer at school. So a lot of different voices.
37:56
What ultimately prevailed with how you introduce these things
38:01
to your program? Yeah, I mean, it was definitely
38:04
a a lot to take in for sure. Just having all those those
38:07
moving parts you're you're on amount this day and you need to
38:11
get work done this day and you need to do long toss this day.
38:15
It's it's a lot to take in, especially with school still
38:18
going on at that time. It was a lot to handle finding
38:22
that time to get rehab in. But once I figured out a good
38:25
schedule for it, it was smooth sailing from there.
38:27
But I definitely say finding that happy medium in between,
38:33
like OK, I have, I have to do this today, I have to do this
38:37
tomorrow. What can I do today that will
38:40
get me prepared for tomorrow? If that's stemming the arm, if
38:44
that's getting scraped, if getting stretched out, that's
38:47
doing anything, ice bath, Sonic, all that stuff.
38:50
Finding those things to do the day before definitely helped me
38:54
a lot. I apologize because I asked the
38:56
question terribly. I threw like 18 things at you.
38:59
So walking it back now to like the introduction of breaking
39:03
stuff and the change up. When did you add that in?
39:07
Were you playing catch with those pitches or was it a little
39:11
bit later if you recall? So I would believe it was
39:16
definitely January when I started throwing change UPS.
39:19
Just super light getting a feel for it.
39:22
As of right now, I can't throw a change up to save life.
39:24
I don't know that used to. That used to be my best pitch
39:28
and now I I can't even throw it. And my worst pitch was my
39:32
curveball was my best pitch. I don't it's a lot of moving
39:35
parts, but I started throwing change UPS January, getting a
39:39
feel for it. Did a bunch of flat grounds with
39:41
them. Never really started throwing
39:43
them off the mound just because like you said, there's two
39:45
totally different movements with doing a flat ground and doing it
39:49
off the mound. I mean, on a flat ground it's
39:51
you're straight away on the mound, you're going down.
39:54
So it's a lot of different moving parts with the arm, the
39:57
lower half. Then March comes around, go back
40:01
home, spring break started throwing those change UPS off
40:04
the mound. Felt great, didn't have any
40:05
problems. Then I got introduced to curve
40:08
balls and it was like, OK, this could go really bad or it could
40:11
go really good. That first curveball throw was
40:14
like, that was weird. I don't like that.
40:17
That was really, really weird. But no, I mean, everything's
40:20
been been great so far. I've had no issues.
40:23
Nothing's been bothering me with any of those so far.
40:26
Sometimes I do have to dial it back a little bit because I do.
40:30
I do tend to throw a lot more breaking balls than I do fast
40:32
balls in my flat grounds, which is kind of dumb.
40:35
But if I can't throw it, it's like, OK, I got to find things
40:38
to keep working on it. If I can't throw it and then I
40:41
end up throwing probably 50 change UPS before I'd throw 10
40:46
fastballs. We got to figure something out
40:48
here. It was hard at first, but as I
40:50
continued going, figuring it all out, getting that arm build up,
40:55
it's been really easy so far. And now you have the wonderful
40:59
position of 2020 hindsight that you're back on the bump.
41:04
You've thrown in a few games. We probably shouldn't have
41:07
buried the lead talking about how you literally have just
41:11
gotten back. You've you've accomplished this
41:13
amazing feat of getting back on the mountain.
41:15
So we'll, we'll talk about this joyous occasion in a little bit.
41:19
But it sounds like for you, the change up in the breaker were
41:23
introduced a little bit later in the process from what we're
41:27
seeing from some rehabs now. And This is why I brought up the
41:30
2020 hindsight. If you could go back and change
41:34
things, do you think you would have introduced those earlier?
41:37
Do you like where they were introduced in the process for
41:40
you? Honestly I wouldn't really
41:43
change much. I mean, the only the only thing
41:45
I would change was that over winter break, go back home, go
41:49
to push, get with next era. We'll figure something out a
41:53
hand on my throwing program. They're like, what the hell am I
41:58
looking at? And I'm like, this is the
42:00
throwing program that I got and they go, this is from like 2008.
42:05
This is not even close to where you need to be right now.
42:08
But that was a whole fiasco I had to go through.
42:12
But we got right sheet. It was all flat groundwork, flat
42:16
ground change UPS, all that stuff.
42:19
But I honestly, I wouldn't really change much.
42:22
I'd say maybe introducing curveballs a little bit earlier
42:24
than I did, but I wouldn't really change much.
42:29
Everything was kind of to the teeth because that's what it's
42:32
what a mod was like. He goes, if you follow this to
42:34
AT, you'll be back in the year. If you don't, you won't be back
42:37
in the year. And it was like, OK, I got to
42:40
follow this so I can be back so I can maybe start pitching
42:43
during the season, but I wouldn't really change much.
42:47
OK, yeah, that's a, that's a fair perspective.
42:49
And I always, I always like asking because everybody is an
42:52
individual. They have different experiences
42:54
and some guys like to throw the breaking stuff earlier.
42:58
Some are just like, Nah, just let me focus on this one.
43:02
Fastball 1 grip, keep it easy, keep it smooth.
43:05
I'll know when it's the right time or we can do it down the
43:08
line. Now I would say my personal bias
43:11
is to add earlier, but that's where the athlete, the
43:16
individual athlete becomes so important in treating individual
43:20
athlete truly as an individual or as their own case.
43:24
Now, of course, there's research that we can rely upon, but you
43:27
have a you have a broad care team that you were able to have
43:30
these conversations with, which I think we're able to cover kind
43:33
of in that little chapter of the podcast.
43:36
Now let's move on to the really exciting stuff getting back on
43:39
the mound. And of course, the first
43:42
appearance back might not have gone perfectly.
43:45
It was hilarious to see you throw one pitch and immediately
43:49
have an umpire come out and tell you you're doing something wrong
43:53
and say it immediately again after the next pitch.
43:56
But take it away. You lived it.
43:58
I. Just that was, yeah, that was
44:01
very interesting to say the least.
44:04
I switched wind UPS just because I didn't really need a huge leg
44:07
kick like I used to. If I just go from stepping back
44:11
and going towards the first pitch I throw is a middle,
44:13
middle strike. And the umpires like that's an
44:16
illegal pitch. I'm like, what, what does this
44:19
mean? I'm like, OK, I throw another
44:23
perfect middle, middle pitch and he's like, that's an illegal
44:25
pitch. My Oh my God, what's going on?
44:28
And our my coach comes out and he's like, this guy hasn't
44:32
pitched in over a year. Like what are we doing?
44:35
And I think what he was most frustrated about was he saw me
44:38
doing it in my warmups and didn't say anything.
44:42
Yeah, that was, I don't even know I that was and still mind
44:47
boggles me today. It's like, I mean, come on, you
44:50
saw me doing it in the beginning and you didn't say anything.
44:53
So you waited till I throw 2 perfect pitches and then the
44:58
outing just went downhill from there.
45:00
I mean, I just couldn't, couldn't locate, couldn't,
45:03
couldn't really throw strikes. Honestly, it was my first time
45:06
back, so there's not much to be expected.
45:08
But I put a lot of, I'd say like stress on myself because I, I
45:13
try to be as, as perfect as I can be because I know what I
45:16
used to be and I know what I can be now.
45:19
So I put a lot of pressure on myself and be like, OK, you need
45:22
to be perfect in these situations.
45:23
And if you're not like you're a failure.
45:25
And that's not, that's not how it goes my first time back on
45:28
the mountain. I'm not going to, I'm not going
45:30
to be prime Chris Sale on the on the bump, like I'm not going to
45:33
be able to throw a bunch of strikes and all that.
45:36
But that was that was frustrating for me.
45:39
Can't throw strikes, can't locate.
45:40
It's like that's not who I am. I'm I'm used to throwing
45:43
strikes. I'm used to get in weak contact.
45:45
Didn't pitch for a while after that because me and my coaches,
45:49
we had a good agreement on not putting me in high stress
45:52
situations because that'd be best for me if you'd only go in
45:55
when you know we're up a bunch or we're down a bunch.
45:58
That was that was fine by me. That didn't really bother me too
46:00
much because I get it. You don't want to put a guy
46:02
who's coming in from TJ final on the 9th row up 1 bases are
46:06
loaded, winning runs on second. You got to get 3 outs.
46:08
It's like, yeah, no, I'm not ready for that at all.
46:11
So I then I got to pitch in our final final regular season game.
46:16
I got to start that game. It was great because I had the
46:18
whole team there this time, not just not just the backups,
46:22
because that was AJV game. The first one.
46:24
It was great. I went two innings, no hits, no
46:27
runs, four walks, one hit by pitch and three three
46:31
strikeouts. I mean it was definitely better.
46:32
I was up to I was up to 89 couple times a lot better than
46:36
last time, but I definitely think I can work on locating a
46:39
bit more. Just finding it.
46:42
Honestly, that's, I think my biggest problem is not, is just
46:45
finding it because everyone after I was done was like, I
46:48
notice you're doing this and that's why you're not throwing
46:51
strikes. And it's like, I can, I can feel
46:53
myself doing it. It's just in the heat of the
46:55
moment. I can't change it because if I
46:58
change it, something's going to go wrong.
46:59
If I'm changing it is for bullpens during practice time.
47:04
That's when I work on it and I do work on it, but then I can't
47:07
implement it in a game. And it's like, what am I doing?
47:10
You know, if I can't implement it, If I can implement it good
47:14
in practice, but I can't do it in a game, it's not right.
47:17
But it was a lot of fun just getting back out there, being
47:21
with the team again. It was great.
47:22
It was a great time. Yeah, it's, it's amazing that
47:25
you're able to make it back pitch again.
47:27
It, it really is incredible to watch.
47:30
I can tell you. I mean, I told you offline,
47:33
maybe the the podcast listeners will appreciate this, but I was
47:38
so afraid in that first outing back when immediately the
47:42
umpires are calling time and coming out.
47:45
I had no audio on my side. I was doing something where I
47:49
couldn't listen to the game. And of course the announcers
47:52
don't know what's going on anyways.
47:54
They don't hear what's going on on the field.
47:56
And then immediately next pitch, your coach is out on the field.
48:00
Yeah. And someone else from your team
48:02
is out on the field like, oh, no.
48:04
Yeah, I. Had a lot of, a lot of texts
48:06
that day is like through your elbow again.
48:08
I'm like, no, no, no, the elbow's fine.
48:11
I'm just doing something illegal.
48:13
I don't think it is, but you know, that's, that's in the
48:15
past. And they're like, OK, you know,
48:17
as long as your elbow's fine, that's like, yeah, I'm good.
48:20
I'm good. I think everyone would know,
48:23
yeah. Yeah.
48:24
So then you you follow it up with a a better performance a
48:27
couple weeks later, but you're you're struggling with these
48:30
control issues right now. I know you, you're a high
48:33
strikeout rate guy, which generally comes with hitters
48:38
seen some more pitches which can boost the walk rate a little
48:41
bit. I mean, having good stuff
48:43
usually comes with both strikeouts and walks.
48:45
It's the pro and the con, the good and the bad.
48:48
The walks are probably a little higher right now than you're
48:51
used to. And you mentioned finding it or
48:53
working on it. So what are these things now
48:56
that you're trying to work on if you as you've transitioned from
49:00
a rehabbing pitcher to Nate Hoffman, the left-handed pitcher
49:06
for Bethany Lutheran College? Yeah, I think my, my biggest
49:10
issue right now is just I'm not finishing all the way.
49:13
I get up the mound and I'm not finishing down.
49:15
I'm not getting to that that pitching point.
49:18
I'm just finishing everything up.
49:20
And that's why I can't throw a strike most.
49:23
And I like my my stuff. I'd say on a personal level, I
49:26
say my stuff's pretty good. I mean, it's it's very
49:29
deceiving. I mean, I can one of our best
49:31
hitters on the team, Xander Meisner.
49:33
I mean, he's a stud freshman. He'll probably win rookie of the
49:36
year. He's he's hit 12 moms this year.
49:38
He's a phenomenal player. He's a great dude off the field,
49:41
great dude on the field and he's a lefty and I hate throwing the
49:45
lefties. I hate it. 1st at bat, I'm like,
49:48
dude, when I face you that first time, I'm going to strike you
49:52
out. He goes, no, I'm going to hit a
49:53
bomb off you. And I was like realistically
49:56
probably going to hit you in the hand.
49:58
First pitch I hit him in the hand.
50:00
So it's like, OK, I'm not lying on that.
50:04
And that's just because I didn't finish.
50:05
I didn't finish all the way. But it's weird because I can't
50:09
finish on a fastball, but with a curveball I can get down to that
50:13
point where I can finish. So if I it needs to be spiked,
50:16
it can be spiked. So I don't really know what the
50:19
whole deal with that is. It's frustrating, honestly.
50:22
I can finish a curveball, but I can't finish a fastball.
50:25
That's not very pitcher like that's that doesn't happen.
50:29
Just honestly finishing if that's you finding a different
50:32
place to be on the mound, like I'm more of like middle close to
50:36
the third base side of the mound.
50:39
And I worked on it in practice couple weeks ago.
50:42
That was being closer almost off the mound pretty much to third
50:46
base side, being closer to first base on the mound, Finding
50:49
different ways to get to that point where I can finish down or
50:53
I can throw strikes with all my stuff that I have.
50:55
But it's, it's frustrating. But I think with just training
51:00
over the summer, getting back to where I need to be, I definitely
51:03
think I can. I can probably figure it out and
51:05
give or take two weeks, but it's frustrating just to not be at
51:10
that point. It is incredibly difficult to
51:15
try to make changes while you're competing.
51:18
And you've been in compete mode now, which is awesome.
51:21
Like it's a blessing to be back in this position where you don't
51:25
have time to focus on what's actually going on mechanically
51:29
or movement wise. And I know how much that means
51:32
to you to be back out on the field with the boys competing.
51:35
It's kind of funny to say or to deal with the problem and
51:40
acknowledge that wow, I am in this amazing position.
51:44
Speaking of small victories, that I can't afford time to work
51:50
on this right now because winning is more important or
51:53
getting me out in front of me is more important than working on
51:56
my hip hinge or my drop or my drive or positioning of
52:01
separation, anything like that. And that's what summer's for.
52:04
Yeah, I I definitely think that's, you know, that's my
52:07
biggest issue is getting the out in that like getting that first
52:12
out or the person that's, you know, up to bat.
52:14
It's like, OK, I could be owed to.
52:16
And then I just forget everything that I've ever done
52:18
and it's like, let's just throw this ball as hard as I possibly
52:20
can and let's strike him out. And then it's like, oh, ball
52:23
one. It's like a, OK, let's go back
52:26
to the basics here, let's stick to the mechanic, let's figure it
52:28
out. And when I do that, that comes
52:30
with good results. But when I try and get to, I
52:34
wouldn't really say cocky, but when I get ahead of myself, I
52:37
start to kind of lose it a little bit.
52:39
I start getting a little wild. I can't do that.
52:42
I got to just stay in the moment, focus on what's what's
52:46
happening right now, focus on the count, what the hitter's
52:48
been swinging at all day, what he's not all mental, all mental
52:51
stuff. Like we said, that's what
52:54
summer's for. You're very close to a long
52:57
runway to work on this stuff and come back better than you've
53:00
ever been your junior year. But before that, you guys have
53:04
the national tournament, you guys have the playoffs that you
53:06
were nice enough to pick up this interview while the selection
53:10
show is going on. So I don't know if there's any
53:12
news on the selection show. Yeah, I would.
53:14
I definitely have to have to check.
53:18
Yeah, there it is. We play lacrosse.
53:21
Not Wow. Not whitewater.
53:25
All right, heard it here first. Sadly, this probably isn't going
53:29
to come out for a couple weeks. Apologize listeners, that this
53:32
live reaction is actually going to be delayed a little bit, but
53:36
are you guys hosting Wisconsin Lacrosse or headed that way?
53:39
They are they Wisconsin lacrosse is hosting, so we're going to
53:43
head up to Wisconsin. No, they're a good team.
53:46
So are we. So I got I got high hopes going
53:49
on the trip. So hoping, hoping I get to get a
53:51
couple innings here and there, even though I'm still limited to
53:55
a maximum of like 50 right now. It's just hard to get me in at
53:59
those times. I heard that I was going to get
54:02
used on our Thursday game because we were up 13 to one in
54:05
like the 5th and they're like, OK, let's just throw in some
54:09
guys. And it was like, of course,
54:11
that's the I threw a bullpen on Wednesday.
54:13
So it's like, OK, you can't throw off the mountain two days
54:16
in a row. It's not good, especially coming
54:18
off of TJ, you know, got to take a day off.
54:20
You can do light throwing that day, but it's just like.
54:22
It's like. God, of course, the day I throw
54:24
a bullpen the day before the game was of course, the game we
54:27
go up by, you know, 20 and you know, like I used you.
54:30
It's like thanks, thanks. No, but I mean that's I I
54:34
definitely thought we were going to be playing whitewater.
54:36
That's baseball. Get get surprised.
54:39
That's right. You bring up a good point there
54:41
that I want to acknowledge and that's well executed by your
54:46
coaches to not put you in that situation.
54:48
Although on paper it might be everything you need to appear
54:52
and get back in the game. The game should never be the
54:55
first time you do something in the return if you have not
54:59
prepared to do back to backs in rehab.
55:02
You. Don't want the first time you
55:04
back-to-back. To be some pivotal part of the
55:07
season. I mean, the coaching coaching
55:10
staff has done a really good job with me.
55:12
Just keeping that conversation, keep how do you feel today?
55:14
Are you able to go Live Today? And if it's like, honestly, I'm
55:17
still a little sore, I don't think it'd be smart.
55:19
Probably just do go out to 90 feet, see how I feel and if I
55:22
feel great tomorrow will probably go live.
55:24
And it's just it's having that communication I think has been
55:27
keyed in the offseason and even during the season.
55:30
They're like, do you want to go live this day or do you want to
55:33
throw a bullpen this day? Just keeping that conversation I
55:36
think definitely helps. Definitely.
55:39
So now, Nate, as we're winding down on the podcast, is there
55:44
any other piece of the rehab that maybe we didn't talk about
55:47
or things that you're looking forward to?
55:49
You can kind of take this wherever you want.
55:51
I just want to open up the floor to you as we're winding down on
55:55
time to share maybe an insight that we didn't talk about today
56:01
or something you have coming down the line.
56:03
Yeah, I definitely say having the the flex program has been
56:07
really monumental for me. Just like I feel, I feel
56:10
stronger. I feel like I can throw the ball
56:13
a lot harder now with a lot more efficiency, a lot more force.
56:16
Like as I said in the beginning, like at first I didn't do it.
56:19
I didn't know what I was doing. But now I have, we've written
56:22
out a program, probably going to write another one when I get
56:24
back home, just getting all that that done.
56:26
And I definitely think having that program has definitely been
56:29
helping me a lot because I feel like my arm feels a lot
56:33
stronger. I mean, every day I'm using
56:35
someone's like, what does this do you look like Wolverine?
56:38
Like are you in a super mood? I'm like, and I try to explain
56:42
it to them and they're like, this makes no sense.
56:44
I go it's complex. It's it's it's very, it's a very
56:47
interesting device, but you know, it's definitely worth it.
56:49
It is 100% worth it. I appreciate that and now maybe
56:54
without looking too far ahead, I don't want to put the cart
56:57
before the horse, but goals for next year, whether it's the fall
57:00
of the season, I know you just want to come back and be a part
57:03
of the team and play a greater role than you even played this
57:07
year. But are you gunning for a
57:09
specific role, whether it's trying to be more of a team
57:12
leader or if it's like a weekend starter?
57:15
Where's your head out with all of that?
57:17
Yeah, I mean, I want to get back to how I was last year, want to
57:21
be the starter. I want to be the guy that they
57:23
can rely on. I want to be, I want to be that
57:26
guy. I want to be the guy like, OK,
57:29
we got a big game coming up. That's the guy we want to use.
57:31
For example, we had our our last conference game Saturday and our
57:37
starter that had pitched on Thursday came in to close the
57:41
game because we went up and it's like, OK, there's no one else
57:45
better for this situation than that guy.
57:47
That's how I want it to be next year.
57:48
I want the coaches to have full trust in me.
57:51
I want them to be like, OK, in any situation we can use often.
57:56
I want to be trusted with the coaching staff.
57:58
And I definitely think that's been a struggle for me just
58:02
coming back. Like I feel like I can't be
58:03
trusted because I can't locate right now.
58:06
It's hard. I want to be trusted.
58:07
I feel like with training, getting back to where I need to
58:10
be, focusing on getting those the small things done, I
58:14
definitely feel like I could be that guy.
58:17
Next year, well, it's awesome that you still have something to
58:20
work for and it all seems within your grasp as well, which is
58:25
tremendous. And you have the line of
58:27
communication, you have the guys, you have a support team.
58:30
So there's no doubt in my mind that this is something that can
58:34
be done. Just be undeniable in the
58:36
process and we're going to go after this thing.
58:40
Yeah, I'm, I'm excited. I am just super stoked that I'm
58:43
finally able to start, start playing again, getting back to
58:46
where I used to be. So it's a true blessing.
58:48
Definitely. Well, Nate, thank you so much
58:51
for hopping on today. Yeah, Thank you.
58:53
Thank you for having me. Yes, it was tremendous getting
58:56
to chat with you. And to all the listeners out
58:59
there, thanks for laying back with us.