Shows / Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
Hosted by Jon Karcich, a former D1 baseball coach and 7th-round MLB draft pick, Success Leaves Clues is designed for players, coaches, and parents who want to grow their game. Each episode offers short, actionable tips, proven strategies, and authentic stories to help sharpen skills, build mental toughness, and achieve goals on and off the field. With over a decade of coaching experience, Jon delivers practical insights and real-world advice to empower athletes and those who support them. Let's…
Episodes
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#252- Practice This Failure Trick
Baseball confidence and mental performance: former Stanford and Santa Clara coach Jon Karcich shares why one bad rep shouldn’t define your practice. Inspired…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#251- Facing Hell In Sports
In Episode 251 of Success Leaves Clues, learn a simple routine—step away, breathe, pick one cue, and refocus on the next play—to practice responding when…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#250- What I Wish I Knew About Failure as an Athlete
Jon Karcich shares a mental performance lesson for athletes from Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle Is the Way: failure can reveal what to change and how to move…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#249 - Hockey Player In The World Series
Sal Frelick’s journey from Boston College to the Milwaukee Brewers offers a powerful lesson for baseball parents about multi-sport athletes and youth sports…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#248- Xavier Soccer Player's Mindset
Xavier University Division I soccer player Brooklyn O’Brien shares powerful lessons on athlete confidence, affirmations, and identity—and Jon Karcich reflects…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#247- Prove It to Yourself: The Work Doesn’t Change
Jon Karcich breaks down how athletes build confidence through consistent work, whether they’ve earned a college commitment or are still chasing their next…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#246- We Were Bleeding From The Loss
Youth baseball coach Jon Karcich shares how a heartbreaking 14U walk-off loss became a lesson in mental toughness, handling disappointment, and building…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#245- The 14 Year Old Pressure Solution
A 14U baseball player faced a pressure moment and used powerful self-talk—“I’m the man”—to deliver two hard-hit balls when his team needed them most. Jon…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
The Perfect Plan Does Not Exist
Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog, Nike’s origin story, and one spontaneous family decision taught me why action—not a perfect plan—is often the key to finding direction…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#243- The No Regrets Mindset
Alan Waxman, co-founder and CEO of Sixth Street, uses “Face the Tiger” to teach accountability, leadership, and the importance of confronting problems before…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#242- The Mickey Mantle Lesson
Mickey Mantle spent the early years of his New York Yankees career trying to live up to Joe DiMaggio—and then he stopped comparing and started being himself…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#241- What A Champion Taught Me
Oklahoma pitcher and College World Series champion LJ Mercurius shares the mindset that helped him win on college baseball’s biggest stage before being drafted…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#240- Is Winning Enough?
Steph Curry, Kobe Bryant, Roger Federer, and James Dyson all became great while failing—a lot. Winning matters, but real growth comes from learning how to…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#239- Top Prospect's Boring Separator
Stanford freshman Archer Horn turned down the MLB Draft and says one simple thing separated him from other top baseball prospects: building a routine and…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#238- No More “One More”
Athletes love ending practice on the perfect swing, pitch, or rep—but the game doesn’t give you “one more” just because you failed. Jon explains why learning…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#237- Would You Rather?
Would you rather build yourself up or beat yourself up after failure? Jon breaks down four simple choices involving confidence, body language, teammates, and…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#236- Being Successful Is Boring
Every lift, bullpen, swing, meal, recovery day, and good decision is an investment—and over time, those small choices compound into a completely different…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#235- The Gap Is Closer Than You Think
College baseball recruiting and athlete development are about more than velocity, exit velocity, rankings, and performance metrics—the higher you go, the more…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#234- You're Chasing The Wrong Thing
Every athlete wants the next level, but constantly looking ahead can steal your attention from the work that actually gets you there. Jon explains why goals…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#233- How I Got Stronger
Self-talk can build confidence, change your mindset, and ultimately influence how you perform as an athlete. Jon Karcich shares the affirmations he’s using…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#232- Steph Curry’s “Superpower” Lesson Every Athlete Needs
Steph Curry believes he has a superpower—and every athlete should figure out what theirs is. In this episode, Jon Karcich breaks down confidence…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#231- Why You Shouldn't Wait
Taking action is one of the simplest ways athletes can build discipline, better habits, and confidence—and it usually starts with something much smaller than…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#230- Water the Plant: Why Success Takes Longer Than You Think
Delayed gratification, consistency, and the compound effect are what separate athletes who keep growing from athletes who quit too early. Jon Karcich explains…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#229- The 1 Cent Mindset
The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy shows why small daily actions, delayed gratification, and getting 1% better eventually create massive results. Jon explains…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#227- Nico Hoerner: Be the Teammate Everyone Wants
Chicago Cubs infielder Nico Hoerner gave Jon Karcich a perfect example of what great teammates do when Pete Crow-Armstrong delivered a walk-off home run. Jon…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#226- My 5-Year-Old Taught Me This Mental Game Lesson
A simple lesson from my 5-year-old Jeter became one of the best reminders for athletes struggling to move on from mistakes, bad pitches, errors, and…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#225- Showcase Ready Or Wasting Time?
Baseball recruiting isn’t just about working harder, attending more showcases, or going to more college camps—it’s about training with intention. Jon Karcich…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#224- Confidence Isn’t a Feeling...It’s Evidence
Want more confidence as an athlete? Jon Karcich explains why confidence is really self-trust built through preparation, consistency, and keeping the promises…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#223- Comparison Is Stealing Your Focus
Athletes waste too much mental energy worrying about rankings, commitments, opinions, and what everyone else is doing. Jon breaks down how to learn from other…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#222- Your Coach Doesn’t Care About You… He Cares If You Can Win
Your coach doesn’t care if your swing looks perfect, your routine looks different, or your preparation impresses anyone—he cares whether you can help the team…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#221- Your Default Mode Is Costing You
Your response to failure, coaching, bad calls, and adversity reveals your true mindset—and your default mode can either accelerate or sabotage your growth. In…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
220- Pete Crow-Armstrong’s “I Don’t Care” Mindset Is a Superpower
Pete Crow-Armstrong is putting together an MVP-caliber season for the Chicago Cubs, but one of the biggest lessons athletes can take from PCA has nothing to do…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#219- Delusional Confidence
Delusional confidence might be exactly what an overlooked or uncommitted athlete needs during the college baseball recruiting process. Jon Karcich explains why…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#218- Your Brain Doesn’t Hear “DON’T”
Your self-talk matters: Max Bayles, Santa Clara baseball and Minnesota Twins draft pick, learned a simple mental-game lesson—stop telling yourself what not to…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#218 - In a Slump? Stop Trying Harder—Start Smiling
UCSB baseball player Liam Barrett shares the simple mindset shift that helped him regain confidence in the Cape Cod League: smile, appreciate where you are…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#217- Trust, Not Talent, Gets You Paid
College baseball playing time isn’t just about talent—it’s about earning your coach’s trust. Jon Karcich breaks down what Division I baseball players need to…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#216- You’d Give Anything to Strike Out Again
UCSB outfielder Liam Barrett’s Cape Cod League injury offers a powerful lesson on perspective, failure, and why athletes should never take the opportunity to…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#215- The REAL Difference Between Division I and Pro Athletes
What separates Division I athletes from professional athletes? Former Stanford and Santa Clara baseball coach Jon Karcich explains why mental toughness…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#214- Athletes: This Is For You
Jon Karcich explains why “coach watching” can undermine an athlete’s confidence, development, and performance. Featuring advice from UCSB baseball outfielder…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#213- You Belong at the Next Level
Moving from high school to college baseball—or from college to professional baseball—can trigger self-doubt, comparison, and the fear that you don’t belong…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#212- Why Hard Work Isn’t Enough
Training with intention is the difference between simply working hard and becoming bigger, faster, and stronger. Jon Karcich explains how purpose and…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#211- Christian McCaffrey Workout
Inspired by Christian McCaffrey, movement coach Ido Portal, and Ryan Holiday’s Stillness Is the Key, Jon explores why doing nothing may be one of the most…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#210- Oops—Wrong Airport
Former Stanford baseball coach Mark Marquess taught Jon Karcich a timeless high-performance lesson: “Trust, but verify.” After driving to the wrong airport and…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#209- Size Doesn't Matter
Does size really matter in baseball recruiting? Former Stanford and Santa Clara recruiting coordinator Jon Karcich breaks down why production, development, and…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#209- MLB Scouts Watch THIS
MLB scouts already know which prospects can hit, throw, and run—but before the MLB Draft, they’re searching for players who can handle failure, adversity, and…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#208- Slow Lane Is Faster
The fastest path isn't always the best path. Jon shares a powerful freeway analogy that explains why consistency, patience, and trusting the process beat…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#207- Inversion: Think Backwards to Win
Charlie Munger's inversion principle teaches athletes to stop chasing success and start eliminating failure. Learn how thinking backwards can improve your…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#206- Winners Fail More Than Losers Part 2
The greatest performers don’t fear failure—they use it as fuel for growth. Jon explains why responding to mistakes, rather than avoiding them, is the real…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#205- Fail More = Win More
Pete Carroll, John Wooden, and Mike Brown all share one thing in common: failure shaped their greatest success. Learn why reflecting, adapting, and embracing…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#204- The Championship Mindset: One Pitch at a Time
Championship teams don’t complicate pressure—they simplify it. Learn why Oklahoma baseball and Indiana football relied on the same mental approach and how you…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#203- Attention Vs Intention
Working hard is no longer enough—intentional work is what separates great athletes from everyone else. Learn why every rep needs purpose if you want to improve…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#202- How to Build Confidence
Confidence isn’t something you’re born with—it’s built through preparation and trust. In this episode, Jon explains the true meaning of confidence and why…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#201- Mental Shift- 90 vs 10
Why do athletes remember the few mistakes instead of all the things they did well? Jon Karcich shares a simple mindset shift that helps athletes build…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#200- Time To Sharpen Your Tools
The best athletes don’t rely on one strength—they keep sharpening every tool they own. In this episode, Jon explains how long-term development, versatility…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#199- The NCAA’s New 5-for-5 Rule: Don’t Chase the Shortcut
The NCAA’s new 5-for-5 rule has many families searching for an advantage—but the biggest edge isn’t found in a loophole. In this episode, Jon explains why…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#197- How To Play Loose
Why do athletes perform their best when they’re relaxed, present, and trusting their preparation? Jon Karcich explores flow state, breathing, confidence, and…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#196- It’s Not a Big Game. It’s Just Another Game.
College World Series pressure, Kobe Bryant’s mindset, and Ben McDonald’s Omaha story all point to the same lesson: the best performers don’t make moments…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#196- How Michael Jordon Dealt With Pressure
Pressure isn’t something to avoid—it’s proof that the moment matters. Jon Karcich shares a powerful lesson from Michael Jordan and explains how athletes can…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#195- The Injured Advantage
Getting injured doesn’t have to mean falling behind. Learn how mental imagery, visualization, and a powerful mindset can help athletes continue developing even…
- Success Leaves Clues with Jon Karcich
#194- Parents Porch- Why Your Athlete Needs More Failure, More Competition, and More Freedom
Former Division I baseball coach Jon Karcich breaks down why athletes need more failure, more competition, and more athletic freedom if they want to develop…