The No Shot podcast
We talk about sports, true stories, and mental health
The No Shot podcast
Roger Lewis built Raw Diamond Elite to make good players great
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The difference between a rec standout and a college-ready hitter isn’t talent, but perspective? We sit down with Roger Lewis—elite hitting coach and founder of Raw Diamond Elite—to unpack the habits, culture, and movement skills that turn early potential into real performance. Roger’s story begins with strikeouts and a stubborn backyard routine, then arcs into coaching that blends empathy, detail, and a clear path forward for every athlete.
We explore how youth sports have shifted from multi-sport, outdoor play to screen-heavy, single-sport specialization—and how smart coaches can harness technology without letting it hijack attention. Roger lays out his level-setting approach: honest evaluations, one fix at a time, and training a 12-year-old to meet college standards from day one. He focuses on movement over mechanics, pairing strength and conditioning with skill work so hitters can organize their bodies, repeat positions, and self-correct under pressure. Players learn to ask better questions: What did I feel? What can I reset? Where’s the next inch of progress?
The conversation also takes on access and representation. Fields are disappearing, rec ball is thinning, and travel costs are rising. Roger offers practical ways forward—free scrimmage days, school clinics, and role models from the college ranks—so kids can see themselves in the sport and believe they belong at the next level. We ground it all in a durable mindset: moments are fleeting, so execute the pitch in front of you and let it go. That’s how confidence sticks and results stack.
If you care about player development, equity in youth sports, and building athletes who think as well as they swing, this one’s for you. Tap play, subscribe for more stories that elevate the game, and share this episode with a coach or parent who needs a fresh blueprint.
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High-Energy Open And Guest Intro
SPEAKER_05You're listening to the No Shot Podcast, where we discuss sports, true stories, and mental health. Brought to you by True Victory Apparel and Radio Influence. Let's get after it.
SPEAKER_02Welcome back to the No Shot Podcast. We are your hosts, Santa, T Mike, and A Town.
SPEAKER_00It's gonna be a great show.
SPEAKER_01Here we go. Here we go.
SPEAKER_05We're about to have a good day. Okay. Welcome to the No Shot Podcast.
SPEAKER_02We also do ASMR.
SPEAKER_05We're things that we are sometimes. So we are going to introduce you guys today to absolutely amazing guest, and he is massive in the softball world. But before we do that, we gotta give the big shout out to your boy Jay Floyd with radio influences. We got ATF and in the background holding down the dude and we about to do by the flip. To Victory Affairs in beautiful Tampa Bay, Florida. Now that I'm done and I can breathe, we have an amazing special guest. He is known around the Tampa Bay area as one of the most elite hitting instructors in the softball game. He has influences in softball. He has influences in baseball. He has family at the Division I level. He's also an elite coach at the youth level. And today we are going to expound upon his journey, why he chose softball as the route to give people the experience of his excellence. And then from there, we're going to find out what it takes to be an elite coach, especially as an African American in this game. Shout out to the Roger Lewis of E Raw Diamond Elite Softball Club. Woo.
SPEAKER_04Wow. I don't even know if I can match that energy. I was going to say you just told the whole story. Yeah, I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_03Oh, thank you guys for having me.
SPEAKER_05Welcome to the podcast, Roger. Let's go ahead and get the ball going, brother. Start your story from the very beginning.
Roger’s Origin: From Baseball To Softball
SPEAKER_04Oh man, you're talking about from the beginning. All right. So if we're talking about everything in the softball space for me, started with baseball, of course, as it does for most people and transitions when I became a dad. But uh for me, the love of the game came when I was 11 and 12. So it just fested from there. So uh growing up in the Tampa Bay area, I had plenty of examples. You got your usual suspects, the Gary Sheffields, the Doc Goodens. Um, but there were some people who were closer who lived nearby me that had a bigger influence, the Derek Bells, um, the Vance Lovelaces, some of the some that the community would be more familiar with. So I just grew up loving the game and playing in one way or another, and just grew from there. So having a daughter made it easy, and then softball being faster made it even easier. So that's the beginning for me. It just sprouted from a just a little kid playing in the yard.
SPEAKER_05That's absolutely incredible. Now, once again, it all starts with simple beginnings, but there are experiences that are all blended into that. So you're from the Tampa Bay area. What high schools did you attend? What type of coaches did you play for as you were growing up doing what you did in baseball?
Early Coaches, Tough Starts, And Breakthrough
SPEAKER_04Well, I originally started out at Temple Heights, which is no longer there. Uh, it was a smaller private school. My parents wanted to give me that closer interaction. Um, transition from there to King High School. That didn't last long. A few altercations changed my parents' mind about me being there. You know, protect yourself at all times. But um, from there I went to Bayshore, which is funny because I went to Bayshore for basketball. It was a basketball-heavy powerhouse in South Tampa, which you're probably familiar with too, Mike, for that area. Very much. So we were very strong in basketball. Yeah. So a few back-to-back state trips, but my passion was always baseball. So um, along the way, um the biggest influence I had was my little league coach, Coach Ronnie, um, who taught me the game, gave me my first bat, and I carried that through high school. And then my coach in high school, uh, forgive me, such a great influence. I do not remember his name, but he actually was not a baseball coach. The irony of it, he was a um hockey coach to volunteer for the position. Wow. So, but what he did know, yeah, yeah, he knew how to inspire. So I took that from him. He was always empowering people, hey, you know what, you got this game. I mean, he had played, but he had no knowledge of coaching or anything, he just volunteered. So coincidentally, he knew some guys. Um he knew a couple of minor league scouts, um, and a couple of major league scouts. So, what he would do is he would bring them to practice, they would help us a little bit, and then they would disappear for a couple months. But that's how I started my whole baseball journey. So it's kind of a crazy beginning, but I mean, everyone's putting your life for a reason. So I'll say this way I look at it.
SPEAKER_05I'll say this, Raj, because if anybody ever gets to see what he looks like, like Raj is built like an NFL defensive end. I mean, like his frame is huge, he looks incredibly strong and powerful. I'm sure multiple sports were trying to pull you in at the high school level. But once again, I understand a love for baseball, but why stick with baseball when I'm sure you're athletic enough to play all kinds of sports?
SPEAKER_04Oh man. Uh it started with being horrible. Really? Yeah. I mean, if you go if you had your classic um hero story, that's pretty much it is. When I was awful, I mean, I was awful when I was 10 and 11. I don't think out of all my games, I think I may have had one hit within those two years between nine and ten. So that's where it started. So for me, a small, uh kind of like a Pyrrhic victory. Uh, last game of the season, I'm facing the best player in the league. I'm 10. I suck. I had no hits all season. And I have two strikes, and I get a foul ball. So my team is going nuts. Mind you, the score is 11-0. We have no hits. The game is pretty much over. But my team is going nuts. So I'm like, okay, maybe I can really do this. Next pitch comes and then foul ball. So I'm like, all right, so you know, I'm built for this. Okay. Team still cheering, loudest we've been all season, and then the next pitch, I strike out. But it's okay.
SPEAKER_00I was gonna say because he's setting up for something great.
SPEAKER_02Like, I was like, man, the home run's coming.
SPEAKER_04I would love to say that, but that's not how it started. So that fueled me though. So my parents, my parents were for small towns in Alabama, Salem, and um from that area. And they knew nothing about sports. They just put me in sports because I wanted to play. So they had never played sports. So after that experience, I went to the front yard and just practiced. I said, me, myself, and the fence. Throw the ball up, hit it into the fence, back up, throw it into the fence to a certain spot. If I hit that spot, back up, back up. So that transitioned to my love of the game because I practice every single day by myself. So when I speak to girls or even when I was speaking to the guys about how you can find a love for the game and transition yourself based on sheer will, that's all it was for me. So I came back that next year, only struck out twice. I think about like 500, hit like 15 home runs. People thought I was on steroids. That wasn't the case. I just had busted my butt to end the love of the game. So that's how the love stuck with me. I played football, played running back, played linebacker, safety, love hitting people. So, but it all came back to when this baseball starts. I gotta leave here to go play baseball. Or I got when I leave practice or when I leave a game tomorrow, I gotta work on throwing, so I'll be ready for when the baseball season starts. So it was a natural love, and it just came to me and stuck with me. And then just got even more with my son later on down the road. He got into baseball. Wasn't quite the patient coach back then, but who is in the beginning, especially when dealing with your kids. So I learned from those mistakes. Then my daughter came and it was like, okay, well, you have to be a little bit more lenient and softer, or at least a different approach to it. And I grew from there, bro. It was all natural.
SPEAKER_02So you you had mentioned that um, you know, when when you were younger, you were uh throwing the baseball up, hitting it the fence, and you were doing that every day. And you know, at that point you you were working on your coordination and everything. What drove you to have that dedicated dedication?
SPEAKER_04Knowing the history, all right, so we gotta go back. So Belmont Lilly is loaded with MLB players. It's loaded with, like I said, the Gary Sheffields, the Dwight Goodens, the Vance Lovelace. It's loaded with a rich history, even though it doesn't get the attention that it deserves, possibly because of its location. It is in an area that was questionable at the time. But as far as playing the game, people knew you had to get past. I mean, there were certain areas in the city, there was Temple Terrace, um, there was town and country, but everyone knew you had to get past get past Belmont Heights Lowly. The coaches were passionate. We as kids were athletic. Like I said, I was a multi-sport, everyone was. I mean, this is back in the day when there was no internet, there was no sitting in front of the TV or on your phone.
SPEAKER_00Outside all the time.
SPEAKER_04So all the time. All the time. You know, literally the definition of racing the lights home. So and that's just the way it was back then. Yeah. So I mean, today you get you today, you get, you know, a certain amount of phone time, maybe an hour outside. For me, it was 30 minutes of homework, don't tell my mom, and then I'm gone.
unknownAbsolutely.
SPEAKER_00Come after school, throw your bag down and go.
Self-Training, Role Models, And Grit
SPEAKER_04Yeah, that's it. This I mean, write down a couple of lines, see what I did. Yeah, that's all we had. You know, tuck that paper in the back of your bag, and she'll be holding it when you get home. You know how that goes. Yeah, but with a switch. But at least with the with the switch, but yeah. Sometimes sacrifices must be made, right? But I can hit a curveball. There you go, sorry. Yeah. So that's that's really, I mean, with that and having the history, we knew it was possible. So it wasn't just being in the neighborhood, playing with friends, pretending you were being that person. You were pretending you were being someone you'd seen. Because they would come back every now and then. So it was pretending, and Derek Bell, who played in the league for multiple years, uh, long stand with the Houston Astros and so on, his brother was on my team. So it wasn't, it wasn't a far stretch of imagination for us. So the dream was real, and like anything else, if you could touch it, obviously you know you can achieve it. It's a little bit distant now with the state of the league as it is, and I'm sure you guys will probably talk about um the disparity as far as um, well, the disparity as far as the African American, but at back then it was just right there. I mean, everybody on TV was realistic to me. So practicing wasn't a hard thing to do. It was practicing because I need to get like him. It wasn't practicing because one day I'll be. So it's a bigger picture for me. So with that being said, transitioning that and then having some success in the practice made me want to work even harder.
SPEAKER_00But the I I mean, that's the cool thing about it though. But being so young, how did you train yourself to say, you know what, I'm not gonna go play right now. I got things to do to make me better right now. Because that was hard. That was my thing, right? It was come home from school, get ready to go outside, and I'm playing. It's like I love football, but I never practiced it, you know. Like just go out in the back and practice.
SPEAKER_04You were pretty good then, I assume. Because I'm telling you, when I say I suck, I was bad. I listen, I was pretty bad. Yeah, because I started when I was about nine. So when they threw me into the game, it was like, okay, what do I do? So, like I said, Coach Ronnie was a good influence, a great influence, at helping me get the basics of the game and understand, but he didn't have the time for the one-on-one. So being and another thing, too, honestly, I was the only child. So it wasn't a sibling thing, hey, let's go do this, and maybe my sibling wants to do this, and getting distracted about what my older brother does because he's he's further along and mature than me. It was just me. So with my parents not knowing sports and them working a full schedule, my outside time was literally just me. It was years before I got someone in the neighborhood I could play with. And even then, we would get about 20 feet apart with a tennis ball and play who's the better hitter, who's the better pitcher. And that just strengthened it from there. So my experiences all led me, I believe, to it was really my purpose to go through that to get me to the point now where I can influence other people's lives with these young ladies or these young fellas to just give back. Yeah, you may not have the opportunity, yeah, it may not be the same for you to go outside and you may not have the focus that I had, but here's how you find direction. Here's how you can isolate that, and here's the things that you could do to put you in that position. And it's just my way of giving back, and I love it.
unknownSkirt.
SPEAKER_05Speaking about that, giving back, how's the mama game going?
SPEAKER_04It looks like they just scored again. So it looks like 3-0, this should be the last inning. So they're they're away team, so it looks like they're gonna pull it out.
SPEAKER_05Let's so you speak about intrinsic motivation, Raj. I can imagine while you were growing up, that was a thing because a lot more kids were out there being proactive, getting active, connecting in neighborhoods. But this era of kids is a little bit different. Can you expound upon those differences that you've experienced from when you grew up by comparison to how kids are growing up now with sports?
Then vs Now: Kids, Tech, And Training
SPEAKER_04Oh man. Sports these days is a it's a lot more singular. I mean, I can attribute things that I learned in football to my reaction time and my abilities in baseball or softball. I can attribute things in basketball that taught me um or gave me further skills in baseball or even football. And then the whole singular focus now is to isolate on one sport, which isn't a bad thing. I get it. You got competition, you got people out there who have the resources to provide them an upper hand. And you're in a sport, and I say this all the time, and then some people like it, some people don't, but the realism of it is you're in a sport that doesn't require a lot of athletic ability. Athletic ability gives you an edge, but the reality of it is you can train to the details, to the development side of it, and be functional enough to get you to the next level. So having that in this particular sport and people understanding that I can provide those skills to my kid or put them in with a trainer and put them with someone like myself who's gonna give them an edge at how they view the game, um really change things as far as these two sports, baseball and softball, are concerned. Back then, we're on our own. No YouTube, no, no Google, nope, nope, no way to contact a friend, really. No. I mean, no way to get with, and even from the competition side of it, these kids will pick up the phone, DM somebody they seen across town to place on a different team. Hey, you're pretty good, you want to work out together. There was none of that. No, I might see there's a guy who's pretty good on another team. I might see him next month, maybe. So back then, it was our experiences collectively in different sports that pulled us together to give us that athletic ability, and then we learned the pieces of development that we could, um, hopefully from people in the neighborhood or great coaches around us, or the people who wanted to take the time to add to the athletic ability. So now you have people learning fundamentally sound and then trying to get athletic through training with people such as yourself, Jeremiah, and such as other trainers, and trying to learn athleticism and learn body awareness. So it's kind of like a reversal role now, which is fine. I mean, that's the state of the game that we were in, but you you still have to understand that there's a certain amount of athleticism that goes with this game, and those people are gonna catch up or even pass you a little bit faster. But the differences between me going outside and grinding and and you going and taking uh hour session with your trainer, it's different. Like I said, I was there seven days a week. Like that was my hobby. Like I had an I had an Atari, I had the old school Atari where you had the blow on it, you had to push it down. Yeah, I had the old school Atari, never really played it. I mean, the Nintendo came around, Mike Tyson punch out. Okay, I was on it. But I but like everyone else, I'd hit pause, leave the TV on, and go outside and play for a couple hours and hope it's still played when I got back.
SPEAKER_00Because you lose your spot in the game if you turn it off.
SPEAKER_04That's it. That's it. And I'm not starting over because I got past Glass Joe, and then I'm looking to, you know, that was our childhood. So It was it was all predicated about getting better. And we talked to each other. I mean, I'm not gonna say it's a more sensitive, I'm gonna say it's a more emotionally aware generation. So we knew we were gonna get it if we weren't ready. Yeah. John was gonna talk to you if if he struck you out. And then you were gonna talk to John if you if if you hit a double. So all of that made us, it was a tougher, I'm gonna say a tougher generation. Yeah, I am.
SPEAKER_03It was a tougher generation.
SPEAKER_04I was trying to avoid it. You know, you try to be but yeah, it was it was a generation built on doing. So and there was no shortcuts. It was just you had to get out there and do and be the best you can.
SPEAKER_02And in today's society, you know, vi video games like so many kids are are inside and uh playing on a VR or you know what whatever else. And sports and uh training for sports specifically has kind of taken a back seat in a lot of those kids' lives. And how and uh along with social media and everything and all of these distractions, how do you motivate kids to realize all right, the real important things in life is that not what is like online, it's it's what I'm actually doing to create a future for myself.
Culture, Team Trust, And Social Media Use
SPEAKER_04I know with my organization, because it's southern Aces, by the way. Let me go ahead and get that plug in now. Yeah, yeah, shameless too. Yeah, but I know what I the first thing I wanted to do, it was based on um culture. So understanding that this is family, so our job is to communicate with each other. So you have to use social media in its context. So if I'm going to promote, hey, I'm gonna send you guys a video because everyone has a phone, even the 12-year-old. So I'm gonna send you guys a video. Tell me what part of this video pertains to you or how you see yourself in this video. What portions of this video do you feel benefit you? So I know in creating culture with our teams, it's it was a matter of them understanding that the interactions you have with each other are more important. They're a lot more important. Yeah, I saw this video and they did this chair. That's fine, but how can you make that cheer a part of what you guys do? Don't just take the chair. I mean, let's personalize it for who we are. So then don't get me wrong, there are some things in social media and online that make it easier. I mean to communicate videos, break down stuff, let's re-evaluate and let's review how we did base running this weekend. Uh I'm not gonna say that there aren't some benefits to it, but when we sit down and stare at a screen and then lose track and go down the rabbit hole, as you like to call it, of watching videos and not really, not really applying or looking to apply how it benefits us and our day-to-day, that's where it gets lost, to me, in my opinion. So a lot of stuff we do is let's get together and let's talk about our experiences, but let's talk about, let's be honest about how we can help each other and what we could do. And that's with 12-year-olds. So now I would like to think they understand that they can come and any coach knows that at some point or another, you become not only their coach, you become their therapist, you become their um sounding board. And it comes with the title. It's unavoidable because there has to be a certain trust level that they have in you. So building that trust was my priority. I'm not here to scold you, I'm not here to treat you like you're intended either. My whole goal is to set a standard for you, and we're gonna hold to that standard, but along the way, we're gonna find ways of how to interact and learn each other. So we've done a great job of that. Um, myself and my co-head coach, uh Nikki Arvey, we've done a great job of letting the girls be themselves, but understand that there's a certain standard and culture that goes with it, and we need to interact on a personal level. Um, not just text in the group chat, but let's go have a team building. Let's go bowling, let's go to the arcade, even when we're out of town. Let's let's have the mandatory um team dinner, even at this age. Let's walk in together. Let's build this, take those moments away from just running around and hey, I'll meet you at field three. So it's a little bit, it's it's it's difficult. It's it's more difficult now than it was. And I've watched it even with my daughter when she first started, is when it all first started kicking in with the social media craze. So transitioning from just working with her and then using things that I could use to oh, Mamba One, by the way, Mike, I'll throw that in there.
SPEAKER_03I was gonna give you a skirt. Let's go. Congrats, Mamba!
SPEAKER_04Game over. So I'll go talk to them in a minute. But um, but transitioning with my daughter. So there was none of that, but it was it was starting when she when she first started. So she fell in love with the game by watching me. Um, coincidentally, I did completely out of the blue, and then at the time we were up against it. So, but me isolating and spending time with her, and then later, as YouTube became more popular and things got posted, I was able to give her examples of what I was saying. So it adds validation in some state, if you if used correctly, and more or less that's what I use it for. So that's the transition to me from having nothing and having to work to using it constructively to verify and to give a little bit of visual context to what I'm teaching.
Level-Setting And Delayed Gratification
SPEAKER_00Now, how do y'all both like Tranda Mike and you, how do you guys get past that whole instant gratification, right? Because that's what social media does, that's what the phone does. It gives us, hey, we need this, and boom, it gave it to us right then and there. But with working out and and trying to make yourself better and stuff like that, it how do you bring that in? Because it's not gonna be instant, right? It's gonna be months, years of hard work training and stuff like that. How do y'all both get past that instant gratification and be like, let's keep working because you're gonna get better? And once you get to that point, let's keep working because you're gonna get even more better. You want your first mic? You want me?
SPEAKER_05It's your show, Raj. You handle that.
Sponsor Break: True Victory Apparel
SPEAKER_04All right, I got you. Me, I level set, and what I mean by that, uh, and I'll take hitting, for example. Um, I'll go through and evaluate, and this is like a first-time meeting. So I always do an evaluation. Um, I'll go through and evaluate, I'll look at and I'll tell you what you do well. Then I'll tell you what avenues or what opportunities you have within your swing that can make you more efficient or make you better. And then I will tell you the steps that it would take to get there. Not trying to hide anything, not trying to drag this on. So you can ask for more lessons or just uh a money grab or anything of that nature. What I'm trying to do is I'm trying to give you a clear outline of where we're going. So I do that from my first lesson. So whether it be an issue of balance and control, all right, so you have body control, the way you handle your bat, or as simple as how you hold the bat. I'm gonna outline it all. But I'm gonna start with one thing. So I'm gonna tell you this is where we're going. But here's where we're gonna start because you need this in order for us to move forward. And I've been doing that since the beginning. So when I got into this, it was just a few of my daughter's friends, and people would ask, but I would turn them down because I wanted to make sure that I was providing what was needed for each individual person. So I took years just honing the certifications, the seeking out help of people who have been doing it for years from across the nation, from New York to California, some of the better teams across the nation, um, some of the coaches and founders of organizations like um Impact Gold, Georgia Impact, Corona Angels, Badbusters, all staples from the softball side. So I kept pouring into what I was doing. Um, even when COVID hit, I did like 70 hours of Zooms, MLB coaches, um, softball coaches from around the nation, just adding to what I knew and adding to what I can learn to build a foundation. So it wasn't until I felt that that was adequate that I moved on to expanding. So I was blessed enough to have all my girls go to college, all my girls get scholarships and play at some formal level or another, majority D1. And then I was able to take that knowledge that not only did I learn from them, but I continue to grow and then expand from there. So to me, it's levels. If I can show you the levels, and it helps that I have examples now, being that I have girls who are actively playing, but really it was about showing them the progress in steps. I know, Coach Rogers said that if I do this, it's going to work. He's shown me it's gonna work with him. They get in the game, it works. It's not that hard to convince you that the next step works. But me to table set, hey, it may take you a little bit longer to get this next step than it did the last. That's the part that you have to keep in mind that, hey, keep at the work, don't expect perfection. We're seeking to get as close as we can as perfection, but understand nine times out of ten, something's gonna go wrong, even in a even in a good at-bat, even in a great game, there's something that didn't quite work out the way you anticipated, and you have to overcome that.
SPEAKER_05I absolutely love that answer. In fact, my world doubles back into that, but I would say on my end, I work a little bit more in regards to the realm of potential that ultimately puts an athlete in position for an elite hitting coach and instructor like Raj to help them succeed. That's where my perspective comes, and then ultimately I have to convince them that they're capable of being successful with what an elite coach like Roger would ultimately offer them. So they can perform at each level and each step that he progresses for them. And with that in mind, we're gonna move into our sponsor.
unknownLet's go.
SPEAKER_05True victory apparel. If you're not perfect, this is the perfect brand for you. If you've ever struggled, if you've ever failed, if you've ever been the underdog, or if you've ever doubted yourself or been doubted by others, this is the perfect brand for you. If you want to get better, be better, and make our world better, this is the perfect brand for you. Founded by U.S. military veterans and first responders, True Victory is a sportswear and streetwear brand dedicated to building everyday champions on and off the field. We're not simply a company or a cause. Our purpose is to transform lives and elevate humanity through the power and unity of sports, positive stories, and serving others. Our hope is to one day be the world's most trusted, inspirational, and generous friend. We're dedicated to the game, the grind, and the globe. But most importantly, we're dedicated to you. That's what it means to be always true. Go to www.truevictory.com. That is www.truevictory.com to get the dopest, most elite swag on the face of the planet, and Roger Roxas as well. And when you get there, you will use discount code Aaron Solano at checkout. That is A-R-R-O-N-S-O. Thank you to the brand, Jrue Victory Apparel for sponsoring the No Shot Podcast. Send it back, Santa.
Training For College From Day One
SPEAKER_02So, you know, in the college realm, there's a lot, there's a lot of distractions. So there's the maintaining uh the athletic prowess to keep your scholarship. So then maintaining that level of continuity across the school and and game and games, how do you transit how do you help athletes transition into that type of environment from like a like a lower level of game uh play?
SPEAKER_04Well, I know for me, I tell everyone from the beginning, again, level setting, I tell them from the beginning, I have no intent. Let's say if I get a uh 12-year girl, I tell them I have no intent of coaching you like you're a 12-year player. My only intent is to get you prepared for college day one. Pause. That's the first thing I tell them.
SPEAKER_05Skirt, skirt, skirt. Okay. There's there's a reason why I'm stopping you right there, Rach, because I have the exact same philosophy, but the vast majority of the instructors that I've listened to and talked to do not agree. Why is that philosophy so valuable? Because I completely agree with you.
SPEAKER_04You can have intent at being the best 12-year player, but that does that you may be great in your area, but that doesn't mean you're gonna be on a national level. There is a scale of softball as it's grown over the last couple of years in general that's just completely outrageous. I mean, there are some organizations that have 120 teams. So they're established organizations. So I went, matter of fact, I mean, if you want to put it in context, out of the top, let's say the top five organizations, and I'm gonna believe Tampa Mustangs out of it. So let's let's just take the top five. Let's take the Texas Bombers, uh, Impact Gold, Corona Angels, Badbusters, and let's add in another one. Um, whoever. Out of those, out of those four organizations, they're known for producing high-level D1 talent. Like Complete Power 4, um, USA Olympians, they are known for. They've been around for 20 plus years. So they've got a head step on all of us. Now, with that being said, they all have 100 plus teams. So out of those four organizations alone, you're looking at 600 teams across the nation that are being backed by an organization that's known for producing top-tier talent. You want me to teach your kid how to be better at Rek Ball and then get mad at me when or get frustrated with them when they're not performing at a high-level travel level when they happen to run into one of these teams. I can't do that to them. I can't do that to them. Yeah, it goes back to my story with my daughter, um, how we all started. And her whole when I'm well, let me stop. I'll tell you that much. So I'm playing low-pitch softball, which is fun. Just playing it for the friends, bring my daughter along. She's a gymnast, had done some swimming, never touched softball or baseball. She's not. So I'm playing, I hit a home run. I look over there, she's upside down on the swing set. Cool. She's paying me no attention, no big deal. It's slow pitched, she's having a time. She's with she's with my niece, so they're having a time. I mean, it's no big deal. They're they're nigh. Good. Have fun. Then um, I hit it, come up the next back, hit another home run, look over. She's on the swing set again. She's not paying me any attention. But that's fine, at least hit another home run. Nothing to do with me, but you know, egos is men. I'm like, man, yeah, you could at least, you know, hey dad. Great here, you know. Um that's that's what type of bag I'm on at the time. Um but so I get in the car. We're about five minutes in on the way home. We're listening to music, we're just having a good time. Uh she had a good time with playing with her friends, um, and her cousin, cool. She's good. She stops and she says, Hey, I want to hit balls like you. Oh, cool. So you were paying attention. So I was like, All right, fine. I mean, we'll start. And she was like, Yeah, but I really want to play, play. And you mean you want to actually get into the sport? She was like, Yeah. So my first question to my own daughter was, Okay, do you want to play for the fun or do you want to be really good? She paused and she said, I want to be really good. I said, Really good requires me to bring you up to speed on what you on what you need to know to be successful at a high level. She said, Okay, I can do that. So that was nine. She started playing in nine and a half because I couldn't get her in the fall. She got in the spring. She was in travel by the time she was 10. By the time she got to second year 10, she won a national championship with UAASA with us, uh, with the Tampa Mus X. By the time she was 12, she was committed to Florida State.
SPEAKER_00What let's go.
Raw Diamond Elite: Method And Mindset
SPEAKER_04Oh so that journey of taking her through that process and days and the tears, and yeah, I could have done it better. Yeah, I could have been a better dad this day, I could have been a better coach this day, I could have separated the two this day, but that's all a part of my experience and my journey. But for me to hear someone say, have fun, and when you get 16 or 17, then we'll look at recruiting, it's not realistic. It's not late by the it's just not realistic. So for Me, I'm gonna put you in a position with everything I can to pour everything I can into you to give you the same opportunities as if you were my kid. Why would I do less? What are you paying me for if I'm not providing you with every opportunity I can on every avenue I can? So it just makes sense to me, being that I've been through it. Now my niece just went through it and she's at Jacksonville University now. My daughter's at Arizona State. They're racking up my frequent flyer miles, but it's okay. But in other kids across the nation, it's like, all right, so I've been through it, I've done it for the for you guys to have this opportunity. Why would I not do it to someone else's kid? If you're if you're entrusting me and bringing your kid to me, then I'm honored. Now it's my opportunity to imprint and not only to make them softball players, or as I always tell them, my job is to teach you how to handle your emotions and to be better young ladies. And along the way, I'm gonna make you a very good softball player in the process. But they go hand in hand. So I can't short come you because you want to be the best high school player. I'm gonna teach you at an elite level because one day you might change your mind, and then it might be too late if I didn't already prepare you for that opportunity. So that's why I do it. And so I refuse to do anything else, and I do the same thing with with our girls with the Southern Aces. So I don't know why a coach wouldn't want to do the same, but I haven't I've ran into it a couple times myself, but you know, teachers on, it's fine.
SPEAKER_05Well, perspective is absolutely everything. So now that we've dove into what we do as elite coaches, let's talk about raw diamond elite. Obviously, you just mentioned that your niece and your daughter both are playing at a high level, division one, with that perspective, with that understanding of how you help them develop. What type of methods are you utilizing through Raw Diamond Elite to bring up the next generation of hitters?
SPEAKER_04I really stress the mental aspect of it as well. Um with me, it's development over anything. You will win. I mean, you will win as a result of you developing and learning the game and being able to operate that and understanding mentally that my execution will give me by. So when I came up with the name, it was a mix of things. Um at the time, my father had passed, so those were his initials, R D. So I wanted to honor him and and that respect first, and then everybody has a diamond inside of them. So I mean it may be raw, but it's still a diamond. So how can I shape their future in that respect? So the whole name was a part of what I wanted to do. So everything from the development side to um, as we will probably get into our ventures with pulling together the um the athletic side and the training side and understanding how movement comes into play. Because I know with me, and I and I tell my girls all the time, I'm not teaching you how to hit. I'm gonna teach you how to move to put yourself in the best position to hit. There are several factors that come into hitting, but if you're always in a position to get off your best swing, your chances are gonna be higher. So with that in mind, that comes the physical training, it comes the mental training, it comes the understanding. I don't tell a lot, I ask a lot of questions. Hey, how did you feel? Hey, how could that have been better for you? What do you think you miss? Because I'm not gonna be here with all of my clients on a daily basis when they're on their own. They're gonna be to their own devices, whether it be parents telling them, hey, let's go, whether it be a coach who's very vocal, whether they'd be at another tournament altogether, either way, I'm not gonna be there to tell them step by step. But to give them a baseline that they can go back to, don't add and make changes in the middle of your tournament. Reset. Go back to the basics and understand the foundation of what you're successful at. Love it. That's what I build. So if I can build that knowledge in them, then I build an intelligent player who can not only reset, but they can relay that information back to me so we can work on it in our future lessons and so on. So that's really what I'm about. Adding the data analysis side and adding you and bringing on the strength and conditioning and body awareness side as well just pushes things along faster because it is a fast game, it is a strength game. There is someone always working. So that just brings on a different aspect. So when I put the two together, you're more confident in yourself as an individual, as well as you have a better understanding of what you're doing. I'm not just doing what I'm told, I'm doing this because I understand this is better for me and how I function. Not cookie cutter, just providing a solution for the individual for each person as they go. So I like that. For me, that's that's that's the new age of where we're going and how we can implement more of a, I guess you could say, an academy style to give them an upper hand on that perspective.
Access, Cost, And Representation Gaps
SPEAKER_02So I I I had a uh question for you. Um so I know I know in baseball there is a a drop in African American players actually playing the game. Is the same thing happening in softball, uh, specifically within your community, and what are you doing and with uh your your training facility to combat that and get more people interested in this game?
SPEAKER_04Oh man, hit the nail on the head. I mean, yes, there is a large disparity, especially in the African-American community. It's it's not one of back in the day, baseball was an option because you had the parks, you had the little leagues. I am a proponent of travel. I really am. Let the best play the best, still sharpen still. But how it has hurt the wreck side of the game, um, and all due respect, it's people are instantly going to travel who may not necessarily be ready for travel. Copy that. Um and what's happening is is those kids are either I'm not gonna say push to the wayside, but they're pushed to the back of the priority scale. And if I don't have the resources in my community where I can learn more, then they're either gonna fall off altogether, or it's gonna become something where um why should I keep going? Because I'm not really any good anyway, and I don't have any help. I can go play this or I can go do this activity rather than struggling and not getting an opportunity at the travel level. So rec is dying. Um and even my daughter first transition was into rec ball. It gives you a foundation. But in in the communities, especially the one where I grew up in, the only baseball or softball field even close to my community is a kickball field now for the community. So they took one of the baseball fields I grew up with that some of the people who in my neighborhood had really good careers grew up with, is now a volleyball, a beach volleyball. Um I don't even know what they call them. Sats force, I don't even know what they call it. I don't even do beach volleyball. But they they they they literally dug up the field and put down a beach volleyball. So in the community, it's not something that we have, and it doesn't help that there aren't that many to point at. Like I said earlier, I was trying to be Gary Sheffield, I was trying to be Dwight Gooden, etc. If there aren't that many in the league as it is, so it's no longer people from our community be like, okay, I'm trying to be like them, and I don't have the resources, and there's no longer a rec, uh there's no longer a North Seminole where I grew up. There's no longer, there's a Belmont Heights, but it's few and far between. Sometimes I think it's just there for the nostalgia's sake of it, to be honest. So that whole part of it is gone, and it was already tough enough as it is. This is not a cheap sport, especially at the travel level. This is not a cheap sport. And to pay someone to take up for the lack of development you have in your community, that's not cheap either in the current climate. So that's not lost on it. And it's another reason why I pour as much time as I can. If I can give a little bit extra, I do. Um, my whole thought process is to try to go back to the community, but even then, there aren't places to go. So right now I'm looking at camps to hold camps and things of that nature. And I've spoken to other coaches who feel the same way, um, to maybe have free camps, or maybe, hey, just come out and just play, and to bring some of these girls, like my daughter, like my niece, like some other girls that I have across the country, that they can come and see people like us doing and be like, okay, that's cool. Tell me more. I did volunteer camps for um some of the inner city schools, like the Tampa Bay Tech. I did camps for them about a year ago. Um, I did a camp for, I opened it up to King High School, to other schools within the community so they can come because they are a majority African American in those areas. Come play the game. Let me tell you a few of the details. Hey, reach out if you want to know more. Here's my number. Call me if you have questions. Let's get together and maybe two or three of you can get together. Let's have a let's have a hitting session, let's have a fielding session, come with my niece or come with my daughter, and let's talk about how the game could be better for you. So I've started in some ways, but we're so far away as far as African American and having that as a sport that we can go to. That I mean, it's just a small steps. At this point, we got to do whatever we can to reintroduce the sport, let alone teach it at that level, at a travel level.
Community Solutions And Free Play
SPEAKER_05That makes all sense in the world. And ultimately, we can understand no one should be left behind in such an amazing sport like softball. And the more often you look at softball, the higher you go in its rankings, the less you see the African American player. Not to say that they're not there, because right now, if you pay really pay attention to the NCAA, a lot of the more prolific and popular players are tending to be African-American as well. There seem there seems to be a lot more balance at that level. So those girls are being represented a lot more. So the youth, when they do look on TV, can see a Naya, they can see your daughter, they can see your niece, they can see an Ayala Ayala. If I misstated her name, I apologize. But just more of these, more unique-looking athletes that don't all kind of fit one category. And once again, there are special programs, including individuals like yourself, that are trying to draw more diversity into this sport because it's a wonderful game. It just seems like there's some exclusivity going on. So we appreciate the fact that you are in that arena and you are fighting for these young ladies. RBI, Rec Ball, you're right, a lot of these things are being taken away from these communities, and there needs to be a bigger point made on the fact that that's actually happening, and not just letting these girls go to the wayside.
SPEAKER_04I would like to see a program, and I know there's a lot of things in the works and uh trying to build just in the area, but I would like to see a program that organize kind of like a monthly get together for free. Um I don't want to call it a camp, I want to call it like more of like a scrimmage, just uh awareness. Uh I would like to organize a program in that vein so that it can be reintroduced to the youth, the younger kids coming up. Because there's the usual suspects, basketball, there's track, um, what else? There's the cheerleading. There's a few things that automatically, when it comes to African America or ethic in general, it's gravitated to, but I would like to just get together, and that's something I'll get with you later, Mike. We'll we'll talk about it. I know we've had conversations in the past about just giving back in general, but there's some things that we can do to reintroduce the sport, or maybe even just a pop-up to an RBI clinic, like you said, or just showing up to a wreck little league and scheduling some scrimmages and things of that nature.
SPEAKER_00But even like we did it back in the day.
SPEAKER_04It's on my list.
SPEAKER_00Everybody be outside and be like, let's just start a game, let's go.
SPEAKER_04Exactly. And let's mix it up. Yeah, yeah. Let's mix up the teams. Yeah, talk to each other.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, share your experiences. But talk to each other. That's the other thing, right? It's not about texting each other. Now we're here, you're seeing everybody face to face. Let's go play some ball and have some fun.
SPEAKER_02You know, I I think that's what's going to be the difference in impacting the community for this sport particularly. It's people getting out there and making a difference in their community. Everyone wants to talk about, like, ah, you know, kids these days, and you know, complain that thing things aren't the way that they used to be. But then what are you actually doing about it to create a better environment?
SPEAKER_04100%. 100%. And I do and I do want to give a shout out to those out there who are already actively trying to make that happen. I know there are people are. Um, and I know that I'm not necessarily fully aware, um, which is something I'm gonna look to do over this next year. That was on my list of things to do just to be more aware, even if it's just with my own teams. Hey, let's go out and let's practice, let's show these girls. So it's on my list, but there are people out there who are actively, I need to find you. Other coaches need to find you, other organizations need to find you so that we can build on that. But yeah, yeah, in the community, it's it's been dying for a while, but there's a lot of hope there. There's a lot of athleticism. Like I said, athleticism can bridge the gap between the development and the understanding. So, I mean, it can be brought back. We just need to just put forth the effort to do so. So it's kind of like with all these ladies, there's never a lost opportunity. I mean, you don't have to play Power Four. I mean, there's several colleges. There's a college for everyone. It may not be a college that you pointed at when you were young on TV, but there's a college and an opportunity for you to get a high-quality education, grow the game, understand the sport, pass it along so that you can use that in your future. So, yeah, awareness, uh, understanding context and perspective, all of that comes into play. So, trying to teach it all from the bottom up.
Trivia, Banter, And Light Moments
SPEAKER_05So, and that's an amen. And we're capping the episode right there. We're gonna bring Raj back for a second episode to expound upon even more, and with that in mind, it's time for trivia trivia. Trivia yeah, man.
SPEAKER_02All right. Uh first question uh which one of these hitters had the highest batting average at the end of the college softball season last year? Was it A, Jasmine Burns from Ohio State, with um, or was it B, Sophia Knight, Boise State, or was it Taylor Minnick, Indiana?
SPEAKER_05What you got, Raj? Which one had the highest yeah, man?
SPEAKER_04I want to say it was Taylor.
SPEAKER_00A town. I have no idea, but I'm gonna take a while, guess. I'm gonna go with A. For the A town.
SPEAKER_02Alright, Mike.
SPEAKER_05Like, Rogers is savant, so it might be an utter goofball to kind of go against him here. I'm gonna give a I'm gonna give a Taylor too. I'm gonna run with that.
SPEAKER_02Stephanie uh uh Sophia Knight.
SPEAKER_05Sophia Knight!
SPEAKER_02She had 520, Taylor Minnick had 500, and then uh Jasmine Burns had 469. Wait, so A? No, B.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes, I'll be one of them.
SPEAKER_05Do not give him a king.
SPEAKER_02Give him a B. Nothing. Alright, alright, look uh the now the crazy question.
SPEAKER_05Now we got a goofy question, Raj. Just bear with us if we can get through it.
SPEAKER_02Which one of these citrus fruits floats in water after being peeled? Alright, is it A oranges? B lemons, C, limes.
SPEAKER_01Oranges, lemon, limes. Yeah, one of these floats in water. What you got, Rod? I'm gonna go with lime. Limes? Alright, might be. Alright, alright.
SPEAKER_00Oranges just low anyway. I'ma go with B. Lemon, right? I'm going for the lemonade.
SPEAKER_05I'm talking about I'ma go, I'ma go see again. I'ma go lime.
SPEAKER_01Alright, it's B. Lemonade, baby.
SPEAKER_02Because they're so uh they're porous on the outside, there's air pockets. No one cares. Yeah, and then they're too smooth on the outside.
SPEAKER_01Still no one cares. And they're more dense. No one cares again. Now you know. I felt like I lost some credibility in that something.
SPEAKER_04I just feel like Like my whole aura has been diminished by my inability to point out that lemons were so efficient.
Closing Wisdom: Perspective Over Perfection
SPEAKER_05And we're on to Gin Pub, Atown, drop the beat. Bang. General Public. Raj, this question goes back to you, the cap this podcast, which has been an insightful one. When it comes to you teaching young softball players how to change their mindset, when it comes to you taking young softball players and giving them inspiration so they can dig deeper and find out how good they can be at this game, how do you start that process?
SPEAKER_04Building perspective. Everyone tells you to be in the moment, but nobody discusses the fact that moments don't always last. They're fleeting. You don't have to carry it with you. So you're gonna live this moment the best way you can, but you're not gonna take it to the next moment. You can look back later and develop and learn from that moment, but that doesn't mean I need to carry it on the next journey on to the next moment. So if I'm building perspective, I'm building on that pitch. So I you need to learn that you're never gonna be perfect, you're just gonna make the most at that moment that you can of that pitch, and then you'll try to do the same for the next pitch and so on. So yeah, it's just building perspective. The world's not gonna come crashing down and that and not want it back. I promise you. There's not. So once you understand that there will always be another opportunity, then you have a better understanding of how you can grow from grow from the lesson you learned, whether that be a loss, whether that be a win, whether it be a strikeout, whether it be a home run. So that's me.
SPEAKER_05And that's all we need. This has been the no shot podcast, and it has been brought to you by your boy Jay Floyd, Radio Influence, A Town in the background, holding us down with the dings and on the front end. And as always, this podcast has been brought to you by the brand. Yeah, true victory apparel. We got dingers, we got raw diamond elite. Take it out, Santa.
Credits And Listener CTA
SPEAKER_02This has been the No Shot Podcast. Go check out the brand at TrueVictory.com and then go support the cast by rating us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!
