As we walk the basepaths of life, the steps we take with our friends and mentors remain imprinted in the dirt behind us. On my latest podcast, I was joined by John Vodenlich, the lauded UW Whitewater Warhawks Baseball team coach, who's rounding the bases to the National Coaches Hall of Fame. Our conversation, rich with nostalgia from our Racine roots, delved into John's extraordinary career, his embrace of humility in the spotlight, and the steadfast connections that keep our lives intertwined despite the whirlwind of social media and public acclaim.
John cracked open his playbook on leadership, sharing the secret sauce behind fostering a self-motivated team culture and the vital role of intrinsic motivation. We peeled back the layers of what it takes to steer a team to victory and the nuanced art of empathetic decision-making. The journey is not just about scoring runs; it's about the weight of releasing players and guiding them to their next opportunity, all while maintaining the delicate balance between high standards and compassionate leadership.
Our banter rounded third with reflections on chasing purpose in our careers, the importance of rolling with life's curveballs, and the joy found in the intersections of work, family, and personal passions. John's story is a home run of insights on finding equilibrium amidst the demanding schedules that come with coaching and the warmth of having a supportive family cheering you on, both from the stands and at home. Tune in, warm up your heartstrings, and get ready to be inspired by a man whose life lessons extend far beyond the diamond.
As we walk the basepaths of life, the steps we take with our friends and mentors remain imprinted in the dirt behind us. On my latest podcast, I was joined by John Vodenlich, the lauded UW Whitewater Warhawks Baseball team coach, who's rounding the bases to the National Coaches Hall of Fame. Our conversation, rich with nostalgia from our Racine roots, delved into John's extraordinary career, his embrace of humility in the spotlight, and the steadfast connections that keep our lives intertwined despite the whirlwind of social media and public acclaim.
John cracked open his playbook on leadership, sharing the secret sauce behind fostering a self-motivated team culture and the vital role of intrinsic motivation. We peeled back the layers of what it takes to steer a team to victory and the nuanced art of empathetic decision-making. The journey is not just about scoring runs; it's about the weight of releasing players and guiding them to their next opportunity, all while maintaining the delicate balance between high standards and compassionate leadership.
Our banter rounded third with reflections on chasing purpose in our careers, the importance of rolling with life's curveballs, and the joy found in the intersections of work, family, and personal passions. John's story is a home run of insights on finding equilibrium amidst the demanding schedules that come with coaching and the warmth of having a supportive family cheering you on, both from the stands and at home. Tune in, warm up your heartstrings, and get ready to be inspired by a man whose life lessons extend far beyond the diamond.
Hey, welcome. This is Charlie Shaw, aka Little Mel podcast. I'm sitting here with John von Lisch. He's the coach of the whitewater Warhawks Baseball team here on whitewater, wisconsin. Let me tell you a little bit about John. Mr Vaughn, well, coach Vaughn Lisch actually won 700, 700 games in 20 years.
Speaker 2:There might be more now. But it might be more now.
Speaker 1:It might be more now, yeah you have some very impressive accolades here 10-time Wisconsin Intercollegiate Affleck Conference Coach of the Year, 14 conference titles, 6 conference championships. Wow, John man, I was away for a while. I missed all this you did.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's all right, you were doing your thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, right, yes, sir. Regional Coach of the Year six times. What else is it? National Coach of the Year and honors in 2005, 2014. That's when you won, when you guys won the championship here, right, exactly. Well, I came home to visit John and I grew up together in Racine, wisconsin. I think we've known each other since before we were teenagers Baseball, basketball, that was.
Speaker 2:RYS yeah.
Speaker 1:RYS yeah, he played mainly on Tony's team, always played with the Sertiman squad. Yeah, exactly right, yeah. And then we we broke loose in middle school and then caught back up in high school where we all played football together. John, you didn't mess with track too much, you was baseball.
Speaker 2:I was fall football and hockey. You played hockey in the winter, your first two years of high school.
Speaker 1:Did you play all through high school?
Speaker 2:No, then my exactly first two years I played hockey in the winter and then after that just football and baseball.
Speaker 1:Right, you concentrated on football and baseball and then John was actually our quarterback, ran Wishbone for, yeah, for Coach Vite's team. We rest in peace, coach Vite. We actually Coach Champions our senior year. Yeah, I played defense, defensive line and they wanted me to play offense, but I didn't want any of that Offensive line. But we had a good time, grew up together. We always stayed in touch over the years and I'm very proud that he's been a very good friend over the years.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a pleasure yeah.
Speaker 1:John, I want to thank you for letting me interview you. I came into town and, john, it's ironic how I planned this trip at the last minute and you call me like two days before, and I was like damn, there's no phone tap.
Speaker 1:There's no, because this guy knew exactly what I was going to be coming into town. But anyway, I'm glad that we got to hook up and see one another. We're always going to be friends. Good to see you. So I asked John, will you take the time out to let me interview him? I just recently retired and I'm trying to make this podcast a nice little hobby, something to do, keep myself busy over time. So John was nice enough to let me come up and see his facilities beautiful facilities. He put in a lot of work. I followed him online and watched his growth as a coach, as a man, over the years and I'm very proud to be associated with a person like John. So I said, john, I started up this podcast and what better way is to interview you and get into it where you just got inducted? Well, you're going to get inducted into the National Coaches Hall of Fame in Dallas, texas, next week, correct, yeah.
Speaker 2:Congratulations. Thanks, man, I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 1:It's going to be good, but you also are in the Racine Athletic Hall of Fame. You're in the State Hall of Fame. What's going on, man?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's good things, man. It was all good man. Yeah, you know, I think if you do something that you're passionate about and you do it long enough and you do it well enough, people end up noticing, and I think that's what's happened. So, yeah, I'm very proud of that.
Speaker 1:We went out the other night you myself, because of Tony Shaw and Oker, and these are all you know. We all grew up together and we were sitting back talking and one of the things that we talked about was staying humble. Yeah, how do you stay humble, man, doing the things that you've done over the years? Being a man you're, you know well, you know how I mean and growing young men.
Speaker 2:I think that has changed. I think, with the dawn of social media, so many people want to be out there and feel like they're special and in their way of feeling special is to see how many likes they can get. You know, go on social media. So you know, humility is just not something that's not taught much anymore. I mean, of course, when we grew up, that was a staple right Humble and kind, and you could be confident, but at least you had to act humble, right. I think that's changed, you know. I mean, you see, you know, at our level, dion Sanders was a guy right. We grew up with Dion Sanders and he was one of the first guys that was so boastful that probably in initial phases we were pretty disgusted about I mean, there was better players, whether it's Bo Jackson, or Tony Gwynn or right.
Speaker 2:And it was cooler to be humble. Of course that's changed, man. You know he goes to Colorado and he's saying we coming. So you know. So, as far as I'm concerned, things have changed. There's a number of reasons why it's changed, but you know that's how we grew up, right? Your mom wouldn't allow you to talk big and act big. She would explain to you really quickly, right, real quick.
Speaker 1:yeah, no, I come from a family. I would explain it to you. Right, right, yeah. So that's how it was. We were talking about that. You know I was expressing to you. I was like man, stop, people know I'm retired, let's not talk about that anymore.
Speaker 2:Let's not talk about what you're doing. We're proud of you, man.
Speaker 1:Well, I appreciate it, but I like to fly underneath the radar. I know you do, I know you do, but one of the things that I wanted to talk to you about was your leadership. I'm very impressed with it. You gave me a tour of your facilities. I see trophies everywhere, yeah, yeah. And coming from where I came from, I was a supervisor in my professional law enforcement and I prided myself on trying to leave my men from the front, not from the back right, men, and women.
Speaker 1:I apologize. I went at men and women from the front, not the back, and I always kept my. We had two years one of them. I always kept my years old and listen to what they had to say. How to be a better leader and then speak when it's time to speak. I got a few questions I want to ask you. Yeah, Along those lines of being a leader, your leadership styles, your experiences, your approach to motivating, inspiring and empowering coaches, players family and friends, First question what motivates you to become a baseball coach at the collegiate level?
Speaker 2:So growing up, as you know, we all were involved in athletics and so I knew at a very young age that I loved sports and I happened to be okay in it. So I was feeling good about who I was as a person because I was doing well on the field and I was passionate about I enjoy going to it. I don't ever remember having to get drug to a practice. I remember wanting to go there. So I've always been a part of that and I knew I was pretty good at it.
Speaker 2:And then I think, with many coaches, what happens? You realize you can't play anymore, right, you don't have the ability or the opportunity to play anymore. And so when that day came you know it's a gut check you got to figure out all right, what are you going to do with this passion? And for me, the logical extension of that would be coaching. Right, when you're done playing, you can't play anymore, but you still want to. You still are passionate about the game and athletics. How do you stay involved in that? And for me, the logical piece was just to get into coaching. You're all American here right.
Speaker 1:You're also a player here right and then you graduated, went overseas and you played. In what countries?
Speaker 2:Slovenia, netherlands and Italy, and you know baseball was not big back then, right, yeah, there anyway, and I feel like I was the Barry Bonds of, you know, european baseball. They treated me very, very well and I developed some lifelong friends and I think that's the bigger piece, because it didn't lead me or keep me playing. It led me to coaching, which, you know, in the first stages of coaching, it's not a replacement, no, you know, getting ready on that Friday night lights, coaching is not a replacement to how you fell, getting ready for the game right that night. So I was a little disappointed with the coaching profession, at least based on how I was feeling about it, right, because it wasn't making me completely full. But as you get older and wiser and you have more time, I think you realize the importance of coaching, right, and you look back at all the people that influenced our lives, mm-hmm, yeah, so it became a more important thing to me as I got older.
Speaker 1:I think where we grew up, it was a village. Yeah, no doubt, no doubt, it was a village, and it wasn't just one demographic. We grew up with many leaders, both positive and negative, and we were able to identify who to follow, who to take advice from and carry on with life. So what role do you believe motivation plays in effective leadership?
Speaker 2:Yes, I think, first of all, like the idea of motivating someone to greatness, I think, is kind of not my cup of tea. That's not what I think happens. What I think happens is high performers are intrinsically motivated. They're motivated from within. Right, for example yeah Right Otani, who's one of the best baseball players, just signed for 700 million 700 million is a lot of money.
Speaker 1:That's crazy.
Speaker 2:But he's not going to go about his business any different now that he has 700 million. He's not motivated by 700 million. 700 million came to him because of his performance level. That was the reward. That was the reward, and I don't think money necessarily motivates you on a day in and day out basis, and I don't think some ra ra speech motivates you.
Speaker 2:So we're always looking for internally motivated individuals to be a part of our organization, and what I think you really want is you want to build a team that has a lot of them, and when you have a lot of those guys that are motivated from within not on these other things you end up learning from each other and playing from each other, and I think we had that already. I mean, you know that, we know and had to motivate us to go out there on a Friday night. So I don't like the idea that we have to. We're going to give them a ra ra speech like in the movies, because we know that those types of speeches do work, but they last a short period of time so then the question becomes is what are we going to do on day two, day three, day four, day 1,000?
Speaker 2:And so I do think one of the things we can do is we can provide the right culture, the right environment for them, and then you put a lot of high performing individuals together and good things are going to happen. So that's how you cultivate that environment. I think it starts with the people. I think somewhere along the line we forgot that. At the core of every organization, at the core of every team, every business, our people. And you can't replace everybody. You know you need good people, and so for me, it starts with the product we get, which is a high quality student athlete. Our job is to retain them and then develop them right, recruit them, retain them and then develop them. And I think, if that's your mentality, there is a lot of growth that happens once they get there. But you got to start with a good product. You can't take someone who doesn't want to do anything and somehow give them a speech and then he's going to be all right. No, that's not going to work, yeah.
Speaker 1:No, that's the same with my profession. You motivate them so much, but they got to pick it up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:No doubt. So what methods do you use to communicate? And you know your shared vision and your goals that you want each individual to, and I think that's a key.
Speaker 2:I think the key, the number one job of a leader, is to create vision, right, right, and I certainly have had that here, and that was something that I only shared with Coach Miller, who was in this with me for many, many years, and we talked about where do we want to see this place in five years, 10 years, 20 years down the line? What do we see? And I think that's our job when a student athlete comes here or someone, an employee, comes to your business, your job is to create a vision as to what we do and where we're going to be five years, 10 years, 20 years down the line. And then, ultimately, the next step is what is your role in that vision? So, what are you going to do with that vision? How is that going to help you personally to see my vision? And so I do think, from a leadership standpoint, our number one job is to create that vision. And then the next thing becomes how do we create the journey to make that vision happen?
Speaker 1:The path, yeah, the path, that's right, you speak a lot about Coach Miller, which field?
Speaker 2:is also named after him. Yeah, correct? So, he was a valuable point. Yeah, in the older I got, the more I understood him.
Speaker 1:It's funny how you got to get older to understand why they stressed us out, why they pushed us, why they sent us certain messages that we didn't understand at the time. But as you grow you start realizing hey, they were green.
Speaker 2:You didn't even know it, and that's why, when you look at leadership and what we're trying to do, is it also one of the most important things you have to have is trust. The old John Wooden saying is that it's more about the Joes as opposed to the X's and O's, or I think it might be the reverse it's not about the X's and O's, but it's about the Joes. So, ultimately, I think they have to know that you care about them before they're going to follow your vision, and I think that's harder than ever today. I think we just kind of understood it, man. I mean you looked at me and said, hey, do you trust him? You think what he's doing, what he's telling us, is good? And I said yeah. And then I asked you and we believed in it, and I think so. You do need that vision, you do need to work on the path, but then you're not going to follow someone you don't trust Never have. So I do think that has something to do with it as well.
Speaker 1:Oh, that segue right into the next portion. What barriers have you found or experience that made you think, man, is this right for me or should I go a different direction? Or was there any barriers that came your way?
Speaker 2:Well, certainly in the initial phases I never thought I could do it, I could make a career out of this. There was not a lot of coaching jobs out there. If you're getting one, you weren't making a lot and I had no desire to live in poverty. So it's like how do I make this happen? So in the initial phases, the lack of positions in the industry was a big issue. Football led the way, followed by basketball, and baseball was late to the party man. We didn't have a lot of full-time positions where you could make a living, so that was a barrier early. So getting that opportunity and I think a lot of young men and women don't understand I may have sent out 300 resumes or more and got denied.
Speaker 2:I remember being a finalist in a job in Australia when I was young and I thought I was going there, I was getting ready to drink some Fosters and I was excited and we're going to listen to men at work and whatever I thought it meant to be in Australia. I was going to do that. But what ended up happening? Of course, you get a lot of denials and I think people have changed. So then the other obstacle, I think is individuals have changed over the last 30 years and that's not me being an old guy who's complaining. They've changed for the better in many areas, but I think they are not as resilient as they once were.
Speaker 2:So how do you motivate someone who you know wants to go in the right direction but probably hasn't taken the hits? We have moving up? So we have to continue to encourage them. And how we encourage them, I think, has changed a little bit. No one wants to wait anymore. They don't want to develop Instant gratification, right, they want to know. That's what it is. You want to know. Yeah, they want to know. And if you're looking at what's happening in the industry, the transfer portal is the greatest example of that.
Speaker 1:I was going to ask you about that Right.
Speaker 2:If you don't like where it is, just leave.
Speaker 1:And the tough thing for me, I'm You're affected by that as the CEO of your baseball team.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I'm impacted for it, but I also have an issue with it, because how are we raising these young men and women? I mean, at the end of the day, if you're going to bail the first time, it gets tough. Well, I don't know. I don't want a friend like that, I don't want a wife like that and I don't want a teammate like that. So, at the end of the day, you always have to watch out what's happening, and one of the other obstacles has just changed Right. As we get older, there's things that change and you've got to adapt or die. So those are just a couple of the things that have been challenging.
Speaker 1:How do you challenge your coaches? Because I know your leadership skills, but how are you challenging your coaches? Well, I'm actually going into this here. What?
Speaker 2:are you once again creating a vision and them understanding a clear path or a clear understanding of what you're looking for? And for me there's three things, three priorities I have with my coaches. Number one is loyalty. Your job is to help our program, not to help yourself. If you help our program and you help me and you help the players, then you're gonna be alright. Number two work ethic.
Speaker 2:There's not enough talking about that anymore, man. I mean, no one wants to go work for ten dollars, so you gotta work at it. And then finally, then, and only then, is the technical skills. So you know, I don't know what you did, you know in your career, charlie, I definitely don't understand your career law enforcement but certainly there's gotta be some loyalty, there has to be a work ethic and then after that, at a minimum, you have to understand what you're doing, right, you can't, you can't not understand it. But I don't know if knowledge comes in front of loyalty and hard work, because for me those are the things that make all people great. Is there ability to be loyal to someone, and then and then, obviously, the work ethic they put forth in their craft.
Speaker 1:I think it goes back to setting a vision, setting an expectation, announcing that right off the front. And if you buy, if they buy in, if they buy into it, I don't think that they're having issues. But you, you can identify that within first five minutes of talking to somebody, whether or not it's about them or is it about the team. I experienced that, I know about that and I think that a lot of times it's the instant gratification where people are lost at. I haven't came up with the formula of that.
Speaker 1:No, none of us have I think that folks are built different now. I don't know if it's the internet or what. I don't want to sound too old, but I think that everybody wants it right now. You have to, you have to grow, you have to grow. You know you. You're laying there as a child, as a baby. You lay there, you crawl, you walk, then you run. You have to go through the process. So pretty much the answer to the next question is how do you promote culture, continuous motivation, high performance with your team, especially during difficult times? Now, john, this is what I want to ask you. I've been in sports. I know you're going to have to cut people. Yeah, it's tough, it is. Do you have empathy, empathy?
Speaker 2:Which one is it? Empathy, yeah, yeah, I mean, you know, growing up like we did it never makes you right, it never makes you perfect, but I do think you have to see the struggles of others to understand them. I don't know you have to always go through exactly what they went through, but you definitely have to have that empathy and know what they're going through. And so for me, I think I think if you lead that, as if you use that as your only guiding light, is, treat people like you want to be treated. Try to feel how they would, how you would be feeling if you're in that situation, you can't help but feel for someone that you're going to have to let go.
Speaker 2:And you know, unfortunately we're not in the industry of of mediocrity and we're not trying to maintain a lot of people we want. We want the elite players, that that can win us games, and and so from that standpoint, it's very, very cut and dry and it's the worst part of my job Having to make those decisions. I wouldn't want to make those decisions, but you do try to do right by them, right? So if they're not going to be good enough to play in your program, you try to find them a place that they can be successful in. And that may hurt you in the short term because they might go to another program and beat you, but in the long term, ultimately they understand that you're upstanding and you're fair and you're trustworthy and that's going to play, I think, long term. And ultimately we got to live with ourselves. They don't. So if you can't be OK with the decisions you make and why you made them, then you're going to struggle long term.
Speaker 1:We talked about that we're not going to name off our folks from back in the day, but you had to redirect that person's nephew to another team.
Speaker 2:Yeah, correct, correct. That happens a lot where people are interested in coming to a program and you just don't think that's going to be the right fit. If it's not good for your son, then it's not good for them. If you would say, god, this is not a great situation for my son or daughter, then it's probably not a great decision for them and you really like that person.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, all kinds of.
Speaker 2:It happens often where people call us my friends, former players, our teammates, people that we grow up with. It's happened multiple times in my life and they'd love an opportunity to come play here or somewhere else and it's just not the right fit for us and it's a tough thing. But, like I said, at the end of the day I got to live with me and I know I wouldn't live very well if I lied to them and told them what they wanted to hear.
Speaker 1:I'm not in the business of that I know you're not. I've known you a long time. You're not in the business of that, you're going to tell a person what they need to know to get to the next. If they can't take the path that they think that they can take, you're going to help them with another path.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, and I may not do the hard lifting for them, but certainly I can be a part of pushing them in that direction.
Speaker 1:So what advice would you give to aspiring leaders who seek to motivate and inspire those that lead?
Speaker 2:Well, a couple of quick career things that I think are important. Number one do what you love and do what you're good at. Those two things matter. And then finally, do whatever you can in the process to develop the skillset you need. And the old thing back when we were in school, it was Stephen Covey and the habits of highly successful people, but whatever, it's changed a little bit, but it's all been regurgitated as well.
Speaker 2:But the bottom line is, your job is to do something you love, do something you're good at, and then develop the skills you need to do better at it. So never feel like work Right and then you're not going to work a day in your life. So for me, you've got to find those things. And I think the other thing that young men and women that want to be leaders have to understand that you've got to do some things you don't want to do until you get a chance to do what you love, to do Right. Right, it's not as simple as oh, I want to be a coach now, and so that's all I want to do. You might have to do something else to make ends meet, and if you're going to do something else, then do it well.
Speaker 1:I folks that know me know that I like to say this when things are getting hard or the path that you're trying to take is not a direct path, I've always told people sometimes you just got to get uncomfortable, to get comfortable.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure, you have to get uncomfortable to get comfortable. And there's nothing wrong with being uncomfortable with Bill's character.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, you bet, you bet, you get better, you get used to it.
Speaker 1:John, I personally think that you're the hardest working coach in the industry. Doing my research on you, knowing what you've done over the years, asking people about, it's like damn John, really doing this thing out here. Huh yeah, I always thought that you were going to try to go to the. You know, try to coach at the professional level, but you really enjoy grooming at this level?
Speaker 2:huh, I do, I do. And once again, you know it's a whole other level when you look at what they're doing at the pro level. Man, I have so much regard for pro coaches because they're working with elite players and they're coaching at elite level, putting money in the game, a lot of money in what we do. I struggle with.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:I'm where I'm supposed to be, you know, I'm where I'm supposed to be. I like the fact that most of our athletes, they're going to be paying for their education Right, or at least a good portion of it, right? No one we have has signed a $700 million contract. So not only are we getting them to the next stage of their life, but then we're seeing them be very, very successful in that stage, and that makes me proud, you know, and ultimately, I feel our role in any organization, and certainly in what we're doing here, is I want them to know that 20 years, 25 years away from now, they got a place to call home. Right, we're going to still be here. I mean, our relationship wouldn't be what it is if it was not for the time we spent together on the football field right, so not just on the football field, off the football field.
Speaker 2:Correct yeah.
Speaker 1:Checking on each other, making sure each other's right. You know we have some breaks in time. But of course we always was able to catch back up, like right where we left off at. You know, and that's something to be said, you know, I appreciate you being a friend man.
Speaker 2:Well, I appreciate you being a friend man. You know that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no we're done with that. All right, I'm not talking to Coach Von Lidgett right now. All right, I'm talking to JV John. How do you balance all this and continue to love the game while enjoying your Fruity labor?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think that balance is a tough thing to do. I think you catch it later in life because you think you're going to live forever. Certainly, we get plenty of reminders in our life. We spoke on this last couple months. So-and-so calls you and they got cancer. This person calls you and they're struggling with this. They have a young daughter that's not doing well. So you know and I'm not a religious person but someone's showing us a lot of signs why we shouldn't take life for granted. They do that on a daily basis. Those reminders we get are impactful and you want to always keep that in mind as you make a decision.
Speaker 2:Now, in my case, I'm so fortunate. I got a great wife. I got a great family that loves what we do here. My son was our Batboy from zero to age until he got to high school. Then he couldn't do that anymore because he had his own sport. Yeah, there's nothing going on.
Speaker 2:So for me, it's a part of who we are and that makes things easier to maintain that balance. I'm going to be going down to Dallas, as you know, for that Hall of Fame induction, and whether I was going for that or not, a good portion of my family probably would be going with me, right, because it's something we do for our program together. So spring training, same thing. When I go to spring training, there's a good chance that part or all of my family will be with us. So I think, anytime your position allows you to include your family in your endeavors no-transcript. It makes that balance a little easier. Now, being an MP or US Marshall, I don't know when to take your daughter to work to his, but it becomes a little bit more difficult for you. But for me, man, we're playing games and it's fun to have the family around.
Speaker 1:No, I didn't have that luxury to take them to work with me, but I did do a few of those bring your dick to school for Career Day. The one thing that I'll always remember is my daughter, samantha, who introduced me while I was working at the field. She said like to introduce you my dick. He's a crime fighter. I was like, oh, oh yeah, crime fighter. I felt like putting my cape on. Then I got to work and got the reality of it. So tell us some things. We got a few more minutes. I know a few things about us, but outside of coaching, what do you like to do?
Speaker 2:I love traveling, I love traveling, I love, I love. I mean, europe is my place where I feel most comfortable.
Speaker 1:I know that you're yeah all over. Seoul, yugoslavia, but that country is not there anymore, correct?
Speaker 2:I feel most comfortable in Yugoslavia, which is no longer there, but I have great friends in Serbia, croatia and Slovenia. My family, as you know, is from former Yugoslavia. My father was born from a Serbian father and a Slovenian mother and my mom was 100% Croatian. So growing up we had people and friends from all of the former states in Yugoslavia and of course, later they broke up. All the states broke up and there was some ethnic strife and things of that nature, and once again it was both that and living in Racine gave me a whole different perspective, because I don't remember not liking too many people.
Speaker 2:Whether they were black or white, or from Serbia or Croatia or Slovenia, or from Mexico. I don't ever remember my parents saying to me wow, we're not going to hang out with them because they're Serbian. Never once did that happen in my life.
Speaker 2:It was cool, and so I feel at home in all those areas and I have great friends there that I really enjoy, and so I guess my hobby is traveling. I like traveling the world and really what I love, and that's not only in Europe, but when I'm down in Texas, texas is different, yeah, texas, florida is different.
Speaker 2:Florida is different. So I really enjoy the differences more than I loathe them. I mean I really enjoy seeing the things that are different. I mean figuring out that in Florida it's a public's right Instead of Sendix I got to go to public's Sendix. Sendix is in my area now.
Speaker 1:Pick a save and Sendix. Well, we got Pigley, Wiggly and I save a lot. That's the only thing I recognize from home down there in Florida. But Pollux is my spouse, Pollux is where my daughter works. Yeah, so you said that's so awesome and you can't say anything bad about Pollux.
Speaker 2:Tell her.
Speaker 1:I'm coming over to get a discount. She won't give me a discount. You think she's going to give you one.
Speaker 2:But no man. If I have a hobby, I guess it's traveling. I enjoy meeting people from all over and you realize that there's so many great people in this world, right, and we usually we emphasize and display differences more than we do commonalities, right, and I think that causes a lot of problems both politically and otherwise. Man, there's good people everywhere.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, oh yeah. We just need to stop playing games with people's lives.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's for another day. Yeah, yeah, we'll talk about that later. That's for another day.
Speaker 1:So there's something that you brought up that I forgot. What's this thing that? Okay, I remember all burning back show. What was it, Mr 3000?
Speaker 2:Mr 3000 was the movie.
Speaker 1:So, oh, john, here has a union car right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, I had it for one year. One year, I didn't renew it. You didn't renew it, no.
Speaker 1:Would you go back to Phil? Is that something that you're thinking about doing when you retire?
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, I would love to do it, but the reality of it is I'm not very good at it. It was a moment in my life and it was a cool thing and of course it was how it all started was I came home and they were doing these. A lot of, a lot of the news agencies were were trying to promote an interview. To come down to Miller Park down in Milwaukee and come try out. If you think you're a baseball guy, come on, try out. And I had no desire to do this.
Speaker 2:There was a line of 2000 people. I said I'm not going and sitting in this line. And I got home and my wife had convinced my daughter that this is this is right on my alley, right? I mean, I'm a baseball guy, so I should go to this thing. And so I did it for my daughter. I said, all right, I'm going to go down there, I'm going to stand in this line, and it was the funniest thing ever, because you're standing in line and the dude next to you has shorts and a tank top on says Magic Johnson. Right, he had never. I know he never played baseball, but but he's in his gear, he's in a.
Speaker 2:You saw as the people yeah, the other, the other guy, you know he played maybe one year baseball ever, and so, fortunately for me, after I waited in that long line, I got to the front and and the coach at UWM right was was a consultant on that project, right. And once again, what were they looking for? Baseball, people, baseball, right, it's a baseball film, and when he saw me he's like, oh yeah, he's in. So then, after that happened, I had to go through the the process of getting a speaking part right, which, of course, I did so well at it that they cut it okay.
Speaker 1:So so let's just be straight.
Speaker 2:I did it so well you know for that one day I said I was a union actor for one day, for one day one day they set up the scene, I did my line and and then they cut it all right, but but you, you were actually on film catching it oh, quite a bit. Yeah, yeah, but that was a separate piece that was cut.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was on the set probably every day. Bernie Mack was an awesome, awesome individual to everybody. Man, yeah, yeah, um only love for him. He, he, uh, he would come on set and he would give me a hug every day now that that was loosely based off of all, what?
Speaker 1:what real life ball player? Yeah, it was like he had 2,999 hits and he was called Mr 3000 because he was struggling to get that last hit.
Speaker 2:Yeah so what happened is a that he already was inducted into Hall of Fame. He was going into Hall of Fame. They found out that they miscalculated how many hits.
Speaker 1:He didn't have 3000 he had to go back.
Speaker 2:Now he's already old and he has to come back and try to get three more hits that's a good storyline, man, good storyline yeah, good story.
Speaker 2:A lot of great actors in that that movie, and it was fun to watch how they put something like that together. Uh, there's a home run in in in that, in that, where Bernie Mack has to hit a home run off us and uh, and they wanted a real guy pitching. So Doug Henry, who played for the Brewers right, was the pitcher. I was a catcher and you know, and of course Bernie wasn't a baseball player, but he had been working on it to try to make it look right look real look real.
Speaker 2:And so there's a scene in the movie where he hits a home run and in the reality of it is he. He barely hit it over the second base.
Speaker 1:Okay but in the movie it looked like he hit a bomb yeah, so so it was great to see how all that gets put together.
Speaker 2:Um, the director on the film also very good to everybody was the guy who did whiplash, okay, um, he also did a drum line, drum line drum line okay drum line. Yeah, um, and he, he directed everyone very, very well. He was a very good person and and, um, yeah, you know it was okay, it was good. I think my last residual check was like 68 cents, so I knew not much was coming after that.
Speaker 1:So hey, well, look, man, a lot of us would like to be in film, but you actually did.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was good yeah a lot, a lot, a lot of go out there go out on on netflix and rent it, so I can. There you go, he's all right, folks.
Speaker 1:You heard that you want to go out, check out all mr 3000 so they could get. Uh, get another check. That's right, that's right, all right. Well, I'm gonna wrap up. Is there anything you want to ask me? Is there anything that you want to? You know, say I want to congratulate you again for getting into a national hall of fame. Thank you. Thank you, dallas. If anybody's in Dallas area that may view where I'm listening to show, if you, if you see John or you want to send them a card or something, the folks that we um grew up with um, right here, white water, um at uwwedu or uwwsportscom.
Speaker 2:There you go. All right now you'll find me pretty quick there. No man, it's a pleasure to see you, charlie man, you're doing so well and uh, you know, I was surprised to hear you don't know the show Reacher. There you go. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:I'll watch cop shows with you.
Speaker 2:He's your original Reacher.
Speaker 1:He's your original Reacher man yeah, just I'm just a regular all civil servant. For what was a regular civil servant for the, for the country and I enjoyed my. I enjoyed my work and I'm glad that I'm up right and standing and made it to where where I'm at now yeah, getting ready to venture off into something new, yeah and if you have time, I love you and meet the team oh definitely won't benefit by meeting you man.
Speaker 1:All right, let's do that, all right hey folks, thank you again, um, like thank john, one more time for coming on my show, and I hope that we'd be able to do this again, maybe after um, after the season, because you're gonna win another championship this year. Right, that's the plan. There you go, bro, let's go do it all. Right, man, take care.