MLB TV Woes And 9u Player Rankings?

The Super Bowl fizzled, the commercials tried to save it, and we left asking a bigger question: what actually makes sports worth our time? We start with brutal honesty about a flat NFL season, then pivot to what keeps fans and players hooked—craft, clarity, and habits that win when the lights are off. That thread runs through everything we cover: a shoutout to Noah Delgado’s first college homer, a fitness check-in that turns into injury-prevention talk, and a full-on takedown of “9U players to watch” lists that turn kids into clickbait.

From there, we wade into the swamp of TV rights. MLB blackouts, local network silos, and double paywalls squeeze casual fans right out of the game. We talk practical workarounds, why radio still slaps, and what leagues could do tomorrow to make baseball easy to love again. Access matters. If you want to grow a sport, stop hiding it.

Then we get hands-on. We lay out calm, clear tryout advice for freshmen—run hard, hit the back net, throw strikes, make the routine play—and share the mindset that steadies a high school season. For parents and players stressing about recruiting and rankings, we offer a saner path: control your daily inputs, ignore the noise, and trust that the right fit finds the right work. Finally, we break down our lesson approach. Don’t buy the resume; buy the teacher. Great coaching is cue-driven, age-aware, and built on feel so athletes can self-correct in real time.

If you’re tired of hype cycles, youth clout posts, and paywalls between you and the game, this conversation will feel like a deep breath. Tap play, send it to a teammate or parent who needs perspective, and subscribe so you never miss our next honest look at sports, development, and how to actually get better.

Transcript

Cold Open And Banter

SPEAKER_06 0:00

Hey, thanks for listening. We really appreciate it. You're expecting me to go into this long monologue of this and that? I'm not. Here we go.

SPEAKER_07 0:13

Welcome to the Good Man Show with Bruce Aus and Lord Puck.

SPEAKER_03 0:18

If you want my body and you think I'm sexy, girl, won't you let me know?

SPEAKER_06 0:26

Keep going. I don't know the rest of the words.

SPEAKER_07 0:28

Oh man, I thought you were in a head. Sugar.

SPEAKER_06 0:33

Yeah, that's pretty much it. Were you in a good mood tonight? Uh no, I was not. It was like a tussle. It was a tussle and it was a pull. I was fighting. I was like, I was like Rocky Balboa up in the up in the top. It was like, come on, Rock, come on. And I was fighting and I was trying to just improve my mood. It's been a very long day. I've been up since four in the morning. Are you gonna stand the whole day? No. I just gotta I am gonna sit. I just gotta see a couple things, but it's a little different when I'm standing up. Hello out there. Hello. Hello.

SPEAKER_07 1:06

I don't know if you were gonna stand the whole time, if you were shadow boxing, or I didn't know what you were doing today.

SPEAKER_06 1:11

Shadow Boxing is a good song by um what what is that what is that uh group, that hip-hop group? Shadow boxing by Shy Lin. All right, let's who are they?

SPEAKER_07 1:27

I have no idea.

SPEAKER_06 1:28

RZA.

SPEAKER_07 1:30

I'm not good with music.

SPEAKER_06 1:32

Not my oh, the the Wu-Tang clan.

SPEAKER_03 1:36

Give me that Wu-Tang.

Super Bowl Letdown And Ads

SPEAKER_07 1:40

You could have given me 20 guesses. I don't think I ever would have got that. Well, we got it. Oh, you got it. So let's get let's get into it. Super Bowl is yesterday. Sadly. You wanted to talk about the NFL season as a whole.

SPEAKER_06 1:54

It was trash. Besides the Bears.

SPEAKER_07 1:57

Super Bowl last night, terrible.

SPEAKER_06 1:59

Yes.

SPEAKER_07 1:59

Uh one of my least favorite Super Bowls I've watched in a while. You know which one it reminded me of is when the Rams were there and it was a terrible game and no points were scored. It wasn't entertaining.

SPEAKER_06 2:10

The Jared Golf game?

SPEAKER_07 2:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 2:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 2:12

Like that was a terrible football game. Like it just, it just it didn't feel like the Super Bowl. No. It didn't feel like commercials. No commercials. There were a couple decent games. Which ones? Um I can't remember off the top of my head now, but I one of the I thought Bud Light had a decent one. Um Bud Light. What was the funny one with uh like all the old actors and then Tom Brady?

SPEAKER_06 2:37

Dunkin' Donuts? Yeah, that was. Here's another Tom Brady fraud alert. We have him at Pizza Hut, and then we have this is the guy promoting avocado ice cream. Better be careful. We have this guy promoting avocado ice cream, but then all of a sudden, you know, here we go for the money. We we need the for the money and the show. So here we go at Pizza Hut, and then now we're gonna stop in at Dunkin' Donuts, two establishments that I would bet a lot of money he never frequents. I bet he's had Dunkin'. For what? I don't know. That guy makes his own coffee if he even does have coffee.

SPEAKER_07 3:09

Uh yeah. All right. Well, hey, listen, I think he's had it. I thought it was a good commercial. You asked me what commercials I like, I gave you a couple.

SPEAKER_01 3:17

That is true.

SPEAKER_07 3:18

That's a mo I'll say this though. Most commercials I've watched in probably the last eight years, eight or nine years.

Season Recap And Bears Hype

SPEAKER_06 3:24

I was looking forward to the commercials because the game was so bad. And then the game left me wanting a lot to be desired, so I fell asleep after the halftime show and I was gone into the abyss. I slept 20 hours in a span of 48. I caught up on my sleep because I am Shylin, the ninja warrior.

SPEAKER_07 3:47

He's gonna stand the whole time, just so everybody's aware.

SPEAKER_06 3:49

No, I don't know.

SPEAKER_07 3:50

All right. Well, give us the give us the NFL season as a whole, then.

SPEAKER_06 3:54

Break the diamond. Pat Mahomes got hurt. Yep. Geno Smith threw a daily interception. Um the Seahawks won a lot of games in boring fashion.

SPEAKER_04 4:05

Yep.

SPEAKER_06 4:05

Um, the Patriots had the easiest of schedules with a quarterback that mirrors Mitch Trubisky. Oh, wait, they came from the same school. Um, and somehow they made it to the Super Bowl. Uh I'm I'm I'm kidding, you not. The only exciting part about the season was the Chicago Bears.

SPEAKER_07 4:23

Yeah, they had a good season. Old nature comebacks, and a lot of a lot of a lot of late wins, a lot of a lot of low percentage on the old analytics side saying they weren't gonna win and then they won. Yeah. I I I do think the Bears were like probably the most entertaining team of this whole whole year.

SPEAKER_06 4:41

Exactly. Josh Allen reverted to his old ways, Jalen Hurts reverted to his old ways.

SPEAKER_07 4:46

Um do you at least give Sam Darnold credit for all the backlash that guy has taken since he got in to go win himself a Super Bowl?

SPEAKER_06 4:55

Good job, Sam.

SPEAKER_07 4:56

I agree.

SPEAKER_06 4:57

Good job. You did what you were supposed to do.

SPEAKER_07 4:59

Although he comes from UI USC.

SPEAKER_06 5:02

You have a uh strong opinion on USC. Especially their quarterbacks. Yeah, you don't like them. But we have one. Yeah, we have the golden goose.

SPEAKER_07 5:12

That's maybe why I didn't really like him from the get uh the golden goose. Batliner, terrible. Mark Sanchez, terrible.

SPEAKER_06 5:21

But we have the golden goose.

SPEAKER_07 5:22

Sam Tarnald, terrible till now.

SPEAKER_06 5:24

The goose. I just had deja vu right now. Of what? Me standing up.

SPEAKER_07 5:28

You've you're still standing. We're like, we're like five minutes in, you're still standing. You're gonna be standing the whole time. The people, the people are trying to see you, and you're giving them the side view.

SPEAKER_06 5:38

Oh, uh, people should like my side view. You know what? You know what who I was told I would look like today?

SPEAKER_07 5:43

I I was told by a little like 12-year-old kid that hey, did you see my haircut? And I said, No. He takes off his head, he goes, I got the Josh.

SPEAKER_06 5:51

Oh, yeah, that was the best thing someone told me all week. I laughed. He said, I got it for you.

SPEAKER_07 5:55

I laughed. I didn't think it looked like yours. But I think it's funny that the kid tried to look like I was in the spirit.

SPEAKER_06 6:02

He had the spirit of Shy Lin. And you know, people used to. I'm not even gonna talk about that because you're terrible. I'm not even gonna give you a mention or a reference. You're dead to me. Not you. Wow. But this person is a good thing. I don't know who you're talking about, but I'd love to be nameless.

SPEAKER_07 6:21

When we get off air, I can't wait to hear.

SPEAKER_06 6:28

nameless and faceless. Like a ghost.

SPEAKER_07 6:32

All right, fitness update. Shadows. We're done with the NFL. You done with the NFL? Uh or do you have more you'd like to share?

SPEAKER_01 6:39

I was born in the darkness. You made adopted it. No, I'm yeah, I'm I'm good. Done with the NFL.

SPEAKER_07 6:46

Done with the NFL. I'm done. You know what that means though? Baseball season's coming. Spring training's gonna be here soon. On to the next one.

SPEAKER_06 6:54

Oh, really? Yep. We got pirate rosters. True. Hurdy har harr.

SPEAKER_07 6:59

Hardy har har. College baseball starts on Friday. I'm looking forward to that.

Standing Bits And Haircuts

SPEAKER_06 7:03

Hey, um, some the at the Division I level, the lower divisions. I I'll put lower in quotations, not really lower, but you know what I mean, like in numerical order. Um, division two started last weekend. Yeah. NAI started as well. Junior college baseball started. I just got a text um earlier this today from our one of our 25s, uh, Noah Delgado. I'm probably sure you got the same text. I did not. Oh, he's uh he's Noah is at St. Leo's down in Florida. Yep. Good Division II school. Uh they have him hitting fourth. And he just put his first one out. Bam. Uh last week. And yeah, and he's well, he's doing things like I'm not surprised. I always tell the kids, surprise everyone but yourself. So I'm not surprised. So yeah, but yeah, Noah Delgado.

SPEAKER_07 7:46

You know what? Noah probably did too. Yeah, probably the first one there and last one to leave. Probably cleaned up the dungeon. And he probably did it with a smile on his face. So good old Louise Robert, as we used to call him when he showed up to practice, wearing number 88.

SPEAKER_06 8:02

That's the only shirt he wore.

SPEAKER_07 8:03

It's all right. He's a big Sox fan. He liked Louise Robert. He was an outfielder. He's a happy-go-lucky kid, but he can smash the ball. We've talked about Noah on here before.

SPEAKER_06 8:12

He has a cannon, too. Oh. A hand cannon.

SPEAKER_07 8:14

Don't run on him from right field.

SPEAKER_06 8:16

Yeah. Hello, Noah, if you're watching. Hello, Noah.

SPEAKER_07 8:18

Keep doing your thing, buddy. Congratulations on your first collegiate home run. I'm gonna shoot you a text when we get out of here. Hello. Uh how's your fitness update? You've been doing your core this month?

SPEAKER_06 8:28

Yeah, I've been doing a lot. Uh, my body's in a really good spot right now. What about the push-ups? Well, I've been keeping up with that. Like, I do my push-ups, I'm not at that rate, though.

SPEAKER_07 8:38

You're not on the J Todd Challenge.

SPEAKER_06 8:40

No, I have a bulging knot in my right shoulder, though, right now. That's what I'm kind of standing up with.

SPEAKER_07 8:45

I got some neck. I I literally feel it. I can I literally had one, what was it, Thursday through Saturday? Friday, I could barely move.

SPEAKER_06 8:55

I did.

SPEAKER_07 8:55

I started doing some stuff really. You know what you gotta do? You gotta get between a uh a door and really stretch out the chest.

SPEAKER_06 9:01

Like Samson. Samson brought a whole temple down.

SPEAKER_07 9:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 9:05

I was talking about the Bible with someone earlier today, book of Revelation. Yeah, never going back to who was trying to get me to cut my hair, they will remain nameless.

SPEAKER_07 9:14

Is this the same person?

SPEAKER_06 9:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 9:17

Delilah. Hey there, Delilah. Well, a little update on the push-up challenge. Up to 1200. A thousand a week. I told you I'm getting a thousand a week. Wow. I got my thousand in my house.

SPEAKER_04 9:31

How do you feel?

SPEAKER_07 9:32

Uh some would say that potentially the the thousand push-ups I did last week was the cause of what happened in my neck, but you know, hey.

SPEAKER_06 9:40

Like I have it right now.

SPEAKER_07 9:42

That's all debatable. I think it's all all debatable. So uh hey, you know it's on its way, don't you?

SPEAKER_06 9:50

No.

SPEAKER_07 9:51

You don't know?

SPEAKER_06 9:52

Hit me with it.

SPEAKER_07 9:53

The good man hats.

SPEAKER_06 9:56

Are you serious? Are you not lying to me? You would never lie to me.

SPEAKER_07 10:00

I would never lie to Lord Power. But the hats are on the way. Got the notice. They're coming in. I I'm hoping by next episode we both have our good man hat on.

SPEAKER_06 10:11

Next episode. What's the what's the that's the what's the lyric after that?

SPEAKER_07 10:17

You're all over the place with music.

Fitness Updates And Push-Ups

SPEAKER_04 10:19

Da da da da da. Da da da da da. It's the good man show. G Double O. G O D D D. M A N N N N N on the Newman's Corner Pub. Did you say you were in a bad mood?

SPEAKER_06 10:36

Hey, sometimes you gotta fake it till you make it.

SPEAKER_07 10:41

Just for everybody listening and tuning in, you're gonna enjoy Josh tonight because this guy, I'm telling you, he's not gonna sit down. He's going, he says he's going to, but he's gonna stand the whole show. It's gonna be great.

SPEAKER_06 10:52

I don't know what's possessed me. It's like there are angel doves underneath my feet, you know.

SPEAKER_03 10:56

Like you have that soap, you got that Monday feeling.

SPEAKER_06 11:03

Mondays. Monday, Monday. What's that song? Who is that? Bye. Um Neil Diamond. Who the hell names their kid Neil Diamond? Great. I met a guy named Chester the other way, the other day. Crunchy granola sweet.

SPEAKER_03 11:20

Cheesy, cheesy Chester. Who ark thou, young son?

SPEAKER_06 11:23

He goes, My name's Chester. Why are you making fun of me?

SPEAKER_03 11:26

I was like, son, calm down. I just never met a Chester like you.

SPEAKER_06 11:31

Oh, oh, sounds like you were making fun of me.

SPEAKER_03 11:33

Nah, we're okay.

SPEAKER_06 11:35

We were good with Chester. I met a Chester though. Love you, Chester. Cheesy Chester.

SPEAKER_07 11:43

Are you done?

SPEAKER_06 11:45

Uh until the clock strikes midnight. We're not done.

SPEAKER_07 11:48

Well, I'm gonna let you go because you're on one right now. So I'm gonna let the people get the full show. So you go right ahead. I mean, you created a good a new good man song.

SPEAKER_05 11:58

Yeah.

Merch Drop: Good Man Hats

SPEAKER_07 11:58

I don't know if it really made much sense. And I think you had like six extra D's in there, but double O D. You know? It's an M A M. All right. Let's go to Caliburn Bats. Okay. We talked about them last week. New sponsor up on the board. Okay. Don, love you. Listen, if anybody's looking for a new bat, wood bat, coach is looking for fungos. You gotta go see Don Erickson with Caliburn Bats. Family owned since 2003, located in Downers Grove, Illinois. Don is a good man. He spins these things on his own. He's got great designs. You could go in there, custom design one yourself. But if you're looking for wood this summer, go see my guy Don over at Caliburn Bats. He'll take care of you. Tell him the good men sent you.

SPEAKER_06 12:51

I actually just met a guy the other day. Um, I didn't meet him. I've already known him. His name's Mr. Alvarez, and uh he makes gloves. Potential, potential, you know, coming, it's coming down the track. It's coming down the track, it's coming down the track, possibly. But he actually he was like, hey, I used to meet Don for bats and he when he used to make them in his garage, in his basement. Actually, not the garage, the basement. So that was pretty cool. Don't been doing it for a long time. Since 2003. That's a long time. That's two decades. That is two decades. So it's going on three decades. Right. Not a lot of things last for three decades. No. Half of marriages don't last for three decades.

SPEAKER_07 13:29

When Don No, I probably wouldn't have met Don in I don't know, that would have been like 1997, 98. So Don Don was when he first came in to be the baseball coach at Revis. My mom was actually the librarian at Revis. So your mom's a Ram? She was a as well. Once a Ram? We called them the Crevice Crams.

SPEAKER_06 13:52

Once a Ram?

SPEAKER_07 13:53

Always a Ram.

SPEAKER_06 13:54

Always a Ram.

SPEAKER_07 13:54

But then she turned into a Downers North Trojan. Oh.

SPEAKER_06 14:00

Was that an upgrade or a downgrade?

SPEAKER_07 14:02

Uh upgrade. Oh. For her. But that's where I originally met Don. I was like 12 years old. And then, funny story, Don and I then played in a wiffle ball tournament against each other up in Milwaukee.

SPEAKER_06 14:17

Last week?

SPEAKER_07 14:18

No. I heard you're up north last week. I was up north. No, I was up in the middle of the last one.

SPEAKER_06 14:22

I heard you got trapped in the in the um the home alone house.

SPEAKER_07 14:26

I was up in Winneka yesterday.

SPEAKER_06 14:27

Isn't that where the home alone house is?

SPEAKER_07 14:29

Made my head coaching debut on the basketball court. Which one? Came to realize that I prefer to be an assistant basketball coach, not a head basketball coach.

SPEAKER_06 14:39

You couldn't run it down the sideline.

Sponsor Shout: Caliburn Bats

SPEAKER_07 14:41

No, I also like when I coach a baseball game, I'm a I'm kind of like a squat against the fence kind of guy. Squatting on a basketball court and then trying to get up too much, man. My knees can't take that. I'm good. I like to sit on the bench. I like to talk to the girls when they come off the court. I like to feed them some information. I like to draw my little X's and O's on the board. I like to draw up some plays. Like that's where I peek. The whole head coaching and controlling the mass and then timeouts and substitutes. I just wasn't, I don't I wasn't feeling it.

SPEAKER_06 15:15

I heard you once managed a game with Billy Bean.

SPEAKER_07 15:17

Billy Bean.

SPEAKER_06 15:18

Yeah. I don't know. That's true.

SPEAKER_07 15:21

Moneyball. How come Moneyball doesn't ever talk about their pitchers?

SPEAKER_06 15:25

Well, you you're telling me you managed with Billy Bean that day.

SPEAKER_07 15:28

Just tell me, tell me why they don't talk about the pitchers during that whole movie.

SPEAKER_06 15:31

I was there when you were with the city.

SPEAKER_07 15:32

Never once are there starting pitchers who all won like 18 games ever mentioned on that. And all of them were just disgusting. Not talked about because it was all done by the offense, not the pitching staff, but hey, who makes all the money and who gets all the recruited pitchers? But hey, let's do a movie that we don't talk about the pitching staff ever. Tell me a single point they talk about the pitchers in that movie. I will wait because you can't.

SPEAKER_06 16:00

Uh problem. You know, I'm I'm just kind of staring into the abyss looking in the bleak midwinter for this answer. Well, I can't find it. It's not there. Goodbye. Goodbye. What's that song by Pink Floyd?

SPEAKER_03 16:18

Goodbye.

SPEAKER_06 16:23

Yeah. Shout out to my guy, Mike Duckhorn. We're listening to some Judas Priest. You're the green man Alicey.

SPEAKER_07 16:32

I thought you were, I thought you and Duck were gonna get into it when he called you, you know, a nickname.

SPEAKER_06 16:38

I don't go by that name. I won't say it on air because I'll keep that between us. I don't go by that name. That was a name given to me by a wandering soul that no longer works here.

SPEAKER_07 16:50

The wandering soul.

SPEAKER_06 16:52

I like him though. He's in a different state now. Near the West Coast.

SPEAKER_07 16:56

Near the West Coast.

SPEAKER_06 16:57

I like him though.

SPEAKER_07 16:59

Yeah. You know what I don't like?

SPEAKER_06 17:01

What?

SPEAKER_07 17:01

We're gonna talk about this real quick.

SPEAKER_05 17:03

What?

SPEAKER_07 17:04

And I can't promise that I I'm not gonna go on one. But you wanted to talk about team rankings last week. Last week?

SPEAKER_01 17:13

Yeah. It's like serial rankings.

SPEAKER_07 17:16

You know what's funny is I talked to a few people in the dome today, and a few of the younger team dads overheard me talking about it, and then they were they kind of chimed in because they saw the same thing I saw. But I'm scrolling through my feed the other day, and you know what pops up? Nine you nine. Okay? That's third graders. Nine you players to watch headed into the spring.

SPEAKER_06 17:44

Did you call the police?

SPEAKER_07 17:46

With somebody who legitimately posts this with kids' names.

SPEAKER_06 17:51

Did you call the police?

Coaching Tales And Moneyball Gripe

SPEAKER_07 17:52

And what team they play for? Did you call the police? I did not call the police. Is whatever dads are writing this nonsense up to feed their egos, they need to stop. And then people who post congratulating these kids, y'all need to stop. It's dumb, it's idiotic. Like my guess is those kids are giant kids for their age. And let's go ahead and talk baseball and history. And I could bring in probably 50 guys who've played this game at the highest level who all know a kid who was 12 years old and the biggest kid at 12 who didn't do anything when they got to high school or didn't play past high school. But we have some most likely um dad who has no life and nothing better to do outposting nine new players to watch, too. But if it's a mom. Well, if it's a mom too, then like you got something better to do. People need to get a life. They need to cut this stuff out, man. It's it's getting worse and worse. Like I can tolerate some of the stuff. Putting out nine new player rankings and kids to watch, and then posting who they play for, you got issues. You got some serious issues. Just wasn't nine. And you have too much time on your hand, go do your job or contribute somewhere in society. How did they my question is that's not contributing to the society?

SPEAKER_06 19:27

What you are doing is I I can't, I'm gonna lose it. How do you find the names though? Like again, that's that's what was baffling to me. You have to go some dad who's at the games who literally goes and follows every game changer.

SPEAKER_07 19:40

I guarantee I don't need to, I don't need to ask the question. These people go on game changers, and that's how they're doing. Oh, little Johnny hit 600 for his eight U team last year, so let's post him and he plays for this organization. Like, dude, you're you're you're go do something else, contribute some other way to society. You have too much time on your hand and go do something else. That's all I'm gonna say.

SPEAKER_06 20:03

What if you run into this person on the side?

SPEAKER_07 20:04

I would say it straight to their face. And then they'd be like, well, we'll we'll put your son on there and say, Well, we're good. Because if you put my son's name on there, we're gonna have some serious issues.

SPEAKER_06 20:14

Well, that's the problem. Like, again, that's what I'm saying. Why weren't the authorities called here? Because I'm in question on how these people find names and they put this much time and effort into something that uh is a whole hubba-blah baloo. And um that was the baffling part. It's not just nine, they had eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, five.

SPEAKER_07 20:32

Well, those were team rankings.

SPEAKER_06 20:34

No, no, that they had it for the kids to no uh players to watch too.

SPEAKER_07 20:37

Oh, I always I stopped once I saw the nine you one because I wanted to I wanted to.

SPEAKER_06 20:43

It was like baseball America, but youth America. And what has happened to the youth of America? I don't know. I know I was told that the world was ending soon earlier tonight. How's it gonna end? I don't know. We were talking about the book of Revelation, so Jake. Not with Jake, it was with a different person.

SPEAKER_07 21:06

If you start talking book of Revelation, I'd I've talked to Jake.

SPEAKER_06 21:09

Jake knows his book of Revelation, he does, he listens to it on the audio.

Youth Rankings Rant

SPEAKER_07 21:13

But I'm gonna spin to something else here talking about rankings because I actually had a conversation with a parent not too long ago, and I wanted to share a little input uh for players and parents when it comes to this ranking stuff, and uh just always following what you can control and and letting the outside noise trickle away and not consume you. Like your mind, while it is very hard to control what you think, feel, and your emotions, you can. Uh, in the game of baseball, there's a lot of tricky ways that it tries to spin you in different directions, but you have to be mentally tough. Uh, parents, I know you love your kids and you want the best for them, and and sometimes you're gonna look at range. And get insulted that you feel your kid got slighted or or overlooked. Um and as they're going through recruiting, you're gonna you're gonna look and try to follow where kids are committing and what kids are doing. My advice to you guys is trust your kids' process, let your kid do his thing. Uh when the right opportunity comes around, it's going to be right for him or her if it's a softball player. Um but mainly control what you can control and and let the outside noise be the outside noise. Like none of those things are important. Um, I get it, kids want to be ranked or put in certain situations and opportunities, all that, but at the end of the day, they are still young athletes. Uh and a lot of professional athletes, when they were high school kids, were not entirely the best players or looked at as the best players. So what their work ethic is and what chips they put on their shoulder and and what they do with any opportunity they get is going to make them who they become. So try to take that noise and tone it out and just go to work.

SPEAKER_06 23:12

Um, a wise man once said, and in dire times when you need a sign, that's when they appear. And I mean that in a way where if you're looking for lights or you're looking for something to happen, it will happen when it's supposed to happen. And again, it's a cliche to say, but again, there's you gotta you gotta believe in things that happen at a time, when in time, and who you're around. Everything happens for a reason. And everyone you come in contact with through the recruiting journey and in even college, and also remember the end goal is not college. Again, just appreciate where your ten toes are right now. Yeah, right now, just appreciate that, you know.

SPEAKER_07 23:55

If you only got nine.

SPEAKER_06 23:57

Well, I only have nine, ten minus one, nine. Flip that upside down, and it was my number in college. Six.

SPEAKER_01 24:09

Fun fact of the day. Yes. Six. I love that.

SPEAKER_07 24:12

I never played as six. I love six. One, three, four, eight, fourteen, thirty-four, forty-eight, nine to five.

SPEAKER_06 24:27

Nine to five.

SPEAKER_07 24:29

Nine to five. That was a funny story. Never forget that at first at bat. Spring training. Walked in. Ninety-five! You better swing. That was the umpire. Yeah. So I walked in in the ninth inning. You better swing the bat, kid. This game's almost over. Oh, yes, Tully noticed. I went from I will be getting three swings off no matter what.

SPEAKER_06 24:50

I went from two because of Derek Cheater. Okay. Um 23. I'm trying to remember the other one.

SPEAKER_07 25:02

Six.

SPEAKER_06 25:03

Six is what I finished up with. I'm trying to fin find the one right before six. I forgot. It's okay.

SPEAKER_07 25:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 25:10

I think it was 34.

SPEAKER_07 25:12

Speaking of that, hey kids, whatever number you get, it's a number just where I can't play if I don't have my number.

SPEAKER_06 25:18

Who said that?

SPEAKER_07 25:19

Oh, I've gotten that one before.

SPEAKER_06 25:21

You know, I ran into Winnie the Pooh the other day.

SPEAKER_07 25:23

Winnie the Pooh.

SPEAKER_06 25:24

He said, You're messing with the wrong bear, Bub. And I said, What? He goes, Oh, Paulo, you're messing with the wrong bear. And I said, Dude, I'm just trying to give you your tax return, dude. You're messing with the wrong bear trying to take my money. Slaps me across the face. Did you do your taxes? Um well.

SPEAKER_07 25:43

I haven't done mine yet.

SPEAKER_06 25:45

Uh I'm going to. We'll get there. I have all my receipts.

SPEAKER_07 25:48

Yeah, listen, you got until April. You're good.

SPEAKER_06 25:51

Yes. Or I don't.

SPEAKER_07 25:53

Well.

SPEAKER_06 25:54

Because the world is ending. One theory if you believe that.

SPEAKER_01 25:59

Yes. Yes. Oh, bottle. Oh boy. Oh, bottle. Oh, piglet. Yes, Pooh Bear? Piglet? What are you doing?

SPEAKER_03 26:11

Oh, Pooh. I'm just walking around listening to the Good Man Show.

SPEAKER_01 26:16

Good decision. Oh, bottle. Now give me some honey.

Mindset Over Metrics For Families

SPEAKER_07 26:21

Alright, let's talk Sparks North. Let's get to the boys. The honey. You know what's coming up this week? Honey. No, not honey. Conditioning. For the Super Bowl losers. So every year, we bring the boys up and we make them pick a team for who's going to win the Super Bowl. And I have to say, I was really rooting for the Patriots because I would have got to run and condition about 90% of the organization. That tells you how bad the season was. But now I only get to do it to like, I don't know, 20 total kids. So for those who are wondering what it's going to be, if you've been inside this dome, you've seen that large structure, the gauntlet.

unknown 27:11

Yes.

SPEAKER_07 27:12

There are many stairs going up the gauntlet.

SPEAKER_06 27:15

About a thousand.

SPEAKER_07 27:16

No, not a thousand. I believe it's 45 to 50 stairs. I thought it was a thousand. No, it's about 45 or 50.

SPEAKER_06 27:24

Are you sure?

SPEAKER_07 27:25

Yeah. And uh they will do 10 calves on every stair.

SPEAKER_06 27:30

I could be able to walk the next day.

SPEAKER_07 27:32

For those who have a lot of stairs in their high school, uh, they're if you have it tomorrow, Wednesday's gonna be tough. And if you're here on Thursday, well, Friday's gonna be tough at school.

SPEAKER_06 27:46

I think they have Friday off.

SPEAKER_07 27:48

My kids have a late arrival. It's like four straight Fridays.

SPEAKER_06 27:52

Valentine's Day.

SPEAKER_07 27:53

Are you taking they don't have school off for Valentine's Day taking your wife for somewhere to Valentine's? No, we're just gonna do something at home. Are you gonna make her something? Uh, I'm sure. If I'm at home, I usually make dinner though. I've cooked. I might make some eggplant parmesan. What about honey? Honey. This guy's wants some honey. No. Maybe eggplant parmesan. Maybe a little uh, I don't know, maybe maybe a candlelight. Lemon shrimp pasta. That sounds pretty good. Candlelight.

SPEAKER_08 28:24

No.

SPEAKER_07 28:25

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pile out somewhere. That's the first time we've been in sync on that one. I gotcha. Normally I bow out to your songs, but I came in with you on that one. That's a good one, blood.

SPEAKER_06 28:40

Uh, I'm not going out with anybody on Valentine's Day. You heard that here first, all right, before you come asking. I know a couple of you listen to this. Ask, texted me. I'm not going out with anybody. I'm working.

SPEAKER_07 28:52

He still has the Fogo reservation for Friday. No, canceled. You canceled it?

SPEAKER_06 28:58

Cancelled.

SPEAKER_07 28:59

When?

SPEAKER_06 29:00

After the show.

SPEAKER_07 29:02

He still has his Fogo dinner 6 p.m. on Friday. The lucky lady who DMs Josh looking for a lovely evening at Fogo to Chow shall get the dinner at 6 p.m. And you're paying. Fogo de Chow.

SPEAKER_06 29:21

And you're paying. 50-50 split. No, you're paying at all. And I don't care. All right. Okay. Because I got fair.

SPEAKER_07 29:29

Show up, pay for it. I promise you. Good company.

SPEAKER_06 29:33

Funny eat. Yeah. Again, I got hosed last time, man. Not hosing me again. Only a man can get only hosed so many times in a calendar year. We're only in February.

SPEAKER_03 29:44

Yeah, well, you know, like I said, if you want my body and you think I'm sexy, take me to four oh man.

SPEAKER_07 29:56

All right. Do you have any advice to the high school kids as they had? We're almost done with training. Yeah, give them some advice as they head to their high school season.

SPEAKER_06 30:04

Well, with those calves, make sure that you stretch them afterward. A lot of Achilles injuries are started from calves. I speak because I had Achilles tendinitis. It is, it is possibly, it was worse than my elbow tendinitis. And I had tendonitis throughout my playing career, even as a coach here. Sometimes I get it, but Achilles tendinitis is terrible. And we got a few more weeks going off to your high schools. Um, don't try to impress anybody, just continue to do what you're trying to do. And remember, remember, at the end of the day, they always see what you do in the dark. You adopt the darkness and you were born in it. So adopt it, embrace it, appreciate it. And when people are not looking, for example, the Sparks North community, and you're like, oh, this is my high school coach, I can still do whatever I want. The Lord knows, and that's who you're gonna answer to. So just remember that.

Conditioning Gauntlet And High School Prep

SPEAKER_07 30:56

What about the freshmen who are going off for their first high school season? Definitely gonna be nervous going to tryouts. Some kids are walking in with 50 to 60 kids trying out. What advice do you have for them?

SPEAKER_06 31:09

When you do your running, run as hard as you can. That's number one. I would actually, you got three, four weeks. I would actually start running right now. I remember when I was getting ready for uh high school tryouts, I I didn't have access to all this like we've talked before. So I would go out to the field. It was about like six to eight inches of snow out on the field. I put my snow boots on, my jacket, and my snowshoes, and I ran. And I kept running, and I went into the garage. It was freezing, it's around under 32 degrees, and I just hit off the T because that's all what we could afford and had access to. My my dad was able a couple times to go rent a cage out for a little bit, but you know, you know, we couldn't afford all that. So I tried to maximize every possibility you can. But obviously, if you're listening to this, you have access to this dome, so you should be doing all of that as it is. And then uh during the tryout, just hit the ball to the back of the net every time. Even a dummy will put you on the team if you do that, because be like, oh man, the score's hitting the back of the net. You guys should be good at something. And then um, when you're throwing, just throw strikes. I'm dead serious. Uh, for the freshman team, if you want to make a freshman team, if you get on the mound, just throw it over the plate. And then just don't try to huck things over. And then when you're taking ground balls, hit the guy on the chest. And you're like, duh, coach. I'm like, no, you're gonna get in there and you're gonna want to start trying to huck or hit balls really hard. Don't do all that. If you do those really simple things coming from a coach's perspective, we'll put you on the freshman team. So just remember that. Calms everything down. Calm down. Calm down, lad. Stay within yourself. Calm down, lad.

SPEAKER_01 32:41

Stay within yourself. Calm. Be calm. Be a good man. Good advice. Yes, be a good man.

SPEAKER_07 32:46

Enjoy it. Have fun. Yes. High school baseball, as we we have said, we we all enjoy it. Yes. We look forward to it. Montini Bronco. If, if, if you go to your trial and you happen to get cut, okay? For whatever reason, it happens. It happens. Don't point blame. Put your head down. Get your butt in the dome. Get to work. Prove them wrong. You have many, many years left to play this game. We've had some kids who have had some unfortunate situations over the years. Uh, and that's what I tell all of them. And you can point blame and say it's whatever, but it is what it is. And we always say coaches have to make hard decisions, sometimes right, sometimes wrong. But I think if you take the advice that Josh gave you, um and you put that to work, I think a lot of you guys are going to find some uh fun in it and and find the reward in it. But if something does not work out, okay, work, put your head down, get better, and prove people wrong. So this next topic, I know you wanted to talk about this. I'm a little interested where you're gonna go with this. Um I'll chime in my my two cents where where I can, but you would like to talk access to sports via the TV world.

Tryout Tips For Freshmen

SPEAKER_06 34:12

So you mentioned earlier in the show about spring training coming up. Well, you know, I won't be able to watch. And you go, why is that? Well, number one, I have YouTube TV. You can't get the Marquee Network on YouTube TV, so I can't watch the Cubs. You know what else you can't get on YouTube TV? Chicago Sports Network, where you cannot watch the White Sox. So everyone will be like, well, go get another streaming service, and then you're playing victim to these people. You are the sheep, they are controlling what you gotta go get, and that's what they're trying to do. So the options available, DirecTV, well, they're they cost more than YouTube TV. I can get those things, but then I'm gonna have to pay an add-on to watch that. And let me pay an add-on for a team that hasn't won 80 games in like six years. Talking about the White Sox, and then talking about a team that just is a money gouging hungry team in terms of the Chicago Cubs, and they just put people on put people on the team just so people can come in the stands, and Wrigley Field can be a hellish bar throughout the entire summer. Not saying it's a a nice hellish bar throughout the entire summer, but you can see that's the point. Their objective isn't to win ballgames. So you're looking at the costs of everything. If you just want to watch the local teams, I gotta get a new streaming service,$110 a month, and then I gotta buy the Marquee Network, which is about$150 a year or$20 a month or whatever the hell, and the Chicago Sports Network. I'm running up a bill of over$200 a month. And the thing is, like we're going from back in the days when things used to be on WGN, WCIU, um, even Channel 50 sometimes, if you're uh old enough to remember that, and ABC. And it's like, why am I why do I have to go through every hoop, hoop, fire, um, cathedral to go watch a baseball game? And now let's not take it to the rest of the MLB. The MOB has now made you go through two paywalls to watch MOB TV. Not only do you have to pay the MOB TV subscription, which is, I believe, over$150 a year, you now have to pay ESPN Unlimited to get to even watch what you just paid for with MOB TV, which is now over$300 a year to watch out of market games. And don't even forget about the blackout restrictions. This is, and we're talking baseball numbers are through the roof. And then the national televised games, you need Peacock, you need um NBC, you need um Apple TV, which is third. If you want to watch certain games on Apple TV, now mind you, I love Apple TV for their programming. So I already have it. That's$13 a month, but that's well worth it. I love all those shows on there. But have to pay that for Fridays. Gotta get TBS for the other garbage. We're talking about growing the game, not growing any damn game. You're just growing your filthy pigish pockets. That's all what we're doing. Bunch of clowns. So yeah, I'm gonna get my transistor radio. Just ordered one on Amazon for$5, going back to my roots, and I'm just gonna listen to games if I want to listen to it. Listen to the great Pat Hughes. I'm not listening to Connor McKnight and Darren Jackson and whoever the hell the White Sox uh trout out there on the radio. I'm getting my Ron Coomer and Pat Hughes for my summer if I want to go down that route. But yeah, so that's what we're at now. You want me to pay twice to watch out-of-market games? Not gonna happen. Sorry, bud. And then what what nerve of certain teams that don't even try to win are even a part of this? For example, the Pittsburgh Pirates not gonna even win 50 games, and we're gonna charge people to watch us. You should pay me to watch you. Bunch of clowns, and then who else? Well, it's a bunch of tanking teams. This is the same problem with the NBA, too. But taking guys on the fourth quarter up 15, tanking, and we're gonna charge people to watch us play. Get the hell out of here. Again, the bunch of the arrogance. This is sports. Sports. I love sports, but you're not gonna make me not watch sports, and I'm not gonna watch, you know what some teams I was excited to watch there? The A's. I think the A's got a lot of good things cooking over there in the West Coast. Agree. Pay in guys, yeah. Um, Langaliers, um, and then um, who else was I excited to watch? I always love watching the the Padres, but now I'm just gonna probably watch the Dodgers because a hundred of their games are on MLB network. So yeah, Nikki C and I we're we're resigned in hotel rooms now to Dodger games and MLB Network. So, yeah, that's my rant.

SPEAKER_07 39:02

So I gotta I gotta just really quick throw my two cents into this. Because I have no idea half the stuff you're talking about. I got cable. I just roll with Xfinity. I feel like I've had plenty of sports.

SPEAKER_06 39:18

Congrats.

SPEAKER_07 39:19

I feel like all that cord cutting y'all did sounds miserable. Congrats. That's your that's that's kind of your guys' like thing. That's like your like I said, I felt like I I fell to that older bracket of of stuff and the old getting rid of cable I never really got into. How much do you pay a month? I have no idea. You see, like come back to me and let me know. I've done numbers though that like if I went to all that stuff and needed all the stuff that I get, it'd be like the same. Or I'd save like 10 bucks. Yeah. Like it just doesn't seem worth it. Well, I but I'm sure I pay more than like I should. You have MLB TV? At MLB Network? No, MLB TV. I don't know. Probably not.

SPEAKER_06 40:03

Yeah, that's see, I but I don't ever have MLB.

SPEAKER_07 40:06

I mean, I get it for the first like two weeks of the season. I can watch any MLB game for like the first two weeks. I like having it the whole year. Nah, that's that's that's excessive.

SPEAKER_06 40:16

No, yeah. I like watching other baseball games. It saves me when I'm out on that road in June, July, August, September, October. It saves me. I I get it. And you gotta pay a price. I'm not. Well, then you're not gonna have it. And that's what we're talking about. A bunch of greedy pigs.

SPEAKER_07 40:34

Greg, but go to a game. How much money do you spend to go to the any sporting event?

SPEAKER_06 40:38

Zero. I have rules.

TV Paywalls And MLB Access

SPEAKER_07 40:39

Well, if I go to if I go to sporting events, but I'm just exactly if you buy tickets to go to sporting events. What are ticket sales now? They're through the roof. That's why I don't go. They've made them to a point that it's it's almost impossible to go. Like buying season tickets, I shouldn't say impossible. I mean, obviously you can go and people go, but like season tickets, like, no, thank you. Although I tell you what, right now is the time to buy season tickets for the Sox. Why? Because they're gonna be it's the bottom of the barrel.

SPEAKER_06 41:09

Exactly. They'll be the bottom of the barrel for the next 30 years.

SPEAKER_07 41:12

Bottom of the barrel for the next 30 years. How do you know? Don't stop believing. You want to bet that the the White Sox win a World Series in the next 25 years? By by by 2050, they win a World Series. All right, 100 bucks. Done. Done. I don't know. I want a real handshake. I don't know.

unknown 41:36

Live on it.

SPEAKER_06 41:36

All right,$100.

SPEAKER_07 41:38

100 bucks, 2050. When we get to 2050, if they have not won a World Series, I'm gonna be bet, I'm putting the house on that year for them to win. I'm going all in in 2050, just so you know. Where will I be in 2050? Right here on the Goodman Show. Oh, we hopefully have a bigger story. We'll be on episode uh 5,000.

SPEAKER_06 42:03

Future wife, future kids. At$100, it's going your Christmas present.

SPEAKER_07 42:08

Ethan will be sitting here standing as a good man with a full beard by then.

SPEAKER_01 42:12

Ethan.

SPEAKER_07 42:13

Good kid.

SPEAKER_01 42:14

Good lad. He is a good lad. He's a good lad. Yes.

SPEAKER_07 42:18

All right. So with all this issues, how do how did the how does the MLB or any sport grow the game?

SPEAKER_06 42:24

You know what the White Sox were doing last year? They had it on antenna TV. I watched every game. I'm serious. I watched every game. They put it on antenna TV, and that's it. Certain teams do it still. The Phoenix Suns do it. Gotta buy an antenna. It's five bucks. You're laughing at me.

SPEAKER_07 42:45

I'm laughing at you because I remember you. I'm watching the socks on my antenna. And yeah. I gotta watch it because I gotta put my antenna in.

SPEAKER_06 42:55

Then I can't change the channel or move and watch something else. I couldn't move because it would alter the antenna signal.

SPEAKER_07 43:02

It's like back in the day when you had the old box TV and I had one of those. We all had one of those. You still have one of those. Oh, it was great. Yeah. And all of a sudden you'd be upstairs and you know you'd be in your room shimmy and us. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 43:16

I was watching late night reruns of Friends.

SPEAKER_07 43:19

Terrible show.

SPEAKER_06 43:20

It was a terrible show.

SPEAKER_07 43:21

Terrible show.

SPEAKER_06 43:22

But you know, I was Seinfeld was way better than that. 100%. Seinfeld's the best show of all time.

SPEAKER_01 43:27

Way better. Yes. Yo yo ma. Yo yo ma.

SPEAKER_06 43:35

Good uh violinist. Yo, yo, yo yo ma. He was he was actually, I learned of yo yo ma on Arthur.

unknown 43:43

Oh.

SPEAKER_06 43:43

He has his own episode. Seinfeld taught me most of my stuff. Did you watch Arthur?

SPEAKER_02 43:48

No. What a wonderful kind of day where we learn to love and play and get along with each other. Hey, what a wonderful kind of day. Hey.

SPEAKER_07 44:00

Okay. Arthur wasn't playing at my house because I was the youngest. Yeah. And Arthur like my brother said move on by that time. I was of age to be watching Arthur. I still watch Arthur. Yeah, because you grew up watching Arthur.

SPEAKER_06 44:16

I watch one of the Pooh sometimes too.

SPEAKER_07 44:17

Because you grew up watching you silly wabby you. Moving on. Time for a cup of room.

SPEAKER_06 44:30

Brought to you by Newman's Corner Pub, the great, notorious, mirroring the notorious B-I-G is the notorious G E F F, Jeff Naraki, the King of Hampshire. He is a ruler with a kind fist. And when you walk into his pub, say the good man show sent you, and he will give you gifts upon gifts and riches that make you feel like a king, whether it be gambling, drinking, eating, or meeting a new soul. I met a new soul at the bar the other day. She was a good lass. Newman's Corner Pub.

Antennas, Tickets, And Growing The Game

SPEAKER_07 45:09

Thank you, Newman's Corner Pub and Jeff Naraki. We love you. Today we're going to talk a little bit about the recruiting process to tie some stuff in. I thought I would share a little bit about my recruiting process and how it kind of went and the differences of it is now compared to what it was then. Nowadays, uh kids can not talk to coaches till after August 1st, headed into their junior year. When I was playing, they couldn't contact us till July 1st, heading in into our senior year. So we had to play through our junior year before we could actually talk to schools. Um I remember going through mine. True story. July 1st, I was actually on the beach of Chicago with my now wife, who was my girlfriend at the time in high school, uh, enjoying a beautiful uh July 1st beach day in Chicago. Love that. That's that's no joke. I remember sitting on the beach in Notre Dame called me and I kind of chuckled. And I even remember the coach specifically saying to me, he's like, I don't really know if we'd be able to get you in school. You could play here, definitely, baseball-wise, but school-wise, I don't know if we're getting you in. I said, in all honesty, I don't think I'd be able to handle that school. Not not the highest academic kid. So, but back then, coaches used to have to make home visits. Like they'd start calling you, you'd build a relationship with a coach, he'd talk to you. Um, mind you, we didn't really have the cell phones back then, so they were calling your house phones. Um, and I'll never forget it. I I went to Bradley University, as some of you may know, and for those listening now know, um the coach who was there was an older gentleman, and I'll never forget when he showed up to my house for my visit. Uh, he knocked on my door. I answered the door, and uh he didn't say hello. He didn't ask us how we were doing, he simply said, Where's the nearest mall? My mother replied, Oh, well, why? He said, My wife Carol, she's in the car, she's gonna go to the mall. My mother said, Well, she doesn't have to do that, she can kindly come in. He said, Absolutely not. Wow. Where's the nearest mall? And my mother sent her to Oak Brook Mall, and then head coach came walking in. We had a great visit. Um, it was quite an experience, but it's wild to think that nowadays coaches all they do is talk, or then you come to the school and visit. That they used to do home visits for recruiting. Um during my whole process, I had, you know, I ended up only having two of the head coaches come. Uh, the other coach who actually was recruiting me, my one brother was at the school at the time. Um, that was Indiana State, UIC, and Bradley were the three schools that were heavily recruiting me in my process of all. Um, but yeah, it was definitely a different experience than it is now. Um now coaches start talking to these kids and see them through all their videos and everything they post, and it's just you know, different times. Uh I missed the home visits, I think they were very personable. Um but yeah, it was definitely a way different recruiting experience than you see now back back in the old early 2000s.

SPEAKER_06 48:43

Technology changed that.

SPEAKER_07 48:45

I know. But I I I say this, I I'm glad all the recruiting has gone to later of not being able to talk to kids till after their sophomore year. I actually even think about just talking right now, like the fact that they couldn't talk to us till July 1st going into our senior year, like I don't even think that's a terrible play because you get to watch these kids and let them go play some in the summer too before you even get to start talking to them going in the junior year. Like, how much time do you really need to go through it? And throwing all the transfer portal stuff now, and the portal opens in June. So a lot of these schools don't even go recruit early June because they're all following the portal and who's going in and who's leaving their schools, and they're figuring out the rosters and the roster changes. And it's just like, man, everything is just colliding, and everything is all over the place, and and the landscape of it all is just it's changing yearly. Um, I don't know. Just thinking about the olden times, man, it seemed so much more, so much simpler. Uh, it seemed like as a player, you didn't have to worry about as much because you just played until you figured out, like, okay, am I that good or am I not that good? Um, but I'll say this: I enjoyed my recruiting experience. I enjoyed talking to schools. Um I found it interesting in my personal opinion. I thought some some coaches were very honest, and I thought other coaches were full of, you know what?

SPEAKER_05 50:13

Don't be a liar. That's it. Just don't be a liar.

SPEAKER_06 50:19

And you know, I think when you stand in front of the good Lord at the end, he's gonna look at how have you lied or how much you didn't lie. And again, the truth will always find you out. And like your hat says, what you do in the dark comes to the light.

SPEAKER_07 50:39

What you do in the dark matters.

SPEAKER_05 50:40

And that too, yes.

SPEAKER_06 50:41

It always will come to the dark.

SPEAKER_07 50:42

I didn't wear my hat today. My hat off.

SPEAKER_06 50:45

Maybe kids trying to get my guy Brennan Goss.

SPEAKER_07 50:48

I appreciate the hat though. Thank you.

SPEAKER_06 50:50

You were trying to um You're trying to get a kid to get a haircut like you.

SPEAKER_07 50:56

Nah, I do you, man.

SPEAKER_05 51:01

I'm influencing the next generation of haircuts.

SPEAKER_07 51:04

I think I'm gonna go buzz cut again this uh spring and summer.

SPEAKER_06 51:08

Really? Yeah. That's a good song by Lord. I always like the buzz cuts.

SPEAKER_07 51:13

Just a nice little simple. It's easy, it's free. Free? Yeah, do it myself. What if you jack up your lining? On a buzz cut? Some people do. If you take a two across the whole thing, there's no messing up. It's all the same.

SPEAKER_06 51:28

Like lining across your forehead.

SPEAKER_07 51:32

You know.

SPEAKER_06 51:33

I think maybe we should go with giving you braids.

SPEAKER_07 51:36

My hair won't braid.

SPEAKER_06 51:38

I'll braid it. I know a person that can braid it.

SPEAKER_07 51:42

You've gone crazy. You've stood the whole time and you've gone crazy. And I knew you would stand the whole time. My necks and a belly. You told everybody you were gonna sit. You decide to stand the whole time and leave me sitting here by myself as your side to everybody with your little side view. You're trying to profile them. Then you give them the look like that, like, oh, look at me. I'm Josh. I'm a good man. Come to me with Fogo to Chow on Friday, 6 p.m.

SPEAKER_06 52:07

Please. Somebody DM me, please. Oh, please. Please. You're paying for it all.

SPEAKER_07 52:14

What's your favorite flower to get a get somebody? If you're gonna get a flower, where do you get them?

SPEAKER_06 52:20

Bringing back bad memories. I'm just asking a question.

SPEAKER_07 52:22

It's not bringing back mad memories.

SPEAKER_06 52:24

It doesn't matter who she's sucked. Oh Jesus. Um damn her. You know, those are the only flowers I've gotten for a woman, all right? All right. Well, what flowers do you like to buy? I like uh you a rose guy. I like, you know what? To be quite honest, um going sunflower picking, I really enjoyed and appreciated.

SPEAKER_07 52:49

Sunflowers.

Sponsor Plug: Newman's Corner Pub

SPEAKER_06 52:50

And it was it was during COVID, and uh we went to a sunflower patch and we stayed there for a whole day, and I just I remember the driving, it was just very romantic for myself, and then the song um from Post Malone came on the sunflower. That song. You know what I'm talking about. No, no, no, have you no idea? Um, but yeah, sunflowers um carved our initials in the middle of the flower. So yeah.

SPEAKER_07 53:27

I didn't need the whole story about what happened. I just asked you what flower sunflowers. I like to get lilies because of your daughter. I have a daughter lily. Yeah, I just I also like lilies. Like to be honest, you know, naming kids are it's an interesting process, like especially if you don't find out if you're having a boy or girl. If you go into a birth and yeah, you don't know, you gotta pick two names. And well, picking two names is harder than picking one name.

SPEAKER_06 53:54

I saw something funny the other day. Uh, pick the name of your ex that you think was hotter than your current partner.

Old-School Recruiting Stories

SPEAKER_07 54:06

I saw a good one. Walk up to your partner and say, say a uh opposite sex name and see what they say. Oh, have you tried that? No, no, I'd be curious, though. And some say, well, why would you do that? See if they're thinking of you. Ooh.

unknown 54:27

Ooh.

SPEAKER_07 54:27

Say the first name that comes to mind. Boom. See what they say. But no, I like lilies. I think lilies are a beautiful flower. Yes, I have a daughter named Lily, but to my point, the the naming of kids going in. And what's crazy is you know, I have my three kids, and Ethan being the oldest, we went in with a uh a boy and a girl name, and going into it uh because we did not find out with any of our kids. We went in with Ethan and Lily. And then obviously Ethan was born, so then we went into the next birth, and the two names were Lillian and Logan. And then we went in the last one and Logan and I don't. So who's next? I couldn't even tell you what the the female name was for Logan, but who's next? Logan. No, no, who's next?

SPEAKER_06 55:12

No, I'm out of the damn brewer making business. Let's let's get that factory up and going. No. No thanks.

SPEAKER_07 55:20

Sugar. Listen, once you get out of the woods, you want to stay out of the woods. Okay. The fact thinking about trying to go back to the beginning process of like, I and listen, I loved my kids when they were babies, and I still think babies are adorable. We love them. Babies are adorable. They're like, even when you see one, like just holding, like, it is one of the pure joys as a parent. Like being able to say, like, I could hold my kid just in one arm and sit here with him, like that joy and still feeling I have it. Now I look at my baby, I pick up Logan and he's huge. I'm like, Football. It's gone. Football. Football wrestling. He wants to play football. But it it's gone. But that joy of those kids, and and like I said, the names. And yes, it happened to be that my favorite flower now is to buy Lily's. So I will probably get I will definitely get my wife and my daughter flowers for Valentine's Day. I'm gonna try to surprise. I I really haven't taken care of Lily or done a ton for her, so I'm gonna try to do something nice for her. Well, yeah, I am her coach. Put her in there more. She plays plenty. She logs. I had to I had a uh a minute log sheet for uh our game on Sunday because uh we may or may not take some heat that people feel like we play people a certain too many minutes, so I keep minute logs to to try to even it out.

SPEAKER_05 56:43

Okay.

SPEAKER_07 56:44

But yeah, I want to get to this last topic with you because I know you're dying to get to it. And during one of our lessons today, you were over there giggling at me, but you were approached and asked how you approach a lesson. Yeah. So I'd love to get your take on it, and then I'd be happy to share my take on it. Yes, because between the two of us, we do many lessons. You do a lot of catching lessons, you do a lot of hitting lessons, I do a lot of hitting lessons, I do a lot of infield lessons. Um, so we do give a lot of these. So go ahead. How how would you approach or how do you approach a lesson?

Transfer Portal And Timeline Shifts

SPEAKER_06 57:20

I was asked by a parent about like who should I get my kid for um for this instruction here and there. And obviously, like you want to recommend yourself, which you do recommend yourself, but then you might get overbooked or whatnot. So then you got to recommend other people. And so, my my biggest advice to parents when they're looking for a lesson giver is the expertise of a coach. And I'm not talking about playing expertise, I'm talking about when you hear the lesson giver talk, are they knowledgeable about the subject? And can you tell that they've actually spent some time into developing their craft of teaching? Not throwing their playing resume at you, developing the craft of teaching. And that is a totally different subject than actually, hey, I played 20 years at this here, here, here at this big university, and I played professional. Not saying that's all bad, that's all great, but there's a different art to getting in a cage and breaking down certain swings and footwork in your case and in my case also, and understanding how to use different learning languages for certain individuals, and that takes time. It takes a lot of time, and it takes, you know, uh going back to when I first started giving lessons about eight, nine, ten years ago, I'm a totally different person than I am now doing that, and meaning I talk less. I let usually the I give cues and I let those be guide marks and rails for how I want the athlete to proceed. And it all depends on the skill level, the age level, and the the relationship I have with that person. And that all goes into it. It's not if you here's the thing, if you want to go and spend however what what it is, usually$100 an hour, roughly is the going rate. If you want to spend that and talk to your instructor as the parent for 15 or 20 minutes, what's stopping you from just calling them up during the week at the bar and having a drink with them for$10? And you can talk to them for 20 minutes there. And a lot of instructors, they do this. Let me tell you about it. They'll they'll start talking to the parent for the first 10 minutes, they'll flip the ball for the next 10, and then they'll have the kid pick up, and then while the kid's picking up, they'll talk to the parent for the last 10. And then you look up 10 minutes of instruction, 20 minutes of telling them how great or how their social life is, and you look up and all your money's gone. And if you want to do that, by all means, it's your money. You can do whatever you want. But I'm just saying, if you want to do that, just go to the local bar. Have a drink with them, have a drink on me, baby, and do all that stuff. And there are many instructors that go do that, especially the ones that throw their playing careers at you. Be like, you're you're lucky to be in the same cage as me, you bub. Well, that doesn't mean I have to give you$100 to do that, then, sir, or ma'am. So that's just my two cents on it.

SPEAKER_07 1:00:26

So if you had a brand new lesson, yeah, walks in your cage, 12-year-old kid, you don't know their skill level. Correct. How do you approach it?

SPEAKER_06 1:00:35

Well, like I had that today. I had a I had an 11-year-old for the first time today. Um, he was wearing sparks gear, but you never want to assume anything. So every anytime I meet a first lesson for the first time, I have a conversation with the parent. And this is probably the one and only time I will have this long of a conversation with the parent. I ask them, what are you looking for? And the parent tells me, da-da-da-da-da-da-da. And then I ask the kid, what are we looking for? And then I ask the kid and the parent, what do you think you do really well? And then they usually tell me, and I go, okay, what do you think you don't do really well? And then we go about from there. And then I will usually put them, whether it be a catching or hitting lesson, I'll put them through a lot of stationary or not a low skill needed type stuff to see where they're at. You can gauge it on that. You can tell by movements, and then also you start throwing some words out there, see how they ingest it, and then that will give you a good gauge on the skill level mentally, and that's the big one. Mental skill, and then physically, and then that's how usually go. And then my my conversations with parents I keep for after the lesson because I I mean it's a lot of money that they're putting in. And um I I will talk to the athlete throughout, try to gauge where we're at, but I don't try to throw too much wordage at verbiage at them because then it all gets jumbled up.

Flowers, Family, And Names

SPEAKER_07 1:01:58

Does that make sense? 100%. I do it very similar. Like if I had a new lesson today, a 14-year-old kid who played here, and dad and kid were in the cage and walked in, said hello, asked them uh anything specific you want me to take a look at, or anything specific. The dad was very hands-off. He said, No. He said, uh, you guys just go to work, and the dad went and sat off. And then I was just told the kid. I always start off with a new lesson. I tell him, okay, I'm gonna watch you take like 10 swings or so, just to get a gauge. We'll have a conversation. Always tell him if I say something that doesn't make sense or you don't fully understand, like, let me know. Always a different way to teach things. Like the goal is to get you to understand what you need to do, and every hitter is different. And at the end of the day, my favorite thing I actually ask kids is who's your best hitting coach? And I'll do this with kids who I've been hitting with for five, six, seven, eight, nine times, or kid who I hit with first time. Who's your best hitting coach? And some of these kids will look at me down in my face and be like, You. I'm like, no, no, I'm not your best hitting coach. You, sir, are your best hitting coach, or you, lady, are your best hitting coach, right? Because you are the only one who can truly feel what you are doing or what works, and teach them how to feel, and that's the biggest thing as a lesson giver. It is it is ultimately our goal as a as an instructor and as a coach is to teach them what they're trying to feel or what they need to feel to be successful, or make them feel like they're going to be successful, to give them the mental state that they are going to be a successful person in the box, on the mound, on the field, behind the dish, whatever part of the game you're teaching. Like that is your job. It's no different than a teacher in a school. You're trying to teach the kids to be successful in their academics and what they're trying to do. Like, that is our job to teach them. The beautiful thing about what we do though, and I tell kids this all the time, is okay, what's your favorite subject? Then they tell you, why do you like it? I don't know, it's easy. What's your least favorite subject? That's what it is. I don't really pay attention, or I don't like it, or I don't really try. Like, okay, do you like baseball? Yeah, I love it. Then you should learn everything you can about this sport because you love it. So you should pay attention and try to absorb it. And I find when I tell kids that it tends to kind of click for them because then they're like, oh, well, that makes sense. I do love this, so I should pay attention. I should try to grab as much as I can. So I think, like you said, it's it's creating that relationship with them. Um I agree, sometimes I find myself talking too much. And for example, I had a kid hit with me today who's a 16-year-old who plays for us who's been hitting with me since he was 11 years old. And to be honest, when he comes in, like now it's just little I don't know, tweaks or mental thoughts or small adjustments, or half the time I feel like I throw him balls and let him try to figure stuff out on his own. And when he's just there swinging, I look at him like, dude, what are you doing? And then he gives you that look, and you're like, like, you have to be able to self-coach yourself too. Like, I'm fine teaching you all these things, but if you can't self-coach yourself, at some point when the game is being played, you're gonna be looking for someone else to help you. And the problem is, is you only got yourself. So I think doing lessons is awesome sometimes, most of the time.

SPEAKER_06 1:05:22

Summers are hard.

SPEAKER_07 1:05:23

Summers are hard. I tend to disappear when July hits. I'm out. July and August, I don't really show up much for the lessons because tryouts hit and family stuff goes on, and and you just need a break from being stuck in the cage. I actually really like the most when I see my schedule that I have a team that I get to go on the field with because I find more enjoyment of spending time on a field to actually teach the game of baseball to more minds. I think that's my favorite thing to do as a coach is to actually be on a field teaching something. Whether it's in field camp tonight or catching camp when I get to do with you, or just team. Fundamental baseball teach a baseball IQ, teach the game is is where I feel like I really excel and also enjoy my time as a coach.

SPEAKER_06 1:06:11

Likewise. And to last point I'll bring about that, um also know the skill level. I know the kid you're talking about, high skill level kid. He can he knows his way around the bat. And to your point, a couple weeks ago I I hit occasionally with um a kid who was who was on my first team um from since eight years old. Occasionally uh throw to him every so often. He goes to uh Mount Carmel now. Um gonna go somewhere. He's committed to U of I, whatnot. But I I keep he comes in and I go, Well, what's wrong? He goes, Well, I keep rolling over and I keep pulling off. I go, Well, where do you want the ball to go? He goes, Well, he points to the opposite end of the cage. I go, Okay, then hit the ball over there then. And he looks at me kind of bewildered, and I said, No, I'm I'm dead serious, just hit the ball over there. And all of a sudden, boo-boom, boo-boom, ba-boom. I go, Okay, I want I'm gonna leave you with one thing. If I was a movie director right now and I was filming a movie, and I got you as my star actor, and people know you're familiar with baseball, I am not gonna show the audience where you're hitting the ball. I'm just showing them your swing. So I want you to give me the most pretty swing that you have that's gonna be on camera. And let's see where it goes. But we're not I'm not showing the audience where it's going though. All of a sudden, wham, wham, wham. So I go, what did that prove to you there? He said, Well, I wasn't even thinking about anything, I was just focusing on looking good. And I go, Oh. So to your point, when you have certain skill levels like that, you gotta go to other places beyond mechanics sometimes. And usually that opens the door. But you only can do that if you know the player and put the time in, and you put the time in. I'm not talking about you're playing great. Teaching. If you start teaching in many years, you eventually arrive to that point. And so when parents are looking for that, look for an experienced teacher. Not so much the experienced player, look for the teacher, and that'll guide you into the way of the light.

SPEAKER_07 1:08:18

Find yourself a good man.

SPEAKER_06 1:08:20

Exactly.

SPEAKER_07 1:08:22

Well, another great one. Yeah. Thank you for tuning in.

unknown 1:08:27

Love you.

SPEAKER_07 1:08:27

Lord Puck's gonna hit you with the ending grace.

SPEAKER_06 1:08:31

If you have a Valentine's Day out there, man or woman, do everything you want to do, and just if you have them, you're you're fortunate enough to be loved by someone and you love someone. Appreciate that and make it known, yeah, it's a holiday, it's one day you should be doing every day every day. But for this day, just hold on to them because you never know when they might leave. And um, really just let them know that that's it. Oh yeah.