How The 2026 National Champion Was Built

Champions Series Setup And Sponsor

SPEAKER_02 0:01

Today on Baseball Coaches Unplugged, a four-part series, taking a look back at how champions are built. It's easy to see why they have taken their teams to the College World Series. Let's go back to August of 2021, where Division III, an eventual 2026 national champion dentist and head coach Mike Deegan takes you through his championship playbook next on baseball coaches on core. It's powered by the netting professionals, improving programs one facility at a time. Will Minor and his team at the Netting Professionals specialize in the design, fabrication, and installation of custom netting for baseball and softball. This includes backstops, padding cages, PP turtles, screens, ball carts, and more. They also designed and installed digital graphic wall padding, windscreen, turf, turf protectors, dugout benches, and cubbies. Netting Pros also work with football, soccer, lacrosse, golf courses, and even pedal ball. Contact them today at 844-620-2707. That's 844-620-2707. And you can visit them online at www.nettingpros.com. Check out Netting Pros on X, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn for all their latest products and projects.

Recruiting The Right Fit

SPEAKER_02 2:14

Join me on today's show is the head baseball coach at Denison University and author of the book Let It Rip Life Lessons Learned Through Sports with Mike Deegan. Coach, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me. All right. Well, you're heading into your tenth season at Denison, and I would say it's safe to say if you're looking to play college baseball for a winning program and coach, Granville, Ohio is the place to be. Definitely. Now you were so you were a successful athlete in high school and played at the like you said, at the D D3 level with uh Powerhouse Marietta. When your playing career ended, uh you joined the the Marietta staff and you were the recruiting coordinator and you you worked with the hitters. Uh during that time, you won three national titles. How important is getting slash recruiting ideal player for your program and not necessarily getting the best players that are out there?

SPEAKER_01 3:59

Yeah, I mean, you know, I I think whether it's um, you know, uh hiring in business or you know, getting the right teachers in a school district, I the the the people that you surround yourself with, we know are are are critical to the to the success of an organization. And and that's really what recruiting is. And I think at first uh the the low-hanging fruit, if you will, is the is to just look at talent, right? You can go to a showcase or watch an event, and and now we do a really good job, I think, in the sport of being able to identify those those things that we can measure, you know, arm speed, bat speed, foot speed, you know, weight, size, um, all the all the metrics are out there. So those are um those are now more readily available. And like I said, that's a low-hanging fruit. But I think probably equally, if not more important, is it is it a right, is it the right fit? And the right fit to do the values, do the character, do they match um the programs, values, and missions, and and do the families share those same values? And I don't think it has to be a cookie-cutter approach. I think there's there's obviously a lot of learning and growth that takes place for an 18 to 22-year-old. So you're not looking for someone who's perfect by any means. But I do think there has to be a foundational level where it is a good fit. I think fit's, I think, you know, that that that phrase, I think it's really, really important. I mean, there are uh certain programs where uh the talent may mesh well with a certain playing style and a coaching style, and some others where they don't. So um I think finding that fit is really important and and uh you know our jobs as coaches and recruiting coordinators, et cetera, is to find people that we think can uh move the the whole organization closer, closer to the goals um and the mission of what they're trying to accomplish, all the while while having that individual have success and becoming the best version of themselves.

SPEAKER_02 5:48

You played and coached at Marietta, and as far back as I can remember, they've always been just exceptional program. What would you say the the secret to their success is?

SPEAKER_01 6:01

Oh, I you know, I I think probably like a lot of things, Ken, I mean, there's there probably is no secret, you know. I don't I don't think it's that. I I know Coach Sally, the you know, the the the godfather of it all, the one who kind of started the whole process. Um, you know, he was just an innovator. He was ahead of his time. You know, you talk to guys like that play in the 70s and 80s, I mean, you know, from you know, from the East Coast, Connecticut, New York, wherever it may be, they'll say they they may have received two letters at the time, and one of those letters was Marietta. Um, so that he was just so in the forefront of recruiting and of attracting the right people. And, you know, then there just became this great synergy with the community, and they're able to build a beautiful stadium, and and things really took off. But um, you know, if if you're looking for, I think people will, you know, a lot of times are looking for a secret, but really it's just a lot of really hard work. I mean, you and I know that sounds cliche, but um, you know, we kind of had a little thought there is that is that no one will outwork us, and and I know people say that, but I think at Marietta it's really true. Um, you just roll your sleeves up and you go hard every day. And then, you know, over time, then you have some competitive advantages built in, right? With, you know, by by attracting really good players, by having a great facility, but at the core of it was really just, you know, the the Spartan hard work, effort, and um just just competing day in and day out. And I think if there was a secret sauce, it would probably just be that, that there is no secret sauce, it's just a whole lot of whole lot of work and a whole lot of sacrifice that that goes into it.

SPEAKER_02 7:34

Well, prior to your arrival at Denison, you know, I kind of went back through the records throughout the years, and you know, the team has been average, they've had probably 10 or so coaches. What were your top priorities that you wanted to address when you showed up and had your first head coaching assignment?

SPEAKER_01 7:53

Well,

Rebuilding Denison With Program Identity

SPEAKER_01 7:54

we uh, you know, I I think that one of the one of the things that we we recognize that is that Denison is a is a phenomenal institution, academically. It's it truly is, it's a world-class education. And um, and then there are sports programs that thrive there. So we have there is, you know, there's lots of sports that that do really well. So we kept thinking, like, why can't we have great baseball and have elite academics? Like, why do those two things have to be mutually exclusive and they don't? Um, so what we really started doing from almost from day one was trying to uh from a recruiting standpoint was just trying to get our story down, what we're trying to create, just that, like this high-level experience, and then start telling that story. And with transparency and vulnerability and just being really open, like this is who we want to be, this is the direction of our program. You know, do you want to sign up basically? Really no frills, no um, you know, not trying to do anything crazy, but just telling our story, and then we were able to attract some people who wanted a similar experience. And then within the program, I think, you know, the wins and losses were one thing, but I think we were really just trying to clean up a lot. Like we were trying to, you know, become good community, could good community members for the college. We were trying to increase our profile academically, meaning um I'm not someone someone that harps on GPA so much, but we do want to take our academics seriously. So really it was all-encompassing, just trying to run a really, really good program. And then over time, we were able to establish our identity. And I say over time because I think when you come from the outside in, you know, you know, for me, let's say with a Marietta background, like you could try to run it just like you, like we ran things at Marietta, but that doesn't work. I mean, I'm not Coach Alley, I'm not Coach Brewer, and Dennison isn't Marietta. So we had to kind of find our own identity within a structure and a framework uh that we think is built for success at the Division III level. So I think just little by little, and and look, it's been a slow growth. I mean, I I don't, you know, we this wasn't turned around overnight. We were able to get some success going kind of quickly, but where we are now has been, you know, a seven, eight, nine-year process to get to a point where, you know, we're we're we are in the top 25 um in most cases. So uh I guess that's kind of how how we approached the canon was really can we get the right people in? Can we get the right people on board? And then once you're on board, it was trying to live a have a values-based organization that was that had a shared vision of trying to compete on a national level.

SPEAKER_02 10:20

Now, your coaching career can be summed up in a single phrase, pursuing excellence and not so much X's and O's or strategy. You really focus on the people. Can you explain that?

SPEAKER_01 10:33

Yeah, I mean, uh, you know, I I think I for right or wrong, Ken, my my uh my life has been built around sports. Um and and I say, I always say in my house, it was it was uh growing up, it was sports first and and and academic second, and people always shudder when I say that, like like you know, they get taken back. But really, it was just the life lessons through sports. So sports were like the vehicle for teaching everything from math. I remember doing batting averages and and that type of thing, and using like the math skills and and just how watching how people move and shake in sports. And so sports were were the foundation. And so, really, like I guess what I do what we do as a coach, and I never really thought about this going into it, but it's just kind of a continuation of what I learned growing up, is that sports are a great vehicle to teach less life lessons, and and they're just we're just packed, and sports are just packed with those moments, and um, I guess that's what we're pursuing is you know, this is all big head fake. I mean, we I coach Division III baseball. Very few guys will make a living playing baseball, but I think the proudest moment, not just for myself, but for any coach, is when you get a call back from a guy who's now um you know in the in the business world and they say, hey, like what we did really is impacting me on my job right now. Uh, because that's what this is. I mean, it's about competition, it's about working in teams, it's about trying to do the right thing. And if you do that in sports, you get rewarded quite a bit. And if you do that in life, I really believe you get rewarded quite a bit. So, yeah, I mean, I really feel like baseball is just baseball and sports are just my vehicle to hopefully um uh do my part in trying to help people live a live a fulfilled

When Culture Shapes Talent

SPEAKER_01 12:16

life.

SPEAKER_02 12:16

So you put out a a weekly newsletter, and one of the topics that uh that I'd like to talk to you about would be talent or culture. That was one of the topics you wrote about. Everyone wants to win or be successful as quickly as possible, but how do you address a player or even for someone who might be an employee who's uh more talented than his competition to buy into the the team culture?

SPEAKER_01 12:46

Yeah, I mean, how how do you can you say it one more time again?

SPEAKER_02 12:49

So how do you get someone to buy in that that's yeah, you know, they're they're the type of player that they're they're clearly the the the best player at that position. And you know, they're they're a step above, but uh but how do you get them to to be a team-oriented type player and not necessarily uh focused on individual success?

SPEAKER_01 13:12

Yeah, you know, that that's um you know that's a it's a powerful question and a and a tricky one, meaning once again, just like just like a lot of the things that I'll that I'll say, I I don't have like this quick like one-line answer to anything, but I do think that's where you know this this culture, this environment that that we talk so much about, I think that's the key to everything. So um, and I'll I'll answer your question kind of in a roundabout way, but we we we understand now that uh almost 80% of behavior is gonna be dictated by the environment that you're in. Okay, so so when you think about that, 80%. So in my world, a lot of times, and I've been guilty of this as coaches, we feel like if we can recruit um on the outside and bring this special talented person into our environment, then they're gonna change everything. But but if you look at the math, like 80% of behavior is dictated by the culture, they're more likely to conform to the environment that they're in than to change their environment. So to answer your question, like that's where you know, focusing on the environment you're creating and the culture you're you're uh trying to develop is so important because that person then who I don't because I really don't care about their talent level, in the right environment, their focus is on trying to be do something that's bigger than themselves. Like they're just they're the most talented, but they're just one part of this of this system, of this ethos that's trying to achieve something great together. So, yeah, sometimes when you come in and someone's really talented, they may, you know, they may hold themselves at a certain standard. But in the right culture, I mean, I can look, and I didn't, and we're flawed. I want to be very clear, Ken. Like we have our issues, we have our troubles, etc. But our best players, like they, they're not always our leaders. Like we've we've had some really, really great players that I wouldn't really call leaders, and that's okay. Like, and that's I don't mean in the wrong way, but they're because they're just like their job is maybe to be incredibly to do the incredibly talented things that some other guys can't do. But then you have some other people that are the foundation, the cornerstone of of the culture, of the environment that are all that are equally, if not more, critical than those talented guys. So um I I think in a in a poor culture, in a poor environment, the situation you you just described can be very, very challenging because that person holds all the power. But in a in the right environment, they don't hold all the power. Like they they know that they're just one piece of that thing and their talent is what they can often bring to the program, but uh, but they're not everything to the program as well. So um I don't like I said, I don't think I have one like little bit to it other than the fact that that's why I think it's so important and is so underserved or undervalued is this idea of trying to get your culture and your environment right because that's gonna take care of 90% of those problems.

SPEAKER_02 16:00

I can see that being somewhere to like Bill Belichick in the New England Patriots style. You always hear that being talked about.

SPEAKER_01 16:07

Sure. Yeah, absolutely. You know, and and that's why those really established culturists, that's a that's a really good one, the Patriots. Uh and I would say, you know, um Tom Brady would be someone like with the Buccaneers now, now that he's not with the Patriots, he's so polarizing and he's able to, he's someone who's talented, but also is um an extremely impactful person on a culture. That's why, like, like whether it's the Patriots, whether it's what Tom Brady kind of transitioning to the Buccaneers, you know, San Antonio Spurs are a good example as well. But they're they're able to take some risk on quote unquote bad character people. Like, you know, and I say quote unquote because we never know what that what that exactly means, but they're able to take some risk because their culture and their environment is so strong. So just like on the opposite end, right? Like if you bring in an example from a long time ago with the Patriots, you bring in Randy Moss, who had who had his, you know, had his skeptics, but you bring Randy Moss into that environment, then his environment, because of the 80% rule, he gets more in line with how the Patriots are going to do the Patriot way, and then they're able to flourish. So um, yeah, that that's right. There, that's why you look at those elite cultures and they say you see, oh wow, like they're able to bring some people in who have a little bit of a checkered past because their their environment, their culture is so strong that they're more likely to adapt to the norms of that organization.

Goals Kaizen And Handling Pressure

SPEAKER_02 17:32

You wrote, is having a goal as a player or a coach enough? Uh can you explain the the three questions you should consider when you're setting up a goal?

SPEAKER_01 17:43

Yeah, you know, I I think when you're um, you know, I think goals are really easy. You know, I I they're really easy to say. Like I always say, my in my profession of coaching, you know, everybody starts the year they want to win a championship. They want to win. Um, players wanna, you know, high school players want to play Division I baseball or basketball or whatever. Uh you want to go pro. Like those are it's really easy to say it. It's sometimes easier to write it down. But really, when you when you get down to it, is a lot of it's gonna be, you know, what are you willing to sacrifice? You know, how hard are you willing to work? You know, those are the kind of questions that you have to start really asking yourself because, you know, just just writing it down isn't gonna be the case. It's gonna be all those things, you know, when it's it's doing things when when you you know don't want to do them, right? Like if if if I want to if I want to win a championship this year as a program, like just saying it's not enough, it's gonna be are we gonna work at it every single day, even on those days when you don't feel like practicing, don't feel like training, you know, you're gonna have to go, right? You have to sacrifice time socially, all those things. So um I I really feel, Ken, that that goals are a little bit light, like they're they're light to me. You know, it's it's because everyone has those common things. It's can you put a why behind it? Can you put something compelling behind why you want to do this? Um, you know, what are you willing to sacrifice? What are you willing to fight for? Um, I just think it takes a little bit more than what people say on the surface of just, hey, I'm gonna write this goal down and go. Um, it's much more layered than that. And I think that's the difference maker. Goals are common, sacrifice isn't common, hard work isn't common. And usually, if you're able to lean into those uncommon things, is when you get uncommon results.

SPEAKER_02 19:25

You won the NCAs the and was one game away from making the Division III World Series this past season. With the team success, since you become the head coach, Denison has gone from being a hunter to I would say being the hunted. How do you get your team ready for that role each each season?

SPEAKER_01 19:45

You know, you know, I'll a uh I'm gonna go coach speak on you here. I hate to do it, but uh you know, we we um you know, probably the we have four pillars to our program that I think a lot of people probably have heard, and we could go into those at one point, but I would say that at the at the foundational level of our program, it's it's this idea of Kaizen, which is means continuous and never-ending improvement. So uh basically it's getting better. Like that's kind of what that's that that's our hallmark, is is and it's it's a personal life philosophy of mine that I just want to be better every day, right? I want to be a better husband, I want to be a better father, be a better coach, uh, run a better program, all those things. So when you ask that question, you know, now we're in a different spot. And it's a very fair question. Like when you're when you're charging uphill and and you can kind of go under the radar, it's a little bit different. Whenever you're, you know, you have the bullseye on you and you get everybody's best shot. That's a different, that's a different level. Uh, but I'll go back to like uh our founding principle with this getting this kaizen of a continuous improvement. To me, it almost doesn't matter. Like our our job is to try to get better. That's it. And and so I I don't really worry about rankings or you know, where we fall in the pecking order. It's just can we get better? And um, for right or wrong, I'm wired to just think that we're not very good. Like I look at all the flaws in our program, which isn't healthy either, but I just see so many areas that we can improve. Now, does that mean we go into the World Series and win a national championship? No, it doesn't, that doesn't necessarily mean that. I just know right now, um, as a coaching staff, we're relentlessly looking at ways we can improve. And there's a there's a lot, there's a lot of things we can do better. And our players, their their charge is to be doing the same things. It's for them to be getting better, improving. So, yes, it's different. Um, I don't know if motivations really what it is. Our only motivation is that we want to improve, we want to be the best version of ourselves outside of result, you know. So everyone else is gonna look at the results and say, okay, this was a good year because you, you know, were in the regional finals. But for us, it's it was a really good year because I think we got pretty darn close to maximizing our potential. And uh we played our best baseball late, and that was the best version of Dennison late in the season. And that's what we're most proud of. The results are fickle. You know what I mean? Results are fickle. Sometimes you get a break, sometimes you don't. But in this case, this year, that the results kind of matched our effort. And that's really what we're focused on. So yeah, we're we're now maybe with the bullseye's on us a little bit more, but it doesn't really uh change our approach to anything other than the fact that now we're in a position to see a little bit further beyond and say, okay, if we want to be in that elite, elite sliver of Division III baseball, this is what it looks like. And our guys now have seen that. So to me, it's it's exciting. Um, is there a little bit of pressure? Maybe, but I don't know. Pressure is what we do with the in sports, right? You you learn how to dance with that pressure, learn how to dance with that fear, and you welcome those things. And I'd much rather be in this spot than we were, you know, eight, nine years ago.

Reflection Losing And Pickup Basketball

SPEAKER_02 22:47

Do you believe uh failure is the best teacher? And if so, why?

SPEAKER_01 22:52

I I think the easy answer is to say yes. Um, but I I I think, you know, I think reflection is so I'm gonna say no. How about that? Just to just just to play, just to play around a little bit. I think any experience that you can put yourself in is gonna be your best teacher. So anytime you can stretch yourself and be in uncomfortable situations, sometimes it's success and sometimes it's failure. I mean, I don't want to deal with all failure. I mean, that that would be that's really tough. That's like me golfing. I never have any success golfing. It's and and and I don't want to, and I don't, it doesn't motivate me because I I have a lot of, I have a negative feedback loop with golfing. Um, but so you want to have some success sprinkled in there. But why I said, why I said no is to me it's it's all in the reflection. Failure can be an unbelievable teacher if you reflect, right? If you reflect and go, okay, what went wrong? What happened? What can I do next to be better? But success is the same way. I don't really look at the two, I don't look at success, success and failure much differently. Like I look at when we're successful, when we win, we come home and we go, okay, like how, you know, how were we today as a coaching staff? What did we miss? You know, what can we do better? What's our practice going to look like? When we lose, it's a very similar approach. It's the same thing. Sometimes losing can give you a little bit more motivation for change. Sometimes failure can be the impetus to make you go, okay, I need to work harder. Absolutely. But I think where most people miss the boat, myself included, is when we don't reflect. Because to me, reflection then leads to awareness. So if I re if I reflect, then I'm I become a little bit more aware and go, okay, I'm not the greatest, but this is how I can get better. And then that's gonna lead to to understanding my values, that's gonna uh lead to to long-term growth and development. So uh to me, the greatest teacher is reflection and failure can be packed into that.

SPEAKER_02 24:43

I'd loved your I got next lessons learned playing pickup basketball, you know, back in Washington, PA. You you say something in the blog about learning to hate losing. And to me, that was probably my biggest motivation being a high school baseball coach. Is I to me I hated losing more than I enjoyed winning. And can you explain the the whole pickup basketball?

SPEAKER_01 25:11

Yeah, you know, I so you know, um when I when I was growing up, there was there were certain courts in in Washington, you know, where you were some of the best run in the city, you know, would took take place. Uh Park and Dewey, Lemoyne Center, Stanley Hall, like there was you could name it. There was like four or five eighth war playground. And on certain days, those those places were packed. I mean, just packed. And you don't see that quite as much now. I think I'm sure in certain spots you do, but you don't quite see that. And when I say packed, you you know, you would uh you'd play, and then if you lost, you had to sit and the winner stayed on the court. But there's enough people waiting to play that you sometimes you could lose, and you may sit. I don't want to, I don't want to exaggerate as we get older, right? Those those those times a little bit more, but you could sit for an hour, maybe two hours, waiting to play again. So you learn that when you lose, there's consequences, right? You do the wit, there's rewards for the winners and there's and there's consequences for the losers. And in pick up basketball, you you really felt those, right? Like it's not doing it's not doing uh uh 10 down and backs, it's that you don't play anymore. Like that was that was a loss, and mom and dad couldn't fix that. You know, your neighbor couldn't fix it, nobody could fix it. You lost, you had to sit. And so, you know, you that that was a really good lesson that you're gonna compete and do everything you can to help your team win. And I love that example for me because as a as a pickup basketball player, I always say, like, nobody counts their points in pickup hoops. Like nobody go, you know, uh, we're playing that we're playing to 11. I had seven, but we lost. You just do what you can to help your team. And I remember when I was when I was younger, like it was to defend, right? I would go in there and and my role may be to defend and then get the ball to someone who could score. And or it could be to rebound or whatever. And then as you get better, and then maybe my role became to score and be the guy who was trying to get us to 11. But you learn that like you're just a part, you're part of something bigger than yourself. And I think that was like a a lesson without having to be told or talked about it. It's just like that was a very real thing in playing pickup hoofs. So, you know, you know, you don't you learn that when you lose, that it's it's not there, it's not a good thing. And so I think that that's probably carried over with me in in into every every phase is that you know you compete like crazy. You compete, and and I've I've got as I've gotten older, I've gotten better with losing, meaning um I don't see an indictment on myself or our players or our team. Um, but I do go, okay, now this this gives me opportunity to reflect and hopefully be better because of it. But in that moment, like it doesn't matter who we're playing or where we're playing, I'm gonna do everything we can to try to win. And then, you know, then the result's gonna be the result. But I think those are the lessons that you kind of learn, you know, playing pickup hoops in in some you know, eclectic places with uh very diverse people. And yeah, it's just a special, special lessons were learned on that, on the on the blacktop playing hoops.

SPEAKER_02 28:06

You specifically talked about being knocked down and knocked into the bleachers. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:13

Yeah. So I uh you know, yeah, it was you know, I play, I'd be the I'd be the minority in some of the places we play. And um, so sometimes you're getting, you know, you you have you have a you look you learn about that too, by the way. I think it's a very valuable thing too. If you've never if you've never been a minority, you don't know what it's like sometimes to have the empathy for someone who comes into your environment and looks different than you. It's it changes things. But I was uh I grabbed the rebound, took two dribbles, and the guy just shoved me, like two hands shoved me into the into the bleachers, and I just had to check it up, you know, it's it's our ball. And so uh there's not much I could say or do. I think I was and but uh but I learned though, right? Like that that that happened, I learned like okay, like now I when I better be stronger with the ball, I better learn how to be a little bit more physical. I better learn how to hold my own and stand up for myself a touch. Um, so yeah, there's you know, there's certain things that that coach that I really miss, you know, about about that time and that and that energy, because you know, that's like I said, like that would be that's not that's not the greatest lesson that you shouldn't shove someone into the bleachers, but I I learned just to get a little to be a little tougher, to develop a little thicker skin. And um, and then like I said, too, probably the biggest thing from that whole thing is the empathy for others um that you gain by just playing with different people from different backgrounds.

SPEAKER_02 29:33

Well, I I can't let you leave the show without uh without talking about your book, Let It Rip.

Book Courses And Staying Connected

SPEAKER_02 29:40

Tell the audience, if you could, about the a little bit, a little bit about the book and you know how someone, if they you know, would like to order it, how they could go about doing that.

SPEAKER_01 29:48

Yeah, so the book's on Amazon. That's that's the easiest way is to is to Amazon. You could you could email me directly too if you'd want a sign copy. I have some here at the house still. But uh yeah, it's it's it's an extension of the newsletter, of the life lessons I've learned through sports. Um, you know, just trying to make an impact in a different way. It's it it's it's a lot about just kind of kind of my journey through sports and and just the lessons I've learned. And it's packed into like five different segments that I think that the what what I have the the positive feedback that I've received, that it's it's very easy to read, um, that it has a flow and that it has a direction to it. So I think anybody who loves sports um and and uses sports as a vehicle to teach others, or maybe they're looking to for their for their kids to have a book like that. I've had some people say that uh they read it to their young children at night. Like it's not a it's not a kid's book, but it's uh sometimes there's some lessons there that kids may enjoy or teenagers may enjoy. Um so the book I think is great. Another place that we're doing a lot of a lot of good things, I think, is a place on clearlearn.com. So clearlearn um.com. And what we're doing there is just trying to have content experts. So I I have a course on there in leadership, I have a course on there in people development. Um, we have everything on there from having good conversations. So there's all different things. And if you use the promo code Degan, um, it's 50% off of any course there. But they're just these these self-paced courses where you know you can get, if like I said in my course on on like culture, you can go there and get a framework. And if you're someone who's looking at um either A, developing a culture or maybe B trying to change your culture a little bit, there's a framework that can help you work through it. So, you know, those are the places that, you know, I and I have the the obviously the newsletter, the free newsletter that's out there as well, where I just stay connected with people every week and just share my thoughts on some of the things that are out there. But yeah, the book, Clear Learn, and then my newsletter are three great ways to stay in touch and and to see some of the work I'm doing. And how can they follow you on Twitter? What is your Twitter handle? My Twitter handle is Coach Deegan, and I'm pretty active on there. Um so if you if you if you go Coach Deegan on Twitter, um it's it's probably the space where I'm most active on social media. I also have a LinkedIn page, uh Facebook page, but but Twitter is kind of my vehicle. Um it's fun to banter and learn and grow on there as well. People make fun of social media and say it's it's you know this or that, but I think if you if you use Twitter properly, I think it's an unbelievable place for growth and learning and development.

SPEAKER_02 32:18

Without a doubt. And you know, being a high school baseball coach here in central Ohio, um, you know, you have one of the guys that I work got a chance to work with coming to you from uh Dublin Jerome. And um, you know, I I can't say enough good things about uh the impact you've had on coaches throughout throughout probably the state of Ohio. And I really can't thank you enough for taking the time to to join me on the Athlete One podcast. And you know, I really wish you the best of luck coming into to next season. And you know, you're just a great person to to listen to, to follow, and you put out a lot of great content. And thank you very much, coach.

SPEAKER_01 33:00

Coach, I appreciate I appreciate it. That means a lot. I think the uh you know the the comment about helping other coaches is probably the thing I'm most passionate about right now, is I think that you know, coaches like yourself and and coaches throughout the state and country for that matter. I think a common thread we have right now is that it's really tough. It's a it's a tough environment to coach. Not only do you have to be a content expert and be an expert on leadership and culture, you also have to be really attuned to to what's going on socially. And there's a lot. There's just a lot of pressure, and parent, parent pressure is probably greater than ever. And so I just have a ton of respect for what you do and the and all the coaches. And and if I can have um some impact and some level of support for those people, um, it really makes a lot of the time and energy that I put into writing and speaking, it makes all the worth more worthwhile. So um thank you so much for having me on and and thanks for the kind words as well. All right, thank you, coach. Appreciate you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 33:56

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