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Send us a text When the rain washes out a week of games and the state tournament looms on the horizon, how do you keep your pitching staff ready? For Coach Jason Brandt, the answer might surprise you. Coach Brandt of Wapakoneta High School has crafted one of Ohio's most consistent baseball programs through a philosophy that seems counterintuitive at first glance. "The later we get into the season, the less we practice," he reveals, explaining that rest becomes increasingly precious as tourna...
When the rain washes out a week of games and the state tournament looms on the horizon, how do you keep your pitching staff ready? For Coach Jason Brandt, the answer might surprise you.
Coach Brandt of Wapakoneta High School has crafted one of Ohio's most consistent baseball programs through a philosophy that seems counterintuitive at first glance. "The later we get into the season, the less we practice," he reveals, explaining that rest becomes increasingly precious as tournament time approaches. This season, his team has surged to a 12-1 record despite fielding nine underclassmen among their regular players.
The conversation dives deep into the challenges of schedule disruptions and managing young arms during compressed game schedules. But it's Brandt's perspective on coaching evolution that truly resonates. After more than two decades leading the program, he's transitioned from what he describes as a "fiery" young coach to a more balanced leader who understands that "it's just a game and the kids aren't out there trying to lose." This growth hasn't come without memorable moments, including a hilarious story about falling off a bucket in the dugout during a crucial late-inning situation.
Beyond tactics, Brandt shares invaluable wisdom for aspiring coaches: conduct honest one-on-one conversations with players about their roles, surround yourself with loyal assistants (three of his are former players), and recognize the critical importance of youth programs in sustaining high school success. His approach has led to five district championships and two state final appearances – proving that sometimes the best coaching happens when you know when to back off and let players shine.
Ready to transform your coaching philosophy? Subscribe to Baseball Coaches Unplugged for weekly conversations with the most insightful minds in the game.
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Transcript
WEBVTT
00:00:01.479 --> 00:00:03.282
Today on Baseball Coaches Unplugged.
00:00:03.282 --> 00:00:14.593
How one coach handles his pitching staff as the end of the season state tournament is quickly approaching and you've already lost a week's worth of games to rain.
00:00:14.593 --> 00:00:25.213
And why he practices less the closer he gets to the tournament and you want to stick around to the end to hear the story of the dangers of sitting on a bucket.
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All this and more with Jason Brandt, head baseball coach at Wapakoneta High School in Ohio.
00:00:33.210 --> 00:00:36.155
Next, on Baseball Coaches Unplugged.
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Welcome to Baseball Coaches Unplugged with Coach Ken Carpenter, presented by AthleteOne.
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Baseball Coaches Unplugged is a podcast for baseball coaches With 27 years of high school baseball coaching under his belt, here to bring you the inside scoop on all things baseball, from game-winning strategies and pitching secrets to hitting drills and defensive drills.
00:00:57.610 --> 00:00:58.784
We're covering it all.
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Whether you're a high school coach, college coach or just a baseball enthusiast, we'll dive into the tactics and techniques that make the difference on and off the field.
00:01:07.311 --> 00:01:09.754
Discover how to build a winning mentality.
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Inspire your players and get them truly bought into your game philosophy Plus, get the latest insights on recruiting, coaching, leadership and crafting a team culture that champions productivity and success.
00:01:20.765 --> 00:01:25.382
Join Coach every week as he breaks down the game and shares incredible behind-the-scenes stories.
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Your competitive edge starts here, so check out the show weekly and hear from the best coaches in the game.
00:01:31.081 --> 00:01:33.004
On Baseball Coaches Unplugged.
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Hello and welcome to Baseball Coaches Unplugged.
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I'm your host, coach Ken Carpenter, and thanks for checking out the show.
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Don't forget to hit the subscribe button and tell your friends about us.
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Every Wednesday, look for a new episode with the best baseball coaches from around the country.
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Now let's hear from head coach Jason Brandt at Wapakoneta High School in Ohio.
00:02:51.673 --> 00:02:55.850
Coach, thanks for taking the time to be on Baseball Coaches Unplugged.
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Thanks for having me.
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I appreciate it.
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Well, we're getting close to the end of the season here in Ohio and the state tournament is right around the corner.
00:03:04.768 --> 00:03:13.334
Is the season going for you the way you expected and do you think you guys are capable of making a deep run.
00:03:14.200 --> 00:03:17.548
Well, I'll be honest, I I did not think.
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We're 12 and 1 right now.
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And if you would have asked me back in January, february, even March, what we'd be, I would have asked me back in January, february, even March what we'd be I would have said around 500.
00:03:26.236 --> 00:03:38.972
We returned six guys that played varsity last year, but only two of them really contributed a lot and one of those players actually was injured for half the season.
00:03:38.972 --> 00:03:41.969
So we really have a really young team.
00:03:41.969 --> 00:03:43.466
We only have one senior starter.
00:03:43.466 --> 00:03:48.350
We have nine underclassmen that play regularly.
00:03:49.780 --> 00:03:59.348
So definitely we've come out a lot better than I thought we would, which is great, but we still have a lot of baseball ahead of us.
00:03:59.348 --> 00:04:10.770
So the next two weeks are pretty important to us to see how we handle playing every day and then getting into the tournament and going from there.
00:04:10.770 --> 00:04:25.130
But I mean, I like our team, I like how we've gelled throughout the year, I like how we play, we've thrown the ball really well, we've hit it really well and defensively I think we only have eight errors in our 13 games.
00:04:25.130 --> 00:04:28.911
So that's probably kept us in a lot of games or helped us win.
00:04:28.911 --> 00:04:31.488
So right now I think we have a chance.
00:04:31.488 --> 00:04:35.451
But our district is loaded with a lot of guys that can throw the ball.
00:04:35.451 --> 00:04:40.901
You know in the upper 80s, low 90s, and we know how baseball is Like.
00:04:40.901 --> 00:04:43.269
It just takes one of those guys to put a team down.
00:04:45.500 --> 00:04:47.846
So what you're telling me is it's it's all coaching.
00:04:47.865 --> 00:04:50.833
I wish I could say that, I mean, my assistants were on the same page with me.
00:04:50.833 --> 00:04:54.226
So, uh, our kids have just done a really good job.
00:04:54.226 --> 00:04:58.302
They, uh, they get along as well as anybody and they're pretty gritty.
00:04:58.302 --> 00:05:04.786
Um, you know, they yelled at me because we canceled a couple games when it was, you know, 30 degrees outside.
00:05:04.786 --> 00:05:10.009
I'm like I'm old and I don't want to be in that, and you know they want to play every day.
00:05:10.009 --> 00:05:12.928
So you know, that's something, as a coach, you really love.
00:05:14.740 --> 00:05:17.047
Well, what inspired you to become a high school baseball coach?
00:05:17.889 --> 00:05:18.771
That's a tough call.
00:05:18.771 --> 00:05:25.930
Yeah, I grew up at Anna, which is just about 10 miles south of here in Wapak.
00:05:25.930 --> 00:05:33.869
I played basketball, baseball and golf there, Really liked my coaches I had basically the same coaches for all three sports.
00:05:33.869 --> 00:05:36.326
They were great guys.
00:05:38.841 --> 00:06:12.273
And then I went to college at Capital University and played baseball there and while I was there I was an athletic training major but we had to have a second major and I chose education and kind of after about a year of doing both, I decided that the education part was more my style and I just loved being around baseball and I was able to help out with our summer acme team at Anna, one of my one of my summers of college, and kind of liked it there.
00:06:12.273 --> 00:06:23.668
And then I graduated in December and Anna had a JV coaching job that year and I I just took it um, and then I got hired the following year at Wapaw as a teacher as well.
00:06:23.668 --> 00:06:26.872
I had a freshman coaching job that lasted a year.
00:06:26.872 --> 00:06:28.295
I still like doing it.
00:06:28.295 --> 00:06:32.951
The varsity job came open and I was the assistant for three years.
00:06:34.141 --> 00:06:37.807
Our head coach, then left In 2002, 2003,.
00:06:37.807 --> 00:06:39.250
I guess I became the head coach.
00:06:39.250 --> 00:06:41.548
I guess you say the rest is history.
00:06:41.548 --> 00:06:43.266
I really enjoyed it here.
00:06:43.266 --> 00:06:44.423
We have great facilities.
00:06:44.423 --> 00:06:44.637
The rest is history.
00:06:44.637 --> 00:06:45.298
I really really enjoyed it here.
00:06:45.298 --> 00:06:45.728
We have great, great facilities.
00:06:45.728 --> 00:06:48.949
Our administration is great.
00:06:48.949 --> 00:06:53.872
We've gotten a lot of things that they've done for us for our field.
00:06:53.872 --> 00:06:58.939
We just got field turf three years ago for the infield and it's just top notch.
00:06:58.939 --> 00:07:01.389
So you know, they've made it easy.
00:07:01.389 --> 00:07:02.805
The kids here have made it easy.
00:07:02.805 --> 00:07:06.971
The parents here have made it pretty easy to coach and be successful.
00:07:08.660 --> 00:07:16.728
Well, traditionally there at Wapakoneta, you guys have been one of the top programs in that area and you know, of course, across the state.
00:07:16.728 --> 00:07:26.860
If I talk to your players, past and present, what would they tell me about you when it comes to team culture and philosophy?
00:07:28.002 --> 00:07:31.949
um, you know, I think, our philosophy I'll start with that first.
00:07:31.949 --> 00:07:39.052
I, I think, you know, every year we just tried to build on what we've done the year before.
00:07:39.052 --> 00:07:45.350
Um, we get some of that in the summer with our acme, but a lot of our kids play travel baseball.
00:07:45.350 --> 00:08:00.413
And then, you know, we do a lot of just off-season conditioning weightlifting, running, throwing, hitting, anything that can get our non-fall and winter sports kids involved with something.
00:08:00.413 --> 00:08:10.350
And there's always usually you know two to three to four guys that played the year before that help run those and they know what's expected of everybody.
00:08:10.350 --> 00:08:13.302
Uh, and they make it very easy on the coaches.
00:08:13.302 --> 00:08:23.850
Um, you know, and then our goal during the year, it's it's never to win the league, that's one of our goals, but our goal is to be playing our best baseball come.
00:08:23.850 --> 00:08:28.189
Well, it used to be early May, now it's late May, just because that's when the tournament rolls around.
00:08:28.189 --> 00:08:45.913
And you know, winning a league championship is great, but I know a lot of our kids remember, you know, a district championship or a regional championship, or even making state, and those things are great because that helps build your program.
00:08:46.019 --> 00:08:51.292
Now, the culture like we, we deal with guys that want to be there every day.
00:08:51.292 --> 00:09:00.272
Um, and you know, some years we'll keep 15 or 16 on the varsity level and this year we're down to like 12 or 13 and those guys just want to play.
00:09:00.272 --> 00:09:03.589
Um, you know, we personal agendas.
00:09:03.589 --> 00:09:13.883
We try to keep those aside because when guys start getting into it for the wrong reasons or, you know, wanting personal stats and things start going the wrong way quick.
00:09:13.883 --> 00:09:25.974
And I think in the last five or six years we've had guys that were able to shut down those bad karma guys and things like that to help our program be a little more successful.
00:09:25.974 --> 00:09:27.928
And I think that's one of the things this year.
00:09:27.928 --> 00:09:30.179
Like, nobody's in it for the wrong reasons.
00:09:30.179 --> 00:09:34.932
They're all there just to play baseball and go out and win some games.
00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:49.769
Well, I, you know, I know that just around the state of Ohio, with all the rain we've been getting this past week and it's still happening right now, it's got to be annoying, driving you crazy because it's.
00:09:49.769 --> 00:09:56.202
You know the pitching rules and the way that the pitch count rule is, and how do you?
00:09:56.202 --> 00:10:04.910
You know every coach goes into it knowing that, hey, it's Ohio, we're going to get a stretch where we're going to have back-to-back-to-back games.
00:10:04.910 --> 00:10:07.048
How do you prepare for something like that?
00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:10.128
Yeah, I'll go back to the beginning of the season.
00:10:10.128 --> 00:10:12.162
We played on that first Friday we could play.
00:10:12.162 --> 00:10:20.407
It was 75 and sunny, and then we turned around and played Monday when it was 41 degrees and cloudy, and then we had 11 days off.
00:10:20.407 --> 00:10:29.248
We couldn't get a game in because maybe it was a Wednesday and we aren't allowed to play on Wednesdays, or like a nice day, but nobody already.
00:10:29.248 --> 00:10:33.724
Everybody else already had games scheduled and we just couldn't find games.
00:10:33.724 --> 00:10:37.201
So you know that part of it's really frustrating because you got to work.
00:10:37.201 --> 00:10:43.224
Well, these guys need to throw bullpens, these guys are probably going to start tomorrow if we play.
00:10:43.585 --> 00:11:02.049
So we got to kind of hold off on those guys and then to say, man, we've been outside almost every day in the preseason during practice, especially with the turf, and then, oh man, we're back inside and there's nothing worse than going back inside after you've been outside and you've played games.
00:11:02.049 --> 00:11:07.652
So you know, sometimes we have to shorten practices up.
00:11:07.652 --> 00:11:18.429
Maybe today we're just going to hit and with 12 to 14 guys you can get through a lot of hitting in an hour to an hour and 15 minutes and the guys kind of enjoy that because it gives them a little bit of a break.
00:11:18.429 --> 00:11:23.946
You know we're not going two, two and a half hours and then they're, you know, using all their energy up.
00:11:23.946 --> 00:11:29.960
So we had to do that now where we're getting into the stretch where we're supposed to have a league game tomorrow.
00:11:30.041 --> 00:11:31.919
But they're also calling for a half-inch range.
00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:43.389
So you know that might get backed up to Wednesday and then you know we might not play again until Friday, saturday, but then next week we have six games in six days or whatever.
00:11:43.389 --> 00:11:59.272
So throw a bullpen, maybe tomorrow, get a couple innings on the hill and then, you know, hope all those guys are ready and able to throw strikes when we need it next week, just because they haven't been on the hill a lot this spring because of the weather.
00:11:59.272 --> 00:12:09.332
So you know, you hope you get the most out of them and go from there Well you know you mentioned, you know, 10 days without getting on getting out there and playing.
00:12:10.160 --> 00:12:16.754
You know I I would love to to see a high school football or basketball coach have to have to do that.
00:12:16.754 --> 00:12:21.331
That would be, that would be fun to watch, because baseball is a totally different animal.
00:12:21.331 --> 00:12:26.596
And you know, I wanted to talk to you because at one I knew you guys.
00:12:26.596 --> 00:12:48.434
You guys are having a great season and this is the perfect time to talk about the state tournament which is coming up and in Ohio it's lose one game and you're done and um, over the years, do you keep the same approach, uh, or does your coaching style change a little bit once you get into the tournament?
00:12:51.841 --> 00:12:53.488
We try to keep the same approach.
00:12:53.488 --> 00:12:57.278
You know, year to year it changes.
00:12:57.278 --> 00:13:13.351
I know I'll just go like in my second year being the head coach, we won a district championship and and I didn't know what to expect I mean, here I am, I'm probably 25, 26 years old and we play Walsh Jesuit and they won the state that year.
00:13:13.351 --> 00:13:14.374
That was 2004.
00:13:14.374 --> 00:13:24.525
They had nine men on the field and you know we're going up there and our guys are just happy to be there because I think Walpole could only won one other district championship before that in baseball.
00:13:24.525 --> 00:13:27.749
So you know we go up there and they wax us pretty good.
00:13:27.749 --> 00:13:29.988
We didn't get run ruled, but they wax us pretty good.
00:13:29.988 --> 00:13:37.099
And then we had a stretch of some years there where we would be competitive but not make it out of districts.
00:13:37.099 --> 00:13:48.129
And that's always tough as a coach because you know, I'll be honest, when I first started coaching here, wap walk up and maybe only won one or two tournament games the previous 10 years.
00:13:48.129 --> 00:13:59.918
Um, so you know our first year was, hey, let's win a tournament game and and then we went from there and we had a really good stretch from like 2010 to 2018.
00:13:59.918 --> 00:14:07.214
I think we won five district championships in there and, and each year we did something different as we progressed.
00:14:07.214 --> 00:14:10.809
You know, the later we get into the season, the less we practice.
00:14:10.809 --> 00:14:15.191
That might sound weird, but I'm a big believer.
00:14:15.191 --> 00:14:18.990
Our guys need to have a little bit of rest and recovery time as well.
00:14:20.379 --> 00:14:22.022
You know, this is another weird thing we do during tournament.
00:14:22.022 --> 00:14:23.263
One day I bring out I got about three or four college bats.
00:14:23.263 --> 00:14:25.465
And you know, this is another weird thing we do during tournament week.
00:14:25.465 --> 00:14:27.626
One day I bring out I got about three or four college bats.
00:14:27.626 --> 00:14:34.153
So we bring out the old drop five two and three-quarter-inch barrel bats and we see how far we can hit it.
00:14:34.153 --> 00:14:44.505
One day Everybody backs up to the fence so nobody gets hurt, and we just see how far guys can hit baseballs with those bats.
00:14:44.505 --> 00:14:45.869
And the guys don't believe how ju those bats really were.
00:14:45.869 --> 00:14:48.815
But uh, so it's trying to try to keep them loose and have fun.
00:14:49.677 --> 00:15:08.767
Um, you know, and the other thing is is is once you get to tournament you really only use about three pitchers, maybe four, uh, you know, throughout the weekend and so so the last couple of years, or the last few years, we've thrown our other guys against our guys just so they can get a little more alive.
00:15:08.767 --> 00:15:22.826
They're not guys that we're going to see in a tournament, but it's a live arm and it's a chance for our guys that maybe won't pitch in the tournament to prove that they're going to be ready for us if we need it and go from there.
00:15:22.826 --> 00:15:36.528
But it kind of depends on the team we have and sometimes the weather, because if it's 85, 90 degrees and that turf's cooking, we don't want to be out there as long either, and you know we go that route.
00:15:36.528 --> 00:15:43.745
So you know we don't change a lot, but we might shorten things up, but we might shorten things up.
00:15:43.764 --> 00:15:53.139
Well, to a lot of people, coaching high school baseball looks easy, and they're usually the fans on the other side of the fence and not in the dugout.
00:15:53.139 --> 00:16:03.370
Over the years, what have been some of your biggest challenges in you know, from the opposite side of it, biggest rewards.
00:16:07.154 --> 00:16:09.418
Biggest challenges is.
00:16:09.418 --> 00:16:24.167
I mean, I think sometimes the expectations have been a lot higher from the outside than maybe what it is from the inside, with the coaches, you know, because I think the coaching staff has a pretty good handle on things.
00:16:24.167 --> 00:16:25.660
We know what our team's made of.
00:16:25.660 --> 00:16:34.306
We know what we can and can't do, you know, and a challenge is like getting beat.
00:16:34.306 --> 00:16:46.602
I remember a couple years ago it's been probably five or six years ago we faced a team in the first round Maumee would only won two, faced a team in the first round Maumee who had only won two or three games in the regular season, and they come in with a dude throwing 92 against us.
00:16:46.602 --> 00:16:51.426
We did beat him 2-1, but it's like, holy cow, where did this come from?
00:16:51.426 --> 00:16:55.985
Because we don't do a lot of scouting north of us.
00:16:55.985 --> 00:17:00.160
Usually we play a team that we've already played during the season for the first round.
00:17:00.160 --> 00:17:07.756
We knew the kid was good.
00:17:07.756 --> 00:17:11.143
I didn't know he was 92 good, you know, and that's really tough and that's hard to coach.
00:17:11.143 --> 00:17:12.645
You know your kids up, you know.
00:17:12.665 --> 00:17:20.587
Maybe another challenge was, you know, in 2012 and 2018, we were maybe an hour away from winning a state championship.
00:17:20.587 --> 00:17:27.382
Both games Got beat by one one game and got beat by two in the other, but played lights out in both games.
00:17:27.382 --> 00:17:41.175
You know it's disappointing that we lost but in the whole realm of things it's awesome that we got there and our kids had a chance twice to bring home the title to WAPUG and we just felt short.
00:17:41.175 --> 00:17:44.338
But I was proud of those guys as much as I could be.
00:17:44.338 --> 00:17:46.039
Uh, some of the rewards.
00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:47.622
I mean I've coached both my sons.
00:17:47.622 --> 00:17:51.345
My oldest son, um, is a sophomore in college now.
00:17:51.345 --> 00:17:54.407
Uh, pitching out at Lackawanna College in Pennsylvania.
00:17:55.307 --> 00:17:59.951
Um my youngest son is a sophomore on our varsity team this year playing second base sports.
00:17:59.951 --> 00:18:02.036
My youngest son is a sophomore on our varsity team this year playing second base sports.
00:18:02.036 --> 00:18:13.144
You know I could also say it's a challenge because they're kind of like me and they get a little fiery at times and they might shoot back at me or something and I'll get back at them, but it's been really fun to coach them.
00:18:13.144 --> 00:18:15.046
You know they always want.
00:18:15.046 --> 00:18:17.307
You know they always say never give up.
00:18:17.307 --> 00:18:30.153
And those guys want extra batting practice every day and you know, as long as I can do it, I'm going to be up there throwing to them and that's some time that you won't get much more of once you know they're graduated and things like that.
00:18:30.696 --> 00:18:42.643
The other rewards are just seeing all the kids come through and then getting a text, a random text message from one of them saying hey, great job tonight or keep up the good work, or you get an invitation to a wedding.
00:18:42.643 --> 00:18:44.911
You know you try to get to most of them.
00:18:44.911 --> 00:18:53.940
It's sometimes tough in the summer with my own sons playing baseball, but you try to get back and go to those and all those things.
00:18:53.940 --> 00:18:57.587
And then just the relationships, like two of my former players.
00:18:57.587 --> 00:19:01.105
Three of my former players are actually coaches for us right now.
00:19:01.234 --> 00:19:12.988
So you know, I hope that one of those guys gets gets the head coaching job when I decide to give it up here, because they put in a lot of time and they've been here and they know what what it takes and we can go from there.
00:19:12.988 --> 00:19:16.539
So you know, the rewards are so there's so many.
00:19:16.539 --> 00:19:24.278
You know whether it's a team reward, a personal reward, a community reward, it's just, it's fun to be around.
00:19:24.278 --> 00:19:28.164
Um, you know, and we have great community support.
00:19:28.164 --> 00:19:37.509
No matter where we go, we have tons of fans and, and you know, our parents have been like almost perfect to a t for the.
00:19:37.509 --> 00:19:43.134
You know, 22, 23 years I've been the head coach and I know that's not true at all places.
00:19:44.820 --> 00:19:59.267
Well, let me ask you this you were, if you were asked to sit down and give some advice to coaches who want to become a high school head coach, what advice would you give them?
00:19:59.267 --> 00:20:19.479
And the reason I'm asking that is I spoke to a coach who's a Hall of Fame member recently and he's still coaching, and he was the type of guy that would have 20, 20, 20 freshman JV varsity and he'd end up having to cut 15, 20 guys and he'd end up having to cut 15, 20 guys.
00:20:19.479 --> 00:20:26.005
And he told me now that now he's down to 43 guys total in the program.
00:20:26.005 --> 00:20:27.467
So baseball's.
00:20:27.467 --> 00:20:33.051
You know it's tough because of all the changes that happen.
00:20:38.441 --> 00:20:41.375
What would you tell someone who aspires to be a high school head coach?
00:20:41.375 --> 00:20:44.099
Number one, I think, first foremost, is it's time consuming.
00:20:44.099 --> 00:21:03.681
You know, if you want to have a successful program, you got to put in a lot of time, and I think we've put in a lot more time as the years have gone on and gotten closer to where we are now than we did at first and not saying that we didn't put in time early on, but it's a lot different now.
00:21:03.681 --> 00:21:06.763
We didn't lift weights until probably 2012.
00:21:06.763 --> 00:21:09.903
I'll be honest, the weight room was not a thing.
00:21:09.903 --> 00:21:12.403
We did a lot more agility, speed, things like that.
00:21:12.403 --> 00:21:18.597
But now, when you incorporate the weight room a little more and you have your extra, you're throwing, you're hitting, you're open fields, you're.
00:21:18.597 --> 00:21:19.378
And then you have, you know, your expert.
00:21:19.378 --> 00:21:39.487
You're throwing, you're hitting your open fields, uh, you know you're looking at a couple hours a day, times two, three, four times a week, um, and in the summer, like I mean, we go three days a week in the summer, early morning, weight room and agility, um, and we're going to add into some more like small group settings this summer.
00:21:39.487 --> 00:21:41.122
We've already discussed that.
00:21:42.376 --> 00:21:43.863
So time commitment is number one.
00:21:43.863 --> 00:21:48.026
If you're married, have a really good wife that supports you.
00:21:48.026 --> 00:21:58.944
You know, I mean, my wife has been at probably every game, or, if she wasn't there, she was at one of my son's games, and that helps a ton.
00:21:58.944 --> 00:22:01.519
Both of my boys have been in the dugout, probably, and that that helps a ton.
00:22:01.519 --> 00:22:08.416
Um, you know, both of my boys have been in the dugout probably not as much as other coaches, sons, um, but they, they've learned the game through the dugout.
00:22:08.416 --> 00:22:13.267
Um, I think, surround yourself with good assistant coaches.
00:22:13.267 --> 00:22:23.204
Uh, one of my coaches coached with me, uh, from the time I started up until 2018, and then he left to become a head coach somewhere else.
00:22:23.204 --> 00:22:32.742
My one assistant coach now has been with me all, but like two or three years during that time, my other assistants, like I said, played for me.
00:22:32.742 --> 00:22:39.421
So, you know, that helps a ton, and they've all been there like eight years now, nine years now, so that helps a ton.
00:22:39.461 --> 00:22:42.560
Getting all those guys Don't be afraid to ask questions.
00:22:42.560 --> 00:22:47.786
You know, I think a lot of coaches have a lot of pride.
00:22:47.786 --> 00:22:51.055
They don't want to ask questions.
00:22:51.055 --> 00:22:52.662
They feel like, oh, I should know this.
00:22:52.662 --> 00:22:59.958
And one of the best guys, I mean Tom Held at Defiance, you know, even though they're in our league.
00:22:59.958 --> 00:23:16.722
He was a guy that would I mean we still text all the time, you know, whether it's about baseball or anything else Like he's a guy that would give you know, good advice up until the time you're playing and then after that, you know, then it's back at it.
00:23:16.722 --> 00:23:35.365
We have a good group of guys that I'm in a text message with throughout Ohio we're all playing this weekend down at Lancaster in the Curveball Classic Ten different coaches from all over the state that we've gotten to know through clinics and national conventions and things like that.
00:23:35.494 --> 00:23:39.255
That you know we shoot things all the time in there, so those are all good things.
00:23:39.205 --> 00:23:40.582
You know we shoot things all the time in there, so those are all good things.
00:23:40.582 --> 00:23:40.664
You know.
00:23:40.664 --> 00:23:48.383
And I guess you know make sure you do things the right way and do them for the right reasons.
00:23:48.383 --> 00:23:59.767
You know you're not in it for the fame, the fortune, anything like that, because there's not much fortune in it and unless you win every year, you're probably not going to have much fame.
00:23:59.767 --> 00:24:13.346
You know those are all a lot of big things and you know I guess probably have some thick skin because you're going to get it from time to time, probably from a parent or a player, you know, because emotions run high.
00:24:15.237 --> 00:24:33.961
And then, probably, lastly, the one thing that we've done a lot more lately is we have one-on-one, real conversations with every one of our players preseason, sometimes midseason and then again postseason, and we tell them what their role is, we tell them what we expect out of them.
00:24:33.961 --> 00:24:39.241
We send the paper home so mom and dad can see it, mom and dad sign it, send it back.
00:24:39.241 --> 00:24:44.019
That way, if and when there's a problem, boom, there's the paper.
00:24:44.019 --> 00:24:45.041
This is what we told you.
00:24:45.041 --> 00:24:51.185
You know, some guys exceed what we tell them and that's great, you know.
00:24:51.185 --> 00:24:56.378
But for the most part, most guys are spot on, because we ask them where they think they belong to.
00:24:56.378 --> 00:25:00.486
And kids know more than you think Like.
00:25:00.486 --> 00:25:07.387
They know where they belong and they probably could make a lineup up every day and have it pretty close to what us coaches have.
00:25:07.387 --> 00:25:16.520
But you know, those are the things that I think that if you look at and discuss with the kids and it'll help you be successful as well.
00:25:17.462 --> 00:25:19.656
Well, you know there are a couple of things that you mentioned there.
00:25:19.656 --> 00:25:33.222
You know I always admired coaches when you'd see them at a state or national convention and they're sitting there towards the front and they're taking notes and you're like holy cow, that guy's won three state titles.
00:25:33.222 --> 00:25:40.095
You know there's a reason why those guys win, because you know they're not hanging out talking to their friends or whatever.
00:25:40.095 --> 00:25:43.865
They're learning from something from somebody new.
00:25:43.865 --> 00:25:55.067
And you know, the other thing that you mentioned, derek, that I always try to do at the beginning of the season was I handed out a sheet of paper and told everybody make your starting lineup.
00:25:56.195 --> 00:26:01.075
And it's amazing, like you said, how close those players are to what the coaches are thinking.
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