0:00

Welcome back to The "I" in Win podcast, as

0:02

we continue to count down the top five

0:04

most downloaded episodes of season one.

0:06

We're onto number three, which is "Helping Kids Navigate

0:08

the Toughest Times" with Johnny Nee who

0:11

was the head baseball coach/ offensive line coach

0:13

at St. Rita high school in Chicago. Not

0:15

surprised at the popularity of this episode, given

0:17

Coach Nee's track record of success in football,

0:20

baseball, and most importantly, For

0:22

those who know him best his ability to

0:25

lead people. So here

0:27

it is number three in a top five countdown

0:29

of season one. welcome

0:43

to The "I" in Win the show that focuses on

0:45

why coaches should embrace the journey of impacting

0:47

lives. I'm your host, Luke Mertens.

0:49

And I'm excited to introduce today's guest, John

0:52

Nee, who has been a teacher and coach at his Alma

0:54

mater St. Rita high school on the south

0:56

side of Chicago for the past 25 years.

0:58

In addition to his classroom responsibility, coach

1:01

Nee is an assistant varsity football coach and

1:03

head coach of the baseball team. He's

1:05

passionate about impacting kids and

1:07

today's going to discuss his influences,

1:10

how he has grown as an educator, what

1:12

he does to develop his players off the field

1:15

and why having our players' best interests

1:17

in mind makes for the best decision

1:19

making coach. Good to see you. Thanks

1:21

for being here.

1:22

Oh, thanks for having me. It looks great to see you.

1:25

Obviously have a long history going back to our childhood

1:28

on the south side of Chicago, but something

1:30

else we share in common is we both

1:32

are English teachers, which is a really odd

1:35

combination, right. To be an English teacher

1:37

and a football coach. So why

1:40

did you decide to become an English teacher?

1:42

So I went to St. Francis and Joliet,

1:45

and I remember I knew I wanted to

1:47

be a teacher. I knew I wanted to be a coach.

1:49

That was, that was never, never

1:51

a question for me. So when I

1:53

was deciding kind of in the second

1:55

half of my freshman year, Uh,

1:57

which direction I wanted to go in terms of study,

2:00

you know, at St. Francis, they had four majors

2:02

when it came to teaching, they had science and math

2:04

in English and they had history. So I

2:07

knew I'm not a math or science guy,

2:09

so that was easy. It came down to history and English.

2:11

And I remember talking to a friend of mine on the

2:13

team, Jason Thor Meyer, and him

2:15

and I had a discussion about it. It's about three

2:18

years ahead of me in school. And

2:20

he said, you know, John, he said, I'm going into

2:22

coaching myself. And I'm

2:24

an English? major. And he

2:26

said, if you're coming down to history or English,

2:29

you're going to be much more marketable as

2:31

a coach and an English teacher. So

2:33

I remember that hit home with me, but more importantly

2:35

than that, Luke, I had an unbelievable

2:38

English teacher, my time at St. Rita

2:41

Gavin. He met Dr. Donald Rakhi and

2:43

he was a legend, you know,

2:45

uh, how he went about his teaching. I

2:48

know you and I, Luke have talked English grammar

2:50

through the years and we kind of share,

2:52

uh, an interest in a love in that, uh,

2:55

beyond most people and, It

2:57

was always the Don Rakhi way. You

2:59

know, I was an average college student, trying

3:01

to do a hundred different things at a time, but when

3:03

it came to grammar, I always felt like

3:06

that for those moments in time,

3:08

I could be the star of the class. And that

3:10

was all because of Don Rakhi. So, and

3:12

I still have that passion today, I

3:14

enjoy teaching grammar even

3:16

though it's become less and less prevalent

3:18

in my 25 years, there seems

3:20

to be at try to move away from which

3:22

I've resisted and will continue to resist.

3:25

but I really enjoy it and I enjoy it to this day.

3:28

Yeah, You know, you expose me now. Everyone

3:30

knows that. Uh, I love grammar. So there

3:32

goes my tough provato a football

3:34

coach personality, but, what I do. It's

3:37

interesting. Cause you said that it does seem to

3:39

be going away in schools, but

3:41

the irony is, I don't know how it is over at St.

3:43

Rita. All I hear from my colleagues

3:46

is, man, these kids don't know how to write anything.

3:48

Well, if we're not teaching grammar best

3:50

and part of the curriculum, how do we expect them

3:53

to, right. So you stay in the same

3:55

thing.

3:56

I couldn't agree more. There's no doubt. I

3:58

mean, I know that

4:00

the approach that I was taught

4:02

was. So,

4:04

you know, I'm, I'm a firm believer. If it's not

4:07

broke, don't fix it. And you know, sometimes

4:09

that can be misconstrued as someone who's stuck

4:11

in the mud and doesn't want to evolve

4:14

with the time. But I do believe

4:16

that there is a place for grammar for teaching

4:18

it, to go back to the basics. It's no

4:20

different than anything. You know,

4:23

coaching the offensive line, coaching, catchers,

4:25

coaching, whatever it's about the basics.

4:28

And you work on the basics every single day.

4:30

And hopefully eventually that stuff

4:32

becomes muscle memory and it shows up for

4:34

you on game nights. And I, I don't, I

4:36

think grammar is the same way. I think if

4:38

you drill it, drill it, drill it. I

4:40

think it kind of. Morphs

4:43

into making you a better writer.

4:45

And, you know, I still preach that in my classes.

4:48

I teach a freshman composition class

4:50

now for the first time, the last couple of years. And,

4:52

when you see where they start

4:55

as writers at the beginning of the semester and

4:57

where they finish from that first essay to that

4:59

last essay, it's satisfying

5:01

because you see a big difference and it

5:03

just reiterates in your own mind that, you

5:05

know what, there still is room in this world

5:08

for teaching things the old way.

5:10

Well, as much as I love talking about grammar, let's be

5:12

honest. People are going to start turning the show off. So

5:14

let's segue back to sports.

5:16

So why did you get into.

5:17

I knew from a young age, Luke, that

5:20

coaching was going to be in my blood. You

5:22

know, I had, I grew up in a family that sports

5:24

was huge for us. My dad coached me my

5:27

whole life. My uncle would traveling from

5:29

out of state to come see my games.

5:31

My mom was the team mom, our

5:33

lives revolved around sports

5:35

and whatever it was. And, you know, I knew

5:38

I had a love for. From a very young

5:40

age from watching an on TV to

5:42

playing it. And you know,

5:44

when I came to St Rita, I had

5:46

so many great coaches that I

5:49

knew that that's what I wanted to do. You know, I fall

5:51

in love with the place, from the start. And you

5:53

know, all I wanted to do is go to college and find

5:55

my way back to Saint Rita. And as I tell

5:57

people all the time, there's not a lot of times

6:00

in people's lives, they can say. They

6:03

knew exactly what they wanted to do and everything

6:05

fell into place. And 25 years later,

6:07

here we are, but I'm truly living that

6:09

dream every single day.

6:11

So your love for St. Rita is very clear.

6:14

And my question. Just about

6:16

St. Rita. It's about why you

6:18

have chosen to stay in a

6:20

private Catholic school, because

6:23

let's be honest, you can make more money

6:25

if you went the public route. So

6:27

why have you chosen to stay in

6:30

a Catholic school? What is it that has drawn you to

6:32

it for all these years?

6:33

I think it goes back to my experience

6:36

as a student athlete at St. Rita and

6:38

you know, one thing I always talk to

6:41

our athletes about that. There's two things

6:44

that I want to help them with. Two

6:46

things that I'll promise. And one of

6:48

them is always to try to give them an even

6:50

better experience than the one that I had. You

6:52

know, I know the type of experience I had

6:55

here. I know how impactful it

6:57

was on my life and continues to be on

6:59

my life today. And I know

7:01

how powerful that is. And, you

7:03

know, I always say if I could just play a small

7:06

role in our kids' lives,

7:08

where they can come back one day and appreciate,

7:11

what you were able to teach them. Then

7:14

it's all worthwhile. obviously you can get

7:16

that in coaching anywhere,

7:19

but I just have always felt, and I'm

7:21

biased, but St Rita's a special place.

7:23

It's it holds a special place in my heart.

7:26

And I just want to continue to give St

7:28

Rita kids, the best experience

7:30

possible, because I want them ultimately to feel about

7:32

St. Rita the same way that.

7:34

You've already mentioned Dr. Ray. Impact

7:37

he's had on you. What about mentors

7:39

in addition to Dr. Rakhi, and

7:41

what are some of those lessons that they have taught you that

7:43

you carry with you today as

7:46

a classroom teacher and as a.

7:49

uh, you know, I can go back to my high school

7:51

coaches and Jim Prunty and Todd where

7:53

net our baseball and football coach, you

7:55

know, coach was such a great competitor.

7:58

I think he was a fierce competitor

8:00

and I think that, uh, Rain

8:02

true on our team. I think coach

8:05

we're net was a little bit more

8:07

laid back, stoic,

8:09

but definitely, uh, another guy

8:12

who just had a presence about him, and,

8:15

you know, I think those guys never put winning

8:17

in front of what was right. And,

8:19

you know, I think the lessons that we taught and they were hard

8:21

on us, you know, our coaching staffs were hard on

8:23

us in those days and, you know,

8:26

and that was important. I think it's important

8:28

to push kids in the right direction. And sometimes

8:30

they need a swift kick in the button and we got

8:33

those and we appreciated them. And you appreciate

8:35

those things more and more, I think, as you grow

8:38

and you understand why the

8:40

why part, why that

8:42

had to be that way. And. You know, you look back

8:44

on those things and you say, okay, that, that, that,

8:47

that played a huge role in shaping

8:49

me as a person in a.

8:51

And let's talk about how you've grown

8:54

and looking back because you're 25

8:56

years in. Experienced teacher experienced

8:59

coach. I'm gonna assume that your process

9:01

and how you approach each day

9:03

has changed because you learn,

9:06

you grow older, you figure out what

9:08

it's like to work with kids. Let's

9:10

start with the classroom piece. How have

9:12

you grown and evolve as a. classroom?

9:14

I think the longer you do this,

9:17

the more you are in tune

9:20

with guys having

9:22

so many other things going on

9:24

in their lives. And,

9:26

you know, you really understand

9:28

that you come to realize that those

9:31

guys that are a challenge for you. Those

9:33

guys that make it tough, sometimes

9:36

those are the guys that need you the most, you

9:38

know, we've got a great percentage of kids at

9:40

St. Rita, probably more so

9:42

at a private school, than let's

9:44

say a public school per se. Of kids

9:46

that kind of figured out they come from families

9:49

that have it figured out and you know what?

9:51

Those kids are going to be successful, whether you

9:53

are, I come into their lives or not,

9:56

and even you still can play a role in their lives,

9:58

but then you've got those guys that

10:00

you need to reach a little further for. And

10:03

I think I've come to really appreciate

10:05

those guys more than I

10:08

did as a young teacher and a young coach

10:10

that's really why we're in this business.

10:13

It's not for the. You know, it's not

10:15

for, waking up and reading in

10:17

the newspaper, what your team did the night before

10:20

or the post game parties

10:22

or anything like that. It's really just

10:24

about those moments that you spend

10:26

with your athletes. One of the. Just

10:30

talking and finding out things

10:32

about them and supporting them and, not

10:34

trying to, give them all the answers

10:36

per se, but just listening. And

10:39

I think kids appreciate that.

10:41

You know, there's something that I heard

10:44

my first year. One

10:46

of the first pieces of advice that I

10:48

got, that I've always

10:50

tried to never forget this. And that

10:52

is, they have to know that you

10:55

care before they'll care what

10:57

you know, and you know what that's

11:00

so true. It was true. 25

11:02

years ago, it was true a hundred years ago.

11:05

when kids know that you

11:07

really care about them, not as

11:09

athletes, not as guys on your

11:11

team, but as. Those

11:14

kinds of run through the wall for you. And,

11:16

you know, you're able to really, really

11:19

hold those guys to another level

11:21

of accountability because they understand

11:25

that's because you care about them, you know, and

11:27

those are the guys that you feel

11:29

the most satisfaction, not necessarily

11:32

though. It's, again, those guys that got it all figured out,

11:34

but all those guys that need a

11:36

little bit more than what they have in their own

11:38

life. And, you know, when you play

11:41

that role and you see those guys go on

11:43

and be successful, and that

11:45

that's what really, really drives you

11:47

to continue to do that.

11:49

Yeah, and we share that same growth

11:51

piece. I'll admit that early in my

11:53

career. I just always thought that. my

11:56

classroom and that day of practice,

11:58

wherever. Was the most important

12:00

thing in that kid's life. And the

12:02

more I got into this business, the more I

12:04

realized that in some cases it's the least

12:07

important thing in that kid's life

12:09

and that he, or she may have

12:11

a lot heavier things going on

12:13

and it's our jobs to

12:15

get to know that person. So we can

12:18

understand that piece because,

12:20

and I'm sure you hear this as a head coach teachers

12:22

economy and say, oh man, your

12:25

star players and doing any homework. it's

12:27

really frustrating. And I'm like, well, do you

12:29

understand what he's going home to? homework

12:31

is the least of his or her concerns

12:34

right now. But again, that's all part

12:36

of getting to know the kid.

12:38

So what do you do in a classroom?

12:41

There's one of you in 25, 30

12:43

kids. How do you get to know them? So you could understand

12:46

what is going on.

12:47

you know, I think to me, it

12:50

starts very simple saying

12:52

hello, and it

12:55

starts there. How you doing? How's

12:57

it. it's just little things like

12:59

that, and that builds a rapport,

13:02

and then those guys and not everybody,

13:04

but those guys tend to open up to you more.

13:07

They tend to come in and maybe

13:09

even, get into your class a

13:11

little bit more. Cause, cause you're not the guy

13:13

that's jamming it down their throat.

13:16

You're not that guy, you know, and they understand

13:18

that and they appreciate that. And

13:20

there comes this mutual respect. And,

13:23

you know, it's not always easy for them. It's

13:26

not easy for teachers. but

13:28

that's like you said, you know, you and I

13:30

agree on this, that as we've gotten

13:32

older, we've been able to do that

13:34

more, that we've been able to put things

13:37

in perspective and not take

13:39

things so seriously and

13:41

understand that, Hey man,

13:43

this guy needs me to

13:45

help him out. It doesn't need. To

13:48

coach him in baseball or coach him and

13:50

football. He needs me to help coach them through

13:52

life.

13:53

yeah, right on. And that's a great segue to

13:55

the coaching piece. and I don't know, maybe it's

13:57

the same answer, but how have you changed and

13:59

grown as a coach as well?

14:01

Cause that's a different dynamic in

14:04

the field as opposed to in the class.

14:06

yeah, I think, I think. I

14:08

really do. I think I approach my classroom

14:10

the same way I approach the field the

14:13

same way I approach the football field, the same

14:15

way I approach the baseball field. I

14:17

think it's all the same. I think, you

14:19

know, I think it translates from one to

14:21

the next, Like I said, if you

14:23

can really, you know, we always laugh

14:25

about it. Great friend of mine, Jerry

14:27

pays and, was in the Dean's office. I was

14:29

the Dean at St. Rita for awhile and

14:32

he was my assistant and we became

14:34

great friends through that. And we always joked

14:36

about getting guys on our team,

14:39

you know? And how do you get guys on your team? You get

14:41

them on your team by showing that you really care. You

14:44

know that it's not always in your face. It's not

14:46

always the negative stuff. especially

14:48

as a Dean, you're dealing with that kind of stuff

14:50

all the time, but we always felt that

14:53

we weren't great at what we did. And we admitted that,

14:55

but we always felt the one thing we were pretty good

14:57

at was getting those really tough

14:59

to reach guys on our team because I

15:02

think they knew we really care. You

15:04

know, and like I said, I think that that

15:06

works as a football coach. It works as a baseball

15:08

coach. You know, we've been dealing with some

15:10

things on our baseball team, this off

15:12

season. and what'd you come to realize,

15:14

is this when a kid is either not showing

15:16

up or not performing

15:19

to the level that you expect

15:21

of him, there's a reason for it.

15:23

And you can't just ignore

15:25

it. You know, you've got to sit down

15:27

and you've got to have that hard conversation.

15:31

you've got to encourage kids to open up

15:33

and you've got to get, you've got to build

15:35

that level of trust, where they feel comfortable

15:37

sharing those things with you. And,

15:39

you know, I feel like I've had a breakthrough in a few of our

15:42

players this past couple of weeks. That's

15:44

been very satisfying and I think it's

15:46

helped them. And I know for sure, it's helped

15:48

me. And you just, you become

15:50

a better coach. You become a better person. And those

15:52

moments, those hard. Those

15:54

hard moments in life are what define

15:56

you, and if you can help navigate

15:59

a kid through those moments, man, it's gonna make

16:01

him a, such a better person going forward

16:03

Yeah, spot on. And one of my assistant

16:06

coaches was actually one of my mentors coach galloon

16:08

and he used to always tell me, Luke,

16:11

there's a reason for the behavior. I'm

16:14

a perfectionist I'm OCD want everything

16:17

just to fall in line. And sometimes

16:19

that doesn't work when you're dealing with teenage kids

16:22

and I'd be frustrated in the coaches office.

16:24

And why is this kid just not

16:26

getting it? And he would always bring me

16:28

back to that point. There is a reason

16:31

for the behavior, and if you're really

16:33

going to call yourself a coach, you have to find

16:35

out what that reason is. Right.

16:37

Because once we find out what that reason is, then

16:39

we know how to approach the situation

16:42

a lot more objectively, because it's not

16:44

about what we want, it's about what they need.

16:46

And that's the tough part of coaching because

16:49

we're competitive. We want to win and want and do all

16:51

those things. But again, that has

16:53

to take a back seat to what is really

16:56

larger in life. So,

16:58

yeah, I I'm with you on that coach and. We're

17:00

going to switch gears here now and talk about

17:03

multi-sport athletes. Cause I know you were a great

17:05

multi-sport athlete at St. Rita high school.

17:08

You obviously support multi-sport athletes

17:10

being that you are a varsity football

17:12

coach and a varsity head

17:15

baseball coach. What are the benefits

17:17

to being a multi-sport?

17:19

well, I, I think first and foremost,

17:21

the more people. You can

17:24

surround yourself with baseball

17:26

players, football players, the different

17:29

dynamic. I just think it

17:31

makes you more well-rounded as a person.

17:33

You know, the more people you can learn

17:35

to deal with makes you better.

17:37

And then from a physical standpoint, you

17:40

use different muscles, different,

17:43

talents, different things for different sports.

17:45

And if you're just going to focus on

17:47

one sport, It could be

17:49

a problem where you're end up overworking,

17:52

and I I'll tell you a couple of things. So we've

17:55

been very blessed at Saint Rita for a long

17:57

time to have several very,

17:59

very successful, multi-sport

18:01

athletes. And I'll give you two examples.

18:04

literally. Louisville baseball

18:06

is, is kind of like the Alabama

18:08

football. You know what I mean? They're a perennial

18:10

top five program and we had two kids

18:12

in back to back years, commit to play

18:15

baseball Louisville, and they were both

18:17

top-line football players. So

18:19

they both gave up football going into their senior

18:21

seasons. This is back to back years

18:24

and each guy after sitting

18:26

in the stands for one game, missed

18:29

it so much. That they wanted to come

18:31

back. So they called the coaching staff

18:33

at the university of Louisville and explain

18:35

their situation. And those

18:38

guys were a hundred percent onboard

18:41

with them coming back and playing football. And

18:43

I think that's all they needed to hear

18:45

as kids because

18:48

there are people out there that are getting in

18:50

kids' ears these days and trying to

18:52

tell them that they need to do one sport. And

18:54

my favorite comeback to that is there's

18:56

going to come a time in your life. And

18:59

you and I, Luke are there right now

19:02

where you do what you have to do.

19:04

You have to go to work every day. You've got

19:07

to take care of your family. You have to do this, you

19:09

have to do that. But you know what?

19:11

Kids don't have to do anything. Kids

19:13

should do what they want to do. when

19:16

kids come to me and ask me, coach,

19:18

what do you think that's exactly what. Do

19:21

you want to play two sports? Do you want

19:23

to continue to play baseball? Do you want to

19:25

continue to play football? Do you want

19:27

to try to play basket? Whatever the case might be?

19:30

And if the answer is yes, I stopped

19:32

the conversation right there and said, well, you've answered your own

19:34

question. Never do

19:36

what you think you have to do, do

19:38

what you want to do because the rest of

19:40

your life is going to be you doing what you have.

19:44

So why is it seemed

19:46

to be going away? Why

19:48

are less kids playing multiple

19:51

sports? I mean, I have. my own theories,

19:53

which may be wrong. I don't know what.

19:56

Well, part of it to me is

19:59

you got to keep up with the Joneses,

20:01

Jimmy who lives down the block from

20:03

you. You're playing the same baseball team

20:06

and here comes the fall and you go play

20:08

football and Jimmy's playing fall baseball.

20:11

Then you're going to play basketball in

20:13

the winter. And he's going to the dome every day

20:15

and hitting, and you feel like, oh my God,

20:18

he's getting, he's going to be better than me next. So

20:21

I feel like, well, geez, if I'm going to play baseball

20:23

in college, then I better

20:26

catch up to those guys. And the reality

20:28

is this college baseball coaches.

20:31

And I use baseball because that's what I know

20:33

the most in terms of recruiting, in

20:35

terms of my interaction with coaches, they're

20:38

going to take a Midwestern kid over

20:40

a coast kid if they're equal

20:43

because they know the Midwest kids got a lot more group.

20:46

They're going to take a two sport athlete

20:49

over a single sport athlete if

20:51

they're equal, because he knows

20:53

that that guy's got the toughness.

20:56

So whatever he's got, he's taken

20:58

from that other sport, those things are all

21:00

true. All right. And you and I

21:02

talked about this before that

21:05

it's a big business out there now, too. You

21:07

know, these facilities

21:10

and. We always joke amongst our

21:12

baseball coaching fraternity. And

21:14

when I say that, I mean, my Zuna Ken and I,

21:16

and our staff, that these

21:19

days, these kids have this advantage

21:21

where they've got somewhere to go hit

21:24

somewhere to play baseball whenever they want to. And

21:26

how cool is that? But you know

21:28

what, those guys, we talk about

21:30

being players that are built under a roof

21:33

because you know what those guys have never played lob

21:35

league. Those guys have never played

21:37

strikeout. They've never played right

21:39

field out. Right. They've

21:41

never done any of those things. The things

21:43

that you and I did growing up, and that's how

21:46

we really learned how to

21:48

play. That's how we got all of our

21:50

instincts to play this game, which

21:52

has definitely played a role in our success

21:54

as coaches and kids are missing

21:57

that these days. You know, because

21:59

it's all about going to my hitting instructor.

22:02

And it's about going and taking, 50

22:04

ground balls with the coach and taking a hundred

22:07

swings. It's not getting your two best

22:09

friends together and going out and hanging out

22:11

playing. Cause that's when you really learn

22:13

how to play this game. So to me,

22:16

it's a double-edged sword, all these

22:18

new, great facilities are great.

22:20

but you know what? Back in the day, I

22:23

used to go to Honda trails on Friday nights

22:25

with about $5 worth of quarters

22:27

to get ready for my Saturday morning Catholic league

22:30

doubleheader. And that worked okay too.

22:32

Haunted trail. So that's where I learned

22:34

to hit a fast ball myself. So a great, great

22:36

memories there, but yeah, it's interesting

22:39

to listen to you. Talk about a, the

22:41

recruiting piece speaking from a

22:43

lens of a football coach, college

22:45

football coaches want someone who plays

22:47

multiple sports. It's one of the first

22:49

questions they ask me. What else does he do?

22:52

What do you mean? He doesn't play basketball? What do you mean? He's

22:54

not running track and it's

22:56

a negative check mark against. College

22:59

football coaches. Can't publicly say

23:01

this as well, but they would much

23:03

rather you run track, then join the seven on

23:05

seven league. Now they tell me that. I'm sure. They'll

23:07

tell you guys that at St. Rita, they just

23:10

can't publicly declare that because it's a PR

23:12

nightmare, but you know, you're talking

23:14

to these kids, like go run track.

23:16

You, you want exposure to football. Go

23:19

run track. And the narrative

23:21

has just been taken over by the business

23:23

side of it. Now let's talk about the athletic

23:26

development side. You're right on with

23:28

lob league and draw on the

23:30

box on the wall wall and playing fast

23:32

pitch, you know, and learning to become a

23:34

better baseball player there. I think

23:36

of myself, I learned to become, I'm not saying

23:38

I was a great football player. Any moves.

23:40

I had, I learned from playing tackle football

23:42

at the park because when I was a kid, it hurt to get

23:44

tackled. So I did everything I could to knock

23:47

a tackle. And that's where you learn how to make open field

23:49

moves. Right. And all

23:51

that's being taken away. I had Tommy Kleinschmidt

23:53

on my podcast, not too. long

23:55

ago. And he was talking about basketball, right? He's

23:58

a Chicago basketball legend. He was like,

24:00

we got good go into the park. And

24:03

the old school of playing pickup basketball.

24:05

And if you win, you stay on. And if

24:07

you lose, you're kicked off and you have to wait to get your

24:09

chance again. He's like, that's where we got. Good.

24:12

And now all these basketball kids, you walk into

24:14

a gym while they're doing dribbling through a cone and

24:16

yeah. It's skilled development, but yeah. I

24:19

don't know. I mean, does it really developing the overall

24:21

athlete? So the question becomes

24:24

then what can we do as coaches

24:27

to truly foster an environment

24:29

that encourages and supports

24:31

these kids in high school to

24:33

go play multiple schools?

24:35

well, I think the first thing is you've gotta be lucky

24:37

enough to be amongst the staff

24:40

at the school that you coach that everybody's

24:42

on the same page. And I think it

24:44

starts there, and you know,

24:47

you've got to practice what you preach. I

24:49

think we're very fortunate at St. Rita right

24:52

now to have all of our major

24:55

sports, head coaches on

24:57

board with multiple sport athletes.

24:59

most of them are St. Rita graduates

25:01

who had the experience here who

25:04

were multiple sport athletes themselves.

25:06

So I think it starts there, you know, if

25:09

the kids are getting the same message.

25:12

Everyone that they respect from

25:14

all different angles. I think it really

25:17

starts to hit home with them. and

25:19

you know, I just think the other thing is,

25:21

you've got to practice what you preach as a coach.

25:23

You know, you've got to understand that, Hey, if, if,

25:26

if it's basketball, I deal

25:28

with it right now. you know, we do our morning lifting

25:30

for baseball, but I've got a couple hockey players

25:32

and I told those guys, I go, listen. You're

25:34

in the middle of the Kennedy cup playoffs. Get

25:36

outta here. You know, I used to have to kick

25:39

Luke Napleton out of the weight room

25:41

because he'd play Mount

25:43

Carmel at eight o'clock start the night

25:45

before, you know, get out of the rink at

25:47

midnight and he'd be at St. Rita at 16. And

25:50

Griff our strength coach. And I would literally kick

25:52

him out of the weight room and go, man, you gotta get

25:54

outta here. Now you've got to let your body

25:56

recover. And I think that's important,

25:59

you know, I think if you're going to really do

26:01

it, you've got to understand that there's going

26:03

to be some given take. You know, you can't

26:05

say it and then expect your guys

26:08

to always pick your sport. First.

26:10

You've got to understand that as long

26:13

as they're doing something they're getting

26:15

better and you really have to believe the fact

26:17

that when that guy's playing that hockey game

26:19

last night, guess what? He's becoming

26:21

a better baseball player. All right. And

26:23

I truly, truly believe that.

26:26

All right. And I think that that's important that you

26:28

stress that to them. And then

26:30

hopefully it's going to come back. You

26:33

know where it's not going to be all

26:35

about specialization now, once again,

26:37

and it goes back to my theory of do

26:39

what you want to do. Some guys love

26:41

baseball and they don't want to do anything else.

26:44

That's okay. That's okay too.

26:46

But it's those guys that feel forced

26:49

to do so. All right. one

26:51

of the things we talk about here is,

26:53

be where you're feeling. And

26:56

I talked about that, my program all the time,

26:58

that there's this misconception out

27:00

there that high school sports has become

27:02

about trying to obtain

27:04

a college scholarship. That's

27:06

not what high school sports is about. That's

27:08

not what I want. That's not what I signed up for.

27:11

High school sports is about becoming a better

27:13

person, a better teammate, a

27:15

better leader, fighting through

27:17

adversity, being a part of something

27:19

that's bigger than yourself. That's

27:22

what high school sports is about. And you know, what,

27:24

if that turns into account scholarship, that's

27:26

the cherry on top of the sundae, but

27:28

it's, it's the people out there that are making

27:32

it that that's the end

27:34

all be all. If you're not a division one

27:36

guy, then it's a failure and

27:38

you know what? And you've got to sometimes really

27:40

fight that battle with kids because of the

27:42

messages they're getting outside of your. every

27:46

year when we have our parent meeting, we have a mass

27:48

at the beginning of our season. At the end is

27:50

when I speak to the entire program. It's the only

27:52

time all year that I have everybody in the same

27:55

room all at once. And I talk

27:57

about that all the time, be where your

27:59

feet are. And high school

28:01

sports is not about

28:03

obtaining a couch scholarship. It's about

28:05

learning lessons in life that

28:07

are going to make you. A better dad.

28:10

I'm going to make you a better husband are

28:12

gonna make you a better co-worker all

28:15

those things. That's what's most.

28:18

Well, those are some great points. And for

28:21

whatever reason, it seems like high

28:23

school sports have evolved into,

28:25

well, this is my avenue to. The

28:27

payday, which is the scholarship. So

28:30

where's that change coming in your opinion,

28:32

is that have the parents changed,

28:35

have the kids changed? Where do

28:37

you think that.

28:38

I think it comes. And I've mentioned this earlier.

28:41

I'm trying to keep

28:43

up with your. You

28:46

know, and I think parents get caught up in that.

28:48

I think parents, want to tell everybody

28:50

that their son has a scholarship to

28:53

the university of Louisville or

28:55

to, Illinois or

28:57

whatever. It doesn't matter any division one college.

29:00

I think that they wear that with

29:02

a badge of honor. And you and I

29:04

both know, all you gotta do is look at college

29:06

athletics right now. The state that

29:08

that's in with guys in the transfer.

29:11

I tell my guys all the time, go

29:13

where you're wanted, go,

29:15

where you're wanted, don't force

29:18

the issue because you think you have to be a division

29:20

one guy, and you know,

29:22

they'll run you out of town in a year. If

29:24

they don't, you don't fit who they want you

29:26

to be, but there's plenty of schools

29:28

out there that want you now. And

29:31

I said, that's, that's where you need to be,

29:33

because that's where you're going to end up. So you

29:35

might as well go start there and have yourself a nice

29:37

four year career, but I just think

29:39

it's, it's competition. this

29:41

guy is getting the scholarship and why

29:43

is this guy have five scholarship offers

29:46

and why doesn't my son have this? And

29:48

what are you doing for him that you're not doing

29:50

for, for my son and, and

29:52

I don't totally understand the process

29:54

of recruiting. You know, Luke

29:56

you'll say the same thing. We've coached athletes that you

29:58

can't understand why they're

30:00

not being recruited more heavily because you

30:02

know that those are winners

30:05

and, you know, sometimes it becomes about measureables

30:08

and measurables only take you so far,

30:10

give me a guy that knows how to win and

30:13

we're going to win with those guys. And you know what, I'm pretty

30:15

sure that works at the college.

30:17

Yeah, I'm with you on that. And I'm also with

30:19

you on the point you made earlier that high school

30:21

sports about growing as a person and

30:24

learning the skills that you're going to take with

30:26

you to become successful in life.

30:29

However, we have to be intentional with how we teach

30:31

at the kids. So what are some things

30:33

you do in football, baseball,

30:35

your classroom? you

30:38

are intentionally teaching life

30:40

lessons. What do you do? What are

30:42

you trying to get out of it? How do you go about doing

30:44

it with the.

30:45

Well, I think sometimes you can create your own.

30:49

I think, when you've got a stretch

30:51

of time where things are going really well, I

30:53

think you could create your own adversity and,

30:56

challenge your players in a different

30:58

way. you know, I think that's important.

31:00

we always, we talk about embracing adversity

31:03

here, meeting adversity with a smile

31:06

and, I can't wait during

31:08

a season for my team. To

31:11

have to battle some adversity because

31:13

you don't really know them until that happens. that's

31:16

when you find out, you know, we talk about,

31:19

you find out half of a man's character

31:21

when things are going well, you find out all

31:23

of his character when things are not going

31:26

so well. You know, we've all been there

31:28

as teachers, as coaches, you

31:30

know, when you're around people and

31:32

that's adults, that's kids, that's everybody

31:35

that when the chips are down, that's

31:37

when you find out who. You know, so

31:39

I think really, really

31:41

embracing those moments as

31:44

a coach, and really pointing

31:46

those out to your players and talking

31:48

about that and, and making that

31:50

a point, I think is so important.

31:52

I really.

31:54

that was a great points that you're making. And again,

31:56

it comes with that intentionality piece, right?

31:58

So you're intentionally teaching these

32:00

kids that adversity is an opportunity

32:03

to shine, Adversity is an opportunity to show your

32:05

true character as a

32:07

human being. So being very

32:09

intentional with how you want the kids to

32:11

approach that. And I love it many

32:14

times coaches say they want to coach

32:16

the whole person. They want to teach life skills.

32:19

But then when the season starts, it goes

32:21

out the window, right? Suddenly

32:24

you see coaches yelling at each other

32:26

on the sidelines or yelling at kids

32:28

or even worse yelling at coaches.

32:31

But three weeks before the season began,

32:33

they said, we're all about self-control

32:35

and discipline. Right? We're going to be the most

32:37

disciplined teams in America in

32:39

any sense. You know, the head coach, just

32:41

losing his marbles at RF

32:43

over a bad call. We see this

32:46

all the time. So that's the hard part,

32:48

right? Coach, when you start getting into the season

32:50

and you start getting caught up in the wins and losses,

32:53

because let's face it, we all do We're competitive

32:55

people. And sometimes you

32:57

need that reminder of

32:59

wait a minute. There's a, there's a larger

33:02

role of athletics here. So

33:04

what's your reminders, Do you have a routine

33:06

in the morning? Is it your assistant coach?

33:09

What do you use as your reminder to get you

33:11

back to your.

33:13

well, it's funny you say that

33:15

because I don't know what they are.

33:18

I don't know if I can quantify

33:20

it or, pointed out, but I will

33:22

tell you that. I find

33:24

myself often taking

33:28

a step back when my mind

33:30

starts to wander to those unimportant

33:32

things, thinking,

33:34

you know what, remember

33:36

what's important. And I tell myself, keep,

33:39

keep in perspective what is important,

33:42

whether it be a losing streak,

33:44

you know, whether it be. Your team

33:46

is struggling, whatever the case might be.

33:49

you got to take a step back in those moments

33:51

and say what's important here, or

33:53

you're stressing about dumb things.

33:56

Like, you know, did I order all the uniforms

33:58

that I needed? Did I, did I make all

34:00

the calls I needed to make last night?

34:02

Did I order this? Did I do that? Did

34:04

I have this meeting? Did I remind them

34:06

this? You know, and then you, you

34:09

lose sight of what's important. by

34:11

getting so caught up in the day to day

34:14

and like you, and you know, this loop, you know,

34:16

you can, that happens easily

34:19

as conscious as you may

34:21

be about that. You're ultimately

34:23

going to lose yourself at

34:25

any point in every season that you'll

34:27

ever coach and it's

34:30

those times. And hopefully as

34:32

we've grown into be middle-aged coaches,

34:36

We've gotten better at that, where that

34:38

doesn't last for a week or two

34:40

weeks after a day at practice,

34:42

you can self-assess and go, man,

34:44

you know what? I didn't handle that very well at practice

34:47

today, or I could have done something

34:49

different. And then, you know what, you know what I've

34:51

really found out with kids. If you

34:53

show them vulnerabilities as a coach

34:56

that goes along. No

34:58

admitting that you were wrong, that

35:00

you handled that poorly. I

35:02

had this conversation with one of our, one

35:04

of our players and then with our seniors recently,

35:07

how much I miss being an assistant coach,

35:10

as much as I love being a head coach at Luke,

35:12

you're the first guy that turned me on to this.

35:14

I remember we talked about this and

35:17

you know, when you become a head coach, you're the same

35:19

person, but everybody looks at you different.

35:22

And, that's hard to deal with sometimes

35:25

because you lose those personal relationships

35:27

sometimes because you're the guy that's making

35:30

all the calls, you know, you're the guy that's

35:32

got to deliver the bad news that you're not in the lineup

35:34

today. Are you going to get cut from the team today?

35:37

And all of a sudden, you're not the guy that

35:39

they come to in. You know, you're finding

35:41

out things about your players from assistant

35:43

coaches and, I told

35:45

guys, I go, I missed that. I go, my favorite part

35:48

of coaching football is the relationship that

35:50

I have with our offensive line. we're like

35:52

a team within the team, you know, we're very tight.

35:55

We do everything together. Those guys tell

35:57

me things, and I don't have the same

35:59

relationship with our baseball team because

36:02

of the title, But it's in those moments

36:04

that you have to get back to your roots

36:06

still, and you've got to fight Claude to get

36:08

there. And I, like I said, I think showing

36:11

vulnerabilities as a coach, to

36:13

your team, admitting that you handled

36:15

that one poorly, that you wish you had it

36:17

back, that you wish you would've have said that, or

36:19

you wish you would've done something different. I

36:22

think sometimes coaches have a hard

36:24

time doing that. They think it's a sign of

36:26

weakness. What I really think it's a sign of.

36:29

Yeah, there's a lot to digest there and

36:31

we could have an episode just on your answer,

36:33

a little. man, vulnerability as

36:35

a leader, so important and something

36:37

that I was wrong on

36:39

when I first started, I used to always say,

36:42

I need to be at my best. I can never have

36:44

an offer. And

36:46

as I got more into this role

36:49

as a head coach, and as a leader, I

36:51

started to realize that true leadership is

36:53

being vulnerable, having off day, letting

36:55

people see you, not at your best, Rather

36:57

than this persona of always trying to be at your best,

37:00

because that creates those stressors.

37:02

And that takes away from the enjoyment of. the

37:05

position. And then, yeah, I mean, it's

37:07

lonely. Sometimes being the head coach, everyone

37:09

loves the assistant coach. I tell

37:11

my assistant coaches that all the time, like, I understand

37:14

that these parents are grabbing you at the local Tavern

37:16

and telling you that you should be the one in charge

37:19

and you should be the one calling the place, but

37:21

just know that you do become

37:23

that guy. That same parents can be

37:25

grabbing your assistant, telling him

37:27

that same thing. But you don't know until

37:29

you're in that position. And

37:32

it's something that I've tried really hard to.

37:35

Uh, I don't want to use the word control, but

37:37

that's, what's top of my head right now, controlling my relationship

37:40

with the kids. Like why can't, I know

37:42

we'll never be the same as the assistant. And I understand

37:44

that, Because ultimately I'm picking playing time,

37:47

but why can't I have that strong

37:49

relationship with kids like I had when I was an assistant

37:52

and it's really just how we approach each

37:54

day and how we talk to those kids. And I, I

37:56

think if we are vulnerable, I think if we

37:58

are intentional, I think we are just human.

38:01

We can develop that relationship despite. The

38:04

head coach, at least as best we can

38:06

at that moment. So.

38:09

One of my main goals this year

38:11

is to be conscious of that.

38:14

And we've dealt with some controversy

38:16

amongst our senior class over the past few

38:18

weeks, that I think ultimately is going to bring our

38:20

team together and closer.

38:22

and like I said, I I've really made

38:24

it a point to myself as one of my main

38:26

goals this year is to get back

38:29

to that place, or at least closer to that

38:31

place that I have been at my first few

38:33

years as had.

38:35

Well, that's great to hear because that's important for you

38:37

too, right? I'm sure you see everyone's resigning,

38:39

right? Everyone's walking away from this business

38:42

because the stress, and

38:44

it's just not that fun all the time.

38:46

So it's our job as

38:48

head coaches to remember. What

38:50

are those enjoyable moments and focus

38:53

on those and intentionally bring

38:55

those into our daily plans,

38:57

I mean, if having the conversation,

38:59

Darren stretch before practice is

39:01

something you really enjoy to do, why not

39:04

do that as a head coach? All the more reason

39:06

to go do that, If you enjoy taking

39:08

the offense, align out for pizza, which

39:10

is, I know what you did. still do it as a head

39:13

coach. Why not? Because you

39:15

have a right as a leader to still enjoy

39:17

the moment as much as anyone else does, because

39:20

if you're enjoying it and you're happy,

39:22

then they're enjoying it and they're happy

39:25

as well. So go for a coach.

39:27

I'll tell you one thing real quick here. just

39:29

a little thing, but so,

39:31

we've been very fortunate at St. Rita for a long time.

39:34

Uh, with some, uh, success we've had, at

39:37

our baseball program. And

39:39

I always remember us

39:42

not celebrating Catholic league championships

39:44

as much because it's about winning

39:46

the state championship or not celebrating

39:49

the regional championship. Cause we're not in this

39:51

to win regionals, you know, we're in this to win the whole

39:53

thing and a really

39:56

little thing, but I think

39:58

as kind of a big thing, We would

40:00

never take a team picture after

40:02

a big win or a big events,

40:04

because didn't want to jinx it. We're going to wait

40:06

till the, take the big picture at the end. And

40:09

two years ago, I decided that that's

40:11

over. That's done every good thing

40:13

we do. We're going to celebrate it. Cause you know what?

40:15

Winning is hard. And a lot of people

40:17

put a lot of time and effort. To

40:20

get us there and we're going to enjoy it. Cause

40:22

if you can't enjoy it, then you shouldn't be in

40:24

this business. So now we

40:26

win the Catholic league. You know, we, we were lucky

40:28

enough to, to clinch a, share the title

40:30

of brother rice last year, you know, we're going

40:32

down the right field line to take a picture and

40:35

we won a regional championship. We're taking a team picture

40:37

and I'm going to throw it up on the wall. So those guys

40:39

will always remember that day because

40:41

that's what it's about. it's about the jury. It's

40:44

all about the journey. It's not about the end result.

40:47

It's about the journey because that's what everybody

40:49

remembers. You know, then at the end of

40:51

the day, you know, only one, team's

40:53

going to be standing at the podium and

40:56

you know, that's great. And obviously,

40:58

you know, I've been able to experience that as a coach

41:00

and there's nothing like it. but you know what?

41:02

I've had plenty of years where I got just

41:04

as much satisfaction or more out

41:07

of teams that didn't quite get there because

41:10

you remember all the time. To

41:12

get there all the good times you had the pizza

41:14

parties, the talk during stretch.

41:16

My two favorite times as a head baseball coach

41:18

are in the weight room at 6:30

41:21

AM because our strength coach Griffis

41:23

and charge, I'm there to walk around to see how everybody's

41:25

doing. And then my second favorite thing is

41:27

throwing BP, throw the music

41:29

on. I can stand there and throw BP all

41:32

day, forget about everything else and

41:34

just be a baseball coach. And, you know, I love

41:36

those moments and.

41:37

Yeah, that's a great point about celebrating

41:39

success. You look at football and Illinois,

41:42

you have to qualify to make the state playoffs. We

41:45

minimize that sometimes, you know, a program

41:47

like you guys your perennial playoff

41:49

team and you have to remember,

41:51

it's still an accomplishment to get there. I understand

41:53

there's larger goals. Understand everyone wants to

41:55

walk home with that trophy, but sometimes

41:58

I think we're guilty. Like you said, of not

42:00

celebrating. Hey, we made the state playoffs.

42:03

It is a big deal. Hey, we won conference.

42:05

It is a big deal because

42:07

the odds of walking home with that trophy are

42:10

still. So you might as well celebrate

42:12

those little victories because they

42:14

are part of that process.

42:17

And Hey, you know, we made it

42:19

to this and I understand when it reach our big goal,

42:21

but we did get here and let's

42:23

be proud of that fact. And I

42:26

think that's the growth of a coach, that's where you're

42:28

at right now. and. I have to take offense

42:30

to the fact that you call the middle age. I'm a young man.

42:32

What are you talking about? Middle-aged

42:33

uh, you are a full year younger than me. So

42:35

Yeah. Yeah.

42:38

So yeah, right on though, Coccia I'm

42:40

with you with what's going on in your head and how

42:42

you're feeling about that. to start wrapping

42:44

us up, let's talk about resources. Do you have

42:47

any great podcast,

42:49

books you have read cleanse

42:52

you have gone to that you would really recommend

42:54

to our listeners who want to grow as a teacher

42:56

or as a.

42:57

I would say probably

43:00

one of the things. I

43:03

don't do as good a job as I should.

43:06

And that is reading up on other

43:08

coaches and listening to things.

43:10

And, I've got coaches in my life

43:13

that I bounce things off of,

43:15

that I enjoy talking scheme

43:18

or strategy. And even

43:20

more importantly in that how to deal with

43:22

certain situations. And, you know, I,

43:24

I talked to a few of my coaching mentors

43:26

over these past couple of weeks. Like I said, we've been

43:28

dealing with some things within our program. so

43:30

that's the first thing I'll always. His go

43:32

to guys and bounce off ideas. I

43:34

probably need to do a better job as

43:36

a coach of, resourcing

43:38

out. And, you know, sometimes I've been at St.

43:41

Rita for 25 years and

43:43

it's easy to say, wow, we've had a lot

43:45

of success here. We're doing it right. But

43:47

I will say this. I really

43:49

enjoy when

43:51

we bring a coach onto our

43:53

staff, who's coached somewhere

43:56

else. Who's seen it done a

43:58

different way. and I'll give you a great

44:00

example. we added an offensive

44:02

line coach to our staff this year. he

44:05

happens to be living in the area

44:07

cause he's following his fiance, played

44:10

at NC state. actually spent

44:12

a little time with the new England Patriots on their practice

44:14

squad. You know

44:16

what he's a coach's kid, his

44:18

dad played in the NFL, his dad

44:21

still coaches to this day. And

44:23

man, I'll tell you what he came in.

44:26

And I be honest

44:28

with you. To me, it was the most important thing

44:30

for not only our group, but our team,

44:33

just because he brought a new perspective,

44:35

and sometimes, and this is,

44:37

you know, you, you coach, you you'll, you'll say

44:40

about this too. Sometimes it's hard,

44:42

you know, you become a. What's

44:44

the word I'm looking for? I'd say,

44:47

uh, within your own group,

44:49

Hey, I'm in charge. This is, this is how we do

44:51

things. And when somebody comes

44:53

in and sees it from a different way

44:56

and changes things up sometimes

44:58

as a coach, you gotta take a deep breath. Like,

45:01

you know, who's this guy, what's he? But

45:03

man, I'll tell you what, it took me a day to

45:05

kind of get past that. our

45:08

kids just, blossomed,

45:10

they really did. We got so much better.

45:12

And when we work together and allow him to

45:14

coach and, you know, and I think as a head coach,

45:16

allowing your coaches to coach is

45:20

a huge part of things. I was very, I've

45:22

been very fortunate as a longtime

45:24

assistant to have coaches

45:26

that have allowed me to coach. That

45:29

have not stood over me, have allowed me

45:31

to take on responsibilities

45:34

within our team, because I know as a coach, you

45:36

take ownership as an assistant on those things.

45:38

So that's one thing I try to do, and I know

45:40

it's kind of off topic of your original question,

45:43

but. You know, I think that's, that's important

45:46

and yeah, I need to do, I need to be better.

45:48

I need to be better at, getting other

45:50

people's perspectives and, getting

45:52

out and talking to people and,

45:55

and finding out how they do it outside

45:57

of 77, 40 Southwest.

45:59

Yeah. You know, I never forget. I, my first

46:02

clinic talk and man,

46:04

I was probably 32

46:06

years old. So four years of

46:08

being a head coach, really no

46:10

business getting up in front of a group and talking to

46:12

clinic. But anyway, I guess the original guy

46:14

canceled and I was the B plan. So I'm up there talking.

46:17

And someone comes in and

46:19

he sits down and I knew who this

46:21

person was. And a

46:24

man, I think 10, 11, 12

46:26

state championship rings under his belt.

46:29

And he was the first person in my talk

46:31

sat in the first one. And

46:33

took out his notebook. And, I was

46:36

really nervous. I was like, I can't believe

46:38

he's sitting in the front row and he's out in my talk and

46:41

took copious notes. the whole time I was

46:43

talking, I was distracted. I couldn't focus on what I was doing.

46:45

His thinking, like, how was he possibly

46:48

taking notes? What I have to say, like I only

46:50

should be learning from him. And

46:52

then the older I got and the more I talked

46:55

to my mentors, the more I realize

46:57

that's why he has all those rings because

47:00

he was sitting in the front row because

47:02

he was humbled enough to say, I can

47:04

learn from anyone at any point,

47:06

no matter how many rings I have no matter how

47:08

many wins are underneath my belt.

47:11

And that's why he is successful.

47:13

And it's something that has stuck with me. So

47:15

to your point of this new, online coach, Yes.

47:18

W we have a heck of a lot to learn from each other.

47:20

It's also why in this podcast, I don't do just

47:22

football coaches. This is a podcast

47:25

about leadership. So I'm bringing

47:27

in business professionals,

47:29

girls, softball, coaches, basketball,

47:31

coaches, you name it because. We're

47:33

all in the business of people and we all could

47:35

learn how to have impact

47:38

on someone's life and just make

47:40

a better day for someone. Right. So if

47:43

we tend to think, well, I only can learn from a football

47:45

coach. I'm a football guy. I think it's

47:47

pretty narrow minded and you're limited in your opportunities to

47:49

be great. kudos to you, I'm with you on that coach.

47:52

So. To wrap up this great

47:54

talk we've had, what about contact information?

47:56

And we would like to reach out and talk to you about

47:58

baseball or football or multi-sport

48:01

athletes or whatever it may be.

48:03

Yeah. I mean, absolutely. I'm, you know,

48:05

this kind of conversation is stimulating

48:07

to me. I, you know, we've, we've been going

48:09

on. 45 minutes

48:11

and it feels like five minutes. I love these

48:13

kinds of conversations. I love to

48:16

share ideas with people that

48:18

have the same interests that are in it for

48:20

the same reasons. Um, my

48:23

email Jane ni at St. Rita

48:25

hs.com is a great way to

48:27

get ahold of me. I check a daily.

48:29

Love nothing more than to a

48:32

week or two from now have a couple of people

48:34

that are looking to share some ideas.

48:36

Um, like you said, you can

48:39

learn from anyone. we had a clinic

48:41

on Sunday where we had about 120

48:43

grade school kids here, and

48:45

I told them the greatest thing about the sport of baseball.

48:47

And obviously it doesn't just apply to baseball. Was

48:51

that every single day I'm

48:53

out there, I'm learning something. And

48:56

I truly meant that, you know, here we are

48:58

coaching up 11, 12, 13 year

49:00

old kids, but you walk out of there and you

49:02

learn something new and that's what makes it great. And

49:04

that's what makes athletics great. And that's

49:06

why it's a great microcosm of life.

49:09

And, you know, we talk about baseball, specifically,

49:11

the failure aspect of it. how

49:13

that's such a great thing for

49:15

you moving forward. But

49:17

yeah, I, I love the opportunity to

49:20

connect with as many coaches as I could,

49:22

uh, bounce some ideas up and back

49:24

offline.

49:26

Well, thanks for sharing your email address and to our listeners.

49:28

I will have that in the show notes and also

49:30

to our listeners. I hope that this 45 minutes

49:32

seemed like five minutes to you as well, because that's

49:34

a sign of a great episode. Coach

49:37

a really value. First and foremost,

49:40

I value our friendship. You're a mentor to

49:42

me as well. I've loved

49:44

being able to bounce a lot of things off ya, sending

49:46

you that sentence and being like, Hey, should a comma go right

49:48

here? Cause I, will admit we do have

49:50

those conversations via text messaging

49:52

because we are English nerds that

49:54

I, and I miss those. So start sending them back

49:56

again. Wait,

49:57

absolutely.

49:58

not in a classroom right now, but you know,

50:00

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So I value

50:02

that, that relationship and, thanks for

50:04

all the work that you do at St. Rita

50:06

and for all the work that you're doing with kids, because

50:08

it's making a huge difference. And it's why I wanted to showcase

50:11

you on this podcast. So thanks for coming.

50:13

well, look, thank you. And congratulations

50:16

on your new gig at St. Pat's. You're going to do

50:18

great things there. And, uh, I've always,

50:20

we talk about this St. Pat's is the scent

50:22

read of the north side. So I'll always

50:24

be a huge fan. Hope you guys go 81 next year,

50:27

except for your one. Game against

50:29

the Mustangs. Of course.

50:30

Well, I appreciate that. Let's talk about that

50:32

one game and let's not talk about the fact that, although

50:34

you're a south sider, you are really a Cub

50:36

fan too. That's a whole nother conversation. So,

50:40

all right, coach. Thanks for being on man. We'll talk.

50:42

Thanks Luke. Have a good one.