Godbee-Official

This is a podcast episode featuring a guest who is the head baseball coach at Strong Rock Christian School in Georgia. They discuss the team's recent success in winning a state championship and the journey that led them there. The coach emphasizes the importance of hard work, confidence, and continuous improvement. They also talk about the challenge of maintaining success and building a dynasty in the upcoming season. This is the Unparalleled Performance Podcast. I am your host Josh Reband. Each week we'll feature guests who are ambitious and passionate about being more than the status quo because we all know that being average is the enemy to success. We will cover topics that will help you become more disciplined and committed to your goals in life, leadership, and faith. Now on to this week's episode and remember as iron sharpens iron so one person sharpens another. Enjoy the show. Hey everybody. Welcome back to another episode of the Unparalleled Performance Podcast and this is episode number 26 and with me I have one of my closest friends, one of my best friends who lives down in Georgia. He is the head baseball coach at Strong Rock Christian School and also coaches football there and in years past I've always joked around with him that he's been the most wanted baseball coach in the state of Georgia because he has had a lot of stops at different schools across the state and has had a ton of success and always just seems to be a wanted coach down there and first got to know him when he was coaching with me with the Niagara Power in the New York Collegiate Baseball League back in 2013 and or 2014 and 2015 and then we coached two more summers together in the Northwoods League one with the Lakeshore Chinooks and then another summer with the Battle Creek Bombers so we spent a lot of time together in dugouts and in cars and buses and all that stuff and has become a really close friend of mine and Jason I really respect what you do with your players there and I'm excited to dive into that but first welcome to the studio from down in Georgia. Man I am I'm glad to be here and I was telling you earlier you probably are at the bottom of the barrel if you're asking me to come on so I'm sorry that I'm everybody's Christmas gift when I look back but man 2014 I was thinking about this morning it's almost a decade ago when we first met actually when you first returned my email that I sent out for four months and didn't hear a peep or anything and then finally like you know half a year later you get back to me I mean I hope you've gotten better on emails. I had a feeling you might you might bring that one up on this episode you know here I am trying to pump your tires to everybody and you go give me a jab in the side to get on with it so and I will I'll pump your tires once more for the audience here just so it could be a real big jab in the side of me but you are coming off of a state championship at Strong Rock Christian School and you're just new namely newly named as the head baseball coach over this past summer after you guys had your state championship run and you had a big part to do with that run this past spring first time in school history winning a state title so if you can just talk a little bit into your journey there and kind of what you felt like gave you guys a lot of success this past spring. Well Toby Evans it was it was has been the head coach of Strong Rock he was a head coach here for for seven years until moving up in the administration this past year and I can't thank him enough for giving me the opportunity to to join his staff join the community here at Strong Rock. We had competed against each other when I was at First Presbyterian I competed against Strong Rock when I was at Landmark and the program here is first-class and Toby Evans is the one that should be credited with building what what Strong Rock baseball is today and it was about this time last year that me and him began talking because I wasn't in education at the time I had left education and was working in the private world and I was working as an engineer hopefully there's no buildings falling down sitting there. When you start talking about this time last year about possibility of joining up and then it was about a month from I guess right after Christmas when we when I went up with him on campus and then one thing led to another in early February we were out there and filled together and we were we're building something and what we were building was was what at the time I think me and him were the only ones that realized that we had an opportunity to be very special and it was about making the guys understand and believe that hey you have an unbelievable opportunity here in front of you you just got to take it you just got to take advantage of it and one of the things that I learned from you that I carry with me and all the programs is is hard work leads to profit mere talk leads to poverty and our guys know that Proverbs 14.3 and I mean we labeled it had it on everywhere and those guys bought into exactly that hard work leads to profit do you how hard you want to work what does that look like and the rewards are great for those teams we divided the season up into into three seasons we had a 30 game regular season we were six and four the first ten were seven and three the second ten and we were eight and one because we had a game canceled and the last ten and then we jumped into the playoffs those guys didn't lose a series all season long we were reaching champs for the first time in school history we lost game one in the playoffs and then came back with our backs against the wall and threw back-to-back shutouts and then we went and slayed the the giant of baseball in the state of Georgia Tattnall Square Academy who's had basically from 2010 really the 2020 they won eight or nine state titles and had knocked strong right out in 2019 and the elite eight and basically that was that was the team everybody had talked about here strong that was the best team that was the best team and this team decided hey we got opportunity to be even better and they fought and clawed all the way to the championship game several ran outs travels part of the state championship and Augusta Georgia ended it and Lake Point Georgia and Emerson Northwest Georgia so it was fun and then seeing these guys and lost three seniors but seeing them pay that termination now let's create a dynasty people think strong like athletics let's make them think about at least baseball to an extent but the most important thing is our guys hey you learn to be a champion off the field first before you can ever be a champion on the field and that's a credit to Toby Evans. Can you can you take us inside your locker room going up against what you considered the Giants or what are considered the Giants of baseball and especially within your vision in state of Georgia what do you how do you guys talk with your players I think that's always an intriguing thing of what are those conversations like in the locker room when we're when we're going up and against an opponent that has a lot of status and they've definitely achieved a lot of great things and making sure that your players aren't fearful of their opponents and that they trust their own abilities yeah and that's that's that's the big thing it's all about confidence and we told we told guys all year hey as a man thinks so he is who do you think you are do you think you're this do you think you're that if you think you're this are you willing to put in the work to match up to that thought or if you think you're if you think you're lesser are you is that why you're afraid to work because you think of yourself as lesser so we encourage our guys man every day show up daily and you've got to show up daily you got to work your butt off because somebody out there's working harder than you you got a two you got to always focus on improvement how what do I need to do to get better at the end of the year our practices were hey look we don't focus on what you need to get that done if you need it if you need to work on going backside go backside if you need to work on two-strike approach that's what you're gonna work on today hey if you need to work on this you work on that we're just going we're gonna minimize we're gonna basically put blinders on and minimize the game into just strategic details for you guys to improve to maximize what we can do on the field as a unit so if you need to work on two-strike state that's what your focus is on today that's what I'm gonna harp on that's what I'm gonna jump on you about today if you're working on hey I need to work on picks at first base all right let's let's let's minimize that and let's look at that together and let's see if we can ultimately maximize an extent how to get better that day and then if you're going to do that then you got to be committed to the work and you got to go through the process and you got to understand hey look I'm not gonna be perfect today but hopefully by game time I'll be better than I was two days ago or a week ago or whatever it may be and then we told our guys embrace the heart embrace it life is not easy by any means and it only gets harder sometimes the order you get so learn to embrace it now so when you leave this game when real life hits you in the face you understand how what you understand how to get through it how to work through it and it's like it's it's like we were telling our guys and I read this and actually was a guy that coached me in that it's called a Rhino and the Rhinos have that big horn in the front and they run 30 45 miles an hour but they can only see 30 feet in front of them and in a massive amount of Rhino are called crash because they crash into things so let's just go full speed let's go do things the right way and be committed to it and if you and if you crash or run into things how you got a horn in front of you keep going love it I love it dude so let's let's dive in then it's what it's one thing to get to the top you're a state champion state champion now coming into this new academic year new baseball season approaching in a couple months it's harder to stay at the top you can get to the top you can be at the top one time how do you start creating a dynasty creating a tradition in year two and trying to emulate that same success and I know you mentioned that there's been a lot of things that have been built already in the years past but now coming off of the first state title at the school how how do you approach this new this new season and that's what we're working on right now that's what I'm talking to the seniors about right now hey it starts with you guys I want to coach you guys you know the hardest I guess in other words but it depends on their leadership I want those guys every team that I've coached whether it's at first Presbyterian whether it's here at straw rock whether it's back at landmark or even our summers together you know we we counted on guys to to lead and I think you're only as good as your leaders and it starts at the top if the coaching staffs on board with everybody the team knows the team knows hey those guys love each other we're going to fight for each other and they're and they're going to win and lose together as a team in the unit and I think that's what our guys realized last year and these seniors now that are that were juniors last year now assume that role and I think they understand the grass hey look there's a lot that falls on our shoulders how we conduct ourselves on the field how we conduct ourselves and things get hard and I got this from coach Thompson down at Auburn he has it I'm sure it's been out but he calls it the the don't don't no blame no complaining and don't defend yourself just accept responsibility and that's what we're trying to create here at the end of the day when you leave our program when you come in and it's everywhere that I've been we're trying to create maximum in accept responsibility when you fall short desire the greater reward what does that look like it could lead to several summer several other things you know lead courageously hey it's hard to lead and being up and being a leader is sometimes you're on an island by yourself but that's when you got to get everybody else on board with you and sometimes people are the things you're weird when you do stuff like that and that's what we're trying to do right now hey success is difficult sustained success is even difficult because once you reach the top you want to let off the gas pedal you want to take a breath but the teams that don't are the teams that continue to be successful and that's what we're trying to afford right now hey let's continue pushing hey this is what we did last year all right we broke the state we are right tiller broke the single-season record for stolen basis go get the career record now you know what our center filter who was the 4a player of the year in the state of Georgia hey you know what go be the first back-to-back I think since Jeff rank or something like that I mean it's been a while so go be back-to-back guy go go do it again you know what you did let's you know what we turned 15 double plays last year let's make it let's double that leave a legacy and you're always gonna leave a legacy wherever you're at it's either gonna be what what is your legacy want to be well the seniors last year left a legacy of hey this is standard now now you guys have to build upon that legacy what's your legacy going to be you know did we win the most games last year in a single season no we only won 26 most is 27 you know what guys go do that go find find something and go get it I'm a nerd at reading and I one of the books that stays with me is the last coach and it's about bear bright and he's like look once you attain a goal go get another one don't quit don't get another keep finding goals to go get and that's what we're telling our guys right now I look we were at the mountaintop last year but you know what there's still there's work still to be done there's work still to be done like let's pretty much premier comes to our facilities and our facility stuff is a great job with that let's make our facilities even better than they were people show up let's make them think hey this is a championship program the way we act the way we dress the way we conduct ourselves the way we compete everything's got to be championship caliber and that's that's what we're trying to do now that's what that's what success is going to look like now because everybody knows hey you were that yes you were the 2023 state champs in state of Georgia but 2024 is just starting to be a road and the first chapter is being written right now at offseason workouts and conditioning all this how does that look in December how much you invest in any summer how much you best in January before our first official practice first games in February it could be could be 77 degrees in Georgia it could be minus 77 just depends on the day you got to be ready to play in any circumstance you know it the way it is it's not like Michigan up there was cold until June give me give me a red white and blue Patriots jersey right now man fire me up I love it I think that those are things that outsiders can notice pretty well and I'm gonna test your memory when we were coaching together in Niagara you were coaching first base and we had a night a couple nights where I we just kind of felt like our team was off there's something going on that we couldn't necessarily put our finger on and I remember you came back in and I think was Wally was the the field umpire that night and I think Wally made a comment to you and it was like hey what's what's going on with your guys dugout tonight like you guys just don't seem like the normal Niagara Power baseball team that usually shows up every night like what's what's going on can you talk about how people on the outside notice that and I don't know if you remember that specific instance or not but I remember you coming back in and tell them telling that to me as well and we were both kind of thinking the same thing but just dive into like how people take notice of how how hard your teams play how good of a culture there is and all that kind of stuff yeah we um you know and those are some fun nights I mean was it ants on a log or kids would chat if they bring in what peanut butter on celery with raisins or something something nasty oh I still but I still remember vividly I mean at first base and our guys chatting ants on a log and I'm going what does that mean what does that mean but our guys loved it and they just everybody wanted to be a part of it I mean I remember opposing teams wanting to be a part of it and it became like magnetic people were drawn to it so when people when something wasn't right like Wally the first base umpire people knew hey look something's not right tonight like what's what's up with you guys and we talked about addressed it and that's what we have here whether a strong rock and what we had it first Presbyterian was hey we want to be a magnetic force we want to draw people and we want people to be like man I want that I mean the best compliment we had we were in the playoffs and they're posing team schedule we're in the final four basically walks up to our head coach at the time and goes man how I won't have so much fun as you guys are having it looks and when when Toby told it told me that I was like man that's that's at essence what this team is about this what any team is about you know you want to be made that you want other people to look across the diamond and be like man I want what they have I want that energy I won't I want this guy that is you know pitched winning all year in it just like just like that leadoff hitter is and we had I mean our week we call it the Patriot Award and it was a kid named Will Sires and Will Sires started the year right fill for us and then also my competition led to him a new right fielder but Will Sires was in every single game and and we he was literally the Patriot Award because it didn't matter he was doing the book he was doing something he was warming up because he was the he was exactly what we want hey look I'm gonna root for my team I'm gonna still go out there compete and I want us at the end of the day to be better I want us to win and that's what we're that's what we're trying to be at the end of the day it's not about whether I got the title as head coach or if I got the title assistant coach my job was to be the best version of myself that I could be that day same thing with Toby Evans same thing with Justin Nicholson our pitching coach it was all about trying to figure out hey you got when you come out here man it's a game it's supposed to be fun some days you're gonna have baggage on you trying to leave it at the door but it's not man it's my job to go pick my team man up there it's my job that hey it's my job to bring life in your and and how am I bringing life into people what am I doing am I am I sucking the life out everything or am I giving life and that's and that's and that's what we did I remember it was one of the things that used to say I think we may have been Lakeshore but we were at you like you feed the wolf wolf are you feeding today and and who's packed your parachute I mean coach Bianchi at Ole Miss I mean I love some of those things that he does and I've adopted I may have stolen a little bit of his stuff but you know it's the little things like that that hey who if you pack somebody's parachute have you done your job today what what do the job your job the best way if you're the if you're the bullpen catcher man do it the best way we had a guy last year that did it unbelievable hey here's what he's doing well right now I mean he came in this guy's doing this and so it set us up for success because we knew what he was comfortable throwing what was working in the pit what was doing that and it was just simply relaying a message and doing your job and sometimes your job you don't get a lot of accolades on it because nobody understands what you're doing I remember having a manager and he basically was in the seventh inning we're in the playoffs and look something to say every time this kid's come up today coach he's tried but okay I mean oblivious to me but that was perfect hey heads up heads up to the but first pitch he lays down a but third baseman fills it boom ball game over I mean it was just simple we advance the playoffs a big win for us but it was I mean something as little as that being heads up hey contributing to the win I mean that that makes it special for everybody and that's in essence you you have to make it special for your players and relationships are so important when it comes down to that it's not how much you know everybody says that you know it's about hey connecting with those guys where you're at hey if one of my guys is a fisherman I'm going to do my best to talk efficiently if it's it's all it's all in the details I think the more in the details you are as a coach or as a staff member the more opportunity you have for success yeah and you I love it man I I'm missing our our days of coaching together because the way that you communicate with the guys like you have again I'm pumping your tires which I probably shouldn't do anymore but you're nothing special you're probably the most quality relational coach that I like every team that you've been a part of that I'm aware of has always had incredible culture and I think a lot of that is a testament to the way that you can relate to your players like you said if a guy knows how to fish but you don't know much about fishing you're going to learn you know something to be able to talk about that subject with them to get to know them on a deeper level I think talking about like wanting to be a magnetic force and like attracting people to your team it's not an ego thing as a coach I know for you or for myself but those like you said those are the compliments that you want is when people on the outside say I want to be a part of that and my goal on a personal note is like when players from other teams go back to their college campuses in the fall I love getting calls from those college coaches that we didn't coach their players they're like hey you know our guy didn't this guy didn't play for for you this summer but he said hey if you know we're gonna send a guy to the Northwoods League you got to send him up to Traverse City and you know like those are the best compliments you can get because people are noticing something different and I think that's what you're getting at is that you want to create something so special something so unique something that enables people to feel valued and not just feel like they're just coming to get 300 at-bats in a summer or for you just being a part of the team but they can actually be the team like you said like even a manager just you know saying hey you know coach I don't know if you remember this but you know report on this guy that he laid down bunts all the time and you know like you said oblivious to you in the moment because you got other things you're thinking about and next thing you know games over so I think creating something so unique is something that you have a strong suit in can you talk about like the ins and outs of that like things that you might do at practice that might be different than other coaches whether it's music at practice whether it's the way you guys do certain drills whether it's the way you do BP what makes the way that you coach in your coaching style maybe not necessarily because I know you're humble so you might not say it's you know different or better but what do you just do that's uniquely to your style well one of the things and I'll uh I'll shoot a little sunshine sunshine on your way one of the things I remember right out of the gate was when I went to Niagara besides eating wings and hanging out with Cal curd and you know all the people in Niagara and Buffalo stuff but was how you built that culture I mean that was something that was a that was an organization that you were part of as a player that was an organization that you had the opportunity to come back and coach that I got to be a part of when you answered my email finally but the culture I learned a lot of it from you by just watching I don't know if you remember that first year but we're out again I was I do I like to observe I like to figure out things and I was first thing I connected to was hard work leads to profit we're talking to poverty and that's the one that I always hung on to I thought okay I'm gonna watch this guy and I'm gonna try to emulate him I'm gonna try to do do those things because coaching sometimes is not about trying to figure out discover things on your own it's about emulating people that you respect it's about hey I'll really like the way this guy does this and then picking and choosing you try to do the best of everybody and try to get rid of the worst of you and I like to yell and scream and holler and yell at the umpires but ten years later I've learned not to do that you know and and part of it was from you hey look this one it's one pitch don't let one pitch affects the next the next pitch I learned that from you it's not and and and and I used to take losses like you as you know I did not talk to me there were many nights where it was a long silent afternoon slow ride home because I just I just hate losing now the back roads of Battle Creek to Grand Rapids we had a long car ride that were very quiet but I learned hey one one game doesn't change who you are one loss doesn't change who we are it's about what you how do you learn from that how do you keep moving forward how you keep doing the little things right how do you improve on the little things that's one thing I took away from you it embracing the heart it does take hard work to get to what profit is it's easy to talk it's easy to be all about about who you are because of selfish ambitions or whatever it is egotistical but I also find that that's also could be detrimental to your organization could be detrimental to your team because you're not willing to meet somebody where they're at and I learned to meet players where they were at being part of your staff and if you can meet players where they're at and get them to where you want them to go you've got a chance to be really really good at that player has a chance to be really really good not everybody is going to be a draft pick you know not everybody's going to go and play power five college baseball not everybody's going to go maybe and play college baseball but how do you get those guys to buy in as much as it is for your number one player and that's where that's where you find that's where success to me is found is right there that's where the happy me if you can get those guys to buy in you already got the guys at the top buy it in but can you get everybody else to buy it and that's where relationships come in that's where things that become of what what's important to that music I mean we have music going all the time I mean boom it's one thing I was a grateful coach Evans let us do down here I mean everywhere you go man there's music constantly people knew it was baseball people know it's baseball season we crank the music up it played in nonstop I mean from the time before practice gets to the time practice is well over the music is is going why can't it creates energy guys are dancing guys or whatever hey add this song add this song hey what about this what about that hey you know what guys make it give them something to be proud of give them something to own and then let them run with it to an extent you know and I think the more guys have ownership or believe they have ownership and things the more opportunity you have to be successful not only as a organization but yourself as a coach and you can't be happy where you're at you got to always be growing like I'm always like I I don't want to be the smartest guy on the field I want to be the dumbest guy on the field I tell people that all the time why because I want people around me to make us better if I'm the smartest guy out there then we're not getting any better I want people who are going to challenge our players who are going to challenge me to grow at do it we we are we are blessed this year to have Kyle Davies a former first-round draft pick come and work with our pitchers he's an expert have at it tell me what you know let's go meet let's go talk I want to know what you know I want to know what you're thinking I want to know why you're thinking this pitch that pitch because I want our hitters to be successful hey this guy could be thinking this so that's the way I want you to approach as you're hitting I look at it from a different angle what's going to make us better what every single day how can we get better from a staff and and as a player and I think I love it I think Kyle could probably have given me some pointers on when you ended up becoming a Detroit Tigers pitcher for a night I think you need to share a little bit about that story especially having Mason Englert on last week and an actual Detroit Tigers pitcher I think we need to have you share the story about you acting like you were Detroit Tigers pitcher go ahead hey people believe what they want to believe and I got this I don't know I guess I was thinking on my feet back in car a quick figure yeah sometimes depends on who you ask my mother would my mother would beg to differ she was probably how I survived so long but in college you know in Florida spring spring training is going on down there so me and my buddies would go to Orlando where spring training was that we put on polos khaki shorts turfs his younger brother meanwhile I should I need to tell the audience you being a single man you match your outfits based on college colors which is incredible and you always do match it might be might be royal blue and orange for the University of Florida but you're always matching and it's I don't know where you I got it down I got it down you're correct you look like an organic today you are correct this depends on the day right now I'm trying to be a Georgia boy you know I don't know if I'll be a Georgia boy like ever but at least I'm wearing red and black I don't look all colors but we'd go to these places in Orlando and my buddy's younger brother would bet his friends would come hey great game day this that and see people were to watch how goal people were I think like oh y'all played so good today you're like all right great you know pirate stuff on one day and Astro stuff another day Braves that can get a break your heart to get away with because everybody did the Braves players are the popular ones but we can do whoever because most people didn't keep up with whoever that outside the Braves in the Marlins and stuff like that so fast-forward was it a years later we're going I'm going to Detroit for your basketball you get married you fool Tiffany into burying you and yep and I'm on my way to Detroit flying down to get off I've got I've got a suit on I've got it I'm dressed up I'm wearing a Braves hat of all things okay and I still remember oh my god why did that come how did that come so I get an uber driver it's traffic five o'clock I got to get to Tiger Stadium nervous where you going go say yeah I'm going to stay I'm in town got the call up today he's like oh really I think yeah bullpen oh we need a lot of help in the bullpen I'm like you're right the Tigers do I got let go yesterday picked up a waiver said it there today he's like man I'm gonna get you I will get you to the stadium it's five o'clock in Detroit traffic here we go my man gets in the emergency lane and we're driving nobody put the emergency flashes on we're just we're rolling now this is awesome we get to the stadium pull up there's a barricade in there he pulls right up to an officer Detroit's finest office and he said can I help you he goes yeah I'm going to I need to get first day because you don't have a pass you can't get in here goes I know but I got a player in the back at this point I've taken my hat off and it's just me and a sport coat and everything else officer looks in the backseat I wave at him he goes all right come on through so I here I am I'm riding up past everybody in front of the stadium after what my name was I get a picture with him I mean wave at him tell me you watch me pitch tonight good luck thanks for choosing me blah blah blah I get out of the car walk about 50 feet join up with my friend reband all his brothers and friends for our tiger game I think the funnier part it probably wasn't 50 feet because you actually had to walk about 150 yards away from the gate that he dropped you off at away from the stadium I do remember that yes I do remember that baseball told me I'm walking away from the stadium going I'm one of those guys that just lied oh dude classic story class hey hey it made for a great story I got I was on time I wouldn't sit in any traffic and I got a little hopper right upstate it's incredible absolutely incredible you got a five-star oh dude so I think the next kind of area of topic which again will be another funny story but I think understanding your coaching staff so well like that didn't surprise me at all that you would do something like that after having worked with you it didn't doesn't take long to get to know Jason Godby it's probably I mean after spending a day with Jason you you know you know Jason pretty well so I'll never forget one of our first practices that we had this is tying in with knowing your coaching staff really well and trying to be inside their brain during a practice or whatever so there is a guy on our team that was a pitcher only and he thought that he was going to take BP on day one and I he didn't hit in college but and I don't know where the messaging came from that he was going to be able to take BP on day one of our practice with Niagara Power but all of a sudden I look over and here he is taking BP with all the hitters and my first thought is and Jason musta Jason must talk to him like before practice this was our second second year working together so I had gotten to know you really well by that point I'm like Jason must have said must have said something to him said yeah yeah you can pick up a bat swing it yeah we'll see what you got and meanwhile you are thinking why did Reeves let this guy hit this is ridiculous this I'm wasting my time I mean first first of all I couldn't hit front nice guy we couldn't have brought side of a bar I mean we're just we're hoping he found tips it's kind of like t-ball you're just throwing it you're hoping it hits the bat and I'm thinking oh my gosh why did Reeves let this guy hit I mean I guess he's just trying to prove he's not going to be a hitter he's just going to be a PO I don't know but I'm the whole time I'm throwing I'm just thinking myself why are we doing this but hey it's your team I'm gonna go right along with it and I'll ask you questions later so meanwhile we're both thinking the same thing but we're both being okay with it because we figured that the other person put their stamp on it I just think it's always interesting when coaching staffs know each other that well and I know your your buddy Tanner has been coaching with you for a long time he's helped out different years different seasons of life and whatnot but can you talk about how important that is in a culture of being different is having a coaching staff you touched on a little bit like it starts at the top if people notice that the top get along well and are you know having great conversation enjoying their time together it's going to be a trickle-down effect can you talk about that and the the old Jason Godbee philosophy oh gosh well you know luckily I've just had the opportunity to be part of some great staffs I got the opportunity to learn from Phil Williams who's a Hall of Fame coach down here one of the guys I got to learn from how to how to run from the top down is Greg Moore he's the athletic director at First Presbyterian I think those two guys right there are two incredible not only coaches but they are also men who know how to maximize everybody around them I think it's the guys that I played for from from Kenny Dallas and Wayne Brantley to Matt Skinner guys that I've watched as a player and then the guys that I got to coach with guys like you Eddie Morgan from from Lakeshore and how they ran things and how they trusted I mean I tell people all the time I mean Eddie Eddie trusted me to be a third base coach in the Northwoods League I think we led the league and guys throw that at home plate I mean I I take a lot of trust a lot of belief meanwhile you are you're typically one of the favorites to throw BP and I remember opening day you were so excited and fired up that you hit the first hitter in the first BP round I think I think I think it was Owen Miller I think he's with the Milwaukee Brewers now but yeah I remember getting in there first pitch I mean you got music playing everybody's feeling good right in his hip. My bad. But you know you you you learn how to guys get along and I think it starts there I think I think this past year Toby bringing me on in February to be part of the staff and how we hit it off I mean we we've worked so well together our kids knew after every game win or lose we were going to the Waffle House we were going to we were going to we were going to enjoy a Waffle House meal whether we won thankfully we've won a lot because it made meals that much better but even after losses we would we would trudge into the Waffle House and the eggs and grits and waffle just didn't taste really good but we we were together win or lose our guys know at the end of the day that I was gonna have coach Evans back and he was gonna have my back and same thing with Tanner I mean Tanner and I grew up together we went to the same high school Tanner was an incredible baseball player at UAB was a Friday night starter was the 3-0 hitter was a shortstop he was a young guy four or five years younger than me and we just we worked well together our kids knew at the end of the day Tanner and I that nothing was going to come we were always going to agree and our kids were always knew we were on the same page. Now in the office we may talk about hey what do you think about this we think about that and we come to some type of consensus but we're on that field our guys knew at the end of the day we were going to fight for each other and we're going to fight for them and I think that's where you get guys to believe it and hey look look these coaches believe in each other they're friends off the field they they go hang out just like we do and I think that that's where you build camaraderie that's where you build the culture that's where you build something special because if the kids see you guys loving each other hanging out together hey you're off the field you got you you your families do things together it means so much more because you're you want your guy hey it's got to be more than baseball it's only baseball it's not going to mean that much you've got to do things outside the top you got to do things off the field last year we had a basketball court take to the locker room floor and they were playing hoop or whatever they were playing prayer thankfully nobody got hurt but I mean there was something they had a tournament knockdown epic games hey but they figured it out it it brought them together then it made them that much better on the field because it was more than just baseball it was more than just throwing strikes it was more than sacrifice punch it was more than hit and runs it was it was a that's my buddy out there saying I got to figure out how to get him home so we can celebrate together and I think that was the joy watching our guys dogpile at the region championship watching our guys dogpile to get on Mother's Day weekend to the state championship to watch our guys have three days of rain outs in a hotel room if you were going how do you guys what are you guys doing we're doing baseball how are you guys entertaining the guy the guys are entertaining themselves they're playing with all the hotel parking lot we can't help that the weather is terrible and we have three days here in Augusta Georgia but we're gonna figure out a way and it became it became more it was more than baseball so when they finally got to compete on the diamond in Augusta they were ready to go and it was about hey it's about hey pick if somebody's down that day we got to pick him up we got to do this and we won game one and when we lost game two in the series and it was tied up been a best-of-three series our guys didn't panic they've been there before they knew how to react they we've been here before we've lost the first game in a series we've won the first two games in the series we swept we've won every series they've been there they've done it they were prepared because at the end of the day they knew that it was it was about each other yeah and you I think you hit it on the head that it's so much more than just baseball it said things off the field and I think quite frankly that's why it took me so long to respond to your email as I was actually looking for a triathlon training partner for the for the summer of 2014 hey I trained with you I just didn't get to compete I mean I still remember where we swimming at we got to pull the first down I think I'm like that I remember the water aerobic class like for my grandmother's age like 80 and over and I'm thinking they're gonna I'm not to jump on the float over there because I'm about to drown to death cuz I'm swimming with flipper over here and meanwhile meanwhile I can dog paddle before I die before we end up in the Niagara River yeah and we were in the river swimming every day until sweetheart showed up and she didn't like you swim in the river all of a sudden we didn't swim in the river no more I was like well she showed up a long time ago yeah tip tip shut that down pretty quick I'll never forget that we ended up back at the aerobics class pretty quickly so the first time we went in the river and that lady walked out or a cup of coffee so what are you guys doing oh you know there was ice on there like two weeks ago I was like two weeks meanwhile you end up bailing on me on race day you call me the weekend prior to the to the race reads I got a football coaches meeting I can't miss Sunday night and the race was that Sunday and I ended up having to do it by myself because you bailed on me but you did I guess you did execute the part of being being a training partner you just weren't a race partner for it so I forgot to tell you about the fine print said race partner training partner not race day classic so another another topic that I want to talk about with you is your passion for coaching and teaching and mentoring athletes and students so before you got into coaching you had some jobs at with ESPN I think in Jacksonville and seemingly pays a lot more money than it does to coach and teach at especially a Christian school you know just from the not a lot of money there for for faculty and staff in comparison to what a corporation like ESPN can do can pay can you talk about kind of segueing and then also to you just had a recent job you had gotten out of baseball for a short period probably maybe a year or a year and a half something like that yes I'm doing a job that also wasn't your passion necessarily can you just touch on the importance of living your passion and what God's created you to be and how you best feel like God's utilize or you can utilize the gifts that God's given you oh man you know sometimes you sometimes you just you want to go through I tell guys all the time hey don't rush through things because you only get to do this once you only get four years of high school enjoy it you only get four years of college enjoy it so now some people take a victory lap like it like I did and you get five years but um you know don't rush through things and and then what you think you're going to do may not be what you are called to do and what your passion is and when I went to school I thought man I've got it all figured out you know sometimes you tell God your plans and he laughs and at some point I'll get into coaching and what is what I thought and so I had a great job I worked for Disney it's incredible company to work for I worked for ESPN and Jacksonville affiliate covered two Super Bowls I covered the Super Bowl in Jacksonville cover Super Bowl in Tampa covered national championships Florida was very good during that era both in football and in basketball so it was it was a it was a fun time to be covered working in the state of Florida I got to work in Arkansas with a legendary NFL football coach Larry Bechtel when I say that everybody knew who Larry Bechtel was everybody knew coach Beck was because I didn't I knew he was I knew he was a big-time coach and he coached Brett Favre and all this other stuff but then he tells me to call like Pete Carroll and I'm like dude there's no way Pete Carroll is like we're not we're not Bristol we're not you know Dan Patrick we're not Chris Berman we're not that big he's like I'll just call him I know him and so I'd call up and be like hey so and so blah blah blah we coach Beck and they'd be like oh yeah Pete Carroll I want to talk to coach Beck I'm thinking who's this guy I'm working with but everybody knows him but it was cool because I you know I have to opportunity to do some really cool things and I was a community coach on the side I started at East High School and then thought okay well I'm just gonna do this on the side and man I fell in love with it it was it was it was so much fun I got the I got the great relationships with Mike Martin at FSU and the Jacksonville Suns at the time were affiliated with the Dodgers because the owner was in the army with Tommy Lasorda's who you know get pick Tommy Lasorda's brain and the resources there talking baseball talking life I mean you really get to see all this stuff they got to be there for the end of coach Bowden's career at FSU you know got to got to hang out and interview Bill Belichick before he became you know very boring and interviews and Tom Brady was at the beginning of his career and you know you think that you're like wow look at all those cool things like I was able to do but at the heart of it now I love coaching people I tell people all the time like it doesn't make any sense even when I moved to Arkansas I thought man I'm never I'm done coaching I'm never going to get involved with it again and I mean it wasn't two or three months I was there I was introduced to Josh Floyd at Shiloh and next thing I know I'm I'm coaching baseball with with Harris and we're playing for a state championship that was Shiloh's first state championship we're playing there we got no hit at Baum Stadium when the University of Arkansas played on there I'll never forget that no hitter in Arkansas baseball championship history we just got we got smoked I think it was two nothing they pitched a lefty that was like Tom Clavin or something and yeah we got shut out lost two to nothing we did get walks they hit the perfect game thankfully the umpire had mercy on us and called ball four instead of strike three but and I and I think that those times how much fun it was and I look back and I always think hey you know God's prepared every step of the way God has prepared whatever it is for me even when I thought okay I'm done somehow I got back in it even being gone for two years and working in a whole different field for an engineering firm I always found myself drawn back to coaching and when the opportunity came back I remember last fall going man this is this is financially lucrative and it's great I'm traveling all over the country I'm getting see some really cool things in Ball State I got to go to Fenway, got to go to New York, got to go to all these minor league stadiums I got to do some really cool things but at the end of the day I miss those relationships with the players I missed I missed that camaraderie I missed I missed the competition it's one thing to compete and build things and beat the schedule and that schedule and work with this guy work with that guy but at the end of the day I knew I wasn't doing what I was I guess passionate about and then I was like okay you know what I've always had things taken care of even even when things got tough and so when the opportunity came to get back into coaching man I jumped I jumped feet first into it and you know you just it's hard to put into words what exactly that is except faith hey everything's going to work out I mean if you'd have told me this time last year that I was going to be a assistant coach a little school in Georgia and we're going to state championship at a place that never won a state championship I would have laughed but I but I think back and like it man if I just if I'd have stayed where I was at and I done with the door the opportunity came about what I would have missed what I would have been a part of think of all those relationships think of all those things as you know last year I was beating down the door I didn't care who it was I was emailing volunteer coaches at colleges could be Juco's any eyes I mean I was just like somebody somebody give me a chance somebody give me a chance I was applying for every job job I had and you know the place opened up the door here and I remember that hey you want to come next year I was like I'll come right now I remember putting my two weeks I didn't look back didn't know how I was going to do it wasn't gonna make literally literally didn't make any money from February to August of this year but somehow things were sustained and everything worked out and it did people thought I was nuts people people still think I'm nuts you know and the media was fun and we're building those relationships is great but doing what you're called to do and have a faith that it's all gonna work out sometimes you just got to step out and where you can't see the ground under you you just got to take that step and realize that there is going to be grounded and when you get that first step take the second step take third step keep taking it you know people say you still have goals yeah I still have goals I still have dreams you know some of those dreams and goals are becoming you know harder and harder to get the older I get the less hair I get but but but but they're still those goals I mean I'll you know I love going to ABCA I love finding out you know what other people are doing I like to go watch other colleges practice I like to see my guy that took out all the time here's what here's where my joy comes from in success watching you guys grow into men at the end of the day the game of baseball is going to end for everybody some of you is going to end free in high school some of you gonna get the opportunity to go play collegiate some of you are going to be blessed enough to go and get paid to play this game but at some point even the best are told they're no longer needed Derek G was told he was no longer needed Mariano Rivera was told he was no longer needed at some point somebody's going to tell you the same thing you're no longer needed now what now what do you do and and that and that's where I find joy because I like to watch the guys the guy that's a lawyer in Waco Texas the guy that went back and teaches and coaches the Caleb Langs now now being a head college baseball coach Clary on a Pennsylvania man that that's that's joy and I brought joy to you I bring joy to me because he played for us we watched him you'll play every single day in the NYC BL we watched him where we watched him take that first first job collegiate league now I go to him I mean I texted him last year my guys can't hit the broadside of the bar I need help and he played for me like dude tell me what you're doing in Nebraska that's making you guys go up the charts because I need to do something here because right now we can't hit like right now I mean I think we need it we ain't got a curveball bat we ain't got a fastball bat we don't have a bat seems our hand most of the time we're just praying that we get walked four times and we're gonna get somewhere run you know but that's that's joy to me I love I told guys all the time look I don't want to play on the weekends because I want to watch you guys play I want to go watch you guys be successful at the next level wherever it's at I don't want to celebrate that with you guys but at the end of the day I want you to become men once you become good dads once you become you know good husbands I want you I want you to become men of character I want you I want you to know who who Christ is as your Savior because in a day Bobby Bowden said in this book call to coach look doesn't matter how many championships that we've won together at FSU if you if you don't win the championship of life then I've ultimately failed you as your coach and that's that's it I'm not perfect I've made a gazillion mistakes gazillion mistakes oh we know one of them not being that stupid triathlon I told you I was gonna do but you guys thought I'd hope like I just send that guy home well I thought the guy left though didn't have a good arm I thought he had the arm of Barry Bonds apparently he doesn't he has a really good arm like a kid but you know those those things are where I find joy and that's that the other day that that's covering Super Bowls was fun seeing Bruce Springsteen do a Super Bowl incredible loved it saw Paul McCarty do the do the Super Bowl in Jacksonville covered two Gator National Championships in past I mean it's great seeing the end of Coach Bowden's unbelievable winning as coach in college football career it was great but it doesn't equal those relationships in the competition on the field yeah yeah it reminds me of the verse Jeremiah Jeremiah 29 11 for I know the plans I have for you plans to prosper you and to give you hope in a future and obviously it doesn't mean that everything's going to be you know sunny and rain you know sunny and sunshine rainbows whatever you want to call it but God is going to provide for us he's going to give you what you need in the moment real quick we're we're close to trying to wrap this up but I want to touch on real quick the story it just came to mind but you took a job as a division one assistant at Texas A&M Corpus Christi and you were only there for ended up for a really short period of time you once you got there you felt like man this isn't right this isn't where God sometimes you feel like God's calling you to a spot and then all sudden it's like no I got a reverse this isn't where this is not where I'm I God needs me right now I need to be here yeah and just tying that story and I think you ended up being able to get back into the same apartment and they have the same couch for you like you thought everything was gone but just if you can't sum it up in like a three minute story of how when you made that ultimate decision to then move back from Texas to Georgia how you saw God's hand at work confirming that decision for you when you got back home hey I'll never forget that my dream has always been to coach college baseball and at the end of the day it still is my dream don't know if it'll happen don't know if the time will ever be right but we should say it's not that you haven't had opportunities to do so either yes right the right opportunity the right opportunities and I thought man this is it got it I remember I packed all my stuff literally everything I owned in a truck and right before I walked out the door coach Moore said when you're ready to come home call me I smiled at him and I said I will and drove off got to got the Corpus Christi unbelievable place the Islanders I mean funny that one of my biggest jobs for the engineering firm was actually right literally down the road from Texas A&M Corpus Christi you never told me that yeah I mean right there I mean I drove by the field I was like I know this area I've been here before there how you been here before I think long story but I was here for a brief brief time but I'll never forget you know coach Malone and and I mean and I walked in his office I just got back from rice on a recruiting trip we had a there's a big camp at rice he sent me to went up there did the whole showcase with the rice kid it's a couple of the guys that we were recruiting at Texas A&M I walked into Coach Malone's office that Monday morning and I said coach I know this is gonna sound crazy but this is not where I was supposed to be and I need to go home and my heart's in a little place that you've never heard of that you've never been and you probably never will be and coach Malone I never forget looking at me and go ahead I'm not gonna stop you from going where you think you need to be and you ought to be and if that's where you feel like you need to be then go do it we will get we will we will be fine and look I may I'm married if you tell me your word and you're good to go no hard feelings let me know I can help you out and I'll be forever in debt to him at Texas A&M for that and I remember calling coach Moore and I said hey remember that conversation you had at the end and he was like yes I was like well is it still true and I'm sure he's thinking what in the world and I was I was I remember I drove Corpus Christi I stayed in Biloxi Mississippi that night he goes when you gonna be back I thought I'll be back by the end of school tomorrow and I was back I was back in Macon Georgia within 48 hours of that Monday I think it was back that Wednesday and back on the football field that Friday night coaching and coaching baseball but you know you think you think you know what's best for you until you get there and you're like holy smokes I've made a I've made a mistake I've made a mistake and I thought man I'm the biggest dummy there is in the world because I've taken this job I've worked so hard to get this job and here I am and I'm gonna look at the biggest ding-dong walking in this coach's office who I just started working for who I've been throwing BP to these guys now for a week who I'm getting to know he sends me a recruiting visit and he's got all this stuff scheduled for me and I'm about to tell him man I I'm not supposed to be here and I guess I'll never forget him saying hey man there's anything I can do we saw each other the ABCA spoke asked how that life was going it's a proud glad glad I got to be where I needed to be you know and can you talk real quick about the two I think there were two things the apartment was still there and you had sold a couch to somebody or maybe you didn't sell it I don't know I gave the couch away to the Vietnam veterans and I got back to Georgia and I was like all right I got fun I gotta find a place to live because I'm literally out of my lease out of my apartment and upon the lease owner the operator again and they're like hey we actually have the same apartment available nobody's running it in a week you can go right back into it I was like I don't have any furniture anymore I gave it all away so I went to the guy I gave it like hey it's right here I mean I literally got everything that I gave away I literally got back minus the washer and dryer that I donated to people that really needed it I just did cook more let me do my laundry at school for the remainder of my time there my laundry at FPD at that point oh I love it man I love it well good good stuff dude thanks so much for for hopping on it's cool to see where God's taking your journey in coaching out of coaching back into coaching out of coaching and then back in again I I mean it's just been a wild ride but I know that your passion is to to mentor and teach and coach and it's just really cool to see see how God's using you in your life so thanks so much for your time man it was fun sharing some laughs and also some real real stuff as well yeah I appreciate you have my own Josh like I said I mean I'm thankful to you thankful to Kyle Kerr I mean you guys gave me my first opportunity to coach at the next level and for that I'll always be grateful for those two things for you guys believing in me and let me come be a part of that power and creating this the worst best friend relationship ever you're the best friend I'm the worst friend ever you know I'll try to get I'll try to get I always try to get better but I got a lot of things you know it would help to return a phone call if you want to take that worst part of the of the name that you have instead of worst best friend no dude thanks so much dude I appreciate you a ton respect you a ton hopefully hopefully we'll be able to see you soon too at some point yeah absolutely yeah absolutely I still think about that lab that one crazy game we had in Niagara where I think it was we had two outs bases loaded and we had like an inside the park home run I still still tell that story my guys it's never over until it's over. I can't believe the story. I think we need to do another episode of just stories because we could I mean there's so many stories that we have. Orange coffee. Dude incredible incredible. Thanks Josh. All right man thanks. Thanks for joining us on this week's episode of the Unparalleled Performance podcast and if you enjoyed it please share with those around you we'll see you next week and go dominate your day.