BBN Radio presented by Clark's Pump-n-Shop with Jack Schoenberger and Harry Mullins

Join Darren Headrick for BBN Radio, presented by Clark's Pump-n-Shop. We are joined by Jack Schoenberger of Kentucky Men's Golf and Kentucky Rifle Head Coach Harry Mullins. 

Episode Transcript

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Speaker 5 (01:05):
Hello, everybody, Welcome in to BBN Radio presented by Clark's
Pumpin' Shop. We appreciate everybody being with us as always
on this Monday. Coming up tonight, we'll check in with
Men's Golf as they've finished up the fall portion of
their schedule now look forward to the spring. We've also
got Harry Mullens from the Kentucky Rifle Team to join us.
They're coming off a quad match over the weekend, so

(01:26):
we'll talk to him about that, plus some of the
superstars that are on the roster this year. In terms
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(01:47):
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When we come back.

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Jack Schoenberger will join us from the men's golf team.
We'll talk to him on the other side as you
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Speaker 5 (05:47):
Welcome back into bb AND Radio, presented by Clark's Pumping
Shop and as I mentioned, we've got a couple of
fun guests with us this week, and we'll start off
with the men's golf team as Jack Schoenberger joins us.
He's a senior team captain out of Alpharetta, Georgia.

Speaker 1 (06:01):
Jack, thanks for being with us, Thanks for having me.

Speaker 5 (06:03):
Let's take a little bit about this team. You just
finished up the fall portion of your schedule. How do
you feel like this team performed in those few tournaments.

Speaker 1 (06:12):
We had a good fall. I would say we got
off to a better start that we did last year.
We really like our team, and we had some good finishes,
especially at our home event, and we showed we can
beat some really good teams. So I'm looking forward to
the spring.

Speaker 5 (06:27):
You you had the home tournament, the Colin Brown Invitational,
performed well, team finished second overall, I believe. But how
special is that tournament to this program?

Speaker 1 (06:37):
It's probably my favorite event. It's a really nice to
play at Lexington Country Club and playing for Colin Brown.
You know, I didn't I didn't play with him, was
my teammate, but he's kind of a legend of our
program and we want to carry on his legacy and
it's special to be able to do that here. And
it was able to you know, it was fun to

(06:57):
be able to perform.

Speaker 5 (06:58):
Well, yeah, you finished up the fall with the tournament
down in Wilmington. What was that course and the conditions
like for the weekend?

Speaker 1 (07:06):
It was a fun challenge. Those are probably the best
greens I've ever played on. Really, it was kind of
like taking a ball and going to put on rapp
arena on the floor. That's kind of what it felt like.
So it was hard to adjust to that. But the
last two rounds we were able to fight for for
some a decent finish. You know, it wasn't our wasn't
our best, but that week we kind of showed we

(07:28):
can compete with anyone, and so that's encouraging.

Speaker 5 (07:30):
You mentioned fun challenge over the weekend in Wilmington. How
much do you kind of rise yourself when you face
a course that's got a tough layout.

Speaker 1 (07:38):
That's what I look for. I mean, that's the best.
That's why we practice, That's how we play. If you
get on a hard course against good teams, like that's
those are the lights, Like, that's what you want to do,
that's what you want to be in jack.

Speaker 5 (07:50):
In terms of the practice facility, we had your coach,
Gator Todd on with us. We talked about all the
upgrades to the practice course and the facility. Why is
that so important to have a variety of greens and
different you know, new tea boxes and different things like that, just.

Speaker 1 (08:05):
More to work on. We know, we have no excuses,
We have all we need to get better and beat anyone.
So it's a it's a blessing to kind of have
that at our at our you know, exposal, and it's
it's special. But you know, we also don't need much
to kind of get better. I think, you know, if
you look at some of these facilities across the nation,

(08:26):
you know they're crazy. But we got everything we need
and this upgrade is just only going to make us
better in.

Speaker 2 (08:33):
Terms of the winner.

Speaker 5 (08:34):
Trying to just continue your training, stay sharp for that
spring schedule. Obviously the weather can be a big factor.
How do you try to train? What what are some
things you do during this downtime before the spring schedule starts.

Speaker 1 (08:46):
This is a window where you can work on you know,
technique and work on things in your swing that you
wouldn't normally work on during the season. You know, during
the season, you're just like going week to week playing tournaments.
But the weather here is fine. In the next few months.
It will get cold event when we come back in January,
but we just do what we can do every day

(09:07):
to get better. But this next this is basically an
only a golfers off season because after the spring and
go into the summer and you can't you know, you're
always gonna go. So this like next couple of months
is a good time to kind of work on what
you need to work on and get prepared for the spring.

Speaker 5 (09:24):
Is it a good mental break too, just to kind
of step away for a little bit.

Speaker 1 (09:28):
Oh yeah, absolutely. You know, like the our seasons are
kind of a sprint. You know, there's a lot going on,
and especially the spring, so this little window to kind
of like reset and refocus is important for us.

Speaker 5 (09:43):
In terms of being a student athlete and playing golf
at an elite level like you want to.

Speaker 2 (09:47):
I would imagine this is also that chance where I
can just.

Speaker 5 (09:49):
Be student for a little bit, right and let the
golf game rest and then pick up the clubs again
in a couple of weeks.

Speaker 1 (09:55):
Yeah, absolutely, especially with exams and stuff and all that
all that student athletes stuff. But it's definitely a little
easier to stay ahead of your grades on this time
of year. There it is in season.

Speaker 5 (10:06):
You guys have a simulator too, right, How big is
that during you know, November, December and January.

Speaker 2 (10:12):
It's great.

Speaker 1 (10:13):
We use it a little bit, but we'd rather I mean,
we can hit from inside to out and we got heaters,
so we'd rather do that. But the simulator is fun.
We'll play games on it, and you know, that's just
another toy for us.

Speaker 2 (10:25):
To hease Sure. Sure.

Speaker 5 (10:26):
We're talking with Jack Schoenberger from Kentucky Men's Golf. He's
the senior team captain and being the team captain. What
has that been like being in a senior leadership role
and being the captain of the team.

Speaker 1 (10:37):
It's special, And I'm just always happy to lead the
guys and kind of help them because I've been around
a little bit. I'm the only senior, so I usually
just try and lead by example. But also my teammates
are great. We're all really close, so they'll ask questions
and they'll kind of make it easy on me. But

(10:58):
everyone in the group's pretty committed and focused, so it's
not you know, it's I don't have a hard job,
that's sure.

Speaker 5 (11:04):
Yeah, is it a role as a leader. Is that
something that came naturally or something you just had to
embrace and and and do.

Speaker 1 (11:12):
I'd like to think it come naturally, but uh, you know,
it's something I was willing to do and wanted to do,
and that's kind of how I was raised. And you know,
it's been it's been going well so far.

Speaker 5 (11:23):
You mentioned how close the group is in terms of
building team chemistry. What's that challenge like in a sport
that's really an individual sport.

Speaker 1 (11:32):
Mm hmm. It's actually easier than you think in golf
because I don't know if you've played, but if you
play with a random guy from around, by the end
of the round, you're you're you're pretty good friends with
that guy. And we play a lot of golf together,
so pretty quickly, like we get you know, we're pretty close.
So uh and it's that's a special part of golf too,
that camaraderie and that chemistry. And I mean, like a

(11:53):
weekend to the fall, it looked like we had played
together for years, so like it it's really cool to
be part of.

Speaker 5 (11:59):
I would imagine with a smaller roster size, you guys
pretty much get your choice of restaurants and things like
that when you go to tournaments. So I guess along
those lines you try to do you guys go to
chains or do you try to pick out local spots
that are popular amongst the people from Michael Wilmington.

Speaker 1 (12:16):
We'll definitely ask around to find local restaurants. I think
Wilmington we had some great some great food, and but
I mean, if we're in a hurry now, we love
certain chains, but we'll mix it up. We'll mix it up.
We eat well on the raft.

Speaker 2 (12:33):
Jack.

Speaker 5 (12:33):
You were a Kentucky's top finisher in Wilmington with four
over and you had to stretch there on that final
day seven birdies in eight holes. I think it was
kind of take me into the mental mindset when you
get on a roll or get into a rhythm on
the course and you start putting up birdies like that.
What's that like for a golfer? When you find that groove,
it's fun.

Speaker 1 (12:54):
I like making birdies, but that stretch, you know, everything
kind of gets pretty intense, but you just treat it
the same as you would any other shot. It's just
the ball happens to be going in. I have the
same process and the same mental routine for every shot,
So whether they're going where I want it to or
it's not, nothing changes. I keep everything the same. So

(13:17):
the stretch was fun, and it gets more intense, and
you know, the pressure heightens a little bit, but I
feed off that and it's fun, Like that's why you
play the game. You want to be in those moments,
and it was fun to kind of get hot a
little bit on the back nine and help a team out.

Speaker 5 (13:32):
Those mental processes you mentioned, what are some of those,
whether you're getting ready to start a brand new hole
or just lining up your next shot.

Speaker 1 (13:40):
Yeah, it's something I work on every day on the
range or on the course and qualifying. It's the routine
kind of helps you during pressure. So I have a
physical routine, then I have a mental routine where I
just stay really focused on my target and what I
want to do for the shot, and it's the same
thing every time. So I just stay in that mode

(14:03):
and nothing nothing changes.

Speaker 5 (14:05):
How have you learned to develop that routine over the
years of playing golf to where you kind of like
where you are with your physical and mental process.

Speaker 1 (14:13):
I've had a lot of help along the way with coaches.
I have two coaches back home, Phil Schmo and David
Potts that they really helped me. And so I've been
able to hone that over the years, and you know,
it's obviously wasn't at the beginning. I mean, I've been
working with those guys for six or seven years, so
it's come a long way slowly over time, and but

(14:36):
it definitely can't do it alone. So those guys are
a big help.

Speaker 5 (14:39):
What are some things you may try to do in
your training or practice to work on the mental side
of the sports.

Speaker 1 (14:49):
It's pretty much simulating on course stuff no matter where
you are. So when I'm on the driving range, I'm
not just sitting there like smacking balls for hours and hours.
A purpose for everything, and that's what kind of helps me.

Speaker 5 (15:04):
Is it is it hard to replicate, you know, in
practice and training? Is it hard to replicate the pressure
that you might feel in a live tournament in the
college level.

Speaker 1 (15:14):
Yes, But also there's different I mean, there's nothing quite
like tournament pressure that's hard to kind of replicate, but
there are different ways to do it.

Speaker 5 (15:24):
I guess it's sort of like, you know, you can't
replicate if you're a football player, you can't coaches can't
replicate running through in front of sixty thousand people.

Speaker 2 (15:32):
You just can't do it right? Did you try your
best in training?

Speaker 1 (15:35):
And that's why, like you know, you gain tournament experience,
and you gain like you know what it feels like
when you're in that moment, and so you're kind of
ready for it the next time. But there are different
ways to simulate pressure on the golf course, and we
try it all.

Speaker 5 (15:50):
So we got to get to a quick commercial time
out here on BBN Radio presented by Clark's Pumping Shop.
When we come back, we'll have more with Jack Schoenberger
from Kentucky Men's Golfie on the UK Sports Network.

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Speaker 5 (20:38):
Got another segment with Jack Schoenberger from Kentucky Men's Golf.
As you're tuned in to bb AND Radio presented by
Clark's Pumping Shop. And coming up next, we'll talk Kentucky
Rifle with head coach Harry Mullens. Jack Senior team captain
out of Alpharetta, Georgia.

Speaker 2 (20:54):
You started your collegiate.

Speaker 5 (20:56):
Career at Belmont and then transferred to Kentucky. First of all,
you were one of many athletes that have been through
the transfer portal. What was your experience like when you
decided to jump in and how did how did Kentucky
get on your radar?

Speaker 1 (21:10):
Kentucky has always been, you know, a destination spot for me.
I've had friends that are connected to school or from here,
and it's sec golf but for me, I was playing
in a tournament when I was when I was entered
into the portal. And so after the tournament, I got
on my phone and I had some notifications and one

(21:31):
of the first ones as Coach Tied. So got on
the phone with him and uh, I mean, it all
happened pretty quick and came on a visit here and
committed pretty pretty swiftly.

Speaker 5 (21:42):
What does Coach Todd like on the course, especially during
the tournament when he's walking with you.

Speaker 1 (21:47):
Guys, he's a leader. He usually walks with one of
the freshmen. He walks to Cole Stockard and uh, just
for course management purposes, but he trusts us to play,
and he you know, we have a system and we
have like a standard and way to do things, and
so in a tournament, you know, there's not much he
can do for everyone at you know, at one time,

(22:09):
you know we're all over the course, but you know
he is the best at getting us prepared and so
every week we go into a tournament and we got
we got everything going.

Speaker 5 (22:19):
So yeah, in terms of your your backstory, when did
you first pick up a set of clubs and try
the sport?

Speaker 1 (22:27):
I mean as soon as I could walk. I was
holding to plastic clubs. But I didn't really play competitive
golf until middle school. I played all the other sports
growing up, basketball, football, baseball, and but eventually turned to
golf and fell in love with it pretty quick and
decided that's what I wanted to do.

Speaker 5 (22:46):
Why what was it about golf that you're like, this
is this is what I want to play.

Speaker 1 (22:51):
I went to the range and I don't know, I
guess I just hit a few good shots. I was like,
this is this is fun, But I love the competition.
It's a it's individual sport, but in college it's special
to kind of play on a team. And it was
just the fun, you know, watching the pros growing up
and I was like, that looks fun. I want to
I want to do that. So that's kind of how

(23:11):
I kind of got into it.

Speaker 2 (23:13):
What do you feel like are your strengths on the course?

Speaker 1 (23:18):
I would say my off the t's usually what I
lean on. That's what kind of gives me an edge.
And then putting. I feel like on the greens, I'm
a really good putter.

Speaker 2 (23:28):
Do you what's your best score?

Speaker 1 (23:31):
Sixty two?

Speaker 2 (23:32):
Wow? Yeah that's impressive. Yeah I could probably do that.

Speaker 5 (23:36):
In the first five holes. In terms of favorite golfer
who and why, it's hard not to say Tiger.

Speaker 1 (23:46):
Yeah, the red growing up was that caught my eye.
I was my dad and I were always watching Tiger,
so that was that was one. But Ricky Fowler when
I was young, I loved him. He was great. And
then again I got golfers now that I love to
watch Scotti, Scheffler, Jake Nap. I mean there's a time.
But when I was growing up, like Tiger was the guy.

Speaker 2 (24:06):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (24:07):
In terms of summer months, you try to get into
tournaments wherever you can, amateur tournaments and that sort of thing.

Speaker 1 (24:13):
Oh yeah, I play. I play a lot of golf
in the summer, you know, across the country. It's fun.

Speaker 5 (24:18):
How do those compare to the tournaments you play in
as a collegian.

Speaker 1 (24:24):
The competitions about the same. It's usually the same guys,
you know, you see him like guys that play different schools,
But it's just a little different vibe because there's not
a team aspect. It's just you, so it's you know,
there's differences, but they're both really fun. But I would
say the only difference is not having you know, a
team score's it's just kind of on your own.

Speaker 5 (24:45):
What is that team as I know I asked you
about the team chemistry, but what's that aspect like once
the tournament starts and you're trying to get the best
score you can to help Kentucky, but you're also kind
of following your own teammates that are out there.

Speaker 1 (24:58):
Yeah, it's important. I like back to the routine and process.
I'm doing everything the same. I can't i can't help
my teammate two holes behind me, the six footer. Yeah,
it's like I'm not so you know, everyone knows that
they have a job to do, and you know, they
do the best they can with their own job, and
then at the end we just kind of mark them
up and see what we are.

Speaker 2 (25:18):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (25:19):
You mentioned when you were younger you played some other sports,
and I think I was reading where your dad played
football as a collegiate, right, So yeah, what.

Speaker 2 (25:27):
Was that like? When? When? I mean, did he support
whatever sports you wanted to play?

Speaker 1 (25:31):
Oh, yeah, I'll get a kick out of that. He uh.
He he played alive college up in Michigan, and he
just I immediately was in love sports growing up. So
his job was pretty easy. He had something to do
with it, for sure. But whatever I wanted to do,

(25:52):
he let me do it. He was always you know,
he's a blessing to have. He always provided me with
whatever I needed to play, and I love to play,
and so he put me in that position and just
kind of let me go with it and it ended
up here.

Speaker 5 (26:06):
How often do they get to come to did they
follow you in your tournaments?

Speaker 2 (26:10):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (26:10):
My parents coming to most of the events when they can.
They're at you know, my dad's usually at all of them,
and my mom comes when she cans. But they're you know,
they're busy, but they love following me. They love watch
me play. My mom gets nervous, so does my dad,
but I always try and remind them it's it's fun.
It's just a game.

Speaker 5 (26:28):
We got a couple of minutes left in the segment.
Do you have a favorite course that you've played on?
And it could be college, amateur or whatever you want
to or maybe a pro am somewhere.

Speaker 1 (26:40):
I've played a lot of good courses, I've My answer
is inconsistent. I say something different every time, but.

Speaker 5 (26:47):
Maybe when you have a good memory on because that's
always part.

Speaker 1 (26:51):
Of it, right, Yeah, I mean here in Kentucky. I
love playing our Wildcat course at Big Blue. That's that's
like my favorite course. And it's not like, you know,
I ain't gonna go out there. It's not Augusta National,
but it's I love the layout and it's fun and
it's you know, it's right there in front of us.
So I always love to go play that.

Speaker 2 (27:08):
You mentioned being from Alpharetta. Have you been to Augusta.

Speaker 1 (27:12):
I've been to the Masters. Yeah, what was that like?
It is everything I thought it would be in more.
I remember I got to go on Sunday in twenty
three when Scottie won, and I got there real early
and walked the whole golf course and it was just
like that place is special.

Speaker 2 (27:29):
Yeah, it's really amazing.

Speaker 5 (27:31):
I've got friends that apply for tickets every year and
they're just excited to get you know, practice round tickets,
much less actual tickets to a round.

Speaker 2 (27:38):
So it's amazing.

Speaker 1 (27:40):
It was awesome.

Speaker 5 (27:41):
Yeah, we talked about favorite courses, but what about maybe
a memory. You told us your best score sixty two,
But is there a tournament that has stood out and
your playing career or anything like that where you're like, man,
what an amazing.

Speaker 1 (27:55):
Day there's been some good ones. It's hard to kind
of pick one off the rip. The sixty two is fun.
That was at Lexington Country Club. Okay, that was cool
and I was in a rush to get the class,
so I had to like run wide. I had to
run the last fewel to like kind of finish it.
But that was fun. But I've played you know, some

(28:16):
fun rounds it on some good teams, so it's there's
a lot of good memories.

Speaker 5 (28:20):
Well, looking ahead to spring, we talked a little bit
about the off season conditioning, but the spring schedule looks
like it's fun. You guys are going to play a
lot of amazing courses this spring, right.

Speaker 1 (28:29):
Yeah, it's a great schedule. Coach Todd gives us great
opportunities to go play great courses against great teams. So
it'll be a really fun spring. We're playing a lot
of good a lot of you know a lot of golf,
but over a good amount of time, and we'll see
what we got. Should be fun.

Speaker 5 (28:47):
Yep, your fall season is complete after playing these tournaments.
What do you like most about the scroup that you're
with this year?

Speaker 1 (28:54):
Our chemistry and our work ethic. I would say this
team all eight guy are all in and we all
do the work and eventually that's going to put us
in a good spot. So we're trusted in that and
we're looking forward to it.

Speaker 18 (29:08):
Well.

Speaker 5 (29:09):
Jack, we appreciate you joining us on the show this week. Man,
best of luck to you all in the spring.

Speaker 1 (29:12):
Thank you, thanks for having me.

Speaker 5 (29:14):
That's Jack Schollenberger from Kentucky Men's Golf. When we come back,
we'll switch over to the rifle course, the rifle Range.
We'll talk to Harry Mullins here on bb AND Radio,
presented by Clark's Pumping Shop.

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Speaker 5 (32:40):
Welcome back into BBN Radio presented by Clark's Pumping Shop.

Speaker 2 (32:44):
Here on the UK Sports Network.

Speaker 5 (32:45):
We just had a great visit with Jack Schoenberger from
Kentucky Min's Golf. Now we're going to switch over to
rifle and we've got friend of the program and head
coach Harry Mullins with us to talk about it. Four
time national champion going for number five this year and coach,
you just got home from a quad match over the weekend.

Speaker 2 (33:02):
How did the team look?

Speaker 8 (33:04):
You know, they looked really well. You know, listening to
Jack's interview, we're very processed driven and they really ran
their process well both days and kind of exposed some
weaknesses in spots, but I think overall we had a
really good performance both days.

Speaker 5 (33:21):
UH twenty three fifty eight score in small board twenty
three eighty five in air rifle, some impressive scores, and
I know every time we have you on the show,
it seems like the bar keeps getting higher and higher
with some of these scores that we see teams put up.

Speaker 8 (33:36):
It is, you know, the good and the bad part
is is everybody gets better every year and always, you know,
the beginning of the year, we sit down, we talk
about the plan they were trying to invote win a
national championship, and I'm like, well, you know, we have
to understand what we did last year is not going
to get us what we want this year, because you know,
in sport, you know, like golf, you know, again using

(33:58):
that as an example, everything always gets a little tougher
and the athletes get better and they're very hungry to learn.
And so I remember days when you know, a twenty
three twenty was a big number. Now you should have
twenty three to twenty. You're not even in the top
thirty in the country. Wow, you know, So it's yeah,
things have definitely changed.

Speaker 2 (34:20):
In terms of individual performers.

Speaker 5 (34:21):
Braiden peiser I mentioned at the start of the show
that you've got some superstars on this team, and Braiden
is one of those.

Speaker 8 (34:27):
Yes, Braiden's one of a kind. I was fortunate enough
to see him when he was really really young in
a tournament, you know, just kind of happened to walk
by and he caught my eye, and we kept an
eye on him, and then when he had the opportunity
to start recruiting him. He's throw and through, a fierce competitor,
leaves nothing on the table and performs at a super

(34:51):
high level. He won the Junior World Championships, you know,
a little while ago. He's going on actually this week.
At the end of this week, he's leaving to go
to the Open World Championships represent the US, and so,
you know, seeing him perform day in day out, He's
just one of those guys that's just fun to watch.
The passionate he brings to the game and the technical

(35:13):
aspects to it. He's been a joy to have on
the team.

Speaker 5 (35:17):
You have had to coach before, I guess maybe shorthanded
with players leaving to go compete in international visit how
have you learned to deal with that while keeping the
team sustaining success.

Speaker 8 (35:28):
It's kind of like putting together a liquid jigsaw puzzle,
because we make our schedule out, you know, and then
the international federations, you know, make their schedule out this,
you know, upcoming match against Memphis, you know, unfortunately we're
going to be without our number one and number two.
Sofia is going to the World Championships to represent Italy
and Branden to represent the United States. And so, you know,

(35:52):
we can look at that one or two ways. We
can rather be kind of sad that, you know, our
top guys aren't there, or look at it as an
opportunity for the next wave to come in. And so,
you know, one of the backbones of the program is
to always create opportunities, and so we tell our folks that,
you know, when that opportunity comes, you know, be prepared
for it and and be able to give your best

(36:13):
and we'll take whatever we can get from them at
that time.

Speaker 5 (36:16):
Coach, I'm going to ask you what about the team
and coaching this group as we go along here, But
I've got to ask just you personally, how fun is
it to coach these world class performers, these Olympians and
superstars year in and year out.

Speaker 8 (36:30):
I ask me only when they win. Oh no, they're
very very driven people. They're very driven people, very focused,
and just you know. I use Will Shanner as an example.

Speaker 2 (36:43):
You know.

Speaker 8 (36:44):
We didn't have the opportunity to go to Japan when
he won the gold medal, but we were watching it,
you know, and this was I think at three o'clock
in the morning our time, So my assistant was watching
it on her phone and we were texting back and forth.
And it was really neat to see him live his
dream and because of the relationship and we knew him
and live his nightmare at the same time. Because Will

(37:07):
is a very reserved guy, and when he won that
gold medal, he saw that just you know, exuperation of
I just won. And he turned around and it's like,
now I have to talk to all these people and
I don't like that. But just to see them achieve
the goals, you know, we talk about their goals a lot.
For them to be able to achieve their goals and
their dreams, it's something very special to be part of.

Speaker 5 (37:26):
Sam Adkins on the team this year, he had this
actually this past weekend, back to back career best scores.
How has he just continued to perform well?

Speaker 8 (37:36):
Is Sam is a workhorse, you know, And I told
him this in one of our individual meetings One of
my favorite quotes from last year was about halfway through
the season after Sam fired three five ninety sevens in
a row, as the Alaska coach, who was also making
a push for a national championship, called me up and goes,
who in the world is Sam Atkins? It was like,

(37:57):
where did you find him at? And you know, I
am is one of those passionate guys for the team
and for the University of Kentucky, and he leaves everything
out there on the firing line. I couldn't be more
proud of an individual.

Speaker 5 (38:11):
And you mentioned that she's leaving to go compete in
the World Championships. But Sophia Ceckerello, she's another an outstanding
superstar on this team.

Speaker 2 (38:19):
Just tell us a little bit about her.

Speaker 8 (38:21):
Sephie's one of a kind. I love her dearly. She
made it a real goal to you know, I don't
want to say have the American experience, but to build relationships.
And I think if you ask a lot of people
in the department, a lot of people know Sophia Chicarello.
She's at all the events, she actually does and works

(38:42):
with the video department with Greg and you know, really
has embraced the University of Kentucky. I mean, and the
hard part with that is that's the good side. The
bad side is is their seniors and they start getting
sad because they know their journey's coming to an end.

Speaker 2 (38:58):
Right.

Speaker 8 (38:59):
But she's phenomenal. She's super competitor, very driven. Uh, and
it's one of the kindess She makes a great nokie.
We have these little cooking competitions and she'll make it
from scratch. And I'm kind of still on her batt
list because I was the judge and we ended up
picking the chicken palm that Will Shanner made.

Speaker 2 (39:18):
Oh, no, senior leader.

Speaker 5 (39:22):
You've got a good mix on this roster of you know,
freshman and then all the way up to seniors. And
Martin Voss is one of your senior leaders, right.

Speaker 8 (39:29):
Yes, Martin my Norwegian, I can. They went into the
city while we were in New York, and I told him,
I was I just don't lose the Norwegian because he
likes to explore and do things. But no, Martin has
a unique personality.

Speaker 2 (39:46):
Uh.

Speaker 8 (39:46):
You know, and we'd like to think that everybody brings
something to the table for the team, you know, not
everybody's gonna be perfect when we compete. Uh so we
leave that out there on the range. You know, our
efforts and the best of our ability. But whether it's personality,
words of encouragement and just keeping things light at times,
Martin can definitely do that.

Speaker 2 (40:06):
It is a bit of a smaller roster for rifle
and so.

Speaker 5 (40:09):
And you mentioned getting out and exploring a little bit
and going to restaurants. We were talking about that before
we came on the air. How much fun is that
just building team camaraderie, The fact that being a smaller
group you can do things like that.

Speaker 8 (40:20):
Yeah, it's very special. I'll take you back to, you know,
the cell phone days when we invoked that no cell
phones at team dinners. And we were in Alaska and
it was eight o'clock in the evening. We were having dinner,
and it was January. The river behind us was frozen,
and I saw a jeep driving down the river and

(40:41):
he stopped at a stop sign which was.

Speaker 1 (40:43):
In the river right wow.

Speaker 8 (40:44):
And I looked down at the table and everybody was
on their cell phones, and I was like, who are
you texting? I said, you don't know anybody in Alaska,
so you're texting somebody in you know, Kentucky or somewhere
else in there four hours ahead it's midnight. So I
get to know your teammates. And so I really learned.
And this was years ago when cell phones first started
to come out, so we'll go back at the ways

(41:04):
to really invoke that the bonding process. So we played
this little fun I don't want to call it a game,
but this little thing that coach likes to do is well,
while we're waiting for the food to be delivered, it's like,
tell me something that coach doesn't know about you, Okay,
And so my assistant coach, Catherine Pappusidora, I actually got
to sing for the group, you know. So there's unique

(41:27):
things and we kind of get to know each other
a little bit because it's a special time. I mean,
the kids starting to name the teams we're on t
T thirty eight this year, and I tell them, I'm like,
you know that this year between the seniors and the
freshmen is the only year that you guys are going
to get to spend the year together, compete together, grow together,

(41:48):
and learn together. And to see them do that together,
it's really special.

Speaker 5 (41:53):
We've got to get to our last commercial break. We'll
continue with Coach Mullins right after this. You're listening to
bb AND Radio presented by Clark's Pumpins. You're on the
UK Sports Network.

Speaker 2 (42:02):
Hey BBN.

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Welcome back in.

Speaker 5 (47:29):
It's our final segment of the week here on bb
and Radio, presented by Clark's Pumping Shop, and we're joined
by Harry Mullens from the Kentucky rifle team and coach.
One thing that you always love to say when we've
had you on the show is you don't play defense
in your sport. So let me ask you, how do
you maintain the level of success that your program has
match to match year to year when you can't control

(47:50):
what your opponent does nor can you defend what they do.

Speaker 8 (47:54):
We really just stay focused on the process and trust
we try to master the process, you know, and again,
you know, listening to Jack talk, we're very similar, you know,
rifle and golf of just the different scenarios that play
out in your head when you're doing you know, all
the different component things to be able to execute a
good shot. So focusing on the process and trusting that

(48:16):
when we run our process the best way possible, some
really good things happen, and then always pushing for that
next level.

Speaker 5 (48:23):
Your athletes have mostly all performed in you know, international
competitions or events like that, But what is the biggest
challenge getting new people, maybe freshmen or transfers, getting them
used to the collegiate matches and the environments that they're
going to compete in.

Speaker 8 (48:43):
Again, we're very similar to golf, so you're kind of
tied into too, you know, two stories. It's such a
special thing because we're an individual sport and most of
the time they don't have that opportunity to be part
of a team other than in college, especially my international
you know, athletes when they come in. Henry Junghannald will

(49:03):
still send me a text every once in a while
when basketball is being played on TV in Germany, right,
I mean, he's still a diehard Wildcat fan. Whereas beforehand
they were so focused individually, not in a negative way,
but just to be part of something special. I always
ask the kids in the recruiting process, and it's a
tough question of if I guarantee you one an Olympic

(49:26):
gold medal or a team national championship, but you only
get one, which one would you choose? And you know,
when you get a multitude of answers and then ask,
you know, and ask them to answer why, but to
be s part of that common answer is always team
national championship because it's a group of people that got
together and accomplished something very special, rather than just me

(49:48):
doing it individually.

Speaker 5 (49:50):
I've heard you before speaking and you were talking about process,
but I've also heard you use the words growth and development.
How important is that to this program?

Speaker 8 (49:58):
That's their job. Mean, you know, I look at it.
You come in at eighteen and you leave it, you know,
twenty two, twenty three years old. Sometimes they come in
a little bit older. And my son, I love him dearly.
Ethan Mullins, it was just turned twenty one at eighteen.
They know everything, right, and so why are you going
to school when you know everything? No, your job is
to grow as an individual, as an athlete from the

(50:21):
time that you start the journey in college, because you
can't look at this as a destination. This is just
kind of a stop in your journey of moving through
and trying to accomplish things.

Speaker 5 (50:33):
We just had Jack Showenberger on as you've mentioned, and
asked him about the summer and how important that.

Speaker 2 (50:38):
Is for golfers.

Speaker 5 (50:39):
What about on the rifle side, how involved are you
in kind of planning an athlete summer and some of
the tournaments and things they're doing to just continue that
growth in getting.

Speaker 8 (50:50):
Wet you know, one hundred and ten percent, right, I mean,
and we're you know, and I think you'd probably bring
any sport in here. During the off season that's when
you get better because we're still busy. When we compete, Uh,
there's not a whole lot of time to get better,
you know, faster and stronger, And so they spend a
lot of time during the off season working on new things,
new positions, you know, enhancing their process. And in the

(51:12):
summer months they compete, you know in the outdoor circuit,
which is fifty meters rather than fifty feet and that's
a completely different world because you have the wind and play.

Speaker 5 (51:22):
Yeah, and then I would imagine too, you try to
make sure that there's some time there where they do
get mental breaks, just get away and go do something else,
be a student or whatever it is.

Speaker 8 (51:32):
Typically that runs from probably the end of July to
sometime middle of August, you know, middle to the end
of August, so we get a bit of a month.

Speaker 9 (51:39):
Yeah.

Speaker 8 (51:40):
No, that's a big one right there, because you burn
the candle on both ends between being a student, you know,
in this will mentally kind of like golf of mentally
driven in sport. Uh, sometimes you know you've only got
so much juice in the tank. I mean, I see,
I tell them it's like if you only have forty percent,
I respect that, but I want one hundred percent of
that forty percent. You know, at the end of the day.

Speaker 5 (52:01):
One thing I've learned over the years talking to you
about the sport is just you know, you think about
their standing there and they're trying to get aim their target. Mentally,
it can start tax taxing you physically because of the
focus you have to have.

Speaker 8 (52:15):
Yes, And it's always kind of unique, especially when we
drive to an event, because as soon as we finish eating,
you know, we'll compete and maybe grab some lunch, you know,
or dinner, and then we'll head home. It takes maybe
ten seconds and I look back in the back and
they're all out. I kind of equated to, you know,

(52:37):
being that super rock star student taking the sat or
the act about three or four times and trying to
be perfect each time. While you're doing it, you know,
you're pretty drained afterwards.

Speaker 5 (52:46):
For the casual fans, Jack was telling us how coach
Gater Todd kind of walks with the freshman or he'll
be here there during their tournaments. For you, what are
some things you try to do during matches over seeing
your team.

Speaker 8 (53:01):
We kind of you know, pinpoint certain individuals kind of
like what Jack was talking about, we have to trust them, Yeah, right,
that we've prepared them for the events. And again from
the growth part, they have to own their decisions. Good bad,
are indifferent, You have to own that right. But there'll
be certain athletes, whether it's a freshman or somebody that's struggling,

(53:22):
that we try to help manage more, you know, pull
them off at times, talk to them, and then they
when they change over from one position to the next,
they have the opportunity to come back and talk to
us and we can kind of make some adjustments when needed.

Speaker 5 (53:36):
I get these questions every once in a while, just
real quick kind of the difference between competing and small
board versus air rifle.

Speaker 8 (53:42):
Sure, small board, it's twenty two and it's at fifty
feet and it's three different positions. So they started kneeling
and they shoot twenty shots, then they shoot prone twenty shots,
and then standing twenty shots. Air rifle, it's all done.

Speaker 5 (53:55):
In standing, standing around and trying to be focused. Like
we talked about, there's the taxing part of this in
terms of the ammunition that they'll shoot at targets.

Speaker 8 (54:06):
What do they use the twenty two's, I mean, you know,
there's various brands, but it's very specific. So imagine coach
Pope having to go out and test each basketball and
match it to his athlete, And we kind of do
the same thing with the ammunition. We will test the
different lots within a certain brand.

Speaker 25 (54:26):
You know.

Speaker 8 (54:27):
The theory is the bullet hits exactly where it's supposed to.
But it's kind of one of those things from the
tum it leaves the gun to the tum it gets
to the target. You know, there's factors in play there
that this spin on it and everything else. And so
it's a very scientific part of that that we tried
to eliminate the margin of air because you know, again
the matches this weekend were very close. I mean Murray

(54:49):
State and Old miss had a match where it was
one point.

Speaker 2 (54:51):
Wow.

Speaker 8 (54:52):
You know last year we tied i mean forty eight
hundred points and we tied with Georgia Southern, right, So
we don't want to be faulty on a equipment side
of things.

Speaker 2 (55:01):
And it's it's like rubber pellets, is that what.

Speaker 8 (55:04):
No, there are many out of lead.

Speaker 2 (55:05):
Okay, yes, awesome.

Speaker 5 (55:08):
I also wanted to ask you about the fact that
last year you finally got to host the NCAA Championships
at Historic Memorial Coliseum. You had to wait through renovations,
and there was also you know, the COVID year and everything.
So what was it like for this program to finally
get that championship in the coliseum.

Speaker 8 (55:27):
It was pretty cool, uh you know, I mean to
have the n C TWA Championships there. I remember in
twenty twenty, you know, when you were part of that, right,
we were getting ready to fire it up, and then
I heard the laptops closed and let's kind of get
up and go home. I actually sat there in the
bleachers probably for about a day, just kind of why
I call it watching my movie because I developed my

(55:47):
movie when I watched them practice and just to see
how it would have played out without the COVID closed down.
But it was It was super special, you know, because
our kids, their reward is to be proud of the
University of Kentucky. I mean, they take great pride in
the fact that they get to represent the University of
Kentucky and all the people in the state of Kentucky
and BBN and for having more the historic Sorry I

(56:10):
keep forgetting them. I'm too old. Ill is just call
it more the Historic Memorial Coliseum. To have it in
there and to get to show that off. Our kids
were very proud of that. That was really special.

Speaker 2 (56:21):
Coach.

Speaker 5 (56:21):
We have just about it well less than a minute
left in the show. But I can't let you go
without reminding folks, you finally get to compete at home
November eighth against Memphis at Barker Hall.

Speaker 8 (56:30):
Yes, yes, I mean it's where you have to beat
up the scheduler. You know, you did do a great job,
you know. Is I think it'd be exciting, you know,
and it's going to be exciting for our guys because
there's gonna be two people that are gonna get the
opportunity to represent us, you know, on the Blue team
that up until now have kind of worked their way
into it. So Memphis is doing a great job. So

(56:51):
don't beat me up if this thing goes Really no,
I mean, I think the team would be excited to
have a little bit of home time. We've got Murray's
Day at the end of the month as well, to
be able to sleep in their own beds for a while.

Speaker 5 (57:04):
Not every day you get to visit with a four
time national champion coach. It's Harry Mullens and Adolph Rupp
for the University of Kentucky.

Speaker 2 (57:11):
Coach, thanks for the time, Thank you for having me.

Speaker 5 (57:14):
This has been BBN Radio presented by Clark's Pumping Shop
on the UK Sports Network.

Speaker 4 (57:26):
Entucky, You've been listening to Clark's Pumping Shop, Big Blue
Nation Radio on the UK Sports Network Big Blue Nation Radio.
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