May 2, 2025 • 27 mins
What transforms a talented young athlete into a successful adult? According to Coach Mez, a baseball coach with over 50 years of experience, the answer lies far beyond physical skills and game strategy.
In this captivating locker room conversation, Coach Mez reveals his proven framework for developing both athletic and character excellence.
The discussion dives deep into practical mental performance techniques, including the powerful "Five R's"
Perhaps most revealing is the inside look at college recruitment, where we learn that scouts' first questions are rarely about athletic ability but instead focus on character, academic performance, and even family dynamics. "If you have good grades, it means you're a hard worker," Coach Mez explains, highlighting how academic discipline translates directly to athletic potential.
Whether you're a coach seeking new mentorship strategies, a parent supporting a young athlete, or a player looking to elevate your mental game, this episode delivers transformative insights about using sports as a vehicle for developing not just better players, but better people. The conversation bridges football and baseball perspectives, proving that the principles of character development transcend specific sports.
Ready to transform your approach to athletic development? Listen now and discover how to build jawbreakers instead of marshmallows!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, come on in.
Come on and make yourselfcomfortable.
Take a knee, get comfortable.
I'm excited to have you guyshere in my locker room and today
we are going to have so muchfun because, as you guys know,
everything is about not onlysports but also how we can
transition and make these peoplemuch better in their lives,
whether you're a player, aparent or just a coach trying to
excel and grow your team.
(00:22):
Hopefully, 4thin1 Mind mindsetbrings you that information.
So I'm just going to bring itright in, because today I have
got Coach Mez.
He's in our locker room.
He is a baseball coach of over50 years.
He started with T-ball with thekids and Little League.
He's coaching now at a highschool.
He's been coaching high schoolbaseball for 15 years.
(00:42):
So, coach Mez, you have beenaround a lot of kids for a very
long time and while I work witha lot of kids through football,
I do know that a lot of themcrossed over.
Matter of fact, one of our starquarterbacks also played
baseball and I've had a coupleof them that were playing
football and then transitionedover to baseball.
So I know how important it isto have that crossover in sports
(01:04):
, but I also know it's moreimportant, as a coach, to take
the information that we have andthen help these people to be
better individuals, right, ofcourse.
So do you find I mean with you,with your coaching?
(01:27):
I mean you've been coaching fora very long time and you said
your values kind of match that.
So how do you?
How do you present this?
I know how we do in football.
You know, using that as a tool,but using baseball as a tool to
help these kids, how do youincorporate that?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
I probably pretty much the same, except for the
modalities different.
But ball, baseball, I knowbaseball, football is more, you
know, rough and tough and tumbleand and maybe psych you know
you're really psyched up forthat.
Baseball is probably more laidback in in that regard.
But I think the values that wetry to teach are pretty much the
(01:54):
same.
Um, back in the day, when I wasyounger, I was more trans, um,
um.
So where am I?
I'm trans, morbid now now, andI believe that we can teach
these kids to grow up to be goodyoung men through sport,
emphasizing character, goodvalues, integrity and all those
(02:21):
ideals that we promote in ourprogram.
And what's beautiful aboutwhere I'm at the varsity, all
the way down to the ideals thatwe promote in our program,
what's beautiful about where I'mat the varsity, all the way
down to the Christian level.
We're all on the same page.
All of us are Christians, eventhough we can't be that
forthrighted in a public school.
But we do promote those valuesas well.
(02:43):
I teach my boys, you know, Itell them what's the meaning of
integrity, and then obviouslythey know how to do the right
thing when no one's looking, andthat's probably that's a good
place to start with these kids.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
That's true, it really is.
I mean, these, these kids, Ithink, sometimes need guidance.
Um, I know a lot of timesthrough the years and even
recently you know I'm I'mworking with kids that their
environment isn't exactlyacceptable or or good.
Uh, so they look to you as acoach to be that person, to to
(03:23):
mentor them and teach them lifeskills.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Yes, we have kids obviously from every background
and it's a public school and youknow some of them are don't
have good home situations and wepretty much can figure that out
pretty fast.
Some of them are maybe fostercare type kids.
They come to school, don't havea lot of support or they're in
(03:49):
a group home, whatever.
But I always tell my kids thatif they need to talk, if they
want to talk, I'm available andI encourage them to do that and
they seem very grateful for that.
So I've had a few kids.
You know, a few kids come out,come up and talk to me this year
about things.
The parents are going through adivorce, or one kid on our
(04:13):
team's big brother is in a gangand we're trying to, you know,
not get him sucked into that.
So there's lots of things goingon.
Plus, some of the times theparents are really hard on the
kids.
You know they're trying, youknow that situation where
they're trying to live throughthe kid and they're very
critical of everything that goeswrong on the baseball field.
(04:35):
When they belong, you know whenis their kid.
So there's a lot of differentsituations and so I make myself
available to talk to them and soI make myself available to talk
to them and we go, we have anew four-letter word next, so we
just move on.
And what that situation is?
(04:58):
Of course, life, sports, life.
You know, you got your ups anddowns, your failures, your
successes, and that's all.
That's why I love sports,because it's just, it is just
like life.
And we talk to them a lot abouttheir attitudes and and how
they.
We tell me what would you do ifthis was your boss?
You know, instead of your coach, you wouldn't have a job, so
things like that.
(05:18):
And I love it.
When a kid comes up andapologizes, because we know
we've gotten through him, he didon his own He'll come up and
say, hey, I had a bad attitudeyesterday, or, and I'm sorry, or
whatever, and and that I thinkthat's important too.
And I always tell him I lovehim.
I tell him you guys always loveall my team to love all you
guys, Cause I wanted to make, Iwant the connection with you
(05:40):
know, you know I give, give them.
I'm a big hugger, I give themlots of little hugs and and um,
because you know, as a coach,it's all about correction, so
all the time you seem likeyou're on their butt a lot.
But, um, I tell them, you knowit's not personal, we're just
trying to make you a betterplayer and uh, so that's, um,
where that goes.
That goes that that way.
(06:02):
We, you know, I do, I do, Ilike, like every coach, I borrow
steal bag.
All this information that I getthat I pass on to the kids.
You know it comes from, youknow mostly other places.
We talk a lot about the process.
When you're, you know whenyou're playing, especially when
you're hitting, you know theprocess is really important.
You've got to have a goodmental attitude with it.
(06:24):
You've got to have a plan.
When you go up to the plate,you breathe, you step out, maybe
you pick up a piece of dirt orgrass, breathe properly and you
have this mindset that you aregoing to be successful.
We do a lot of visualization,whether they see their successes
(06:44):
in their minds, either liketheir parents are watching them,
or internally, and we talkabout visualizing their we call
them the four P's personal, past, peak performances, whether
they've been successful, and tovisualize all that as well.
And then we talk aboutforgiveness and, um, they're
(07:09):
forgiving themselves for whenthey make a mistake and that's
basically it could let gobecause you know in 10 more
seconds you get another hotground ball and that's going to
happen and you got to be focusedbecause you've been around
sports a long time, you've seenit.
Kids are carrying that on theirshoulders or still thinking
about that mistake and then theymake another mistake because
they're not ready.
So we talk a lot about that.
(07:30):
We talk about, we have a littlething we do with circle of focus
.
You know, step in, step out,regroup.
We actually I teach them aboutthe five R's and that is
recognize the first R's,recognize, recognize that you're
losing it mentally, especiallywhen you're on the mound.
And then the next part of thatis release it, let go Again.
(07:52):
Circle of focus Pick up a pieceof grass, deep breathing, relax
.
We talk about a vocal point,maybe the flagpole or something
you can look at to remind you ofthe work you put in and that
you are prepared.
And then the next r is regroup.
You know, kind of get yourselfback together.
The fourth r is relax, justbreathe again and get set.
(08:16):
And the next tail is justrespond, just do it.
I tell the kids there's no goodor bad thoughts, don't write
wrong thoughts, it just thoughts.
Let them them go.
It doesn't matter, just respond, just react, and that seems to
help some of them.
I have a couple of little booksthat I pass out to the kids and
(08:37):
they pass them around and readthem, things such about the
mental game.
I'm really big about the mentalgame.
And then, as well as we talkabout ear E-A-R well, as we talk
about ear e-a-r is, um, uh,your attitude and your response
to that attitude and your effort, and, uh, that that's all you
can control.
You can't control the parents,you can't control the umpire,
(08:58):
you can't control the fieldconditions, um, any of that,
that's all you can, your effort,your attitude and your response
to it.
And then basically, that's whatwe try to instill in them and
you know as well, and controlthe control.
You know we talk about all thatstuff a lot because part of the
(09:20):
growth on the field, thosethings, those skills they can
take into life when they get outof here.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
You're right and I'm going to borrow a couple of
those because you and I arepretty much on the same page and
it's the same thing in football.
We say have a short memory,because you got 25 seconds to be
able to go back there and getin and do it again.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
And.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
I say just have a short memory.
I said you can't fix it, youcan't change it, it's done.
I'm not upset, you know, justgo out there and do your job and
do what.
You know what to do, and a lotof times you're right getting
that.
I remember one year I had acenter and I could see it when
he was losing it and he wouldlook over at me and I go like
this I go.
Yeah, and as soon as he lookedat me he'd take a deep breath
(10:04):
and then I'd tell him to do thesame thing and then he could get
back into it, because if hestarted losing it, it was one
bad snap after another.
Or you have somebody who's justlike misses a kick or misses a
block, and they're coming in andthey're angry.
I'm like it's over, it's done,you're good, let's just get back
to what you need to do.
And I think learning that skillwhen you're younger definitely
(10:27):
helps for when you're older, asan adult, because I know adults
that can't even do that, wherethey lose it and they just, they
just keep focusing on thatinstead of coming back and
regrouping.
And you're absolutely right.
So many times people reactinstead of respond, and when you
react, it's not always the bestchoice.
So having that ability to dothat I like, I like what?
(10:47):
What you said about the R's,the five R's.
I'm going to borrow that one.
Like you said, you borrow fromother coaches and you share
everything else, because that'swhat makes us better.
What makes us better, becauseif it's working for you, then I
can take that knowledge and passit on to my guys.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
And that's going to be beneficial to them as
individuals, right Right?
Well, I talk about this a lottoo with the boys.
I said there's three kinds ofball players.
There's the marshmallow, theM&M and the drawbreaker.
And the marshmallow is when weget them out of eighth grade.
They come into ninth grade,because I'm doing freshman ball
right now.
I obviously have coached varsitybaseball, high school baseball,
college baseball, but I'm doingthe young kids right now, which
(11:28):
I really enjoy because it's alot more teaching and it's
rewarding to see the team gofrom, you know, a negative 10 to
maybe a plus five, and that'skind of what we were
experiencing this year and bothcoaches all my coaches were just
, you know, really happy thatwe've made this progress.
But the marshmallow is a kidthat comes into us.
(11:50):
He's pretty soft on the, youknow, outside and pretty soft on
the inside.
Doesn't really have it alltogether.
It's the first year they've allplayed high school baseball.
High school baseball isdifferent than travel ball, it,
you know it's, it's selective.
It's a lot more people.
Kids try out, kids make it,kids don't make it.
They may have been the shortstop and now they're going to be
just in a building or whatever.
It all depends on thepersonality you have on your
(12:12):
team.
So the next step is, I tell themyou start becoming an m&m, you
start to show some progress,you're at least on the outside,
you're projecting it, you'rehard, you know that you don't
you have your emotions undercontrol, which we know they
don't but but inside you'restill a little soft, right.
So I tell them that when you'rea drawbreaker, you got it all
together.
You're focused right on insideand the outside.
(12:37):
So that's kind of where we getto.
And I tell them when you're adrawbreaker, then you have your
physical game under control.
You basically can play the gameat a high level Mentally.
You understand the game, youknow where to be, you back up
your cuts, all of the stuffyou're supposed to know.
(12:58):
Sometimes they may forget.
And then the other part is theemotional side of the game and
that is huge when they cancontrol that.
And, uh, you can see that someof them are learning that.
They step off the mound,they'll take a deep breath or
they'll um, you can see themmoving around in their little
circles of focus uh, it's aimaginary line, you know circle
(13:20):
on the field.
And the last part of it is, Icall it the spiritual part.
Of course, obviously, being ina public school can't bring a
lot up, but I say the spiritualpart.
Of course, obviously being in apublic school can bring a lot
up, but I say the spiritual partis where you forgive yourself.
You know, you've learned to letgo and move on.
Next, that's her, like I said,that's her new four-letter word.
Sounds a lot better, especiallywhen the little brothers and
(13:41):
sisters are hanging around theball field.
I remind them of that, say,yeah, your mom and dad's out
there and then go from there.
So obviously I'm trying to takethese boys and make them into
good young men.
You know young young men, goodboyfriends, good, you know their
husbands, good fathers down theroad, good citizens.
(14:01):
And that's really the goal of ofthe situation, and it's always
cool, um, when somebody,somebody you've maybe coached in
the past, comes back and and hesays, oh, I remember this, I
remember that I thank you for,you know, holding me accountable
or or whatever, and that's rare, but it happens and uh, and so,
(14:22):
uh, like I said, try toestablish these relationships
with kids as well.
And then we talk a lot aboutmoving on to the next level,
getting into a college orwhatever.
And then we have a lot ofsummer programs that are
connected to our school wherethe kids can play travel ball or
some form where they're goingto do these showcases and stuff
(14:44):
where colleges guys will show upor whatever to help them try to
get if they want to play on.
We try to get them placed,possibly in some school at the
level that they are able to play.
I always tell them that too, gowhere you can play, don't go to
a big school and sit on thebench because you've got no
(15:05):
jacks there.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
Yeah, the same same.
Football, too, is kind of.
I see these kids that have gotgreat talent, um, however it
could be their grades or itcould be their, like you said,
they're, they're not going toget played.
Why go to a college that you'regoing to sit there and not play
?
And I've had some extraordinaryplayers not go to d1 but go to
other schools or go to maybe d2,d3, know, or something else,
(15:27):
but they got to play.
They may only play until theirsophomore year, but they still
get an incredible, you knoweducation Right, and I think
that's the other thing too thatI find even with the kids coming
out of high school, they havethese dreams of places that they
really want to go.
And then it's always having thathard conversation of saying you
know, I know this is what's onyour radar, yes, apply for it.
(15:48):
However, let's look at someother options too, because if
you get to play, you get to play.
You know it's a gift, you knowto be able to play any sport
anywhere, you know if you've gotthat drive and that passion for
it, because I know how I see itin my guys with football.
But what do you see is thebiggest difference in the mental
(16:09):
aspect from your kids and weknow how they are, the younger
ones into high school.
But high school to college,where do you see maybe a small
disconnect when all of a suddenit changes?
Because I know it getsdefinitely a lot tougher.
And then when you go fromcollege into NFL, that's another
whole ballgame.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Oh, right yeah, so what do you?
Speaker 1 (16:30):
see the most.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
I think because it's college and the coaches are paid
to win.
That changes the whole mindset.
So they're probably just goingto go with their best 9 to 12
guys on the field and if you'renot in that top group, you're
not going to play hardly at bestnine to 12 guys on the field in
the end, and if you're not inthat top group you're not going
to play hardly at all.
Probably not.
That's one one issue, uh.
(16:53):
Secondly, the mental part ofthe game.
Um, they're not going to coddleyou, coddle you, you know, love
you up.
Um, you know you, you need toget out there and just compete.
And I think a lot of the kids,um, um, that's why we do a lot
of mental stuff.
They just, they just fall apartwhen, um, they're getting to
get hollered at hard.
(17:13):
Uh, you know we, we as coaches,you know we yell and scream and
do all that good stuff too.
But you know we try to.
I try to keep under control.
I don't know if that reallyhappens.
I've been, I coached collegelevel before and either you
perform or you don't, and if youdon't you might not get another
chance.
That's the thing.
You better be ready to go whenyour number's called, because if
(17:34):
you it may not be.
You know you might get a chancehere and there because
somebody's hurt or whatever, butif you don't get it together
right away and those kids putpressure on themselves and then
they're not going to be, they'renot playing, relaxed, so then
that obviously is an issue.
You can see that when you watchTV, when you watch anything,
especially in big, you can seeguys pressing or whatever.
(17:54):
He doesn't get it done.
So I think one of the bigthings is, I don't know, there's
no second chances, really.
Maybe you get one, but maybenot.
You either perform right awayor you don't.
One thing I was going to add isthat when we have um because
I've coached college baseballbefore, and um, even high school
(18:16):
varsity like somebody will showup a scout, uh, from a
professional squad or somebodyfrom a large college or whatever
, and the kids are, you know,they're aware of that because
they recognize somebody, or theyjust know what's happening and
they go out.
Go out and play and hopefullyperform.
I say they already know you canplay or they wouldn't be here.
(18:37):
So the part you know, they wantto see the rest of your game as
well.
So what will happen, though.
Usually, when the guy shows upthat we really don't know that
well, the first thing he asks iswhat kind of kid is you know,
and what kind of grades does hehave?
So we're very honest about it,because guess what, we want that
scout coming back next year andthe year after.
Yeah, so we're not gonna.
We're not gonna, you know,fudge it.
(18:59):
If you're, if you're a good kid, we're gonna tell him that.
If you're a bad teammate, we'regonna tell him that too.
And so he asks about the grades, and because if you have good
grades, it means you're a hardworker, and then hard workers
are a positive.
And then so he wants to knowwhat kind of kid he is.
And they even ask about theparents.
Who wants to get a kid when youcan have nothing to be a parent
(19:21):
from?
And I tell my kids that and Idon't talk directly to the
parents, but I say you let yourmom and dad know that they're
being recruited too, because, asI said, there's right down the
freeway, you know, 10 miles fromhere, there's 20 more of you
just like you, and they don'tneed this.
So you got to be on your bestbehavior.
(19:42):
So one day a scout comes and hewatches the guys and obviously
sometimes somebody else getsnoticed, which is really good.
But the scout will come back ina couple of weeks and he'll be
sitting out in the outfield witha big old hat on and a
newspaper and he'll let nobodyknow he's there and what he's
really looking for is he want,he wants to see you strike out
four times and then see howyou're going to respond, because
(20:02):
he's checking that part of you.
You're getting out as well, sothat it's.
It's a whole gamut, um, uh ofthings.
Um, you know attitude, how you,how do you respond to failure?
You know what kind of a studentare you, what kind of a
teammate are you?
You know.
And then again it goes, itextends out to the parents.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Yeah, and you're right, and it's kind of the same
way in football too.
It's the same thing and, and Ithink some of the, like you said
, some of the most difficultpressures that come in are the
ones from going into college,taking the classes, and then
they've got this undue pressureon them and plus they're trying
to perform and they're gettingout there and they've got to
learn to be able to time manage.
(20:45):
I guess is the word time manageBecause you've got all this
pressure that you need to dothis to keep your grades up and
you're going to play, and insome schools I do know that they
they do help with that,especially when they're athletes
, but it still falls on that kidand that player that they've
got to step up for thatresponsibility and but really it
comes down to just the way itshould be.
In high school, you know youare responsible for your grades.
(21:06):
It may not be the pressure oflike being on your own and
living on your own, becauseyou're still living, you know,
with your parents or you'reliving at home or whatever your
situation is, but you still gotto step up and, like you said,
if you got good grades, theyknow you're a hard worker.
You know how do you deal withfailure and how do you respond
to that, and that, I think, ascoaches, is something that we
can present and help these kidswith.
(21:28):
And I wish more coaches wouldunderstand that, because
standing and yelling andscreaming, you know and I've
seen them time and time againthey're not listening anyway,
they just shut down.
I mean, they hear a part of itand then the rest of it they're
like oh, here we go again.
You know, it's just like aparent yelling at them, it's
like they're not, nothing'sgetting through.
So having that opportunity tosay you know, hey, what's going
on, what's happening, and havingthat opportunity to say you
(21:50):
know, hey, what's going on,what's happening and I'm not
saying coddle everybody, butunderstand each individual
person- and that's what youbring, because that's why you
know you're doing as well asyou're doing and I'm sure all
these kids love that and theyrespond to you and they probably
cherish the fact that you'reout there.
Like you said, you're gettinginformation and kids contacting
you later on in the years.
That tells me and everybodyelse that you know you're you're
(22:13):
a good coach, a great coach,you know, because it takes.
You have to step up a littlebit more.
It's not just about you knowthe playbook or what you're
doing on the field or whateverit's about.
What else are you bringing tothe you know out there that can
help these kids?
Speaker 2 (22:27):
Well, you want to make the best, you want to get
the best out of the kid, andthat's one way of doing it.
And going back to the collegething, we actually bring back
our kids that have left theprogram, that are playing
college baseball at differentlevels D1 all the way down to do
a JC and we talk to them.
(22:47):
We have those guys talk to ourcurrent players about exactly
what you just said.
What is the biggest difference?
Time management.
You know they get up in themorning, they got weight room
and they get cleaned up and theygo to class, and some of them
have online classes, some ofthem have in-person classes or a
(23:08):
combination of both.
And then he says then they talkabout we can try to get all
that done.
We go eat and then we're on thebaseball field in the afternoon
until dark or whatever, andthen we try to get back to our
dorm or back home and we'redoing some homework or we're
getting tutored, and then we getto sleep, we try to eat right
(23:31):
and then we start all overtomorrow.
So it's a long day and you haveto management manage it that
way.
In high school, of course,parents still drop them off, so
there is a little bit ofgraduation there too.
They're living at home, theyget drove to and from practice
and the games.
Then the kids start to drive,and that changes everything too,
(23:52):
because now they have to beresponsible to get all their
stuff to the field that theyneed, you know, the complete
uniform, the right belt, theright hat, the right colors, and
it's unbelievable that theystill cannot figure out what.
Oh, I forgot my belt, I forgotmy hat, I can't find my socks, I
(24:13):
this is.
It's crazy, but that's reallythe way it is when you're
dealing with kids, um, even theseniors, you know so.
But when they start driving andthen, um, they're responsible,
then the girlfriends all comearound, and that's another issue
.
We got guys coming in with thebig old lip hanging down.
You know, I would tell youdon't need a girlfriend now, you
don't need a girlfriend yet.
(24:33):
And so I mean, when they startdriving since, like, the girls
start you know what I'm sayingthey're getting older and um and
uh, all growing up in life andall the hormones are raging or
whatever.
So that's another issue theyhave to navigate as well, and so
(24:54):
that's just part of growing up,you know, and being responsible
, and so that's a step in thehigh school level.
And then, of course, scoutsstart coming around and they're
getting maybe some of the olderkids are getting letters or
phone, and then that that alltakes form for them.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
No, I and I, I deal with that too, even on on my
field.
I always tell them I go putyour stuff together the night
before by the door.
That way you've got it all.
You know and I.
So I, I deal with that too, andI've.
I've seen it in college too,and I'm like you don't have the
luxury of doing that.
No coach is going to understandthat you can't find your cleats
.
You know, get your act togethernow and you're right.
(25:35):
And I want to throw in anotherelement that was cooking is food
, because now these kids havegot I've noticed that on the
calls they're like coach, Ididn't have time to eat and I'm
like you have to eat, you haveto get the nutrition, because
you know just as well as I do,if you're not eating right,
you're not going to perform well.
So you have to make that apriority and it has to be good
food.
You can't just grab fast foodall the time and think that's
(25:56):
going to be okay.
Now in your twenties you feelthat's a staple that you can
live on.
But the reality is, if you'retrying to excel and get up there
, you've got to be able to moveon.
As an athlete, I mean food wise.
So I think we just lost coachMez.
I'm looking at my screen hereand and it's unfortunate, but I
(26:18):
want to thank him for for beinghere I think his insight and
what he has offered was wasamazing.
I love the fact that both ofour sports really cross over
when it comes to how our kidsare, what we do as coaches, who
we are as individuals and whatwe can bring to the table.
So until then, please rememberyou are responsible for your own
(26:42):
things.
You are an amazing person.
You've got what it takes.
Always remember that.
Until then, start strong andfinish strong and dominate
everything in between.
Hey, come on in.
Come on and make yourselfcomfortable.
Take a knee, get comfortable.
I'm excited to have you guyshere in my locker room and today
we are going to have so muchfun because, as you guys know,
everything is about not onlysports but also how we can
transition and make these peoplemuch better in their lives,
whether you're a player, aparent or just a coach trying to
excel and grow your team.
(00:22):
Hopefully, 4thin1 Mind mindsetbrings you that information.
So I'm just going to bring itright in, because today I have
got Coach Mez.
He's in our locker room.
He is a baseball coach of over50 years.
He started with T-ball with thekids and Little League.
He's coaching now at a highschool.
He's been coaching high schoolbaseball for 15 years.
(00:42):
So, coach Mez, you have beenaround a lot of kids for a very
long time and while I work witha lot of kids through football,
I do know that a lot of themcrossed over.
Matter of fact, one of our starquarterbacks also played
baseball and I've had a coupleof them that were playing
football and then transitionedover to baseball.
So I know how important it isto have that crossover in sports
(01:04):
, but I also know it's moreimportant, as a coach, to take
the information that we have andthen help these people to be
better individuals, right, ofcourse.
So do you find I mean with you,with your coaching?
(01:27):
I mean you've been coaching fora very long time and you said
your values kind of match that.
So how do you?
How do you present this?
I know how we do in football.
You know, using that as a tool,but using baseball as a tool to
help these kids, how do youincorporate that?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
I probably pretty much the same, except for the
modalities different.
But ball, baseball, I knowbaseball, football is more, you
know, rough and tough and tumbleand and maybe psych you know
you're really psyched up forthat.
Baseball is probably more laidback in in that regard.
But I think the values that wetry to teach are pretty much the
(01:54):
same.
Um, back in the day, when I wasyounger, I was more trans, um,
um.
So where am I?
I'm trans, morbid now now, andI believe that we can teach
these kids to grow up to be goodyoung men through sport,
emphasizing character, goodvalues, integrity and all those
(02:21):
ideals that we promote in ourprogram.
And what's beautiful aboutwhere I'm at the varsity, all
the way down to the ideals thatwe promote in our program,
what's beautiful about where I'mat the varsity, all the way
down to the Christian level.
We're all on the same page.
All of us are Christians, eventhough we can't be that
forthrighted in a public school.
But we do promote those valuesas well.
(02:43):
I teach my boys, you know, Itell them what's the meaning of
integrity, and then obviouslythey know how to do the right
thing when no one's looking, andthat's probably that's a good
place to start with these kids.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
That's true, it really is.
I mean, these, these kids, Ithink, sometimes need guidance.
Um, I know a lot of timesthrough the years and even
recently you know I'm I'mworking with kids that their
environment isn't exactlyacceptable or or good.
Uh, so they look to you as acoach to be that person, to to
(03:23):
mentor them and teach them lifeskills.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Yes, we have kids obviously from every background
and it's a public school and youknow some of them are don't
have good home situations and wepretty much can figure that out
pretty fast.
Some of them are maybe fostercare type kids.
They come to school, don't havea lot of support or they're in
(03:49):
a group home, whatever.
But I always tell my kids thatif they need to talk, if they
want to talk, I'm available andI encourage them to do that and
they seem very grateful for that.
So I've had a few kids.
You know, a few kids come out,come up and talk to me this year
about things.
The parents are going through adivorce, or one kid on our
(04:13):
team's big brother is in a gangand we're trying to, you know,
not get him sucked into that.
So there's lots of things goingon.
Plus, some of the times theparents are really hard on the
kids.
You know they're trying, youknow that situation where
they're trying to live throughthe kid and they're very
critical of everything that goeswrong on the baseball field.
(04:35):
When they belong, you know whenis their kid.
So there's a lot of differentsituations and so I make myself
available to talk to them and soI make myself available to talk
to them and we go, we have anew four-letter word next, so we
just move on.
And what that situation is?
(04:58):
Of course, life, sports, life.
You know, you got your ups anddowns, your failures, your
successes, and that's all.
That's why I love sports,because it's just, it is just
like life.
And we talk to them a lot abouttheir attitudes and and how
they.
We tell me what would you do ifthis was your boss?
You know, instead of your coach, you wouldn't have a job, so
things like that.
(05:18):
And I love it.
When a kid comes up andapologizes, because we know
we've gotten through him, he didon his own He'll come up and
say, hey, I had a bad attitudeyesterday, or, and I'm sorry, or
whatever, and and that I thinkthat's important too.
And I always tell him I lovehim.
I tell him you guys always loveall my team to love all you
guys, Cause I wanted to make, Iwant the connection with you
(05:40):
know, you know I give, give them.
I'm a big hugger, I give themlots of little hugs and and um,
because you know, as a coach,it's all about correction, so
all the time you seem likeyou're on their butt a lot.
But, um, I tell them, you knowit's not personal, we're just
trying to make you a betterplayer and uh, so that's, um,
where that goes.
That goes that that way.
(06:02):
We, you know, I do, I do, Ilike, like every coach, I borrow
steal bag.
All this information that I getthat I pass on to the kids.
You know it comes from, youknow mostly other places.
We talk a lot about the process.
When you're, you know whenyou're playing, especially when
you're hitting, you know theprocess is really important.
You've got to have a goodmental attitude with it.
(06:24):
You've got to have a plan.
When you go up to the plate,you breathe, you step out, maybe
you pick up a piece of dirt orgrass, breathe properly and you
have this mindset that you aregoing to be successful.
We do a lot of visualization,whether they see their successes
(06:44):
in their minds, either liketheir parents are watching them,
or internally, and we talkabout visualizing their we call
them the four P's personal, past, peak performances, whether
they've been successful, and tovisualize all that as well.
And then we talk aboutforgiveness and, um, they're
(07:09):
forgiving themselves for whenthey make a mistake and that's
basically it could let gobecause you know in 10 more
seconds you get another hotground ball and that's going to
happen and you got to be focusedbecause you've been around
sports a long time, you've seenit.
Kids are carrying that on theirshoulders or still thinking
about that mistake and then theymake another mistake because
they're not ready.
So we talk a lot about that.
(07:30):
We talk about, we have a littlething we do with circle of focus
.
You know, step in, step out,regroup.
We actually I teach them aboutthe five R's and that is
recognize the first R's,recognize, recognize that you're
losing it mentally, especiallywhen you're on the mound.
And then the next part of thatis release it, let go Again.
(07:52):
Circle of focus Pick up a pieceof grass, deep breathing, relax
.
We talk about a vocal point,maybe the flagpole or something
you can look at to remind you ofthe work you put in and that
you are prepared.
And then the next r is regroup.
You know, kind of get yourselfback together.
The fourth r is relax, justbreathe again and get set.
(08:16):
And the next tail is justrespond, just do it.
I tell the kids there's no goodor bad thoughts, don't write
wrong thoughts, it just thoughts.
Let them them go.
It doesn't matter, just respond, just react, and that seems to
help some of them.
I have a couple of little booksthat I pass out to the kids and
(08:37):
they pass them around and readthem, things such about the
mental game.
I'm really big about the mentalgame.
And then, as well as we talkabout ear E-A-R well, as we talk
about ear e-a-r is, um, uh,your attitude and your response
to that attitude and your effort, and, uh, that that's all you
can control.
You can't control the parents,you can't control the umpire,
(08:58):
you can't control the fieldconditions, um, any of that,
that's all you can, your effort,your attitude and your response
to it.
And then basically, that's whatwe try to instill in them and
you know as well, and controlthe control.
You know we talk about all thatstuff a lot because part of the
(09:20):
growth on the field, thosethings, those skills they can
take into life when they get outof here.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
You're right and I'm going to borrow a couple of
those because you and I arepretty much on the same page and
it's the same thing in football.
We say have a short memory,because you got 25 seconds to be
able to go back there and getin and do it again.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
And.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
I say just have a short memory.
I said you can't fix it, youcan't change it, it's done.
I'm not upset, you know, justgo out there and do your job and
do what.
You know what to do, and a lotof times you're right getting
that.
I remember one year I had acenter and I could see it when
he was losing it and he wouldlook over at me and I go like
this I go.
Yeah, and as soon as he lookedat me he'd take a deep breath
(10:04):
and then I'd tell him to do thesame thing and then he could get
back into it, because if hestarted losing it, it was one
bad snap after another.
Or you have somebody who's justlike misses a kick or misses a
block, and they're coming in andthey're angry.
I'm like it's over, it's done,you're good, let's just get back
to what you need to do.
And I think learning that skillwhen you're younger definitely
(10:27):
helps for when you're older, asan adult, because I know adults
that can't even do that, wherethey lose it and they just, they
just keep focusing on thatinstead of coming back and
regrouping.
And you're absolutely right.
So many times people reactinstead of respond, and when you
react, it's not always the bestchoice.
So having that ability to dothat I like, I like what?
(10:47):
What you said about the R's,the five R's.
I'm going to borrow that one.
Like you said, you borrow fromother coaches and you share
everything else, because that'swhat makes us better.
What makes us better, becauseif it's working for you, then I
can take that knowledge and passit on to my guys.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
And that's going to be beneficial to them as
individuals, right Right?
Well, I talk about this a lottoo with the boys.
I said there's three kinds ofball players.
There's the marshmallow, theM&M and the drawbreaker.
And the marshmallow is when weget them out of eighth grade.
They come into ninth grade,because I'm doing freshman ball
right now.
I obviously have coached varsitybaseball, high school baseball,
college baseball, but I'm doingthe young kids right now, which
(11:28):
I really enjoy because it's alot more teaching and it's
rewarding to see the team gofrom, you know, a negative 10 to
maybe a plus five, and that'skind of what we were
experiencing this year and bothcoaches all my coaches were just
, you know, really happy thatwe've made this progress.
But the marshmallow is a kidthat comes into us.
(11:50):
He's pretty soft on the, youknow, outside and pretty soft on
the inside.
Doesn't really have it alltogether.
It's the first year they've allplayed high school baseball.
High school baseball isdifferent than travel ball, it,
you know it's, it's selective.
It's a lot more people.
Kids try out, kids make it,kids don't make it.
They may have been the shortstop and now they're going to be
just in a building or whatever.
It all depends on thepersonality you have on your
(12:12):
team.
So the next step is, I tell themyou start becoming an m&m, you
start to show some progress,you're at least on the outside,
you're projecting it, you'rehard, you know that you don't
you have your emotions undercontrol, which we know they
don't but but inside you'restill a little soft, right.
So I tell them that when you'rea drawbreaker, you got it all
together.
You're focused right on insideand the outside.
(12:37):
So that's kind of where we getto.
And I tell them when you're adrawbreaker, then you have your
physical game under control.
You basically can play the gameat a high level Mentally.
You understand the game, youknow where to be, you back up
your cuts, all of the stuffyou're supposed to know.
(12:58):
Sometimes they may forget.
And then the other part is theemotional side of the game and
that is huge when they cancontrol that.
And, uh, you can see that someof them are learning that.
They step off the mound,they'll take a deep breath or
they'll um, you can see themmoving around in their little
circles of focus uh, it's aimaginary line, you know circle
(13:20):
on the field.
And the last part of it is, Icall it the spiritual part.
Of course, obviously, being ina public school can't bring a
lot up, but I say the spiritualpart.
Of course, obviously being in apublic school can bring a lot
up, but I say the spiritual partis where you forgive yourself.
You know, you've learned to letgo and move on.
Next, that's her, like I said,that's her new four-letter word.
Sounds a lot better, especiallywhen the little brothers and
(13:41):
sisters are hanging around theball field.
I remind them of that, say,yeah, your mom and dad's out
there and then go from there.
So obviously I'm trying to takethese boys and make them into
good young men.
You know young young men, goodboyfriends, good, you know their
husbands, good fathers down theroad, good citizens.
(14:01):
And that's really the goal of ofthe situation, and it's always
cool, um, when somebody,somebody you've maybe coached in
the past, comes back and and hesays, oh, I remember this, I
remember that I thank you for,you know, holding me accountable
or or whatever, and that's rare, but it happens and uh, and so,
(14:22):
uh, like I said, try toestablish these relationships
with kids as well.
And then we talk a lot aboutmoving on to the next level,
getting into a college orwhatever.
And then we have a lot ofsummer programs that are
connected to our school wherethe kids can play travel ball or
some form where they're goingto do these showcases and stuff
(14:44):
where colleges guys will show upor whatever to help them try to
get if they want to play on.
We try to get them placed,possibly in some school at the
level that they are able to play.
I always tell them that too, gowhere you can play, don't go to
a big school and sit on thebench because you've got no
(15:05):
jacks there.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
Yeah, the same same.
Football, too, is kind of.
I see these kids that have gotgreat talent, um, however it
could be their grades or itcould be their, like you said,
they're, they're not going toget played.
Why go to a college that you'regoing to sit there and not play
?
And I've had some extraordinaryplayers not go to d1 but go to
other schools or go to maybe d2,d3, know, or something else,
(15:27):
but they got to play.
They may only play until theirsophomore year, but they still
get an incredible, you knoweducation Right, and I think
that's the other thing too thatI find even with the kids coming
out of high school, they havethese dreams of places that they
really want to go.
And then it's always having thathard conversation of saying you
know, I know this is what's onyour radar, yes, apply for it.
(15:48):
However, let's look at someother options too, because if
you get to play, you get to play.
You know it's a gift, you knowto be able to play any sport
anywhere, you know if you've gotthat drive and that passion for
it, because I know how I see itin my guys with football.
But what do you see is thebiggest difference in the mental
(16:09):
aspect from your kids and weknow how they are, the younger
ones into high school.
But high school to college,where do you see maybe a small
disconnect when all of a suddenit changes?
Because I know it getsdefinitely a lot tougher.
And then when you go fromcollege into NFL, that's another
whole ballgame.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Oh, right yeah, so what do you?
Speaker 1 (16:30):
see the most.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
I think because it's college and the coaches are paid
to win.
That changes the whole mindset.
So they're probably just goingto go with their best 9 to 12
guys on the field and if you'renot in that top group, you're
not going to play hardly at bestnine to 12 guys on the field in
the end, and if you're not inthat top group you're not going
to play hardly at all.
Probably not.
That's one one issue, uh.
(16:53):
Secondly, the mental part ofthe game.
Um, they're not going to coddleyou, coddle you, you know, love
you up.
Um, you know you, you need toget out there and just compete.
And I think a lot of the kids,um, um, that's why we do a lot
of mental stuff.
They just, they just fall apartwhen, um, they're getting to
get hollered at hard.
(17:13):
Uh, you know we, we as coaches,you know we yell and scream and
do all that good stuff too.
But you know we try to.
I try to keep under control.
I don't know if that reallyhappens.
I've been, I coached collegelevel before and either you
perform or you don't, and if youdon't you might not get another
chance.
That's the thing.
You better be ready to go whenyour number's called, because if
(17:34):
you it may not be.
You know you might get a chancehere and there because
somebody's hurt or whatever, butif you don't get it together
right away and those kids putpressure on themselves and then
they're not going to be, they'renot playing, relaxed, so then
that obviously is an issue.
You can see that when you watchTV, when you watch anything,
especially in big, you can seeguys pressing or whatever.
(17:54):
He doesn't get it done.
So I think one of the bigthings is, I don't know, there's
no second chances, really.
Maybe you get one, but maybenot.
You either perform right awayor you don't.
One thing I was going to add isthat when we have um because
I've coached college baseballbefore, and um, even high school
(18:16):
varsity like somebody will showup a scout, uh, from a
professional squad or somebodyfrom a large college or whatever
, and the kids are, you know,they're aware of that because
they recognize somebody, or theyjust know what's happening and
they go out.
Go out and play and hopefullyperform.
I say they already know you canplay or they wouldn't be here.
(18:37):
So the part you know, they wantto see the rest of your game as
well.
So what will happen, though.
Usually, when the guy shows upthat we really don't know that
well, the first thing he asks iswhat kind of kid is you know,
and what kind of grades does hehave?
So we're very honest about it,because guess what, we want that
scout coming back next year andthe year after.
Yeah, so we're not gonna.
We're not gonna, you know,fudge it.
(18:59):
If you're, if you're a good kid, we're gonna tell him that.
If you're a bad teammate, we'regonna tell him that too.
And so he asks about the grades, and because if you have good
grades, it means you're a hardworker, and then hard workers
are a positive.
And then so he wants to knowwhat kind of kid he is.
And they even ask about theparents.
Who wants to get a kid when youcan have nothing to be a parent
(19:21):
from?
And I tell my kids that and Idon't talk directly to the
parents, but I say you let yourmom and dad know that they're
being recruited too, because, asI said, there's right down the
freeway, you know, 10 miles fromhere, there's 20 more of you
just like you, and they don'tneed this.
So you got to be on your bestbehavior.
(19:42):
So one day a scout comes and hewatches the guys and obviously
sometimes somebody else getsnoticed, which is really good.
But the scout will come back ina couple of weeks and he'll be
sitting out in the outfield witha big old hat on and a
newspaper and he'll let nobodyknow he's there and what he's
really looking for is he want,he wants to see you strike out
four times and then see howyou're going to respond, because
(20:02):
he's checking that part of you.
You're getting out as well, sothat it's.
It's a whole gamut, um, uh ofthings.
Um, you know attitude, how you,how do you respond to failure?
You know what kind of a studentare you, what kind of a
teammate are you?
You know.
And then again it goes, itextends out to the parents.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Yeah, and you're right, and it's kind of the same
way in football too.
It's the same thing and, and Ithink some of the, like you said
, some of the most difficultpressures that come in are the
ones from going into college,taking the classes, and then
they've got this undue pressureon them and plus they're trying
to perform and they're gettingout there and they've got to
learn to be able to time manage.
(20:45):
I guess is the word time manageBecause you've got all this
pressure that you need to dothis to keep your grades up and
you're going to play, and insome schools I do know that they
they do help with that,especially when they're athletes
, but it still falls on that kidand that player that they've
got to step up for thatresponsibility and but really it
comes down to just the way itshould be.
In high school, you know youare responsible for your grades.
(21:06):
It may not be the pressure oflike being on your own and
living on your own, becauseyou're still living, you know,
with your parents or you'reliving at home or whatever your
situation is, but you still gotto step up and, like you said,
if you got good grades, theyknow you're a hard worker.
You know how do you deal withfailure and how do you respond
to that, and that, I think, ascoaches, is something that we
can present and help these kidswith.
(21:28):
And I wish more coaches wouldunderstand that, because
standing and yelling andscreaming, you know and I've
seen them time and time againthey're not listening anyway,
they just shut down.
I mean, they hear a part of itand then the rest of it they're
like oh, here we go again.
You know, it's just like aparent yelling at them, it's
like they're not, nothing'sgetting through.
So having that opportunity tosay you know, hey, what's going
on, what's happening, and havingthat opportunity to say you
(21:50):
know, hey, what's going on,what's happening and I'm not
saying coddle everybody, butunderstand each individual
person- and that's what youbring, because that's why you
know you're doing as well asyou're doing and I'm sure all
these kids love that and theyrespond to you and they probably
cherish the fact that you'reout there.
Like you said, you're gettinginformation and kids contacting
you later on in the years.
That tells me and everybodyelse that you know you're you're
(22:13):
a good coach, a great coach,you know, because it takes.
You have to step up a littlebit more.
It's not just about you knowthe playbook or what you're
doing on the field or whateverit's about.
What else are you bringing tothe you know out there that can
help these kids?
Speaker 2 (22:27):
Well, you want to make the best, you want to get
the best out of the kid, andthat's one way of doing it.
And going back to the collegething, we actually bring back
our kids that have left theprogram, that are playing
college baseball at differentlevels D1 all the way down to do
a JC and we talk to them.
(22:47):
We have those guys talk to ourcurrent players about exactly
what you just said.
What is the biggest difference?
Time management.
You know they get up in themorning, they got weight room
and they get cleaned up and theygo to class, and some of them
have online classes, some ofthem have in-person classes or a
(23:08):
combination of both.
And then he says then they talkabout we can try to get all
that done.
We go eat and then we're on thebaseball field in the afternoon
until dark or whatever, andthen we try to get back to our
dorm or back home and we'redoing some homework or we're
getting tutored, and then we getto sleep, we try to eat right
(23:31):
and then we start all overtomorrow.
So it's a long day and you haveto management manage it that
way.
In high school, of course,parents still drop them off, so
there is a little bit ofgraduation there too.
They're living at home, theyget drove to and from practice
and the games.
Then the kids start to drive,and that changes everything too,
(23:52):
because now they have to beresponsible to get all their
stuff to the field that theyneed, you know, the complete
uniform, the right belt, theright hat, the right colors, and
it's unbelievable that theystill cannot figure out what.
Oh, I forgot my belt, I forgotmy hat, I can't find my socks, I
(24:13):
this is.
It's crazy, but that's reallythe way it is when you're
dealing with kids, um, even theseniors, you know so.
But when they start driving andthen, um, they're responsible,
then the girlfriends all comearound, and that's another issue
.
We got guys coming in with thebig old lip hanging down.
You know, I would tell youdon't need a girlfriend now, you
don't need a girlfriend yet.
(24:33):
And so I mean, when they startdriving since, like, the girls
start you know what I'm sayingthey're getting older and um and
uh, all growing up in life andall the hormones are raging or
whatever.
So that's another issue theyhave to navigate as well, and so
(24:54):
that's just part of growing up,you know, and being responsible
, and so that's a step in thehigh school level.
And then, of course, scoutsstart coming around and they're
getting maybe some of the olderkids are getting letters or
phone, and then that that alltakes form for them.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
No, I and I, I deal with that too, even on on my
field.
I always tell them I go putyour stuff together the night
before by the door.
That way you've got it all.
You know and I.
So I, I deal with that too, andI've.
I've seen it in college too,and I'm like you don't have the
luxury of doing that.
No coach is going to understandthat you can't find your cleats
.
You know, get your act togethernow and you're right.
(25:35):
And I want to throw in anotherelement that was cooking is food
, because now these kids havegot I've noticed that on the
calls they're like coach, Ididn't have time to eat and I'm
like you have to eat, you haveto get the nutrition, because
you know just as well as I do,if you're not eating right,
you're not going to perform well.
So you have to make that apriority and it has to be good
food.
You can't just grab fast foodall the time and think that's
(25:56):
going to be okay.
Now in your twenties you feelthat's a staple that you can
live on.
But the reality is, if you'retrying to excel and get up there
, you've got to be able to moveon.
As an athlete, I mean food wise.
So I think we just lost coachMez.
I'm looking at my screen hereand and it's unfortunate, but I
(26:18):
want to thank him for for beinghere I think his insight and
what he has offered was wasamazing.
I love the fact that both ofour sports really cross over
when it comes to how our kidsare, what we do as coaches, who
we are as individuals and whatwe can bring to the table.
So until then, please rememberyou are responsible for your own
(26:42):
things.
You are an amazing person.
You've got what it takes.
Always remember that.
Until then, start strong andfinish strong and dominate
everything in between.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.