Can't Be Broken
Can't Be Broken
Stepping Up to the Plate: The Drive and Dedication of Young Athletes
Every coach dreams of witnessing their players mature into not just exceptional athletes but also remarkable individuals. That dream is my reality with Kai Gonzaga and James Quintero, two high school seniors whose journey from Little League to the precipice of college baseball epitomizes growth in every sense. Settle in as we celebrate their success and explore their future, from the vibrant field of Pomona College to the mathematical challenges awaiting at Pitzer College. Their stories are not just about batting averages and stolen bases; they're a testament to the transformative impact of family support, academic rigor, and the shared laughs that lighten the pressure of game day.
Navigating the world of competitive sports requires more than just skill—it asks for a mental toughness that stands tall in the face of adversity. This episode peels back the layers of baseball culture, examining the nuances, like the way a player handles a strikeout or a home run, that could turn the heads of college scouts. Through Kai's and James' experiences, we uncover the power of persistence, a strategic presence on social media, and a work ethic that burns bright even when the stadium lights go down. Packed with advice for aspiring athletes, this conversation is a playbook on how to turn every sprint, swing, and slide into an opportunity to shine.
As the chat rounds third base and heads for home, we reflect on the indelible lessons that baseball instills. It's not just about scoring runs; it's about the resilience to come back after being down, the discipline to push through a batting slump, and the joy of celebrating the small, daily victories. Beyond the diamond, we recognize the irreplaceable value of mentors, the support systems that are our families, and the friendships that endure long after the cleats are hung up. Join us for a heartfelt look at how the love of the game shapes the course of life, and how every pitch, hit, and catch echoes lessons that ripple far beyond the outfield.
I'm your host, SeaMonster. I'm super excited because I have two kids that I've watched grow up here at UAG Fit. I've met their families, amazing families that I've gotten really close to. I've seen their growth. I've seen them expand in mind, body and soul and I'm super proud of them for being committed to play at the next level after high school and I couldn't be more proud of being their coach, being their friend and having them on this podcast so that they can explain a little bit and give their experiences and knowledge on their path to the next level and how they did it and share some of their experiences and what baseball has done for them and so has their education. I have in front of me Kai Gonzaga and I also have James Contaro. Welcome to the Can't Be Broken podcast and glad to have both of you guys here.
Speaker 2:I'm excited, I'm excited. Thank you.
Speaker 1:And glad both of them introduced themselves to a little bit of background history of where they go to school, what position they play, where they're at, how old they are, where they're going, and then we'll move on from there. Go ahead, Kai.
Speaker 2:So my name is Kai Gonzaga, 17 years old, I'm a senior at Notre Dame High School and do yes, sir, and in the fall I'll be going to Pomona College to play baseball. Continue my education there as well.
Speaker 1:So looking forward to that. Are you undeclared or declared?
Speaker 2:For my major I'm not declared, so trying to figure that out, still figuring it out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we all trying to figure it out, yeah.
Speaker 2:So don't know yet.
Speaker 1:James, what do you?
Speaker 3:got. I'm James Contaro. I'm a senior at Bishop Alameda High School. I play first base, 17. And in the fall I'll be attending Pitzer College and play baseball. I continue my education and I'm in a major in mathematics.
Speaker 1:I want to go into statistics? Yeah, that's great, I know. Every time I had you here and we have some numbership we had to do for a workout or I had a question, you came out of it with your head. I'm over here trying to punch it in my phone and you already had the numbers. So, yeah, you'll be fine, kid.
Speaker 3:Excited.
Speaker 1:That's good. And then both of you guys obviously committed to the same school, or it's a different school but the same team. Can you guys elaborate One of you guys elaborate a little bit on how that goes? I know there's a couple of colleges there. You plan the same school, so basically how it is.
Speaker 2:There's five Claremont colleges. There's Claremont, harvey Mudd, smona, pitzer and Scripps College. So Claremont and Harvey Mudd and Scripps combined for their athletic teams and then Pomona and Pitzer combined for their teams.
Speaker 1:But then they're all part of the same like five Claremont colleges, because they're all basically on the same huge campus, separated by each school, okay, and then they pick obviously everybody then picks a sport or whatever they're there for, and they combine some of the schools to play for one team that plays baseball or other sports.
Speaker 2:So like Pomona and Pitzer combined their team, but then within the actual school, like take away all the sports. Like you could take classes in either any of the schools.
Speaker 3:Yeah, right, okay, I could take a stats class at Pomona or Claremont wherever yeah, okay, it's all one, basically yeah, okay, just the only thing difference is the sports teams.
Speaker 1:You're going to get tired of explaining that probably.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't know how to tackle that, so I'll just let you come and tell us.
Speaker 1:I think this is like the fifth time I've asked you guys and I still haven't got it.
Speaker 1:That's cool, man. Well, congratulations. Thank you Both of you guys. Obviously I've seen you guys grow. You guys have grown up together playing ball since you guys were little. Give us a little bit just each one of you where you started playing ball at. You know rec ball and then travel team and whatnot. I know both of you guys play for the SoCal Giants, which is a big exposure. I wouldn't say travel ball team, but a showcase team that gets you to the next level. But just both of you guys just play. Give us a little bit of where you played at rec ball and then went from there to where you're at now.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I started playing baseball when I was like three. I played at Northridge Little League and I played Little League until I was 10. But at eight years old I started with travel ball with Northridge Pride and after that I went to PBA under Harvard, westlake and I stayed there until I was 14 and I went to SoCal under Alameda and then in high school. Once high school started, me and Kai played together on the hustle Okay, mvp, hustle, mvp.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I played with Georgia together Arizona that was fun, man, it was a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:and then junior year that's when I started playing for the Giants and yeah, so I grew up playing at North Valley Youth Baseball, which is up in Grotta Hills. I played there some songs, probably two or three little, and then I played like the rec ball there up until I was Probably like 10, I think. But then we had started a travel ball team called the Titans out of North Valley when I was like five because my older brother was also part of it and I played with them up until I was 12. And then we were kind of on and off. After that we played a couple tournaments when we were older, like 13, 14, come back. But after that I played at PBA again with James and then COVID hit, so it wasn't really playing. But then once we got back going prospect united a little bit during COVID out of Santa Corita and then, yeah, mvp hustle my summer going into my senior years when I started playing with Giants after summer going into my senior years. Okay.
Speaker 1:So you guys bounced around a little bit playing different positions. I think your dad, kai Francis has, and Roger coast. You guys yeah.
Speaker 3:Did he coach you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I did. Okay. So it was a shout out to pop in a couple of tournaments with us. He was what? Yeah, he popped in a little bit Jump in bro, most of the time against each other, though.
Speaker 1:He was a free agent. Free agent, excuse me. Um, yeah, francis is one of my best friends, man, and so is George and Roger and that that whole trifecta there. I probably hang out more with Francis because we run and work out and whatnot, and he was my, my, my wingman when I was doing something for for a triathlon, and so we get to talking a lot and obviously always hearing you guys a story and you guys grow up. Um, you know, it's always fun to talk to baseball guys because there's so many questions I have, but just a little time that I have also. But give me what you guys believe is going to throw you guys off a little bit, but give me what you guys believe would be your three greatest contributors or things that you bring to the game, and maybe a weak thing that you need to work on now, something that you're like, oh, you know what I'm not really good at that, but uh, but I'm going to get better Like our strengths and your strength and weaknesses.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and baseball.
Speaker 2:Go ahead. Okay, I'd say, definitely one of my strengths is speed. Yeah, that's something I've had like my whole life. That's always been. I've always been a smaller guy, so like really honing in on things that don't really necessarily need to be physical, I mean baseball. You don't have to be the biggest guy, so speed is definitely always been one of my strengths Defense being able to cover a lot of ground in the outfield. And then, um, something I've always lacked, I'd say, or one of my weaknesses, is arm strength. I've never had the strongest arm. That's always been, and that's what I've been trying to work on these these past few summers is building that arm strength, yeah, and then also one of my strengths, I'd say, is hitting at seven pretty good hitter.
Speaker 1:Yeah, You're a leadoff hitter right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so this year I'm hitting leadoff right now. Last year I hit leadoff um in a couple of series throughout the season and it kind of it varied throughout Um, but I've mostly hit ninth last year and then I hit like six or seven a couple of times Leadoff a couple of other series, but mostly ninth been. Now I'm hitting leadoff, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I used to hit leadoff. I loved it. I love setting the tone and then hitting ninth also, and hitting ninth is nice because you get fast full time. Yeah, you see everything before you by the time you get there, yeah, kind of pitches.
Speaker 2:Don't really know who you are, so you're like just yeah, yeah, they're just trying to straight up attack you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, every everything in the lineup has its different um scenarios of of where you're supposed to be, depending on what leadoff setting the tone, getting on base, moving over um, batting fourth or fifth, you know, getting some RBIs, getting them in Um, I feel a little bit of everything but leadoff. I really enjoyed Um how about yourself.
Speaker 3:Um, I think I've always uh had a strength and you know, like my baseball IQ. I think, uh, growing up, uh working around the bag at first base since I was young, I think I uh have a good feel for the game of situations, where to go, um understand, you know, the mental clock in the head. Uh, also, I think I'm a pretty good hitter as well. You know, I think I got some power, uh and um, yeah, my ability to go to all fields with some authority. I think that's always um been a plus side, yeah, but uh, my, my main weakness that I struggled with since I was young is my speed, your speed. Uh, yeah, you know, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, both of you guys are like opposite here in speed.
Speaker 3:Actually, you've gotten a lot faster.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you have, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:Just my speed, you know. It kind of held me back a little bit. You know I'd have to try to hit the ball harder so I could take second, you know, take a third. Uh, I was scared of getting it thrown out because I was just slow and I think, uh, getting better at that gave me a little more confidence in my ability to play. Yeah.
Speaker 1:And in seeing that and seeing both of you guys obviously come from a little bit of different strength and weaknesses, from one being super fast and one not being slow slow but not as fast as this guy right here um, and having different paths to where you guys are right now, right in college and whatnot. Um, what do you guys consider the factors that most you know are most important in your success and re, receiving a baseball scholarship or playing at the next level?
Speaker 2:What got you guys there, even though you guys are a little bit different, something that I was told, this time to say a factor, but something that I was told by Freddie.
Speaker 1:Shout out, freddie to Freddie Smith baby.
Speaker 2:Yeah, um, like the, I feel like there's a certain uh, what's the word? Like this thought that oh, if you're like you have a weakness or something, you only have to work on that weakness. But he would always say that you even have, you have to master your strength, sort of thing. Like don't just think, cause you're good at it, you just like stop working on it Right. Like really master your strength and obviously keep working on the weaknesses and keep getting the better, but continuing to know, know the type of player you are basically, and really master what you're good at Obviously can make you, um, just better.
Speaker 2:And then yeah, and the other factors, just like, obviously, nice family, my family supporting me, having having an older brother just um shout out, brandon shout out to Brandon Gonzaga, lewis and Clark and my younger brother too, of course. Just family.
Speaker 2:Oh, shout out to Levi especially Brandon, just cause we're able to always um, like work with each other, piggyback ideas on each other. You know, just just talk baseball to each other and really pick each other's brain. See, see what we're feeling. Doing like hitting, hitting wise, like doing this or that. Yeah, just just helping each other out. It's been super helpful, for sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I think, uh, probably what Freddie was saying. Uh, it was saying that you know, don't work on something until you get it right. Work on something until you can't get it wrong anymore. You know what I'm saying. Like that's the strength they're. Like I'm going to work on it until you can't get it wrong anymore, not until you get it right, and then you stop and stuff. So, um, that's a good advice. Yeah, how about yourself? Uh, for me, it was always.
Speaker 3:it started in the classroom. Um my family, uh I value uh academics very highly and, going to a program like Pomona Pitzer, I feel like uh that my grades and my uh my work in the classroom opened a lot of doors, opportunities for me uh, you know, to go to the next level, and I think it just helped translate a strong mentality of working hard in baseball and, with the support of teachers, parents, coaches, I think that all comes together and really helped me uh establish that I was able to make the step to the next level.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think it's a totality of things. You know what I'm saying. I mean, I think you guys uh have mentioned both of you guys have mentioned family brothers, um, and and, and fathers and mothers and just family. Who has first of all taking you guys, signed you up in these leagues? You know, has supported you. They're there, you know, um, and you guys will do it one day. I know I do it now as a molder, but they're in the stands, whether or whatnot.
Speaker 2:you know it's cold, that's even like family, that's like not even blood related, like all the people like, say, the people we met in North Valley, coach Roger, like you talked about that already. Um, like them, like last year my parents were out of town, um, I forgot what. I think they were in Portland or Hawaii, I don't know where they were, but like they were, they weren't there. And then, like I look in the stands and I see, like D coach Roger, tim, like they're all there in the stands, like instead of them. Or even this year, like my um for homecoming my, my parents are in Hawaii. Yeah, so Tim and Tina came with me and took pictures for me.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I was like they were my sub parents.
Speaker 1:That's right.
Speaker 2:So it's things like that, like that type of family as well, yeah, like the baseball gear is not cheap.
Speaker 1:Yeah, baseball gear, yeah Well, yeah, once you get into it's kind of expensive and it's gotten out of control. With all these expense. I can't even buy a dozen baseballs over here. It's so expensive. Yeah. But family, family super key and uh, and you guys being appreciative and and having that knowledge that it takes a village to raise a family, you know, and, and and all these people around you and family and family friends who go support you in so many different ways, that's that's pretty, really cool. You know, um, do you guys have like uh, you know, you know. You know, you know, you know like uh, whether it be daily routines or visualization, like on game days, do you guys do something different that? Or eat like some shit or something Like? I know, I know baseball players are super superstitious and I know what I used to do, but what kind of gets you guys in the mind frame like we're going to war, we got a game today and uh, and I'm preparing this way.
Speaker 3:Um, you know, I always believed in like having a structure, routine. You know, uh, what I'm going to do in the day, how to plan ahead, knowing what's coming in the day. I think that's always helped me. Um, you know, I have practice today. When am I going to find time to work out? I'd have to visualize that before. But, uh, I think before games I like to clear my head, like listen to music. You know, nothing too crazy to get me uh hyped up.
Speaker 1:Taylor Swift or what that's an inside joke here. Not with you, though I should have said it with me.
Speaker 3:That's true, that's true, but like knowing the team I have to face. You know, I don't think I do a lot of thinking before the game, but like during the game, before I go up up to my bat, I think you know where are they positioning me, when has this guy been pitching to the guys before me? Uh, like, what do I need to do to succeed? Right here? I'm always visualizing success, you know, whether it be I got to get a bun down, I got a steel right now, or steel, uh, Whoa stealing. No, yeah, If we have a play on at least he's visualizing it you know he has.
Speaker 1:He has, like in his mind, 20 steals a year.
Speaker 2:You know mine only though.
Speaker 3:Whether it be like a pick off attempt, I got to visualize that I'm going to make this happen. I'm going to make this out and I let my body do the do the rest. You know, when I go up to bat I don't think much, but I just focus on my approach.
Speaker 1:Um, I like how, when you said that though you started laughing almost. But that's the good friendship that you guys have, ragging on each other and stuff you know, because you're like okay, wait, we've been competing, I mean, we've been playing against each other a whole lot.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we've known each other since we were four years old.
Speaker 1:We went to elementary across the street I remember playing cornhole back here and you guys were all over each other.
Speaker 3:We would have won, we would have won, we would have won. Oh my God, it's like.
Speaker 2:TC Tyler with us too.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, Shout out Tyler Walton.
Speaker 1:Yeah, shout out Tyler, who hasn't come here in a while, but I see him also. Uh, I think committed to UCSB, correct?
Speaker 3:Yeah, good for your family. I saw him on Friday. He was at the Alameda game against Gresby. Yeah.
Speaker 1:He's doing great.
Speaker 3:I also put my trust in God. You know that he's going to guide me, keep me safe, but I know he's got my back and I just let the environment just just roll. You know, just play free, play loose. That's, that's how I do it. Good, good, how about?
Speaker 2:yourself, tyler. Um, for me I wouldn't. This isn't necessarily just game days, but like just it's just school days. In general, I'm very routinely like I do the same same thing, like same thing every morning, same order. I don't go out of order just cause I don't know. It just feels like it's a weird start to the day. If I don't do it, like I'll wake up. It's kind of weird, like go to the bathroom and then go downstairs and do the same thing, like same thing every morning. And when I get home from school I gotta do the same thing before I go to sleep too. It's all the same thing every time, like same routine, yeah. And then on game days I don't really have any like special things. I do before every game or eat the same thing. The main thing for me.
Speaker 2:I I started doing this. They started emphasizing this this year, at least our coaches. I know James started doing this, but I've heard this before from Freddie too. Just sort of what James was saying of visualizing success in a way of this is mainly with hitting, so not necessarily of what's going to happen, but something that has happened already. So you're replaying, you think of a moment in your head where you. You want to do something like you smoked a ball to right center in the gap for a double you. You constantly replay that video of you doing that in your head, or even you actually physically watch the video of the film you have hitting that ball. Whatever like feel, feeling that swing, and like feeling that that good feeling basically, cause it's like getting it in your head basically, and just that constant replaying Cause Freddie had told us that too just envisioning you like succeeding.
Speaker 3:I remember that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's something I do. And then a main thing for me is just like some people like not as much in baseball but in other sports, you know you have to get like all fired up and like fire me up, Me is more like kind of what James was saying to you, like just staying relaxed and cause um, like our coach always is like smooth as fat or slow as smooth as fast, basically, and like how the game will bring the energy.
Speaker 2:So just like just staying relaxed and composed, cause obviously when you're hitting can't be all tense things like that.
Speaker 1:Just who said that? Slow, smooth, smooth as fast. You guys know like the action.
Speaker 2:I don't know.
Speaker 1:I just heard I think it was Wyatt Earp oh, really, I think so. I think it was he was talking about back in the day, when they were the cowboy days, of when you draw your gun slow, smooth, smooth as fast.
Speaker 2:Oh, is that what that refers to? I think I had. No, I just heard that.
Speaker 1:I think I've seen that. I think you know I would have to double check, but um, I see I've heard that before and we used to do it in law enforcement. There was a sign up there and I said Wyatt Earp, but I think that's one, that's the same. There might be another one, but yeah.
Speaker 2:That's another thing. It's a good one.
Speaker 3:Breathing To build off guys, like in winter and fall. I would do the same thing every day, like go to school the same, I'd eat the same thing, you know whether it'd be like a tuna or chicken sandwich and then practice and I come home, eat dinner. It would be the same thing every day and I didn't really get tired of it. But it's just because I think growing up we both had our family that had like developed a strong routine in us that we had to do the same thing every day to develop the good habits that we didn't get sick of it, we didn't burn out, and I think that's a great factor in both of our success.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you know what? And one of the things is for you guys is that everybody's different and everybody does things differently. That works for them, which is great, and I just want to emphasize that, that to anybody listening, any players, what? Now you don't have to do exactly what Kai kind of does has a routine and James does a little bit different. You know you can build on your own thing, but there are some key factors to take away.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's just like finding what works for you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what works for you. But one of the key factors I took from both of you guys is consistency. Right, you're talking about eating certain things. I mean, what you put in your body is your fuel, and I'm sure on game days, you guys ain't putting a pizza or hamburger down. Maybe Kai is over here, yeah honestly.
Speaker 1:But you know what I'm saying. Yeah, that's true. What I'm saying is I know you guys consistently work out. I know you guys consistently put in the work to get better. I know you guys consistently do this, whether you eat pizza, or whether you eat this and that or whatever kind of food you're putting in your body. You know you guys are still kids and so you're going to have fun and enjoy what you need to enjoy. But everybody growing up in regards to getting better, it needs to be on a consistent basis, no matter what, right. Yeah, and I'm sure, on your guys' days off and times off, or summer, when you guys don't have game for two weeks, you guys are still practicing all the time on your own. When school or so-and-so or nothing's going on, you're with your brothers, you're over here with Kai or your dad.
Speaker 3:Or here, yeah, here.
Speaker 1:Or here, or with David Lust, shout out to David, david, or wherever you guys are doing, and both of you guys obviously took a different hitting approach as well. I know you go to David Lust, james, to hit. That's your man, that's your guy, right?
Speaker 2:there.
Speaker 1:And then you more than anything.
Speaker 2:You don't have anybody yet. It's more just working it out. It's fitting for me, just with me, and Brandon just working with each other, correct, yeah?
Speaker 1:Hey, I was kind of like you, kai. I didn't have anybody. My coaches that were my coaches which I had great coaches, thank God, in college are kind of the guys that guided me in like a swing path and whatnot, and then I just learned on my own, you know. But there's both approaches and that's why both of you guys are like. Both of you guys are like ying and yang a little bit. You know One's shorter, one's taller, one's slower, one's faster. You know one's super smart and math. The other guy grinds for it. You know what I'm saying. One has no hitting path. I'm not saying that you don't grab it, but you know that one doesn't have a hitting coach, or doesn't really have one, and you do and you have, and it's just a little different, and that's good.
Speaker 1:That's good, right, one talks a lot.
Speaker 3:One does it. Who's that? Who's that?
Speaker 1:Let me ask another question, just so, I mean and then we'll go down into your best advice but how did you guys go about getting seen with these colleges nowadays? I know how it was when I was growing up, but what was your approach, James, in regards to how you and your family chose to explore yourself? You know, get out there and have these colleges look at you.
Speaker 3:And then obviously the same question for you, Kai, after I'm not too big on like the camps and the showcases, but when I played Giants they're a very good program and they pulled a lot of high level coaches, high level programs and I think if there's like, if you're in an environment where college coaches are there, I think that if you want to stand out, I think, like your body language is most important. You know communication, how you present yourself, how you react to failure. I think they want to see a guy that can hit, hit bombs and you know make, make nice plays look smooth. But the little things I think is what is more important to them. You know how you swing at a bad pitch. How are you going to react next pitch? Are you going to adjust? How you react to success is also important. You know you hit a double act, like you've been there before, or how you're going to build off that for next step.
Speaker 1:That's funny. You say that really quick. I don't want to cut you off, but it seems like even in the big leagues well, more than anything in the big leagues these people act like they haven't been there, and I know it's fun you know you have fun Double Silly's, yeah, yeah, oh my gosh, I mean you know. But like I'm like what in the hell's going on? But like that transfers into over into like the little ones. You know what I'm saying yeah, it's yeah.
Speaker 1:Because I know my nephew shout out to Luke. Luke Salazar, he's a little stud but he will go and he'll get a double and then he does some shit. When we played it, we played Bishop.
Speaker 2:Gorman, this last Saturday it can hit a double. It wasn't even hit that hard. Like barely squeaked over to the left fielder and he I swear he had like a minute double, so like wouldn't stop like dancing and our pitcher goes. He goes there first time hitting yeah exactly. And then he strikes out the next two guys and sorts the dugout.
Speaker 1:Like it was so hype, exactly.
Speaker 3:Like nice and ten.
Speaker 2:No he doesn't go there anymore.
Speaker 1:That's part of it. Like it's cool, though I mean it's part of your guys' generation, Right, I you know I'm just one guy from the outside, from the old school that we didn't do that. You get the second fucking hate. See you later. Let me score jobs, not done kind of deal. But I know you guys get that as well and it's cool.
Speaker 2:That's kind of like yeah, there's pros and cons, there's pros and cons it could bring, like you said with the little kids, like it could kind of trickle down. But it also I like how it brings like a more, like a fire to base. Like I'm more I think it's brings like it fires up the dugout. It makes it competitive, cause after that our dugout was like like screaming to the other dugout and just makes the game more intense. Like it's, it's, it's fun.
Speaker 1:And baseball needs it. Yeah, let's just keep it real. I mean, we play baseball and sometimes you talk to people that are like I don't know baseball's too long, or? This and so it kind of brings something, Cause the other sports are kind of fast based football, basketball like the main sport. It's still a difference.
Speaker 3:I don't think like double silly, like something like that shows that you haven't been there before. I think it's just like something that's cool. I'm green with you guys that. I mean you could do a double silly in front of a college coach and that looks cool, I mean you know, like nothing, like 10% to extend.
Speaker 2:This dude was straight up. He's like a whole, like it was so long.
Speaker 3:I think the little things matter but a plain heart.
Speaker 3:No, yeah, sorry, it's all good, like the hitting the balls hard situations. You have runners in scored position. Are you going to get that run in? Yeah, I think when you're playing in front of coaches, they want to see how you react to things. You know hustle Are you? Are you jogging out to your spot? Are you sprinting out there? Are you stretching? Are you getting there on time before the game? Yeah, and because that all shows like where your mind's at, you know, like we were talking about your routine, your routine. If you don't have a routine, you know, yeah, what about yourself?
Speaker 1:What do you think got you there? What do you recommend getting seen my routine process was a little different.
Speaker 2:Like I wasn't. I went to a couple of camps. That wasn't really how I got recruited. Yeah, much of my recruitment and interest came from Twitter, yeah. So just it started off with just emailing schools. We, like my dad or we might, me and my dad we put out a list of schools, basically, and we basically have like a template, or like we wrote a template to, where we just switched the coach's name, the school and obviously like why you're interested. But like so we'd say like introduce yourself, say you're super interested in the school, like who you are, where you go, what like, what, what make, like kind of player you are, sort of thing. Just a brief introduction and just to show your interest in that school. And we like go down a huge list of schools and just re send it off. So it started with that. And then, honestly, you send it's like 30 schools who get like maybe two or three responses, but that's something. So then you do you obviously you can keep communicating that and then it just came from them. That just puts my name out there.
Speaker 2:And then on Twitter, like I had a pretty successful year last year, so I posted it on Twitter last year. And then that's how I got a lot of interest, one from coaches, because Twitter became more popular, obviously because of COVID. I mean that's all you could see. That's how you could get recruited during COVID Just a video. So video was a big thing for me. And then, because that's even how I got on SoCal Giants, the Christian Fick, like he saw my video, he called me, reached out like that's how it's so much of my recruiting was from video, yeah, and then SoCal Giants helped out, obviously playing, yeah a little bit, but I mean, yeah, because you get to play in front of a lot of those coaches, but it was more, that was just.
Speaker 2:that was better, just because you got to play against good arms and good competition.
Speaker 3:Everyone there is pretty solid obviously yeah, the Ficks do it well yeah.
Speaker 1:So, great guys.
Speaker 2:Yeah, mostly from Twitter. Yeah, Just straight up video.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And then I know there's two different paths here that you guys took a little bit Obviously one sending out stuff, reaching out Twitter or whatnot. What do you guys recommend now? For, I mean, you guys, this is your last senior year, but what do you guys recommend? I know there's no one way to get where you want to be, but if you can give some advice, would it be. The Twitter would be a different. Would you do it differently? Or what would you guys do to offer advice to get to the next level for a youngster?
Speaker 3:I failed to mention that I also did the email stuff in Twitter.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's the best way.
Speaker 3:Exactly yeah.
Speaker 1:Did you do anything different? I mean, that's pretty solid the way it goes.
Speaker 3:I think it's pretty solid. I think getting out there and playing and just getting the exposure of just playing and just getting better, I think the video is really important. Yeah, I mean, I sent a video to the Giants and I think that's one of the reasons I got on the team and then I went out to Arizona and that's where Pomona saw me and now I'm going to go there, so it worked out pretty well. But yeah, just, I don't think I would do anything different. I would maybe just like, if I could go back, I would work a harder you know, knowing what I'm struggling at make a couple of adjustments, but as a recruitment, I think I did everything I could have to get seen.
Speaker 2:I think my dad kind of hounded me on this just because he went through the whole process with my older brother. Yeah, because Brandon started late and then he tried to get me going early but I kind of just didn't. I mean I started earlier than Brandon just because Brandon was super late, but I still wasn't that early. I'd say I think just reaching out early and putting your name out there early is super helpful, like, even if you're a freshman, just reaching out and getting like the early, like sophomore year early, yeah, like sophomore year, like introduction, just who you are. I mean, most of the responses will be like we're looking at the class above you or the class above you.
Speaker 2:Basically Like it's just putting your name out there early and then I mean, yeah, I think video is super helpful. I mean it just makes it so anyone can see it and that makes it a whole lot easier instead of just going to a ton of camps. But I think for me I didn't really know what school I like. If you have a specific school you want to go to, I think going to the camp obviously would be like a specific schools camp, not necessarily like a mass camp, like a show ball where there are a ton of schools. It's more like if you know what school you want to go to and try to figure that out, you figure that out early. That makes it easier because you could just go to that specific schools camp, so that can make it easier.
Speaker 1:They can look at you there and see you and get to know you and all that yeah that's good. Yeah, I've always. You know, we did it differently back then, but I mean, I guess it was just showing your numbers and we used to reach out with, I think, video tapes like VHS tapes and then email? We didn't even have email, we wrote a letter, yeah, and then you'd get letters back.
Speaker 1:It was pretty cool. I wish I would have kept some of them. What is baseball? What has baseball like throughout your whole life until now, your senior year? What lessons has it taught you? What has baseball meant to you? What has it taught you? Yeah, and what do you credit baseball for?
Speaker 2:I mean I feel like most people will say this, but it's probably true. Yeah, failure, I mean everyone says baseball, teach that because, like Dionne Sanders said, like oh, baseball is hard to do because you fail seven out of 10 times but are still considered great, sort of something like that. I mean, obviously baseball is hard. You do have to deal with a lot of failure. You get out two out of three times, but that's still a good day, but it still sucks also.
Speaker 2:I think it also teaches you, I mean patience, because and you really have to you're not going to get a ball. Or, like in football, every play you do something, there's something happening, but in baseball, physically, there's not something you do, but like mentally, it's just. You have to stay mentally strong. You have to stay one or in college, obviously, nine innings, but one through any one, through seven. You have to stay locked in mentally just because it's such a long day, and you have to like.
Speaker 2:We'll always talk about vision, or not visualizing, but like taking like or visualizing plays in your head of what could happen, just so you're all. You know what you're going to do when it's happened. So you know, run on first and second. You're like ball hits me, where am I going with it? Or ball to my left, ball to my right, fly balls. You're going to tag things like that, just staying locked in mentally and always being ready just because they're. I mean, people always say there is a lot of like standing around, I guess, and baseball and you just always have to be ready though. So staying mentally strong is something that is something that baseball stopped me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what about yourself, james?
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, I totally agree. I would say mental toughness, especially in high school. You know we play after school or we leave during school. You have a bad test or you're missing an assignment. You get a bad grade on a test, how are you going to like wipe the page, clear your mind once you step on the field? I think mental toughness is the game is 90% mental. I think Yogi Berra said the game is 90% mental. The other half is physical, which, if you do the math, doesn't make sense.
Speaker 1:But that's Yogi Berra for you. Yeah, math guy doesn't make sense.
Speaker 3:It's vice versa as well. You know you have a bad game. How are you going to react to a test you have the next morning? Are you going to study or are you going to be discouraged, like when life speeds up on you? How are you going to be able to react if you really want to play this game? You know staying consistent with workout plans, diets. I think it's taught a lot about the mental aspect of life in general. You know positivity. One thing, like Kai said, is you fell two times out of three. It sucks. How are you going to stay positive, knowing that like hey, that's, I can get better?
Speaker 3:you know, staying positive, I think is extremely important, and we lose sight of it because if we're having failure and if, when we're having success, we're too positive because you know we don't want to get too high on life, because we know it's going to you're going to fail.
Speaker 1:The game will humble you. It'll humble you so fast. Yeah, I'm just speaking of that. Speaking of of adversity and failure in baseball and what it teaches you. Tell me a story or something, that an incident that you guys have had to overcome adversity or whether it be on the baseball field or off or whatnot, or any kind of failure or adversity, and how you guys did it, and anything you recommend.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we've talked about it a lot since I started here in 7th grade, 8th grade, I was always told that I had potential. I was an above average baseball player, but my physicality was in the dumps. I was below average speed. I mean, when you met me I was awkward, I had no feet work on that stuff.
Speaker 1:You moved differently.
Speaker 3:My first step.
Speaker 3:I just lacked confidence in my physicality, like I, said I wouldn't take doubles and triples because I was scared of getting thrown out. And I think when my future high school head coach said, hey, you're going to have to scratch and crawl if you want to get this spot. You're going to have to work at this every day, you telling me you're going to have to work harder than everybody else to be that guy. I think once during quarantine I really focused on that. You gave us the diet plan and the training exercises and I think that's where I started making great strides. Yeah, you helped me build my way up. I'm stronger now and I think that was always holding me back and I overcame it just by your help, the help around me and just wanting it for myself as well. I didn't like seeing myself be like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think the biggest thing that I just heard you say is that you didn't believe in what everybody else was saying. It was factual, it wasn't like it was, but you didn't think like, oh well, they're saying that Then I guess I can't do it or I'm not going to. You said you know what, well, I'm going to get better, I'm going to do something about it. And you stayed consistent.
Speaker 1:I think the biggest sleep I remember is you couldn't do a push-up or you couldn't do it correctly. And then I said well, go home and send me a video and do push-up and then start button by one, by one, by 30 days. You were doing all these push-ups and then I'm like jeez, this guy's texting me every day. I was just messing around and you did it and I'll tell kids to do the same thing, other kids that need some stuff and they don't stay consistent. You were consistent, you're consistent now and because of the consistency and the mindset of I'm not going to let that affect me, I'm actually going to get better is why you're at where you're at and hitting the home run yesterday, congrats, hit a bomb and I think you hit a bomb before that, like last week.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I hit one against Valencia and then the week later against the Pagans.
Speaker 1:Damn throwing those schools down, Valencia and who's the other one? No, no Maybe you should find out. Mess around and find out. Why did I say mess? I like to curse on this one. Fuck around and find out. There you go. Yeah, kid, don't change who you are. I mean, obviously somebody said, hey, you need to get bigger, you need to get faster and get better. And you said, ok, fuck it, I'm going to do it. That's all it takes. Hard work. How about yourself? Any adversity here that you've overcome, I mean?
Speaker 2:a challenge I faced my whole life is I've always been undersized. I've always been the shortest guy on any team I've played on, In any class whatever, Always been the smallest dude. But my dad would always tell me that means you've got to work twice as hard. And I think I mean that's something I've done Because I knew, I've known that I'm never going to be the base dude but I always try to be the strongest physically. I guess, like lifting has been a huge thing for me. I've been, I think I've always worked out my whole life. I think this last summer and the fall, that's when I've really started really lifting and that's where I felt my strongest in the fall this last fall. So I think, yeah, that challenge of being undersized has always been a thing, but just knowing that always in my head I've said that literally means nothing, Like it has never been an issue for me. But yeah, just, I think that's the challenge of always.
Speaker 1:Yeah, welcome to the club. I've had a deal with them my whole life. But I think you're right. You and I are a little bit alike in regards to leading off playing ball, being undersized, and I'm like, OK, well then, I guess I'm just going to get on fucking base every time.
Speaker 2:It doesn't matter, it'll show you I'm here and be a nuisance to you. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:Like I'm going to be a threat.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like when I was little. They move in, they bring the outfit in, hit it right in the head. Yeah, exactly when we play them.
Speaker 3:We pick off like six times in a row, and then the next pitch. The first time we pitch he goes, you know what I'm saying, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:I don't get to talk to him at first anyway, One of the things, too, is I love about you guys is that and I've been doing this now for 10 years is seeing you guys grow, for where you guys are at, not only in mind in your guys' mind and how confident you are and how you've grown into young men, but physicality, how much better you guys. Both are right, and I think what I take away is from you guys and I love training you guys is the competitiveness that you guys bring. Like we have shit up on the board that will do some stuff. And then James comes in and goes what guy get? What brand did you get? What this guy get? And Kai's like oh shit, look at James, look at that.
Speaker 1:And then you guys are and there's several clients that I have there and you can tell that those people that have a competitive edge are going somewhere and the ones that lack, that lack like well, I don't care what he gets To me. I'm sorry to say this, but you've got to be competitive. You're playing baseball, You're playing any sport. It's a competition. This is a trophy. Trophy days everybody gets one, and I have a little bias on the days where people are getting rings. Right now.
Speaker 2:Everyone's a winner.
Speaker 1:Everybody's a winner and getting rings or everybody's a winner or nobody gets nothing. Nah, fuck that. You play. You fucking earned it. You should fucking get something. If you didn't, and you didn't try harder for next year.
Speaker 2:That's it.
Speaker 1:I mean, that's life. You know, the big dog eats the little dog at the end of the day, that competitive edge definitely comes from.
Speaker 2:like our family game nights get heated.
Speaker 3:You can't play board games in our house.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know Last time we played Cornhole here fucking. I think somebody had to do a cold pledge, or something Shoot.
Speaker 2:we won. You know I get competitive.
Speaker 3:Always something on the line, always something we won. But Kyle threw it behind his back into celebrating. It landed on the board.
Speaker 1:I don't even have to throw it, I can't even play golf and not play for something like for a drink or some money or something Like just little things. Like you're right, always got to play for something. That's right. That's awesome. Great stories, great advice. What is the word I mean success mean to you right now? I know it could change, develop and do different. You know, as you get older, everything mold and changes in your mindset. But right now, as a kid, as a senior or you guys are at what is the word success mean to you?
Speaker 3:Right now, success means like seeing the hard work that I've put in over the years come into fruition. You know, like this past summer up until right now, I did my best to work out every day In summer. I know I'd come here at 7 am and then I work at the gym after I go to practice. I'd see you at Alameda after and just getting stronger and just you know, maybe I didn't have the best results in the game at that time, but I'm seeing. You know the strength, the power, the it all come in right now.
Speaker 3:You know I'm starting to hit balls harder. You know the ball's jumping off the bat. I feel better with my first step. I'm getting balls that I didn't even imagine I could catch and you know shallow right field stuff like that. Seeing me work hard, studying all day, all night in school and seeing my grades come out of that and the opportunity that I'm going to get for the next four years came off, that I think it means a lot to me that you know people say, hey, just stick at it, just stick at it. My parents, you know, constantly saying stick at it, even when I get discouraged. That seeing that all come together, I think success can be defined in any way else.
Speaker 1:No, I mean you've extended your life in baseball for four more years. You know what I'm saying, and your parents and everybody get to see you play for four more years and then after that, okay, can you extend it even further?
Speaker 2:Because eventually baseball will be taken away from you you know, by age or by whatever.
Speaker 1:But you know the extension of that is amazing because you're going to extend it to another level and stuff. So that's awesome yeah.
Speaker 2:For me. I've been hearing the word success a lot, just that Notre Dame, because what's been going on. So I think the word success means achieving what you set out to do, like your goal. Like, for example, our teams this year it's like last year were pretty dominant, like I swear. I think we dominated every game.
Speaker 2:But this fall is a little different. It's been more of a challenge. And you know we keep talking. I mean, even the last two years in Notre Dame, when Brandon was a senior, obviously they made the CF championship and then last year they keep saying we've had successful seasons in the past but we haven't achieved our main goal of that CF championship. So I think, yeah, they've been successful and we've done a lot of great things, but we keep coming up short. We're right at the mountaintop but don't reach the top, sort of thing. So I think, yeah, they're successful, we didn't do what we set out to do and I think that's what success is. I mean, a successful season would be our goal we set in the beginning of the year back in the fall and then achieving that in the end, that would be a successful season. I mean, obviously good things happen along the way, but if you don't do what you set out to do, it's I mean, you still come up short. So I think there's still some unsuccessfulness there. You know what I mean?
Speaker 1:That's just what I've been hearing, cause we've been talking about that a lot in our name recently, just cause you know, one of the things I hear in life and just in general in people they always talk about happiness, you know, and they're like man, I just want to be happy. You know, success equals happiness and whatnot, and I go okay, well, like going to Disneyland, that's being successful. I mean, you're just happy you pay for some shit you're about, you know. So to me, being successful is overcoming the adversity. Like anything that you know, anything right, you can do a pushup or whatnot. You overcame it. You're successful cause you did that daily, Like achieve it, yeah, Any little daily thing right, Like today I woke up and I went for a run when and done that forever. We overcame it. You're successful in achieving that. And same thing in the longterm goal for the season would be, hey, reaching that mountaintop of, like getting the CIF championship or whatnot.
Speaker 1:So I always believe that success is daily and also longterm. But on a daily basis, are you overcoming certain adversities. Are you doing something that intentionally putting yourself and doing hard shit, I guess, and overcoming it? No, that's awesome. Now what would be some of the advice that you guys would give some younger kids, Cause you guys are seniors, committed already, and I know there's some people right now that are still undecided of where they're gonna go, what they're gonna do, or still kind of picked up. But I mean, I'm talking about sophomores, you and freshmen, even some kids playing. You know in middle school that they're playing on travel ball teams, but what's the best advice you can give them to? To get committed and extend their baseball career and education, more importantly, to the next level?
Speaker 3:Oh, I really think that getting good grades in the classroom is just as important. As you know, the hitting and pitching lessons, I mean. For me it opened opportunities. Like I said, it opened opportunities for me and Kai. But I think developing that strong work ethic in the classroom comes a long way. When you're playing the game of baseball, I think not cheating yourself is also really important. You know, you didn't work out today. Oh, I was too tired. No, there's someone getting better. There's someone your age getting better that has the same goal as you and, like Kai was saying that he always has to work harder, he always had to work harder. He was that guy that when someone would take a day off, he'd pass them up.
Speaker 3:I think, just like playing loose, everybody right now, like that's trying to go look for colleges, is playing stressed. You know, oh, I have to do good, no matter what, or else I'm not gonna go to college. I need a good Twitter post, you know. I think playing loose that's what all comes down to. I think once I made the decision to go to Pomona, I played so much looser because I knew that my goal of going to college to play baseball was completed, but I still have to work. You know I have to represent that team in the program and I played loose and I'm having way more success, I'm having way more fun.
Speaker 3:I think people don't like when you use the word fun when you talk about baseball, because it's serious, but I think having fun in baseball just means like doing you, like playing loose, like I said yeah, exactly, stress free, you can't worry about what's gonna happen or you got a bad. I bet. Oh, what is my dad gonna say? You know I always used to think like, oh, my dad's gonna be mad. But they support us.
Speaker 1:Yeah, george, yeah shout out to dad you know how you shouldn't have sung at that pitch.
Speaker 2:But slowing the game down. Thanks, I didn't know that.
Speaker 3:Slowing the game down is just important.
Speaker 1:Shout out to George.
Speaker 3:You have to have everything to succeed. You know it's gotta be grades everything. You know you gotta be a good son, be a good brother. You know stuff like that that it really connects to the game of baseball.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's good.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's it I'm gonna get back to that. I think grades super important. I mean getting good grades. It opens the door to so many more opportunities. I mean it can give you more chance to get a scholarship just not even from baseball at all, just based off your academics. You can get money there. Or it just gives you a bigger window of schools to communicate with your grades, and that's super important.
Speaker 2:And then all you could do is really just consistently put in the work and never satisfy the sort of mentality Like you're always trying to get better, like you never yeah, you achieve one thing. Like you, I don't know you hit a certain squat PR or something, but then you wanna go beat that. You always like sort of what James said you're always competing at someone because if you're not working out, someone else is getting better. And like my dad always said that too, and just like always wanting to compete with someone, you wanna be better than the best guy, sort of thing like that. And just staying consistent is all you really can do. And, like you said, staying positive and play loose, that's when you play best. When, for me, once I started this hitting wise, I started simplifying hitting and just literally just thinking, just swing and just touch the baseball. That's when I started hitting best. So really just simplifying things and not overthinking, and just relaxing, staying loose, I think it's super important.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I like that. I like what you guys are saying, just playing the game. You know what I'm saying, not overthinking things, and I love that you said a lot of people will see somebody who's better a pitcher that's throwing so hard, a team that's better and they're like oh, we're gonna lose or we're not gonna play.
Speaker 1:You should wanna face that dude Like you wanna beat that guy Dude, you're like I can't wait to play, that we might get mercy, but I wanna face the best of the best you need that FU mentality, like I'm better than you, like I don't care what. Or I wanna see where I'm at. Like I don't care who you are.
Speaker 2:Like this is the sort of thing we always. You're facing a big time arm. I'm like I don't care who you are. Like I'm gonna smoke a ball off you Like it doesn't matter, like it shouldn't matter.
Speaker 3:And if it's like my first time facing this big arm he hasn't proven to me that he's good. I gotta get a double off this guy. I don't care.
Speaker 2:I don't care who you are, where you're going, you're big time Like I don't care, like it's me against you.
Speaker 1:Me against you sort of thing. Yeah, yeah, and that's the difference between somebody. I believe that's obviously going somewhere and whatnot, because you're not saying. All you're saying is I wanna compete against the best.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And I wanna see where I'm at and I'm confident enough that, hey, you gotta throw the ball around the plate. And I'm confident in myself that I'm gonna give it the best swing and let's play where we're at and instead of like the whole team goes four for four, Like it's a shitty team or shitty arms and you know, like what good is that You're?
Speaker 1:like, yeah, we've looked in, we killed that team 20 or nothing. Everybody went for four, for four. Well, fuck, they had no pitching or their pitchers sucked or whatnot. It's like, does that really say that you're a good hitter, like? Or does it face him the best of the best and you went for four and the team went off and you're like, hey, we're fucking pretty good over here.
Speaker 2:Yeah. You know, you wanna face the best dudes.
Speaker 1:Exactly Face the best baby.
Speaker 2:You wanna face me?
Speaker 1:I swam always. I swam always like trying to put us some shit over here and see if you guys can beat my time too, and I'm like oh my.
Speaker 3:God, you said you can't have beat me in the 500 meters.
Speaker 1:I can't beat you anymore. Not old now man Be 50 this year, boys.
Speaker 2:I wanna make schools ultimate athlete challenge. Yeah, I wanna see when you guys are 50,.
Speaker 1:Like how many years from now, 30?
Speaker 2:30 something years 30 something years.
Speaker 1:spare for that 30 some years from now. If you guys can put your name in my age, we'll put it on there. Let's see. See, I'm still competitive with this shit. Like fuck, you come back at my age and do it.
Speaker 1:We'll do it. Oh man, that's good, that's awesome. I'm gonna leave you guys with two things, obviously, to close it up a little bit. One very important that we Acknowledge the people in our lives that are important, and I'm gonna give you guys the table on that, a little bit of who you guys want to Acknowledge, of where your guys are at from your schooling, which is super impressive.
Speaker 1:You guys don't understand how hard and how important Grades are, and these guys have achieved that which is most important to go to the next level, to your baseball career, to your family and morals and values. And I know you guys do extra work outside. That's why you guys are here on this podcast, because not only are you guys great students, great athletes, great baseball players, great family people, but you guys feed and volunteer and do extra stuff for the needy, for the community In your churches and all these different things. That to be a young adult to do that and have that what you guys do, is amazing. So go ahead and tell me just the person you are who you guys Credit to and I know there's a lot of people, but it's okay.
Speaker 2:Go ahead. I think I mean I really credit to my parents of my family. Then, obviously, my parents raised me on the morals that I live by now and then, like I said, not necessarily just the blood-related family, but like the family that I've created through other things, like school, like my friends, like James and other people like that, how I've met them. We became so close, we're like family or do baseball, things like that, and like you know the same, like you said earlier, like it takes a village sort of thing, like just having that. That support is super, it's a blessing, obviously, and it's super I'm super grateful to have it and I've all that support. So I really only get credit. It's my family, yeah, sort of the person they they made me into, absolutely yeah good family too.
Speaker 3:Oh, family for sure, first and foremost. You know my mom, my dad, all they've done for me, my sister supporting me, recording me.
Speaker 1:You know, shout out, angie shout out Angie, who's a beast down, you know like she's in Europe. Yeah, she's starting studying abroad, living her best life from Cal Berkeley. So shout out, angie.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the tournaments, the camps, the workouts, the, the old one over four days. You know the struggle, the success. You know the gear they keep. They keep me updated with all that stuff. I think that's the most important thing that Anybody could have his family that supports him and anything they do. And I mean you know my mentors, coaches. You Wouldn't be where I'm at without you and, you know, without your support and motivation to keep going, you know I was at a very low spot when you, when I, when I found you and you made me a better man, a better person, thank you. You know my hitting coaches. My first hitting coach, david Armand Darry's, taught me a lot of like high-level advanced stuff at a such a young age to help me develop. And then, of course, my current hitting coach, dave Lusk. You know he was on this podcast.
Speaker 3:Another great guy, awesome, you know. I can't say enough about him. Broke down. My swing taught me a lot. Keeps me disciplined, humble, you know, knows what it takes. He played a high-level baseball, yeah, so he knows what it takes. He sees, he knows what he could see in me that he's seen in himself. Yeah, just we. I love, I love that guy. He we nerd out on baseball. He talked baseball for like hours. Yeah, nobody can stop us when we get start talking about Swings. You know it's always fun, it's always a good time. You know he's done a good job with Jaden. Love Jaden, yeah, kid, yeah, we play with he's on the Giants with me and kind shout out to Jaden Lusk.
Speaker 3:And then rigs, coach, riggs you know Riggs. Yeah, I don't know. I don't even know what's that. Like he's been, like he's coached me.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's how six years old. Yeah, he's coached Kai. Yeah, I mean, I was so lucky enough to coach by him at such a young age. Yeah, every step of the way from 8u to 13u to now high school. He's my varsity head coach. Yeah, he's the guy that told me that I had to fight and scratch and crawl it to get to where I'm at and that's always stuck with me. Not many I don't think many people can say they've been coached by the same guy their entire career. So I'm I'm blessed. You know he always wants me to get better. You know, I think my baseball IQ has come mostly from him. Just my confidence. This he puts his trust in me in situations. I think trust goes a long way in any field. You know I trust Kai trust you. Yeah, that I know what you're talking about. You know Kai tells me something. I trust him. Yeah, and His attention to detail. Rubbed up on, rubbed excuse me, rubbed off. Yeah, he rubbed up on you.
Speaker 1:He rubbed up on you.
Speaker 2:His heart was mentality.
Speaker 3:You know His repetition. You know that's how you get better. You're the same thing till you get it right. Yeah, yeah, it's truly special. Love that guy to death. Yeah, excited for our last season together, you know yeah, that's super cool.
Speaker 1:I mean I don't know a lot of people. That's good. Is that one of the reasons you went to? I mean, you think because he went there or you were kind of going there and then it just yeah, fell into place.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I felt all worked out, it all worked out.
Speaker 2:See, anything's working out. Everything happens for a reason happens for a reason.
Speaker 1:I don't know who said that, but it's true. I don't know who said that white herpes said that too.
Speaker 2:Yogi Berra said that too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, both of them were wrong. Yogi Berra couldn't tell me he wasn't a mathematician. I guess we're statistics guys. Um, hey, I'm super, uh, I'm super thankful to have you guys on this podcast. You know it couldn't have been like. The timing is great because both of you guys are committed to get you guys on here. Uh, can't wait to see you guys play at the next level. That's super awesome that now I don't have to split time. See you both on the same team and play against your brother.
Speaker 2:Okay, Kai spring.
Speaker 1:This spring, oh yeah, actually we still got this spring. Oh play against each other during there.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm gonna burn them.
Speaker 1:No, notre Dame, baby Andy, good nights. Um, no, but I thank you guys for coming. Um, if you guys want to leave something, I always say, uh, a way that somebody can reach you. You guys want to plug in your uh either social media? Yeah, quick, yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Can I say one quote yeah, yeah, for sure, oh yeah, well, before we go there, uh, anything, you want to leave the the this?
Speaker 2:is some. I mean, uh, our coach is really into the Navy SEALs. Obviously, navy SEALs are sick. Who, Tom? No, uh, leface Okay, I thought he's Tom deal baby, but, um, he's into cars, yeah. Yeah, now he's into, uh, like this, like Navy SEAL not training, but like just like their mentality sort of thing. And this quote that he's been, that's been up on our practice plan every day, is that, um, like you know, they're saying rise to the occasion. Is it like people don't rise to the occasion? They they fall to the level of their training. So it's just like that, obviously, that mentality, just working so hard and just you'll fall to the level of your training in those big time moments. So if you're putting in the work now, it's basically like it'll pay off later. So I think, obviously it's it's fire codes fires me up, sort of thing. So yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think, uh, I think you're right. You know, you ever see those games where A team that's really dominant is so good and they Almost lose to a team that's not that good. Yeah, it's like they really fall down to that team. And it's like wait a minute, and then you play this high level team or and, and you're like you beat them and you're like how the, how the fuck did they play so good against this Team? That's really good and they barely beat this other team. That's shitty. You have to make sure that you, you just play your game and that fall down to that, to that level kind of deal. Yeah, it's hard to do because people just take days off in their mind. What do you think?
Speaker 2:Oh, it's cake walk, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Um anything with you oh yeah. You, james, got something to say oh yeah, you got IG.
Speaker 2:Yeah, once Kai Lando 10 K I L A N D O 10, or just look up kagan saga.
Speaker 1:That's right, just look them up. Just look them up.
Speaker 3:No, um, just one thing that I've been living by this past year Is that, like, the people that try to bring you down, just they don't got a reason to to bring me down. Like I don't, I got to listen to them and I think, uh, they only bring you down because where you're at, you know. One of the quotes that I really like is uh, I don't know who said it, but it said haters will see Jesus walk on water and say it's because he can't swim, so I like it just because the show is that like people are always going to find a reason to hate, to bring you down.
Speaker 3:Life always tries to find a way to bring you down and just you got to have strength through adversity. The wise man won't send that. The guy sitting across from me.
Speaker 1:And literally I am sitting across from you. This is another thing.
Speaker 2:This isn't has nothing to do with mentality or anything, but just like, necessarily, in the weight room I watched the florida gators documentary. That fired me up and like going to a failure. Game changer, yeah, it just like really pushed your both, like even like with brandon, what we'll do in the weight room is like, um so say we're lifting, like benching or something it. You'll keep going until there you can't get up, but he'll be doing most of the work. He'll just guide your hands up and you keep going.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's just like going to a failure, I think that it really is a game changer, I mean for myself and my age being later, I didn't learn that. I mean, you know, when I played ball was very competitive and a hard worker, but I always thought that I could do more. And and so I went to like, well, I can run a marathon. And I'm like, well, can I do a ultra marathon? And then I'm like, wait a minute, there's a 50-mileer out there. Can my body even handle that? Can my mind? What am I gonna do when it? And then, after that, I'm like, damn, there's a hundred-mileer out there. And so obviously, there's. Yeah, you know, like you said, is there a limit to failure? Is there a limit to how much you can go? Is there a limit to how much your mind can expand and your body can take? You know, and you keep pushing. You know, like you said, you know you just keep pushing like, oh fuck, he helped me out a lot on that one.
Speaker 2:But you're the next time. Yeah, you keep on. Mentally You're still pushing it all with all your force, but technically it's him. But yeah it really makes it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but sooner and later just be all you ever, just exactly. Yeah, yeah, your ig james underscore.
Speaker 3:quintaro 16 q I n t e r o 16 16.
Speaker 2:Yes, sir, that's it Yo go follow me. Go sage hands, go follow go, leave me a like At the call bit. At the call bit yeah.
Speaker 1:No, I mean uh, yeah, go follow him for sure. I mean, these guys have gone to the next level. I've trained some people here that were at the next level. Um and uh. You guys are the first to actually be here talking about it. I just started this podcast Two years ago and actually you guys are the first youngsters Um to be on here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you, but you know why?
Speaker 1:because I've seen the growth and I wouldn't be any, I wouldn't ask anybody to be here unless I've seen the change, the growth, the competitiveness, everything that that fits the mold of going to the next level, of being different, of choosing, of choosing intentional adversity to overcome, to be better and whatnot. And so you guys, um, do that on a daily basis. You guys have great families, great great tribe around you. Uh, I'm super humbled to always see you guys here work hard. There's never a time that I there's and that's the point. I see kids come in and I've never had to tell you guys and some other people that I train hey, you gotta go harder. You know what I'm saying. At times I've told you, hey, chill the fuck out, you got a game tomorrow like chill, we're not going that hard today, yeah Well you guys would be throwing up, for sure, you know I'll pull around here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and there's like sweat everywhere because James sweats like just sit. Thank god he's not sweating right now, but but you know, that's a great thing and a coach like when you don't have to tell somebody to work hard because they're always doing it that's awesome. If a coach has to tell you work hard and go hard and and we got problems, I'm motivated you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:Like I think Kobe said it said it best. He said if I have to tell you to be in the gym or I have to get you in the gym and fight with you to be in the gym, like we got problems. You know what I'm saying?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've heard this before. I saw it on tiktok actually this guy's all about quotes.
Speaker 1:I saw it on tiktok. I look you, the sick right.
Speaker 2:It was like he was like yeah, as it was like this, this dude that ran track. He was like yeah, each year the captain would say like a I'm motivated, or like hype the team up, basically before their big meet or whatever. And he went up to the team and he was like Motivated people don't need no fucking motivation. And then he was like If, if you need motivation to compete today, you're asked to stay at home. That's right, that's fine, that's lucky fire. Yeah, I was like yeah, you good sick motivation is a fallacy.
Speaker 1:Drive and intent and self-discipline is freedom and it. It liberates you into who you are and fucking your drive.
Speaker 3:So no, yeah, I can't wait for the next four years. We're gonna continue to motivate each other, push each other.
Speaker 2:We can't wait for this spring?
Speaker 1:No he's already moving forward. He's already moving forward.
Speaker 3:I already know what I'm doing against you, but no, I'm really excited that I get to be take away the butt.
Speaker 1:Take away the butt, no, but.
Speaker 3:But I get to spend college with my best friend.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's, it's crazy, it's yeah, it's a blessing, it's gonna be fun, you guys be fun and stuff it would be crazy for you. Yeah Well, good luck, you're good over there.
Speaker 1:Good luck on your senior year. Enjoy it. Enjoy Everything that has to do with school stuff. Enjoy your season. Enjoy your graduations. Enjoy everything that has to do. Enjoy your summer. Yeah, and then Keep grinding. Obviously, I know I'll see you guys here no matter what. I'll see you guys there on the field no matter what, and it's been my honor to host you guys here. Have you guys. Thank you guys for all the knowledge and experience you guys have shared with the listeners. I hope everybody Take a little bit away of what they've been and make yourself who you are. Um, I'm really proud of you guys and, uh, everybody listening. Just remember, you can't be broken.
