College Baseball Coaches: How to Develop Men, Not Just Athletes

Summary

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Most Valuable Agent with Matt Hannaford

Episode: College Baseball Coaches: How to Develop Men, Not Just Athletes

Release Date: October 1, 2025
Guest: TJ, Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State
Host: Matt Hannaford

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Episode Overview

This thought-provoking episode explores the deeper responsibilities of college baseball coaches—specifically, the vital role they play in developing well-rounded men, not just skilled athletes. Matt and his longtime friend and guest, TJ (Head Coach at Long Beach State), have a candid, wide-ranging conversation on the modern landscape of college baseball. They discuss the pressures of winning, integrity in a transactional industry, the impact of parenting and technology, the challenge of instilling core values, and how true success means more than trophies. Emphasizing authenticity, discipline, and intentional growth, their exchange offers practical wisdom and inspiration for parents, athletes, and baseball fans seeking more from the game.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Balancing Winning with Developing Young Men

• External Pressure to Win

  • TJ acknowledges the increasing pressure on college coaches to prioritize winning above all else, noting the transactional culture of sports today.

    “You're judged on winning and losses in our industry quite a bit, way more now than ever.” — TJ (02:28)

• Coaching with a Higher Purpose

  • Despite industry demands, TJ believes a coach’s real job is to prepare players for life, not just success on the field.

    “At the end of the day, our job is to develop men… to fight the fight in the real world. Life’s hard. Winning college baseball games is not easy. But that has to stay at the forefront.” — TJ (02:45)

• Authenticity Matters

  • Staying true to one’s values is critical, and players & families can see through coaches who compromise their integrity in pursuit of wins.

    “If those two [your personal and professional selves] aren't aligned… you're going to have a really hard time.” — TJ (06:49)

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2. The Changing Role of Parenting and Technology

• Shift in Parenting Styles

  • TJ comments on how modern parenting is more hands-off, often using technology as a substitute for direct involvement.

    “Now what parents are doing, they're using [devices] as babysitters so they don't have to parent because they choose not to.” — TJ (08:23)

  • He pushes back against year-round single-sport specialization for kids, emphasizing a need for balance and multiple influences.

• Host’s Perspective

  • Matt agrees, noting that every generation blames technology, but also highlights that distractions are at an all-time high. (10:14)

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3. Benefits of Multi-Sport Participation

• Real-Life Examples

  • Both discuss the long-term benefits of kids playing multiple sports, citing examples of top pros who excelled in several disciplines as youths.

    “Michael Garciaparra… played four sports as a senior in high school.” — Matt (13:06)
    “My boys play multiple sports. They don’t have a choice.” — TJ (13:33)

• Skill Development and Integrity

  • TJ reinforces that switching sports builds broader skills, discipline, and even different forms of integrity, all of which translate beyond baseball.

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4. Commitment, Discipline, and Intrinsic Motivation

• The Meaning of Commitment

  • Both speakers reflect on how families and athletes often say they want success, but shy away from the uncomfortable or unglamorous work it requires.

    “What are you as a parent committed to, to ensure that happens?” — Matt (15:55)

  • Examples: showing up when tired, finishing hard tasks, and not making excuses.

• Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation

  • TJ rejects the idea of “motivation” driven by external validation (e.g., rankings, wins, flashy quotes), instead advocating for deep, personal drive:

    “If you're not intrinsically motivated to just be the better person every day, then it doesn't matter externally what you're going to do, because at some point… you're going to fall hard.” — TJ (19:19)

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5. The Double-Edged Sword of Exposure & Rankings

• Early Rankings and Pressure

  • With the travel ball system ranking players as young as ten, there’s immense pressure on kids to seek external validation.

    “Their feedback loop is: okay, ranked high, feel good; fall in the rankings, feel bad… constantly being reinforced.” — Matt (23:13)

• Recruiting the Right Families

  • TJ stresses the importance of evaluating not just the player, but the entire family unit, since “co-parenting” is now part of the college coach’s job.

    “What we do is co-parenting at its finest. …We want the families with us as much as possible.” — TJ (25:11)

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6. NIL, Transfer Portal, and Building Something Greater

• Biggest Challenges in Modern Collegiate Baseball

  • New dynamics like NIL money and the transfer portal have raised the stakes and reduced patience and loyalty.
  • Matt and TJ agree that authenticity and a clear values-based culture can (and should) differentiate programs—even if it means losing some recruits to “quick fix” paths or higher offers.

• Vision for Long Beach State

  • TJ articulates that the “Dirtbag” culture is about more than nostalgia—it’s about timeless values, intentionally redefined for a new generation.

    “I can’t recreate 1989, but I can take page three of it, maybe ten, maybe twenty-two… but I have to redefine what Long Beach State baseball is.” — TJ (35:14)

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7. Defining and Teaching Core Values

• Toughness, Accountability, Loyalty, and More
  • TJ recounts his family’s and team’s process of crystallizing their values (TAL: Toughness, Accountability, Loyalty) and tying them to Biblical principles during Covid. This evolved into the “DIRTBAGS” acronym at Long Beach State:
    • Discipline
    • Integrity
    • Respond
    • Toughness
    • Brotherhood
    • Accountability
    • Grit
    • Selfless

  • “We try to raise our kids on [these values] in our home and in the process of building the culture of Long Beach State. That’s what we will be defined by.” — TJ (50:31)

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8. Communication and Listening in Coaching

• Evolving Role of the Coach
  • Listening is more important than ever because players come with extensive “teams”—families, trainers, agents, and private coaches.
  • TJ believes the best coaches focus on communication rather than ego, and embrace “co-parenting” models for holistic player development.

    “We are at a time in our life where we are co-parenting way more than ever before.” — TJ (51:18)

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9. Living and Leading with Integrity

• The Christian Perspective

  • Both TJ and Matt openly discuss their faith and wrestle with how to stay true to Christian and personal values within a cutthroat, money-driven baseball world.
  • Both agree that true leadership is rooted in unwavering integrity, even when it means missing out on quick “success.”

• Authenticity Attracts the Right People

  • Matt: “My edge… is really, I am fully committed to being truly me. And when I am, that… is going to resonate.”
  • TJ: “The expectation for me personally is that I live up to the standards and core values I’ve created for myself, and not deviate from that because it’s going to get me a result quicker.”

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10. The Power of Organic Growth & Letting Go of Shortcuts

• No Shortcuts for Kids or Coaches

  • Both speak against the culture of rushing development, emphasizing that sustainable growth—whether in life, business, or athletics—is never instant.

    “There’s no shortcut. You have to experience what this is going to be like. …He’s got to fail. So good.” — Matt (70:37)

  • TJ analogizes life to “driving through fog”: you might not see the whole road, but you trust and move forward step by step.

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11. The Case for Limiting Year-Round Youth Baseball

• If You Could Change One Thing?

  • TJ would institute a cutoff date limiting youth to play baseball only a set portion of the year, up to mid-teens, arguing for better family balance, health, and emotional well-being:

    “I would have a cutoff date for when you were allowed to play baseball up until a certain date… I just think it would benefit the parents. I think it would benefit families. I think it benefits the kids. All of it.” — TJ (76:36)

  • Cites examples of major leaguers whose kids don’t play year-round and attests to the lifelong perspective that brings.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If you can pour into the kids… there’s always been a first. There is going to be somebody who figures out how to be an attractive program in this world… I do believe it’s like, you’re gonna be challenged on—are you committed to that?” — Matt (05:48)
• “We coach… until it doesn’t fit your narrative. Then all of a sudden you’re disappointed… Kids are changing? Maybe. But it’s the parenting that’s changing, not the kids.” — TJ (07:23)
• “Winning has robbed the joy of our careers and jobs nowadays in a lot of ways.” — TJ (30:36)
• “I can’t recreate 1989, but I can take page three of it, maybe, and I can take page ten and maybe a little bit from page twenty-two… I have to redefine what Long Beach State baseball is.” — TJ (35:14)
• “If you know yourself, and you stick to it, everyone who wants to be associated with it will find you.” — Matt (68:09)
• “There’s no shortcut. …You have to experience what this is going to be like. …He’s got to fail. So good.” — Matt (70:36)
• “You talk about quicksand. I feel like I’m grabbing sand and it’s just running right through my fingers and I can’t slow it down.” — TJ (79:17)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Balance Between Winning & Developing Men: 02:04–04:02
• Cultural & Technological Shifts in Parenting: 08:14–10:35
• Multi-Sport Advocacy: 13:06–15:05
• Discipline, Intrinsic Motivation: 15:53–22:33
• Effect of Early Rankings/Travel Ball: 23:09–25:54
• Recruiting the Whole Family: 25:54–26:48
• Vision for Dirtbag Culture/Redefining Values: 33:32–37:35
• TJ’s Core Values & Culture Building: 47:18–50:28
• Coaching as Listening and Communication: 50:52–55:01
• Living Authentically & with Integrity: 61:03–69:23
• Year-Round Youth Ball: Pros & Cons: 76:35–81:34

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Tone & Final Takeaways

The episode is passionate, honest, and refreshingly real. Matt and TJ don’t sugarcoat the immense challenges in today’s baseball world, but their discussion is fundamentally optimistic and empowering. Their message: In a culture obsessed with quick success and surface-level wins, the lasting victory is in cultivating character, discipline, and community—on and off the diamond.

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For More: Watch the full episode on The Most Valuable Agent Youtube Channel

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Transcript

[Podcast Host]

All right, so we're joined by a guest who I've known for a long time.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

I'm.

[Podcast Host]

I'm grateful that I can call him a friend and also a returning guest to the podcast. Although you came on early, I think we were still the advocate at the time. Right?

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah, we were the advocate, or you guys were the advocate. And then it was just early on. Right. When I took the job at Long Beach.

[Podcast Host]

So TJ Is the head baseball coach at Long Beach. You played at Long Beach. After your playing time at Long beach, you actually were an assistant at Long beach and then went to Reno, where you were the head coach or. No, ucla. I'm sorry, how did I forget about ucla?

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

UCLA first.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

For five.

[Podcast Host]

Crushed it at ucla. Got the head job at Reno, went to TCU for two years, College World Series.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yep.

[Podcast Host]

And then got the head job now at Long Beach. So for everybody who obviously heard the first episode, we're going to get into some of the same stuff, but also kind of expound upon it and get into some other stuff. Here's, I guess, where I want to start it. So you are. Somebody. Having known you for as long as I have, as I think about what people think about college coaches, oftentimes it's like, oh, yeah, you know, this guy's a really good recruiter. He's a good baseball mind. He's, you know, charismatic. He's, you know, they kind of just think about it from a baseball perspective. And I would say that that actually does you a disservice, because not only are you all of those things, but I would say you're one of those people who. You're a better person than you are a coach. And I think who you are as a person actually helps you be more successful, not just as a coach as far as, like, winning baseball games, but as someone who I would kind of describe as a developer of a man.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Right. When you coach and you actually have, you know, you've gone on your journey, when you think about coaching these guys, how much are you aware of? Like, I am. I am wanting to pour into these people as men. Like, how do you balance the whole. I want to develop a human, and I want to win. How do you develop or how do you balance that?

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

I think it's hard. I think. I think it's hard in today's world, where it's super transactional. I mean, that's. It's really all about winning. Right. The. The. The industry tells you that. Now, unfortunately, the reality of life is telling you that you're judged on winning and losses in our industry quite a bit, way more now than ever. But I also. I think there has to go back to being a process about this thing. And I think what. What you were saying earlier is, at the end of the day, our job is to develop men and develop them to fight the fight in the real world. That's it. Because life's hard. Life is not easy. Winning college baseball games is not easy. But that has to stay at the forefront of what we're trying to do. And I think a lot of people do it a lot of different ways. Some people build trust early on, and they. They just give away their trust per se, right away. Some people, you know, forge it through going through adversity. I'm probably one of those guys that likes to go through the adversity on the field to gain and earn, you know, gain their trust and they earn mine. But it's. It's a really hard balance. And. And I will say this, I think it's even more difficult if you're not super aware of who you are and who you want to be. As we were talking off the air about putting parameters on yourself, and I think the minute you do that, you're going to have an internal slash spiritual struggle with yourself, and people end up seeing right through that.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, I can tell you just as an agent who's worked at different companies, who has experienced that, you know, this isn't the place for me. You know, what this company is calling me to be is not what I stand for. It's not what I represent. It's not what I want to be associated with. And so I can see how in a cutthroat world, in business of college baseball, it's very easy to put aside your values and to say, all right, who cares? I just need to win. Because if I win, it'll take care of itself. And that's something that I do think is rare, to have a coach who isn't just somebody who talks about that, but actually, like, does it. Right. And again, like, I would vouch for who you are as a human being. I've made that clear. And. And this is like almost a message for the parents, because having talked to these parents and actually hearing them describe what they want for their son, you represent. Yeah, a lot of those things. Now, there is a challenge in your position when, you know, we're in a new college baseball world, Right. We got the transfer portal. We've got nil. You know, I was sharing with you. I was at, you know, Fullerton. And I'm looking at, you know, I've had many guys that went to Fullerton, you know, Kurt Suzuki, J.D. davis. And these guys have won. They've won College World Series. They've won the. All the awards. And I'm looking at their stadium and I'm seeing all the championships on the, on their. On their. The side of the building. And I'm thinking to myself, how does a program like this survive in today's college day and age? And I wish I knew specifically what the answer was, but what. Where my mind and where my heart goes is just, you have to pour into the kids. If you can pour into the kids, those, like, there's always been a first. There is going to be somebody who figures out how to be an attractive program in this world that nobody sees coming right now. And so where I go. And again, I'm partially biased because I love you. And I went to Long Beach State, too. So it's like, I would love it to be this program, but I do believe it's like, you're gonna be challenged on. Are you committed to that? And there's gonna be an opportunity to be committed to it and to show everybody you're real. But there's also an opportunity to be like, maybe it's easier if I just, you know, do what everyone else is doing and just try to go grab the quick. The quick fix. Right?

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah. Well, I think too, like, on that one, too. I think the challenge there is there. There's a few different ones. It's like, okay, if I can be myself and I can really buy into that and buy into what I believe in, the third of them aren't going to like that because it's too challenging. Right. I think the battle right now with the college coach, in my opinion, I don't even think this is college coach thing. I think this is a. A professional thing. In any, in any realm that you're in or business. I think the battle is, is who are you off the field or outside the office? And who are you inside the office, slash on the field? Because if those two aren't aligned and or married, then you're going to have a really hard time. But I also think what you said earlier is right, if people want to be developed as a man, if they want their kids to be held accountable, be responsible, be disciplined, have integrity, then they're going to. Then they're going to come. My plug would be they're going to come to Long Beach State. Right? Because I do all that, and I do all that in a lot of different ways. And our staff does that in a lot of different ways. But here's the thing. They say they want that until they don't. You know, so all of a sudden it's like, yeah, I want my son to be coached. That's the one thing we hear all the time. Well, we coach. Right. A lot of schools coach until it doesn't fit your narrative. Then all of a sudden you're, you're disappointed or, and you don't like it. Right. And that's, that's, that's really the struggle because we hear all the time that kids are changing. Yeah, maybe, maybe so. But I don't know if the kids are changing as I'm raising four kids with my wife. It's the parenting that's changing, it's not the kids.

[Podcast Host]

So let's talk about that. How do you think it's changing?

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Perfect example is we, you know, we, right, weren't raised in a time where we had iPhones and tablets and Oculus is and computer stations with games and all this stuff. Well, now what parents are doing, they're using those. Our parents had to parent. I feel like, I feel like our parents were involved in just about our day to day life with the exception of certain circumstances or we played outside and the neighborhood slash community raised us. Yeah, I don't know if that's true anymore. I think parents utilize the Oculus, the indoor gaming systems to use as a babysitter. So they don't have to parent because they choose not to. Because they want to be on Instagram and Twitter and do all the things to satisfy their needs too. I think it's become actually in all, I think it's become a super self self indulgent world that we're living in. Society's that way. I think you're seeing it from any sports perspective. Right. Why are parents pushing their kids to do, to play year round sports, which I don't believe in. I don't, I don't believe in it. Yeah, I don't believe in playing baseball 11 months a year. And that's okay, I'm entitled to that. But why are they doing it? Are they doing it for the kid? Are they doing it for themselves to make them feel good, to relive their glory and, or the glory that they didn't get?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Like why are we doing that?

[Podcast Host]

There's no question, I think. So to your first point, about parents using this as a, as a crutch. Right. So they don't have to parent. Here's what I will say, because it's not that I disagree with that. I think there's a lot of truth in what you're saying. I would say it's all relative to the time that we're in. So as I think about our childhood. Right. What did we have that also was a crutch? The television. Sure. Right.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yep.

[Podcast Host]

And so if you compare us as kids to our parents when they were kids, okay, granted, they still had tv. It wasn't as prevalent.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

It wasn't in color.

[Podcast Host]

Right. But even like the grandparents, how is it for them? So I think every generation is gonna say the same things that you're saying. And there's. But there's a lot of truth. The reality is there's a lot more distractions today than there's ever been.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

With those distractions come the ability for a parent if they don't have the time. Because I think another component to this too is everything can be good up until a certain point.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah, right.

[Podcast Host]

Having access to a tablet could be used as a positive thing.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yes, very.

[Podcast Host]

But only if it doesn't turn into, you know, we're at dinner and every single day now the kid's like, hey, let me get my tablet. I want to play this game. And we all know those kids, right. Like, hang out with some buddies and we go to the pool at a. At the club and the kids always on his tablet and playing a game. Like, he can't even communicate with an adult. And so that parent may say, well, look, I'm doing this because I want to visit with my friends. Totally fine. But when it becomes a habit for that kid not to feel comfortable communicating with, with older people or whomever, naturally where I go is, all right, well, there's going to be some, some issue down the road that is going to stem from his inability to like, communicate like that. So to your point, I think what makes sense is it's the awareness of it. It's like, okay, for all these parents who are listening to this, I don't believe it's like, there's no right or wrong. That's for you to figure out. But be mindful as you kind of enter this travel, baseball, youth, baseball, college baseball space and ask yourself, what is my goal for my son? If their goal for their son is to raise a well mannered, hardworking, successful man, are the things that you're doing with these distractions helping him do that or are they taking away. And I know from your perspective as a coach, like, I See it even in my instance where, you know, as we communicate with parents, we've all talked to parents who aren't involved enough. We've all talked to parents who are way too involved. And then we've talked to everything in between. It's so difficult for us as outsiders to go into that dynamic and say, you're too involved, you're not involved enough. Right. Where I go. And again, it's the real point of this podcast is like how do I provide them with information?

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah, that's our job.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

And the story.

[Podcast Host]

Right. So they can take the information and then make whatever decision they want to make. And so again, you brought up playing baseball year round. It's one of the reasons why I've talked so much about like multi sport athletes don't not play a second sport because everyone else is playing one sport and you think, oh, we're going to miss out.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

You left behind.

[Podcast Host]

That's right. It's like there are benefits. And you know, we've talked about this with Michael Garcia para specifically. He played four sports as a senior in high school. And I think maybe even every year in I think his whole high school career, four sports, was going to Tennessee to actually play two. And that is such a rarity nowadays. So I think.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

But they all did, right? I mean, Phil Nevin was a football, baseball guy. Cal State Fullerton. Right. Nomar. Speaking of the Garcia Par family, Nomar was a football, baseball or soccer guy at St. John Bosco too. Right. I mean there's, there's a lot of them and it's funny and I don't mean to cut you off, but today you know why we're filming this? My son, my 11 year old who'd play both my boys play multiple sports. They don't have a choice. And I had one scout who, my 11 year old has a lot of friends. He calls them his friends. All the coaches that he are, he goes, dad, I'm gonna wake up and go see my friends.

[Podcast Host]

He says, I'm gonna go see my friends. And he's talking about scouts. That's great.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Morning. He goes, I'm gonna go see my friends. So he's ran across chow with the Reds and Jay Johnson and Chip Hale, like all these guys, Ben Orloff, all these guys that he'll tax like just because he's hilarious. He's been in the dugout for so long. But you know, today is once somebody goes, hey, where have you been? I haven't seen you in a while. He goes, oh, you know, I've been playing football. He goes, yeah, but do you have your bat and your ball? We'll go play catch. You. My son, 11 year old, he goes, no, it's not baseball season, it's football season now. And this the person that was commenting back to him, they says, that's the best answer I've heard in a long time around here. But it's true. It is. The bat and the ball's done. The last day was three weeks ago and we haven't touched it since because of what we're trying to develop. Whether it's a distant, maybe it's a different motor skill, maybe it's a different discipline.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Maybe it's a little more integrity that he. That in, in this sport versus that sport. Right. So I think I do, I do 100 agree with you. Going back to your point. Right. Our job is to provide information. Now in which how we do that and what tools we use to do that is up to us to provide that. But also what I would say too is when parents tell you what they want and what they're looking for and you are providing that, then why aren't they a going with you and or coming to this school? Don't then tell me why. Yeah, because most of the time they're looking for something that fits their narrative of what discipline looks like.

[Podcast Host]

Sure. No, I think at the end of the day for me, where my mind goes in this conversation is like, what are you committed to?

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Because I think a lot of every family listening to this, I have to imagine, says, I want my son to have the most successful baseball career he could possibly have. And that is a great goal. I would expect you to say that. But what are you as a parent committed to? To ensure that that happens. But what does that player. Exactly. And it's also making sure though, like let's actually, let's go through that exercise of. And I talk about this a lot. Like you say that you want this player. This is what your words, not mine. You said this. And here we are, the very first opportunity where you can sleep in. And you're not showing up to the gym today because you're tired. By the way, if you worked out seven days in a row, I totally get it. Be tired. You need to take a day.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

But if we're talking about like, oh yeah, you haven't worked out, but you're tired because you just hung out with your buddies all last night, don't tell me you're committed to be, you know, a first round pick or to Be a guy that's going to get a college scholarship. Don't tell me that. Because the guy who's committed isn't making that mistake. And that is a lesson that. So when you think about like, well, where do parents need to be and how do they need to hold their kid accountable? It's in those moments, it's not coddling them, it's not making them feel good all the time. As much as we all want to make our kids feel loved and supported, it's actually having the hard conversation. And look, I had a dad growing up who, he was a disciplinarian. Like I had to paint. So seventh and eighth grade I went to year round school. So you get basically like three months, one month off randomly in the, in the year. All my other friends at different schools, they're all having summer off and I'm going to school and sure enough, I had like the month of August off. And my dad tells me, he's like, every single day for the month of August, you are painting the house. When you get done painting the house, then you can go play with your buddies.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And obviously as a, you know, I'm like 15 at the time. I'm. What are you talking? Like, what?

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

No one else has to paint the house or do chores. Why don't you just let me go hang with my buddies? He's like, you're never going to realize this lesson until you do this. And it'll probably be in your twenties one day you'll call me on the phone and say, thanks for that lesson. You're painting the house.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yep.

[Podcast Host]

And there was no, like, do I think my dad wanted to be difficult with me?

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

No.

[Podcast Host]

He learned the lesson as a kid. Right. And so he felt like I needed to learn the lesson. And it's one of the things that I think about all the time when it's like, why do I enjoy working so hard? Because I had to experience when I painted the house now after I got done, we would look at the house and be like, look at that job I just did.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Sense of accomplishment.

[Podcast Host]

Yes.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

You finished. You started some and you finished it.

[Podcast Host]

Yes.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

And that's odd. Nowadays no one's starting anything to finish it. Nobody. We see it in our industry, right. The travel ball world, the transfer portal world. We're seeing it with these super teams that the pro teams are building now. Right now that may be a little bit different. Right. Because you're now you're, you're monetarily rewarding a lot of them. So that I understand that to a degree too. But yeah, the discipline part of starting something and finishing something is something else. But I want to comment more earlier, you know, you talked about basically what the player wants, they want and what the parent wants for their kid to be the best baseball player they want. But I would. I'm going to challenge the parent and the families even more. Is the word I hate using is motivation, because that is such an internal or, sorry, an external factor. Motivation is, is means to me that you're so motivated externally. So what does it look like actually to be the best baseball player? Does it look like hitting four home runs a day? Does it look like throwing 95 and punching out seven or eight guys? Or does it look like waking up at 7 o' clock every morning? Because that's, that's what that, that will help me in the long term versus the other stuff. And the other part is I use it all the time with our team is right. Motivation. Like, I don't post. We don't have fancy quotes, we don't talk about it. We've defined what the dirtbag culture is, but we've also defined what our house is too, internally. What does our house look like? And if you're not intrinsically motivated to just be the better person every day, then it doesn't matter externally what you're going to do, because at some point, in my opinion, you're going to fall hard. You can. And we've all seen that too. We've seen guys win national titles and the next day they're, they're, they're just as broken the next day, 24 hours later as they were before that. We've seen guys make 50 million, 60 million, 100 million, and all of a sudden, at the end of the career, they got all this money and they have nothing else. And they don't know what, why they're so there's something wrong with them internally, not wrong with them, but there's something challenging them internally. So I would challenge that to a family too. What really is making you tick?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Like, are you trying to be just the best version of yourself? Because at some point, if you're doing that, that's good enough.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Just be done with it. Right. But if you're trying to today go out and throw 95 and punch out 10 guys because my other guy punched out nine. I don't. @ some points it's, it's gonna fall. It's a sugar high. It's gonna, it is only gonna last for so long. And then what? Then you're gonna hop on to the next thing and then the next thing. And that's where I think. So I. My point to that is the blend of what, why? Also I think people are chasing certain things too. And why we are in the world that we're in right now with a lack of commitment, a lack of integrity, a lack of discipline to stay where they're at because they believe that what is motivating them internally is enough and they will be where God wants them to be at the end of the day, regardless of. Of what they think externally they're chasing.

[Podcast Host]

Well, so let's, let's step back on pack there. No, no, absolutely. But I, I love the comment. I think it's really fascinating and I agree with a lot of that.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Like there's sometimes workout, right. You work out, I work out. There's a lot of times I. There's no music going on in the weight room. It's a pure. Mentally challenged for me personally to stay focused, stay driven.

[Podcast Host]

So you do that on purpose?

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yes, because why. So I'm going to push harder when the song's playing. That's. That only lasts for three and a half minutes. Then what? Then what happens? So I'm going to pitch on a Friday night when the lights are going. And then what happens when I got a pitch in a regional at 2 o'? Clock?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Am I going to be less motivated? No. That means, that means you're placing so much focus on things outside of your control.

[Podcast Host]

So here's where I see this being really, really challenging for all the players who. I mean, this is. What you're describing is something that is so abnormal to what exists today. So let's talk about it, right? Like generally speaking, take a step back. Let's look at what has transpired over the last. Call it 20 years with the advent of travel baseball. So I think the first thing that most people think when they think of travel baseball is rankings. Right?

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Everybody's ranked. You know, all these programs they're playing all the time, they got to go win tournaments. It's this. It's just really. It's like its own machine. Right. And there is, I think with everything, there's a lot of good. There's obviously repercussions though, that come from that thing too. So these kids, you know, it's one thing to be ranked at 17, 18, it's another thing to be ranked at like 10. And so these kids who are being ranked at 10 years old, their, their feedback loop is. Okay, ranked high, feel good, fall in the rankings feel bad.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

External factors.

[Podcast Host]

That's right. So they're constantly being this whole like perception of what the world thinks of me is just now being reinforced every single day. So as the player moves through his kind of youth career, we'll call it, which it is a career now, it's crazy moves through that. There have already been countless instances where that player is now having been reinforced every single year from the rankings, from the travel ball coaches, from mom and dad, from the community around them, from the teammates, from any coach. He has a, you're the best hitter I've ever seen, whatever it is. And so naturally, when they get to a place at 17 where, okay, it's August 1st. I now need to talk to these colleges. All right. T.J. right. What are you about? I don't know how that player is going to, at that age grasp how important what your preaching is.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah, I would. But that's why you got to rely on the. That's why it's not only recruiting, as you know, in your industry, recruiting the player, you have to recruit the right families. It is so much greater in my opinion than about the family because what we do is co parenting at its finest. We are basically a divorce household. We are trying to. We need the parents and their support group just as much as they need us, in my opinion. That's how I look at it. And so when we bring people into recruit or visits, we want the families with us as much as possible. Because the player, they only care about what they're hearing. Right.

[Podcast Host]

That's.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

They. Most players just want to play. They just want to play baseball. They want to have a chance to win a job. They want to have a chance to develop all the things. But the families are going to walk out there with something way different than what the, the player hears.

[Podcast Host]

Sure.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

So I think as. As we're diving into that, your original point, I, I don't know how much of it resonates with the 17 and 18 year old, honest to God. I, I don't know. But also I think the value in it too is if A, can I get to them, can I get them to see. Understand the value of it? I think I can if they in fact stay long enough. But, but B is then it may not be the right place for them.

[Podcast Host]

Right. No, and that's. I agree with that.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Because there is a right place for somebody. Absolutely. And if you're gonna tell me that the sweet batting gloves that somebody else gives you because they have the school logo on, it's going to make you hit better, then you're. Then that's. I don't know if that's the right player that I want to coach.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Because that's not true.

[Podcast Host]

Well, so as I think about, and I think, you know, maybe college football is like a perfect analogy for this because everybody knows who Nick Saban is.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And I've heard countless people describe Nick Saban, well beyond their playing days as being a, A, A man that, like, changed their life. And you can think about college football programs that maybe the coach isn't so much that, but it's more about you come here if you want to go to the NFL. And so again, naturally, the guy that's the, the guy that is attracted to this school because, like, that's NFlu versus this school where again, also, I mean, arguably the greatest coach of all time in Nick Saban. I, I believe the reason why a guy like Nick Saban was able to have so much success is it's like what came first, the chicken or the egg. Did he win first and then got players, or did he pour into players first and then he won and then now he's got something built up so good that naturally it like, reinforces itself. And so as.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

I gotta have both, though, right? I mean, there, there's this, There's a reality to both.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, yeah, right.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

If you're one way, then this. And if you don't, if you're doing one and you're not doing the other, there's a negative and a positive do. If you're doing one and not the other, there's a negative and a positive to it, I think. Right.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I think, I think they do. They do, like, pour into themselves.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Both equally. Because. Yeah. If you, if you're getting the right players, then I would assume if they're the right players, they're also going to win.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And so then that does reinforce itself. But as I, as I think about again, in this, this new college environment where there is so many opportunities for players to say, well, all these programs are the same. They're giving me the most money, so I, I'm just going to go there. I think that leads me to believe there's an opportunity because at the program that's just going to pay them the most money, if that's really what it's about for that player, there is an opportunity for someone to say, you're not going to make the most money here. Like, I'll flat out tell you there is more money in other places for you, but there Is nobody that is going to teach you the life lessons that you ultimately need to learn? And I am commit. And this is where I keep going to the commitment. This is what I'm committed to.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

So they may be committed to getting all the transfer portal guys every single year. And it's like, good luck playing there.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

And maybe you're one of the lucky few and you're going to go there and you're going to play and your career is going to take off and you're the best player in the big leagues. I hope that that happens.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

But we here teach something totally different.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah. I think that's part of the process. Right. That, like, that's part of. Because at the end of the day, if you're chasing winning, which I don't want to say that nobody is, because we're all chasing some sort of success, but there has to be something greater than that. Yeah, there has to be. Because at the end of the day, Right. You have a ton of players in Major League Baseball over your career, but at the end of the day, when that player is done with playing, there has to be something more in it for you or you wouldn't be as successful as you are.

[Podcast Host]

There's no question. Keep, Be.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Keep doing it. Right. At the end of the day, if you're chasing a national title in our industry, I have one of those. But what happens the next day? I mean, we've all heard it. We've all heard the famous coaches say they're behind, as we were talking about earlier, because they did in fact play so long. They're more worried about the next year than enjoying the moment where they're at. Winning now has become a relief instead of a joy. Winning has robbed the joy of our careers and jobs nowadays in a lot of ways.

[Podcast Host]

Well, I think winning needs to be put in perspective.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah. So what is it? What's define it?

[Podcast Host]

So winning for me is like a wardrobe, right?

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

You put on the clothes and you feel good in the clothes. It feels good. When you win, you're like, again, it reinforces confidence. I'm doing something right.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yep.

[Podcast Host]

Wearing nice clothes. I feel good. Everybody's complimenting me on my nice clothes. Doesn't mean I'm a better person because I can wear a nice shirt. Right. And so again, and this is where I think about the impact that I know that your. Your building.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

In this game is winning is a byproduct of doing all of this other stuff really well.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

I can talk about waiting, but if we don't do this. That is never going to happen. So how many people and how many coaches are just saying, I am. Let's talk about winning. That's the only thing that matters. And you know what happens? We've all played for coaches like this. Like, that's the coach who is nice to you when you're doing good and then you're struggling, and he's a piece of garbage, and, like, really insulting, and you're just like, what's going on? Like, you know, breaking you down. And sure. You know, of course, every coach who does that, by the way, is like, you know what I'm doing? I'm breaking you down to build you back up. And you're like, yeah, sure. Like, there's a recipe to this madness. But that's where I. I do. I'm like, process that. You're building in real time. There's no shortcuts. It is a slog. You are walking in quicksand every day. Every day. And at some point, like, the clouds are gonna start opening up, and then it's gonna be like, I can see. And I. Like, I just. I. Again, going back to me being at Fullerton and looking around and being like, how is a program like this going to be able to survive in the nil space?

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And for me, it's like, it needs to be about something more than the wardrobe. It has to be something more than just winning because. Yeah, no one's going to go there. No one's going to buy it. Right. The coach saying, come here if you want to win. What? Like, yeah, in the early 2000s. Right. Like, I remember at one point, Long beach had more successful big leaguers than any other program every single year, these. And again, the dirtbag way. And I know, like, you're bringing that back, but for me, it's like. And this would be an encouragement that I would have for you. It's like, there. There are two things. There is the dirtbag way. There is what the dirtbag way used to be.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

If I'm you, I'm not trying to go back to what that was. We are building something new with a DNA that transcends generations. Working hard and doing the little things the right way. That's not a 80s thing. That's a life.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Life thing.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah. I mean, I think part of that, too, is to that point is that was one of the things. And I know what the dirtbag way is. Right. I played in it. But every coach in any sport has to define it in their own way. Now. I think what can happen is, do you have a playbook? Dave Snow, for us, has a playbook. He took over here in the fall of 1988. Dave Snow's a college baseball hall of Famer. He's one of the greatest coaches ever.

[Podcast Host]

Has an idea. You know, he's got an idea.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

He's really good. Right. And he's a special coach in person. But I also think what you have to do. I can't recreate 1989, but I can take page three of it, maybe, and I can take page 10 and maybe a little bit from page 22. I can't take the whole playbook because I'm not Dave Snub.

[Podcast Host]

I'll use a great analogy for you. We've all watched, you know, Mission Impossible one.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And then they come out with a sequel, and it's like, literally the exact same movie, and it's just different. How many people are like, yeah, it wasn't that great. Right. And name the movie. But the movie that is is when it's. This is maybe the same character, maybe the same idea, but vastly different.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

Right. And that's where I think you're smart for knowing that, because I think it would be a mistake to. Again, I think this is a mistake that a lot of people make, even baseball players. Oh, well, this player was really good for swinging this way. So let me just recreate that. Even though it's not really me, it's not really how my body moves, but it worked for him, so it must work for me.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah. And how much. I mean, how many times you see in our industry. Well, my swing worked here for 20 games, or maybe it worked for the last 20 of the season. Now I'm going to restart it again for next year. Well, your body's chest changed in the last six months or four months you've been off. You may have to restructure a little bit more. You have to retool. You may have to grow. Right. That's the term. You have to grow a little bit more. Your mindset would have to shift a little bit. So I think that's what, like, what we're trying to do is, I'm not Dave Snow. I'm not Mike Weathers. I'm not Troy Buckley. Right. I'm my own version of who I am. I have to redefine what Long Beach State baseball is. Right. And I have to not only redefine it, I have to define what it is, but I also have to attach the behaviors to those definitions. What does discipline look like, boom. Here's what it. Here's what it looks like. Here's the behavior of discipline. Here's exactly what it is. What's integrity look like?

[Podcast Host]

Boom.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

What's relentless look like? Or responding? Let's just. They are. Right. What's toughness look like? Right. Toughness in our area in 1989, way different than toughness is in 2025. So I think we. And that's hard for a lot of people. That's really hard for people from past decades and. Or past teams to accept. Why can't you just do it the same way we did it? I don't know. Well, why don't you dress the same way we did in 1989? Because it's changed, the style's changed, the wardrobes have changed, you know, all that stuff. So I think that's really. That's really what you're trying to define, and that's, in my opinion, that's what you're chasing. For me personally, that's what I'm chasing. I'm chasing what the dirt bags stand for, which is our own acronym. That's what I'm chasing every day.

[Podcast Host]

What if I. I want to challenge you.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yep.

[Podcast Host]

What's a different word than chasing? Because I feel like the idea of a chase is. You're never going to get it right.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

What are you. What are you attaining? What are you. Like if you're. If you're climbing Everest, what is Everest? Right. Because there's there that is attainable.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And that's something that I think.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

But I also think what's attainable, at some point there's going to be a new goal.

[Podcast Host]

Sure.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Right. Like coach. No. Always had the saying, we're never set. Right. So the point of that is, is that you're always working towards discipline, towards integrity, towards responding towards toughness, towards the brother. You're always working towards that. But yeah, to your point, too, is that's the hard part. Is okay. For so long, we, you know, me personally, I chased Omaha, Omaha, Omaha. Okay. So in 2012, I get there, didn't enjoy it. I didn't even take the minute to enjoy it. 2013, we got there again. We end up winning national title the next day. I just looked around, like, now what do I do? So what's the goal now? Do it again. That's hard to do, man.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, that's.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

That's hard to replicate.

[Podcast Host]

So I want to talk about a common theme, because again, I brought up that we had Michael Garcia Para on.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And he brought something up. And it was, you know, kind of the elephant in the room a little bit. Like, obviously, hey, he's a Garcia para his. His brother's nomar. And he brought up how, you know, it was a. It was a really big weight to carry because literally, people, even when he started gbg, was like, oh, you're. You're with your brother's program. And he's like, well, no, it's like my program, right? Like, oh, but, you know, it's your brother's name. And. And he said on the podcast, he's like, that's my name, too. And it's also my, you know, comes from my father.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

And so it's interesting because he said, I wish I would have enjoyed playing baseball when I was in pro ball. I was. I was so caught up in, like, I have to do these things. He literally said, he goes. When I came back from playing, probably I think it was like, the first year, he didn't want to go hang out with his buddy or. No, I'm sorry. Yeah. First year he don't want to go hang out with his buddies because he's like, they're all going to expect me to be in the big leagues, like, tomorrow. And I'm not in the big leagues yet. So, like, I'm embarrassed. And so what I do feel like is a common theme is the, the pressure that everybody in the industry is placing on themselves. And this is a common theme in life. Right. Nobody is ever enjoying it. So here's what I would like to do is I want to talk about. We've. We've already set the stage a little bit for how things are different. And I think we've articulated maybe in some bad ways. Right. Things have gotten worse in these ways. I want to talk about the opportunity that we have right now and how things while different. I want to talk about things that are better.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yep.

[Podcast Host]

And the things that come to mind for me is we have kids that are better physically than they've ever been now, partially because maybe they're doing things earlier. They are playing year round. The skill level is. Is certainly more advanced at certain ages than it ever was when we were kids. So that also could be a bad thing. But let's. Let's focus on the positive with that. Right. Let's also focus on the positive of. You've had the luxury of playing for some hall of Fame coaches and coaching under some hall of Fame coaches. You have an opportunity to take the information and guidance and mentorship that you've received over the last, you know, 15 years and now pour it into this next generation. I think that is a tremendous opportunity. It is only a tremendous opportunity, though, if you see it as one. Right. If you see. And this is like, this isn't just a message, I guess, for you, even the listener, it's, I think, all of us. And I've learned this through my own journey with leaving this agency I was with and starting my own and launching the podcast and really for the first time saying, I am not going to allow the critics or the voices who tell me it should look a different way to define what I'm going to represent.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

I'm going to define what I represent. And when I do that, people will take notice and people will want to be associated with me if it's what they're looking for and if not, what they're looking for.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

All good.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

Right. No problem. I don't expect that everybody's gonna want to be involved with. People are different. Right. It's totally fine. And so for you, I think it is supremely important to really understand on, like, a visceral level of, like, this is what we are about here and be proud of it. But recognize and give these parents and these kids a pat on the back, too, of, like, this is an exciting time. People have never been more prepared and never had as much information about everything than we do right now in all of history.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

That is a tremendous opportunity.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

Right. But with that comes a huge responsibility, and this is where I am excited for you, because with that responsibility comes many people who will never recognize it, be interested in doing it, have the capability to do anything with it. But I know you as somebody who, like, you are so committed to the real.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

That it takes that crazy level of focus for every one of these people who want that for their son to say, I don't know what it is about this Long beach stay, Coach.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Like, it's different.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah. Well, and I think that's what I think. And that's the. The irony of that, is that's how it was created. It was different.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

It was different back in 1988.

[Podcast Host]

Right. That's what a great reminder State.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Dave was different than everybody else. You know, Coach Garrido was different than everybody else.

[Podcast Host]

USC was this program that, like, that's where everybody who was going to Long Beach.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah. Dado was different than everybody else. Right. And I think you do have these separators now with that being said, too. I think you nailed it. It's about getting the people that believe in your Vision and what you believe in, you know, what do you believe in? What do you stand for? You know, and that, that for me is just as important in my opinion, than winning in anything else. Because here, here's because you are not for everybody. I'm not for everybody, but they've always said it, long time ago. Is what you use the term is opportunity. Every day is an opportunity, whether you. However you want to look at it, every day is an opportunity to get better. What, so what are you trying to spread? What are you trying to do? But I also look at. It's the opportunity to be who you really are. Right? And if people don't like it, then that's okay. Right? I'm not, I'm not working for them and I'm not, you know, I'm not trying to appease them. I'm trying to help this generation of student athletes and families understand that my main focus at the end of the day is making sure these kids are capable and ready to fight the fight in pro ball. Being a dad, being a husband, because that's hard. That's a lot harder than striking somebody out on a Friday night, right? I mean, I got four kids and I've been married almost 19 years. You're married, like, that's not an easy job. The easy job was going, just going to work back in the day, and that was all you had to worry about. That was easy. You know, so how we all do, it's always, always a little different. I'm a little bit more challenging. I like to challenge people and I like to challenge players because maybe that's how it was for me. Maybe that's how I feed off of things. But I do enjoy, I do enjoy that part because I want, I want to see. I am so intrigued because I think one of the most important things you can do in your life is respond. I think that may be the most important thing you can do. You have a chance to respond or react to whatever situation you're put in. And I like to see how people respond and people react. Right. Because so many of us just judge the external factor. Right. I. We all know what's being said about us out in the industry, right? We all, whatever it may be, I'm aware, oh, he's hard or he's this or he's that. Maybe, maybe not. But if you find the right person, they. They're going to say, I have no problem with it. But the expectation for me is personally is that I live up to the standards and the core values that I've created for myself and not deviate from that because it's going to get me a result quicker.

[Podcast Host]

What are those core values?

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

A lot of them. You know. So when I was at Nevada, what we did during COVID Covid was one of the best times for our family. I have four young kids, or they were younger then. And so we got to back away from. From baseball for the first time in a while. Right. So we actually entered the BMX circuit. Right.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, wow.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah. With my two boys. It was awesome. Right. So we were. I'm gonna tell you, Covid, where Covet did not live in bmx. It didn't exist.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

In the B. I mean, they just kept doing it. 12, 000 people. I mean, we're driving from Reno to Phoenix, which is 13 hours. We're driving Reno to Salt Lake. We're dry. I mean, we're. We're on the national circuit. And it was awesome. It was incredible with the two or our two boys. And that's really where we, as a family started to understand that. Because I was living two separate lifestyles. I was living who I was personally and who I was at the field. They were not married. They were not aligned.

[Podcast Host]

Okay. Okay.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

So how I was, what I was doing, what we did during COVID my wife and I, we sat down and attached what. How we wanted to raise our family by. Right. So. And then we tried to attach a Bible verse to that, to that, those words. So then as we kind of narrowed it down, I was working with a guy by the name of Dean Wellems, who. Who's a. A team performance guy out of Reno. Awesome. He actually works with lsu, works with Texas softball, works with a lot of different Clemson baseball, a lot of different places. Great friend of mine, and he goes, you have to align your personal life with your professional life. And what does that look like? So we came up with this thing called standing tall. Tal.

[Podcast Host]

This is like your family.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yep. Toughness, accountability, and loyalty. When they walk in our home, are they going to see that every day? So what does that look like? Right. So we did that, and then it actually carried over into our program. And so the last three years, I was at Nevada 21. I guess it would have been the last two years. So we developed that during COVID The next year in 21, we went to the regional for the first time in 22 years at Nevada. And then in 22 was my last season there. I ended up leaving to go to tcu. But that's what it was. Toughness, accountability, and loyalty. So now with that transition to Long Beach. Right. We kind of took the same principles, but then we use the dirtbag acronym. Right. So we call it, you gotta be a dirtbag today to be a dirtbag for life. And that's just really what it is. Right. So the Ds. Discipline, the eyes, Integrity, respond, toughness, brotherhood, accountability, grit, and selfless. So we've kind of expanded it a little bit. Right. But we also have. We also have stayed true to who we are. Right. Toughness, accountability, and loyalty essentially can pour into any one of those core values that we have.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

So that's something that we try to raise our kids on, whatever that looks like for us in our home and in the process of building the culture of Long Beach State. And that's what we will be defined by at the end of the day. We will be defined by those four or. Sorry, those eight letters.

[Podcast Host]

Do you think being a good listener is important as a coach?

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

I do. I really do. I think being a good listener, period, is important probably more now than ever. Because the positive of this thing. Right. Like you said, or the negative. Right. But let's look at the pos. Let's try to be positive is these kids have so much more information now, and they will fact check you. Right. If you say, hey, go to 711 and buy me a Coke, it's three miles away. No coach is 3.4 miles away. Okay. You know, to where that's kind of. That's my example of it. Right. So I think more now than ever, you have to listen. And I think more now than ever because you got multiple people now in their camp and involved with them, so it is not necessarily anymore the coaches. Right. All the time. Now, I am a big coach advocate. I defend coaches always, first and foremost. I always will. I think the coach is right. Always, first and foremost. I do believe in coaches because they spend the most time with the player. But I also think there is a certain level that you have to respect that their camp and where the camp is coming from. And that's why I use the term co parenting. We are at a time in our life where we are co parenting way more than ever before. Whether that's with the agent, you know, and if it's not the agent, it's the handler. Right. We have a. They have a handler instead of an agent. Or then it's mom and dad, and then it's the brother. And you have to find out who's important in their circle. And you have to make sure you communicate at the highest level now.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Because it's like the hitting of the pitching thing. Right. Everybody. And this has been going on probably for a long time in Major League Baseball. I would assume everybody has their own guy per se that they work with in the.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I mean it's certainly trending in that direction. Right? Yeah. And if you don't, you've tried multiple and you're searching for the right guy.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah. So it's not only the hitting coach that you see, it is more now about who do you work with in the off season, who's throwing you BP, who's spending time with you. And so I think 10 years ago in our level you didn't have that. Probably maybe less than that, maybe a little bit more, but you didn't have that. Whatever the coach said. Yeah, you're right, you're right, you're going to throw this way and that's the end of the story. Well, with all the information out there now and all the different camps, I don't, it's not that way anymore. And I think the minute you tell the kids that way that they're out, they'll check out. So you have to massage it in a way and I do believe that you have to. Now all I ask for from our team and our players is just communicate, just communicate. Because there's a lot of good hitting guys out there, there's a lot of good pitching guys out there that aren't doing this on the day to day like we are in terms of the coach par at the, at the college level, there's a lot of good private guys, there's a lot of good travel, there's a lot of good people out there. And I think that's part of this thing too, is removing the ego part of this thing. At the end of the day, we all want what's best for the kid. If we truly want that, then you're going to listen and you're going to interject. Now winning baseball games, that's where the Marion part has to do. Winning games at the college level versus the development side, you know, and I, I always use this, you know it there again, I'm not a minor league baseball, so I don't want to speak and I don't want to sound ignorant, I don't want to sound any of that. But you have 140 games, 150 games.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

There is a process of development. The first rounder is going to get a thousand of bats to develop or whatever he's going to get. Right. I'm not saying winning's not on the forefront of it, but the development is a lot more important.

[Podcast Host]

I'll say it. I mean, I can honestly tell you that if you had to put like a priority list together, winning wouldn't be in the top, probably like three to five. Right, Right.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

So where for us, we're playing high stakes poker. Every, every game. Yeah, every game is, we're going all in. It's high stakes poker. So now how do you balance that? Now how do you balance the development side? Right. Because that's important too. And I think if you develop you not necessarily doesn't mean you're going to win either.

[Podcast Host]

Sure.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Right. So you have to marry the two with also keeping in mind what's best for the player.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. The reason I asked is, is listening an important thing for a coach is I think it's so easy to almost like talk at people and tell them like, this is what needs to happen where we are all mistaken if we're not just saying, like, wait a second, before I even get into this, like, truly, what's, what's most important to you? Right. What's, what are the things that you think that you need to work on?

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Well, the game is more selfish now too, than it's ever been. Once you would you agree on that?

[Podcast Host]

The game. Like, you mean like the industry?

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah, yeah, the industry is more selfish now than ever.

[Podcast Host]

And again, like, you know, I brought up like the youth baseball career. I mean, I remember there was a Time article written probably like 2017, 2018, I could be wrong, could be 2019. But it literally was like, I think the title of the, the magazine was Kids Inc. Right? And it was basically like, these kids are businesses now at these young ages. And so when you talk about like, why is it selfish? Because now it's all about like, let me get mine. Yeah, right. And that again, it, it compounds because the kid who thinks that way then seeks people oftentimes who tell them what they want to hear. Right. And maybe they go through a bad experience and then they learn, oh, that guy was a, know, snake oil salesman or whatever. And, and yeah, I mean, I, I've seen it in the agent business. I, I think there's a reason why, you know, a lot of people have this negative connotation to actually agents.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah, well, that was a thing, right, for a long, long time. Right. I, I, I mean, I remember just coming up in the industry when I first came up, that was like, oh, yeah. I mean, you guys sat on that side. Everybody else sat on that Side. And there was no, no one talks. No one talks. Now I feel like it's evolved into a decent marriage, which has been. But there's still some.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, it's funny. Like, there are agents that I have relationships with, and there is certainly a mutual respect. You know, at the end of the day, here's what's funny is I grew up in this industry where it was a frowned upon, if not, I mean, completely discouraged. Like, you're not allowed to talk to other agents.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And what I ultimately realized, it was a huge insecurity on behalf of the, the agency because they didn't want you to talk to them because, you know, they're afraid that, I don't know, maybe, like, sharing information. You're gonna share information and, like, you're gonna feel bad about recruiting their players. So, like, don't talk to them. And I just realized it's actually funny. I, I, I had this instance happen with a younger agent who worked under me at one, at my last company, and he ended up leaving, went to a different firm, and a guy that he and I both recruited together stayed with me. Right. And he, initially, the player went with him, and then I got him back to come with me when I had the conversation. And, you know, I felt like, like he was, like, really upset with me. Like, how could you keep this guy? This guy was mine. And I'm like, like, what? And so what's interesting about that is there was this lack of communication and kind of this coldness between he and I. Mind you, when we work together, like, we had a great relationship.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

So now there's this, like, uncomfortable thing. And I just remember at one point, this was shortly before I, I left the last company I was at to start my own. He and I are walking past each other funny enough at the area code games. And I stopped him and I said, hey, man, like, can I, can I talk to you for a second? And I said to him, I was like, I just want to apologize to you. And it totally, like, floored them. Like, apologize to me. And I'm not even saying that I necessarily felt like I needed to apologize, but I literally told him, I was like, if there's something that I did that makes you feel like, you know, I wrong, I wronged you in some way, like, I'd love to talk about it. And I, like, I apologize. I don't, I don't. This just doesn't feel good. Like, we had a good relationship before. Like, we don't have to be friends, but I certainly don't want you to feel like, you know, I'm like a bad guy, that this is. This is just silly. And ever since then, he and I've been great, and it's this mutual respect now. And so I just got to a place where it's like we're all at the same events. We see each other, you know, sometimes.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

When we share our own family.

[Podcast Host]

Exactly. And like, you're gonna walk past me as though you've never seen me before. Yeah, it just. For me, it just, it was fake. And I don't.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

I'm not.

[Podcast Host]

I'm not gonna be fake.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Well, you know, this brings me to a point, right. I just said, and this is. We may have time for this, we may not. I don't know. But this is such an intriguing conversation, this point right now, because here, here's where the struggle is for a lot of people is you're a Christian man, and so am I. Right. So what we believe in and how we do things is a lot different maybe than a non believer or maybe it is. I don't know. Right. I'm not worried about that. But to that point, how. And this is the question, how do you, in the industry that we're in, how do you not sacrifice your own integrity and the integrity of what you believe in because you're a believer, to not get the success that you are searching for and. Or want and not compromise that as a Christian man?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I mean, I can tell you from my personal experience.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Sorry, I'm interviewing you now.

[Podcast Host]

No, no, I love this from my personal experience. I mean, in a sense, I feel like, you know, I grew up in a weird way, kind of like in this business. I mean, I got into the business at 20 years old. I'm now 44. Going to be 45, actually. I was 19, so it's even longer. So I've been doing this 25 years. There was a lot that I, I learned through the business. You know, I was fortunate enough. I have some fantastic parents who are still married to this day. They raised me in the church. But, you know, life experiences, like, life is crazy. And so, you know, went to church as a kid, went to college, didn't go to church, and got into my 20s and was just like. And funny enough in this business. And I was like, I don't know, man. Like, I feel like there's an opportunity here in this business where, like, it could go really wrong. Because, you know, there is. And we can get into this conversation, but, like, there is a ton of different agencies.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Who Stand for nothing.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yep.

[Podcast Host]

But making money and all it takes is to be in that environment for 10 minutes to realize this is gross. Right. As an example, going to a meeting with your boss and going to see a client, and this is somebody who you've worked for. You've built a relationship with the player. I'm referring to y. You respect, you know, you admire in a lot of ways. You walk out of the meeting, and the guy that you just went to the meeting with, who is your boss, says, God, I effing hate that guy.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Like, piece of garbage. And you're just like, whoa. You just acted like you were his best friend, and those words are going to come out of your mouth. And so you experience that over and over, and you just. You just start to realize this isn't right. I, like, I don't know what this is, but this is so far away from what I believe to be how I want to live my life, that the more experience you have of doing that over and over, the more you realize this isn't me.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Right. Like, this. I don't even identify with what this is. And so your point about, like, because.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

You'Re trying to maintain an edge, might I add, too well. Right. So you're trying to maintain an edge in your industry, just as I am in mine.

[Podcast Host]

I know, but here's. And we talked about this a little bit before the episode or before we got on the podcast, but I had to come to a realization that the best version of myself is to fully buy in and do this thing.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

I am no longer worried about, is it going to work out? Will people like me? There was a lot of time early in my career where it's like, that is hitting you in the face because that's how you're being judged.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Your bosses are rewarding you when you're bringing them players. You may recruit 15 top 100 prospects in the minor leagues. You miss one and you're a piece of garbage.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

You're not any good. How come you can't be more like this guy? And so, like, the more you experience that, the more you're just like, this is insane. Right. Like, this is. It was never good enough. And so, yeah, you're trying to maintain an edge. But what I had to realize is my edge. My edge, honestly, is really, I am fully committed to being, like, truly me. And when I am, that everybody who wants to be associated with that is naturally going to. It's going to resonate with them. It's going to attract Them, for lack of a better term.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

So my, my other, my follow up question onto that would be is how can you, can you give? And I'm, I'm asking more for myself. Right. This is a, if this is a real conversation and I think there's a lot of people that will resonate with this. So how, what, what tactics and, or things that can you, how, how applicable to what you do? Can you help with everybody else? How do you do that? How do you do that every day? In an industry where it's about money, it's about chasing, maybe some agencies are about getting the most players.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

In our industry, our industry has become more about winning than it's ever become. College baseball coaches are getting fired more now than they ever have been at any level. High school baseball coaches now, especially, especially in these certain leagues, the training league is one out here.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Or whatever else are getting fired or relieved for not winning. How do you focus on the best version of yourself if it's not equating to winning? Because ultimately your job and your responsibility is to provide for your family.

[Podcast Host]

So I think.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

So how do you keep all that in perspective?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. So this is, this is my outlook on it is. So there's a lot of different goals that I would say that agents have. Right. There's some agents that judge whether they're successful or not by the number of players they recruit, by the much, how much revenue they're bringing in, by. Look at all these All Stars that we have every single year. And this is no different than in college. It's like, look at my college World Series titles and look at, you know, I'm number one in the recruiting class or whatever. The thing for me is, and again, funny enough, because the podcast is called the Most Valuable Agent Podcast. That's not, you know, it's not like a joke. It's. There was a point in time when I left the prior firm or where I asked myself if I'm gonna really do this, like, what does that look like? And for me, it's, I want to be the most valuable agency that's ever existed. Now people may hear that and think, oh, so you want to make the most money? Like that's value. No, it's not. This is not financially related being the most valuable agency that's ever existed. Really, it leads to, you're my client. What do you need from me? I need to be able to add that value. And that looks vastly different from one player to the next.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

Right. To you, it may look like you need a Mentor. You need somebody who is helping you. You know, you're going through a slump. You need help. You may be someone who's like, I don't need any of that help. I actually need more help over here with marketing, social media, charity events, and, like, that's your focus. But you have a different foundation and you have a different quote, unquote, recipe needed for success. So adding the most value, what it does is it gives me this. This lens to look at the business through. And so that's why for me, I'm like, you know, your question is, how can I help the listener? I would not know this if I didn't know myself.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

I didn't know myself until having to go through the struggle and learning what did not work for me. Right. Living in that environment of knowing, like, I'm not. This doesn't feel good. This doesn't connect with who I am as a person. That's why, like, people, you know, oftentimes ask me now, like, even with the podcast, like, hey, keep doing it, man. We love it. We love the episodes. They send me emails and they comment, and it's. I think people assume that, like, oh, yeah, at some point it's gonna, like, wane. Like, it's an act or something. And I'm like, yeah, dude, I'm not going anywhere.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And I feel that way in my soul because it's truly me doing this. Like, I. I do not care if you take issue with this. I do not care because this is not meant for me. This is meant for all of these people.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Right. And that's. I'm just trusting that people who really know me and really wanna listen to the episodes, it's like they're gonna realize eventually after listening to enough of them that, like, all right, yeah, you're not spending, like, it's funny. Immediately after launching the podcast, guess what you think agents were saying in the industry.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Oh, I can.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, he's a podcaster now. He's not an agent. I'm like, this is costing me money. This is not making me money.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

No. You're providing a resource for the people in the public.

[Podcast Host]

This is how committed I am.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

To being the most valuable agent that's ever existed.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And so. And Dylan, who's here behind the scenes here, like, we've talked often about, our goal, like, daily, is to be the most valuable agency that's ever existed. So when things come across the desk of a. Look, you know, there's a kid who fam. You know, Austin Riley's dad. Calls me and says, a kid in the area, you know, really good player, doesn't, you know, getting. Getting scouted, you know, is going to this college, like, probably not going to get drafted super high, but the family doesn't have any guidance. Would you mind having a call with them? Absolutely.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Right. Because I'm committed to adding value. So that's my. Like, I don't. I don't think that. That I hope no one listening is like, oh, I need to do that too then. Because it's going to be the same for me. Like, you have to figure out your journey. But as I think about players who hear this, there's no shortcut. Like, I couldn't have figured this out and been here at 20.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

I needed to go through the experience. And this is why I'm so vocal about parents needing to let their kids go through it. You have to experience what this is going to be like. There's no shortcut. You can't just prevent him from failing and then be as good as he's going to be. He's got to fail so good.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah. Like, I mean, it's just. It's always a question. Right. I think that's the part. And it's like, how can you stay true to yourself while trying to chase and attain the. What we think bring value? But really, at the end of the day, that's all going to go away.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Right. The money's going to go away. The success and the rings are going to go away. In 10 years, 20 years after you're done, no one's going to care about the success that you had on the field. That's going to be. Everyone's going to be talking about what you did with their son and. Or daughter, for that matter. I got two of them. Right. So I think that's. I think that's the challenge. That's the challenge of. That's the challenge, in my opinion, of a Christian man, personally, because there's a lot about certain businesses that aren't. There's an ugly part of every business.

[Podcast Host]

Sure.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

And so how can. How can we stay true by still providing what we need to provide while also maintaining that edge that once propelled us in this industry.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Too. You know, So I think that's something that I think we're. Me personally, I'm always wrestling with.

[Podcast Host]

It's every day when it'll continue. Because every day, such is life, you have high expectations, you want to do things the right way. And that is something that, like, if you've ever met somebody Who? It's like, oh, everything just comes easy to that person.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Like, either you're not seeing the full picture, or they're not as good as they otherwise could be. Because it. Life isn't easy.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Well, that's social. It's social media.

[Podcast Host]

That's right.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

That's what Instagram is. Yeah, look, on Instagram.

[Podcast Host]

That's right.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Because what they are on Instagram, if you got dove into the weeds.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

That's not it. Right. I mean, that's funny.

[Podcast Host]

We were having a conversation last night, and how many opportunities are there in the world of social media where it's like, you know, people have got hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of followers and, like, click on one of their pictures and it has like, six likes, and like, that's a dead giveaway. Like, oh, yeah, they bought followers. And it's crazy, like, how many people you come across. You're like, what? Like, you're paying for validation like that. It. It just. It bums me out. I understand the society we're living in, but it's like, if they spent as much time and energy on being, like, giving more organic value. And that's just. I believe that everybody needs to figure out, how am I supposed to add value to the world?

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Because if you can find what that is for you, that's where your ultimate joy is.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

But it. But is it. Let me ask you this. Is it. Is that first or is what's the best version and creating that first of who you are ultimately? Because.

[Podcast Host]

Well, so here's the problem I see is you can obsess over wanting to figure out. I need to figure myself out. Like, by the way, I'm somebody who, you know, I try to educate myself a ton. I'm, you know, I've always been this student of kind of the, you know, personal development space. Like, I. I was. I knew this thing about myself.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

I am committed and willing to do everything in my power to be as good as I can be in whatever that is. Like, it was that way in baseball. It was that way in school. It was that way in this business. It's that way with this podcast. And so for me, that was limitless. Like, the limit to what I can do is all based on can I handle the work.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Right. Which is an exciting thing, but it's also dangerous because I can go down a rabbit hole.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

With something where it's like, yeah, I'm not gonna sleep for a week. And like, yeah. What's the repercussion of not getting the rest that you need.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Right. So someone who hears this and is like, I'm also going to hurry up and figure this out. There's no such thing as hurry up and figure out.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

No timeline.

[Podcast Host]

No, It's. It needs to be organic.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Whether that's player development, whether that's building a college program, whether that's life, it needs to be organic. There are lessons to learn. And there's no shortcut.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And if you try to take the shortcut, that's where you're going to. You are going to either turn too early. Right. Or, I don't know, never turn. And it's just like, it doesn't result in what you were ultimately hoping for. And so the only way that, like, the. The analogy or the. The thing that comes to mind is like, it's like driving through fog. Right. You're not going to be able to see, but you just have to look 10ft in front of you.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

That's it.

[Podcast Host]

That's it. Am I going right, left? What am I doing? And, like, just trust that, like, the road is still going to be there. It's going to show itself. But be committed to. That's why I asked you about your values and, like.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

But now you got to talk about faith. Yeah, essentially.

[Podcast Host]

Well, exactly. But be committed to that. Be committed to, like, what this is really about. So. All right. Just. I got one last question, and I want to bring it back to baseball, because this was the question I wanted to leave with, which is. Finish this sentence. What is the one thing that you would change about youth baseball that if you changed, it would make the biggest impact on parents and on college programs, and I guess with that players.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

I would probably have a cutoff date for when you were allowed to play baseball up until a certain date.

[Podcast Host]

Oh. Like, you can only play baseball for these, like, nine months or seven months, whatever it is. Five.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah. You know, whatever number. But I would have a cutoff date, I think.

[Podcast Host]

Do you think you would do that up until the kids?

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah, I'd probably do up until, like, there's a maturity.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Of the body. Right. It could be as It's. We could be up to 16.

[Podcast Host]

That's interesting.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Yeah, that'd be the.

[Podcast Host]

I can see. I can see the benefit of that.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

I. I just think it would benefit the parents. I think it would benefit families. I think it benefits the kids. I think. All of it. Yeah, I do. I think instead of spending all your vacations and money and time on going to. Chasing a tournament or chasing a ring nowadays, I Guess because they hand them out. Maybe you're spending that, those four days at the pool, at the park, at the. I think there's just so much more value to that than having my kid play 10 months a year, you know, which mine doesn't. So it's. That part doesn't bother me.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

You know, but we're already into that practice.

[Podcast Host]

It's an interesting thought for sure. I do, I do see for many people there's a huge benefit to that. Obviously they can continue playing other sports.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

I think it's such more on a connection level with who you are and what your body's doing, what your body feeling. But how about the family connection? Right. We're at a time, we're at a. We're at the highest divorce rate we've, we've ever been.

[Podcast Host]

You know what's crazy about that? So I've been doing this for 25 years and I remember at one point it was like five years ago where I was trying to count like how many spring trainings I had been to and it was like, oh, it's been 20 spring. Like what, like what happened? So what's interesting about what you say about the whole year round thing is there's always the opportunity for like, oh yeah, the next tournament next week and then the next. And so it's like you're like oh yeah, it's already, already August and then pretty soon it's going to be Thanksgiving and it's going to be Christmas and then like arbitration's coming and then spring training again and it's like just is faster.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

When does it stop?

[Podcast Host]

Right. So if you did implement, you know, kind of like a, a time a year that you could play baseball, I, I do think that people would like slow down and appreciate and bond more with family or.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Because what do we always talk about? What's the one thing we always wish we had more of? Time.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

What's the one thing we're trying to hurry up? Time.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Why, why are we trying to rush this thing? I don't, I don't want my kids to grow up. I got a soon to be 16 year old daughter that starts driving in October. I don't want her to grow up. Right. You talk about quicksand. I feel like I'm grabbing sand right now and it's just running right through my fingers and I can't slow it down. Right. But also I feel like at least in our house we've done a really good job not doing year round. I don't know what Baseball players are doing right now. I mean, I do, but I don't like. Because I don't care. I'm into. We're into football.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

I'm the offensive coordinator for Jackson's football team.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, good for you. That's great.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

So what. That's what I'm into.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

So that's all we're doing. He has kids going to here and going to here and some people have called, hey, can we come and can he come play? No, he can't play. He's done with it.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

The bat and the ball is put away. We'll pick it up in, I don't know, December or January. I love it and see what happens. But I'm not chasing those other things that the other parents are. No. Because I know how cruel this thing is. And like you said, not what you. I don't want him to be a good 12 year old. I could care less about being a good 12 year old. I care about being a good 18 year old.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. I think if people would, if, if parents would pay attention to what the ex players.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Oh yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Kids did. There's like, there's a lot of. There's a lot of wisdom in that. A lot. Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Jason Vargas, who was an ex teammate of mine, probably one of the best teammates I've ever had. Jason, they live out here in Malibu and all summer and his son's gonna be a. I don't know. I can't. I don't think I can comment publicly. But anyways, his son's in high school I think somewhere and he. They don't play all summer. You're talking a major leaguer that's. Has had a pretty good career.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, he was not bad. Not bad.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

World series champion. Played 14 years in the big leagues. No more. No summer.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

Because he doesn't believe in it.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

He knows what the long term play of this thing is. That's to make it 14 years now. There's the other side too. Right? There's some. There's a lot. Or some of your clients probably have played year round and that's just. That's okay too. It's just what's for them and.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

But I do think it would help change the narrative and the value of some things if you did that.

[Podcast Host]

So I think we have to have episode three sometime soon so we can continue this conversation.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

I'm in.

[Podcast Host]

I appreciate you, brother.

[TJ (Head Baseball Coach at Long Beach State)]

No problem, man. Thanks for having me.