Picture this: you're offered the role of head coach for a phenomenally successful high school baseball program. Surprised? Humbled? That's exactly how Rick Weaver, the newly-appointed head coach of Defiance High School's baseball team felt when he was handed the reins. Join us as we engage in a heart-to-heart and explore not just his journey to this coveted position, but also his unshakeable commitment to molding his players into exemplary citizens, husbands, and fathers.
As we navigate through the conversation, Rick and I delve into the compelling world of high school sports and its multifaceted impact on youth development. We drop the ball on some essential life skills that sports nurture in young minds – think resilience, teamwork, and the understanding that effort bears fruit. We also tackle the shifting attitudes of athletes and their keen parents, as well as the delicate issue of managing players' expectations in terms of game time. And yes, don't miss our frank discussion on how high school sports experience can give one a competitive advantage in the job market.
Ever wondered what it takes to train 90-mile per hour pitchers? Or what unique strategies keep players motivated day in, day out? That's where Coach Weaver takes us next. He opens up about Defiance High School's innovative training methods and motivational techniques. We also delve into his entrepreneurial journey with Krato Sports, exploring the unique capacities of their bat weights. As we draw to a close, Rick shares his respect for the legendary coaches who preceded him, his aspirations for Defiance High School Baseball, and his gratitude for this opportunity to connect with our Athlete 1 podcast listeners.
Picture this: you're offered the role of head coach for a phenomenally successful high school baseball program. Surprised? Humbled? That's exactly how Rick Weaver, the newly-appointed head coach of Defiance High School's baseball team felt when he was handed the reins. Join us as we engage in a heart-to-heart and explore not just his journey to this coveted position, but also his unshakeable commitment to molding his players into exemplary citizens, husbands, and fathers.
As we navigate through the conversation, Rick and I delve into the compelling world of high school sports and its multifaceted impact on youth development. We drop the ball on some essential life skills that sports nurture in young minds – think resilience, teamwork, and the understanding that effort bears fruit. We also tackle the shifting attitudes of athletes and their keen parents, as well as the delicate issue of managing players' expectations in terms of game time. And yes, don't miss our frank discussion on how high school sports experience can give one a competitive advantage in the job market.
Ever wondered what it takes to train 90-mile per hour pitchers? Or what unique strategies keep players motivated day in, day out? That's where Coach Weaver takes us next. He opens up about Defiance High School's innovative training methods and motivational techniques. We also delve into his entrepreneurial journey with Krato Sports, exploring the unique capacities of their bat weights. As we draw to a close, Rick shares his respect for the legendary coaches who preceded him, his aspirations for Defiance High School Baseball, and his gratitude for this opportunity to connect with our Athlete 1 podcast listeners.
Today on the athlete one podcast.
Speaker 2:So we have a throwing progression where you know we start with flips torso, one knee, we have this whole thing And it takes 25 minutes to 30 minutes and then we finish with with long toss. so where I think a lot of people think, you know, after 10 minutes, hey I'm good and warm. where, where I think some, some people use their the throwing just to get loose, ours is a strength trainer like we're we're building the arm every day. He will stand over you and make you cut loose on every throw.
Speaker 3:Welcome to the athlete one podcast. Veteran high school baseball coach, ken Carpenter, takes you into life's classroom as experienced through sports. Go behind the scenes with athletes and coaches as they share great stories, life lessons and ways to impact others.
Speaker 1:Episode 76 of the athlete one podcast is powered by the netting professionals, improving programs one facility at a time. The netting professionals specialize in the design, fabrication and installation of custom netting for baseball and softball, including back stops, batting cages, bp turtles, screens, ball carts and more. They also design and install digital graphic wall padding, windscreen, turf, turf protectors, dugout benches and cubbies. The netting pros also work with football, soccer, lacrosse and golf courses. Contact them today at 844-620-2707. Visit them online at wwwnettingproscom or check them out at netting pros on Twitter, instagram, facebook, linkedin for all their latest products and projects. Hello and welcome to the athlete one podcast. I'm your host, ken Carpenter, and joining me today on the show is the new head coach of Defiance High School in Ohio. Baseball brick weaver coach. Welcome to the show, hey, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:Can I really appreciate it?
Speaker 1:Well, has it sunk in yet that you're now leading one of the most successful programs in the state of Ohio? They're in Defiance.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's kind of a surreal thing. I'll be honest, i really never expected it to happen. I just I didn't think Tom would would get out when he did, and part of me kind of always thought that the two of us would kind of go out together, you know, being his assistant for 24 years. But right before the tournament started he came to me and said I think I'm getting out after this year and asked if I was wanted it. You know wanted to take over And my youngest son's a freshman in the program, and I told him that I absolutely apply for it And I think that kind of put him at ease and and then, you know, last week it actually became official and and that's kind of really when it hit me when the board meeting adjourned and started getting all the tax and congratulations and that, so it was a, it was a surreal moment. It's bittersweet. You know it's going to be totally different without coach held around, but everyone else that's on staff is staying. So I don't make the transition a little smoother?
Speaker 1:Great. Well, my first experience with coaching high school baseball was back in the late 90s at Dublin Kauffman High School And I was brand new to being a coach. And You know, I was given the opportunity by Tim Saunders to help with the JV team And that's where you and I first met. And did you think? I don't know? what are we at almost 30 years later in the podcast, talking about you taking over at the finance?
Speaker 2:I can honestly say no, i didn't think that, but I will say I look back in those days. Finally, you taught me a lot, being fresh out of college and new to the coaching, and I enjoyed every second of that year coaching with you and I wanted to turn from you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, you know, the neat thing about it was, as we had fun and we had a nice group of players, and you know, we went out and I think they really enjoyed the experience, more than anything.
Speaker 2:Yeah, i would agree It was a great group of kids. They were fun, very talented and, yeah, it was a great year, that's for sure.
Speaker 1:Well, coaching high school sports isn't easy, and you do too, and you're, you know, in the past you've done as many as three. What when you think about coaching baseball? when you look back on it, what is your? why? what? why coach?
Speaker 2:The biggest, wise, is the kids. I enjoy being around the kids, i enjoy helping them, you know, getting them to the next level of whatever that may be. It may just be helping them get to college, play in college or helping them, you know, be a reference for a job But, more importantly, molding them into, you know, good human beings that hopefully one day they'll be great husbands, great fathers and just great people. You know, i think everyone gets thinks that when you coach high school baseball it's all about winning And certainly you want to win. I tell our kids that every day I wouldn't do this if I didn't want to win. I mean, you'd be crazy to invest all this time and then say you know, winning doesn't matter. But there's a lot of other things, i think, that are involved, that that are more important than the winning, and that you know, teaching the life lessons and becoming better human beings.
Speaker 1:You know, you talk about the life lessons and you know and how close you are to the guy. You're replacing, coach Held And you know I think I had him back on episode 30 and you talk about just as good a coach as he is, he's an even better person. Talk about your relationship with him and how that has grown throughout the years.
Speaker 2:So Coach Held and I first came to be when I was 15. He was my JV basketball coach And then he was my JV baseball or my varsity baseball coach. And then I went off to school and I went to Ohio State my freshman year and I was just done with sports They want to play. And after my freshman year I'm like you know what I kind of miss playing baseball. So I reached back out to him and told him I was doing and he said you know why don't you come back and help coach the summer team? That way you can start getting into shape? And then on that staff the two coaches on the summer team were me and Timmy Held, who's now the head coach at Moeller. So I did that for summer and that's actually what made me change my major. I was going in to become a chiropractor is what I wanted to do. And then I fell in love with coaching.
Speaker 2:After I graduated college I was down in Cincinnati and I was the head baseball coach at Ludlow And actually living with Timmy Held. And then coach Held called me and said hey, we got a math opening up here. You come up, be my assistant coach. And jumped at the opportunity, never thinking I'd be here for 24 years. I thought I'd go up for four or five years, thank you, and maybe try to run my own program And I fell in love with it. My wife fell in love with Defiance. My kids started to get older And I enjoyed what we were building. We were building a really good program. We had great players. I enjoyed it. So I'm gonna be 49 next week. So for the past 34 years in some capacity, i've been around coach held. We've had the player coach relationship, the assistant coach, head coach relationship, but, more importantly, our best relationship is that we're best friends. He's one of the closest person in my life And I tell everyone, after my father, there's not another male figure in my life who's had more of a positive influence on me.
Speaker 1:Every new coach likes to put their stamp on the program. What is something that you're going to try to do?
Speaker 2:Well, the biggest joke I say is now, instead of throwing for two hours, we're gonna hit for two hours, but realistically and I told our kids this when I met with them after I got the job that nothing's really changing The standard of Defiance. Baseball is the standard, and it's not like a new coach is coming in and trying to put his mark on the program. What makes coach held so great And there's so many things, though is he lets his assistant coaches have ownership in the program, and I've had a big part of being able to make decisions of what we do, what we don't do, so that's what I kind of tell everyone. I'm like it's not, like I've been a quiet voice for 24 years, and now, all of a sudden, my opinions and philosophy is gonna come out. Coach held and I have been on base pretty much everything we've decided with the program, so not a lot is really gonna change.
Speaker 1:Well, you are a coach that you know. You've got the experience as a head coach because you did it very early on in your career And then you jumped into the assistant coach's part of the game the group that you have because baseball coaches love to share ideas and a lot of time be a sounding board When issues come up, and you've got a pretty good circle of coaches that you know. I had your brother on back in it wasn't too long ago, but he's the head coach at Allentangy Berlin and he just had the best season in school history there. You know your roommates with Tim Held, who actually was my most recent episode, episode 75, down at Cincinnati Moeller. You know having that type of group to bounce ideas off of and you know when issues come up, that's gotta be pretty special to be able to talk to the guys like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it really is, And you know it's kind of neat. You have the Brian connection going on. You know all three of us me, my brother, Mike and Timmy played for coach Held at Brian. I guess maybe I'm just hurt that I was the fourth one you had on and not the first, but I'll forgive you. But you are correct. I apologize, I'm just messing, But you're correct.
Speaker 2:It's a great circle. You know, I obviously talk I still talk with coach Held every day. He's he texts after our summer games and wants to know how it goes And I had to give him my login for Game Changer so he can see all the stats. Talk to my brother daily, talk to Timmy. Daily We have a great chat on text with Tim, Mike, Tom. We have Kirk Bly from Mason, Tom Marker from Olentangie, Orange, Ryan Alexander from Grove City, Craig Kyle from Jonathan Alder. I mean it's a great group And you know we're always talking about different things, bouncing things off, And we actually set up a PBR date this spring with Jason Brant from Wampanoe is also on there, And so the eight of us are all going to play. I forget all the matchups, but I know that the night game is me against Mike, So Berlin versus Defiance under the lights at Defiance, So that's going to be pretty neat, And so I'm looking forward to that.
Speaker 1:Talk a little bit about the what parents might not understand, about how important the coaching fraternity is, because I'm sure you go to the national clinics and you know always, you're always at the Ohio State Baseball Coaches Clinic.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's the one thing I look forward to every year And I don't think if you're not in that coaching fraternity, you don't understand. You know, for years I think my wife just thought it was four days to get away in a vacation, which I mean I'm not going to lie It is fun to get away. But the fraternity and the friends you meet, i mean sitting around in a hotel lobby till one or two in the morning discussing, you know different things, how this team does first and third, what do you do in this situation? And then the amount of people that I've met. We've been going for geez 20 years to the national clinic And you know you see different people and you've met different people. You know a guy that sticks out is a guy's name Steve Roof. He coaches now in Madison Central in Kentucky. We got to know him at the clinics and now we meet up every year and talk And it's just really a neat thing to be able to discuss baseball and, you know, talk baseball for four straight days.
Speaker 1:Well, tell me about a time you know you've got quite a few years under your belt. Tell me about a time when you failed as a coach and how you handled it and what you learned from it.
Speaker 2:I think the biggest thing for me was, early on as a coach, was always wanting to point out the negatives. So I think, as a young coach trying to, you know, make your mark, to prove to the kids that you knew what you were talking about. So you were always trying to correct them, tell them what they were doing wrong, and I find myself, as I get older, obviously you still need to correct the kids. And that's what coaching is.
Speaker 2:But what I find myself doing now is being more positive, letting them know all the good things that they do and the positive things, kind of give them that reinforcement that hey, you're a pretty good baseball player. I just felt like early on in my career it was always pointing out the wrong and never telling them the good things they did. So I've tried to do that more as I got older.
Speaker 1:Your kids have been involved in sports and Make the case for why parents should encourage their kids to be involved on it in some sport or be on a team while they're in high school.
Speaker 2:I think the lessons you learn are invaluable to later on in life the adversity you have to face, being able to be a team player, teaching you to learn not to be selfish, overcome different things, realizing that working hard will pay off. My oldest son played for us. He played baseball for us and then he went on and played college for Coach Woodley at Defiance College. My daughter played basketball in golf and then my youngest son plays golf, basketball and baseball. What I see with my own kids is how you grow as a person, whether it's being on a team that wins a championship and being able to celebrate that, or being on a team that struggles and maybe you don't play, and how to overcome that adversity and work harder. I think all of that that goes into playing high school sports is going to make you a better person in the long run.
Speaker 1:I talked with my wife about this and she's in talent acquisition with her job. When she interviews somebody and she's trying to narrow down between a candidate and one of the candidates has been an athlete and that's on that resume and they talk about that. I think she finds that they are more of the type of person she's looking for, because they understand what it's like to work with a team and having to deal with overcoming adversity and all the things you're talking about.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. You know, it's funny. We were just talking about this the other day. My oldest son, who works at a company in town he's in the accounting department he made the comment he said if I can play four years for Coach Eld, there isn't anything in the real world that's going to get to me. And that's true. Like he puts you through tough situations, he puts you through adversity and if you can make it four years through that program, you're set up to be pretty successful in life.
Speaker 1:Since you first started out in the late 90s till now. Do you see that there's any difference in the actual athlete and is there any difference in the parents?
Speaker 2:I see no changes in the athletes. I think athletes all want the same thing. They want structure, they want discipline, they want to be pushed, they want to be part of a program. I can look at our first team when I came in in 99 to the group we have now. All those kids are the same. They all work hard, they do what's asked. Nothing's changed there. Parents are probably still the same. The only trouble with today is parents can access the coach a lot easier. When I first came in I didn't have cell phones. I couldn't text. Email was a little, i mean, it was around, but not big. Now with cell phones, email, it's easy for a parent to send off a text at 11 o'clock at night complaining about something. But in all reality parents are probably about the same also. They all want what's best for their kid and I understand that Some go about it the right way, some don't. But that's just part of being in this business.
Speaker 1:No doubt about that, that's for sure. When you have to talk to a player and you said Coach Held gave you a lot of responsibilities and let you do your thing, when you had a player that maybe wasn't getting the playing time that they thought they should get, or they were struggling, how did you approach that player to get them to understand that the most important thing is being part of the team?
Speaker 2:Yeah, the first thing is I think the most important thing is you got to be honest with them. You got to let them know If they're not playing, here's why Whoever's playing for you here's what they do better than you and lay it out for them. It may hurt initially, but they will respect you in the long run if you're honest, because if you lie to them then you're going to lose their respect right away. We always sit down with our team before every season, every individual, and lay out their role, ask them what they think their role is. The one thing we do to end the meeting is we have them give us their starting lineup. If you're the head coach, make out the lineup day one. It is amazing how 99% of them are right on par with what the coaches have as the lineup. If a kid isn't a star, they're not in our eyes. I'm sorry, excuse me, more times than not, he doesn't have himself in the lineup.
Speaker 1:Yes, i used that same way of coaching because the players know I mean, they're the ones that are practicing every day and they know who's putting in the work and who produces. So it's amazing that you let the players have a decision.
Speaker 2:they're part of the decision-making process and when you look as a coach, you're probably thinking, okay, well, they're getting it too Amazing how 99% of them are right on par with what the coaches have as the lineup, And if a kid isn't a starter in our eyes, more times than not he doesn't have himself in the lineup.
Speaker 1:Yes, i used that same way of coaching because the players know I mean, they're the ones that are practicing every day and they know who's putting in the work and who produces. So it's amazing that you let the players have a decision. they're part of the decision-making process and when you look as a coach, you're probably thinking, okay, well, they're getting it too.
Speaker 2:They do and we tell them every day. you know you guys make out the lineup, what you do in practice. you know how hard you work. all we do is put it on paper, Like you guys are the deciding factors. You determine who's playing, and they understand that. And I mean, sometimes that's hard for parents because they just see the games. and I find myself, you know, as a fan, i do the same thing If I'm watching a football game or a basketball game and I'm like man, i can't believe so-and-so doesn't play more. And then when you sit back and well, you know what I'm not at practice every day. I don't know The coach is there every day. There's a reason, you know kids don't play and kids aren't. There's a reason. it's not just that the coach is like hey, i like these five kids the best, i'm putting them in And most of the kids understand that and get that.
Speaker 1:Talk a little bit about your experiences. You went from you went to Ohio State and you thought, man, i miss baseball and I want to get involved in it. Talk about your experience with playing at Audubon.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was a great experience. So I got to play for Coach Fishbaugh, who was a legend, and the GA at the time was Coach Powell and now he's the head coach, who was a great guy And you know it's another guy that I see every year at the state clinic and get to talk to him and coach Ewing. And I tell our kids a lot because we ran into it for a few years where we had kids that you know if they couldn't play Division One, then they didn't want to play. And I'd say, you know I played Division Three baseball And Division Three baseball is not that far off from Division One baseball. It's not like basketball or football where there's a pretty big gap in those And baseball not a huge gap.
Speaker 2:And I try to tell them how you know the experiences you're going to get, the places you're going to get to go. You're going to develop lifelong friends in playing college baseball. I mean, and two of my best friends are Kurt Molot, who was the head coach at Tiffin, columbian, and Matt Ladig, who is the assistant for Coach Marker up at Olin, tangy Orange. The three of us lived together And those four years were some of the best times in my life.
Speaker 1:When I first started this podcast, i went out to Chris Hughesman, who's a good friend, and I said, hey, i need somebody to be a guest. I have no idea what I'm doing And he's like I'd love to do it. So he was episode one And he talked about playing at Otterbine in a spring trip that they went on And it seems like everybody's got a great coach fish boss story. Is there one that sticks out for you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's a couple I don't think I can share on here, but that guy was. He was a legend. He was so funny And every team had one person that could imitate him, and ours was, ours was Kurt Molot, and and he would. We would sit around and he would imitate fish and tell stories, and he would tell the same stories over and over and over And we would laugh harder and harder each time. And and, and all honesty, when I run into him at the state clinic, he approaches me and fishes voice and starts imitating and all it brings me back to college right.
Speaker 1:That's great, i would you know. Getting back to to your job at Defiance there, when I think of Defiance High School Baseball, of course I think everybody in the state of Ohio thinks of it. You think of pitching and 90 mile an hour guys just mowed guys down and you've got MLB players and What? explain how you guys turn out 90 mile an hour pitchers? Because it just doesn't seem normal to me, because I coached as a head coach for 20 years and I never had one guy though 90.
Speaker 2:The first one we've been blessed. We've had athletes that came in that were just really really really good baseball players, and the second is a really really really good pitching coach. The things he can do with guys is unbelievable. but I think the biggest thing, obviously we throw, and that's no secret. We throw and then we throw more, and then we throw more. So some people think we're crazy how much we throw, but his belief is that's the only way you're going to get your arm in shape and build strength. And he goes back to other sports, like marathon people. The way you get in shape and run a marathon is run and run and run and run and then run some more. And his philosophy is throwing is no different.
Speaker 2:But his other thing is he is a great motivator and he is great at getting kids to buy in and believe in themselves. There's a lot of kids and you know that coaching that have a lot of ability and they just don't believe in themselves and think they're as good as coaches do. He is unbelievable at getting kids to believe in themselves and work hard for them.
Speaker 1:Well, when you talk about we throw and throw and throw, what does that mean exactly?
Speaker 2:That means what I say. I guess we throw a lot.
Speaker 1:I mean, i guess, take me through a practice.
Speaker 2:I guess, if you could, So we have a throwing progression where we start with flips, torso, one knee, We have this whole thing and it takes 25 minutes to 30 minutes and then we finish with long toss. So where I think a lot of people think you know after 10 minutes, hey, I'm good and warm, Where I think some people use the throwing just to get loose. Ours is a strength trainer. We're building the arm every day. He will stand over you and make you cut loose on every throw every day And what he does then is he'll bring out a radar gun or pocket radar and he'll stand behind a kid And we're doing torso and he'll gun them in like 72. Alright, let's go get 73. So then the next throw Didn't get it, Let's go get 73. And then get 73. Okay, 74. So he's constantly measuring and challenging them to throw max effort every day.
Speaker 2:Records is a big thing in our program and it's your own record, So it's not per se. Hey, the hardest anyone's thrown from torso is 80. No, it's hey, your record right here is 66. Break your record today. So it's all about the individual getting better every day and we celebrate records. So if the kid breaks a record, he will literally stop practice. Let the kid ring our record bell and everyone stops and claps and cheers them on and gives them high fives. So it's the constant of trying to make yourself better each and every day.
Speaker 1:You know, it's almost like in the weight room when you see guys they break the bench press record or something like that.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:You know we've talked a lot about you as a teacher, as a coach, you know, and being a great dad. But you're more than that. You're not just the average teacher coach out there, you also run a business and being a coach and a teacher. I know that I was like, at the end of the day I would be like, oh my God, i'm spent. But talk a little bit about how coaches and parents can benefit from something that you've invented.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I'll be honest. The first thing is I never thought I'd be running my own business, and it happened by chance. I was actually given a kid a lesson and just started talking with his dad and I started explaining to him how I'm a big believer in overload training, but I don't like what's on the market.
Speaker 2:So, long story short, we invented a bat weight and our company is Crato Sports, so the weight goes right above the hands And what makes it unique is the size variation we offer. So we start with 10 ounce, which is for the little kids, and we'll go all the way up to 40 ounces, which can encompass, you know, your bigger players, major league players and that. But so what makes it unique is it goes on your own bat, so you don't have to spend extra money on some of those other training bats where you spend $100, $120. And then the other thing that makes it unique is you can leave it, use it in any setting off tee front toss, but the separators. You can use it when your coach is throwing BP, or you can use it off a machine.
Speaker 2:So you can actually use it live, which is where you're going to see the biggest results, where you put, you know, 20, 25 ounces right above the hands And now you start having a ball coming in at 70, 75, 80. Those kids have to get after it and it's been beneficial for our guys. We've got a lot of positive feedback from it. So what it does is going to help you increase your hand speed, bat speed, exit velocity and power. But the other unique feature of it is with the weight at the hands. It actually helps to promote the proper swing path by keeping your hands inside.
Speaker 1:So if a listener out there wants to purchase something like this, how do they go about doing that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, we have a website, It's cradle sports dot com, and then you can order right off there And then we ship it out. It's right now at all the products in my daughter's old bedroom, so we ship from, from the house, and what's kind of neat is we've actually added new products now. We have tees, we have nets, we have weighted balls, we have bat grips, and the whole concept is trying to give people high quality products which they are at a lower price than what's being offered by some of these other high quality companies. And when we started this, that's what I told my business partner, being a high school coach and a parent. It's an expensive sport And so I want to provide a high quality product at an affordable price, and that's what we're trying to do.
Speaker 1:And it's cradle sports comm is, and that's with a K, correct?
Speaker 2:That's with a K.
Speaker 1:Great, okay, well, hey, i want to move on to the fun thing that I like to do at the end of the podcast, and it's I call it rapid fire, and I'm going to shoot some questions at me, at you and you, just whatever comes to the top of your mind. Let's just let's see what you say.
Speaker 2:You're making me nervous.
Speaker 1:Who's a better baseball player? I know sibling rivalries are out there. You were your brother.
Speaker 2:Not even close Me.
Speaker 1:Okay, what's a drill that you love to teach that players benefit the most from?
Speaker 2:My favorite drill hitting is is really a simple one, and that's putting a T in the net and seeing how many line drives they can hit off the back of the length of the net. That's my favorite drill to do with our kids, because if you can't figure out how to hit a line drive off the T, we're going to struggle in a game.
Speaker 1:There you go. But do you hate losing or love winning?
Speaker 2:Oh man, I think it's hate losing. Sometimes I feel relieved after a win, but the the losses eat at you.
Speaker 1:Yes, what would one change you'd like to see happen in high school baseball?
Speaker 2:Free substitution That would allow us to get more players in a game. So you know, being able to put a kid out at shortstop for an inning or two, but you don't have to put them into the hitting lineup. So your hitting lineup stays the same, but you kind of free substitute defensively.
Speaker 1:I like that. You're managing a Major League baseball team and you can only have one player on your team right now. Would it be Shohei Otani, or the rookie sensation down in Cincinnati, ellie Dill Cruz?
Speaker 2:I'm gonna go with Shohei. That guy is unbelievable. Now I will say Ellie is is fun, and I'm a little disappointed because when he first got called up, my kids like dad, can we go down to Cincinnati and watch him? I'm like absolutely. And then I had no idea they were gonna blow up and be sold out every game. So now it's almost impossible to get a ticket for us.
Speaker 1:It's crazy, oh yeah, everybody likes when teams are winning, that's for sure.
Speaker 2:Yes, they do.
Speaker 1:What is that? a favorite thing that you like to do that doesn't involve sports?
Speaker 2:Oh my god, i'm not sure there is anything. Everything I do is sports. My free time is golfing. In the following winter it's watching either Ohio State football or Ohio State basketball, but I have to pick one. My wife and I love to take beach vacation, so that's probably the one thing that doesn't involve sports.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, finally, i'm sure the community up there wants to know what are the expectations for Defiance High School Baseball in Northwest Ohio for the 2024 season.
Speaker 2:Well, i hope the expectations are the same they've been for the last 24 years. You know, went in the league and make a long tournament run. That's always our goal and expectations and I don't see that changing. I know that it's gonna be tough and you know they always say you never want to be the coach that follows a legend. You know, be the coach that followed the coach followed the legend. Well, i have the daunting task of following two legends, because coach Insulman started this program in 1980 and he built it into what it was and then when coach Held took over, he took it to another level. So I hope I can somehow maintain what those two have done with this program.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's no pressure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, none at all right.
Speaker 1:Well, hey, it's Rick Weaver from Defiance High School, the new head coach. Coach, we've known each other a long, long time and I really appreciate you taking the time to join me here on the athlete one podcast, and I got to apologize for not getting you on sooner.
Speaker 2:I'm just kidding. I'm honored and privileged that you invited me. I watch most of your podcasts and I think you do a great job and I'm honored to be a guest for you.
Speaker 1:Well, once again, coach, thanks and best of luck next year with the 24 season.
Speaker 2:Thank you, I really appreciate it you.