The Closing Pitch Baseball Podcast

In this episode, we're in conversation with former baseball player turned cross-fitter Tyler Christophel. The division 2 athlete has taken the lessons he learned from the game and has channeled them into a world ranking in Cross Fit. The professional has gained sponsorships, awards, and accolades since finishing his last game at Southwest Missouri Baptist. Follow Tyler: Instagram Time Stamps: (00:00-01:50) Introduction (01:51-09:53) Christo's Athletic Journey (09:54-14:58) An Athlete's identity & the Transition (14:59-20:12) Baseball is the Battle Ground for Preparation (20:13-27:52) Don't get stuck with one version of your vision (27:53-30:45) Finding joy in the journey (30:46-33:57) Junior College Vs 4-year his experience (33:58-41:26) World ranking professional advice to high school athletes (41:27-51:14) Pre and post-reactions before the competition --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/closing-pitch/message

Austin is the owner and operator of Major League University. Major League University helps players build confidence, learn mindfulness, find peak performance, improve communication, build their emotional intelligence, and grow their team cultures. We dive into all of these topics plus how to handle the weight and pressure of a big dream. 00:00-06:23 What is Major League University? 06:24-16:48 Anxiety, Journaling, and Having Someone Listen 16:49-24:49 Meditation, what it is and what it's not 24:50-29:11 One good, one bad 29:12-34:55 What type of coaching style works best? 34:56-40:37 The pressure of the dream 40:38-43:59 Multi-sport athletes 44:00-47:09 Peak performance as a student and athlete 47:10-57:19 Your big recruiting year --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/closing-pitch/message

In today's fast-paced world, building a cohesive team is more critical than ever. Join us in today's episode we dive deep into the world of team building, discussing practical tips, valuable insights, and engaging stories on how to develop a strong team culture through the power of bonding. 💪 From icebreakers and trust-building exercises to fostering open communication and celebrating success, we've got you covered! 🎉Our mission is to help you unlock the full potential of your team, cultivating an environment where collaboration, innovation, and personal growth thrive. So hit that subscribe button, and let's start building an unstoppable team culture, together! 🚀🔔 Don't forget to subscribe and hit the bell icon for notifications so you never miss an episode! Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below - we'd love to hear from you! 🎧 00:00-06:45 Starting the bond 06:46-23:51 What is team bonding and what it's not 23:52-32:47 It's the glue 32:48-39:20 You're awarded the blue ribbon --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/closing-pitch/message

In today's episode, we delve deep into the transformative power of routines and how they can elevate your game to new heights. Discover the secret sauce behind the success, and learn how you too can design and maintain playing-changing routines. 00:00-6:00 Worst, Best, First, Last 6:01-13:05 Routines, the secret hack to ace a test 13:06-17:11 Approach vs Routine 17:12-24:53 This is how you slow everything down 24:54 Dedicated to the routine --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/closing-pitch/message

Obstacles can be challenging, but they can also be opportunities for growth and achievement. In this episode, we explore why anything that stands in your way is worth pursuing as an athlete. We share personal experiences and valuable insights into how obstacles can help athletes push the envelope and achieve greatness. You still have a lot of runway before you cash-in. (00:00-02:14) Highlight, Intro, Blink-182 (02:15-04:26) Correcting my statement (04:27-05:54) Setting the audacious goal/Why are you doing it? (05:55-10:50) Instant gratification/Chasing the celebrity (10:51-12:28) Adversity and resilience (12:29-23:11) When do I quit? When do I settle? (23:12-27:39) Anything that's an obstacle is worth pursuing --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/closing-pitch/message

We're in tryout season. Everyone is gearing up for the new year with anxious minds and hearts to play on the big stage of varsity baseball. The week went great, but then you walk into the coach's office and get the unexpected news...you're cut.  You're next 3-4 months have completely changed in a matter of a 5-minute conversation. In this episode, we talk about being released, fired, and cut.  (00:00-04:23) Intro: we've been through the fire (04:23-08:02) Being the player cut from the team (08:03:18:16) How do you handle being cut? (18:17-19:37 )Channeling the anger of not making the team (19:38-30:23) It's political? You never know who's watching (30:24-34:56) Cope-ing with the disappointment  (34:57-44:42) When to quit, opinions change (44:43-51:02) Are you red-flagged if you're cut? --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/closing-pitch/message

How many scholarships are there in your sport? What about the number of players who are playing in college? What are the chances of playing a college sport? All these answers are in this episode of the Closing Pitch Podcast. 00:00-01:45 Intro (episode highlights, lost air pods) 01:46-11:11 Total Number of College Baseball Programs 11:12-24:07 How many players (full breakdown) 24:08-33:04 Scholarships, what can they offer? 33:05-37:35 Why pursuing college is worth it 37:36-41:00 If it's hard, it's worth it --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/closing-pitch/message

Kansas House Bill 2139 would make verbal or physical abuse of an umpire a misdemeanor. If this passes, how will the youth sports community react? Will we start seeing people being taken away in a cop car to be detained? Spiker and Dave dive into the subject.  Umpire conversation on the Tiger Interview Series: https://youtu.be/5vdRvbN6OEk (00:00:04:24) Introduction (TV bumpers, the Hammer Law, In this episode) (04:24-07:06) Kansas House Bill 2139 (07:07-11:15) Slippery Slope (11:16-17:26) The penalties and community sentiment (17:27-20:17) Umpires, how bad is the abuse? (20:18-26:46) Where does this go? --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/closing-pitch/message

Fuel your season with the right food. We have Jillian Tedesco, the owner of Fit-Flavors, a podcaster, an author, and a mother of two to discuss how choosing the right food can effect your year. We also have her husband, Jason Tedesco, the head coach of their Rawlings Tigers baseball team, to discuss the lifestyle and the rewards of developing a strong team culture. This is a must-listen-to episode. You can see the time stamps below.    Fit-Flavors: https://fit-flavors.com/ Follow and DM Jillian: https://www.instagram.com/jilliantedesco/ Tweet at Spiker and Dave: https://twitter.com/SpikerHelms | https://twitter.com/david_birkby (00:00-06:18) Introduction (highlights, guest intro) (06:19-10:18) The Power of Food (10:19-17:17) Coaching, Teaching, Lifestyle (17:18-22:40) "Healthy" Eating (22:46-32:36) The Science of Food Simplified (32:37-39:23) Athletes & Coaches' Relationship with Food (39:24-40:28) 80/20 Mentality (40:29-46:11) How To Create Nutrition Opt-In (46:12-49:52) How To Eat on the Road (49:53-53:40) Can't get bigger because of genetics? (53:41-55:36) Protein, Post Workout, Body Replenish (55:37-58:38) The Pitcher's Hangover (58:39-01:03:43) Timing of Meals, Optimum Performance (01:03:44-01:05:02) Energy and Protein Bars (01:05:03-01:07:38) Energy Drinks & Pre-Workout (01:07:39-01:08:10) Caffeine & Sleep (01:08:11-01:14:29) Cultivating a Community, Leadership, Visualization (01:14:30-01:19:40) Creating Community and Culture External and Internal (01:19:41-01:24:27) Taking Ownership, Hard Conversations, Players Character (01:24:28-01:28:06) Struggle, High Expectations, Social Media (01:28:07- 01:36:18) What Should Change In Youth Sports? --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/closing-pitch/message

How many times do you see players dive? Or go hard into a bag? Or even playing their practices like games? In this episode, we discuss the best player on the team mentality.  (00:00-04:47) Intro (SEC Baseball Prediction) (04:48-12:32) BPOTT (12:33-15:03) Perception is reality (15:04-22:04) The Player Test (22:05-26:11) A story of being uncomfortable (26:12-27:24) Players write the lineup  (27:25-29:28) Intimidated before you start (29:29-35:29) Looking for the positive/how to teach it (35:30-40:41) Application, closing pitch thoughts --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/closing-pitch/message

Deven Morgan from Driveline Academy is here for round 2 of baseball conversations. We touch on winter baseball events, pitchers' arm fatigue, and how developing skills that scale. (00:00-03:12) Intro (how this episode is set up) (03:13-06:58) Leveraging technology (06:59-09:54) Creativity in coaching (09:55-13:01) Deven's ABCA Take (13:02-23:14) Dogmas, effective teaching, player efficiencies  (23:15-33:19) Top priorities for a teacher (33:21-39:40) USA Pitch Smart, Winter Baseball Events, Pitching Fatigue (39:4-55:10) Regulating youth baseball? (55:11-57:36) Potential solutions to arm fatigue/injury (57:37-01:09:34) Game adoption, rec-ball, and local levels (01:09:35-01:14:37) Can Travel Ball, Pony, and Babe Ruth work together? (01:14:38-01:25:18) Skills That Scale (01:25:19-01:40:44) Multi-sports, Burning Out, Training Structure (01:40:45-01:43:12) Gamification  (01:44:13-01:48:59) Driveline Academy  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/closing-pitch/message

Coaches, think about how you want your team to be built before building it. This helps with eliminating problems like FOMO, overpromising, and rocky seasons.  See the time stamps below to find the topic you're most interested in, or listen to the entire length.  (00:00-02:24) New update to the show (02:25-08:16) Building out your program and team 08:17-14:27 The right player, state the facts and clearly define your priorities (14:28-16:52) Don't FOMO into the word "elite" (16:44-20:24) The focus of the coach vs. the player (20:25-23:11) The unicorn team (23:12-31:51) Oversold and buzzwords --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/closing-pitch/message

We recently got back from the ABCA, and boy, 'do we have insights for you!' There are a lot of great projects being created in the baseball space. In this episode, we talk about the American Baseball Coaches Association Conference, where the baseball community ascends onto one location to celebrate the game, teach, and share the projects their working on.  Find the topics in the time stamps below:  00:00-02:18 Introduction 02:19-04:44 ChatGPT: your new instructor? 04:45-07:31 ABCA: Disney World of Baseball? 07:32-14:29 The pulse and future of baseball 14:30-22:36 Building relationships 22:37-27:56 The ultimate crazy college recruiting hack 27:57-32:13 The ABCA is the most prominent think tank for coaches and players --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/closing-pitch/message

When I was playing, there were a lot of rumors about how the pro scouting community found their players. It was a guessing game in my career. In this episode, we have a National Crosschecker Scout behind the microphone. See the time stamps for the topics we touch on. (00:00-04:11) Introduction - Who is Mark Adair? (04:12-08:37) The different types of pro scouts (08:38-11:34) What is a professional prospect? (11:35-15:48) How long do scouts spend at a game? (15:49-20:03) Pro scouts attend these events (20:04-29:50) The MLB Draft, what you need to know (29:51-30:33) Multi-sport athletes  (30:34-36:13) Here's how you make it (36:14-40:02) Minor League restructure/College transfer portal (40:03-41:23) We know the rosters (41:24-43:22) This is a big deal for a scout (43:24-46:10) This is what we look for (46:11-46:59) Are pitchers harder to project out? (47:00-51:51) Scouting + Training + Mark's Career (51:52-55:19) Draft week, how many players we look at (55:20-59:08) Throwing your helmet crosses you off the list? --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/closing-pitch/message

Is it time for us to quit? We should probably sell the mics, cameras, and lighting equipment. We're never going to make it to the next stage of podcasting. Why should we have even started? WAIT, WAIT, STOP... Everyone goes through this self-doubt talk. Especially when pressure is mounting on you, how do you handle it?  We explore it in this episode.  (00:00-03:00) Introduction  (03:01-08:41) The Black Spiral of Death (08:42-13:28) What's the source? The solution?  (13:29-16:12) Complaining will cause an avalanche  (16:13-21:05) The bailout (21:06-28:44) Is this beneath me? (28:55-31:52) Dave's drawing   (31:53-35:52) Spiker is working on these action items --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/closing-pitch/message

Recruiting + Twitter + Think Different Does it feel like you're not getting traction on your recruiting? Are you not getting noticed? Here's where you could be going wrong.   00:00-03:25 Intro  03:26-09:03 Building something that lasts  09:04-20:10 Twitter + Recruiting  20:11-24:59  Passion vs. Purpose  25:00-34:48 Recruiting, your first step  34:49-36:45 Obstacles are the way --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/closing-pitch/message

History rhymes, and sometimes it completely repeats, but the majority of the time it's a newer version of what was in the past. How has the game evolved to become more about celebrations, and velocity, and less about winning? Is there a place in time we can point to where this happened before?  Spiker, Dave, And Raffy talk about Aaron Judges' historic season, Manny Machado's lack of hustle in the 2018 playoffs, and Jose Bautista's emphasis bat flip.  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/closing-pitch/message

It can be tempting. It wants you to stop short. It convinces you that no one will know. It wants you to be lesser version of yourself because it’s easier. Will you compromise? Closing Pitch Twitter Follows: Spiker Helms: https://twitter.com/SpikerHelms David Birkby: https://twitter.com/David_Birkby Rawlings Tigers: https://twitter.com/Rawlings_Tigers Learn More About the Rawlings Tigers: https://www.rawlingstigers.com/form-a-team.php Listen to the Show On the Go! Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-closing-pitch/id1308056021 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4fjos02cDAqXvQA5dyVgR2?si=557c3bf221cf4832 Do you just want to listen to baseball and softball conversations? Listen to the Tiger Interview Series. It’s only about the game: Watch: https://www.youtube.com/c/RawlingsTigers/featured Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rawlings-tigers-interview-series/id1553851157 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6b8RY79LXAWxpSMMTyLWqG?si=5c3861d7cc9d46fb --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/closing-pitch/message

How do you change the vibe of a team?  What do you do when you have negative nancy complaining about the weather, turf, or umpire?   In this episode, we address the mood. Will you pass the vibe check? Closing Pitch Twitter Follows: Spiker Helms: https://twitter.com/SpikerHelms David Birkby: https://twitter.com/David_Birkby Rawlings Tigers: https://twitter.com/Rawlings_Tigers Learn More About the Rawlings Tigers: https://www.rawlingstigers.com/form-a-team.php Listen to the Show On the Go! Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-closing-pitch/id1308056021 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4fjos02cDAqXvQA5dyVgR2?si=557c3bf221cf4832 Do you just want to listen to baseball and softball conversations? Listen to the Tiger Interview Series. It’s only about the game: Watch: https://www.youtube.com/c/RawlingsTigers/featured Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rawlings-tigers-interview-series/id1553851157 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6b8RY79LXAWxpSMMTyLWqG?si=5c3861d7cc9d46fb --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/closing-pitch/message

Getting locked in our minds can be the tiniest prison. We can easily put ourselves in this place by traveling down the rabbit hole of emotions. How do we break out to play fast and free? Closing Pitch Twitter Follows: Spiker Helms: https://twitter.com/SpikerHelms David Birkby: https://twitter.com/David_Birkby Rawlings Tigers: https://twitter.com/Rawlings_Tigers Learn More About the Rawlings Tigers: https://www.rawlingstigers.com/form-a-team.php Listen to the Show On the Go! Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-closing-pitch/id1308056021 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4fjos02cDAqXvQA5dyVgR2?si=557c3bf221cf4832 Do you just want to listen to baseball and softball conversations? Listen to the Tiger Interview Series. It’s only about the game: Watch: https://www.youtube.com/c/RawlingsTigers/featured Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rawlings-tigers-interview-series/id1553851157 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6b8RY79LXAWxpSMMTyLWqG?si=5c3861d7cc9d46fb --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/closing-pitch/message