You know some of some of the best memories are in the car on the way home with your parents after these games and not everybody gets that and I always encourage your your first statement to your kids and I really enjoyed watching you play today. I want an open line of communication between my athletes and I want them to have ownership in what they do, you know, I asked for input from them on a lot of things one thing that any one of the kids that play for me one thing that they will know is that I care about them and and that's that's something that they can walk away from our program knowing that there's somebody who's always in their Corner old. We have a good one for you today. It's episode 11 and we are going to talk some softball today. We are bringing in a special guest from right here where we record from an Athens, Ohio on the campus of Ohio University. We have Ken 0 Arc the head softball coach for the Ohio University Bobcats and we can't wait to get into this episode. And so episode 11 begins right now. We have with us today a very special guest and I'm especially excited to sit down in front of the microphones with her because we are going to talk some softball today Pat and I often refer to softball in this podcast because we are assuming that there are a lot of similarities in the topics that we discussed our that we have discussed so far, but we no longer have to assume because today we have Ken 0 arc on the podcast and Coach Roark is about to begin her second season as the head so Ball coach for the Ohio University bobcats in our first season. She put up really impressive really impressive record of 34 and twenty one twelve and eight in the Mid-American Conference and entered the Mac postseason tournament as the three seed and then went on to win their first three games putting them in the Winner's bracket for the championship game, but then Toledo sorry to bring this up. Yeah. Toledo was able to win two in a row to in the cat season, but nevertheless it was a phenomenal first season, especially considering when you you came on board coach Rowe Arc has been a division one college athlete herself playing four years at Virginia Tech where she became one of the all-time great pitchers in Virginia Tech History. She was the Ace of the Hokies pitching staff for three over four years while she was there and was an Atlantic Coast Conference all tournament and player of the week selection during her career there. She began her coaching career as a student assistant at Virginia Tech and then went on to be the pitching coach at East, Tennessee. State and then invested for really great years at the University of South Carolina Upstate, which is by the way a Powerhouse in fastpitch softball in the Atlantic Sun Conference as the pitching coach there which by the way the Spartans had 340 win Seasons during her time with that team so Ohio University, I guess needless to say was really fortunate to hire coach Rourke as the head coach in August of last year. If I remember right you're getting this is like coming up on your one-year anniversary as September 1st. Yeah, so that's fantastic. So just it's our great pleasure today and I'm here with my co-host Pat Martin. Hey everyone. Sorry every time we introduce a guest you never get a chance to say, I'm good with it so coach were Arc. We welcome you at skin zero Arc to the coaching live podcast. We're really excited to be able to talk some softball today. Yeah. Glad to be here. Thanks for having me great to have you coach. Coach if you don't mind could you walk us through your journey from high school to becoming a division 1 College athlete for Virginia Tech to becoming a student assistant there to then becoming a pitching coach at two different universities to now being the head softball coach for I University. Well, you know, first of all, you know High School, I was lucky to play on a good travel team and had a really good high school softball team as well my my coach in high school. Was pivotal in making me mentally tough and she was a big reason is to you know, kind of why I got to go where I went. I was recruited by Virginia Tech actually in Seattle Washington. That was a tournament. They saw me and it was the sa Nationals and that it was funny. We went across the country to get recruited by a university. It was only five hours away from me. So went there Scott Thomas was my head coach. I had originally got into college with the idea that I wanted to do broadcasting and you know, I made it through my first couple of communications classes and was like, maybe I don't know just maybe not what's for me and I at that point had done some clinics and camps with my pitching coach and with our team and I talked to Scott and was like listen. I kind of think that I really like this and it's something that I can see myself doing like, how do I how do I get involved? And how do I kind of get my foot in the door? And he was like if that's something that you're serious about, you know, you can take a fifth year and you can stick around and you can be a student assistant and you can kind of get that experience under your belt because any any job that you apply for coaching wise every single one of them say experience is required. Well, how do you get You know, so I volunteering exactly exactly so I was extremely lucky that he he let me do that. And so I took that fifth year. It was very different being in that role obviously being with three of those classes. I had obviously played with but you know, they were there are really great as far as you know allowing me to kind of transition into a role that went from teammate to I wasn't coach coaching them. You know what I mean? But it was it was a really it was a really great experience. And then after that had to had to fly away from Virginia Tech which was really sad because I loved college, but I went to East Tennessee State which about two and a half hours away from where my parents are from and I just kind of again one of those things. It's a lot of the times it's who you know and Brad Irwin who is the head coach there still? He actually was out to dinner with some friends of like mine and they knew that I had applied for that job and they're like you need to hire her. Well, she doesn't have experience. I'm telling you you need to hire her and he he was a the reason I really got my foot in the door, you know as an assistant. I know I owe a lot to him as far as that goes. He gave me a lot of freedom that first first couple of years. We jump in feet first did a lot of learning by doing the wrong thing. Sometimes you know what I mean? Sometimes you gotta learn you gotta learn that way 90% of our time talking on this podcast about doing the wrong thing. So, yeah and from there East Tennessee State was in the a-sun at that time and from there. I went to USC Upstate and had a phenomenal experience there Chris Hawkins a head coach. He's been there for almost 30 years now and he was an incredible Mentor any moment that he could say. Hey come here, you know when you're a head coach. This is something that you want to do and this is something that I look for and it was an invaluable experience from the minute that I got there. It was learning learning learning learning and I was still learning the day that I left and so it was really really an incredible experience for me. Especially as a young coach and the assistant coach Brian pack. He's one of my one of my best friends in the world and same thing. He just full of knowledge and both of them want to grow the game. They want to tell everybody everything they know and so yeah just very lucky to have been able to work with them for so long. That's great. As you said something actually said a couple things there that that struck my mind, but you said the word learning and you're talking about a time when you were the The pitching coach but you were still learning. We are episode 4 just aired Monday and in that episode we talked about how important it was for two in order to be better as a coach. You have to collaborate you have to you have to be trained and you have to learn and I think that's one of the things that sometimes we We don't do as coaches because we feel like that we should already know all the answers and we should already be where we need to be. So we're almost turned off by the idea of of getting getting ideas and learning from someone else, but great point there that you know, no matter where you are in life no matter where you are in your your career. You should always be learning. The reason why the great coaches in college are are great. I mean, if you go to the American baseball coaches Association conference, which you go to that convention, don't you? Yeah, I'm I'll be there this year. Yeah, you hear it every year every year Tim Corbin coaches Vanderbilt Vanderbilt University sits in the front row with a notebook filling it up on every speaker whether that speaker is a professional speaker a high school speaker or one of his peers in the University world. But yeah, I mean there's a reason why you just constantly learning. That's so valuable. So viable, how did you hear about the OU job? So actually they are Reached out to me. I mean it was awesome. It was kind of weird, you know, we were already in practice at an Upstate because they started school a couple weeks before. Oh you did and I got a call from the senior woman administrator and she asked if I was interested in the job and I said absolutely obviously I had we had actually Play-Doh you a couple of years before that. They came down to Spartanburg. And so I knew that I knew that The program and I knew that they had had some successful seasons and she called me on I think it was a Friday asked me if I was interested. I said, yes, she called me Monday or maybe it was a Tuesday asked me if I could be on a plane the next day. I said sure got on a plane on that Wednesday had dinner with them Wednesday night went on the rest of my interview Thursday made it back to Spartanburg at 11 o'clock at night on Thursday. And they offered me the job at noon on Friday. So that's incredibly it was a very fast very Whirlwind. They had done their homework. Obviously, they'd already they it was just a formality getting you up here most likely II, you know, I don't know what their process was, but I just I'm really thankful. I had I think I had some good people in my corner, you know, yeah making calls for me and and so that always helps So you come up here you come to Ohio and you little Athens, Ohio and you are here in August. The students are beginning class that week. I'm assuming I think it was around August 26 last year. So when they are my my first day was September 1st, and that was the first day of yes. Yeah. So there you go. The recruits for that for this past year. We're already here. You didn't have any hand in that right? And what was that like we're coaching conyo getting them on board. I mean, I know you and I've had some conversations. I know some things that you did behind the scenes. I mean, if you don't care to talk about how you had to massage that a little bit coming in as the new person. I'm sure that some of the existing, you know, some of the players that have been there for four years were pretty attached to the previous staff and and you know, they're probably some some Some navigation that had to take place in getting them to trust you and and really kind of work hard for you. Right? I'm guessing. Yeah, so I had a real had a really great senior class. There was six of them and culture wise we already there was already a good culture put in place here. That was one of the things that Drew me to this job, you know, I was in I was in a place where we were winning a lot of games and I was very happy, so I wasn't going to leave that for an opportunity. That wouldn't be a good fit. And the culture here, like I said was one of the things that really drew me to wanting to take this position. So I met with a couple of the seniors right when I took this job and you know, they were instrumental in pretty much you know, right when right when the job came open. They were calling our recruits and saying hey, you know our Administration has our back and you need to just like be good like everything will be fine like we're very Confident in you know what we're what they're going to do for us. And so they kind of kept the Train on the tracks as far as that went before any higher was made which was really awesome. And so then when I got here we met I met with a couple of them. Like I said and they pretty much were like, you know, we have we've had a lot of good things happen here and we're very we're very thankful for those things. But whatever you want to mold this program into we're on board and it was yeah and it was I mean amateur absolutely absolutely and you know, it was kind of like one of those things because you you hear horror stories sure from other people. But yeah, it was just I was extremely fortunate to have a group of A group of people who were so willing to just say hey, you know, whatever whatever you want to mold us into like we're good with that. We want to we want to do that and you know, we had a lot of conversations about you know, If we can if we're all on the same, we're all in the same boat. We all have the same, you know goal in mind then it's going to be really hard to stop us and and they really brought in from day one. What I'm a I'm a little different from what they were used to for the last three years and sure you know, what they write and what they did for the three years of for me was it wrong it worked for them, but I'm just a little different and and they really they hit the ground running and it It's just they made me look really good because they bought in and they pretty much said everybody get on this boat. And let's see what we can do. So I was I was really fortunate to have good people and really good leadership early. Yeah, and and that was that was yeah, excellent for me. That's really impressive. I'm a Cleveland Browns fan and I've been through sorry. Hey hard life. You don't have to apologize anymore. Tide has turned what I was gonna say. I've been through a lot of regime changes and I know from a professional athlete perspective not everyone is willing to buy in to the new two new programs. That's a tough thing to do. So a lot of credit out to those there's a lot of credit to them. But also it's a testimony to you as well in valuing the relationship with the players as much as you are philosophy, you know, I mean, I think that's one of the biggest differences in coaches. I think you understand today's player and and I'm used to Me as someone who does and so well actually I was kind of segueing into that because I you retweeted something from Bob Shipley one time on Twitter and he was talking about the difference between punishment and basically love and you know how athletes respond better to knowing that their coach cares for them. So, you know, I was going to basically share that same sentiment that coach Stewart did there that While a lot of credit goes to those seniors, I'm sure that when they sat down they talk to you they saw you know, someone that was that was genuinely there to help them and take care of them. So I don't think anything like that happens just naturally right there has to be a trust to a two-way trust there and I think that's why it went as an important part of the culture that I want to have is you know, we have I want an open line of communication between my athletes. and I want them to have ownership in what they do, you know I asked for input from them on a lot of things but I one thing that any one of the kids at play for me one thing that they will know is that I care about them and and that's that's something that they can walk away from our program knowing that there's somebody who's always in their corner and I honestly, you know people don't care how much How much you know until they know how much care and you have to that was kind of you know, right when I got here what I had what I had to tell the show them is you know, I genuinely care about all of you more than whatever statistic you could put on a on a website for me. Okay, and because we kind of got that trust early I was able to be very hard on them when it came to you know, practice and and stuff like that and You have that you have that level of trust and you can push them and they understand that whenever you're telling them you have those Frank conversations like this isn't good enough right now. Okay, I respect that have to have those. Yeah, you know the mean and and I think that's a hard thing for a lot of people to come into, you know at the college level. They're not really told that a lot because most likely they were the best player on their team, right and they were always the person that you know needed the Baton their hand with the two outs in the game was on the line. Well, you come in to a college program everybody's that person and you're you're not always going to get playing time right away. So you have to find you have to be able to have those conversations in a way that you know, they they trust and understand that you want the best for them. And so the reason that you're saying this isn't because you don't like them, you know what I mean? It's ultimately so that you can get all 100% out of them and I will help the troll isn't right and you help them Reach Whatever they're able to I think that's gold information for the coaches there listening. No doubt, you know, we think about mechanics we think about how we're going to plan our practice, you know, one thing and I would say most coaches would say I care about my kids. I think the big question is do they do they know? What's it look like what's our good? Yeah specifically how yeah and write it down for yourself. You want to show time baby. Just just if you if you say that then right tell yourself how how that is true right by answering specifically how what does it look like? Yeah, speaking of people who are listening. We find that we have a lot of people listening to our podcast in the short time. That's been a out public that have children who are playing Youth Sports and it's been a variety hasn't I mean we've had baseball but we've also had softball volleyball football. Yeah, and we're receiving comments from from These different folks and request to talk about things of course recruiting is one of the big ones and what we're going to get into that but one of the big topics that we've been talking about is the issue of Player Development and we actually spent about six episodes outlining our vision for a particularly a baseball player development program that would replace the current structure of what is recreational ball or travel ball and it's a long play. It's a long commute. It would take a while to do but we just were just we get excited about it that about thinking about and the reason why we get excited about it is because as we look at the landscape of Youth Baseball particularly, we're talking about travel ball and and then you have recreational which is a different animal but we're seeing a greater emphasis placed on things that we don't think is helpful. For example, a greater emphasis placed on playing a lot of games because one that's what the kids want. I think it's also what the parents want. But but and we also have talked about we also kind of think it's what the coaches prefer because perhaps practice is hard. I mean practices coaches day. I mean you got to learn how you got to know how to run a good practice how to make it fun how to make it competitive. And so it's just easier to make out a lineup and want to coach during games and games are games are if you know, if you're talking about fun that mean yeah there they are more funding games are games are more fun than practice. Yeah, but typically typically yeah, depending on what side of that you get your all but one of the things that we'd be interested in you and hearing your perspective on is in the world of softball. We're curious to know from a softball perspective. You have you noticed any particular weaknesses or I guess the way that you would notice this would be players coming into your programs, you know as not just here at OU but as long as you've been a college coach, have you noticed any particular weaknesses or Since he's in your incoming freshmen something that maybe is just Universal across all athletes that maybe you feel like they should have developed or you wish they would have developed more in their travel ball years or their high school years. Is there something that could be done better when they're in those development ages. That would really help you as a college coach. Yeah. I mean there's a there's a few things honestly, you know from deficiency lies, you know, like you said practice. It is hard and a lot of the time we're not practicing a lot. What are we doing? We're probably going out and we're getting on a tee and doing something like that. Well deficiency defensively is what I have seen, you know, it's there's a huge emphasis on hitting right now, which I mean don't get me wrong. I love hitting that's part. It's it's an exciting part of our game. It's become a bigger part of the softball game. Absolutely a lot of Thumpers. Absolutely. Well, I mean, you know with what the amount of emphasis has been placed on hitting the fact that like you said, I mean ultimately you can do it by yourself and practice it but there's construction right Force instructors have an easier time doing hitting probably feeling right but defense would be a huge deficient deficiency that I've seen at least and I mean even even at the college level there, you know, you can tell there are some programs who you know, they can smash but they can't make it past or into postseason our past postseason because I can't catch and throw and you know, it's like okay, I understand like yeah, if you hit one home run it might give you four runs. But if you make three errors in an inning, it might give up seven. So, you know, it's a balance and that's something that that I have seen a deficiency in as far as you know, just a split-second decision making there. Sure what to do and there they don't know and so that's something you know that for us. It's you know, we do what we do a ton of defensive reps because I don't you know, you can't second-guess a split-second decision. That's the whole point, you know, so being sure and Takin taking a good amount of reps defensively and it's a big surprise for a lot of people whenever whenever they get to us and I would say on the other on the same, you know, same kind of side of that the the injuries He's that you see because of you know, throwing and things like that. Yeah, you see more of that coming in especially early cuz they're not used to the volume right there. They might have only been playing softball for the last, you know, four or five years and you know, I love multi-sport athletes when kids say, you know, while okay. Now I'm committed. Should I stop playing basketball? I'm like no. Sport. Yes, if you look at some of the best college football teams in America, they the majority of a multi-sport athlete exactly what you're for and there's a reason for that, you know, they are out of the training room more often than the people who aren't and they can they are just overall more athletic and there's there's something to be said about that. I think that for whatever reason you know, it's I don't know probably 10 years ago. There was this kind of I don't know the thorn myth is the right word, but it was like you should specialize hi why and now you've got into college and you can only play one position. You're only good at doing one thing while the person that's over here and good at six is going to pass you up really easily. And that's how yeah, I tell you another another huge component of this or huge variable in this is I think they're mentally weaker when they specialize If they're not competing in some way, I mean that's where you know, if you're specializing you better find a way to compete in the same way and have the pressure put on you in the same way that you would if you were in January at the free throw line with the game tied and no time left on the clock and you get an opportunity to win the game for your team and the crowds going crazy. You know that that to me is a girl who has to do that is probably going to be a little more relaxed on the box in the batter's box. Absolutely, you know in the championship game then someone who was in the weight room or hitting balls off a tee or going to see a personal instructor during January, right? Not only that but they're in most cases in that scenario that you're talking about those those specialized athletes if they would give play a different sport. They're playing a sport that they're weaker. And so there are behind the curve in that's a good new. They've got to focus more they struggle more when they step back onto the field or the court of their specialized sport you say it just comes more natural dealing with slope failure. Yeah. Our sport is one of the only ones that fails is often, you know, and that's the thing is whenever you're looking at other sports and the stats the stat lines on those like you don't you don't see the amount of failure on those and so it takes a special person to be able to play a baton balls for it. Honestly, you have to you have to be okay with sitting on the bench after an at-bat. That was maybe good and maybe even you square up a ball you smash it goes right to someone. What can you do? You got to go sit down in the bed? Each year on everyone else know that that girl feels bad about lace in a line drive to left field and the girl makes a diving catch but the next one gets up and hits a little squib. Ler that makes it been the five and a half hole and Angie beats it out to first base and and it looks like looks great on her average. I always say baseball or softball these two games. They will humble you hmm some point. They're gonna help believe this. Yeah, I wasn't good. Are you re transition in there to a different point? I wasn't I was going to talk about some other things. I like I want to go back to something that you said when you were Talking about the one of the deficiencies being defense and particularly one of the deficiencies being the Instinct having the instinct to make the the correct place where I was going. I wonder and I want to ask you if you think this is true. I wonder if some of that has to do with the fact that they've never had to make that decision because they have coaches and people yelling outward. Absolutely that you know, they're running bases and they're being told to look at the third-base coach before they do anything instead of making those instinctive athletic decisions. Absolutely drives me crazy this yeah. Well because I mean you go to any you know any softball game or baseball game? I'm sure and the coaches in the Dugout saying all right, you got runner here. Make sure if you're in the Outfield or throw it here if you're in the NFL go here. If you do this do that, you know what I mean? And it's just I mean you're creating people who are relying on you and and then something that you don't have time. You don't have time to scream at them for everything they're supposed to do they need to remember with it. Yeah, right and then I mean There's no ownership in that. Yeah, you know what? I mean? And that's what that's what you have to you have to have ownership. You know, you have to be able as a player to say that my fault as a coach you have to be able to say hey my fault, you know, but there's no ownership and me telling you what to do every five seconds. You have to you have to you have to make those decisions on your own. Yeah. I was really surprised but really happy to hear you say that because I think the argument some people would make is that the more game You play the more apt you are to be able to make those instinctive decisions, but we're hearing right now that that's not necessarily the case. You know, we're talking about the students that are playing a lot of games a different reason why they can't make those decisions and doesn't necessarily have to do with how many games are playing. Exactly. Exactly. I think we're honestly, you know, not the not the to to horn but we're making a an argument for unstructured free play and the need for our kids that get out and to play, you know, baseball and softball and and and different sports with their friends. and and figure that those kinds of things out on their own because they don't have anyone to rely on those situations, you know, so yeah, we've talked about creating a part as part of the structure in a player development program actually having like say sometime some plan time of practices where the see if you have a two-hour practice and you've got your youth teams all over the ballpark your first hour might be your instructing a you know, a skill and then in your drilling it out, you know, and you're in Really helping them with some particular fundamental and then the next hour you say okay, we're going to create two teams out of out of this group of kids are having me teams. You've got you need to make to fill out the the defensive field and we're going to let you play because kids just aren't going out and doing this on their own anymore. We're going to let you play parents coaches get over on the sidelines. And only thing you got to do is Cheer. You can't you can't coach them up at all. We gotta make them make decisions. And so when they're running around the bases that got to figure they got to figure out the ball. As in front of me. Yeah, I can I can make my own decision there, you know, or if they have a teammate gone coach the bags or whatever ordering while on offense, but on defense, you got to make all the decisions yourself. I just there's so much that they could learn if they just weren't being so over-coached right now. I agree. I mean I'd there is there is incredible value in letting an athlete figure out on their own how to do things is it Straining for them. Yeah, but I mean you're preparing them. Yeah, you know, yeah, the game's not the game's not built to make you feel warm and fuzzy. You know, it's just that it's a game of failure. Yeah, so when you're figuring it out, sometimes you're going to make the wrong decision and that's fine. As long as you learn from it right as listening to Brian King podcast the other day and he said that every play. It's talking about baseball. It's a mental strength coach every play has bad and good everything. You do during a play in a game bad and good just how you respond to that. Right, you know, even if even if the results good the process might have been bad. Yeah process could have been good. The result could be bad and there's a bunch of little pieces in between. Those are good you fail a little bit and everything you do because you you were to Camp a Brian Quintanilla, Florida. Yeah, that's where state Love Rocket coach could you tell us where you focus the majority of your efforts in recruiting the recruiting process maybe give us an idea of the percentage or you know, what that you spend more time on between things like travel tournaments showcases on campus Prospect camps high school games or anything else that you might spend your time on the recruiting process will prosper. Yeah. I think you know, the majority of our efforts are spent at tournaments we Our with with the way that travel softball has, you know, just kind of really blown up. I'm able to go in a weekend and evaluate 500 athletes. And so it's I mean more cost-efficient more time efficient any of those things to go do that, you know while I'm at a tournament if I identify an athlete that I like, I'm gonna invite them to a camp you're on your own. Right - yeah, so and I do that basically, okay. I like what I've seen so far. Are you going to are you gonna fit into what our what our process is? You know what I mean? And that's there are there are kids that you have to say no to because you just don't fit our mold and that's okay doesn't mean you're not a good player just means that you're not this isn't going to this is going to be a good fit for you or me. Yeah, so find you find you a place where you can where you can have that. That's where that's where you know the prospect type camps. That's where yeah, you learn if they're going to fit your mold. They're gonna jive with your coaching style. You know, I have a staff all of us are right around the same age or 30 years old and were real laid-back. Yeah, 30 years old. We're real laid-back group, you know where we laugh and we joke, but when were in the lines, It's business and you know, not every not every person fits every single mold. So it's just that's kind of where you where you get to know them a little bit. So I would say that that's a very important part of the recruiting process for me. I'm not going to offer a kid not unless it's a picture that strikes out 21 a game without having them come. Yeah, you know come and see me and especially kind of Too, right? Yeah Cody's school that they really want to go to as well. And that's the thing too is, you know, a lot of you know, I tell every recruit that comes on on to my campus is this has got to be a place where if the softball team was not here. The coaching staff was not here. Can you be happy? Yeah because anything can happen. I mean you've seen medical DQ's, you know, whatever the reason is and can you be happy here? Is this a place that you that you love? And exact words of my son Brock had we had them on two episodes ago three years ago. And and that's we asked him a similar question from the from the student-athlete perspective and he said he asked himself that same question. Yeah, it's important and when you have when you have that, okay, it's you don't really get that grass is greener syndrome, you know what I mean? Right because and you know with the with the transfer portal come in going Live this past fall you kind of saw that and some places It didn't work out for everybody that went on that portal either, you know, and there was there was people that absolutely it helped but you know, you got to find the right fit and I think you know, we had gone into that early recruiting we had been committing kids who are 14 years old and you know, 14 year old, you know, it's an eighth grader, isn't it? Yeah, eighth or ninth but my 14 year old self would not have been able. Well to decide what I want to do collegiately, but haven't they in the last two or three years adjusted that rule or change the road where you're no longer allowed to its last year committee? Yeah, it's only it actually changed September 1st of last year. Yeah your first time. Yeah, so that went into effect and honestly, it's a it's a good thing because you know I just I don't I don't think that's somebody who's 14 years old needs to be making that kind of decision. I couldn't imagine, you know having College coaches call me when I'm 14. Yeah asking me to come on campus and then asking me to commit to something and then ultimately to as a college coach. I'm your recruiting them longer than they're playing for you. Yeah, and it's just kind of like What are we doing? Right, you know what I mean? And it's just so it was it was good to kind of just like pump the brakes on that a little bit. You know, you've seen it helped a lot of people it's giving us a little bit of extra time to evaluate. Yeah, which has been good. But yeah, it's only been it's been a relatively new change, but I think it in a long run. It's gonna be really great. Yeah great first and so the change specifically Is prior to last year September 1 last year, you're allowed to offer scholarships a a spot on the team to a player as young as you wanted to pretty much. Yeah, but you're no longer allowed to make that offer until win. So right now it's not even so you can you can make an offer. Okay after September one of their junior year, okay prior to that you cannot have any Recruiting conversation. Yeah, so that's basically the same as baseball is it but yeah, that's that's that's that is so they just basically have said that's it's odd that it was that way it was different for softball. Maybe it's that maybe it's different for every sport. I don't know it is and they've gone to a more. Universal type deal over the last little bit but yeah, okay. Yeah. It's definitely you want to look into it depending on because they have Olympic sports and then they have non-olympic sports. And so the rules are different. Yeah, you know. Oh, yeah the NCAA that mean that the NCAA compliance book is only like that 36 inches thick or so, right? So what do you I mean as you're looking at these recruits, you know, and you're seeing it. In a tournament and you start to make some mental notes on a player or start a card on somebody or something. What are you looking for? What are some of the most important factors you're looking for in a young student athlete athleticism. Obviously, you know, I look for kids who? Who could make athletic moves there, you know, you can watch some athletes play and you're like it's getting it done. But is it not it's not being done in a way. That's very I don't know the word refined, you know, I mean some of and I'm not saying everything needs to look like a cookie cutter because I don't agree with that at all. I think we're all very different and that's one of the best things about you know, our sport is that you see on the same team a kid who's 5? And can run down the line, you know really fast in the you see on that safety my kid who's six two and just hits bombs or you know, her job is totally different. So it takes All Kinds of Kinds but you know, I'm looking for production. Yeah, that's a big one. I you know my job, isn't it? I have to win and rice, you know, that's probably the most understated thing that I've said today, but Production is important and then grit I I love watching kids who have just a little bit of just grit to him nose to him. Yeah, and I yeah, I just I feel like those kids whenever it's like the goings get and rough you just you look at them and they find ways but that's a that's a big thing for me is Tough kids. Yeah, and then you got to be tough. I you know, we talked about being mentally strong and our practices are hard. They're built to be mentally mentally draining. Yeah, and you know, we talked every every day. We have one of our groups either, you know outfielder and field they'll come early and we rep them out for an hour and it is just go Go go go go go go for we do a lot of artists softball type conditioning as well. And then once that's done that's will bring the team everybody's together. And then that's when I really challenge them mentally. So now they're exhausted. Yeah, but I don't care because practice is starting to get a little challenge, right? So, you know it you have to be mentally tough to make it make it through what we're doing and you have to be mentally tough to be held up to a very high standard. Yeah. So I like seeing kids who play for tough coaches because I'm like they can play for us. You know. Sure. Yeah sure. You know when you when you talk about kids that have an overall athleticism to them and getting things done. In a number of different ways possibly because they just are not there. They're athletic. They've worked on their athleticism at once almost there. Naturally athletic. Yeah, people are naturally athletic but it's also a skill athleticism is something that you can build as well, but I wonder if sometimes the you know, I see this I see this in baseball as well if when you see a kid play it's hard to Define sometimes a difference between a really athletic kid and a kid who is super skilled because they mechanically have have done everything, you know the right way or that, you know, they've got they've had a personal instruction for every personal instructor for everything that they do and so they have that Actually like you look at a kidney like man, that swing is perfect, but then I get in the box and they can't hit a lick right now. They can't they can't compete in the batter's box. But man they're caged rats. They can they can they hit cage bombs like crazy. And I wonder if sometimes they can become overly mechanical or I don't know just over over-coached maybe after Alice's by analysis. Yeah and one of the things you know I've literally I've found a place for a kid. I was at a tournament and I saw this kid and you could you could tell it was on her own she delay steal from first to second. Two pitches later. She delays sealed from second to Third and she's just watching the pitcher not paying attention. She was kind of pouting because she wasn't doing great. And those are the kids and I'm like I want that kid. Yeah my team because she's like I'm gonna take advantage of this, you know, and she's finding a way to to get 60 feet closer. And that's a we talked about we talked about 60 feet all the time in our program and how important 60 feet is to us and You know from a defensive standpoint keeping them 60 feet further away and from an offensive standpoint stealing every 60 feet. We can yeah, so, you know stuff like that and like for me I let us assume that that comes a little bit in that as well like you you can tell this kid probably played, you know softball or baseball in her yard with her friends because you know, she's like just making these she's making these decisions on her own and she's competitive and she's She's trying to find a way to get a run across and me and as somebody who needs more runs and I mean, I'll take all the runs. I don't yes. I appreciate that. So need base runners and you need runs think you have to supplement different types of approaches at different times. I'm aware of that because I've done working with my kids. I've noticed at times trying to correct one issue. They become a little bit more. I'd say robotic ya bollix a good word for hand, you know, there's been times where I've just said, you know, what just forget everything that we've been talking about. I just want you to swing hard here or you know, just right, you know, you know just focus on something else and yeah because I've noticed that the instead of taking a step forward they're actually taking a step back. So, you know, I think over coaching is definitely a thing so for sure. Related to I think athleticism is how important is strength training and strength and agility training to your program to your program now and then how soon do you think when should girls begin doing it I think that is different for every female, you know. The weight room is something that should enhance your game and I think that you know a long time ago. That was how much weight can we put on this person and how can how much how much bigger can we get? I don't necessarily look for bigger. I look for faster. So some of the best hitters that I've In haven't been the biggest kid. They've had the fastest hands so they were able to let the ball travel deeper. Yeah, make good decisions, you know and they were explosive explosive and and so for me, that's what that's what I look for. Obviously a lot of what we do is, you know, it's inner core and so we do a bunch of core workouts all of our positions pictures everybody. I mean, you know that's important and how we can get those muscles. he's too because we're a short burst energy sport you know it's not it's not like we're running back and forth constantly is called Leisure Sport and that's what it is and even as a pitcher who has the ball every single time the pitching motion last you know .1 something seconds okay so by the time a seven inning game happens they've really only been at work for about four minutes and when you think about it like that you're like okay well okay so how do I get those short bursts Energy number one to stay consistent Stitch over seven Innings, right? And then how do we train those muscles to fire like that? So that's what that's what we work on is, you know, a lot of the short bursts energy explosive type movements, you know, we've really gone away. I think the majority of people in our sport have gone away from long distance and things like that. So we found that it was actually slowing our athletes down and it was not helpful. So I mean I would say if you could do some of the best stuff you can do is just short short bursts prints like a 5 yard Sprint and 100% You're going a hundred percent for five yards that kind of stuff because that is ultimately what we're doing. Yeah, it's very functional. Right? So the game, yeah, exactly and you know as far as one to start that it just I think it depends on yeah because you know puberty is a very funny thing. So yeah it is and you I don't want to hurt right. I think it's it's just kind of depends on who it is. Yeah. I wouldn't start them very early though. Not with anything any kind of way. Yeah, they could run your body weight. I can do that pretty much from whatever they could start walking and we've talked about before that. We think that that's something that you know, the kids in this day are missing most because you know, they just a natural exercise. Yeah, they don't they don't get out. They're not playing tag with their friends and you know, having water gun fights across the neighborhood and you know, things like that and say they're not running and they're not jumping and you know doing these different things I have. One of them have a nine-year-old son Jeremiah and he had a friend over during the summer. I've been doing some CrossFit training. I haven't been a month or so, but or yeah, I'm going to get back to it. They but I was you know, I was feeling good about myself and I was like, I'm getting in shape. I feel good and we were out playing with football and it was late and you know, it was dark and the grass was wet. And this is the house that I grew up in the yard that I grew up and I played, you know a thousand Wiffle Ball games in this yard and I came I'm running around third base and went to stop and just slipped and fell on my butt. It hurts so bad, but as I was in the air, I think I began to think I was as I was floating that I'm not I feel like I'm in better shape, but I must not be in very functional shit. You know, I mean because I don't I wasn't able to stop. Yeah. No, I don't I did. I haven't been doing any workouts that prepared me to stop on this wet grass which would basically a court, you know core strength. But it's important. It's important to get out and do those things for our kids and a lot of times they don't have the opportunity to so if we're you know, we don't have to weight train them, right but, you know body weight training and things like that very good. I mean sometimes literally our conditioning would be Sharks and Minnows like you're a shark. You're Richard. You're a shark. All right go and so they're like moving around but it's short bursts energy because act like I'm a shark. I'm gonna run after you. Okay now one shark now. I'm gonna run after you this is this is in your college practice. Okay, so playing a game of football in your tin. You practice doesn't sound so bad. Does it their plan tag up here in their college? Right? Exactly. It's fun. It's good sits in his life. Helpful. Yeah. Yeah, it's you don't even you don't even realize that you're doing something. That's my little to your sport plus. It's competitive right? I always tell I tell all heck. Yeah with every single one of my kids. I'm competitive like to a fault if you could if you challenge You to a spitting contest. I'm going to beat you. I don't care. If you're the fastest runner on our team. I'll challenge you to a race and I'll find a way to win if that means that right you get tripped or what I don't care. That's right. But you're going to you're going to have to figure out how to beat me. And so yeah, you know tag is like, oh, you know that doesn't sound like very, you know, whatever but it's functional is competitive and I mean honestly Quick Cuts It's fun. Yeah, and before the game, right and at least in a softball and baseball setting the Umpire says play ball. Work by yeah. Yeah, and so we have to remember that sometimes you know, this is this this is a game that brings a joy to I mean ultimately you hope that's why they're there, you know what I mean? So, how can we how can we cultivate that in different ways, you know, and maybe it's not doing a bat and ball specific thing, but we can cultivate that Joy doing other things, you know, something simple like playing tag. Yeah, I can see how you'd have. To be intentional about that in a college atmosphere because it is a lot of work, you know the older you get that, you know, the more the game becomes important to you to win and in order to be a winner and it you have to work and so you got to be intentional about keeping it keeping it fun keeping it a game, right? Yeah. I think that you know from a you know, I'll just say from a tournament perspective or a number of games perspective. That's I think that's a that's a good argument point because the more games that kid plays the less of a Just seems to be you know, we're like you said we talked about Coach, but the more fulfilled they become of playing those games. So it's not as important. So, you know, we need to use our practices and and and we need to use our approach to the game to make these games importance important to kids so that they do there. It's a fun game, you know, I would I would say based on, you know, listening to the description of your practices. We ask your players, you know, what they enjoyed or when they have their most Joy. They're probably going to say they in the games. They're having their have a lot of joy, you know, so that's a good thing. Yeah, it is cool. Had a lot of fun. Yeah. Yeah, we did we got we got to ask one last thing though to every every guest that comes we have to ask this question, but I think I agree with you. So I'll ask it. All right, you got it coach. What is your favorite memory from your days of playing youth sports? A favorite memory, I guess I can make your nails sure. Yeah, I mean, you know going through. Going back to like high school. I had a really great experience. Like I said in high school. I had a really competitive high school team the majority of us all played travel softball and the majority of us went and played college softball. So that was a fun experience. And that was honestly the first time that you get to play for something, you know what I mean to you play for you play travel ball and you're going out and you're trying to get the recruiting thing done and you play for your school and it's the first time that you play representing. Something that's way bigger than that, you know to mean and I think that that was a big a big thing for me whenever I kind of got into that. I would say, you know collegiately going to the World Series. I mean, that's a that's a memory. I'll never forget and it's something that I'm extremely proud of and yeah, I mean the best things in the world at least for me like Athletics or the connections and you know, the people that I am still in touch with I'm still I grew my network by being in in athletics. And you know, I have I touched different parts of the United States because of that and different parts of the world even and and that's that's just really cool to me. How you have been able to do that? Yeah back to relationships we started with relationships and finished with it. That's that's good stuff. That's and that's you know, that's what one of the things that Sports does. Is it is it is it it helps you build current relationships and helps you make new ones man. It's it's it's going to be really good for us to share this episode with the people who are listening because one we need that we need the diversity of other sports and And especially men Sports women sports and we already have that on our listenership. And we and you have just given us a wealth of information to be able to share with people. But is there anything that maybe we didn't talk about that you have that you have that you'd like to to conclude with or anything that you would like to add. You know, I think something some advice to parents and remember that their coach is there to criticize them that's what that's what you're putting them on a team to do and ultimately most of the time those coaches are not I mean, especially at the Youth Level, they're not being paid their volunteering their time. So when you speak to your when you speak to your athlete about their coaches, you know, remember number one. This is not their full-time job most of the time, okay. speak about them and kindness and you know, even if maybe you don't agree with everything that they do your first job whenever they get into a car after the game is I really enjoyed watching you play today, and you know, some of some of the best memories are in the car on the way home with your parents after these games and not everybody gets that and that I genuinely hate that when I hear that and so I always encourage you Or your first statement to your kids is I really enjoyed watching you play today. It just means a lot and and they don't they don't they already know what they did wrong sure. They had a coach on their field telling them everything they did wrong. Yeah, they don't need to go over it, you know over and over again and most kids especially the really competitive ones. They're already beating themselves up for it. They're mad. They want to be better. They want to be better and Just being able to get in the car and in here that is if it's nice, that's great stuff coach, really appreciate you coming on. I appreciate you guys having me. Just being able to get in the car and in here that is if it's nice, that's great stuff coach, really appreciate you coming on. I appreciate you guys having me.
In the studio for Episode 11 is Kenzie Roark, head softball coach for the Ohio University Bobcats. At the time of this recording, Coach Roark is in her second season as Head Softball Coach for the Ohio University Bobcats. In her first season, she put up a very impressive record of 34-21 (12-8 in the Mid American Conference), and entered the MAC post-season tournament as the 3 seed and went on to win their first three games, putting them in winner’s bracket for the Championship game, but Toledo was able to win two in a row and end the Cats season. Coach Roark has been a Division-I College athlete, playing four years at Virginia Tech, where she became one of the all-time great pitchers in Virginia Tech history. She was the ace of the Hokies’ pitching staff for three of her four years at Virginia Tech and was an Atlantic Coast Conference All-Tournament and Player of the Week selection during her career. She began her coaching career as a student-assistant at Virginia Tech, and went on to be the pitching coach at East Tennessee State, and then invested 4 great years at University of South Carolina Upstate—a powerhouse in the Atlantic Sun Conference—as the pitching coach there (which, by the way, the Spartans had three 40-win seasons during her time with the team). In 2018, Ohio University was very fortunate to hire Coach Roark as Head Coach, and it is our great pleasure to welcome Coach Kenzie Roark to The Coaching Life Podcast. We discuss standards and expectations for college athletes, recruiting, and of course player development and how we as parents and coaches of young softball players can support them along the way to reaching their goals. _____________ Be sure to SUBSCRIBE and SHARE the show with others. You can do so through social media, word of mouth, or whatever means possible. And, if you would be so kind as to leave a review in whatever podcast app you use, that would be wonderful, and it will help us to be able to get the show out to as many listeners as possible! 