48 | Softball Recruiting Realities: Navigating Coaches, Advocates & College Fits

[00:00:00] They All Want To Do That's The Joy Of The Grind, Right? But it comes down to if you put your recruiting into the hands of an individual team, then you get what their capabilities are. And it's not that they're good or bad, but their reach. And then, like you said, at the different clubs, they have different layers. But I'll always say that you end up where you should be and where your dreams are coming true. And your counter layer dictates, right? So that just says to me, no matter what team you are on, like Dad,

[00:00:29] just mentioned, if you were throwing 68, they would find you on the right team. Now, just going out and playing and pitching that, when being that kind of talent in some random city across America, not facing the talent necessary, then becomes a problem.

[00:00:44] Hello and welcome to Catching You, A Dad and Daughters Softball Journey. I'm Rusty, a dad who's been in the dugout and on the sidelines.

[00:00:52] And I'm Lacie, the daughter whose journey through softball has been filled with incredible wins, tough losses, and so many lessons both on and off the field.

[00:01:00] For the past 16 years, we've navigated the highs and lows of softball together, from the local fields to national tournaments and everything in between.

[00:01:09] From the challenges of recruitment during COVID to the mental and emotional rollercoaster that comes with being a student athlete,

[00:01:15] we will be sharing the perspectives of both a parent and athlete and firsthand experience of the impact of sports on mental health and the importance of support from the sidelines.

[00:01:24] Welcome back, everybody, to Catching You.

[00:01:26] Your co-host, Rusty Hamm. With me is my beautiful other co-host, Lacey Hamm.

[00:01:35] Hi, Lacey.

[00:01:37] Hello.

[00:01:39] We have a special guest with us today.

[00:01:43] Sherry is a Nadine.

[00:01:45] Did I say that?

[00:01:45] Yes, sir.

[00:01:46] Yes, you did it right.

[00:01:47] Yes, Racey.

[00:01:48] Right.

[00:01:49] So, Racey, your recruiting is different.

[00:01:53] At first, you didn't have an advocate.

[00:01:54] Like I said, she played for Mark Campbell and Mike Stiff.

[00:01:58] Most colleges go to them.

[00:02:00] They don't go to, they don't reach out typically.

[00:02:03] I'm sure they do sometimes, but more often, they're just waiting for the coaches to come to them

[00:02:08] and ask them who you have.

[00:02:11] That's the questions that those power fives.

[00:02:13] So, Lacey didn't get that opportunity to have an advocate.

[00:02:16] Lacey, I don't know if you want to describe once you got that advocate.

[00:02:21] How did that recruiting process go for you?

[00:02:23] Yeah.

[00:02:25] So, after I left Bat Busters, I went to Athletics Mercado.

[00:02:32] They're pretty...

[00:02:34] I love them.

[00:02:36] Yeah, the practice facility is very local.

[00:02:39] I had a few of my high school friends that were on those teams.

[00:02:42] I knew some of the girls.

[00:02:43] I knew some former Bat Busters that went to Athletics Mercado.

[00:02:47] And pretty much right away, they ask you, make a list of the schools that you want.

[00:02:53] Make sure you're realistic.

[00:02:56] Look at...

[00:02:57] They said, look at the...

[00:02:58] What major do you want?

[00:02:59] Look at the academics.

[00:03:01] And then give me that list and we'll work on it.

[00:03:05] And that was pretty much like the first weekend, maybe second weekend I was there.

[00:03:09] And so, it was very much different than what I've experienced.

[00:03:12] Because that's...

[00:03:14] I have never made...

[00:03:15] I probably made a list when I was younger.

[00:03:17] Just for like dreams and aspirations, for sure.

[00:03:20] But when it came to recruiting, it was just like, whoever shows up.

[00:03:25] And whoever talks to you shows up.

[00:03:27] And I'm like, okay.

[00:03:28] And I thought that was normal.

[00:03:30] But for that organization, it is normal.

[00:03:34] But for Athletics Mercado, they're very big on advocating for you, for sure.

[00:03:39] And like, I noticed all of my friends committing.

[00:03:44] Especially from the Athletics Mercado organization.

[00:03:48] They're like, I'm going to Oregon State.

[00:03:49] I'm going to Boise State.

[00:03:51] I'm going to...

[00:03:51] I'm like, what?

[00:03:53] How are they doing that?

[00:03:55] That's...

[00:03:56] I was so confused on how they were doing that.

[00:03:59] But went to Athletics Mercado.

[00:04:02] I'm really grateful for my coach who saw a lot of potential in me.

[00:04:06] Got me a visit to University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

[00:04:11] It was a great visit.

[00:04:13] Went with my dad.

[00:04:13] It was awesome.

[00:04:15] And then COVID happened.

[00:04:16] And so that pretty much shut everything down for me.

[00:04:20] They say all the money went to their fifth years and to their just solid recruits that they had.

[00:04:27] And they never got to see me play in person.

[00:04:28] So that was the main reason that things were shut down for me.

[00:04:33] And then pretty much colleges after that were like, we don't have money.

[00:04:38] We don't know what COVID's going to bring.

[00:04:41] And then started playing again for SoCal Athletics Briggs.

[00:04:45] Okay.

[00:04:46] And so he was really big for recruiting as well.

[00:04:49] And I noticed some open spots and coaching change at San Jose State.

[00:04:53] And went from there.

[00:04:56] Yeah, so the reason I had you just explain that, Lace, is because once you found a program that advocated for you, things started to roll.

[00:05:06] Because when you're playing for Mike, the expectation is you're going to go Power Fives.

[00:05:13] And you weren't getting a whole lot of playing time.

[00:05:15] You weren't in the lead pitcher.

[00:05:17] We were hoping.

[00:05:18] There was always that hope because we were loyal.

[00:05:20] And we're like, okay, something's going to happen because we're on this team.

[00:05:23] That never happened because you weren't throwing 65, 66.

[00:05:27] You were probably 58, 59 at the time.

[00:05:29] So you're not going to get recruited by Power Fives, throwing 58 miles per hour.

[00:05:33] But we didn't have any other options until we left.

[00:05:36] We got the advocate.

[00:05:37] So Sherry, explain the importance of having somebody in your...

[00:05:43] Yes, it's on the girl.

[00:05:44] It's on the software.

[00:05:45] For sure, it's on them a lot.

[00:05:47] But describe how we do.

[00:05:50] Yeah.

[00:05:51] I think it's the people who forget.

[00:05:53] Yeah.

[00:05:53] So, I mean, I deal with all birth clubs.

[00:05:56] I think it's 51 clubs that I've dealt with across the country.

[00:06:00] And I actually think they are so valuable in the sport.

[00:06:03] And they have their relationships.

[00:06:04] And they have their desire.

[00:06:06] I mean, my husband wants to co-call and call these coaches and introduce these kids.

[00:06:10] They all want to do.

[00:06:11] That's the joy of the grind, right?

[00:06:13] But it comes down to if you put your recruiting into the hands of an individual team, then you get what their capabilities are.

[00:06:22] And it's not that they're good or bad, but they're reached.

[00:06:25] And then, like you said, at the different clubs, they have different layers.

[00:06:28] But I'll always say that you end up where you should be and where your dreams are coming true.

[00:06:33] And your counter layer dictates, right?

[00:06:37] So, that just says to me, no matter what team you were on, like Dad just mentioned, if you were throwing at 68, they would find you on the right teams.

[00:06:45] Now, just going out and pitching that and being that kind of talent in some random city across America, not facing the talent necessary, then becomes a problem.

[00:06:55] And we could go down the rabbit hole of all the things that are key components for each student athlete.

[00:07:00] And I never get mad at the travel club.

[00:07:03] In fact, I had one team that you mentioned earlier call me and yell at me because one of my kids was going to leave.

[00:07:09] And I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

[00:07:10] I'll defend my advocates all day long that work for me.

[00:07:13] We would never encourage that.

[00:07:15] We counsel them through that.

[00:07:17] And when they bring it to us, because we do an end of season review and then a planning for the next season.

[00:07:22] And this parent was complaining about, oh, well, well, well.

[00:07:25] And we're like, well, first of all, take your concerns back to the coach.

[00:07:29] That's always number one.

[00:07:30] I have a checklist of all the things when our advocates get a phone call like that.

[00:07:35] Pull back to the coach.

[00:07:36] Talk to the coach.

[00:07:37] And what the irony was, that kid came to them from a team.

[00:07:41] So you recruited a kid off a team.

[00:07:43] And now you're worried about that kid getting recruited off a team.

[00:07:45] You have to be in that game realizing that everybody's their own piece on the chessboard.

[00:07:50] So it's going to happen at some point.

[00:07:52] So you do have to have better communication.

[00:07:54] You have to be serving their needs.

[00:07:56] And then there is some value to playing on the right team, even if you're not the number one pitcher,

[00:08:02] because you do get coaches organically showing up.

[00:08:05] We had 187 coaches follow one of our teams this summer.

[00:08:11] Now, they have one kid that committed power crime.

[00:08:14] And the reason was, they were great together.

[00:08:17] They won top gun.

[00:08:18] And they were 17th in tier one when they, as a first year, sixth lung.

[00:08:24] They are loaded.

[00:08:25] But the reason they're so good, and it's hot shot,

[00:08:28] Nadine Villegas down in South Texas, is they were very well coached.

[00:08:33] They had a solid poor group of kids, but they all did their job.

[00:08:36] The job is what I teach them.

[00:08:38] Run to email, why to email, who to email.

[00:08:40] We're doing all of that previous to them getting on the field.

[00:08:44] So when people complain about going to Colorado and no coaches come to see you,

[00:08:48] yeah, because they're not walking around in circles looking for you.

[00:08:51] It is a, I spend more time from December until April working hard with coaches

[00:08:57] and packaging up the kids to where they can play ahead of the whole game.

[00:09:01] That's how we live.

[00:09:02] But people don't want to do that kind of work.

[00:09:04] And they don't want to do it on their own.

[00:09:06] They get distracted with high school.

[00:09:08] They get busy blaming their coaches for not getting them committed.

[00:09:12] There's just all kinds of things.

[00:09:14] When you go back to it is the family's responsibility,

[00:09:16] it's the student-affricate's responsibility.

[00:09:18] But without an advocate giving you the guidance and being willing to listen.

[00:09:22] I said to a dad yesterday, I think we have to recognize she is not a top power core pitcher.

[00:09:29] She is very good on a very good team.

[00:09:31] I have several, I have three of them uncommitted right now.

[00:09:34] Coaches.

[00:09:35] Really good pitchers on a really good team.

[00:09:37] But they weren't that number one.

[00:09:40] And that just says it's not that they're not good.

[00:09:42] It just says, one, we're in the wrong lane.

[00:09:45] And one, we're not wide enough on our scope of who we're targeting.

[00:09:50] You can't just narrow it down to the only 10 schools you want to go to or 100.

[00:09:54] One of our best recruits this year, this young lady, emailed over 200 schools every month and every week.

[00:10:01] And I'm like, oh, we don't need to go that far.

[00:10:04] You're not going to go to those.

[00:10:05] But this kid is really good.

[00:10:07] She had 17 opportunities on September 1st.

[00:10:11] That was because of the work.

[00:10:12] Not necessarily because of a top-level power.

[00:10:15] She committed to a power core.

[00:10:17] But they're betting on a lot of upside because she's a very talented young lady.

[00:10:21] But it's her work rate and the amount of work she did to give herself in that position.

[00:10:26] But that was two years of excitement.

[00:10:28] Yeah.

[00:10:28] Very cool.

[00:10:29] Yeah.

[00:10:29] You triggered September 1st.

[00:10:31] We've talked about that.

[00:10:33] And then I want to talk about the transfer portal lace.

[00:10:35] You can talk about her email.

[00:10:38] September 1st?

[00:10:39] Was it your mirrors?

[00:10:40] Her emails.

[00:10:41] She would copy and paste and put in the wrong coach's name.

[00:10:46] They understand.

[00:10:47] They do.

[00:10:47] They understand.

[00:10:48] She didn't know what to do, right?

[00:10:49] She didn't, like I was alluding to earlier, she was doing it on her own.

[00:10:52] She had nobody telling her, hey, this is what you need to be doing.

[00:10:56] But yeah, it was September 1st.

[00:10:58] Well, not a good day for lace.

[00:11:00] She didn't get a call.

[00:11:01] She was expecting one.

[00:11:02] And then nobody called and it broke her heart.

[00:11:05] Do you set the stage for them?

[00:11:08] Hey, are there girls that, hey, you're probably going to get 15, 20 calls?

[00:11:13] And there are other girls that you prep and say, hey, you probably won't.

[00:11:17] But just be patient.

[00:11:18] Do you do that?

[00:11:21] Let's take a quick break.

[00:11:24] If you want to leave us a message, use the link in the show notes.

[00:11:28] And if you want us to respond, leave your name and email address.

[00:11:32] Also, please rate us and or leave a review as we're trying to grow the show every day.

[00:11:38] Finally, Lacey and I both love coffee.

[00:11:40] We would greatly appreciate any contribution to the show.

[00:11:43] So that link is also in the show notes.

[00:11:46] Thank you.

[00:11:47] Take care.

[00:11:51] Yes.

[00:11:52] So I had 61 class of 26 come through the process on all kinds of business travel ball team.

[00:11:57] I actually do a Zoom call with them all and give all the scenarios.

[00:12:01] So I'm not literally saying to Lacey, girlfriend, you're not going to get a call.

[00:12:05] I'm saying here's the cues in the marketplace, right?

[00:12:09] How many emails were you sending?

[00:12:10] Were they on your sideline?

[00:12:13] That's the message.

[00:12:14] They're not on your sideline.

[00:12:15] As a 27 and a 28 right now, starting or is next 60, they're not on your sideline.

[00:12:20] You've got issues.

[00:12:22] And you need to come to a professional that can tweak it a little bit and help you understand.

[00:12:26] If you're all emailing, and again, all you from Florida, as the example, if you're all emailing Florida and they're never showing up to your marketplace, you're not only Florida.

[00:12:35] Let's get off the gator train.

[00:12:37] I would go, oh, I'll get off the gator train.

[00:12:39] And let's find your dream school, not the dream school.

[00:12:43] And it's a lot of hard and people say, oh, my tone is so aggressive.

[00:12:48] I'm going to recommend a book called Thanks for the Feedback.

[00:12:51] It's not all on the person giving the feedback, but it's also on the people receiving the feedback.

[00:12:57] And I think this next generation of recruits are a little less sensitive to the mindful messages that are coming down.

[00:13:05] Everything is not taken as they become anymore because it is reality.

[00:13:09] And I think this group of 26 took it a lot better.

[00:13:14] Where in the past, oh, she hurt my feelings and she doesn't think I'm good.

[00:13:18] And I had one dad say, you never come see her play.

[00:13:20] So how can you advocate her?

[00:13:22] I don't need to see her play.

[00:13:23] I would say 50% of my kids or more I've never seen play.

[00:13:27] And it's because I understand the rares of the sport.

[00:13:30] I understand, and somebody called me a coat whisperer.

[00:13:34] I understand their language.

[00:13:36] And silence is a terrible language.

[00:13:39] Nothing makes me more crazy than Carl Troach's doasting.

[00:13:42] But they can't email you that.

[00:13:44] Anything other than inviting you to camp.

[00:13:46] And if you fall prey to that camp invite in email without proper direction, you're going to spend so much money.

[00:13:54] And worse, there's a sign I put in my PowerPoint presentation.

[00:13:59] Parents, stop dragging your kids through the no.

[00:14:03] You're paying, putting them on planes, dragging them across the country to be told no.

[00:14:08] Right.

[00:14:08] Have a better, more target marketing approach.

[00:14:12] Very cool.

[00:14:13] I, transfer portals for me, I, I always thought, or I've been thinking that it's almost like a future.

[00:14:23] Someone who is in high school would use the transfer portal, almost like a JC.

[00:14:27] So they would go to a college that maybe wasn't their first choice.

[00:14:30] Maybe they, they, that these colleges accepted them.

[00:14:35] But in the back of their mind, okay, I'm going to be here for one year and then I'm going to kick butt and then I'm going to transfer to the school that I actually want to go to.

[00:14:42] Do you find that the transfer portals created that kind of mindset?

[00:14:45] It's given a false impression.

[00:14:48] It's a very false impression.

[00:14:50] The narrative out there, because they'll see one kid better themselves in a transfer portal situation.

[00:14:55] But you can't compare yourself to that.

[00:14:57] Yeah.

[00:14:57] My understanding was there was over 2,000 student athletes in softball alone that got left in the portal in office.

[00:15:03] And now there's no movement until, you know, next summer.

[00:15:07] And so the impression is my coach didn't play me.

[00:15:10] They didn't like me.

[00:15:11] No, they really liked you a lot.

[00:15:12] They recruited you, spent two years recruiting you, gave you money.

[00:15:16] And then I used to say, what did you do with the opportunity that you were given to earn the opportunity?

[00:15:21] And I think that's a big gap between work rates.

[00:15:24] Well, I got recruited.

[00:15:25] I'm on the team.

[00:15:26] And the correct patient is they automatically play.

[00:15:29] And I'm like 25, 27, 27 is easy math.

[00:15:32] Sue Enquist said it at one of our conferences.

[00:15:35] That means two-thirds of you are subs.

[00:15:37] If there's 27 on the roster and nine play, two-thirds of you are subs.

[00:15:42] And now when you see the numbers, at least six or eight on every major team was in the portal.

[00:15:48] Because they thought they were the one as a freshman and are automatically going to jump in and take the pitching job from Lacey,

[00:15:55] who's a senior who's grinded it out and developed and has faced that level of hammer for three years.

[00:16:01] So the reality is not there.

[00:16:03] And so unfortunately, if there are parents that are driving that transfer train, I stay with my student athletes until they graduate college.

[00:16:12] For this reason, I talk more to the parent than I do the student athlete.

[00:16:17] And at some point, I did one last year that was in a low-level D1, never stepped on the mound in the circle.

[00:16:24] I will say the mound.

[00:16:25] You can get in trouble for that.

[00:16:26] In the circle.

[00:16:28] And they said, what do we do?

[00:16:29] And I say, there comes a time when you're going to burn that many years not bridging the gap.

[00:16:33] And so she's in a D2.

[00:16:35] That's a very good school.

[00:16:37] And she's going to play.

[00:16:38] And so I think it's always been there, but it's not been sensationalized.

[00:16:43] And it's not been put out there as the greatest and best thing.

[00:16:47] Because everybody thinks they got ripped off for not getting their dream school.

[00:16:53] I had one the other day say, I just never felt like I really got evaluated.

[00:16:57] And I'm like, what?

[00:16:58] I was her recruiter.

[00:16:59] She got evaluated.

[00:17:00] She had a lot of opportunity.

[00:17:02] They didn't pick her.

[00:17:03] And so they think because they're now a senior or a junior in high school, they're ripping it up.

[00:17:09] But all of a sudden, they're better than the Lord.

[00:17:11] No way.

[00:17:11] Pretty good.

[00:17:13] So I, you know, and yet I can argue the other side of it, which is, well, opportunity of a lifetime.

[00:17:18] If you get it to advance yourself.

[00:17:21] I don't see that happening.

[00:17:22] It really breaks my heart that they think that the coaches are so terrible that somehow the coaches missed on you.

[00:17:29] Right.

[00:17:30] I defend the coaches a lot.

[00:17:31] And some people don't like that, but it is their job.

[00:17:34] It is their professional experience.

[00:17:37] And when I get those 17, you know, offers for that one young lady to engage in the process, right.

[00:17:43] They weren't all offers to play with money on the table.

[00:17:46] Right.

[00:17:46] Because you see a late, you see a lower power fly.

[00:17:49] You see an upper mid major and they're all four.

[00:17:53] You see a lower V1 and a couple high level V2.

[00:17:56] Right.

[00:17:57] So you see the layer on my side when it comes in, but I usually know that before.

[00:18:01] Very cool.

[00:18:02] Yeah.

[00:18:02] Lacey was fortunate that nobody left and no one came in.

[00:18:07] Right.

[00:18:07] Which is very unusual.

[00:18:09] But you did interview someone earlier.

[00:18:12] Sarah.

[00:18:13] Her journey.

[00:18:14] Lacey began.

[00:18:15] She went through the trust report.

[00:18:17] Sarah bought.

[00:18:18] Oh, Sarah.

[00:18:19] Yeah.

[00:18:21] She went to Hawaii's Hilo.

[00:18:24] I don't know if you want to describe that.

[00:18:26] Oh, yeah.

[00:18:27] She started out at Hawaii Hilo.

[00:18:31] She, I think she mentioned getting like some island fever.

[00:18:34] She's really close with her dad as well.

[00:18:36] She was missing her family a lot and just decided to take the risk and transfer.

[00:18:43] And she ended up at Cal State Dominguez Hills and have the time of her life.

[00:18:46] Yeah.

[00:18:47] And I think that's, there's great stories like that.

[00:18:50] I had one dad get aggressive with me on a social media post about, you don't know what it's like.

[00:18:55] And I'm always going to argue for the best fit on the first try.

[00:18:58] Because I would say in that situation, did you not know you were going to be on an island?

[00:19:02] Did you not know you were going to be far away from your parents?

[00:19:05] And so some of that is foresight.

[00:19:08] And yes, they should have the opportunity to check her out.

[00:19:11] And good for her to find the right spot and make the best of it.

[00:19:15] But I would also say she probably matured in the process.

[00:19:18] I probably understand the opportunity differently.

[00:19:20] And what things are more valuable, her family, her closeness to her parents, things like that became more of value.

[00:19:26] And I think that's great learning for the ones coming through the process now that you have to consider all those things that become an issue when you go off to college.

[00:19:34] But the other part that is difficult as a recruiter is the placement of their college degree.

[00:19:41] They usually lose a semester or it's difficult to find the exact major that's going to be flexible enough that had the opening for sophomore at their term.

[00:19:51] So there's some bigger matching that's got bigger gap.

[00:19:54] Yeah, that's a great point.

[00:19:56] So you have proof of concept.

[00:20:00] You've already described that as far as over 600 people you look great.

[00:20:05] So where if someone were wanting to get a hold of you and maybe use your services, like, yeah, I'm not, I'm assuming this is not free.

[00:20:14] But, and I've talked about it.

[00:20:15] I talked about it before, our last episode, which is spending money in the right places, like mental health, right?

[00:20:22] Like there's, now they have mental health coaches out there and I'm finding the parents aren't investing in that because maybe there's a stigma.

[00:20:30] They're just going to continue with the batting lessons, pitching lessons, hitting lessons, all that kind of stuff.

[00:20:35] And they'll spend money hand over fist to get those and try to get results out of that.

[00:20:41] But they won't spend money on, if their kid has anxiety and is not performing well, spending money on a coach.

[00:20:48] Yeah, a lot too.

[00:20:49] A lunch coach.

[00:20:50] Also spending money on recruiting.

[00:20:52] I know there's, I think when Ways is going through it, I'm like, I'm not going to spend X amount.

[00:20:57] I'm in the Bat Busters.

[00:20:58] I don't need to spend this money for a recruiting service.

[00:21:03] But so just, you don't need to talk about the money, but how can they get a hold of you?

[00:21:07] Oh, absolutely.

[00:21:09] And I appreciate that opportunity.

[00:21:11] It's collegiatesportsadvocate.com.

[00:21:13] I'm on Twitter at CSA underscore athletes.

[00:21:17] And I'm on, of course, Instagram.

[00:21:19] I don't like Instagram as much.

[00:21:20] It's just not as friendly, user friendly to me.

[00:21:23] And I love me some TikTok, but I understand some people don't.

[00:21:26] But I get most of my leave on TikTok because I think you get a sense of my personality.

[00:21:30] You get a sense of my issues and things that I help you with.

[00:21:33] I do get a lot of free content out there just to help people.

[00:21:36] But I really fight against the books and the big, huge furs that just give you a place to land.

[00:21:42] And then they don't have this person like us that is in the system to help you really customize your journey.

[00:21:49] And dollar for dollar, if you're not using somebody like us that gets you through that part of it, skip a batting lesson.

[00:21:57] Skip those camps.

[00:21:58] Don't go to the camps until you know that you're actually in that lane.

[00:22:03] And they didn't invite you on email, but they invited you by coming to see you, right?

[00:22:07] Talking to the coaches and they can see the pit.

[00:22:10] I think the college coaches know how to find the pit and there's plenty of choices.

[00:22:14] And staying away from just camping versus going for recruiting, I think is different.

[00:22:20] Sometimes these kids get themselves too early and they get off of a list trying to push themselves into the process when these coaches are who they're recruiting.

[00:22:30] If they don't remember your name and they're calling your coach at the end, you're not going there.

[00:22:35] Thanks for coming.

[00:22:36] Thanks for paying me to tell you no, right?

[00:22:38] But yeah, thank you for that opportunity because it is a personal and I do give a free evaluation.

[00:22:43] I'll give you as much paper making as I can up front.

[00:22:46] And sadly, I get those calls on September 2nd.

[00:22:49] Hey, it didn't work out for me.

[00:22:50] If you wait until your junior year to find out you didn't get something free and organic, you've missed out on our teen years of exposure.

[00:22:58] And that's why in late precipitation, it's just a tough day on September 1st because you really were hoping and you put yourself out there and you did everything you thought you needed to do.

[00:23:08] But somebody wasn't evaluating that process for you and helping you.

[00:23:13] I edit emails all day.

[00:23:16] Do you find that the parents want it more?

[00:23:20] I would say in general, I think we know the value of what's invested in it.

[00:23:25] But we didn't give our kids the joy.

[00:23:27] Hey, we're playing sports.

[00:23:28] This is what we do as a family.

[00:23:29] This is our life.

[00:23:30] My mother said, oh, take them to the Laguna Beach Playhouse.

[00:23:33] I went in that play and I fell asleep.

[00:23:35] And my mom said, it's just terrible.

[00:23:36] You need to give them exposure to more things.

[00:23:38] Why?

[00:23:39] It doesn't fit in our family.

[00:23:41] This is who we are and what we do.

[00:23:43] And yes, we're a little bit more eccentric and extreme.

[00:23:45] But I think families have to decide if you want a well-balanced experience, then go have a well-balanced experience at life.

[00:23:52] But if you want to be a one percenter at life, you have to invest in a one percenter kind of way because you have to be 99% doing it the other way.

[00:24:02] Speaking of TikTok, we've had Coach Margo on.

[00:24:05] I love Margo.

[00:24:06] And you gave a live TikTok with Devin.

[00:24:10] And I forgot the guy's name.

[00:24:12] Or Jason.

[00:24:13] Grayson, yeah.

[00:24:14] So if you guys go, I think it's Coach Margo.

[00:24:18] If you look up Coach Margo on TikTok, they do it every Monday night, right?

[00:24:22] Before then.

[00:24:23] So I enjoy that.

[00:24:24] And hopefully everyone else can hop on that and enjoy your conversations because it's all-encompassing, right?

[00:24:32] You guys talk about many different things.

[00:24:34] Whatever it comes in on the chat board.

[00:24:37] And now we finally, my son, thank God, he went to Texas A&M Engineering School.

[00:24:40] But he's got us live now on Twitter at the same time.

[00:24:44] Oh.

[00:24:44] So you can see it and he'll manage my account.

[00:24:47] So it's a underscore athlete.

[00:24:49] And we'll be better at announcing it.

[00:24:51] It took us two weeks to get it right.

[00:24:52] But we'll announce it this next week and show that it's a live feed.

[00:24:57] And they can message back and forth.

[00:24:58] And he answers the messages and texts me what to say or what to bring up because there is some technology of Twitter live only working on the phone.

[00:25:08] And then I need to be on TikTok on my phone.

[00:25:11] For some reason, I can't figure out how to do TikTok on my computer.

[00:25:14] Great.

[00:25:15] We enjoyed you having on.

[00:25:17] Lacey, any parting words?

[00:25:21] I got to be last.

[00:25:23] Is that it?

[00:25:24] Go ahead.

[00:25:24] Hi, my new fan.

[00:25:25] I'll be watching you on San Jose State this year.

[00:25:27] And we wish you well.

[00:25:29] Thank you.

[00:25:29] And we're all big fans.

[00:25:30] Yeah, the Mountain West Network.

[00:25:35] Download the app and they show all those games.

[00:25:38] Appreciate you, Sherry, coming on.

[00:25:39] Thank you, guys.

[00:25:41] Looking forward to seeing your Monday night TikTok.

[00:25:44] Oh, yes.

[00:25:45] Thank you, guys.

[00:25:46] Appreciate it.

[00:25:47] And thank you for the opportunity.

[00:25:48] You're welcome.