56 | REPLAY Episode 16: Softball Journey Unveiled: Get Inside Tips From Coach Margo!

[00:00:00] Welcome back everybody to Catching You. We are off this week due to Christmas, so Merry Christmas to everybody. We are bringing you our most popular podcast that was downloaded with Coach Margo. So we want to give you guys a chance to listen to it again. Merry Christmas and we'll see you guys next week. Take care.

[00:00:24] My dad and I, one, his relationship with me on the field was never like, it was always so good. Like it was more of what can we do as a team, not like, he would just always be like, hey look, I know what you want and this is what you told me and I know how to get you there, so trust me. And that's what our routine was like from eight to eight. And he knew when to outsource the coaching. He knew, hey look, he's getting older and he needs to hear from somebody else.

[00:00:52] It wasn't like a total power of, I'm your dad. It was so much more about just like keeping our relationship healthy, making sure everything's working. And it was just such a great time with like for us to be together.

[00:01:04] Hello and welcome to Catching You, a dad and daughter softball journey. I'm Rusty, a dad who's been in the dugout and on the sidelines.

[00:01:12] 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.

[00:01:19] For the past 16 years, we've navigated the highs and lows of softball together.

[00:01:24] From the local fields to national tournaments and everything in between.

[00:01:28] From the challenges of recruitment during COVID to the mental and emotional rollercoaster that comes with being a student athlete,

[00:01:34] we'll be sharing the perspectives of both a parent and athlete and firsthand experience of the impact of sports on mental health

[00:01:40] and the importance of support from the sidelines.

[00:01:43] Welcome back, everybody, to Catching You. I'm your co-host, Rusty Hamm. With me is my other co-host, Lacey Hamm, my daughter. Lacey, say hi.

[00:01:52] Hi, everybody.

[00:01:54] And we have a special guest with us. Her name is Margo Hurt, and I want to get the last name right.

[00:02:02] A-stark-a-starkey. Did I say it right, Margo?

[00:02:05] You got there. You were halfway there. Had a hard right turn. Osh-trick-a-ticky.

[00:02:11] I think I always tell people it's like Osh-trick-a-ticky, but yeah, no worries. Just call me Coach Oz.

[00:02:17] That's the easier way to go.

[00:02:18] Coach Margo. We'll get into that in a second.

[00:02:20] Coach Margo, she played for Texas A&M Corpus Christi out there in Texas.

[00:02:25] Yes.

[00:02:26] From 06 to 2010.

[00:02:28] Right. Go Islanders.

[00:02:30] Go Islanders, yeah. And currently, she's a head coach at Deccan Baptist School. She's a head softball cook there. And you coach volleyball too, right? Is that what it might mean?

[00:02:40] Yes. We get to have the privilege of coaching two sports, and volleyball is the next best thing I know about how it converts.

[00:02:48] And it's a lot of fun, and it's only middle school. A lot of it is just introducing them to the sport too.

[00:02:52] Yeah. And then Coach Margo also has a very large following on TikTok. I think you're nearing 27,000 followers. It's under softball with Margo, right?

[00:03:04] Can you describe that a little bit?

[00:03:06] So, what happened was, is I was training people full-time. I was doing that when I was single, and then I got married, and I had babies. And just the timeframe of me going and training full-time and being full-time employees somewhere else was not obtainable whatsoever.

[00:03:22] So, I just, you know what? After I got my bearings with the second child, I was like, let me just start posting videos online and see if anybody remotely cares what I have to say.

[00:03:32] And come to find out, it's helped out a couple people, and that's really what the goal is. There was no actual plan of attack for this is my company, blah, blah, blah. It was more like, I have a passion for this. I can't be there physically.

[00:03:44] So, what can I do to help this work grow and share my experiences, good and bad? And people can relate to that stuff. And if you're real and you're like a genuine person on that app, I feel like it will come right back to you tenfold.

[00:03:57] So, started posting videos and didn't really know what the heck I was doing. I'm not like a social media guru by any means, but as you do them and you learn, you progressively get better at anything you're doing multiple times.

[00:04:09] And here we are now, talking on y'all's podcast. So, it's really been not just a great way to share knowledge, but it's also been an awesome hobby to be creative and use my brain a different way because the world is changing.

[00:04:21] You have to be good at social media to get out there. And I've met a pond of cool people, including y'all two.

[00:04:27] So, it's really been, and my husband and I have gotten to experience a lot of cool things. Like, literally, like, we were with Span of Bananas, like, in December, just, like, chilling with them in Corpus.

[00:04:38] And we've gotten to do, like, a ton of, you can't even pay for these experiences that we've had. So, it's definitely cool.

[00:04:46] Very cool. So, talk about the beginnings of Coach Margo, the early days, the rec ball days, and then just describe your journey as a softball player and how you got to college all that.

[00:04:59] Yeah. So, I started playing when I was little, of course, like anyone else. My dad was, like, a huge part of that. And he was, I've always been a hard worker, but my dad was even more of a harder worker than I was.

[00:05:10] And when I wanted to take off or whatever, he was just that peace of mind behind me. Hey, if you want this, we're here and we'll help you. But if you don't, you're only going to get whatever you put into the sport out of it.

[00:05:20] Obviously, I played high school ball. When I was playing, there was really, like, no 14s or 16s. It was, like, 12s or 18s. And so, that was, like, a really big difference than compared to what it is now.

[00:05:29] Because you either went from, like, playing, like, literally 12-year-old, like, little kid ball, and then you were playing with the big girls. Like, you were just, like, thrown in. It's like a varsity sport.

[00:05:37] Wow.

[00:05:40] I didn't really play travel ball that much. When I was in, like, 10 years, 12 years, we played in Little League. And that's what we did.

[00:05:46] And because there really wasn't that many girls playing. And the sport has grown, like, exponentially since then.

[00:05:51] But played in high school. We had a, we have a very competitive high school district where I grew up in Texas and ended up getting recruited to A&M Corpus.

[00:06:00] Played there for four years. I consider myself super blessed to have that opportunity to be on scholarships, to have those experiences, meet those girls.

[00:06:08] All the things that you could ever think of. I found my best fit at A&M Corpus. It wasn't the biggest place I could have gone.

[00:06:15] But it was exactly where I needed to be academically, athletically. Like, I played every single game but two games. Like, my whole four years.

[00:06:23] Yeah.

[00:06:24] That just goes to show you, it's not really about how big you go. It's what fits your needs. After that, I immediately jumped into coaching. It was like, what am I going to do now? Like, I have nothing. Like, my life is softball. Like, I love it so much.

[00:06:37] And so I started doing private lessons. I mainly focus on pitching and hitting. That's, like, my forte. That's what I did in college. I hit. And then I hit for the pitchers that didn't hit.

[00:06:53] Once you're playing in college, you don't always have, like, the coaches that you need to get through those hurdles and hums and stuff like that. I didn't even have a pitching coach for my junior or senior year in college.

[00:07:02] So long.

[00:07:03] They had three fielding, like, two fielding coaches and a head coach. Like, you're struggling with your snaps. You're struggling with your, like, breaks. Hey, girl. Hope you can figure it out.

[00:07:10] Yeah, there you go.

[00:07:11] So it definitely sucked at the time or was unfortunate at the time. But in the long run, like, it made me learn how mechanics are, how my fingers should be, all that kind of stuff.

[00:07:22] So it made me a better coach down the road. That's what I'm trying to say.

[00:07:26] Got some slug teams going. Started doing that. Did that for a long time. I had, like, a 12U hit a 16th. And then I had a 14th and an 18th. And I would just rotate weekends.

[00:07:35] And I was at the ballpark all the time. But when you're single and you have nothing else to do, what are you going to do but be at the ballpark?

[00:07:42] And then I found, like, all of my life. So I had to, like, pick a backseat to that because I wanted to spend time with him at babies. And then here we are.

[00:07:49] There you are.

[00:07:50] So, yeah, the goal is obviously to let every girl know, like, they can be whoever they want to be in the sport, but also, like, how much work it takes.

[00:07:59] Because as Lacey knows, like, this is a game of dream failure. Like, I've learned so much about working hard through it.

[00:08:07] And it's just, it's the most fair sport you can have because it never, you can have a little luck, but mostly it's going to be work that you put into it.

[00:08:14] Yeah. I think later on, we're going to ask you some questions about the recruiting because you, you have some TikTok videos on recruiting and what teams to play on and what teams could you play on if you want to go to certain colleges.

[00:08:28] That's what attracted me to your content because I, you started talking about, you know, play for, you want to go to Oklahoma or if you want to go to Oregon, you have to play on these teams.

[00:08:39] I mean, I was a bad monster my whole life.

[00:08:42] Oh, wow.

[00:08:43] So, those, those certain colleges, but ones that were kind of sheltered into, but like later on, as I started playing for different teams and started noticing like my athletic ability, it was never, it was more like, all right, these are the schools that I'm looking at.

[00:09:00] These are where the opportunities are. This is where I'm going to play, get playing time, get a good education. So now, and then I found myself at San Jose State when I'm going into my senior year almost, but like recruiting wise, my junior year was COVID.

[00:09:15] Like when my junior year started, COVID happened. We all went shut down, no coaches allowed at our games. So my whole thing was like posting videos on Twitter and emailing coaches nonstop.

[00:09:28] And you touched upon how social media is pretty important now. I mean, TikTok wasn't as big as it is now.

[00:09:33] No, it blew up during COVID.

[00:09:35] Yeah.

[00:09:36] Yes. Yes. Like it was more just like funny videos of people, but now girls are like going on there and posting their content and posting their highlights and sending it to coaches.

[00:09:45] So it's definitely grown a lot more since I was recruited and my recruitment process was a complete mess.

[00:09:52] I love to hear your insight on like just the recruit, like recruitment, like some advice you'd give some girls.

[00:09:59] Just moving forward with the recruiting process now that social media is like even bigger than it really was.

[00:10:06] Yeah. I think there's a lot of variables and I don't think there's one path to ever take.

[00:10:10] And I think that's what people want to hear. It's like do A, then do B, then do C, and it'll all work out.

[00:10:15] And that's just not the case at all. The point of the recruiting videos that I post is like it's not rockets.

[00:10:21] There's only 24 hours in the day. There's only so much miles you can have, budgets to use, people that you know,

[00:10:28] and people are going to go with who they know, who they can trust.

[00:10:31] Patty Gasso only has so many people that can work for her, right? And how many people did she have to filter through sending her people?

[00:10:37] Oh my gosh, this girl's so good, this girl's so good. She's got to go with what she knows.

[00:10:40] And that's just reality. I guess that's what I was trying to like portray these people.

[00:10:44] It's not this magical potion that you drink or meet or whatever. Don't get me wrong.

[00:10:49] There are exceptions to the rule, but at the end of the day, you're only going to be recruited by so many people because of where you live,

[00:10:55] where you play, how good you are, how good your grades are.

[00:10:58] However, you could be a freaking stud, right? But if you can't get into the school, don't care.

[00:11:03] You still got to make your grades. And there's so many other girls playing now.

[00:11:07] So like when we were getting recruited back in 2005, 2006, the narrative was like,

[00:11:13] oh, well, I'm going to get athletic scholarships. I'm not worried about my academics.

[00:11:16] And that's what like my dad's generation was. The generation before me was like, dude, I'm an athlete.

[00:11:21] I don't have to be smart.

[00:11:22] And I have to be smart and you have to be good at the sport because there's just so much competition.

[00:11:26] And for girls sports, especially like there's way too many girls that care about their grades.

[00:11:31] Like any athletic team that we had on campus, their GPAs were through the roof, their girls sports were.

[00:11:36] Now, boys, a little different, right?

[00:11:38] What I would say is, and I made a video. This is important, but this is more important.

[00:11:43] This is important, but it's more important than that.

[00:11:45] And so there's a lot of things to look at.

[00:11:46] I would say one, if you are a catcher and they've already recruited three catchers, why are you looking at this?

[00:11:52] Why are you going to go be the fourth catcher on a team?

[00:11:55] You can look up all this stuff online.

[00:11:57] It's not rocket science where you can dissect their lineups, dissect their roster.

[00:12:01] It's all right there.

[00:12:02] If you live in Tennessee and they've never been to Oklahoma, they're going to recruit unless you know some.

[00:12:09] OK, and that's the exception.

[00:12:11] But these people only have a very short window now, especially with Division One.

[00:12:16] Now, when it comes to the social media stuff, it's a double edged sword.

[00:12:21] OK, because you could be posting too much about your swing, your emotion or whatever.

[00:12:26] And they're like, we don't like that.

[00:12:27] We don't know how to fix that.

[00:12:29] If I have to fix it.

[00:12:29] So in your recruiting process, that was the only outlet you had.

[00:12:34] You had to post that because you physically couldn't go and meet.

[00:12:37] Right. Because it was code.

[00:12:38] Now it's OK.

[00:12:40] You can go to these recruiting things and you can be seen in person.

[00:12:43] But if I can watch someone's video multiple times, all I'm doing is dissecting how bad it is.

[00:12:48] And that's one of those things that you have to really be careful because you only want to put out your absolute best.

[00:12:55] Not some BS five, six hole hit.

[00:12:57] You need to hit a bomb and then post that.

[00:13:00] It needs to be something like extreme to post.

[00:13:04] Because guess what?

[00:13:05] They don't care that you can hit five, six hole.

[00:13:07] What they want is they want the long ball.

[00:13:09] They want you to be fast from home to first.

[00:13:11] And they want you to look like a freaking ass.

[00:13:13] Because if you cannot run, move laterally, be an athlete.

[00:13:17] And if they recruit you as a shortstop and you have to play left field, that's what they want.

[00:13:21] They want to see those things.

[00:13:22] So I would say your era of like hosting and whatever has probably narrowed down into that's not as it doesn't weigh as heavy compared to you going in front of these coaches, having someone call on your behalf, stuff like that.

[00:13:39] Yeah.

[00:13:39] There was there was a time I was being recruited by one school and they it was during COVID and they're like, we can't really we can't offer you anything unless we see you in person and we can't see you in person.

[00:13:49] So I'm like, okay, so what do you want me to do?

[00:13:52] Yeah.

[00:13:52] And you're like, okay, cool.

[00:13:53] So do I get like in a bubble suit and I get one of those big balls?

[00:13:56] Then what do I do?

[00:13:57] Like in a tee?

[00:13:57] What do you want me to do?

[00:13:58] Yeah.

[00:13:59] That stuff.

[00:13:59] That's really tough.

[00:14:00] I'd be sending videos of my pitching lessons, of my games.

[00:14:03] I'm like wearing a mask while I'm playing a game.

[00:14:06] So it's come on, guys.

[00:14:07] What do you want me to do?

[00:14:08] But like you mentioned how it's like the people and my coach at the time when I was getting recruited, he knew the incoming coaches at San Jose State.

[00:14:16] And there's all these openings here at San Jose State.

[00:14:19] You need to reach out.

[00:14:20] You need to do this.

[00:14:21] And I got pretty quick contact with those coaches and was offered a good amount of money.

[00:14:27] So it's definitely about people and I'm learning that along the way and definitely plays a factor on who you play for.

[00:14:34] I was thankful.

[00:14:35] I grew up in Southern California where softball was huge.

[00:14:39] You played in a very competitive high school district.

[00:14:42] My high school district was extremely competitive as well.

[00:14:45] And we ended up going to quarterfinals of CIF my senior year, which was really fun and awesome.

[00:14:52] But yeah, definitely about connections and who you play for, where you live.

[00:14:56] Totally agree with that.

[00:14:58] Yeah, Lacey.

[00:14:59] Lacey, that was, you went to the semifinals, right?

[00:15:02] Oh, semifinals.

[00:15:03] Yes.

[00:15:03] And the girl that hit the home run is now at Oklahoma.

[00:15:06] So don't feel bad about that.

[00:15:07] Yeah.

[00:15:08] Margo, you and Devin Armand did a thing on the pros and cons of the video of social media.

[00:15:15] You touched upon the cons of the social media.

[00:15:18] I know you did some positives, but a little bit of the cons is, yes, you're posting these things.

[00:15:25] You want coaches to see your swing or your pitch.

[00:15:28] But then there's also some negatives with social media.

[00:15:30] Can you touch upon that a little bit?

[00:15:32] We all take a risk of posting things online, right?

[00:15:35] So like I can post something and people can hate me and they can totally destroy my life.

[00:15:39] Whatever.

[00:15:39] Okay.

[00:15:39] There are keyboard, what are they called?

[00:15:42] Keyboard bullies or whatever.

[00:15:44] Okay.

[00:15:45] Yeah.

[00:15:45] But here's what I think too.

[00:15:47] If I'm playing at a high level and I'm seeing multiple swings from this person, I have more ammo to work with.

[00:15:55] Right?

[00:15:56] Yeah.

[00:15:56] The other thing too is if you are just, let's just say you fail what you're going to in a softball game and it's posted.

[00:16:03] People are just, they're just leads.

[00:16:05] They don't even care who you are.

[00:16:06] It's like, you're not even a human.

[00:16:08] So I think you can get really caught up in what people are saying about you, even though they have no input or say on like how to fix it, who you are as a person, like how much work you put into it.

[00:16:18] So I never had that pressure as an athlete.

[00:16:22] No one even read about my game and the paper other than people that lived in Corpus and my mom and my dad and maybe like my friends that went to college.

[00:16:29] Now these girls are playing on these big, huge stages.

[00:16:32] I'm seeing their film right after or right during.

[00:16:35] People are filming it and making their own opinion.

[00:16:37] I do that literally on 6th floor for a living now.

[00:16:40] I think it is, you can get really caught up in a really deep spiral if you let it.

[00:16:45] I think another thing is like when other college coaches, if I have a game footage of a full team playing, there's so many things you can look at.

[00:16:52] Like bad habits you can pick up on that they have, right?

[00:16:55] Oh wow, like they got three inside pitches that first at bat or she goes inside every single first pitch strike.

[00:17:01] So there is a lot more information.

[00:17:03] Now, can your players like use that information and be successful?

[00:17:08] I don't know.

[00:17:10] I like, it's funny because we'll be coaching these high schoolers and none of my high schoolers are like hardcore girls.

[00:17:14] They're just there to play the sport and have fun.

[00:17:16] And one of my student coaches was like, oh yeah, like she's throwing a drop in every time.

[00:17:20] And then she goes up.

[00:17:20] I was like, you know what?

[00:17:21] Don't tell them because that might be a little too much information to think about.

[00:17:25] I was like, we're like in this mindset where you just like need to see the ball, hit the ball.

[00:17:29] Like less is more.

[00:17:30] I would also say that there could be, we don't want anyone to feel like they're being attacked 24-7 online.

[00:17:37] But there are some like crazy.

[00:17:39] I posted a video recently and it's on viral.

[00:17:42] These three little girls, they're just like little girls doing a dance and people just totally ripping the slide to stress.

[00:17:48] I'm like, like, like, it's fine.

[00:17:51] It's a pop-up slide.

[00:17:52] I don't know what's happening.

[00:17:52] I would say you, you can be very vulnerable online.

[00:17:55] And I bet we've all learned that the hard ways.

[00:17:58] Like some people just love to tell you what they think.

[00:18:00] Even it doesn't matter.

[00:18:01] Yeah.

[00:18:02] Let's pivot a little bit.

[00:18:03] Again, this is a father-daughter podcast, right?

[00:18:06] I caught my daughter when she started when she was seven years old.

[00:18:11] Describe your relationship with your father.

[00:18:13] Did he catch you when you were kissing?

[00:18:15] Did he have, you had a bad session?

[00:18:19] Did he have bad bodies on her?

[00:18:20] My poor dad and his shins.

[00:18:23] All those balls, his steps of shins.

[00:18:25] He did his absolute best.

[00:18:27] And really when I got home from college, he's like, I'm not catching you anymore, dude.

[00:18:30] We're going to, we'll just get you one of your friends.

[00:18:31] Like, I'm not taking that beating.

[00:18:33] My dad and I, one, his relationship with me on the field was never like, it was always so good.

[00:18:41] Like, it was more of what can we do as a team?

[00:18:44] Not like, I'm working hard enough.

[00:18:45] He would just, he would just always be like, hey, look, I know what you want.

[00:18:48] And this is what you told me.

[00:18:50] And I know how to get you there.

[00:18:51] So trust me.

[00:18:52] And that's what our relationship was like from eight to eight.

[00:18:57] And he knew when to outsource the coaching.

[00:18:59] He knew, hey, look, he's getting older and he needs to hear from somebody else.

[00:19:02] It wasn't like a total power of I'm your dad.

[00:19:06] It was so much more about just like keeping our relationship healthy, making sure I was putting the work in.

[00:19:11] And it was just such a great time with like for us to be together.

[00:19:14] What?

[00:19:14] You're so lucky, Lacey, to have a dad that like, truly, I don't think you like most of that.

[00:19:20] Dad, a dad that's so great.

[00:19:21] It's just so cool.

[00:19:23] And my dad is like that.

[00:19:24] Yeah.

[00:19:25] He, because we would listen to the coaches a little bit more on like the process and like how recruiting works or like you should switch pitching coaches.

[00:19:34] Because we were all, once we got into the recruiting process, it was like new to us.

[00:19:40] So dad, we would listen to my travel ball coaches on what we should do and like how we should go about like switching pitching coaches or like what I should work on outside.

[00:19:50] And I feel like it was a really good relationship.

[00:19:53] I feel like because he did, was like an assistant coach on my high school team.

[00:19:57] And he would sit in the corner and just do like our little book.

[00:20:00] Like he wouldn't really say anything while I was pitching, but maybe you shouldn't have walked the first batter of the inning.

[00:20:06] Maybe you should spray.

[00:20:07] Like my head coach, come on, Lacey, don't walk her, don't walk her.

[00:20:10] And he'd be a little bit more harsh, but my dad would be like, hey, it's okay.

[00:20:13] Just don't do that next time.

[00:20:15] I know you're better than that.

[00:20:17] Just keep going.

[00:20:18] But it wasn't always like that.

[00:20:19] It wasn't always like that.

[00:20:20] No.

[00:20:21] I got on her a lot, right?

[00:20:23] I was not, my body language is bad.

[00:20:25] I would throw it back hard at her.

[00:20:27] She had a bad state.

[00:20:29] It was, it was never human too.

[00:20:33] Yeah.

[00:20:35] Like I understood later, I was only 12 at the time, but later that he just wanted, he knew I could be better than that.

[00:20:43] So he showed it in a different way.

[00:20:45] And I understood that later, but that right then and there, I'm like, oh, she thinks I'm like a bad player.

[00:20:50] I need to be better in this situation.

[00:20:51] And I just want to impress my dad, like all the time.

[00:20:54] I just want to impress my dad.

[00:20:56] But it got, it got better where he was like, you're a hard worker.

[00:21:01] I know you can do better than that.

[00:21:02] It's okay.

[00:21:03] Like I'd have teammates talk to me about how their dads were just screaming at them after a game.

[00:21:08] Like you went on for blah, blah, blah.

[00:21:10] Like they would always hear the car rides home.

[00:21:12] And after a bad game of mine, I just sit in the passenger seat and we'd be silent for the first 30 minutes.

[00:21:18] And then I'd be like, okay, can we talk about the game now?

[00:21:21] And then he's like, okay, now we can talk about it.

[00:21:23] So it was very, it was definitely more civil and calm.

[00:21:26] And I didn't feel pressure from him specifically.

[00:21:29] I would mostly put the pressure on myself.

[00:21:32] Coming off that, was there like a specific obstacle you would face?

[00:21:37] Like a moment in college and high school and like any type.

[00:21:41] Is there a specific obstacle you found yourself like struggling to get past or like you needed help to get past?

[00:21:50] Let's take a quick break.

[00:21:53] If you want to leave us a message, use the link in the show notes.

[00:21:57] And if you want us to respond, leave your name and email address.

[00:22:01] Also, please rate us and or leave a review as we're trying to grow the show every day.

[00:22:07] Finally, Lacey and I both love coffee.

[00:22:09] We would greatly appreciate any contribution to the show.

[00:22:12] So that link is also in the show notes.

[00:22:15] Thank you.

[00:22:15] Take care.

[00:22:20] I still call my dad like every day.

[00:22:22] So, yes, every day there's something that he could tell me how to be better.

[00:22:26] But the thing too is like I have two sisters and we are all three so different.

[00:22:31] So like my sister, the older one is like a brainiac.

[00:22:34] Like she had a totally different pet.

[00:22:36] My mom and my dad never compared me and my sister.

[00:22:38] Then I have a younger sister who is like a track star.

[00:22:41] She's a thrower.

[00:22:41] She did hammer, chocolate discus, whatever.

[00:22:44] And she went to Ohio State for them.

[00:22:46] They knew how different we were personality wise and they knew how to pivot.

[00:22:51] And also what was going on in our lives like stress or relationships we had outside of

[00:22:56] friends, boyfriend, whatever.

[00:22:58] And so I think my dad would just do his best because he would just check in.

[00:23:02] I would tell you my transition from high school to college was tough.

[00:23:08] Just like being mature enough to handle as many innings as I was getting.

[00:23:12] I wasn't truly ready for that.

[00:23:14] And I didn't know when I got recruited, I was going to get literally half of the inning.

[00:23:19] And they didn't have anybody else.

[00:23:20] They had a recruit that had decommitted due code transfer.

[00:23:24] And so she was supposed to share the time with me.

[00:23:27] At least that's what my understanding was.

[00:23:28] And come to find out, like she didn't come.

[00:23:30] But I was like, either you can stop and be like, oh, for you or we can just go to work.

[00:23:35] And I'm like, hi, let's go to work.

[00:23:37] So that's what we did.

[00:23:37] We went home.

[00:23:38] We got with our pitching coaches and we definitely got better.

[00:23:41] But it was never something that I felt I couldn't do without.

[00:23:45] I needed my dad there.

[00:23:47] And I needed his, not maybe physically there, but mentally.

[00:23:49] Hey, I'm struggling with this.

[00:23:50] What should I do?

[00:23:51] And he said, let's get a game.

[00:23:52] Growing up, I think like when you're saying 12, of course, your dad's still trying to make you into those.

[00:23:58] Your dad's still trying to make you into a great person.

[00:24:00] And he's still trying to mold you into a hard worker and all that stuff.

[00:24:03] And knowing to be tough when you have to be tough.

[00:24:06] And you can be sad when you need to be sad.

[00:24:08] And I think that's what my dad was trying to do at 12.

[00:24:10] There were some car rides.

[00:24:11] I was like, oh, my God.

[00:24:12] We lived 10 minutes from the fields.

[00:24:14] And I'm like, this is the longest ride of our lives.

[00:24:17] You weren't trying.

[00:24:18] But really, he was just like setting the stage for me to push myself when I was by myself.

[00:24:24] And I feel like after 12, when he gets to 14, that's more of, okay, now we're managing.

[00:24:28] We're not like micromanaging.

[00:24:30] Now we're just like, okay, like you added a bat.

[00:24:32] What do you think?

[00:24:32] What'd you learn?

[00:24:33] Whatever.

[00:24:33] It also made me really a lot better player to make those decisions for myself.

[00:24:38] Like knowing you need to work on the curveball.

[00:24:40] You're not hitting your curveball.

[00:24:41] And then you're like, I can do this.

[00:24:42] And then you start evolving into whoever, what player you are with guidance.

[00:24:47] Not micromanaging, but with guidance.

[00:24:48] And that's very hard because men love to fix things.

[00:24:52] Especially daddy.

[00:24:54] So you're like, how can we fix it?

[00:24:56] Let's buy our new bat.

[00:24:57] How can we fix it?

[00:24:57] Let's get our new fishing coach or whatever.

[00:24:59] And really the idea is just when I was like, dude, it's nuts.

[00:25:02] We need just to get better at our craft.

[00:25:04] And that's where I felt like I am now, even with like my job, like there are some things

[00:25:10] that I am like extremely humbled when it comes to coaching high school girls.

[00:25:14] And I just think it to myself, okay, I'm a life learner.

[00:25:17] I'm a life learner.

[00:25:18] Like I might think that I know.

[00:25:20] And in this case I don't.

[00:25:21] And so that's pretty humbling.

[00:25:23] It's also like having like a Christian background and having that like total pride taken away

[00:25:29] from you.

[00:25:30] Like at times you're like, whoosh, that was hard because that was so humbling.

[00:25:35] I thought I was going to win or I thought I was going to be right or whatever.

[00:25:38] And then you come back and you're like, this is what all that was about.

[00:25:41] And you're just like a better human because your dad was so great.

[00:25:44] And I have a great mom too.

[00:25:45] Shout out to mom too.

[00:25:46] Don't worry.

[00:25:47] My mom wasn't there catching bullpens, but yeah.

[00:25:50] Yeah.

[00:25:51] So I would say making that, I would say from 10 to 12, you're like this as a parent.

[00:25:57] And then you're hoping all that work pays off.

[00:26:00] So in high school, you're just like, hey, let's make the good choices that you know you

[00:26:03] need to make.

[00:26:04] And that's how I saw it.

[00:26:06] That makes sense.

[00:26:07] It sounds familiar, right?

[00:26:08] I was on you pretty hard lace.

[00:26:10] And then at 14, I just backed off.

[00:26:12] And that's when you started picking up as far as a pitcher.

[00:26:15] Yeah.

[00:26:16] Cause 14s, I transitioned to playing for Mark Campbell.

[00:26:20] So like he would be the academy of like hard work and dedication and you don't do this.

[00:26:27] You're not going anywhere.

[00:26:28] So that's, I started at an early age knowing that if you don't put in the hard work behind

[00:26:33] the scenes, you're not going to be successful and you're not going to be where you want to

[00:26:36] go.

[00:26:37] Yeah.

[00:26:37] So pivoting to your coaching now and your TikTok games, how do you balance between coaching

[00:26:43] on the field and creating engaging content on TikTok?

[00:26:47] How do you balance those two?

[00:26:48] Some weeks are so easy.

[00:26:50] I'm like, dude, this is the best.

[00:26:51] Like I'm killing it on TikTok.

[00:26:53] I'm killing it on the field.

[00:26:54] I'd be the best mom ever.

[00:26:56] And there are some weeks like I don't have it.

[00:26:59] And I've learned if I'm pressing or I feel like I'm like the content's not coming on as

[00:27:04] easily.

[00:27:04] Like I don't really write scripts.

[00:27:06] I just like shoot from the hip kind of thing at times.

[00:27:09] And if it doesn't feel organic, I'm like, dude, they're going to know.

[00:27:12] Like, I'm just like, I'm not, I have probably a thousand videos on my draft that I just need

[00:27:16] to delete because I'm never going to post.

[00:27:17] A lot of things happen on the field and I'm like, okay, this is so good for people to hear.

[00:27:24] And there's some weeks that are just crazy and you just don't have time.

[00:27:26] But I do believe that when you're doing it for the right reasons and you're not trying

[00:27:30] to be fake or whatever, it'll all just come out.

[00:27:33] Like experiences you're having, Lacey, I would just always write them down.

[00:27:36] And then you can go through those and say, cause you're not going to remember.

[00:27:39] You're going to be like, oh yeah, it's a great idea.

[00:27:41] And then you're like, what was that?

[00:27:43] Some of them.

[00:27:46] Okay.

[00:27:47] Some of the, I, what I do with my system is I text myself like what the idea is, right?

[00:27:52] Oh, catcher screaming or something funny that happened.

[00:27:55] I'm like, oh, that'd be hilarious if we did that.

[00:27:57] And then I like read them back.

[00:27:59] I'm like, I'm curious what I meant by that text because it doesn't make any sense.

[00:28:04] Yeah.

[00:28:06] But yeah, I think, I think it's like an ebb and flow.

[00:28:08] I also think people are not interested in hearing about softball stuff in December.

[00:28:13] I think it's a, there's definitely like a peak from February to June and July.

[00:28:18] And then it just drops off because people get into volleyball and other sports and that's fine.

[00:28:22] Because then that gives us as content creators time to analyze what we're doing, what's doing good, what's not doing as well as we want.

[00:28:29] Just like any sport, right?

[00:28:31] You have some off season time and then you, you hit the ground running.

[00:28:34] And really what I do in the off season is I network with other people.

[00:28:38] Like y'all have, did y'all go to the softball convention this last year?

[00:28:42] No.

[00:28:43] Y'all gotta go this next year.

[00:28:44] It's in December.

[00:28:45] It'll be in Dallas.

[00:28:46] It's a great networking.

[00:28:47] Just like you go up to vendors, like, Hey, I do content.

[00:28:51] Like what, you know, what are y'all trying to do with your product?

[00:28:53] The best thing you believe in the product.

[00:28:54] When you look at it, you're like, dude, that would help a lot of people.

[00:28:57] Or, you know, get with Devin.

[00:28:59] Like, I don't know Devin other than on social media stuff.

[00:29:02] And now one of some of the girls, like I text her probably every couple of days.

[00:29:07] Look at this.

[00:29:07] This is crazy.

[00:29:08] It is such a fun network.

[00:29:10] It really is.

[00:29:11] Very cool.

[00:29:12] Speaking of that, if someone wants to listen to you on TikTok, social media, what are some

[00:29:20] of the ways that they can contact you or they can watch you or listen to you?

[00:29:26] What platforms can they see you on?

[00:29:30] Yeah.

[00:29:30] The majority of the stuff is on TikTok.

[00:29:31] That's where I post the most, some of my stuff, most of my stuff.

[00:29:35] Now Instagram, I'm working at it, but I feel like it takes a whole other format for the

[00:29:39] videos to look like Instagrammy, I guess the best way to put it.

[00:29:43] Just the time that that takes.

[00:29:45] And I just, I don't know.

[00:29:47] I like the TikTok app better in editing the videos and all that kind of stuff in there.

[00:29:50] I think it's easier for me.

[00:29:52] We are trying to go live on TikTok every Monday when Cherry Naldine gets back into town.

[00:29:58] We just talk about stuff, all stuff.

[00:30:00] Whatever she has going on.

[00:30:02] She has a lot of good insight on recruiting stuff and like things that are happening right

[00:30:06] now.

[00:30:07] She's helping kids get recruited to any level, any sport.

[00:30:11] And she's done it.

[00:30:12] You think that a lot of people in softball, you and Sherry, because she knows all of them.

[00:30:16] And she has a billion little tidbits that she can tell people how to get recruited that

[00:30:21] aren't taking advantage of her services.

[00:30:23] Okay.

[00:30:23] Yeah.

[00:30:24] And that's called softball with Margo, right?

[00:30:26] Softball with Margo.

[00:30:27] Yeah.

[00:30:28] Yeah.

[00:30:28] Okay.

[00:30:29] Very cool.

[00:30:30] Yeah.

[00:30:30] And the recruiting part too, because Lacey was part of the Batbusters and their whole thing

[00:30:35] when they would go to a showcase was they're going to come to me.

[00:30:39] We're not going to go to them.

[00:30:41] Meaning they wouldn't put out flyers and they wouldn't put out those little things that coaches

[00:30:45] would take and circle that.

[00:30:48] Yeah.

[00:30:48] Yeah.

[00:30:48] They never had that because they had certain colleges that would come watch them anyway.

[00:30:54] And then they would.

[00:30:55] Yeah.

[00:30:55] They didn't need it.

[00:30:56] I meant it.

[00:30:57] Yeah.

[00:30:58] And so for those that are, yeah, for those that are not in the Batbusters organization

[00:31:02] or Mercado, how, what kind of things do you recommend for them to do as far as putting

[00:31:10] their name out there and all that kind of stuff?

[00:31:12] It all depends on where you live and what your resources are.

[00:31:15] There, there's a Texas girl that lives literally 40 minutes from my parents' house in like the

[00:31:19] hill country and she flies to help every month to practice or play with her team or whatever.

[00:31:24] And she's on the Batbusters.

[00:31:25] I think that's an extreme.

[00:31:27] Don't get me wrong.

[00:31:28] But there are so many like talented programs within probably three hour driving distance

[00:31:33] that you can get on.

[00:31:35] You just have to start doing your research.

[00:31:36] And if it's not like feasible for you to get on those teams, then you got to start networking

[00:31:41] and getting to know some of these people and no telling what people can do for you.

[00:31:45] Maybe if it's a financial thing, then maybe they have financial aid for those teams.

[00:31:48] But if you sit there and lean on the excuses, you're going to be in the exact same spot,

[00:31:54] just a little bit more better.

[00:31:55] I think that there is so many people in the softball industry and like community that are

[00:32:00] so more than welcome to helping people out.

[00:32:02] It is a very like middle class, like we have the same interests.

[00:32:07] So we're like, we're friends immediately kind of thing.

[00:32:09] I know that there's a lot of teams in the Texas area that are have also different levels.

[00:32:15] And I don't know if the Batbusters do have that.

[00:32:17] We have a gold team, bombers, silver plat, whatever.

[00:32:20] And that makes a big deal.

[00:32:21] A big difference is being on certain teams and having that last name on the end of that

[00:32:26] team.

[00:32:27] You know, I think you have to do your research and I think you need to start reaching out

[00:32:31] to people.

[00:32:32] Also getting with if you don't have any of those things, getting with the recruiting service

[00:32:36] where you can maybe guest play or get on the field somewhere where you can get in front

[00:32:40] of people.

[00:32:41] Because that's the only thing you control is like what your what output you're putting

[00:32:44] out into the in the game.

[00:32:46] Yep.

[00:32:47] Well, I appreciate it.

[00:32:48] We're going to we're going to end it here.

[00:32:50] Lacey, have any final thoughts or any?

[00:32:53] I don't think so.

[00:32:54] I was just very insightful.

[00:32:56] I think so.

[00:32:56] With like the recruiting process, how it changes from from year to year, it changes

[00:33:00] every year.

[00:33:01] I think the girls and parents like listening to this podcast could benefit from a lot of

[00:33:06] what you said.

[00:33:09] And I really enjoyed having you on.

[00:33:11] Oh, yeah.

[00:33:12] We have to do it again and not at the Texas Aquarium down in Houston.

[00:33:15] OK, and that's on me.

[00:33:17] We actually like we had family in town and I told them I had us at 2.30.

[00:33:20] I was like, we'll be back in time.

[00:33:22] And then all of a sudden it was 2.30.

[00:33:23] I was like, we ain't going to be back in time.

[00:33:25] Yeah, no worries.

[00:33:27] No worries.

[00:33:27] No, I appreciate you having you on Margo again.

[00:33:30] It's it's softball with Margo on TikTok.

[00:33:32] You can just and then she has, I think, a link to like a website and you can like that

[00:33:36] as well.

[00:33:38] But thank you for coming on.

[00:33:39] And yeah, we'll have you on again and talk about some other stuff because I know you have

[00:33:43] a lot of content.

[00:33:44] I think we just touched upon a little bit of what you can bring to the table.

[00:33:48] So I appreciate that.

[00:33:49] When we need a we need to meet up again, because I think, you know, now I think Texas might take

[00:33:55] it this year.

[00:33:56] Oh, you is they're like dibble dabbling and they're doing a good job.

[00:33:59] But I think there's going to be maybe Washington.

[00:34:01] I don't know.

[00:34:02] But like it's going to be different this year.

[00:34:04] I don't think it's going to be like a clean sweep.

[00:34:06] That's my forecast.

[00:34:07] That's your forecast.

[00:34:09] OK, however, it's recorded.

[00:34:12] Go ahead.

[00:34:13] People are hoping for it.

[00:34:14] I mean, my team.

[00:34:16] I think we were in Fullerton and they were.

[00:34:21] It was during the Louisiana game and we're like watching the score.

[00:34:25] We're like, come on.

[00:34:28] But it's so funny that everyone's rooting against.

[00:34:32] That team when I played with pretty much like half their starting lineup on the Batbusters.

[00:34:39] So it's like it's going to be wrong.

[00:34:40] Super talented, but I think there might be a new champion this year.

[00:34:44] I think so.

[00:34:47] Thank you all so much.

[00:34:48] I appreciate it.

[00:34:49] And thanks for being so patient and kind with me.

[00:34:51] And let me know if I can do anything for you all on my end.

[00:34:53] Like whether it's a question you'll have or maybe like a collab, like I could maybe me

[00:34:57] and Lacey could do some stuff like player to coach and then coach to dad and like how

[00:35:03] people can navigate that water, like how to have those conversations, but be professional

[00:35:09] about it.

[00:35:09] And I'll have to brainstorm some stuff.

[00:35:10] I mean, we can start like a group technique.

[00:35:12] Oh, that's a good idea.

[00:35:13] This is something I've struggled with and blah, blah, blah.

[00:35:15] That kind of stuff would really, I think, go a long way.

[00:35:17] Yeah, perfect.

[00:35:18] I appreciate your time.

[00:35:20] Thank you, Margo.

[00:35:21] All right.

[00:35:22] We'll talk to y'all later.

[00:35:23] Take care.

[00:35:25] Lace, love you.

[00:35:26] Love you.

[00:35:28] Bye.