Stars on Sports Intro: It's time for Stars on Sports! A podcast-radio show dedicated to sharing stories about our athletic program at Lansing Community College. LCC athletics has a strong tradition. 23 national championship wins! Over 170 All-Americans! 19 MCCAA all sports trophies! Stars on Sports will introduce you to individuals that have contributed to our program success and give you the backstory on what it takes to develop it. We'll also dive into and break down the topics and issues facing athletic departments across the nation and right here at LCC. This is Stars on Sports!

This is Stars on Sports. Hello and welcome to another episode of Stars on Sports. As usual, I am joined by our assistant athletic director and baseball coach, Steven Cutter. Today, Steven will be discussing a smorgasbord of topics as we tape this at the end of our academic semester and calendar year. So in previous podcasts we had talked about reflecting on our year, a year and a half at LCC. Again, it's just that time of year to do a lot of reflecting. And you and I have spent a lot of time talking about just time in general. And time has always fascinated me. We talk about money, we talk about responsibility, other things that impact our day. But time is the one that's always confused me. It can be fast, it can be slow, we can lose it, somebody can steal it. It's precious. There's so many facets of time that we probably don't maximize. And I know you have studied it and studied the importance of a day and I think we've even talked on previous podcasts about the 14 minutes in a day that we have to really maximize. But time is very important in athletics to coaches planning practice, you know, maximizing that time. I don't like bothering coaches on game day and how important pre game routines are and getting focused and ready for competition and optimizing that competition. But it's even more important I think for practice. And in my coaches meetings I always talk about the importance of a practice plan and laying it out and making sure you're assistant coaches have it and making it purposeful and then at the end of the day reflecting and seeing what you accomplished and what you need to do the next day. And one of the best articles I ever read talked about how people should take that coach's structure and apply it to everyday life, that they should do the same thing every day, that practice plan. What can you do throughout the day and put it on your schedule? I am not very good at that and I am learning. You smile over there. And even being on time is something I have to to do better of and be respectful. But it's one thing I think that good coaches do well and something that the rest of society could learn from coaches on that practice plan.

Well, time is really the only thing that we have. It's really the only guarantee that we have in life until it's done. I certainly have researched time and how to be efficient. I've created that with my life. I understand with a normal human life expectancy, you're going to spend about 28% of your life sleeping. You're also going to spend about 23% of your life. If you work 40 hours in a week working, that works out to 51% of your life. So what are you going to do with the rest of that in your time? So that's kind of a broad picture, but what happens with that and why people feel so busy all the time is exactly because of that. They're not so intentional with their time. Time slips away, time is without systems and they end up feeling overwhelmed, super busy. All of those things happen. I think it's important to, you know, for me to ask you, you've been really busy, you've got a super busy week this week. Why are you so busy?

And the difference is being everyone thinks they're busy and being productive or effective. And I'm always busy, but I have to be more productive and maximize the things I do get done and the important things I get done, I can. You know, we all tend to see, like to do the thing that are easy or we can accomplish real quickly, but at some time you got to tackle the challenging ones. And my philosophy is always, I'd rather tackle them, get those done and end with the easy ones. Or, you know, when I first took this job at LCC, it seemed like, man, everyone works on at 5 o' clock on Friday, everyone sends me emails like they worked all week to get it done. And now, you know, heading into the weekend I got all these things to do and just very impressive that they're being so productive on Friday afternoon. Some people coast into the weekend, but I think it's more just managing the important task that I need to get done done. And there's different ones from the simple clerical tasks to meaningful, bigger picture tasks and focusing or planning that day to spend enough time on either one. And as I mentioned, I have a colleague that puts lunch on his calendar just to make sure he gets it in. And I don't spend my day saying from 9 to 10, send thank yous, 10 to 11, work on eligibility. And so it's Something I can definitely do better because I think I'm busy with a lot of little medial tasks or such, but I just have to do better at being more effective with getting the task done than I need to. And I'm not good at it. I am not good at managing time. That's why I run late. I want to get something done before I leave instead of waiting to come back. I don't say no enough. I mean, if someone comes and interrupts me, I'm going to talk to them instead of, let's schedule an appointment an hour later or.

The more intentional you become, the more that you say no. So the more that you're appreciating the time that you do have, you say no a lot more. And if you think about it, before I got into coaching, I was in the business world for a number of years and I would always have these meetings, tons of meetings, and every meeting that was on my calendar was scheduled for an hour. And we would go into these meetings and if it was scheduled for an hour, it would take an hour. And we started. I started getting really intentional with my time there as well. And you could get meetings done in 15 minutes. Sometimes you didn't need an hour. So that's where it kind of comes in. When we're coaching, we're somewhat limited on the time that we have. And so I look at like our baseball team, which will start up again with practices on January 10th and the post season tournament will start on May 11th. And if you remove sleep, college, eating, studying, we have about 968 hours to work with them. Now can we practice for 968 hours? No. We could, but we're not going to. But I can be in front of them. Our program can be in front of them. As long as we're sending stuff to their phones, which they typically always have, we're in front of them. So we're super intentional about those 968 hours that we have with them. And we're in front of them as much as we possibly can be. Because if we're not in front of them, somebody else will be. And that's where the time in being super intentional about things, you can actually be a lot more productive and spend less time than what somebody else is. That's not intentional about it.

And that's one of the benefits of technology is we can utilize that. It's also one of the disadvantages if they're on it even more. But back to your point of no. Warren Buffett's number one leadership Quality to being effective was being the ability to say no. And then to your meeting point, yeah, there seems to be a stigma that they have to be an hour where 15 to 20 minute meetings can be very impactful and successful. One of my favorite quotes on meetings is it's where minutes are taken and hours are wasted. But to your point of, you know, utilizing technology to help being productive, that's, you know, a goal of ours and the athletic office is we have signed up for some software that will hopefully help us maximize communication and calendars that we can definitely utilize our time better. You know, as we reflect on this year and think of all the time, both of us, I wouldn't consider inpatient, but we are excited about a lot that we can accomplish. But it still at this time of year, good to reflect, but also important to look forward. So that's something that I'm trying to do. Reading is also important. Both of I talked about reading late at night when everyone else is sleeping, so we can still spend time with our family, then spend time on ourselves. One of my favorite leaders of all time said, you have to take care of yourself before you can take care of others and find time for yourself, whether it's exercise or just going in a room and writing and reading. And it's very important to find time for yourself too. Which I think in our business we struggle and in society, they struggle with doing that too. Especially as we've talked about our schedule, the impacts of the hours and different times that our events take place.

If you're not intentional with your schedules and you're not setting your own schedule, somebody else will set your schedule for you. And that's, that's ultimately why I believe that a lot of people end up with burnout and they just get tired of everything that's happening because somebody else is setting their schedule for them consistently. And we're not just talking about at work, we're talking about in life. And that becomes a really tough road to be on. So the more you can kind of look at the minutes that you get in a day and how much you waste, and if you can be really honest with yourself and go through that kind of stuff of the time that you're wasting, then you can find some clarity and start getting a little bit better. And what that percentage is, maybe it's 5%, maybe it's 1. It really doesn't matter. It's for you. And if it's for you, it should really matter. Because we're all limited on our time. We're not as young as we used to be. And we're all limited.

And I think even more important in the education business, both in coaching and with our faculty on campus, is we are in charge of other people's time and how important it is. And you and I have talked about how one of the biggest issues that face student athletes is time management. So it's important that not only manage our time, but be organized and effective enough to not waste other people's time, especially student athletes that do have, you know, some have jobs, some, you know, obviously practice, some have families. And so just important in our business where and in every business, I'm sure to make sure we're managing other people's time too. And just get back to me of the concept of time again and where, how broad and of range that is. I always seem to think that certain themes, like, hit me and I see it so many times in a short amount of time that I think that's what I have to do. And a quote that my, a friend of mine sent me this weekend, and it was on my podcast this morning that I listened to Don't Count the Days, make the days count. And I just think, wow, twice in a week that that quote has come in front of me. And how more timing than at the end of a calendar year when a lot of us spend time on. Was it a good year? Was it a bad year? Did we make the most of that year? What's next year bring? Do we need New Year's resolutions? Which I have never done. A lot of people talk about a one word challenge I have never done, and maybe it's time for me to do something like that. But I continue to try and be better each day and work hard for the student athletes that I am empowered to lead.

So that's great because that's the secret to life, is finding the best version of yourself. And that whole journey of trying to figure that out. And we sleep really well at night when we know that we're on that path and that's what we want. Progress equals happiness. I don't typically pop in here, but I'm not familiar with the one word.

This is dadalian.

What is the one word challenge?

John Gordon, I believe, is a big believer in it. But picking one word, and that's like your theme for the year, like love or heart or just finding that word,

that, that's kind of growth, connection, you know, just whatever you feel is important for you to be able to grow into the next version of yourself instead of setting a resolution that we know is probably not going to make it till the end of January. You said a word that it's true to you and you keep working towards that. You may have a day or a week that might not have that growth or that connection, but it's still there with you throughout the whole year and you've worked on it. I used it for a couple different years and I got a lot of value out of it actually. Interesting.

I figure if I don't know the

question, somebody else might not know as well.

Always love you.

Thought I'd chime in.

Always love you. Chiming in Nydalia and again, it's just simpler to follow than goals or resolutions. That one word is easier for people to identify and adapt and hold on to. Maybe something I should try but haven't been big on resolutions and even gold. I just, you know. What else you got today, Steven?

Anything? Well, we talked a lot about time. What else is important to our athletic department right now? What's going on that maybe takes a lot of your time?

Well, this is a big week at the end of the semester, so it's one of our most important. I don't want to say important or difficult or challenging, but eligibility. I mean, we got 150 student athletes. So it's crunch time to see where grades fall and finding paths for those that might have struggled or even identifying those that have struggled different for each team. With our nine teams, you know, some that are both fall and winter semester programs, some are just spring semester, some are just fall. So it's really a busy time of year figuring out eligibility and making sure our student athletes are able to compete or unfortunately we have some difficult conversations that they will not be able to compete. Technology has helped us out with avenues to be able to make up credits. So it's just really stressful because our student athletes experience it down the line of whether they can compete.

And it's different from then just a student. If a student here at LCC fails a class, then they fail a class and they can make it up, you know, next semester. If a student athlete here happens to be in that situation and they fail a class, it could mean that they're ineligible for their season. So it changes a lot because the student athletes oftentimes their identities are tied into the sports that they play. And if you take that identity away, even if it's for one semester, it somewhat changes how they do or how they feel about the classroom too.

Yeah, and it's difficult because if we lose a student athlete, it is hard to get them back. So thankfully we have a lot of resources to try and help them. And the best approach is to be proactive and try and get them help before we get to this point. But law of averages, we're Fortunate our overall GPA is over a 3.0, close to a 3 point between a 3 point, 3.2 for our student athletes. It's been proven that our student athletes do better in the classroom than the general student body. But there's still a small percentage, probably around 10%, that struggle and are in a difficult situation this time of year. And it's having those difficult conversations and trying to find ways to help them move forward. And our coaching staff is very helpful. Our success coaches and advising are very helpful. But it's just a lot in a short amount of time because as you mentioned, January 10th is a new semester and the start of new seasons. And all this has to be completed by then and figured out so we can determine who is able to participate next semester. So that's what I've spent a lot of my time this week and I'll spend the rest of my time this week and next week double checking, rechecking and making sure we done everything we can to determine a student athlete's eligibility and how to help them best move forward. Talking about student athletes and again, at this end of the semester, one of the other exciting things that we just finished up is, you know, meeting with our student athlete advisory group last week. And that's always one of the highlights of my month. We meet monthly with them and we will have future members or future podcasts with members of, of that team on this group and something we started about a year ago and we're still figuring out the structure and the organization of it. But even in our infancy, it's been just exciting hearing our student athlete input on their experience as a student and athlete here at LCC. And our goal for that group is so they have a voice so we can hear them and hear their perspective on what's going on at LCC. Leadership development, which coast Cutter is leading that and does an excellent job with his own program and in general with his training. Community service, which we're starting. You know, a lot of our teams already do community service, but we want this group to lead that. And then the integration of our athletic program, we're so busy back to time of focusing on our own program or being a baseball player or being a women's basketball player that we want them to be able to support each other and get to know each other and understand because the people in that room are probably experiencing similar struggles or similar successes that they can share and know that they're not alone when they're dealing with adversity or even success. So those are the four components of that group. We're really starting to finalizing that each team is represented. But we just met last Friday and that was again, just. I just leave with that with so much excitement and promise, knowing that, you know, this is our future and these student athletes are doing well. A couple highlights of the last year of that is, you know, they talk. You know, one of the most shocking things to me is how they don't use websites anymore, that they use apps to find things or Instagram. And if you put it on Instagram or have it on an app, they will know about it. But if you put it on a website, they are not searching websites anymore. And that was just shocking when we heard that. And then the other telling thing from the year is just how special they'd like to feel and whether they're having their own space or whether receiving recognition, but mainly space. And how as we talk about facility plans of giving them the space they need to be successful. So that five days later that still stands in my mind of how that meeting went and just listening to them and the great student athlete that we

had certain LCC something special that you created, bringing the group together and hearing their stories and their voices. It's definitely special. Just side note, smiling here. How long are those meetings?

An hour. I think we. I try to cut at 45 if we have to. I'm not. I'm not stuck to a certain timeline, but I do feel if it's not over a half hour, we're not being productive or I'm wasting their time. So I'm trying making sure we have a half hour of content. But I like reading a room. I've been involved in many associations in the past as presidents of these associations. And I try and read the room to say, hey, we've had enough, or we've spent too much time on this topic. Let's move on. I hope I have a good gauge of that. I think there's some people in the room that don't that could talk about an issue forever. And those people frustrate me.

But even the NFL this year, I remember reading about it that they went to. They have so many meetings with players, coaches, just. It's insane. They went to timers in the rooms for 20 minutes and when that timer went up, they were Done. And it didn't matter. Went back to the psychology piece where people just have a hard time over that Will say their number was 20 minutes. I think it's actually less than that. But hard time staying focused and learning past that point when they're not focused anymore is just wasted time. So at the highest levels, they're practicing that piece of it. And I think that can be taken in the business world and in all worlds.

I believe that's true for us. Even the length of practice time. Some of these teams are practice at length longer and early in the season it usually is longer. I've had some successful coaches that started with long practice and then tapered off as the season went on. And I think that's effective. But some of these coaches that have three to four hour practice that I do think you, you lose focus of the student athletes and they don't become as productive at the end, by the end of those practices. And I think teams have even gotten worn out by the end of the season if that is a constant practice.

Yes. Good stuff.

It's good stuff. Just quickly, where did the time go today? As you know, we talk about this podcast and where it goes, but as I think about each week we do this podcast like my favorite moment and how sports touches so many people in life then it's a sad moment. But there was a great segment a month ago for the University of Michigan football program where they invited a. He was a strong football player but ended up having cancer and they invited him to the football team. Yep. Muskegon Michi. And it just how. I mean, I got emotional that day when they showed the piece on game day and just how impactful sports can be. And he ended up passing away this last weekend as we taped this and very sad. But I know, you know, his story impacted so many lives and a life taken too short and something we both emphasize. As you know, we're working on community service projects that we can connect with our community and the impact our student athletes can have on those lives. And just I've been upset by myself. I didn't mention that because that all fall I've been thinking about that kid and the life that he had been dealt and how Michigan football made it special for him. And many programs and many athletic teams across the country do these kind of activities. We're doing them right here in LCC, which we will share in future podcasts. But how impactful sports can have on your community. And it's sad how that story ended, but it's not ending because we're talking about it here on an LCC podcast of Amici Walker and the impact he had and the life he lived and how sports was an integral part of his life.

There's really only two things that bring people together. First one's music, and second one is sports. And that's if you really break it down and look at it, I mean, how many times do thousands and thousands of people gather and it's through music and sports. And so you get a lot of those stories and a lot of them can touch your hearts and they can live on long past their time. And that's what's special about that.

And I love both music and sports. And you're right. And that was the tough thing about the pandemic is we were keeping people apart. And those two activities wanted to still continue to bring those together. And it was really tough on those particular organizations. So, again, thank you again, Steve, as always. Good. Thank you everyone for joining us out there. And until next time, go Stars!

Stars on Sports Outro: Stars on Sports is recorded live at the WLNZ studios. Engineering and production assistance are provided by Daedalian Lowry. You can listen to this episode and other episodes of Stars on Sports on demand at LCCconnect.org to find more information about our athletic program, visit LCCstars.com thanks for listening. Go Stars!