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. 24 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!

Hello and welcome to another episode of Stars on Sports. I'm joined today by our system ad, Steven Cutter and our producer, Jereny Robinson. And today, gentlemen, we're going to be about March Madness as we record this podcast. It's the middle of March, actually, but there's a lot of madness going on around us. And most people when we say March Madness, they think of the men's basketball tournament or women's basketball tournament at the NCAA level. But we have our own going on right now at the NJCA level. But when I think of March Madness right now, I think of the weather. It has been maddening here in Michigan and how much it impacts us and how much time we deal with weather in our job. And we've talked about weather on this podcast before, but just amazing. Winter or spring in Michigan, again, we're talking, you know, the first day of spring coming up during this podcast. And, you know, for the last month, it kind of felt like spring a little bit. But now that we're getting in the heart of our playing season, it is anything but spring, which just creates a lot of issues. So maybe we can take some relief from the March Madness tournament if we ever get time to enjoy or watch it. But what do you think of when you think of March Madness?

Coach Well, I think I also, you mentioned college and, and I think that there's, you know, the high school, the high school women are, I think, around the quarterfinals at this point, semifinals, and the, the high school boys just wrapped up. So it's March Madness is kind of all in there. And of course, when the spring sports are getting rolling at that point too, at the high school level and college level, they've been rolling for about a month. And I think about, like, what you talk about weather, I, I know like internally just kind of despise coaches that have, that get to coach in gymnasiums and stuff that are climate controlled and, you know, all those coaches that are outside, whether the track coaches, football coaches, or, you know, softball or anything Else, you know, you're dealing with those elements and you're trying to teach your student athletes to focus on the things that they can influence or, you know, control what they can control, whatever it might be. And then you've got the weather which you have no influence whatsoever over. And you're just, you know, being in a cold weather state, you're dressing in a lot of layers and you learn that at a young age and it really hasn't changed a whole lot.

No, and you're right. I like the four season that Michigan offers and spring might be my favorite one when it comes, but you know, just the, you know, going from cold to, you know, sunshine and warmth whenever that comes. But it is difficult, you know, a little different plane in it where you might be exercising and moving around. But you know, the last two years wearing winter hats or winter coats and standing and trying to put the weather aside is difficult. Whether it's, you know, the wind or no sun. You know, when the sun pops out, you get excited, but you know, you're right. But there is a lot, you know, this is a big time of year for sports. Major League Baseball, starting other basketball, hockey, wrapping up the high school sports tournament. So if you're a sports fan, this is, you know, one of the top times of the year. And you know, we're going to host a high school basketball team in our gym tonight that made the Breslin center this weekend. And I saw some, you know, some community colleges that hosted quarterfinal games last night that I hope we can get to in the future because it is an exciting time. And you look back, you know, again, I always, you know, the start of the season is very challenging and then the postseason is very challenging and then there's, you know, a process in between. But you know, all the, all the memories, all the highlight that are made from postseason experiences, whether it's a game winning shot, whether it's an upset, whether it's, you know, a player that just comes to the forefront and carry their team and you know, a lot of variables. I, you know, I thought, you know, a coach said it best. It's not your seed, it's the matchup that can make a big difference. And we've seen some teams that have made far run that, you know, could be because they're playing well or because, you know, they just mashed up a belief system.

Look at the 12, 5 seeds in the NCAA tournament. I think if you're a 12 seed at this point, with all the history that's happened over the years, you're almost

like, you got a chance.

We got ourselves a really good chance

and, and it's going down. We, for the first time in history, we've had 16 seeds win. So, you know, maybe they think it and, and you made a point that was, I thought was pretty interesting before we started this podcast in the sense that, you know, some teams are like, experienced and relying on maybe, you know, doing better than last year. And some teams are just happy to get there. So, you know, how did that play into to the result? And I think we both know how it plays into the result, though maybe, you know, if you're happy to be there, you're a little more free and there's no pressure. And you know, the longer the underdog stays in the game, the more pressure that could be on the, the favorite. But, you know, that's what makes this time of year exciting, I think again, because of the postseason in our winter sports, but also the start and being outside in our spring sports.

And I think if we're going to stay on the basketball thing theme, I seem to remember when the March Madness got really crazy, it was because of the buzzer beaters, you know, and I think of, you know, Christian Laettner and Bryce Drew from Valpo and you know, all those, that's, that's what really drew people in that might not have even been baske about. People are like, whoa, this is crazy, you know.

Yep, I agree. I think it's the best reality on tv. We have so much more than the Bachelor or Love is Blind to Offer. But, but. And people are videotaping that now. You even see it at high school games getting national. You know, I saw a game last week, there were three buzzer beaters. One at the end of the first regulation, one at the end of the first overtime, and one to win it in the second overtime. So it was a high school game in somewhere.

But think about those emotions.

It was, it was emotional. And I think if I remember correctly, each team had, obviously one team had two, but it wasn't the same team every time that it does and that, you know, and that can draw people. And then again we talk about sports drawing people, but that can. Seeing someone win in that kind of excitement and, you know, whether it's an underdog or a favorite, in that case, just, you know, not knowing the ending is exciting or, you know, it seems like more nowadays, more teams come back from larger margins. So, you know, if games are over or not.

So. And I think that's what draws people. You know, we've We've said for a while that really two big things draw people in large masses and it's music and in sports. And that emotion is a piece of what draws so many people into those venues and on TVs and stuff. Because you just don't see that in your normal work environment. You don't have those levels of emotion going up and down like a roller coaster at different points of your day. They're usually. Usually a little more middle ground. And. And so the sports, you know, you see those and you get those different feelings than what you normally have and

you're right on it. Is that up and down, like you think you lost and all of a sudden you win or you think you win and you get upset. You know, it just creates that where in the normal day, you know, because competition does that. You know, that's what I believe, that that's where, you know, competition brings that. If it's a scrimmage or a practice, you don't really have that as much either. You probably create that if you're a. Some practices, yeah. But measuring and keeping those emotions is important, but usually they're at the end of the game. And again, a big issue this year has been storming the court, which I'm okay with storming the court. I just hope you have a plan in place to help measure it because

somebody got hurt, right?

There have been a couple injuries this year and there are a couple of potential injuries. But, you know, there are certain schools that have roped off the bench areas. You still got to find a way to get the other people that are in different spots. But, you know, it is a game of emotion. And, you know, and you're. If you're. And that educational athletics, it's about your students and student body and that's, you know, part of the student body experience is being a part of those games. So, yeah, I'm not here preaching unsafe or that dorming of the court should be allowed, but I would hope they're the way that we can manage it. That.

How did you manage it when you were in high school ad did you have court storming?

No, we did prevent it and we just put administration, but our student sections were smaller. You know, we would coordinate it. We had issues of, you know, we used to let them run onto the field and then we had an incident where someone ran with a flag from the other side and it was a mess. So then what we had, how we. Yeah, it was not good and still talked about to this day, so. Because when you still plan something. There's always something there. But is have the team come over to the student section, you know, and usually real quickly and then do the award presentation. And then if there was an award presentation, there were an award presentation. But you also work again making sure you had to plan for the other team and getting them off the court. And a lot easier with 1 to 2000 people than 10 to 15,000 or even 100,000 in football. But it is that emotion and those student body is a part of that. I mean they're, I mean that's their team, that's their identity that you know, they want to remember that game too. And I mean I remember games of doing that in my history on both sides. So yeah, I've been on both sides of the field and you know, it's me madness, you know, but you just want to be safe and you know, try and plan and have a plan. So you know, you know, you know, like you know, tearing down the goal post or something, you know, now they put people in front of it. So there are certain things you try to protect the other team, the officials. I mean my main goal at the end of the game is make sure the officials get out of there. And you know, there's nothing that happens between the two teams. So you need some personnel. But you know, that's been a big topic just because of back to that emotion of what competition does and teams, you know, winning at the end.

I think what I like about the like March Madness, I like how it brings a whole city together. Like when like somebody wins and it don't matter what background these anybody is, when they team win, everybody just comes together and just celebrate and have fun. I used to DJ in some certain areas and just watch everybody go crazy. And I don't know, I'm a big people person, so I watch people a lot. And I just think it's so cool to see everybody come together. I seen the bad side of that too where Michigan State loses or something like that. But just, yeah, just seeing like people celebrate.

But you're right, it's you know, back to what he talked about, about happy to be there or expecting to be there. The post season it does seem like the crowds are bigger and more support there because there's more on the line and as you go farther, more join. As we talked about, people want to be around winners. And it's not just the community, it's branches out farther than that. Alumni far away. I mean you see on TV these, the former basketball players coming and supporting Their team in the March Madness, and you see it in the World Series at the end of those games. Again, I think it's madness right now because there's so much. Again, I started with the basketball tournament and the buzzer beaters, but I truly believe it's, you know, the NBA playoffs are coming up, the hockey playoffs are coming up a lot on the line right now in those seasons. And, you know, one of my favorite times is the start of the baseball season. That usually means the start of spring, you know, and, you know, and I was in college, my roommate, we watched like four baseball movies all night before our team did on opening day. And, you know, it's just that time of year for sport. So I think that creates to the madness too. We get focused on the NCAA tournament. I think it is a lot because of the, the underdogs and the upsets and that team that might have. That goes far, but also, you know, the exciting endings.

And then I think people have taken it to another level with that tournament, and they have their brackets and they have the contests that they're in, and all of a sudden those games mean even something more because they, they. They put their, that team's name on the line that they were supposed to win, you know, and so all of a sudden they're pulling a little bit heavier.

Yeah.

So there's, There's a lot of layers to it, but it's pretty crazy, that TV cash prize.

But it does add to it. That bracket does add to the, to the tournament in the sense to have people rooting for teams. It brings that interest into it. And back to your point, that's what sports can do, is bring an interest, you know, to the things that you might not normally care about. Because I, you know, I know a lot of people that don't know a lot about sport that do brackets, and they might pick it because of the mascot or the uniform color or. It's a school, it's a cool school name. But that's a great point. There's other things that also bring it, you know, more people involved that wouldn't normally be involved throughout the season. So. But again, you know, madness, you know, in your sport, you know, you're just beginning a season and, you know, tough for you. Even when you talk about weather, you go south for a while. Does it make it difficult going south and experience that weather and then coming home, or are your kids used to it or.

I don't think a couple weeks and warm weather really changes the acclimations to what the majority Majority of all the kids that we have on our rosters are from the Midwest, so they're used to having cold weather, you know, in the wintertime and having cold weather in the spring. So I don't think a couple weeks really changes that a whole lot. I think they appreciate the warmer weather, you know, for that time being. And they come back and, you know, that's back to what they've known for most of their lives.

Has technology helped with the cooler weather, with the layers and such?

You would like to think so, but, you know, I've even got some thermal stuff that goes under the uniforms and it's. It's powered by batteries and you push buttons and stuff like that. Yeah. And it just, it's more clumsy than anything else and the buttons turn off, you know, when you're moving around and.

Yeah.

So I think technology has helped in some ways. But, you know, if you're an athlete and you're out there on the field, you really have to be somewhat careful of how much you have on because it still restricts movement.

Right. Bulky or. And again, I think that, again, we've talked about technology and sports equipment before, but how far that has come that it does help. I mean, there are thinner layers or lighter layers or less bulky layers, but

there's heaters and dugouts now and, and stuff like that. So I mean, we don't have them, but. But there are. And it certainly does help significantly.

I mean, I don't know if it does because, like, if I'm cold, I don't, like, I don't want to drink hot chocolate because that makes me warm. And then I just cold get cold again. I'd kind of rather just stay cold and fight it and balance it. So I'm not sure I'd want to be in front of a heater, but you do got to stay loose and warm. Especially injury.

We try to try to just teach them that. That you're not cold. Stop thinking about that you're cold. You're just uncomfortable. And it's okay to be uncomfortable.

So do you regular, I mean, like, mindset regularly go over that? Do you think.

I mean, it's a mindset.

Do you think they get used to. Not to the cold, or do you think you have to remind them of.

I think you're constantly reminding anybody, whether it's a student athlete or anybody else, it's okay to be uncomfortable. And so through that reminding, you realize, like, we're not going to die because it's. It's 35 degrees right now. It's just uncomfortable. And everybody else on the field is uncomfortable too.

Right.

And if they don't have a good mindset, they're, they're going to be complaining about how cold it is. And as soon as they start thinking about it's too cold, they're not focused on what they should be focused on. Right.

But it's still important to prepare that. You know, like when I go to those games, I try, like I forgot my glove that the last game I went to and my hands were cold. I couldn't even wave to a person. And really, yeah, that was dumb. I didn't have them in my car.

But use your fingers when you wait.

Trying to show them podcast, you know, pick on Ladig, you know, but just getting them out but, but having the right equipment helps and, and helped with that, you know, preparation, you know, because you know, you can tolerate it. You're right. Even when it, you know, at the end of the season will be the, the heat, how hot you are and just staying nutritioned and hydrated and such. So no, that's a great perspective of just, you know, being uncomfortable and how to handle it.

So I got a question for college baseball, is it one and done or y' all go through a series for playoffs.

It starts with what's called a regional. And that's, that's always depending on, doesn't matter what level you're at. That's like a three game series.

Okay.

And then it'll move to typically like a super regional, which will be somewhere around a double elimination tournament usually. And then from there the World Series are set for double elimination as well. So it's, it's set up a little bit differently so you're not one and done. Okay.

And again, that's a great question and a great tie in to what the madness is that is, you know, at the NJCAA level, I think most of our national tournaments are double elimination. So you know, where when you talk about the NCAA ma, it's one and done. So I mean that increases that excitement and that, that time, which also, you know, we've talked about, doesn't always give you the, the best team at the winner. I would argue that if the team playing the best that, that well, that

that applies for every, every contest. It's not, not the team that has the most talent, it's the team that plays the best that day.

Yep.

And that's where you see all the upsets and you see whether it's baseball's had a ton of them at the division One level where, you know, power five strong, power five performing teams have gotten knocked off by mid major teams that are, you know, somewhat middle of the road. And it's not a measure of who's got the most talent or facilities or nicest, you know, dugouts or fields or anything else. It's who plays the best that day.

Yeah, and that's what you try and tell your team is that's why we play the game. On paper, as you always say, that team is better than us, but on that given day it is who plays the. And we, I think we lose that focus and you know, rankings play into that well, we always got to identify the best team but they're, you know, inconsistency we've talked about before of, you know, having that consistency helps, but you

don't really see that at the football level. I mean you don't see a program like Alabama getting beat by a mid major. I can only really think of Michigan and Appalachian State.

I knew you were going there. I knew you were going there. And I think after they've beaten a couple teams since they'd be missing, it was the first big upset. I was at that game, you know, and saw it coming. But I think you see it more, but it is still a lot less than the other sports. And again, there's a lot of variables of, you know, I've seen in baseball, one pitcher dominate a game or in hockey a goalie that gets real hot. That can dominate a game and keep you going so over a series though that usually the best team wins. But you know, this time of year it is who's playing the best. And even in baseball as we start, you know, even though they play a lot of games that, you know, you still want to get off to a good start. And you know, I always, I forget the cliche they used in golf you can't win the tournament on the first day, but you can lose the tournament on the, on the first day. And you know, that's more common in some of these longer seasons. But this time of year the focus is on the one and done, you know, basketball tournament. And do you have any time to look at a bracket for that or are you just too focused on getting your season started? No journey. Do you have any, do you get to look at a bracket?

I might do one with my son just to have fun, but I usually get my feelings hurt.

And it is fun, but it is a competition. You want to have the most in that. And you know, we have a department on campus that's doing a March Madness with restaurants, you know, which is pretty cool.

That's cool.

And I went through the bracket, looked at it, and hey, one restaurant's not my favorite, but it had an easy bracket. So I kept moving it, you know, and again, it's, you know, who you match up against, who you draw against. And, you know, some coaches understand that more than others. But it creates to the madness. And in the end, regardless of weather or equipment or personnel, it's going to be who played the best on that day is usually going to win. Am I correct? Yeah. All right. We'll end on that note and for putting something together. It was all madness before we started and as we talked through. So thanks, gentlemen, and 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!