You're listening to LCC Alumni Stories, a show celebrating the amazing alumni of Lansing Community College.

I'm Steve Robinson, president of lcc and on each episode I have the privilege of meeting inspiring alums and hearing about their experiences at and since leaving lcc.

Our alumni community is diverse and far reaching, representing all walks of life and working in various industries nationwide.

LCC Alumni Stories highlights those who make positive contributions to their communities and showcases those who've overcome obstacles to achieve success.

These are their dynamic stories.

Today my guest is Shalei Barker, a dedicated healthcare professional who works as a housekeeping aide at Holt Senior center and Rehab Center.

Chalet built a strong educational foundation at lcc, earning both her human services certificate of completion and achievement before graduating in May of 2021.

She then continued her education, completing her Bachelor's in Community Human Service with family concentration in December of 2023.

Shalei, it is so great to have you on the show.

Welcome.

Thank you.

How are you today?

I'm doing great.

I am doing great and it's really great to see you and I'm excited to hear what you're doing since you've left lcc.

And then in a minute we're going to talk about what your journey was like here.

But tell me a little bit about this rewarding career you have in the healthcare field.

What is your role and why do you find it so engaging?

You know, I work as a housekeeping aide.

I take care of a lot of elderly people.

Okay.

Okay.

I treat my residents like my relatives.

Oh, that is so sweet.

So.

And this is in Holt?

Yeah, this is all in Holt.

You know, and the place is right by my home, so it makes it so much easier and so much convenient.

And you know, I take what I do seriously because if this was your mother or your grandmother laying up in the nursing home or the facility and you want them to have the proper care.

Yes, you do.

And you know, I have very recent family experience with this.

My father in law was in a facility like the one you work in and just hearing you say that you treat the residents like they're your own family.

Yes.

I gotta tell you, the families appreciate that.

We really, really do.

Hopefully those family members tell you that.

You know what, I hear it every day, every time I come to work.

They were like, oh, you do such a good job.

And that makes me feel good.

You know, it's a very humbling experience.

It is.

Well, it's a difficult time of life for the resident and for their family.

And one of the things that I Learned firsthand when we were caring for my father in law is that no matter what job you have in that facility, you're a part of a human touch for that resident and their family.

And it sounds like that's something A, that you understand, but B is really rewarding for you.

It is very rewarding.

Because you know, every time I come to work, you can tell the vibes, they like, oh, you're so.

You're such a blessing to have and we love you.

And you know, that makes me feel good.

I feel really appreciated over there.

Oh, I do.

Well, that's wonderful because you know, when people are in difficult situations, they don't always think to appreciate and thank others.

And you know, I've seen that happen because those are very stressful times for families.

Exactly.

So the fact that they've appreciated your work and that they've said something to you that tells me that you must really go over and above to help those residents and families.

Yes, I do.

And I will often ask, you know, I will ask my co workers, do you need anything?

Is there anything I can do?

Would you like a cup of coffee, juice, water or anything?

You know, because they don't forget.

One of the things I learned visiting my father in law when he was in a situation similar to that is that probably the most important part of that facility.

It's nice to have it be clean, it's nice to have it be a nice building.

But it's the people, all the people there.

And that's what I think folks are there, both the residents and their families, they're there for that human connection.

Yeah.

And I love the people, I love the people I work with.

I love my residents, who I care for.

You know, I always say I'm finna go to work now to go take care of my grandparents, you know, take care of my relatives.

You really say it that way?

Yes, I do.

And they appreciate that.

You can tell the vibes, you can tell the atmosphere.

Well, you know, as humans, we need different things in the different stages of our lives.

And of course at a facility like that, we're talking about the last chapters of somebody's life.

And so to have that human connection to somebody who really cares, boy, you're making a big difference.

And that's the whole goal, that's my whole point, is to make a difference in someone's life.

You know, you have to kind of meet people where they're at, at.

Okay, I don't have a problem doing that.

Now, granted, you can't save everybody right However, I sleep good at night with the very clear conscience because I know I care for somebody.

Well, right.

And you.

And you started off saying it in a way that really inspires me, and that is you're treating these folks as though they're part of your family.

And listening to you talk, it sounds like they are.

You say, I'm going to go be with my grandparents.

You know, without getting too personal or saying anything private about a family or a resident.

You must have some difficult experiences.

I'm sure you've lost residents.

And what's it like when it's hard, when perhaps someone passes or there's a negative health event?

How do you deal with that?

It must be difficult.

You know, here's what I do.

I sleep good at night with a very clear conscience because I know I did the right thing.

Right.

I know I helped someone, and I know their families appreciate it.

You're going to have some that are a little bit challenged and a little bit difficult, but in the end, it's all peace.

Yeah.

And I think that that's a great perspective because like I said, these are very difficult times for the resident and for the family, and they maybe are not always their best selves.

Right.

But it sounds like you have an understanding of that difficult spot that they're in.

And like you said, you meet them where they're at.

Right.

And you have to realize, see, what I've learned not to do.

I do not take it but for the simple fact they were once upon a time like you and I, meaning, they were independent.

They had their own lives.

And some of them didn't think that they would be up in a facility because they.

It's not the same as being in your own home, your own atmosphere.

You're, you know, walking your dog when you want to, getting up when you want to, and it's a whole new different dynamic.

So what I do, I try to make them feel as at home as I can as possible.

Right.

During the time that they're there.

So it sounds like the facility you work at is a pretty special place.

What are some of the other roles there?

You've described what you do, but your teammates.

It sounds like a comprehensive care center, right?

Yep, it is.

It really is.

You know, like I said, I get along great with my workers.

I will often ask, what can I do to help you guys?

You know, I'm here and everything else, and I don't mind going above and beyond because that's just what I do.

Well.

And again, I think you're making A big difference there.

And one thing I heard you say that also I find really inspiring is when you see somebody in a particular stage of life, you almost have to step back and think of history and future.

Right.

If someone's in a care facility, like we said, they're in the last chapters of their life, but the earlier chapters are still in their memory and their mind.

And you want to help them connect to that.

Right.

And it sounds like some of the residents might have frustrations about things they're no longer able to do that they used to be able to do.

How does that come up in your work?

So what I do, I talk to them.

Like, there are people.

Like, you know, there's a couple of people who grew up on older TV shows and stuff like that.

So I try to find something positive.

What I do, I let the residents pretty much do all the talking.

Okay.

And I listen.

Isn't listening a superpower?

It is.

I think the best communication skills is to listen and show good eye contact.

That way they know that you're just not shrugging your shoulders or blowing them off.

Right.

Well.

And I can tell just having this conversation, that's something you excel at.

And we're talking, and I feel you listening to everything I say, and you're making great eye contact.

I tell you what, the way you talk about the residents being family, you're the kind of person I would want caring for my relatives and me, because we're all headed there.

Right.

I mean, life is a journey, and we'll need people in the future.

So, Chalet, I've loved hearing a little bit about what you do in your current role.

What inspired you to go into this line of work?

You know, I used to work for Sparrow hospital for about 20 years.

Oh, did you?

And housekeeping.

Okay.

You know, I chose to go into social work.

You know, my success didn't come to, like, later on, because, see, mind you, I'm a single mother, too.

I have an adult daughter, and I made plans for myself.

I think what inspired me was how I knew my calling.

There was a situation at the hospital.

Okay.

And I have a way with people.

Yeah.

So I learned how to talk to people.

Not at them, not down towards them.

Right.

And that's how I knew my calling was to get into the human service work field and everything else.

So being at the hospital for that long and in the role that you're in, you see everything.

Right.

I've seen a lot.

I can imagine a lot.

Yeah.

Because, you know, I worked in ER for a number of years down there.

And the way I see it is if I can make it in er, you can make it in this field.

Of course you're going to have some challenges.

I don't want to say struggles.

I like to use the term challenge because although it is rewarding, but it can be very long.

And just like with any job, you have long days.

Yeah, yeah, I know.

I have a lot of long days in my job too.

Yeah.

So all those years in the hospital must have prepared you for this role.

I mean, like when you got to the facility you're in, you had interfaced with people who had passed or there'd been trauma.

Right.

And so this is not new to you.

When you came to.

How long have you been at the facility where you are now?

I just got this job very recently and stuff like that because I'm currently up in grad school too, through Sienna Heights.

Right, right.

So, yeah, So I just got this job and stuff, you know, and I just, I like to work with people.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I try to talk on their level.

I want to understand what they're going through, how they feel, because I've never been in their shoes.

Right, right.

Tell me about this master's degree you're working on.

What's the program?

So it's called Clinical Mental Health Counseling.

Excellent.

Excellent.

And you know, people don't realize that burnout is real.

Oh, yes, it is.

Okay.

Self care is so, so needed because no one is invincible.

Correct.

Even some of your best social workers have breaking points.

Right.

There are people too.

There are people too.

Just like us.

You know, we're not perfect.

It's a humbling experience.

So I want to learn, I want to understand people, I want to inspire people.

I want to make a difference in people's lives.

Well, it's clear that you do in the role that you're in.

And this master's degree is going to prepare you to do that on a different level with even more people.

Yes.

So this is a great pivot point to talking about your time at Lansing Community College.

Here you are, you're a master's candidate, you're working on a graduate degree.

Where did that academic success start?

How did you come to LCC and what did you study when you were here?

See, you know, human service work was not really my first choice.

No, I want to do like fitness instructor.

Okay.

At some point I want to major in dietitian.

Okay.

After being like a well rounded student, I learned that the healthcare profession really isn't for me.

Okay.

And I like Social work.

Think about human service work, because I'm working with people.

You know, I get to learn from people.

I get to understand where they're coming from.

Because a lot of times when you meet individuals, they are very broken.

Yeah, maybe that's the wrong choice of words, but a lot of people just want you to listen, right?

No, I agree.

You know, life can be hard.

It's a lot.

And so listening to people and just being there, being present.

I'm teaching a class right now, and the very first chapter in the textbook is called Listening.

I was just talking to my students.

This is the communication superpower.

Listening.

Now, what is it that happened here at LCC that helped you realize maybe healthcare wasn't for you and more mental health services was your calling?

How did you figure that out?

You know, because like I said, I tried the PCT thing, you know, and I worked as a home health aide.

Although I did like it, but it wasn't who I am or who I was.

I hear you.

And I just feel like there's a very.

Don't get me wrong.

Healthcare is important.

Oh, yes.

But there's also a high demand for social workers, counselors, human service workers.

There sure is.

And first of all, you know, we all have to follow where we think our strengths are, where our passions are.

That's thing number one.

But thing number two, you could not be more correct about the unmet mental health needs in our.

In our society these days, burnout is real.

One of our trustees here at LCC is a mental health counselor and is often talking to us about this, that this is a very real need in our society.

It's something we're working on here at the college.

So when you made that pivot from healthcare to mental health and counseling, what resources did you find here at LCC that helped you go down that path?

You know, I talked to a couple of academic advisors, I talked to a few counselors to figure out, okay, what do I need to do to make this happen?

And sure enough, when I was attending lcc, I was, like, five or six classes shy from receiving a certificate of completion.

Yeah.

And I'm like, okay, so what do I need to do to further my education?

And that's how I knew that I was meant to do this type of work.

What kind of courses are you taking in the master's program?

Tell me a little bit about the courses and the papers and the assignments that you do.

So I did analysis and appraisal.

That's what I did over the summer.

And I'm Taking a community mental health counseling class right now.

So how we do it is we do what you call discussion post.

We post our discussion, and then we respond to our classmates.

And we do have papers and things coming up as well.

And I like in my class, how we learn off of one another.

Okay.

I receive great feedback from my classmates, and I also give good, constructive feedback.

And I would even now, what can I do to kind of improve myself a little bit more?

And that's how a good online class works.

And when you were here at LCC, do you remember taking English 121?

Oh, yes.

Yeah.

So I'm teaching that this semester, and I'm doing exactly that.

I've got the class in discussion groups, and it's great to see students react to one another and learn.

So tell me a little bit more about things that happened here at LCC that maybe set you up for success as a master's candidate.

I'm gonna tell you, I tried to work with the right type of people that were steering me in the right direction.

I'm not saying because you dealing with somebody that may not be a good fit, it doesn't make them less of a person.

But it's good to get with the right type of sources.

Yes.

Yeah, absolutely.

That will help you, guide you and direct you.

However, you still have to do the work, which I don't mind doing.

And I think if you put your best foot forward, you will get a good result in return.

And you found those kinds of people here to work with at lcc?

Yes.

LCC was actually a really good experience for me.

It was also a very humbling experience for me as well.

Tell me about the humbling part.

What was humbling about it?

You know, I've had my fair share of struggles.

Okay.

Like most students did.

But with me, I'm not the kind of person that gives up.

Okay.

Because, mind you, like I said, I have a daughter.

If I give up, what would that be?

How would that teach my daughter?

I hear you.

You know, like I said, I've cried sometimes and get frustrated.

Because you're students, it's to be expected.

It's a growth process.

Right.

And it is a growth process.

And I feel like I've grown a lot when I was a student here.

So so many students I've worked with have felt like they didn't belong or they weren't up to it.

And those are normal feelings.

Right.

So we have this thing that we in academia call imposter syndrome, where you think that, oh, this isn't for me, how do you overcome something like that as a student?

You know what?

And that's fine, because college really isn't for everybody.

There are trade schools.

I don't know if they got on the job.

Training.

Yeah, we have that here, too.

Right.

And you know, as an individual, you have to find your niche.

You gotta find.

You gotta find your.

Your sweet spot.

Because every parent's dream, they want their kids to go off to college, but at the end of the day, what does your kid want?

Yeah.

Yeah.

And going off to college means a lot of different things to a lot of people.

I mean, it's not what it looks like in the movies.

No.

They tend to glorify that.

But this is reality.

You know, I agree with you.

I agree with you.

The other thing, in all my years of dealing with community college students, so many students have said things that are similar to what you shared, is that as a parent, they know that they're setting example for their child.

I know.

I felt the same way with my children.

So what's your daughter up to?

And she must be really proud of Mom.

You know, I love my daughter to pieces.

I love her dearly.

You know, I always tell my baby, I said, look, you don't want to wonder what it would have been, what could have been, what should have been.

And, you know, she's doing phenomenal herself.

She graduated from Hope College.

Fantastic.

Yeah.

She's got a degree in psychology, and now today she's working at Sparrow hospital as a PCT on 5 West.

And she's done some traveling herself, and I'm really proud of her for doing that.

What an amazing thing.

And your.

Your educational journey, I just got, you know, this, but I just want to tell you, your educational journey must have been an incredible inspiration for her.

You know, as a mother to a daughter, I try, but at the end of the day, I want her to find her own way, carve her own path.

Because my path and her path are different.

Yes.

And she knows I'm her number one support.

And, you know, I don't mean to get spiritual, but, you know, my faith goes a long, long, long ways.

And I even talked to her about the Holy Spirit as well, too.

Well, it sounds like just about everything you've done has set her up for success and she must inspire you as well.

She does.

Especially with technology.

You know, I'm trying.

Tell me about that.

What has she taught you about technology.

That'S helped you using your critical thinking skills?

Okay.

Yeah.

I've had to take a PowerPoint class and I took some computer classes, try to look at YouTube videos on how to.

And yes, because I want to learn too.

Because, you know, technology is here to stay.

That's true.

I agree with you and I.

And it's not something that you can learn once and just move on.

Right.

Because it changes every single day, every minute.

I'm also glad you said critical.

Critical thinking, because one of the things that is happening with technology is as it changes so fast, I think that a lot of people don't spend enough time asking if what they see is correct.

Yeah.

And fact checking it.

So I think you're right.

Critical thinking is a technology skill.

It really is.

And I'll admit I do.

I struggle with it from time to time.

However, I've gotten way better with it because again, she's doing her thing now.

Mama gotta kinda take notes and learn technology as well too.

Yeah, well, and we're in an age where with artificial intelligence and social media.

Yeah, well, Grammarly is another issue as well.

But we can make very convincing pieces of social media that are completely made up, you know, and you have to have those critical thinking skills to decide what's real and what isn't.

Right.

And I learned a lot, you know, I be watching.

I'm like, okay, this is how you do this and this is how you do that, you know, so.

So let's talk just a little bit about your goal after this master's degree.

First of all, I'm so inspired by what you're doing.

Thank you.

In your graduate study, when you complete that, what's next for you?

You know, hopefully I will have a job in my field, you know, and build up a very good clientele.

I don't know what's in storage for me, but my whole goal is to take my degree and do very well with it, be successful with it and meet people where they're at, and also inspire people that let them know that things are delayed, but they're never denied.

Okay.

I love that phrase.

I'm gonna repeat it.

Delayed but never denied.

Yes.

That's a good chalet quote.

I like it.

I like it a lot.

So you wanna be a therapist then?

Yeah, I would like to be a therapist or a social worker because my specialty, I would like to work with kids that's been abused and come from dysfunctional families and stuff like that.

But I also love working with the elderly as well too.

So I'm kind of, you know.

We'll see.

Well, where we started off, the conversation, I was thinking about our journeys in life.

Right.

We started off as children, very vulnerable.

Right.

And we need help.

And as you mentioned, some children are coming from a long way back, maybe from a position of neglect or abuse.

And they do need counseling and therapy interventions.

But also in that later stage of life, we become vulnerable again.

Right.

When we're older.

And that's the clientele that you're working with now.

What do you think has inspired you to be a resource to help folks who are vulnerable?

We're humans.

I'm a human, you a human.

It's okay to be okay, and it's okay not to be okay.

Right.

Some people don't understand that you don't have to always play the tough role.

You know, you can cry, you can spit, holler, do whatever you want.

When it's all said and done now what are you gonna do?

That's true.

I mean, there's a lot to, you know, hustle, culture and grinding and things like that.

But some of that is putting up a bit of a front or a false.

I hope that.

That having conversations like the ones you're having, that people realize that it's okay to be vulnerable, like you said.

I have other colleagues who've said the same thing.

It's okay to not be okay and to let people know that you're not okay.

And I think, particularly after the pandemic, a lot of people are thinking that it's more acceptable to say that you're having issues or problems.

Do you agree?

Yes.

It is okay.

It's okay to let talk to our trusted source.

Don't just talk to anything.

Okay.

You have said so many really insightful things in our conversation, Chalet.

For those who are listening and maybe still LCC students, do you have any, like, words of wisdom or things that you would impart to somebody who is on a journey like yours but maybe a couple of years behind you?

What would you say to them to inspire them to get to where you are?

Never give up.

Always finish your race, because there's always a beautiful light at the tunnel.

And you would look back and be like, man, I'm glad I never gave up.

I can't think of a better way to end our conversation.

I've so enjoyed talking to you, Shalei.

Thank you.

It's nice talking to you, too.

Great talking to you, Shalei.

Thanks a lot for sharing your journey with me today.

It's been inspiring to see how you've taken what you've done at LCC to Siena Heights and on to even bigger heights.

Yes, sir.

Alumni Stories is recorded and produced by Steve Robinson on LCC's downtown campus.

The soundtrack, who told you'd is licensed through DeWolf Music and was performed by Ian McCanty.

Thanks for listening.

Discover what our other alumni have been up to and Explore more than 30 podcasts on LCCConnect.com and if you're an LCC alum and want to share your story, send me an email@steverobinsoncc.edu.

until next time, keep learning.

This is LCC Connect, Voices, Vibes, Vision.

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For more information about LCC's conference and event spaces, visit LCC.edu and search conference When I grow up, I want to be a doctor.

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Training courses range from information technology to administrative assistance.

For more information, visit LCC.edu JTCTraining LCC Connect voices, vibes, Vision.

This is Bob Myers from the Historical Society of Michigan with a Michigan History moment Years ago, dozens of Michigan towns waged pitch battles with each other.

What was at stake?

Land claims?

A new factory?

A school?

Sports rivalry?

No possession of the county seat of government.

Becoming the county seat meant prestige for a town.

The county seat had the county courthouse and county jail.

Elected officials, lawyers and judges, people registering documents all came to the county seat while there was they spent money in town.

A county seat meant prosperity.

In Kalamazoo county, the town of Compton lost its battle for the county seat to Bronson.

Bronson prospered and became Kalamazoo.

Compton faded into obscurity in Benzie County.

Benzonia and Frankfort fought for the county seat for decades.

The Town of Honor finally claimed it in 1908, but in 1916 it moved to the hamlet of Beulah, where it remains today.

Counties sometimes established a temporary county seat, but that only set up a political brawl in Tuscola county in Michigan's Thumb area.

Vassar was made the county seat, but only until 1860.

Hartz, Ketchum, Platte, Moonshine, Vassar and Centerville all fought for the prize.

Moonshine won.

But a week later officials changed their minds and the county seat went to Centerville instead.

Centerville became Carroll.

All but one of the other towns dried up and vanished.

In Lapeer county, the fight was not between two towns, but between two factions of the same town.

Residents of different areas of Lapeer wanted the county seat for their own part of town.

The two factions each built courthouses.

One courthouse burned in a mysterious fire, but its promoters quickly rebuilt and succeeded in capturing the county seat for their part of town.

Residents of a town that coveted the county seat would sometimes arrange to have it placed in a small, insignificant hamlet in hopes of wresting it away later in the thumbs.

Huron county, the county seat, originally went to sand beach, now Harbor Beach.

In 1859, when the courthouse burned Bad Axe officials got the county seat temporarily moved to Port Austin so that they could try to grab it later for themselves.

In 1873, county officials transferred it permanently to Bad Axe.

Were the county seat wars worth the rancor?

Probably they were.

Many towns that lost those wars are ghost towns today.

This Michigan history moment was brought to you by michiganhistorymagazine.org.

Connecting you with lansing community college this is lcc connect lcc connect voices vibes vision.

K12 operations at Lansing Community College has been a proud collaborator of the Lansing promise scholarship since 2012.

The Lansing Promise Scholarship offers graduating high school seniors who live within the Lansing School District and attend a high school within district boundaries an opportunity to attend LCC.

Since its inception, over 1,000 enrolled students have saved over $2 million, earning over 400 degrees and certificates as well as 30,000 credits at LCC.

For more information on the Lansing Promise scholarship, please visit LCC.edu code.

The Adult Enrichment Program at LCC offers classes in watercolor, creative welding, motorcycle safety, photography and more.

All classes are non credit.

Information about the Adult Enrichment center is available at LCC.edu keeplearning.

LCC Connect Voices Vibes Vision hello friends and welcome to Coach Cut's Corner.

Streaming bright from Michigan's capital city, this podcast is dedicated to helping you better understand the who, the what and the why of mental performance, personal growth and lancing Stars Baseball down on the victory Line Coach Cuts Corner brought to you by Eyewash and Collaboration Woodlands Community College and now here's your host, Stephen Cutter.

Welcome to Coach Cut's Corner where we challenge limits, push for greatness and develop athletes who thrive on and off the field.

We built a program centered on discipline, self belief and relentless preparation.

Each week I bring you insights from my coaching journey, conversations with high performers, and lessons that drive winning habits.

If you're serious about growth, whether as a player, coach, or leader, you're in the right place.

Let's get after it.

Today's episode is one I've been looking forward to for quite a while.

Now.

We're bringing you behind the curtain of what it takes to build savage athletes, not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, and competitively.

Joining me is someone I deeply respect, Don Vinsantis.

Donovan's resume is heavy.

He spent years in Major League Baseball as a strength and conditioning coach with both the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays.

He's been around greatness and knows exactly what separates the ones who make it from the ones who don't.

We connected through pison, a game changing technology we're using here at Lansing.

And Donovan is in town this week learning, observing, and helping us get better.

It means a lot to have him here.

Also in the studio with me is coach Jeff Allen.

Jeff's in his first season with the stars and he's already done some amazing things.

He follows my lead, holds guys accountable, and keeps the temperature where it needs to be in the room.

So today we're going to cover a lot.

What elite athletes do differently, how strength is evolving with tech, and the kind of leadership that makes a team tough to beat.

So let's dive in.

Donovan, welcome to the studios.

Love having you in here.

Can you kind of walk us through your journey, how you got started and what the road to the big leagues looked like for you?

Yeah.

So pretty long journey, but I'll give you some timeline spots and then, you know, we can go from wherever you want to go, but athlete in high school, really love sports.

Grew up in a very, very small town in Wisconsin.

Dairy farm.

Everything you picture or imagine Wisconsin to be, I lived it.

Cheese, milk, the whole works.

Yeah, I knew I wanted to get out of there, knew I wanted to be in sports in some way, shape or fashion.

Did not want to be a farmer the rest of my life.

No offense, dad, but that took me to college where I pursued an exercise sports science degree.

And then I was kind of at a crossroads of how I wanted to put that into practice if I wanted to be in the fitness industry or in the sports team world.

So I ended up doing an internship at the University of Arizona.

Worked with all the team sports out there, and it was a who's who of athletes and just athletic success out there that nailed it down for me.

I knew at that point I wanted to be in team sports.

Moved on to another internship with the Cleveland Indians.

Cleveland Indians at the time Guardians now.

And met a bunch of tremendous people, players, coaches, front office that would go on to continue to be a big part of my journey in my life.

From there, I moved on to Toronto to be minor league coordinator and went from a really well established program in Cleveland to a big opportunity in Toronto.

Walked into something that was really undeveloped, not a lot in place, so it allowed me to step in and kind of put my stamp on the program and grow that.

So we grew the staff, we grew the program, everything about it.

And opportunities opened up for me to move into the big leagues, the major leagues with Toronto.

And I spent six years up there, had an incredible time, worked with incredible coaches and people along that journey, but realized at that time that living life on the road with the big league team was not how I wanted to raise a family.

And so I transitioned back to the minor leagues and spent another 10 or 12 years in that role.

That grew into a director position and so on, so forth.

And then from there it led to an opportunity with the Yankees.

Spent four years with the Yankees before transitioning out of the game on my own terms, which does not happen a ton in pro sports.

So a total of 24 years working in pro sports and had an opportunity to transition out on my own terms and relocate to the Northeast where I was reunited with some former athletes of mine from Cleveland and introduced to pison.

And I'm starting a new journey now.

Love that.

That's an awesome story.

I was thinking about it when you were talking, you were mentioning with Toronto how you had somewhat of a fresh clean slate.

And thinking back on it now, isn't it crazy with where that whole world is with technology and with everybody trying to get better and trying to find that edge and where it was at.

A certain point, it is, it's incredibly remarkable.

And to think about it in those terms, especially from my industry, strength and conditioning or performance, there won't ever be another time like that where I stepped in.

And there were no sports scientists, there were no mentor performance coaches, there were no nutritionists.

We didn't have a physical therapist at the time.

It was literally me and two athletic trainers in the major leagues, you know, at the highest level.

That'll never exist anywhere in any high level sport anymore.

But also, you know, it was just an incredible opportunity for me to be able to experience all of those areas and have a role, a secondary role in all those areas and then be part of growing them and Realizing the value of them and then promoting the value of those to the athletes and understanding the benefits of specialty.

So kind of got a question for you.

There's a new Netflix documentary out about the Boston Red Sox.

And I think in general, people think of professional athletes even in baseball being super yoked and enormous.

And in some ways a lot of them are, but in some ways there's, we'll just say some dad bots, you know, did you find that when you were working at those levels of those were people that you were trying to help more and try, try to dive into how you could spark them a little bit?

Because we're really talking about performance.

But then there's the other line of it.

If they are performing, you don't want to screw it up, right?

Yeah.

I think ultimately you don't want to make somebody something that they're not.

They have strengths and you want to recognize those strengths and you want to capitalize on those strengths.

There's always going to be areas that they can improve upon.

But if going too far down that road is a detriment to their strengths, then you're not helping them as an athlete or as an individual.

I recognized that pretty early in my career, you know, not knowing really anything as I got into the sport.

But, you know, when I was with Cleveland, the closer at the time was Bob Wickman.

And if you google him, he has the all time dad bod and he was not in good shape, but he was the closer.

And he had lost the tip of his index finger in a lawnmower accident as a kid.

And because of that threw one of the most nastiest sliders cutters you had ever seen because he was missing that tip of his finger and he threw hard.

And if the focus for him was on losing 25, 30 pounds and getting in great shape and looking like a football player, the chances are he would have lost a lot of himself along the way and a lot of his strength along the way.

So it was less about turning him into something he wasn't.

It was more about, you know, finding the strengths that he had and capitalizing on them, keeping him healthy and doing whatever you could to accentuate his career and his strengths along the way.

I think that perspective might change a little bit at the collegiate level.

But I know you and I have spoken about this before.

Even at the professional level, you know, sometimes those changes need to be made.

Maybe they don't have enough strength to endure an entire season.

The rigors of the grind and they need to add and they Just don't want to.

And you've got to find ways to help them.

And then, of course, there's the other situations where they're performing just fine and able to do it with wherever they're at.

So it's kind of trying to find that line and of who do I help, who's okay with where they're at?

But at the collegiate level, that's a.

That's a little bit different, you know, and.

And something that we saw when we first came in here was, you know, went and took a look at the last 10 years of national champions at this level and how.

How big were they?

Right.

You know, what was their size?

And, boy, you take that much, a decade of winners, it gives you a pretty good scale of what it looks like.

And yes, people are getting bigger and getting stronger with technology and things like that, but it gives you a pretty good scale and tells you, you know, this is probably where team needs to be if wants to give a chance to win.

Kind of wanted to know what.

What do you think separates the best players you've worked with from the guys who are just decent?

Yeah, you make a really good point about the difference between development and then maintenance.

And early in my career, I was working at the highest level, and it was.

It was more about, you know, working with guys that were a bit more of a finished product, you know, they were towards the end of their career after that, you know, I spent a lot of time in the Blue Jays and the Yankees and developing athletes.

And you're right, you come across guys that have elite talent but are not physically developed, and that will unequivocally end in injury or lack of performance, you know, as the season wears on.

So finding the ability to develop them while still, you know, improving and competing is not easy.

And what I have noticed is that the players that do dedicate a substantial amount of time to their physical development, usually in the off season, because that's when they have the biggest opportunity, but then not neglecting the in season as.

Well, trying to do enough to maintain.

Right.

And I saw it a lot, especially early in my career as a strength coach.

You would have a lot of players who would, you know, hire a trainer and work hard in the off season, develop themselves physically, but then when the season would come, they would just stop and it became a bit of a flat line.

They kept chasing their median level.

You know, during the off season, they make some gains.

During the season, they would lose those gains.

During the off season, they make the gains back.

They.

They would Lose the gains in season and they never really truly got ahead.

They relied on their talent and talent, you know, as you go up in levels, equalizes everybody.

So the athletes that were really dedicated to their physical development the entire year, 12 months a year, were the ones that really just steadily made more progress over time and were able to improve and climb through the system the best.

Do you think that applies to high school athletes?

I do and I see it a lot.

You know, it's becoming more and more common now for athletes to be a one sport athlete throughout high school.

That wasn't the case for me.

But you know, even if you have an athlete who's going to play multiple sports, training and lifting and trying to physically develop in season is single handedly the best thing that you can do for a youth athlete athlete.

It's a cheat code at this point.

It really is.

It really is.

And you know, and then, you know, playing multiple sports is always a benefit because you're just, you're going to be a more well rounded athlete all around.

And I do deep down believe, you know, if, if you have some talent and, and you have a good work ethic, you have time to develop.

You don't have to be a finished product by the time you're a junior in high school to, you know, to ultimately end up in the big leagues.

You know, I think that with that there's, there's a lot that goes into the development circle and there's a piece of that development circle that's leadership.

You have to be able to lead when you're in roles like you have, where you have to know when to push and when to pull and when to hug and when to kick, you know, and with the leadership roles that you've had, how have you approached leadership when you're put in these roles that somewhat are trailblazing, but you do have to educate and you do have to push and you do have to pull.

Was that transition tough for you or not really?

I think it's always a bit of a challenge across the board, but I just would approach it the best that I could from the standpoint of meeting the athlete where they are and understanding their experience level to that point.

There were a lot of times where, you know, we would have a, we'd have a four year college, you know, player come into the organization and he was told he wasn't even allowed to lift in college.

There were other kids who came from Jucos who, you know, trained at performance centers in the off season, had a really, really good program in place.

And there were other high school kids who could be one way or the other, they could have had a good training session in place where they developed really well and we just need to fine tune it and tweak a little bit.

And other kids who have never touched a weight in their life and so you can't approach all of those kids the same way with do this or else you need to try to find the thing with them that is going to be the most impactful.

And so.

Or a four year college kid coming in and he's pitched at a high level but not been allowed to touch a weight because they didn't want to hurt him.

You're going to approach that completely different.

You're going to bring him some reassurance of, hey, listen, we can do this without hurting you and still develop you and you're not going to fall behind and you're going to be all right.

The juco kid who trained at a performance center and has already really physically developed and integrated great place, you're just going to fine tune it a little bit and be like, hey, listen, now the workload, the baseball workload is going to spike here big time and the intensity is going to go way up.

So we need to manage that.

We need to work with you on that.

We need to check in regularly on how you're feeling and adjust as necessary.

I think the athlete really appreciates the fact that you want to work with them on that individual level and you want to understand what they've done to this point, but then also where they're trying to get to.

And I probably had, you know, an ace in my back pocket, having been in the big leagues already and seen what big leaguers are and what they do and how they look and how they act.

And so, you know, I had that ability to kind of reassure them that, you know, they don't have to throw a shutout tomorrow to be in the big leagues.

This is a long process and we have time to get there and we're going to get there together and we're going to figure this out, which sounds.

Great, but it's also a pretty transactional level too.

And if you don't do what you are supposed to be doing, a lot of times you're not going to be around very long, you know, and so that creates a enormous amount of pressure.

I do want to transition a little bit and I want to talk about pison and kind of their performance innovation.

You know, you've transitioned from the baseball world into pison and using all the connections, connections that you have.

And it's a big reason why you're here too.

But it's kind of where modern data and tech and training is, is going at this point.

And Pyson is being used in our program here in Lansing.

And it's something that is a incredibly working, fluid environment with how we're using it, because I think that it has some incredible roles with the cognitive mission piece.

And it's got its staples of readiness and everything else.

And then it also has these unknown roles where we're doing things with caffeine and we're doing all these different things just to see where things go.

And so it's been a pretty exciting time.

What do you think initially made you believe in pison?

I think the thing that caught my attention immediately when I learned about the technology was just the role of cognition in athletic performance.

So I spent my entire world in the sports performance sector, physically challenging and working with athletes in every capacity, from force plates and using technology, in some cases, in some cases not.

But we were inundated with technology that could train and test the athletes physically.

And what I realized early in my career was the role of mental performance.

And we didn't have a mental performance coach, but one of the athletes that I worked with very, very closely for the longest time, and he was one of the most successful players that I'd ever been with was Roy Halladay.

And he was an early adopter of the mental performance game and just training.

And I saw the impact that it had on him as an athlete, how it kept him steady.

While he didn't sacrifice anything physically, he still trained incredibly hard and was always prepared.

But he also had that, for lack of a better term, the sixth tool of his mind.

He was able to regulate that across the board.

And so when I found this technology and I saw the opportunity to dive deeper into quantifying, testing, monitoring cognition with athletes, I knew this was an area that I was never able to tap into throughout my journey.

And it was definitely something that I wanted to do.

It was something that I was presented with in terms of making the information and the data actionable for coaches and athletes.

And that's something I've always been passionate about, something that's been always important to me because numbers without context are worthless.

And so I wanted to be part of that and I wanted to be part of moving this into all areas of sports, not just professional sports, collegiate sports, high level, you know, youth sports across the board, because everyone, everyone can benefit from, from mental performance.

Definitely agree with that, with Pison and your role, we know and we talk about it a lot, like on this podcast and stuff with the value and what we're getting out of having the numbers and how we're able to make.

Make more informed decisions and how it can change our normal biases towards certain things that we just think are there.

But then you realize, well, that that's actually not there.

There's a reason why.

But how about in your words, why should college programs be using Tyson?

I think it empowers the coach and empowers the athlete to take control of their situation.

You know, we can prepare them physically as a staff, as a coaching staff, as a strength staff.

You know, we can prepare them for upcoming games.

And we don't.

There is a known unknown out there and we don't know how they're responding to their, to their life, to their game, to everything else that they have going on.

And we don't know what that response looks like.

You know, we don't know how well they're sleeping.

We don't know, you know, how much anxiety they have.

We don't know what else is going on.

And now we have an ability to look a little bit deeper into that.

And then on top of it, we have the ability to empower them to try some interventions and mitigations throughout their day, throughout their life, to change that positively and hopefully positively affect their performance on the field, but also their daily life in general.

You say interventions and my mind immediately goes to jump ropes, ladders.

And of course, music's one of the bigger ones that we found to make a huge impression.

But Jeff, what changes have you seen, like with our guys and Pison, what have you noticed?

I really like the competitive aspect of it.

You know, guys are getting their high scores and they're running around showing the other guys like, you can't beat this.

You can't beat this.

You know, so that's been pretty cool to see.

I've found myself falling into that a couple times.

You know, get a high score on a focus test and like, look, guys, look.

So that's been cool.

I. I think one of the especially cool parts is that Phil Collins song.

You know, we've.

We've been.

I'm not gonna give it away, but it's a little bit slower paced song.

We've pushed.

He's got more than one song, but.

Yeah, yeah, push the sled to it.

You know, we're doing our python test to it.

And the other day we were playing and at an away game and the other team played that Phil Collins song and you look around and guys are kind of nodding their head like, oh no, they played our song, they're in trouble now.

So that's been pretty cool.

It's just really, really cutting edge stuff.

I think that there's a lot that, that guys can learn from it, you know, and it's not even just coming from us.

They kind of learn more on their own too.

Doesn't have to be just that Phil Collins song, you know, some guys have certain songs that they feel like they listen to and test higher on and it's just, it's cool to kind of give them that and let them run with it and see what they come up with.

But it's been awesome so far.

I'm loving it.

Yeah.

It also shows how powerful the mind can be for performance.

And I know we have a, A, a player that tests at an incredible quick level.

And I was just telling a group that he was in the other day about how like I've been doing some manifesting and really locking in on, you know, having a better score than him and really focused on it.

And then I went and I tested and I, I had a better score than him, you know, and he was just blown away by it.

And they were all like, wow, that's incredible.

But in a lot of ways, it's not just a story.

It's how powerful the mind can be.

And we all shake our heads like, yes, and you're thinking positive, but on the other side, it can be extremely powerful on the negative side.

And we've probably all seen the athletes that are affected by not having the tools or the skills to be able to get out of the funk, get out of the slump, you know, just be able to stack those bricks and move forward.

And they, it's not because they don't want to, but they don't necessarily know how to.

And so the brain is incredibly powerful.

I want to give you a few quick hitters and kind of put you on the spot and see, see what you, what you've got to say about a few things.

So what's one non negotiable that you live by?

Hmm.

One non negotiable besides that your wife.

Is more famous than you.

Yeah, that is, that is absolute true truth.

Preparation.

Just trying to stay prepared and trying to stay ready and present the most that I possibly can.

Staying present is a tough one.

We teach our players about the floor, be able to feel the carpet right now or the dirt, that kind of stuff, whether it's in the box, on the rubber, anywhere else will help you get prepared because of just that feeling.

There's some stuff, stuff with grounding, too, that's built into that where grounding is a great thing.

From your years of experience, what do you think defines a savage athlete?

You know what they are, they're different.

What makes that up?

I think it's a beautiful balance of grit and being open minded.

Favorite professional baseball moment.

Wow.

Too many to choose from.

Too many to choose from.

Nothing sticks out.

Wow.

Yeah.

I mean, tons.

Honestly, watching Roy Halladay pitch 10 shutout against the Yankees and then talking to him after the game and him saying, yeah, I was going to go out for the 11th, and you're just like.

Where was his pitch count at?

He was at like 95 pitches through 10.

Really?

Yeah, yeah.

Like, he was insane.

But then, I mean, he would do something close to that every fifth day.

So it was just.

That was crazy.

Carlo still got 04 for 4 with four homers off four different pitchers in one game.

The last one off the windows in Toronto, Frank Thomas's 500th home run.

Oh, yeah.

Seeing that in person and then.

And then him thanking me in his hall of Fame speech.

Crazy, really?

Yeah, it was crazy.

That's pretty cool.

Just awesome, dude.

Pretty cool.

Yeah.

I mean, just.

And then like countless times just in the clubhouse, just traveling on the road with the guys, but you know, Mike Bordick playing 1600 games, like, just.

There's a lot of special things that happen on those baseball fields and traveling and any hard lessons.

Yeah.

I think the toll that takes on your family, you know, and if you're not aware of that and you don't actively keep that in check and making the most important people in your life the most feel like they're the most important, definitely going to come back to haunt you.

Powerful stuff.

I think we're gonna wrap.

Thank you for coming into the WLNZ studios.

Look forward to hanging out with you for the next couple days.

Thank you for being part of the show, Jeff.

Make winning in life your habit, not your goal.

Excellence isn't an outcome.

It's a daily standard.

My mission is to build athletes and teams that compete at the highest level, not just on game day, but in every aspect of their journey.

Build the right habits, lead with intent, and push yourself beyond the limits others set for you.

And don't forget to cherish the small moments they pass by in a blink of an eye.

Until next time, keep stacking bricks and go stars.

Coach Cutscorner is recorded live in the WLNZ Studios, with the Dalian Lowry providing engineering and production assistance.

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Eduardo.