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!

Hello and welcome to another episode of Stars on Sports. I am joined by our assistant AD Steven Cutter and our producer, Jereny. And today, Happy New Year, everyone. I don't know when this will get out on the circuit, but, you know, for us, it's our first recording of the new year. And knowing Coach Cutter and myself, we're excited. We, you know, we try and look for the best in many things, and 2023 was a great year for LCC sports, and we hope to make it even better in 2024. And that's going to be predominantly what we talk about is reflecting a little bit on and also looking to 2024. So it's exciting. It's, you know, a great time to be a star. In my third year here, and I feel a little pressure. I had a leader once tell me you get more done in your first three years on a job than you do the rest of the time. So I keep that in the back of my mind, like, man, I got to keep working to really get those things done that I came in here to do. And, you know, and that's again, part of one of the things I want to talk about is we've talked about our one word in the path that I think John Gordon talked about that. And it's really resonated with me. I've never been a great New Year's resolution person, but I did like the one word thing. And last year, my word was resiliency. And just throughout the year, I would go back to it. Especially in everyone's job, you face challenges, you face obstacles. And my goal was to be resilient, keep fighting through. So I thought it was, it was productive for me. I thought it was a good way to kind of, you know, it's kind of like a core value to me. And so still working on this year's word, I got a couple of them. But any either one of you have a word for from last year that you remember or this year moving forward?

I think that's good. You Know, I try to look at, like, pillars of success, you know, and put some pillars together of what I think is going to help me become more successful. And my word last year was consistency. And you'll hear me say that a lot. And I think it does parallel the resiliency as well. Consistency. As I started using it more and more, I realized how much it is a superpower. And it's written on my board and very large in my office, and it says consistency is a superpower. And I think the more you can stack those bricks of whatever you're doing and. And just get consistent with it, pretty soon it just becomes a piece of who you are. Much like what you said, a core value.

Yeah. And consistency is a great word. That's one I had thought of because it's not easy being consistent, you know, especially when you've had success or when you haven't. I mean, like, one of the books I want to read this year is what got you here won't get you there, you know, because you're here, you're not where you want to be. And being consistent helps you stay where where you need to be, but also helps you move forward because you're not going back down either. So, you know, I like that on your board that consistency is a superpower that has. That struck a chord with me and something, you know, I strive to be and do, too. And I think it's important in our business, you know, talking about routine or going to work, you know, that that's big in our business of, you know, having a structure, having a plan, having parameters, showing up in place, you know, really showing up.

Not just going to a spot, but showing up, giving, you know, giving what you can to the utmost.

And that's important in everyday life. Like we tell our student athletes, show up the class, that's half the battle showing. And we don't realize how many people don't show up, you know, and that, you know, we take it for granted some days, but in our business, showing up is a big part of that battle. And then what do you do when you get there? But if you don't show up, you can't do anything when you get there. And once you don't show up, it's easier the next time not to show up, whether showing up. And. Because another thing that is big to me is when you show up, you know, give 100%. And, you know, one of the books I'm reading right now and I was, this was going to be a book review. It talks about give 100%, 100% of the time. And that's not easy either. That's consistency actually. But.

And I've, I've kind of been saying that, you know, parallels to the sports as well is that we're all playing a game that we can't win, so why not play it to the utmost.

Excellent point. That's digging deep in life and true. And, and I hope we can win, but in the grand scheme of things. But it doesn't, you know, keep stacking bricks and, and winning is important and the process important. You know, I just read something where we've talked about certain coaches at the highest level that might come across as quirky, but they're so focused on the process that they don't know how to handle things outside of the process. And I think that's true of a lot of great coaches because the process is so important and consistency of the word that keeps coming into that part of the process and being successful, you need something to hold onto. The kind of remind you, accountability partners, you and I have talked a lot about that. Having an accountability partner to hold you to the ground, to keep you going in the right direction, whether you're falling behind or whether you're moving forward or in having too much success, someone that holds you, that. Yeah, that's good, go ahead.

I said, yeah, that's good. You guys are talking about New Year's resolution. So I didn't have a New Year's resolution, had a New Year's reflection.

Okay.

Kind of looking at, you know, what have I done? One of the key things you talked about consistency and another thing is I read this thing about peaks and valleys, about how to control your peaks so the top of your game, where you're at the best. If you manage it well, you'll be able to control your valley. So when things get low, it won't be as bad because you control the times that you have the most success.

That's excellent, Jeremy, because that's one of the ones I was kind of thinking of this year too is trying to be more calm, more level. I like getting excited and pumped up when we win in that. But to your point, there are a lot of peaks and valleys in our job, which is what I'm referring to when I think of a word. I know it's also true in the business world and life, but trying to be level headed and calm and maintain that composure, which I think I do pretty good in high stress situations. But it's very important to do it on a consistent basis. Maybe we need to change this title today to consistency. But another big thing you hit on too Jereny, that I don't think we do well enough in our world today is reflecting. And I like reflecting. I had a mentor tell me once that you need to spend time reflecting. Too many people don't. They just move on to the next thing. But hard to move on to 2024 if we don't reflect on 2023 and see the good, bad and the indifference. And at some time during this podcast, I would like to reflect on 2023, but I'd like to save that to the end. And, you know, we can highlight some of the things that we remember from 2023. So let's continue talking about one word. Did you come up with your word for this year? Did you say Coach Cutter?

I believe so. It's, it's efficiency. And I, I started really thinking about that as I became more consistent and teaching what consistency looks like and how you can get better with it was, you know, finding that a lot of people, including myself, will have times where I'll say, I just don't have time. I don't have time for this or that. And when, when you really get more consistent and start defining what those pillars look like and what's important things, then you've got to find how you can become more efficient in being able to do those things. And sometimes that means that you have to say no more. Sometimes you're saying no to other people, sometimes you're just saying no to yourself, but really trying to find ways to become more efficient. Because at the end of the day, everybody has, everybody gets 24 hours, you know, in their day. And if you look at a lot of the high achievers, the people that have had success in the business world, in the sports world, in life, they, they use those 24 hours differently. And so efficiency, I, I think is going to be a main focus.

I think that's a great word and unfortunately not one I think I'm very good at, which lead to productivity too. And one of the reasons is because of saying no. Warren Buffett, who, I like to read some of his stuff, you know, one of his number one leadership principles for highly successful leaders is saying no. You have to say no. You have to, you know, get things done. You have to make time for yourself. And I struggle with that because I, I try to be servant based. So if someone asks me to do something, I want to help them out or same with standard that, you know, you know, to help them. But at some time, you Know if you have something that you need to get done or it's not helping you get to the standard you want to get to. It can be counterproductive or, or put you in bind or not give you the balance or consistency you need to get to your goal or standard. So I think that's very important and unfortunately something I have to do better at myself and a lot easier said than done. But it's such an easy word. No, but in our business too, when you're trying to problem solve, I think it's hard because you do deal with a lot of people that come to you with problems. Another mentor of mine used to talk about, hey, step back a second, let them try and figure out the problem first and then see if they need you. Instead of. And we see that a lot with parenting today, where we try and help our kids out instead of let them problem solve. And you know, we deal with that at this level of them coming to and not necessarily know how to handle things or, or find ways to find the answer to their problems, especially on the academic side. And we have a lot of resources here, but for some of our student athletes at the first, all of them at the first time being on their own. So we're experiencing that transition from, you know, being at home to being the one that is more responsible for those decisions. So maybe no should be my word for the year. But I wanted something more positive. But you know, no's not a negative word. We perceive it to be, but it shouldn't be. It should be just a, a decision making word. So I have not come up with mine. I'm still struggling to think of what it is. I have a couple of them. I have like phrases that I'm trying to think of. You know, I want to be better. You know, like I feel like your,

your word should be digital.

Digital.

With that stack of paper sitting across from me right now,

Yeah, I should bring my computer. But I told you I don't like bringing my computer because then my files become read.

Only everybody's got an excuse.

I like paper, I like writing things down. But maybe I've tried the digital rocket books or whatever, but I just like referring back to, to my paper. We had a coach's beating the other day and I brought my pile of

paper that you couldn't, you couldn't find a couple papers until about halfway through I found them.

Though I know where they're at. It might take me some time to.

One hour later you got them.

And that's true across my history People in my previous job would joke with me because I'd come to the meeting because I bring everything in case I need to refer to something, I come prepared. Well, one time I did a parking lot and I carried them and they blew all over, so I was trying to scatter them. People were helping me out and most of them weren't important. But yeah, I have stories with my piles. Even with the new ad at Mason, they joke he doesn't bring a backpack of a pile to work. I take things home just in case I want to work on them. So maybe that is a good one for me.

Could tie into efficiency as well.

I was just going to say that I think Coach Cuz is trying to get you to be more efficient.

And I told you, that is a weakness of me. And I'm open to improvement. I want to improve. And maybe that is one way that's been a hard one for me as you know that I like carrying. You know, these are all our previous podcast notes in here in case I need to refer to them. But, yeah, digital. I like technology, I embrace it, but I like handwriting things.

So I think the word of the for everybody is going to be uncomfortable.

That's a good one.

We love that word. I mean, you can't grow unless you're uncomfortable. And fight. Challenge.

Yeah. Fight the status quo.

Yeah. Yeah. It's not. I mean, not that I like being uncomfortable, but I know it helps me be better. And that's my main goal, too, is to be better. That. I mean, when I think of wordsworthy, I want. I want to be better every day. Be nice, be better. And that's. That's my goal. Those are my core values. And a good.

A good way to attack that is if you have uncomfortable things that you need to do and you don't want to do them. A good. A really good way to attack that is put them on your schedule first thing in the morning.

And.

And you come out of that with a certain type of win feeling to yourself, because you just. It might not have been a great result in what you attacked, but you still addressed it. And, you know, I've heard people break it down as little as just making your bed in the morning. That is just something. That's just a way to get a win and something that you can control. But if you put those things that are a little bit uncomfortable, maybe it's that. That big meeting or that conversation or, you know, whatever it might be, you put it first thing in the morning that. That will help you set up your day to, to win a little bit more and it will make you feel much better.

And I've gotten better at that too. I like scheduling those things. That's one of the digital things I've done now is try and schedule those tasks. And, you know, it's a competition to me. I get excited when I, like, achieve something that was uncomfortable or challenging. I come out and celebrate and the office and jump up and around, but because it's about stacking wind and building confidence for that next one and, and I really try and prepare hard if it's going to be that situation. So I work hard, you know, beforehand, you know, trying to plan and prepare everything because there used to be a time when I was young, when I was young and in this job I was overseeing former coaches of mine, so it was kind of hard to tackle uncomfortable things. But, you know, it's like, do you walk into the water or do you jump into the water?

Well, if you, if you jump in mentally, if you're just thinking about it like that, if you can address it in the morning, then it gets it out of the way. If you don't address it until the afternoon or the evening, it's weighing on your mind. And so that's affecting you one way, shape or form, it's hard to measure that piece of it, but it is affecting you. And so that's in the back of your mind and it just becomes a little bit harder to pull on that rope per se, because it's still sitting there. So if you can start addressing things early in the morning that are just uncomfortable for you, you set yourself up for success much better than if you just let it kind of sit there and fester until the afternoon or the

evening and it definitely impacts your day. I agree with you and I think to certain things, even if you let it fester, some people hope it goes away and then you don't even address it that day. Hope, well, I can address it tomorrow or, or that, you know, we'll put off it to tomorrow. So yeah, I like, you know, if I want to get something done, I want to get it done and put it behind me to, to, to move on with our day and hopefully it goes well. But either way, it's usually a relieving feeling that, you know, a weight off your shoulder or back that, you know, you can celebrate and, and stack wins. So all good words. Still trying to figure out mine. All of them do fit into my ear. I just need that, that best one. So maybe at the next podcast we can figure out, but let little time in our last couple minutes reflecting on 2023 and for me it's a lot of emotions. You know, we had a lot of success on the field, but you know, the first thing that I think of is, you know, in May we had over 30 kids graduate. We had over 30 kids go on and transfer to four year institutions. And those were the first student athletes I came in with. So I had them for two years, so developed close bonds with them. I try and get to know our student athletes so I miss them. You know, it was, it was tough. I mean I enjoyed being around them and now hope they can watch them succeed in the next phase of their life. But being here at a two year, you realize how fast it can go and. But there's a lot of positive things, you know, talking to them and seeing the smiles on their faces and hearing their comments about their experience here at LCC. This wasn't one of the ones that graduated May, but this is one that's going to graduate this May. Talking about how he wishes, you know, LCC was a four year institution because he just loves it that much. So, you know, those are things that are rewarding, you know, this fall at our volleyball games, we had all our teams come out and regularly support the volley program, which has been an emphasis of ours. And how cool to see that collaboration and that support coming in fruition. So those are things that I look back and think we're, you know, we're making a difference. This is great. Our student athletes are having a blast. But you know, it's hard not to mention the success to a national championship, you know, World Series appearances by both our baseball and softball team in the same spring season. Volleyball making their first national appearance, you know, other teams having all Americans or, or individual success. So you know, every year we think, man, it's going to be hard to top the previous year. But you know, that's our goal, you know, to be better this year on and off the field. We have goals academically with GPAs and you know, less, you know, struggles in the classroom. But do you have any memories that stand out for you for 2023 for LCC athletics or baseball?

Quite a few. I think I'll rewind a couple years ago, two years ago, my word was joy. And it was really to try and try to find joy. It's easy to find, you know, joy and the things that are, you know, really rewarding or whatever, but to try to find joy and in those tough things, you know, when things kind of suck Suck a little bit. So it was joy, and that became kind of one of my pillars and one of my fabrics. So when I think back on 2023, I. There was. There was a lot of joy, a lot of really special moments. And that, to me is so much more valuable than the things that were acquired. If I can come out of a season, a year with. With those, with joy and special moments, that. That's so much more rewarding. So I look back on 2023, and obviously our. Our sports teams had a ton of success. We had a lot of student athletes that moved on. We had a lot of student athletes that grew in other ways too. And you get a lot of that feedback. And so that's one of those special moments when you do get the feedback, when we do have, just as you mentioned, somebody thinking that LCC, it'd be incredible if it was a four year. Those are all wins to me. And I think there was a lot of joy and 2023, and I look forward to 2024 and having even more.

Yeah, I think that's a great point. I always try and live by. If you go back to, I like seeing smiles because if it's not fun and you're not happy doing it, find something else to do. And fortunately, in my job, I still love waking up and coming every day. You know, I, you know, these large lotto jackpots are out there, and I keep thinking if I win it, I still show up the next day to my job because they. I couldn't see myself doing anything differently.

I think that's a really good point. If you are doing something that you love, you're gonna say that if I did win the lottery, I might take a little bit longer of a trip here or there. But that being said, I'm going to continue doing whatever it is that you're doing. That is when you know that you're in the right spot.

But to your point, at the end of the year, if you're not happy, then you got to make changes. And success is, you know, you are happy and you found joy and in love and, you know, relationships and what you're doing that continue to move you forward and be better. And we talk about how this job is so fortunate because there is a lot about relationships running. You know, I was actually picking up wings last night before the national championship, and I ran into our official that's going to be here tomorrow night. And we, you know, talk. But we wouldn't have that connection if it wasn't that sport that was brought it together. But there should be joy in this, in this job. There should be joy for our student athletes. And that's the greatest measure of success. If they had fun and are happy when they're done, we were successful. And you know, the other neat thing is real quickly that how successful they are doing at that next level. We have a handful that are excelling at a high level since they moved on. So, you know, again, very happy. 2023 looking to attack 2024 and make it even better. And Happy New Year, everyone. 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!