Softball Sisters: The Castillo Legacy from Players to Coaches

Jewls and Jade Castillo, sisters and former Lady Conchs softball players, share their journey from players to coaches and their passion for developing the next generation of talent at Key West High School.

• Attending the College World Series in June – a dream trip with record attendance of over 100,000 people
• Professional softball's growing popularity with the AUSL now sponsored by Major League Baseball
• The sisters' softball journey from Kennedy Drive's Rosa Hernandez Field to college scholarships
• Transitioning to coaching roles and working to instill "Conch Pride" in current players
• Creating a family atmosphere and focusing on team bonding for the upcoming season
• Current Lady Conchs graduates playing at colleges including FIU, Dartmouth, Lynn University and USF
• Hosting a summer camp with college players to inspire younger athletes
• The importance of fundamentals like throwing and catching for building skilled players
• Life lessons from softball including teamwork, communication, and accountability

Transcript

Podcast Introduction

Speaker 1 0:03

Thanks for tuning in to the Bring Joy podcast. We're in season five and it's all about baseball, Talking big leagues to the little leagues, Yankees to the Conks and everything in between. I'll share my joy for the game with you and, whether you're a fan of baseball or good storytelling, you'll be entertained and each episode will bring a little joy to your day. So sit back and relax. Let's do this thing how we doing softball fans. We're in for a good one. Today I got the sisters Jules and Jay Castillo. We're going to talk softball. The two are legends in the Lady Conks softball program. They're part of the coaching staff and they're big fans of softball. So let's get into it. Welcome to the show, girls.

Speaker 2 0:46

Thank you for having us.

Speaker 1 0:47

Thank you, so I want to hear the whole story about your life in softball. But before we get to that, I know that in June you and the family went to the College World Series.

Speaker 2 0:59

We did yes.

Speaker 1 1:00

Yeah, let's start right there. How did that happen?

Speaker 2 1:04

That trip is a trip we've been wanting to take since as long as I can remember. We played softball basically our whole lives and that was just a destination trip we've been dying to take. And our parents actually surprised us one day. We came home from work and they're like look down, we have a surprise. And they just told us we were going to the World Series.

Speaker 1 1:23

That's awesome and it ended up being a historic series, right Texas versus Texas Tech, both first time in the World Series.

Speaker 2 1:32

They would have been the first time for either of the teams to win, so it was fun.

College World Series Experience

Speaker 1 1:36

And the attendance. They said it was over 100,000 people attended. That was the most ever. Over 2 million people viewed the series, so it was definitely historic and all the games were competitive yes, it was good.

Speaker 3 1:50

It's getting bigger and bigger every year, so for us to be able to go to that trip was awesome.

Speaker 1 1:55

What was the atmosphere like?

Speaker 3 1:58

it was crazy. Every softball players dream yeah, there were so many people there. Past players that have been to the World Series were there. It was a lot of fun. The atmosphere was crazy.

Speaker 1 2:12

And will you go back again?

Speaker 3 2:14

Absolutely Hopefully next year.

Speaker 1 2:17

It's still on my bucket list, so it sounds like I need to do it.

Speaker 3 2:21

Yeah, this time we went to the Championship Series, which was the last three games. Need to do it, yeah, this time. This time we went to the championship series, which was the last three games. But we said next time we want to go for the whole first week, a whole from the beginning to the end.

Speaker 1 2:30

So game one, I think texas tech won right. It was really close. The second game same thing. It was really close. As coaches, would you have pitched kennedy in game three? Probably not.

Speaker 2 2:41

Yeah, I think I have to begin at least I wouldn't have started her, I would have maybe finished her, closed her out, but Kennedy in game three.

Speaker 3 2:44

Probably not. Yeah, I think I Not to begin, at least I wouldn't have started her.

Speaker 2 2:47

I would have maybe finished her, closed her out, but I wouldn't have started her just because at that level you have so many good hitters, they're going to adapt to it by game three. If they don't, I mean you're probably not going to play if you haven't got a hit.

Speaker 3 2:59

Yeah, they've seen a lot of her pitches.

Speaker 2 3:01

They played her in regular season, so that wasn't four times. To see a pitcher is a lot.

Speaker 3 3:06

The girl that they did bring in after her. She did really well. So I think if they would have started her and then closed with Kennedy, they probably would have taken it.

Speaker 1 3:17

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Easy for us to sit back now, you know. But I was surprised and I know she wanted to pitch and they've been riding that arm the whole season yeah, in a pitch, so yeah, um, that's one of the things.

Speaker 1 3:32

So I'm I'm still a rookie when it comes to softball. You guys know I'm watching more and more of it, but that's one of the things that amazes me is how the girls are able to throw 100 pitches and then go back out there the next day and pitch. What's the difference between a softball pitcher and a baseball pitcher to be able to do that?

Speaker 3 3:52

So they say pitching is a more natural motion than a baseball pitcher, so they can go out and pitch as much as they want if they feel up to it or if their arm's healthy. I know, in high school I messed up my arm and throwing overhand killed my arm. I would go and I would still practice and everything I would throw underhand like I would do a pitch and my arm felt fine. So it's just a more natural motion. I feel like pitching wise, so you could throw more often, you could throw every day, every game, so yeah softball doesn't have any pitching rules when it comes to pitch counts or innings or any of that.

Speaker 2 4:30

If you have one pitcher, you could pitch them all season, every game.

Speaker 1 4:34

And how many pitches does a softball pitcher have?

Speaker 3 4:38

Quite a bit. So you have fastball changeup, there's drop ball, curve ball, screw ball, rise ball. So you have a lot of different pitches.

Speaker 2 4:48

You can throw. A lot of the times you'll only see a pitcher with about three good pitches. That's what a lot of coaches tell you to focus on. If you have three good pitches, then you can be fine.

Professional Softball's Growing Popularity

Speaker 1 4:57

We talked about. Softball just continues to grow in popularity, not just this season and the historic numbers that we already talked about, but really over the last decade. It just continues to grow. And now the AUSL Athletes Unlimited Softball League is being promoted and sponsored by Major League Baseball. Are you guys paying attention to that league at all and what are your thoughts about that program?

Speaker 2 5:22

That's huge for the Major League Baseball League to sponsor it. I think that's a big step forward for our sport and it's going to be good for these players. A lot of times, these players, once they do this uh professional softball league, they still have to get regular jobs because they get paid nothing, so I think this is a big step forward for them, like salary wise. Yeah, they're doing a lot of double work.

Speaker 3 5:43

So this is a big step forward for them, like salary wise. Yeah, they're doing a lot of double work, so this is like still fun for them, but they still have to go to work. Being that the MLB has now sponsored them, hopefully they can get more deals and this could be their main job, because a lot of people are starting to watch like more often and it's getting bigger and bigger now.

Speaker 1 6:02

And I know that a lot of the players that are in the AUSL just were in college, you know.

Speaker 2 6:09

Yeah, they had about a week, they were already shipped off and started playing.

Speaker 3 6:14

Like Mikayla Edenfield from FSU, she finished her season and within the next few days, I think, she was already playing. She was already playing.

Speaker 1 6:25

Yeah, that's why I got the Voltaire on Her and Jesse Warren.

Speaker 3 6:31

I was going to say their team is stacked. They could use a few more pitchers they're third right now, I believe but their team is stacked.

Speaker 1 6:41

Yeah, they have a really good roster, but they're not putting the wins together right now. Yep Got a mesh, but I was watching the game last weekend and Rachel Garcia, who I didn't even really know about her until I started watching those games. She was hitting 77 miles per hour and that's fast.

Speaker 2 7:04

Yeah, it is. She can also play first, can also play first base. She can hit she's a. She's a beast.

Speaker 1 7:09

And I think that's one of the reasons why the game is growing to be so popular is the athletes are really good. I mean, their skill level is just off the chain and, like you talk about, the players play multiple positions. You know they don't just specialize like you see in baseball, so much the great players are always on the field. So if you go to a game you're going to see that star player.

Speaker 3 7:35

So I think that's part of it. Mia Scott, she played every position one game. Yeah, that is crazy, but she came in and started pitching for her professional team last week, the week before, and people weren't expecting that, so it was cool.

Speaker 1 7:52

Yeah, that is really cool. I love her and it was neat to see her because she was on Texas, right, and they ended up winning. I was pulling for Texas Tech too, but I'm glad she's on the vaults now because I can root for her. So. And then Landry Sam Landry, she's Oklahoma, yeah, so she was on Oklahoma, so she's on the team too. So right now the AUSL has four teams and they're not really associated with cities or anything, but the games have been selling out, they've been doing a tour type of thing around the country. So there's four teams. I think next year they're supposed to add two more teams That'll be more city-based.

Speaker 3 8:32

Yeah, I'll try to see if there's anything close, but it's a pretty far trip.

Speaker 2 8:37

There is also another professional league. It's the Women's Fast Pitch League. So there's four teams in that league too. So I think they're kind of divided right now, but hopefully, you know, they'll combine into one league and have all the superstars in one place.

Speaker 1 8:52

Yeah, cause that's what happened with basketball also. Right, there were already some professional leagues and then the WNBA came and it takes a while for for them to figure it out and hopefully get it right yeah, so that they're not split, you know, and hopefully major league baseball will not only put the money but really help promote the game. I know the games are available on the major league baseball network and espn, so so far it's off to a good start. But I think that women's sports in general are demanding that Women's soccer, you know, is really getting in. Of course, wnba is really popular now. So good stuff and great opportunity. You guys as coaches and we'll get into the coaching bit here in a little bit but as coaches now you not only for your players, you not only only can encourage them play at the next level for college, but there's a real possibility that they they can play professionally, so that that's pretty cool, I think, also yeah, it is.

Speaker 1 9:56

It's awesome something for them to look forward to, for sure so let's back up a little bit all the way back to where your love for softball started. I imagine it's happened on Kennedy Drive's, rosa Hernandez Field. Take me back to when softball became part of your lives.

Speaker 3 10:14

I was very little. I was probably four years old, so I've been playing since I was four. So it did start over here at Rosa. When I was in first grade we moved to Ocala for a few years and I played in Ocala for a few years and then we came back and I've been here ever since, since fifth grade.

Speaker 2 10:35

I was a little late when it came to starting softball. I didn't start till second grade when we moved back. I actually didn't want anything to do with softball at first. I was a gymnastics girl. Okay, when I moved back, I just picked it up and never looked back.

Speaker 1 10:51

And what positions did you guys play in? Who were some of your coaches in Little League?

Speaker 2 10:56

I started in the infield. I played pretty much anywhere in the infield except first base and catching and pitching. I didn't do much of Tried pitching, that hung that up really quick. But coaching my dad's our dad's always been our coach for most of our life, up until our high school career. And then I had other great coaches too Coach Jason, coach Eric. They've also been my coaches since I was about 10, I would say that's cool. Until I graduated, those three have really been like my core coaching, my core coaching group.

Speaker 3 11:31

Yeah, my dad's been my coach for a long time, until I got to high school. Then I had coach Steve Wells for my first year there, and then Ashley James and Clint Storr after that, yeah, the other three years.

Speaker 1 11:47

Yeah, and who were some of your teammates?

Speaker 3 11:49

I had Kendall Snow, angela Niles. I had so many different people Angelica Green, raelynn Fatwa, raelynn Mackenzie Cohen, Jordan Rooney. We played with her in City League the Shonix, the Shonix Oysterhout, devin Oysterhout, a lot of freshman when she was a senior.

Speaker 2 12:11

So I played with some of those people my senior year. I had two others with me. I had Madison Garcia she actually helps coach with us too and Ashley Griminellis. We were the senior class. I played with Bella Perez, marina Goins, yahar Williams you know those are three big freshmen that came in my senior year and really made some noise for the program, played with a lot of good players, but those are just a few to name, and you guys both earned college scholarships.

Speaker 3 12:42

Yes, we both went to TCC to play, and then, after our two years at TCC, we went and just did school at FSU and graduated from there. But I played in high school. I did pitch first and third. I really loved third base. I went to college for pitching, though, and she went to college for outfield.

Speaker 2 13:04

I didn't start playing outfield until actually the end of my freshman season in high school, clint Storr. I was on JV and Varsity my freshman year and Coach Clint Storr, he always told me at practice he's like you need to go to the outfield, you need to go to the outfield. I was like I never played the outfield before. And then when I got moved up to varsity someone got hurt and they're like who plays outfield? I was like I do and then, ever since then, I've been an outfielder.

Speaker 1 13:29

He saw. He saw some Talk about an athlete. Yep, he saw it. So what years did you all graduate then?

Speaker 3 13:37

I graduated in 2016, and I was 2019.

Speaker 1 13:40

And so you come back to Key West and you become part of the coaching staff working under Coach Jason Garcia you already mentioned him. Eric Snow, they've both been part of the program for so long now. We've had had a run really good coaches. But coach garcia I think he's what on his ninth year- I think this one will be 2016 2017 season.

Speaker 3 14:05

He's been the coach yep, he, uh, he was the coach right after I left, so probably 2017 season and so how that?

Speaker 1 14:12

how'd that?

Speaker 3 14:13

So when I came back I started helping at the Little League field and we've known him our whole lives. So he was like you want to come out and help with the pitchers over here. So that's how I kind of got into it and then I've been there since. So now we're JV coaches now. So I do both JV and varsity. After JV season's done, I go stay with varsity for the rest of their season.

Speaker 1 14:37

And Jay, what's your role Are you? Do you work with a certain group?

Speaker 2 14:42

I do a little bit of everything except pitching I let her have that but mainly for varsity. I mainly work with outfielders, but for JV I'd help a little bit of everything. I always told Coach Jason we always used to joke around with each other that I was going to come back and help coach with him, especially since we didn't win a state championship. I always told him you know, I'm going to come back and win one as a coach.

Speaker 1 15:05

I love that. That was one of the questions that I wrote down here was I don't know if you saw, I interviewed Joey Gonzalez up from Marathon High School, who's the head coach there, and he was part of the program and I asked him the same question but what does it mean to be an alumni of the program and then come back and coach? How do you think that adds to the quality of the program and how do you think your players respond to you, knowing how deep those roots are?

Speaker 2 15:35

For me. I think it's like amazing to come back and help coach this program that built me, who I was and the player I was and the woman I am today. You know they really I mean the passion I have for it. It just makes me love it even more and I hope I'm showing those girls the same passion and teaching them the culture and the pride to have, you know, cunt pride, instill that in them, just carry themselves how this program should be carried and respect it. And to see how far this program has come is really what makes me keep going. We used to plan, we used to have to line our own field before every game and now, like we have this amazing stadium, you know turf, everything that's top of the line, top notch, and to see how far it came it's, it's crazy yeah, it means a lot.

Speaker 3 16:22

It helps them too, knowing that, like we played in the same position as them, we were conks, we went through the same program as them, so it helps we always talk about.

Speaker 1 16:30

Yep, there were many female coaches growing up so we talk about it too.

Speaker 3 16:34

They're like oh, how was it when you were here? I'm like nothing like it is now.

Speaker 1 16:39

The 2025 season was really successful. It didn't end the way we wanted, but it was really successful. You've had almost two months now since the season ended. What are some of the highlights from the season for you guys?

Speaker 3 16:55

For me it's probably Brenner pitching. She had a crazy season. I actually wrote down the stat Her freshman year she came in and struck 64 people out her freshman year and this year she had 127 strikeouts. So that just goes to show the growth that she's had just in one year pitching. Yeah, that's, that's carried the team a long way. We just got to get past American Heritage next year, yeah yeah, that was hard ended the.

Speaker 1 17:27

I was there for the conch baseball team and it was there and then to to be back up there and see the girls lose it on that field. That was tough. What do we need to do? What's that next level that we need to get to? Because this is something else I talked about on an episode earlier. We're running up on these teams that recruit from all over Florida, all over the country, all over the world for that matter, and don't like to be sour grapes about it, but it does make it hard to compete. So, as coaches, how do you keep the players up and what are you trying to get to so that we can compete with that kind of program?

Coaching the Lady Conks Program

Speaker 3 18:05

So, yeah, up there it's like they pick and choose who they want, so they can pick the best shortstop they have pitcher, pitcher after pitcher after pitcher. So for us we have the limited number of people we choose we can choose from. It's just our school. So, um, pitching is a big factor. If you don't have more than two, three pitchers it's hard because if one starts getting hit, then you, if you don't have anybody back up, you can throw in there. It's hard. So, like schools like that, they have a lot of pitching, their hitters are very, very good. So we just have to capitalize on hitting, working on hitting, live hitting, if you hit, you win ballgames.

Speaker 2 18:45

I feel like at the end of the season, like postseason, our team was really just starting to gel with each other. They were really playing for each other at the end. I think my goal next year is to get a little bit more team bonding activities in the beginning of the season, make sure they really capitalize on the family aspect and then so they can go on the field and just play for each other every single game instead of taking all season to really gel. I feel like that makes a complete difference.

Speaker 3 19:11

I think coming up this year that's going to be a lot easier to do. The girls are really close right now. It's a lot of younger girls so they've played with each other quite a bit recently and last year and the years before. I feel like they're gelling well. I think next year is good. This year coming up is going to be good, Very good for them. We have a young team Young and very talented yeah, be good, very good for them.

Speaker 1 19:35

We have a young team, young and very talented. Yeah, because we did, we did graduate some core players, but there was a lot of freshmen and sophomores that that played, you know, and I know the jv team is stacked with talent too, so it seems that the future is bright for girls softball in key west sure, I think that the next year or two we'll be back to the Final Four.

Speaker 3 19:56

Hopefully take it all the way you heard it here first Time to charm. The girls are working hard. They're already out there working, so they're doing what they're supposed to be doing.

Speaker 2 20:08

A lot of them are on travel teams, so they're putting in the work.

Speaker 1 20:12

That was one of the things I was going to ask you is. We hear so much about year-round sports and single sports for athletes. Is it the same with softball? Are they playing during the summer? Do we have one program or are they kind of scattered? How does that work for softball?

Speaker 2 20:30

Well, for down here it's really hard to get numbers to do a travel team per year because a lot of them already go to out-of-town teams and stuff. So they all just disperse into the different teams they're already on. Some of them just decide to not play during the offseason and they just train, train, train. A lot of them play other sports. I think it's great when they do play other sports during school year. It's different muscle groups, you know. Intact it helps in the long run for be more flexible and all that the girls like they do.

Speaker 3 21:06

they play basketball and volleyball.

Speaker 3 21:08

We have a lot of weightlifting, weightlifting which really gets them in shape for season. So I do like, when they play different sports during the off season or during those different seasons, it helps them a lot. But going they, a lot of them go and travel. We have some play for, like Parkland Power Contenders and um. They've been going a lot of different places all over Rockhold, so it's helping them a lot of different places all over Rock Gold, so it's helping them a lot. Seeing live pitching all summer, keeping playing all summer.

Speaker 1 21:38

And there's a lot to be proud of with the Lady Conk program Just the fact that you guys, almost not quite 10 years ago, when you graduated, you earned college scholarships. We have at least one of the players that I know is going on and playing. How many former lady conks are playing college ball right now?

Speaker 3 21:58

so right now um Bella's playing at FIU, scarlett's playing at Dartmouth, marina is playing at Lynn Lynn University, dharma and Dharma's playing at USF, and Tavin is that just graduated she is going to play at the University of Fort Lauderdale.

Speaker 1 22:17

When do you think, or do you think that one day we'll hear a Lady Conks name called for the draft for professional softball? Is that day going to happen?

Speaker 3 22:29

I think so. I think so. I hope so, hopefully. Hopefully, sooner than later. I think it's going to happen, so I hope so. I hope so, hopefully sooner than later.

Speaker 1 22:37

I think it's going to happen. I hope so. I know you guys will be part of it too. I already got the chills just thinking about it.

Speaker 3 22:41

Yeah, that'd be awesome. I'd definitely try and be at almost every game.

Speaker 1 22:46

Yeah, I bet I thought it was cool last year. Did this really happen that you guys had the Lady Conks were traveling in a road game? You got to go see Bella play at FIU and she hits the first home run of the season. Did that really happen?

Speaker 3 23:02

Yeah, it was awesome. The girls were going crazy in the stands.

Speaker 2 23:06

Yeah, it was awesome. She definitely put on for the girls.

The Future of Lady Conks Softball

Speaker 1 23:09

That's really cool. And, speaking of Bella and Marina going, the two of you are teaming up with the two of them and hosting a camp next week. I think it's July 26th. Yes, tell me about the camp. What? What should the girls expect and what is the goal of a summer camp?

Speaker 2 23:29

So the girls should expect to. You know, come in and just get taught by two really good softball players. I mean, we're just there to help them out, but the main goal is just to keep them, bring them down here and really show these young girls that, like they have a chance to, there's an opportunity. We have two, we have four girls playing college softball and for them, to see them it, give them a little spark, but also learn from them too. So we'll be working on uh, infield drills, outfield drills, hitting pitching, catching so it's a little bit of everything for them to learn.

Speaker 3 24:01

They've been taught a lot by good coaches wherever they've been playing um, so it'd be good for them to come down and teach what they've learned up there that's really cool.

Speaker 1 24:12

I loved it. When I saw that that go out on social media I was like really psyched because I thought it was cool that, um, there was a camp earlier in the summer the Oklahoma State came down and I thought that was cool. Did you guys go to any of that and how'd that go?

Speaker 2 24:27

yeah, we went and watched. Uh it was. It was cool to see like how um they're taught, how they're teaching new ways. I definitely picked up some new outfieldfield drills. That was taught differently than when I was growing up. They changed it a little bit, so it's cool to see the development of the sport.

Speaker 3 24:42

We were learning just as much as the girls when they came down, so it was cool learning what they do compared to what we do, adding stuff to what we're going to be doing in the season.

Speaker 1 24:54

I think it's a great opportunity for our girls exposure and all that. But you know, I got kong pride running deep. So when I saw that you guys were hosting your own camp, I'm like that's what I'm talking about. So that's really cool. And what? What is the age range that can come out?

Speaker 3 25:09

so we did seven and up. So okay, so seven to high school yeah that's.

Speaker 1 25:16

That's a wide range.

Speaker 2 25:18

Yeah, we're gonna break them up within their age, their age group. So so you'll still be in the same age group of, like the older girls, you're not gonna be. We're not gonna have 16 year olds with seven year olds. Everyone could still learn something, but still be at the speed of your age, yeah so.

Speaker 1 25:33

So let me ask you this what's one of the first skills that you want to develop in a 7-year-old, to get them some fundamental skill that you want them to learn at that age that's still going to carry up through high school.

Speaker 2 25:46

Throwing and catching Definitely throwing and catching. Yep, A lot of people skip that step and it's crazy.

Speaker 3 25:53

You get a lot of funky throws and awkward catching nowadays yeah, you start with throwing and catching it'll help you from here on out. That's the basics you need to know. That's what you need to to capitalize on to go far in the game.

Speaker 1 26:08

I hear that we have some really good pitchers over there at rosa hernandez field. They're not even in high school yet.

Speaker 3 26:15

Nope, they still got a few years over there. They're waiting for them to come up.

Speaker 1 26:19

The other thing that I recognized last year Shiloh's mom, sam, actually pointed out to me is we have, like next generation, lady Conks. So, for example, my friend Debbie, debbie Arancibia, her daughter plays catcher in JV right. I think that's pretty cool that we have some daughters out there and their moms played as well.

Speaker 3 26:42

Yeah, yeah, no, it's awesome.

Speaker 2 26:44

Bella Perez, her mom played, so we had that combo. Yeah, there's been quite a few. Yeah, I was about to say Sam with Shiloh.

Speaker 1 26:55

Sam is a big cheerleader out there, so she's living through shiloh right now yeah, it's funny because you know the k crew, we go to all the baseball games and we feel real comfortable out at the recs. But when you go to the backyard it's like a whole different vibe. It's like, okay, you know, let's just stand to the back and and see what happens, because softball moms are tough.

Speaker 3 27:19

Sam and Jill. They're loud back there. They're really in the game.

Speaker 1 27:23

And did Jill also play.

Speaker 3 27:26

She played soccer, soccer and track. Yeah, she was very good at soccer.

Speaker 1 27:31

And her kids are the ones that play multiple sports.

Speaker 3 27:35

Yep. So Lily likes basketball, Macy she plays soccer. She loves soccer too, so they're both playing running sports that keep them in shape.

Speaker 1 27:44

And I love the fact that you talked about the kids, the benefit to playing other sports. I just heard Alex Rodriguez talking about a play that he made that he wouldn't have made if he hadn't also played football. You know, it worked some other muscle group and made him more flexible. In some way he was able to make this play and I thought that was cool to hear that. Because everything's so specialized right now Travel, ball and all these things that are become a business Sometimes we lose the purpose of just creating, creating healthy athletes we want them to have fun too.

Speaker 3 28:19

So if we're just like, oh no, just softball, just softball, and then they, they lose the love for the game, then we don't want that what do we have to look forward to in the 2026 season?

Speaker 1 28:30

we talked already about we've got a lot of the young talent coming back. But from any fans out there that are listening, we said we're going to get a championship. Did I hear that?

Speaker 3 28:39

Yep, yep, we're on the road for it.

Speaker 1 28:43

Soon coming.

Speaker 3 28:44

Ready to get back there this year?

Speaker 2 28:46

Yeah, it's going to be an exciting season.

Speaker 3 28:50

It's going to be a really good season.

For the Cycle Q&A Segment

Speaker 1 28:52

I hope that you guys will put in a good word for me with Coach Jason and see if we can get him to be on the show. Maybe when it's closer to the season we can do an episode with the whole coaching staff.

Speaker 3 29:06

We'll be ready, we'll tell him he has to go. He would like it, he would like it.

Speaker 1 29:12

He's got a game face on. He's always got that game face.

Speaker 3 29:17

Last time we were playing in the interview, he was like have you done it yet? We were like not yet.

Speaker 1 29:22

It's good stuff. So one of the things I like to do to end the session is a segment called For the Cycle, and I ask four questions and, just like completing the cycle on a softball field, it gets harder as it goes. All right. So I'm going to ask four questions. The first two you can both answer, and then the last, the third and fourth. We'll just pick who wants to answer which question. First question is besides the Lady Conks or the Conks, what's your favorite team to root for?

Speaker 3 29:53

FSU, for sure, florida State Florida.

Speaker 1 29:55

State. That's it. How about Kyle Riley?

Speaker 3 29:59

winning the home run derby.

Speaker 1 30:00

That was awesome. We were watching and a bunch of Noles got drafted. Speaking of FSU yes, they did.

Speaker 3 30:07

Yep, we were watching, so, yeah, that was cool. That home run, derby his brother was catching, dad was pitching, it was awesome.

Speaker 1 30:16

Yeah, that was really special. If he didn't win it, I mean it was going to ruin the whole story because the storyline was right there for it to happen. What's your favorite baseball movie?

Speaker 3 30:29

Sandlot, yeah, sandlot, for sure.

Speaker 1 30:33

Mine too. Mine too, yeah, joey that I interviewed a couple weeks ago. That was his favorite too, so that one seems like we have the most votes.

Speaker 3 30:41

Yeah, it's a classic.

Speaker 1 30:43

It's really good. All right, so I got two more questions that are harder. One of you can answer one and the other. Jules, you're the oldest, so you answer the last question. Okay, all right. Jules, you're the oldest, so you answer the last question. Okay, all right. So the NIL and Transfer Portal are having a big impact on college athletics. So, jay, what do you think Is?

Speaker 2 31:08

the impact, positive or negative. Right now, I think, since it's so fresh, I think everyone's seeing the positive side of it. I think in a couple years we might start seeing the negatives to it. That's because everyone's so high on the high horse about, like you know, athletes finally getting paid and everything. But I think with money, money comes evil too, so I think there's going to be a nasty side of it as well, that we're and then the transfer portal, that's.

Speaker 1 31:32

That's a whole other thing. It's really hard. You recruit a player to come play for you and then, if it doesn't work out, you know you could potentially lose half your your lineup. So there's that, and. But there's also the opportunity, if you're not getting playing time, to go to another program.

Speaker 3 31:49

So yeah, that's like a texas tech. I think they had a whole new team, almost Florida's got a lot of people transferring out.

Speaker 1 31:58

So that's, that's a interesting thing happening over there and as a fan, you get attached to the players, right, and so I like, I really like this player, and then the next season they may be on another team, so it'll be interesting. Like you said, it's it's early in the infancy stages, so to speak. We'll see. We may not know the impact for for a few more years.

Speaker 2 32:24

I think right now, so far it's been great. You know athletes are, it's it's a lot of work, it's a full-time job. Being a student athlete, um, you know you don't have time to go work and all that and a lot of the times when you're in college there's not many players who get a full ride. You know, a lot of these scholarships are about 20%. They only cover about 20% of your tuition, that's it. So a lot of people struggle, a lot of kids struggle mentally and stuff with that. So I think it's good for them that way, like getting paid just to be able to do what they love.

Speaker 1 32:59

I agree, because the the demands on their time as a college athlete as both of you know is is really tough so, and the colleges are definitely making millions and millions of dollars off of these um athletic programs. So, yes, they are, yes, they are all right, let's, let's, let's wrap this one up. This, this, this is a hard one. I think you can handle it, though. What what's a life lesson? That softball has taught you that you hope your players will also recognize and learn from the game probably like teamwork communication.

Speaker 3 33:34

they're going to need to learn that for jobs in the future when they go away to school. Everything isn't about them all the time. You have to work as a team and accomplish things with other people as well, so learning how to work with people, it'll help them in the future and jobs. If you learn that, I think you'll be successful in life.

Speaker 1 33:53

Awesome, really, really, really good. It's not always about you that that's a big one yeah, I think accountability is another big one.

Speaker 2 34:01

I think a lot of these younger generations, they rely on their parents a lot and I think we're trying to. Yeah, we want to win as softball coaches, but I think, at the end of the day, for us, we care more about like the young ladies they become, like, helping them grow into women. So I think, at the end of the day, for us, we care more about like the young ladies they become, like, helping them grow into women. So I think teaching them all these traits is what really makes a difference as a coach.

Speaker 1 34:23

That's a mic drop moment right there. Coach, you know, and I think that the title coach maybe next to mom or dad the next most respected title that anybody could earn is coach. And once you're someone's coach, you're their coach forever. And I think you two are great coaches and, as a fan of conk sports, I'm real happy and proud that you guys are able to represent and show these girls what it is to be a great student athlete and, like you said, women in this world. That's so tough. So I'm proud of you both, Big fans of your program. You're welcome to come back on the show anytime.

Speaker 2 35:04

Whenever y'all have us. We appreciate you for having us.

Speaker 1 35:07

Thank you guys. Y'all have a great night. Say hi to your mom and daddy, all right.

Speaker 3 35:11

I will Thank you.

Speaker 1 35:12

Go Conks, go softball. I'm Joy Newlish and I appreciate you tuning in to my podcast. My purpose is to bring joy into my life and the lives of others. If you enjoyed this episode, drop a review, share and subscribe, because there's a lot of good stuff on tap. You can also follow Bring Joy on YouTube and Instagram, or check my website at joynewlishcom. Now go, bring joy to the people in your world. Until next time, much love.