You Can Do So Much More Than Coaching - Tony Vitello

[00:00:05] Speaker A: Hey, everybody, and welcome to the worst advice I ever got. Today, our guest is two time national coach of the year and current head coach of the University of Tennessee baseball team, Tony Vitello. Since taking over on rocky top in June of 2017, Vitello has led the big Orange back to national prominence and has helped establish Tennessee baseball as an SEC and national power, leading the program to four NCAA regionals, three NCAA super regionals, and a pair of men's College World Series appearances. Now, in order to find time with. [00:00:38] Speaker B: Coach Vitello during the busy baseball season. [00:00:40] Speaker A: We had to catch up with him. [00:00:41] Speaker B: While he was on the road. [00:00:42] Speaker A: So today's audio may be a little spotty at times, but you're going to. [00:00:47] Speaker B: Be glad we made the effort to. [00:00:48] Speaker A: Speak to him and that you decided to tune in. Coach, thanks so much for talking with us today. [00:00:54] Speaker C: Yeah, my pleasure. Honor to be with you all. [00:00:56] Speaker B: We don't beat around the bush. We jump in with the one question. The whole point of the entire podcast is share with us the worst advice you ever got. [00:01:03] Speaker C: Yeah, well, there's been moments where I'm getting poor advice that could get me into trouble, but we'll leave that for a later date. I think more specific to this, but first thing I remembered was someone telling me, you can do so much more with your life than what you can do with coaching. You know, now, as I stand here today, I see that, you know, the opposite has occurred for me, I guess. [00:01:26] Speaker B: Well, absolutely. Do you recall the day you got that advice, you know, kind of where you were in your career and maybe the, I don't know, the forum that you got that advice and how it affected you in that moment? [00:01:38] Speaker C: Yeah, it was actually a month late in the day out in California where I had met friends. This was the summer in between my last year of being eligible, which I had kind of already started grad school, but I was going to be returning to the University of Missouri to complete my grad school degree. So I was kind of searching for what the next move was for me, and I kind of made that the hot topic at the table, at least in that moment. I remember sharing a long conversation about a lot of stuff with friends at that lunch, but kind of my future became a hot topic. [00:02:13] Speaker D: As I said, did you know right away that was bad advice? Did you take it? Did you like, okay, I won't coach. [00:02:19] Speaker C: And then, you know, no, I took. I took it. And it wasn't anyone discouraging me from chasing a dream or anything like that. It was me trying to be level headed. And, you know, I lived with a coach my entire life. My dad coached for 46 years at the exact same high school. And I, you know, saw him as a hero. I looked up to him. I loved the work he did. If he would have been a, you know, an insurance salesman on what it got paid for every hour he put in, I'd probably be on an island somewhere and wouldn't need a job. So I kind of saw that it demanded a lot of his life. And so, you know, I had a balanced thought process, I feel about the whole thing, and I kind of knew that I would like to coach, but there was never this moment where, like, this is the only thing I'm going to do. That's what I'm studying for in college. And so that, that time in my life of kind of working things out and seeking people out and ultimately just experimenting and giving it a try on the coaching side is, I guess, what got me here today. [00:03:20] Speaker B: Yeah, it's interesting. It's a real formative time, right. You're kind of finishing up maybe a segment of your life. [00:03:26] Speaker A: Right. [00:03:26] Speaker B: You were a player, obviously, and so it's like, what's next? And what do you think they meant by you can do more with your life? It sort of infers something negative, doesn't it? [00:03:37] Speaker C: Yeah, it does. And I think really in the exact context, which is important these days, to make sure you dive into that, it was kind of more of a compliment. Like, almost like, I feel like you can do a lot of things out there, and it was coming from somebody who's not necessarily in athletics, but saw, you know, coaching as something that would take a long time to climb a ladder or to financial awards, and it was something limited. It was a kind of a one thing that you're, you're diving into, but really, if you look at all walks of life, you know, we all have a bunch of interests, but I think to truly be successful at something, you got to go off land, and it's kind of got to be the one thing your main focus. And ultimately that became my focus was see what I can do with this coaching career. [00:04:23] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, people that know you or know of your career know that you're definitely an example of go big or go home. So I can. I guess maybe the first reaction was maybe a little bit of a, I don't know, a setback or, wow, that's, that's a little bit demoralizing. Or did you take it in a different way? [00:04:41] Speaker C: Yeah. You know, I think at first during this conversation with several people where, again, we kicked around a bunch of ideas. When it came to mind, I felt very confused at the table because there were people that I trusted and people that I were friends with and. And I was looking for, you know, clarity, and I probably got the opposite in that moment. But then as I kind of removed myself from the situation and dissected it a little bit, I realized there was lots of good bits of advice in there and different perspectives. And ultimately, if I'm the one making the decision, I need to make it based off my perspective. So I think it's something our kids need to realize, too. You can't let others influence you too much. It's kind of more like you have a suggestion box, and if you find something in there that's valuable, you want to make it a part of your rolling deck or your file that you're going to. And then, quite frankly, there's probably going to be some things in the suggestion box that you just throw in the recycle bin. [00:05:40] Speaker D: It's super interesting to hear somebody in your position say that as a, you know, the head coach of a baseball team, to be like, don't listen to everything everybody says all the time. Cause I'm sure, you know, when the players are, you're like, listen to me, though. [00:05:54] Speaker C: Yeah, you want. Well, a lot of times at points, they listen to Frank Anderson. He's our most experienced coach. But no, I literally go out of my way to highlight things like leading off at first base. Like, this is a, this is a fine point where we give our kids a lot of flexibility overall, but this is a fine point where this is exactly how you do it. There's so much influence out there. Just going out playing in the summer, you're going to play with a kid from another program, be coached for a guy, by a guy that's got another background, you know, again, feed the beat, get as much information as you can that you think can help you. And then ultimately, if coaches, in our order to earn our keep, we got to make sure they're doing it within the framework of our team. But again, there's so much info out there, so I think it helps if you kind of educate them on how to siphon through that a little bit. [00:06:40] Speaker B: Coach, this environment, I want to go back to again, where you got this advice originally, and maybe it also sounded like you already had sort of a leaning or an itch you wanted to scratch for coaching. [00:06:53] Speaker C: Sure. Well, I had the benefit because I'm a big fan of trial and error. That that has really been my whole coaching career. I actually spoke recently to a group and talked about some of the idiotic drills that I tried to come up with or experiment with when I first started coaching and almost laugh now, those not knowing what to do can sometimes be just as valuable as knowing what to do. So, getting back to my point about experimentation, I was coaching a summer team, not really getting paid. It's kind of a volunteer deal. And during that bridge or gap summer, I was given coaching a try. And out in California, I was surrounded by a couple former teammates, a guy who was in parole bowl, and another character in there was an actor, or an aspiring actor who had gone through the grind of all these auditions, seen a lot of his friends he came up with in that business, quit because it's so difficult to break through and to get rewarded for your time exactly the way you deserve. And so it's like, is this a correlation? Like, you know, you're a small fish in a huge pond and you got to get lucky. Or better yet, you got to know somebody in order for it to click. Otherwise, you know, ten years may go by and feel like you've wasted your time or not. So there was a lot going on in that conversation, and again, a lot of different opinions because of different backgrounds. And I think it was incredibly valuable to tally all that stuff up. So ultimately, I could search for that gold nugget of peace of mind at. [00:08:28] Speaker A: The end of the. [00:08:28] Speaker D: Did you reach out to them? Did you sort of set up this meeting? Or were you just kind of hanging out? [00:08:33] Speaker C: And they're like, no, it was more of a casual launch on an all day, which is where you kind of get some of the baseball guys sprinkled in, and it was more of just everybody catching up. And I think, especially as you know, again, competitors in any athletic field, you got this bigger sense of pride than maybe. So being vulnerable is the last thing a lot of, in particular male athletes, if I could say it that way, have in their mind, at least from my experience. And so this was a lunch where a lot of people opened themselves up and were vulnerable. And again, my topic was, I really don't have a plan. I wouldn't say that I'm lost, but I don't want to make the wrong decision. And looking back on it, to me, I love when our kids come to me and I tell them, do not rush into the real world, because once it starts, it does not stop. But like a lot of kids who exit college, my heart was beating faster than it needed to because I was paranoid about what is my next move and what if it's the wrong move? You know, where's that going to leave me when I'm at age 30 or age 40? [00:09:40] Speaker B: Yeah, I think skepticism and doubt, you know, creeps into all of us at different points in our life, but especially in that formative period where you're trying to figure out what's next. And something that was really just a casual day, an off day where everybody's getting together, turned into a very complex, confusing day. How did you, how did you ultimately sort through it and then take what was bad advice and turn it into something good? [00:10:06] Speaker C: Yeah, I think the consensus of the table was do something else, you know, to kind of summarize it. And so because of a bunch of different thoughts and then me looking back on it, I think I wanted to be talked into coaching at that point. I was really enjoying my summer out there with that group. It was the Salinas Packers I was, I was coaching with, and I didn't get that. And so now I'm kind of confused. And I was like, well, the heck with that. I'm just going to move on with the rest of my day. It's an off day. It's valuable. I got to get some things done. But then I kind of revisited the ideas, and once I sorted through them, I was able to put, I think, the appropriate amount of value on the tidbits that were out there. You know, for instance, our guys will post something on social media and somebody chimes in and they put the wrong amount of value on the statement that it may have been a robot that shredded or maybe a Mississippi fan that has a fake Tennessee ball account. It could be anything. And so I love when people debate. Like I said earlier, I think it's good for our kids and everyone to seek out extra knowledge with a topic. But I think you have to fairly weight all the feedback you get, whether it came from an expert or not, whether it pertains to you or not. And so for me, I think I was able to kind of sort through things almost, I didn't write things down, but it was almost kind of like I wrote a priority list and what really made sense and what each thing meant to me in particular. [00:11:38] Speaker B: Coach, does this sort of serve as a motivator for you today? Is it like a little chip on your shoulder? [00:11:44] Speaker C: Yeah, it did. And I think you always have to find it. We joke with our players about the last dance. You know, Michael Jordan found motivation and anything he could, and sometimes it seems like some of it was stuff he just made up. Like, he dropped 50 points on a guy, and the guy's like, I never said what, you know, I never said what he's saying. I said that motivated him. Knowing him, his brain was probably altered to a state where he constantly was looking to have a chip on his shoulder. In organic one is great. You speed up the pistons in this example, and you keep losing. It's. It's certainly motivation, and that's the best kind, again, when it's organic. But there's nothing wrong with an act, with an athlete of just seeking out, or a competitor in any case, for a coach, seeking out ways to keep that edge. So your blade is sharp, so to speak, going into battle. And this conversation kind of gets it going for me a little bit. But also, that day, for sure, once I sorted through those thoughts, I did kind of remember some people saying indirectly, well, as a coach, you really can't achieve that much. And again, I grew up watching and looking up to legendary coaches. I'm from St. Louis and Whitey Erzong about as big as you can get in that city. And so you can become a success, you can become a big figure. You can financially be rewarded. You can be somebody that people look to, and all those things are on the table. For me, once I kind of had rational thought put, put into what my, you know, future was going to be. [00:13:11] Speaker D: What was the moment that happened? [00:13:13] Speaker C: I really think it was the next day, and I figured the summer would be, go out and do it, and then let's assess the summer. Almost like looking at a report card, you know? Here are the final results at the end of the summer, and this was more midsummer, and I coached the rest of that summer with a little different intent, a little different plan, and a lot more conversations that were ambitious with the great coach I was working for, Dave Holt. He had worked with the Rangers and then some of the kids I was coaching. I started grilling those guys with questions because I wanted a running start if I was going to do this thing come the fall school semester started up, I wanted to be able to hit the ground, at least running a little bit. [00:13:59] Speaker B: I can't help but see sort of, I don't know the word, the serendipitous piece of this in that now, in the role you're in, you're around young people, players, maybe young coaches who are in the exact same place you were those years ago, who are probably coming to you seeking life advice. So how are you using what you went through in this worst advice you ever got in impacting people who are looking to you as a mentor and. [00:14:28] Speaker C: For advice, I think to know what you want is huge. And I equate a lot of things to recruiting just because that was my background in this whole deal is if you're any sport and you get a letter from Michigan, Florida State, Oregon, those are three very different parts of the country, but there's three very exciting logo for any sport. You can really get confused, but if you know what you're looking for, you're a Midwest kid and, you know, you don't want to travel too far from home. We just eliminated two programs, so, minor example, but I think it's important to know what for. So when you see it, it becomes apparent and you at least kind of come close to having that. Now, for a 22 or 23 year old to know what they want is not an exact science. And that's where it's fun as a coach to kind of try and help steer them or educate them a little bit. And that's where just trying something helps. Again, I hope it's not bad advice. According to parents, I'm not fortunate enough to be one, but I do coach these kids and I think there is no rush. You know, if you're 22, 23, so why not try going down this alley and see if it works for you or if it clicks? I do think experimentation is something that's overlooked sometimes because people feel like, you know, once they're in, they're in. [00:15:51] Speaker B: Well, coach, I think you've done a great job with taking what was bad advice and using it as a motivator to do great things. We've certainly, JB and I have seen yourself success over the last decade or so and in building the Tennessee program to become, frankly, the most elite program in the nation. I can't say I'm completely objective when I say that, because I do root for you and root for the team. But nobody would argue the success of this team. You know, two of the last three years of the College World Series, the only team to have won 50 games each of the last three years. And it's. I don't think it's. I don't think it's lost on our listening audience today that that bad advice you got back then has been a great result for you and a great result for the University of Tennessee. And we're thankful that you spent time with us today in sharing this with us, because we think people are going to benefit greatly from it, coach. So thank you very much. [00:16:45] Speaker C: Well, thank you that means a lot. And whatever got me to country out. And I think, you know, anyone that's getting advice, ultimately you want to see them become happy whether you're contributing or not. If I got any moral of what my thoughts have been with all this, you can make whatever your circumstances are, whatever avenue you go down, you can make it. Whatever may be a key to finding, again, that mental piece is to make it as big as you can for you yourself. And still in the works of trying to do that, it sure helps. You know, we've got volume nation behind us, and I'm having fun with so. [00:17:20] Speaker D: Many of my coaches that I had. I would actually go, I would listen to them more than my parents and even my friends because it was like there's some sort of middle, like they were slightly above friends, slightly below parent. How do you, like, deal with that sort of like elevation with giving your own advice? [00:17:40] Speaker C: Yeah, you know, I think for me, I mean, I'm still trying to figure out what the heck I'm doing every day. So again, I think coming from my perspective, if somebody speaks something out, I can just go based off of how it's gone for me. And then I. My guys, you know, will often make fun of me for using examples, overkill. But I think it's nice to kind of point to an example to back up what I'm talking about. You know, that helps illustrate, I think, whether it pertains or not to the situation, I think it's fun and healthy to debate because even if it's somebody just venting their own opinion, at least, at least you get to hear it and take a step back and look at it from their point of view. And maybe that helps you realize your point flat out better. [00:18:29] Speaker B: Well, coach, once again, thanks for spending time. I know you're on the drive and really grateful for your time today. [00:18:37] Speaker C: Yeah, you bet. I appreciate you all. Take care. [00:18:40] Speaker A: Well, JB, I really look at that as a great treat to have Coach. [00:18:44] Speaker B: Vitello on the show today. [00:18:46] Speaker A: And, well, I tell you, it's very interesting. He was thinking that he was going down a certain path, and then the worst advice he got was to not go down what he was thinking of doing. [00:18:59] Speaker B: And that had to be hard to. [00:19:00] Speaker A: Deal with, for sure. [00:19:01] Speaker D: Especially, you know, he's like, I think I want to coach baseball. And here's the thing. And then, you know, he saw everything that went through. His dad went through. I loved the line of, like, you know, if he was a insurance salesman or something, getting paid by the hour, you know, he'd be on an island somewhere and not worried about any money at all. And he knows the time commitment and all the pressure that comes with coaching, and still he wanted to get into it. [00:19:23] Speaker A: I also like the way he approached advice. He said, just look at it as any advice you get being a part of a suggestion box and. But you can pick and choose which advice you want to take, but you have to take ultimate responsibility for the choices you make for your own life. [00:19:40] Speaker D: Right. Funny. As a person who coaches baseball, because I, growing up, playing baseball, I certainly never heard any of my coaches be like, you can take this advice if you want or not. Yeah, yeah. [00:19:50] Speaker B: It was funny when you brought that up to them. It's like, hey, coach, I don't think I want to take that advice today. [00:19:55] Speaker C: Yeah, maybe not. [00:19:56] Speaker D: What if I just keep my swing like this? It seems fine. [00:20:00] Speaker B: Yeah, maybe we better not do that. [00:20:02] Speaker A: And, you know, I don't think we're. [00:20:05] Speaker B: Going to ever have a guest who. [00:20:08] Speaker A: Took the worst advice and turned it into a motivator to drive, you know, their success. What better example than Coach Vitella? [00:20:15] Speaker D: For sure. Love what he said about Michael Jordan using that as, you know, the little things that sometimes he would even make up to become whatever he needed to get that motivation to push himself over the edge, work even harder, you know, all that. [00:20:28] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. [00:20:29] Speaker A: And there are really no pre qualifiers. [00:20:31] Speaker B: For people being able to give advice. I mean, you go out to social. [00:20:33] Speaker A: Media and people feel like it's, you. [00:20:35] Speaker B: Know, free reign to give all the advice they want to anybody they want. [00:20:38] Speaker A: No matter whether they have any clue what they're talking about. [00:20:41] Speaker D: Exactly right. We've never heard more from people who know less. [00:20:45] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly right. Well, we heard a lot today from somebody who knows a ton. [00:20:49] Speaker B: Really. [00:20:50] Speaker A: Thank coach Tony Vitello for being our guest today. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. [00:20:56] Speaker B: Join us back next week for another. [00:20:58] Speaker A: Episode of the worst advice I ever got.