How is Nick Camilleri using his experiences to develop elite baseball players?
I have spent more than 30 years around the game of baseball as a player, coach, and fan. I’m comfortable in saying that anyone who has ever played at a high level falls in love with the game. However, not every good player can be a good coach. Coaching baseball takes empathy and patience in addition to having knowledge of the game.
My guest in this episode, Nick Camilleri, is the owner of Camilleri Baseball in Wyckoff, New Jersey. Nick is a former college baseball player who has made coaching rising baseball players his life’s work.
In Episode 58, Nick shares about his own experiences finding the right fit as a college baseball player and how he has used those experiences to mentor young players hoping to reach the same level.
So, what’s your biggest takeaway from my conversation with Nick Camilleri?
My biggest takeaway is that being a good coach isn’t just about knowledge of your sport. It’s about being able to apply that knowledge to the needs of the athletes that you are coaching. Further, coaches don’t need years of experience to be good at their job if they have the right perspective.
My suggestion to coaches is use your playing experiences to best serve your players, but not make it about you. This is very challenging for many coaches, including myself. However, if the intention is to serve the athlete, then they will get better.
I want to thank Nick for his kind generosity and the wisdom he shared with The Freshman Foundation Community.
You can learn more about Nick at https://www.camilleri-baseball.com/.
To learn how mental performance coaching can help your mind work FOR you rather than against you, visit https://michaelvhuber.com.
Thank you for listening. We’ll see you back soon for Episode 59!
00:01.47
mvhuber
Hey Nick how's it going buddy. Ah, it's my pleasure. Thanks for coming on I appreciate it. Um, definitely want to talk some baseball today. Um Nick so I guess the first question I would ask you is you know as a former college baseball player I know.
00:03.51
Nick Camilleri
Ah, hey away Michael thanks for having me on.
00:19.13
mvhuber
When I reached out to you I had sort of seen something you posted on Twitter about your experiences in the recruiting process and how you sort of found your your way to what ended up being the right fit for you from ah from a baseball program. Can you just talk about your recruiting your own personal recruiting experience a little bit.
00:36.72
Nick Camilleri
Yeah, sure so out of high school I I committed to a division 1 school. My first offer I wanted to play division one very. But yeah, really badly. Um I committed to literally the worst division 1 school in the country. Um, at the time it was yeah st pier's university um. And I took it because it was a division and opportunity. Um it wasn't ah great baseball scholarship. It wasn't like a great school. It was just you know a chances played division one and had some other good division 3 offers. Um where I probably should have went was a junior college level considering how I had a a 2 8 3 gpa.
01:10.44
mvhuber
Um, ah.
01:12.20
Nick Camilleri
Um, and I didn't really know what I want to study and honestly if it wasn't for baseball I probably wouldn't have went to college. Um, so all those factors kind of led up for me to go to a junior college which my high school coach kind of pushed me to go to brookdale. But um I didn't do it just because I wanted that kind of put 1 label. Um, so then I played at St Peers University for a year I got about. 90 to 100 at batts um I played an over 20 games started started a good amount. Um got to play against like wake forests some pretty school cool schools richmond st john's we actually beat st johns Seaton Hall um we had about 10 wins it it was ah was honestly a. Ah, you know rough experience um teammates weren't great. Um, the field wasn't great. The school wasn't great. Um, so I ended up going into There was no portal at the time but you just kind of got your release form and you were able to go out and contact other schools I contacted probably about like seventy five division one 2 schools and junior colleges. Um a good amount. Got back to me. Um, the ones that I really you know I I decide to go to Cumberland Community College in um, South Jersey um but even when you kind of commit to a junior college you could still commit to an ntw school.
02:19.18
mvhuber
Is crazy.
02:27.44
Nick Camilleri
Um, so the Southern New Hampshire coach and I stayed in touch Scott La Waso who's still there who's probably the best who is the best coach I ever played for um and we kind of stayed in touch like hey if you want to come up for a visit for the following year ah we can kind of stay in touch. So I went and go visit I went to go visit with my mom. My brother. Um, the vision 2 level. You're allowed to like work a player out on campus so I had a really good workout there and he's like we're definitely interested in you. Um, you know we'll stay in touch for next year stuff like that and you know I ah right when I got home I say I I would just want to go there like I don't want to do the junior college thing. Um, so I ah, and I you know I figured like if I did decent i. Division 1 level like how hard could it be at division 2 level and Lil did I know this was like a minor league team. Um, yeah, so that was like the most stack team I ever been in my life I think we had like 50 plus wins. We made to the regional championship against St Thomas Aquaas we lost in game three I believe um and I only had like 7 at-bats. Um. But that was it was hard being up there and being away from home and not playing the first customer was great because it was all about it was a lot of development a lot of baseball. Um I love my teammates. They took it very seriously unlike St Peter's so Southern New Hampshire was awesome to me. Um. And obviously I kind of saw the writing on the wall where I wasn't towned enough to play there. They were bringing kids in from west we had a kid from West Virginia the following year after I left or after I graduated it was kid from Texas um, so it's all division 1 kickbacks and some really really good. High school guys to go out and get so i.
03:55.67
Nick Camilleri
Decide like I'm gonna just finish up my career get my degree so I went to rampo college ah not very enthusiastic about it and it you know it turned out to be the best 2 years of my life. Um, where I met all my good friends. We made it to a regional championship regional semifinal. Ah we made 2 conference championships and I play with 3 players who ended up playing affiliated. You know the affiliate Myer league and they'll be baseball. Um one still there now too had a couple short stents that I got to play with so um, yeah, that's kind of like my story in terms of recruiting and how I kind of bounced around. But.
04:18.22
mvhuber
Um.
04:27.64
Nick Camilleri
Yeah I ended up at Rampo college up in mawa and that was the best move for me and I kind of wish I started off there.
04:33.30
mvhuber
Yeah, well I don't think it's uncommon nowadays for now with the transfer portal specifically I think a lot of kids have a hard time finding the right fit and it sounds like for you and and I think this is something that I see just sort of from the outside looking in is that. There's still a lot of um, there's a really great desire from a lot of kids to take division 1 offer strictly because their division one offers rather than looking at the whole picture of like is this the best fit for me as a person. Um and you just say hey I want to play division one so I could say hey. I played I played division 1 at what point with St Peters did you realize like hey this probably wasn't it wasn't for you.
05:20.48
Nick Camilleri
It was probably It's probably like the fall season Honestly I kind of like right when we got going um our coach who was a very good baseball Guy. He was a very good Guy. He played Triple a at the Orioles Tj Baxter I Really liked him but the school didn't make it a full time position. It was a part time Position. So. Obviously it was financially tough on him. Um, and that's something like me and my parents didn't know to ask or think about if your coach is full time on our visit. Um, so you know he did the best he can ah best he could in the constraints that he had um, but yeah, kind of like towards the end of the fall where like we didn't really have much individuals. We really didn't have a weightlifting program like.
05:41.32
mvhuber
Yeah, yeah.
05:55.74
Nick Camilleri
Guys would just not show up to lift it be like okay um, stuff like that like you know in terms of development There wasn't very much hands-on coaching facilities. There was just like 1 cage or 1 little area for the pictures to thrill. So I kind of got the I after eat up even my friends went to division 3 schools like. They kind of told us like how they had. They told me how they did it like how their process of development was over there and like I was just kind of like blown away like what the hell am I doing here so like mid semester I did want to leave but um, one of our catchers ended up getting into a car accident I think if he kind of messed up his leg so I was. So I got a call from our head coach was like hey listen like you're going to play a lot more than you expected this year and right off the bat I think of the first weekend we had like we had whig forest on our schedule richmond and Harvard and Harvard had a pretty good arm that year're heard up getting drafted so like I was not going to pass up the opportunity I make. I always had get some stats and I still don't like at the end of the I'm just gonna leave so um I remember like being a full be on the phone. My mom in the first weekend into conference play. Um, that's when I wanted to leave kind of like when we were in the hotel we were at Kineius um, they kind of kicked our ass a little bit. So. That's what I really like was like all right. This is not for me like the team's not really a team like I hated I hated being like away with not a way but I didn't like being far away from home. Um, even on a trip with those guys. So um I have one go roommate. He ended up leaving but.
07:19.94
Nick Camilleri
Kind of like as soon as the falls started winding down getting into the individuals part of it I knew it was like kind of weird how we didn't do some of the things that either like division 3 or junior college schools did.
07:29.30
mvhuber
Yeah, well I think you raise a really important point right? like sometimes listen families a lot of families. Don't really understand the recruiting process because they've never been through it right? Especially if you're the first kid to go through it and you raise a great point like. Asking a question like are you a full-time. Is it a full-time page position. You would never think to ask a question like that. But it makes a huge difference right? If a coach is only making a part-time making part-time pay and he's got another job I mean it's going to be really hard to be dedicated to the development of the players and and the program. So.
07:49.30
Nick Camilleri
Yeah.
08:03.31
mvhuber
Like you'd never think to ask that question and then when you find out you're like oh this makes sense.
08:07.98
Nick Camilleri
Yeah, no 100% yeah, it wasn't even like my dad's a first generation here. My mom went to nursing school. So my dad went in and out to college I kind of commuted. Um so they neither them played Sports I was the first of 3 my sister now plays division two softwarere a delphi and my brother's a sophomore in high school. So now we have a better feel of it. Um, but yeah, we like we knew nothing. We just kind of knew like you know the amount of tuition and like the amount of tuition we got off and if it was with vision one 2 or 3.
08:32.45
mvhuber
Right? right? So I mean listen I mean at least you knew you know sooner rather than later you know and then you decided to move on to another program and's I think it is interesting too that you know for people who are listening. You know if you're young if you're a young athlete like I think there's this perception that. Division 1 is sort of the be all end all but there's really good competition at all levels regardless of sport but particularly baseball 2 division two 3 juco are really really competitive. You know and so you can find competitive baseball and opportunities to get to the next level. You know you don't have to be at division 1 right? It sounds like you know with your experiences at at division 2 and 3 to see other guys going on. You know, super talented. Go on to play at the professional level like you don't have to be a division 1 guy to get drafted or to get signed after college.
09:25.90
Nick Camilleri
Yeah, and I was actually I actually hosted a recruiting seminar at my facilities past weekend and one of the guys who speaking say division 3 is not um, like like a like a safety net like you should be proud to be the vision 3 player and I think that especially goes to.
09:28.53
mvhuber
Okay, okay.
09:41.47
Nick Camilleri
Ah, some of the better division 3 is around here in the northeast. There's great. A great conference in New Jersey here the nja up in Massachusetts Babstin um Uass Boston ah suny oswego I mean like those guys could take on any Mac Any Ec School any day. Um, even rowan from the NJack is supposed to move into division one next.
09:48.33
mvhuber
Um.
10:00.86
Nick Camilleri
2024 and I'm assuming they're going to jump right in the middle to you know middle to upper part of that conference and you know it's just because you know it's a lot of kickbacks a lot of guys would be like hey the baseball here isn't that bad like let me go develop a gun in the field as opposed to being on a huge roster where um I might not have an opportunity to make an impact right away or I might. You know my scholarship only covered half of the scholarship So half of the tuition I'm still paying $40000 So um, stuff like that I think the biggest thing at college like kind of getting to play getting experience and leaving with not a big, not a big number over your head in terms of loans.
10:36.68
mvhuber
Yeah I'm I'm going to jump I'm going to jump ahead a little bit right? So you know if I think back to when I played high school baseball which is sad to say thirty years ago you know it was I think we were in a time where we didn't have all the resources that we do now in terms of private instruction.
10:49.91
Nick Camilleri
Oh.
10:55.96
mvhuber
Club ball video you know technology all these things right? So I think when I was when I was in at that point division 3 was sort of like and right. But now you have so many players in the system who are playing baseball. Basically all year round and who are investing in private instruction at facilities like yours and and strength and all these other things that they're doing.. There's just a bigger pool of players who are qualified to play at the highest level just just not enough spots.
11:17.60
Nick Camilleri
The old.
11:25.69
Nick Camilleri
Yeah, of course so like the wow guy like the and Mlb draft in 2020 was cut down to 5 rounds and then following it was cut down to 20 round. So if you kind of take like a food chain a trickle down effect right? So now the kid who was drafting the thirty ninth round that might have been committed to Yukon.
11:33.42
mvhuber
20
11:42.45
Nick Camilleri
Um, before 2020 is now going to Yukon so the kid who used to have the yukon spot doesn't go to Yukon now he goes to marist now the kid at Maris that doesn't have that spot now goes to Suny Oswego and all the way down. So that's the kind of way you look at it and. But you were saying Mike in terms of resources. I mean there's just so much more information technology. Um, even places to train it facility wise um it's showcases. It's it's incredible I know like before I was born. The only guy who really did showcases was Joe Wadka here in Rutherford. Um, but now anddays I mean you know. You you could go check your email in spam box and you'd have 30 invitations to go to a showcase or a workout. Whatever so um and that excludes social media. So yeah, there are a lot of resources and just because of the trickle down effect from the and draft and the portal and ros sizes. It's really um. Getting harder and harder to play at division 1 level. Um nevermind division 2 and 3 as well. But yeah I mean you know we see more kids staying in the game because maybe they're a little stronger. A little faster. Um, it's not so skill. Ah. It's not so much skill at this point whereas like you can find a really good athlete and maybe take a chance on him.
12:53.37
mvhuber
Yeah, so I'll go back to your to your playing days right? So now you're sort of in in the instruction on the instructional side but like what were some of the things that you learned in college as a player that you didn't know in high school like what were the biggest. Things that you learned as alier playing for better coaches and in and better programs.
13:17.19
Nick Camilleri
Um, yeah I mean the the the biggest thing I say and I talk about this when I coach and I'm out of the cage. It's kind of the speed of the game and you know the better players know what to do like before the ball gets hit to them. They know how to work counts. Um, stuff like that and that's kind of stuff that like you know it's not so much talked about um in high school which is kind of like a very result oriented game just because especially in New Jersey with time constraints where in college you're able to look at the process part of it and you know and the constraints sub division 1 and 2 with individuals and things like that like. You don't really think about you know these little things that might make you better. Um, and it comes down to coaching you know who who could really develop. Um I mean um, in high school I remember just like my coach coach lagure who I now am on his staff I just yelled at me catch the ball as a catcher like you know, make sure you don't drop it and make sure you buck it.
13:55.99
mvhuber
Um.
14:11.96
Nick Camilleri
And somebody throws just throw it around the base and maybe we'll get them out but when I remember I went to Southern New Hampshire it wasn't like just like just don't just catch the ball like you have to steal strikes now and you have to throw 70 out of 10 guys out, you're not going to play and you know we don't want you just block the ball once you pick it up and throw somebody out so the expectations definitely get a little bit better determine off where you go. Um, but again, it's like you know things get a little harder. There's people trying to take your job. You're trying to earn a job and like I said like the competition at Southern New Hampshire was like unbelievable. So again that kind of just goes to test what kind of program they are um and you kind of see the other side of it when like. Other bad programs aren't very good and that's kind of the reason why just like the time and effort of people you're around.
14:56.11
mvhuber
Yeah, Well, you know the other thing I Um, ah I'm curious about is you know and I don't really I see it from an an outsiders perspective I'm learning more about it and you probably have a much clearer view on it. But you know listen in the World. We live in with high school players. So much of their process of development and recruitment is centered around travelable right? And so that's also a resultsoriented environment right? And so like can you just sort of talk about sort of the mindset that develops that you see with your pliers in terms of like. Going out and maybe producing in a showcase or playing in tournaments like do they really do players learn how to play the game. The right way you know because they're sort of gunning for a result rather than focusing on the process of development.
15:44.32
Nick Camilleri
Yeah, so I'll put it this way like when a time ski year when it's time to be recruited like you should really try to go get recruited before that it should just be getting better so I had a conversation with the player the other day. Who's on like a big travel team. They'd take a trip to Alabama Georgia Florida and I think Arizona and he's now in who was junior year and you know the ucfs of the world and the dukes of the world and the um university of alabamas and yukons aren't really interested I'm like at what point you shut that down and just focus kind of.
16:02.51
mvhuber
Yeah.
16:19.50
Nick Camilleri
Making it a little tighter and be like okay where do I want to go to school and where I want to look um you know high school ball. Um I'm a high school coach I do not hate travel ball like I know a couple people do um but the reason why high school baseball isn't as highlighted as the summer bowl is is just um, you know. College coaches can't come see you play during the spring I mean um, they're in season. So I think that's why the summer so important, but like if you look at a team like I coach at st peter's prep. We're in Jersey City a team like seat hall is in west orange probably a 20 minute drive but they're practicing at three o'clock after class you know Monday to monday.
16:40.97
mvhuber
Um, right there in season.
16:57.65
Nick Camilleri
Playing Tuesday maybe playing Wednesday fractioning Thursday they're on the road Friday Saturday Sunday um, and that's you know we play at four o'clock in high school so I think high school kind of gets a bad rat meaning like nobody gets recruited in high school but it's just from the constraints I mean even division 3 schools. Um, you know I practice time at Rampa was 3 hree thirty um, our game time would say peer prep same peers prep is four zero five unless you have like a fourth or fifth coach on that staff to go out and go see a game It's kind of hard to run a practice and go recruit. So I think that's why high school gets a bad rap. But in terms of summerball. Um, yes I do think development and teaching the game in terms of like. Holding got runners and double cuts and back pickcks when somebody bunts and bunting and bunt defense is kind of put aside for okay, we gotta get this guy here at this time to see this guy see and play for him to get a recruited for us to you know do our job. What parents pay us for so yes and no, um, a give and take but again, it's. Kind of towards the constraints of what everybody can accommodate to.
17:54.36
mvhuber
Yeah I think that's fair and I think I think that that travel ball process to some extent aligns with the recruitment process in the sense that like I think there's plenty of really good travel clubs out there right again. I'm not as close to it as you are but I do have some familiarity. I think it's the same right finding a club that's a fit for your family right? finding a club that does value like development as much as you can do it right? has good coaching staffs has professional coaches right? Those things matter versus like just like assembling non-gu and throw them on the field so they can go play and like. They're not really coaching you right? It's the same at the college level right? like it's almost mirrors your experience right? like? Okay I'm going to go to Sam Peter's I'm going to play division one because it's division 1 and then you get there and you realize like this isn't exactly for me right? I think it's it's investigating sort of where's a good fit for you. Ah, rather than just sort of being like okay, what's the most you know exposure I'm going to get the most playing time I'm going to get I I I did want to share this story I thought this is really interesting. This is again like this is some I'm somewhat naive to this process but I went to a high school game this past spring it was a shore conference.
18:53.30
Nick Camilleri
Yeah.
19:07.56
mvhuber
Playoff game and unbeknownst to me I'm standing next to a gentleman who's wearing a seat and hole shirt turns out, he's the seat and Halley Coach um shepherd and we start talking and he's scouting players at this at this game and he said you know which I thought was really interesting. He said.
19:17.83
Nick Camilleri
Yes, or.
19:27.29
mvhuber
Like to come to these games because I want to see how kids react in a in a situation that matters right? So comparing contrasting travel ball right? to see a kid who's playing in a showcase or something they're just trying to get their numbers Now. They're playing in a game where it really matters because they're playing with their teammates and they're trying to win a game I Want to see how they compete. I Thought that was really interesting and I I can't imagine that's super common because of the constraints college coaches have. But I I mean what do you?? What do you think about that in terms of like really understanding what a player is all about watching them in a game like that that actually has some meaning.
20:01.39
Nick Camilleri
Yeah, of course like you want guys to produce in high stress levels. Um I'm pretty sure everybody has a story of the kid who's gray and bp who looks great in uniform who runs 14 who hits about 100 to five miles an hour but in the game it just doesn't happen and we know we so we know as ah, you know as a coach like you take a chance in that kid. Hoping he pans out. Um, but as coach Shepard mentioned to you like you know you want the guys who's go to get the fist to double over the first basement's head with you know a 3 2 count and you know in a game that matters. Um the the bp home run isn't going to play at that point. Um I actually recruit from St Peter's first and the state tornament game against St Joe's Momville. So um, the game is like super intense and you know you go to diamondation. Um, you know to 3 2 game maybe you got a runner out second and third as a hitter and you strike down like nobody cares, you're going to go to sonic and you're gonna come back and play at 5 and you're gonna go home and go to sleep play Sunday morning and that's your weekend. So I kind of get i. Totally understand that and like those games have way more bearing and you know you're even social if you go back to school and you get a 2 r bi single you win the game like you're feeling pretty good about yourself, right? How you gonna respond to that the college level whereas um you strike out maybe like you know how's your ad to can be in practice next day so 100% of a coach Sheper saying is true. Um. And again summer ball summer ball is great. I mean it's a good time just kind of relax and play and showcase yourself. Um I've been to some pretty high intense summer bowl games but nothing that compares to like you know a new jersey state tournament game or a Burton County tournament or a shore conference tournament. So um, yeah, and that's why I think even you know in terms of football up here is so good.
21:34.28
Nick Camilleri
Um, burn burton catholic Don Bosco St joe st peter's prep to Paul Catholic like it's so good because the players are so good. So I think coaches get like a good tree coming to see New Jersey high school sports in general um and see how people handle. Yeah, you know stressful environments.
21:36.45
mvhuber
A.
21:43.40
mvhuber
Um, yes.
21:49.14
mvhuber
Yeah, so so from from a coaching perspective. You know with with the types of players that come into your facility that you're working with individually what? what would you say are some of the biggest challenges you see with high school players in terms of.
22:00.13
Nick Camilleri
Um, and um.
22:06.37
mvhuber
Like things that they're trying to get better at or things that they struggle with that. They really need to work on in the at the high school level before they get to college like what are some of the things that you're really emphasizing.
22:18.50
Nick Camilleri
Yeah, so the first thing I'll say is they need to worry about playing good in games and I know in the constraints of New Jersey we don't play all your own like California Texas Florida I do know that there's some nine year olds still playing outside which is ridiculous to me. But that's another story. Um.
22:25.77
mvhuber
A.
22:33.26
Nick Camilleri
But they need to play good and games. Um I have a lot of parents and players tell me like they throw this on the rap sodo they his this on the hit tracks. Um, whatever and like this is my life like you know I'm saying like nothing you do in the cage really matters if there's a guy who on the field who produces more. He's probably to be the guy who you know has but has a longer career. So. The first thing kids need really to worry about is okay like you're talking me about all this stuff. But how did you do on the field this summer how you do on the field this fall and you know, um, opportunities are going to present themselves if you are not good. So that's the first thing like we look at the baseball player right is the baseball player good to um, a lot of kids I have are. Extremely undersized in terms of weight um strength nobody wants one hundred and fifty pound shortsop at the high school college level anymore right? Um, they they want guys who look like you know Bobby Wood Junior and beau beette who's even low on a smor side but these guys are ripped. They're toned they look like cornerbacks in the Nfl. So.
23:16.63
mvhuber
Um.
23:30.54
Nick Camilleri
Um, I get a lot of guys who just aren't like don't like they're bodies just don't cut it I mean like um, go watch a high school. Go watch a college baseball game like if you're in New Jersey like Seat Hall Princeton ruckers rider um St Peter's like you go look at those guys like they're pretty pretty shredded. They're big. Um you know I hate when I have a kid come in. He. You know is really undersized and he's worried about you know ex of velocity or throwing v glossity like dude like you'll get the guys in the show like you know, um, that guy that left you from the astros who won the world series and game I think it was 6 I mean he had to be two hundred and fifteen two hundred and twenty pounds so these guys are like pretty massive. Yeah yes I forgot his name but um.
24:04.88
mvhuber
Um, he's a thick dude is that friend Fraber valdes. Yeah.
24:09.32
Nick Camilleri
Like yeah Valdez you had lofty. So like number 2 like you got to be in really good shape right? Um, and even if you're a skinny guy like if you're ripped up like that's your game like that's fine. Um, and at 3 on the skill set right? So we got to focus on skills. So like. If you if you had to Gra. You're offensively but you can't you know you can't feel the ball like that's probably something you should look at and vice versa right? everybody loves coach nodo from wagner I talked to like everybody loves to hit right? But um, you know you got to you got to want to be good at your defense too right? So as much as you stress like the bat. Um, if you go 1 for 3 with a single and 3 hours you're not going to be in the light next day. Um, even though if that single was a hundred miles an hour so I think kids need to understand where they lack where they need to get better. Um, and that's where like having reliable sources come in and you know with a good travel coach.
24:44.51
mvhuber
Yeah, yeah.
24:58.89
Nick Camilleri
With a reliable recruiting service. Um, that like we use in my family for my brother with a good high school coach with a good strength coach stuff like that. But I would say the biggest thing is in-game development to um. Get in the weight room whether it's to gain weight or the case is not very often to lose weight and when you lose weight not to lose too much weight because I have seen that before and 3 ah your skill set right? like um, you know maybe I maybe I have a great pop time. But you know my in the game I hit 100 right? I hit 100? Um, ah, batting average through the high school season like so we're not going to cut it like you see a lot of like seventy eight eighty two in high school like if you're not baring balls up at that rate like you can cross all division 1 2 in a high level division 3 off the level and like hopefully you find somewhere so play.
25:36.59
mvhuber
Um.
25:45.40
mvhuber
Yeah, yeah, ah listen I I think so so my my bias is sort of the mental side of baseball right? and I think you've kind of hit on that without using that word right is mental right.
25:57.32
Nick Camilleri
Yeah.
25:58.98
mvhuber
One competitiveness is the ability to write go out and compete. You know against other people and not let the failure get you down because going into the cage or going in and being you know, evaluated. You know when what's my exit Velo. What's my you know what's my throwing velo right? like. That has nothing to do with your ability to go out and compete because I know I'm sure you've seen and I know I've seen I played a lot of baseball in my life guys who throw mediocre at best but they know how to get guys out because they they have they locate the ball they mix their pitches. They're smart and they go after you right? like.
26:29.32
Nick Camilleri
Oh.
26:36.69
mvhuber
It doesn't always.. It's not always about the metrics right? and then the last piece of my defense right? Just as an example I think a lot of kids so overemphasize production at the plate that all of their self-worth as a player is tied up in there in they're hitting. Right? And so you can go oh for 3 in a game. But if you filled your position and you save runs there's value in that right and a lot of kids are just so distorted in terms of the way they look at the game if I don't hit I'm not producing Well you're gonna not hit because it's baseball and it's hard. But if you go out and make the plays you're supposed to make and you save runs. There's value in that and they don't take any confidence out of that. They just assume like oh I should do this but I got a hit or else I'm not good and it's just such a like I think the way that players I see and I work with a lot of high school and college kids. The view mentally is so distorted. That they have a hard time with failure because they're not really looking at the big picture the right way.
27:38.53
Nick Camilleri
Yeah, um I could definitely hit on that like I have a catch who's not um, particularly great with the stick but he's getting a lot of division 1 opportunities because he's so good behind the plate and he commands the game so well. Um, and the sticks come along. He's gonna be a good player this year in New Jersey in New Jersey but
27:50.65
mvhuber
Um, anything.
27:54.83
Nick Camilleri
You know, just to attest to that like ah like you know, defense goes into it. Especially if you're a catcher shortst stop second base center fielder. Um, you know you could have a real good game. Go oh for 3 with a walk steel base and you know lock it down a shortstop and you know you you feel you should feel pretty good about yourself. Um. And there's definitely a place in the game for those type of players we see guys in the show all time like comes up to comes at the bad he's sitting 1 23 but he's got a job um, which is incredible to me like we didn't see that probably fifteen twenty years ago probably when you were my age um, like you know. If you if you were if you weren't hiing 2 50 like you didn't have a job the Mlb for a long time and if you're hitting two fifty you better better hit a couple bombs but um, even at the ah you know what you kind of said like you know guys should don't throw particularly hard like there's a place for you like there's a place for you? um. Division 3 schools division, two schools I low on division. 1 schools I mean at Southern New Hampshire we faced a kid named Adam gross he was a left guy through side armm we threw maybe 62 and every time we had a left. He come up Derek Bowuer they went left on left and gro gro gross won every battle every battle on the eighth inning and now is a franco pierce Southern New Hampshire battle which is great.
28:46.13
mvhuber
Um.
29:01.85
Nick Camilleri
And that kid ended up going to play any cbl. He had a great career. So um, there's a place for all those guys but again like um, everybody's so looking for the metric jump because that's so easy to the metric jumps are so easy to display on social media and advertise that if we are.
29:16.64
mvhuber
Um, sure.
29:20.63
Nick Camilleri
And advertise at a perfect gain that like kind of lesser kids who maybe don't throw 87 who throw 77 they feel the need for that jump where in actuality like you know this kid on the mount is 6 6 2 2 15 god gave him better genetic parents than you right? so.
29:36.76
mvhuber
Um, right? yeah and it's spit go ahead.
29:40.39
Nick Camilleri
Ah, so kind of worry about good. Go kind of worrying about the 77 kid like okay I'm getting outs and games I'm working my tail off trying to get more velocity. Um, you know this is me this who I am right now you know I'm just gonna keep working so losing my head were what you kind of understood like the mental side of it like that's. Your your velocity your eggs of velocity isn't who you are.
30:00.89
mvhuber
Yeah, well I think to me from where I sit one of the things that I talk about all the time regardless of who you are what you play is what you can and can't control right? Genetics is sort of 1 example of that right? Genetics are genetics right? like. And maybe right if you're a kid who's sitting in the high seventy s in high school. Maybe it's just a matter of like hey I'm not in the right place in terms of my strength development right? Maybe I need to go find somebody else who can help me put on that muscle that can get me into the eighty s so that I could get to play the division 3 level some kids bloom late right.
30:26.44
Nick Camilleri
Um.
30:36.50
mvhuber
And I think as players were so to you hit on it before it's like social media in the world. We live in everything is instant gratification I work with a kid so give give you an example sort of ties together some of the things you were saying I personally individually work with a kid who plays division one at a high high level baseball and he's like six foot two five to 10 like put together play shortstop feels everything like legit like he's a major league shortstop fielding wise and he's this big strong kid. He can move. He makes all the plays like he does what he's supposed to when he came to work with me. He's like I want to get drafted and. I need to like get better in the you know I need to get better at the plate I need to hit better and a lot of it. He felt like was mental so we started working on that. But as we got to know each other and the draft was coming up last year he's like well I'm getting some interest and I said listen dude like you don't know how these 32 major league teams value players like. You assume that they want to see a guy hit three fifty and hit fifteen home runs I go. There's spot to your point for everybody I go if you're a guy who's six foot tall 210 pounds of muscle who can move and field everything like and you play it in in a power 5 division one conference and you hit high twos 300 which is where he was at. Like someone's going to look at you and go like this guy can help my club right? Will you get to the major leagues who knows right? But you've got to value yourself. You don't know how other teams like teams are going to value you so go like go out and do what you do? Well try to get better at what you think you need to get better at and then the chips are going to fall right? like.
31:56.35
Nick Camilleri
Yeah.
32:13.28
mvhuber
You can't control what people think of you and that goes for recruiting I think a lot of kids get so hung up in what other people think of them like how am I being evaluated if you just go out and do what you need to do to get better like those opportunities are going to come if you stick with it. But if you get so hung up on like what do other people think or where are these offers coming from or am I going to get drafted. That's gonna it's gonna be debilit. It's gonna be debilitating because now all of a sudden. You're always questioning yourself about like every time I make a mistake like what's this other person going to think of me and like you just can't play baseball that Way. There's no.
32:46.42
Nick Camilleri
Yeah, and that was to go right there that kind of goes to like the social part of it too like you know what are my teammates get thinking of me. What is you know what hard the girls the game in college get thinking of me stuff like that. Um.
32:46.57
mvhuber
You can't be confident and and be worried.
32:57.77
Nick Camilleri
Because it kind of goes into like if I don't do a like I'm not going to be a who you think you should be in your head So a lot of it goes back to the mental side of it and kind of like seeing your whole player like what value you add to playing baseball and it goes back to like being a good baseball player not just being good in the cage or showcase or whatever. Um.
33:02.60
mvhuber
Um, yeah.
33:08.34
mvhuber
Right.
33:16.69
Nick Camilleri
So yeah I think a lot of it like you said is the mental part of it and the social part of it and you know you want to be in New Jersey you want to be on John Kroger's Twitter ah video with a winning double right? And if you're not, you're kind of like oh my buddy is like you know.
33:18.95
mvhuber
Are.
33:30.77
Nick Camilleri
I Don't want to talk to them rest of the day. So now you bring that home with you and you know it's a snowball fact where it's like maturity versus immaturity thing which kids get better as they get older. But yeah, are your point again. Um, what? what really value? are you vested Who's really vesting in your value.
33:44.65
mvhuber
Yeah I think the other piece that gets overlooked by a lot of kids is like am I a good teammate right? Like am I like Pat and my teammate on the head am I supporting my teammate am I on the fence am I right? am I running hard no matter what like baseball coaches any coach in any sport wants to see that right? like. You don't realize that that has value when someone's looking at you from a recruiting process right? like are you a good teammate. Are you do play hard. Do you back your guys up or do you drop your head. Do you have bad body language. Do you point your finger at your teammates. Do you make a scene like kids don't realize like. They they think that that's normal, but it's not coaches. Don't want to deal with that shit.
34:25.83
Nick Camilleri
Yeah, of course I mean ah, again, my my buddy Andrew Turner just got done coaching at waagoner college he he was just talking um on my facility about it and when he went to diamondation he you know if if you got up and he was looking at you and you grounded out and didn't run it hard first and you walk back. You know you walked at all or put your head down cross right. There's a million guys who just like crosses or x'es or lines because at the end of the day they're you're trying to build a winning culture and a coach who isn't trying to build build a winning culture shouldn't be in the job right? if you just recruit players based on metrics and um I guess positive ingame. Performances like your locker room your bus ride your plane ride your study hall is not is not going to be good right? If you have half the guys who buy in work their ass off or good teammates like that. That's how the guys you want to be around. But then you have fought the other half are cancerous guys who you know. Don't show up to class. Don't show up to study hall like pout when things don't go their way. They're happy when they hit the double when they strike out the hel that goes flying like stuff like that really breaks down the culture and you spend all this time together with people like you don't want to be around those kind of people. Um, not even in terms of baseball like in life like you don't want to go hang out with the crew. That's like. Always miserable or always upset or always you know, tired or whatever like that brings you down so it kind of goes for the same thing as being in a locker room as being in a a clubhouse and stuff like that like a dugout like you know there's points of college like there's guys pounding and dug out like you just kind of want them to get out right um.
35:51.19
Nick Camilleri
So you again like if you're that guy like there's a coach looking to cross you off because you know all my friends college coaches like they go to diamondation. They get a packet handed to them with 1000 playerers in it. They need to get down to 5 or six p playerers and from those 5 or 6 playerers maybe 1 or two get offered.
36:05.75
mvhuber
Right? right? The diamondation thing is so fascinatinged to me I've spent some I spent some time there last summer watching some of the players that I work with and I had never really been exposed to that sort of environment of like It's just like this big baseball factory right? like just games going on and coaches rolling around and it's it's really really interesting because it's just not something that I was exposed to when I was in high school and I think that it's great that kids can play all year round especially at a facility like that. But at the same time It's like you know I feel like you. Kids must. They must get desensitized at a point because they play so many tournaments and they play so much baseball. It's almost like a job right? It becomes almost like a job at a certain point like I mean what's your I mean what's your take on that I mean do you think that playing more baseball is better or do you think that there's too much. Too many opportunities and maybe there needs to be a little bit more sort of break in the action.
37:03.56
Nick Camilleri
If the I'll put it this way. The best players in the country if you want to be 1 of the best players in the country. You see these guys getting you know, let's say 120 at batts in high school and then another two hundred hundred fifty in the summer if you want to be the best you're gonna have to go out and try to play the most right because like the game teaches.
37:21.10
mvhuber
Um, is.
37:21.97
Nick Camilleri
Game teaches the best experience so I'm proponent of applying a lot. Um, but the same time when like the season's over the season's over like I don't think anybody should run out like I see a couple colleges ah colleges I really respect in colleges I'm friends with like you know, even like a prospect camp this time you are like having somebody throw at this sport of the year unless they you know are throwing off the ma which is very rare at this point like you know how much are're really going to throw before the kid is like again desensitized from like you know am I just throwing to throw am I throwing to win the game right? Um, and that kind of goes back to how much we play and you really kind of find the kid who like wants to be there from day one when it's you know. Um, the super 17 at divination and there's a million scouts there and then when you're getting into the back in July when maybe there's only you know, ah Drew and Drew and William Patterson is there. Not the big 10 and big. Ah big 10 and um, the geese there so you kind of find the kid who really who really does love it.
38:14.64
mvhuber
Um, you know.
38:19.88
Nick Camilleri
And the kid who wants to get better and sees it as a process instead of like a result oriented manner. Um, so again I think that kind of determines like what really kids want it? What really kids don't because like there are kids that say they want to play college baseball and their parents say they want to play college baseball. But when you kind of like let them know the schedule and like what kind of life you have like they have like. Okay, like no I don't want to do it like I had a great conversation with a a kid kid the other day He's like you know if I don't go to like a ruckers or like a big school where I can go to football games and hang Out. Um I don't want to play college baseball like that's so refreshing to hear right? because like a kid actually knows what he wants to do? um.
38:51.30
mvhuber
Get is.
38:56.66
Nick Camilleri
There's so many kids at you know, even at ramp. But we had a bunch of kids like recruited like like you know they go to the first party like that's it right? Um, so I think you kind of like during that time you find out who really wants to play like who's shown up to the stretch like leading the stretch bounce up and down ready to play on a Sunday morning the back of July when. You know their juniors had their license. Their friends are down the shore on the beach partying and stuff and you're like you want to play baseball so that really is what it comes down to.
39:24.46
mvhuber
Um, yeah, yeah I mean that's and that's something I talk a lot about in my work is motivation right? Are you? Why are you doing what you're doing because at the end of the day if a kid goes to play college baseball which it sounds like you've had this experience right? Like if. If you're playing just to play like the amount of work that you have to put in to just keep your head above water is so much. It's like there's so many kids out there going and regardless of sport who going like why am I doing this right? Do I Really love It. Do I Really love the grind of.
39:47.42
Nick Camilleri
Um, yeah, are.
39:56.94
mvhuber
College baseball or whatever sport I play or am I just doing it to say I'm doing it because otherwise just go be a kid like you said go go hang out and and go socialize and go to the football games and go to parties and like because not everybody is going to be a professional baseball player or college baseball player and that's okay, right? and I think that that's. Something I think a lot of kids struggle with because they put so much time and energy into the sport take baseball and the parents spend so much time and energy and money that there's almost like this unspoken expectation of like I played travel baseball for the last eight years and we've gone to Georgia and Alabama and Arizona and all these places and you know we go to diamond nation every weekend and and I go to instruction I go to strength coach and I do this and that and now I don't want to play college baseball like you know it's like I'm sure you see that in the cage right? like.
40:42.96
Nick Camilleri
Yeah.
40:50.20
mvhuber
You know kids who come in just going through the motions because they feel like they have to.
40:51.21
Nick Camilleri
Um, yeah, no I I definitely have like it up. There's interested players and there's really committed players right? like um, you know the the point that I always see is like from a high school perspective and this goes back to when I was playing high school was like you know who's.
40:57.42
mvhuber
Um, right.
41:08.13
Nick Camilleri
Who's ah mo grown about the memorial day practice the the day after Memorial day. Whatever um before the state torment and who's um, who's like wants to be there and show up so like um I remember like I just I did like growing up like my my dad always raised me like kind of it gets a privilege to play baseball right? like.
41:11.22
mvhuber
Um, yeah.
41:25.70
Nick Camilleri
Like you get to like my parents were never waking me up like oh we got to go. We got get the car like my dad's like if you don't wake me up if you don't ah tell me what time the game is or where we have to be like do you just won't go I don't care like I'll save my money I'll save my time and I think now a lot of it is like you know, maybe it's parentd driven right? like. Ah, parent knows where to bring you what time stuff like that which is probably way different than it was back in your um, you're growing up. Ah yeah, so I mean like you know that kind of just drives the desire of like want like interested and Committed. Um.
41:46.35
mvhuber
Um, big time.
41:55.70
Nick Camilleri
You know the committed kid kind is on top of it like I say to kids like oh like you know where's your game this weekend. They're like oh yeah, so um I don't mean my brother might yeah yeah like I know me and then they get to turn around the cage be like yeah what do we playing like at that point like I don't care like i' just stretch. Um, but but um, but I know me my brother and my sister like.
41:59.91
mvhuber
Right? I got asked my mom. She's got the calendar.
42:13.37
mvhuber
Right? um.
42:14.60
Nick Camilleri
My sister for travels Sopo used to book her own hotel used to book her own airfare my brother for travel based were now books his own airfare books as Well. Again, like um, are we I'm not bragging about my me my siblings but are we were the best Probably not. But. Are definitely ah committed like you know as a college coach as a high school coach. You want those kind of guys in your dog out in your roster.
42:33.55
mvhuber
Right? And I love that and I and I and I appreciate that I have my own kids who are now getting to the point where sports are becoming more serious and I say the same thing like if you really want this I'll support you but I'm not driving the bus I have things that I have to do.
42:50.19
Nick Camilleri
Yeah, yeah.
42:52.90
mvhuber
Right? And I think we do live in a world where the kids are just they're just shepherded through all this stuff without having a vested interest and they take it for granted because someone's telling them like you have to be here like that's just not the way it's going to work when you get to college you want to go play College Baseball. You're gonna have to show up on time. No One's going to get you out of bed. No One's you know you have to figure this out yourself and I think you're right like ultimately it's more sometimes about the motivation of the player than it is about the talent level because if a kid wants to be there and they're not as good but they want to be there. They want to get better.
43:13.93
Nick Camilleri
Um, Nick.
43:29.49
Nick Camilleri
Yeah I have I I have a kid of course I have a kid who's committed to northwestern zack selfon. He was like probably the like you know the first really good player I got three years ago and in my facility. It's very small. There's not much room to stretch if both cages are going Zach used to show up.
43:29.74
mvhuber
That's the kid I want to coach right in general.
43:48.58
Nick Camilleri
Probably like you know 20 minutes before his lesson stretching the parking lot or in the the vestibule in the hallway to get himself going and you know that's a northwestern big 10 commit. So um, that's kind of like what it takes not like you know dad pushing in there and like you know. Yeah, you take your code off and then your phone's in your hand stuff like that. So just little things like that. You really see the better kids like do the bet do better things. It's like who's really vested who's really not like there's even some like you know my brother's my brother's team I mean they play games and like um like the other team I saw this summer like full count baseball. So ah, the kid waving his hand for a water like you know my dad's been like my brother's pitching a Georgia ran of water. It's like he'll figure it out like you know it's just like you know it's baseball is not the priority in life. It shouldn't be um and I think that's where kind of gets mixed in families and things like that.
44:37.46
mvhuber
Yeah, but listen at the end of the day because it's a big business because parents are investing so much time and energy and and the parents get caught up and I talk about this a lot in my work and on this podcast about sports parenting right? and there's just.
44:38.94
Nick Camilleri
So.
44:55.65
mvhuber
Parents are so overinvested in sports at that level because they want to keep up with the joneses or they want their Johnny or mary to be a college athlete or get a scholarship or get the recognition for all of the investment. They've made. And that's just a recipe for resentment right? at the end of the day like if the kid doesn't really want it and they feel like they have to do it because the parents have put all this in like it's just not going to work out in the end for most kids the kid has to want it and if they don't want it. That's okay, but you know it's not going to end well when you show up in your coaches. Kicking your ass and you know, no one's there to tell you like hey you need to show up here. You need to put that work in yourself. Yeah.
45:34.59
Nick Camilleri
Yeah, yeah, the biggest thing you just said, keep it up with the Jones is like I even had um you know like guys like want to go to Junior colleges and their and parents are like looking down and I'm like listen like you know because it's just kind of like keeping up like oh like I would need him to go to school. This is na like.
45:49.14
mvhuber
E.
45:51.23
Nick Camilleri
It's just like listen like you have to do. It's best for the kid and what does the kid want and it's not so much as like you know, um for lack of redtors like a pissing contest like my kid went here So my kid goes here and like it's like everybody's jumping everybody where like you know and it's especially in a world where like the mental health is declining unfortunately like.
46:01.90
mvhuber
Um, right.
46:06.96
Nick Camilleri
Have to really look at like what makes kids happy to an extent. You can't make like kids eat cookies and lollipops all all the time but you know to an extent of like you know, feed you know if he just wants to do this right? Maybe it's not an Ivy league school but like he's in School. He's not doing drugs not in the streets. So like you know. Just let him undo his thing like he's not a bad dude.
46:24.95
mvhuber
Right? Well well well that's exactly it right? Nick like we we all find our way right? if I look back on my life and all the choices that I made was every choice that I made good a good 1 arguably? no. But.
46:39.58
Nick Camilleri
Yep.
46:39.71
mvhuber
I got to where I am because of those choices we learned from them right? and sometimes we have to let kids make those choices on their own even if they're not the ideal choice. Juco is a perfect example like you mentioned brookdale earlier right? Brookdale has a really good baseball program right? you play baseball brookdale you're going to play some pretty good baseball and and you're gonna get and. Ah, an offer probably if you're a good baseball player and offer to go on and play a four year school eventually at some level plus you're not spending all the money that's associated with playing at a divisional level because division one programs get eleven and a half scholarships they got 30 kids on the roster you're probably going to get a quarter scholarship at the best. Right? So you're still playing thirty forty $50000 a year to go to division 1 school whereas you could pay 5000 to go to brookdale play good baseball and then transfer on a half scholarship because you've produced at the college level right? People don't really understand that.
47:31.52
Nick Camilleri
Um, of course.
47:34.10
mvhuber
If the kid That's what they want to do let them do it right? They'll find their own way and if they take ownership. It's probably going to have a better result at the end.
47:41.91
Nick Camilleri
Yeah especially like wealthier areas in the state I feel like people don't understand college is not for everyone. Um, and college baseball is not for everyone either like if if you have if you have trouble getting out of if you have trouble getting to school for an eight a m start. You're gonna have trouble getting to a five thirty am lift in the cold. Um, so I mean like you know. Again, it's not for everyone like being great is not for everyone. You know being mediocre is for people right? So that's got of the approach like you know you have to look at it if you really want it like you know, um like I'm not like I'm not going to go to rampo college and I'm not going to play division 3 baseball and I to wake up at five thirty a m like I rather just you know. Like you said go party at rutckers or go party at Indiana which is fine but again like you have to it has to be driven by the kid. Not so much the parent. Um and I think that's why we see even like I know so many kids who went to college base when they ended up quitting um, quitting or having like Hughes loans like I went to st peter's. I think with my academic and baseball scosh I was paying 35 a year for that one year I went to radpo and commuted my buddies always let me stay in the rooms um stay in the rooms like during the season but I paid $15000 so I mean um I played more I paid less I probably got better education. Um I met my fiance there so I mean like you know it's not you know again, it's driven. You know it's it was the decisions were driven by me which so you know in the end you're happy about.
49:04.80
mvhuber
Yeah, yeah, and now you now you have your own business which like that I think gets a lot of times driven by the fact that you're okay, making your own decisions right? You're willing to take those risks and do it yourself versus being.
49:15.28
Nick Camilleri
Yeah, yeah.
49:22.55
mvhuber
Somebody like making those decisions for you and like you just get a get get a given right? So like yeah I think it's really important So as as a sort of wrapping up here I Guess like you know I want to give you a chance to talk a little bit more about what you're doing at your facility philosophically. Um, like what's that look like when you're working with a high school player like what sorts of things are you really emphasizing with them to get better as players and maybe we've touched on some of it but like just to kind of give you a platform to talk a little bit more about that.
49:54.17
Nick Camilleri
Yeah, so I work with about I would say like 50 to sixty high school hitters. Um, in New Jersey a couple from New York um and I strictly just do hitting instruction. Um I want to be a college baseball coach I got into it at Rutgers Newark it wasn't for me.
50:03.11
mvhuber
Um.
50:09.78
Nick Camilleri
So I kind of just like started doing lessons when covid hit I found like a nice little area. A nice little spot where um, yeah, obviously real estate was real cheap I found um, basically you know a garage um did some work there I started my backyard and I jumped to there. Um I've been fortunate enough to accumulate a really good. Ah, really goodliers. Um. And the past two and a half three years um basically what we do is hitting. Um, you know, um, at this point in the season we're kind of just a refining mechanics once ja rolls around we'll kind of get the machines pumping. Um, we'll look a velocity. We'll look at you know spin stuff like that. So my goal is to you know make eye see you know. Make guys perform at the highest offensive level they can and if they don't like you know I do take a plea ownership like I lost a pretty good player from this year last year who's a pretty good player but he didn't have the year he wanted. So obviously I understand it moving on and you know, um I like the results driven. Um, it's a result result driven business right. Um, and I like working with the higher end employer because I think I'm very good at taking um a good player to be really good and not a bad player to be good I think there's a you know a special person that could really help younger younger kids which I don't think I'm great with um, you know I think um I've resonate with the high school kids well because um, you know I so.
51:21.18
mvhuber
Um.
51:25.68
Nick Camilleri
Um, you know I went through it at such a um you know moving level I saw so many different things I'm able to connect with them. But yeah, what we try to do basically is yeah make a complete hitter. Um, we try stay even though I have hit tracks I know I'm going to get crap for this. Um, we try not to focus tools on the metrics. Um. And we try to keep everything relative to the player. Um, you know my um, the dude who's 6 One you know my guy from St Joe's who's 6 to to probably £200 and absolute shredd is going to hit the ball harder than you know the dude that's you know, five eight and watching so keeping super relevant to each p player. Kind of focusing on getting yourself better and not keeping up with the joneses like you said, um and then from there I try to do a little help with recruiting for my guys. Um, so we try to do like some show kit. We do like some showcases. We do like some seminars stuff like that. Um I'm in contact with college coaches daily. Probably.
52:05.64
mvhuber
On.
52:21.97
Nick Camilleri
Um, even if it's just passing along a fire in my area. Um I coach at a high school St Peter's prep where I went so of there. But yeah I mean I don't do anything fancy I don't run like huge clinics or you know this or that like I kind of have my headers and I try to take care of them.
52:28.33
mvhuber
Um.
52:37.98
mvhuber
Yeah, well I mean being being in a similar business. You know I think ah coaching comes down to trust right? Do the do the your clients trust that you have their best interest at heart right? Sometimes it's not exactly the the methods right? It's more the hey.
52:55.40
Nick Camilleri
Um, yeah.
52:55.25
mvhuber
I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you get better and if that means that what I'm trying isn't working Inna try something else to make sure that you're getting to where you want to go versus like this is the way I do it and if you don't do it my way then it's the highway and that's not.
53:05.68
Nick Camilleri
But yeah.
53:10.73
mvhuber
That's certainly not the way I coach and it doesn't sound like that's the way you coach.
53:13.93
Nick Camilleri
No yeah I you know there's a bunch I mean I guess like philosophy wise like I go off like Jake Epstein and Steve Schwartz from standstalctor Steve Thiel from thels and whitekol is my mentor I kind of stick by those guys you know you always try different things but um.
53:22.59
mvhuber
And.
53:27.92
Nick Camilleri
Try to make it really flexible to the kid. Um get the barrel behind the ball and like you know when they get in the game. It's just kind of like go compete. Um I have a bunch of good competitors. Even though I haven't had all of them in the game some of them I had have um and the other thing is yeah just like you know I base my business around in-game results. So like I always ask parents for video. Um. My guys at Mawa Highqua a few of them I always go watch their games cause they're up the road for me. Um, osco is right? There have a couple of those guys. Um, yeah, and again you know I just tried not to make it like a tie your shoes like let's hit for 45 minutes and I'll take your money and like I'll see you next week like I try to make it like no really results oriented and like i.
53:51.91
mvhuber
Um, a.
54:06.20
Nick Camilleri
You know I want to see kids through who yeah who obviously do want to play college baseball get to that point. Um, and from that point now I I would consider it a success. But um, you know I would say like my 2025 class this sophomore high score right? now is like my really core group and you know once i.
54:19.37
mvhuber
And.
54:22.26
Nick Camilleri
Or I'll kind of be able to judge. You know if when I'm doing is actually working.
54:28.50
mvhuber
Well I mean yes, and and listen I mean it's definitely a results oriented business. Um, but I but I think you know and I'm and I'm in a little different boat because I work with a lot of baseball players but it's really it's a lot harder to see the the results of mental training than it is I Think. Any sort of physical instruction. But at the end of the day I think it's does the P Playerer think that they're getting the results that they want are they getting better. They can are they're only they're the only judge of that because what I would say is just because you're not getting results statistically on the field. Doesn't mean you're not getting better. You could your numbers could get worse but you could get better as a player because there's so many things you can't control and I think it's up to the player to decide like am I getting better or am I not getting better and that's that's a fine line and I think if your intention as a coach to help players do everything they can to get better. And go compete and go out in the field and have the tools to succeed and solve problems on their own when you're not there to me that success and you just never know when someone's going to be happier. They're not so you do the best you can. And yeah, you hope for the best.
55:37.50
Nick Camilleri
Yeah, yeah, like I said I've been fortunate enough to get like a good amount of high level fires that understand like the process of it and not so much the results awareness of it. Um I mean like I get a text like I went over for 3 but like I barel up 3 balls like that's a great text to get um stuff like that. Um and not like you know.
55:41.72
mvhuber
A.
55:47.94
mvhuber
Um, exactly.
55:53.83
Nick Camilleri
Ah, when kid sends me a video of the bleed or down the left field line I like dude like why are you setting this? um from a terms of like you know, reposting it or acknowledging as opposed to evaluating it. Um, which is totally different but you know like I said I been very fortunate ah to have some high really high level players and um, you know.
55:57.10
mvhuber
Right.
56:12.68
Nick Camilleri
And I just think the best kids are the best competitors. Um, that's why multi-sport athletes are always so good. Um, always so good like you know it's kind of getting shaved down more and more to sports specific which is which is good and bad. You know the skills get really better, but you know I find.
56:26.79
mvhuber
Um.
56:29.32
Nick Camilleri
You know the kids even through eighth grade who played 2 sports like it's just such an advantage. Ah mentally, um, and again like a kidno might under. You know you might not be able to see a mental training advantage like on a stack card or on a video. But. You know if the kid walking off the field going home a little bit more happier like you've definitely done your job and you know you've let the kid enjoy the game a little bit more like I said you're playing the game. You're chasing the goal. You're off the streets. You're not doing drugs like you're making a group of friends.
56:49.19
mvhuber
Are.
56:57.14
Nick Camilleri
So you know that's what what it all comes down to to use baseball I think a lot of people like lose sight of that.
57:01.12
mvhuber
Yeah, yeah I think the word that comes to my when you say that is perspective right? and I think that's certainly something that I'm a proponent of in the in the role that I have which is to say like listen let's keep it in perspective right? There's only so many players that get to the highest level of baseball. We're all going to retire at some point like what does it mean.
57:17.99
Nick Camilleri
You yeah.
57:19.61
mvhuber
I'm a competitor I get to I get to play. It's a privilege right? like I'm out there with my friends having a good time staying healthy. You know, having fun like there's something to be said for that right? It's not life and death necessarily. Um and if you treat it like life and death is going to be really hard. To enjoy baseball. So then at a certain point. It's like well why am I doing it so keeping some perspective is is critical albeit you still want to be a competitor and you still want to get better and you go want to go out and perform um the last question I always ask all of my guests is the same one in some form or another. So. From your perspective as ah as a as a private hitting instructor working with high school athletes who are going on the college like like if you had to give 1 piece of advice to a high school kid or a family like from where you sit like what's the 1 thing you'd leave them with that. You think is the most important thing to to remember.
58:10.98
Nick Camilleri
Ah, from the recruiting process and I would say wait as long as you can um, wait as long as you can compile as much good information as you can um, talk to talk to as many people as you can try to find people who had experience in it. So. Take as long as you can and try to see things as a process. Um, you know, kind of down the line. Not so much as a result right now. Um because you know the game is so short right? We we don't want to put. We don't want to lose sight of actually playing the game right? like you know, um. You know we focused so much on today's lesson like when we did bad when in terms like you know it's for something else. So like you know that goes for anything so like just not losing sight of the process. The respective of it. Um, but again, just kind of look at the marathon right? Not the sprint.
58:57.30
mvhuber
Excellent. That's a great way to end I agree with that 100% so Nick thanks for coming on to the podcast I appreciate it. It was great to talk to you and hopefully we can keep the conversation going is my pleasure. Thank you.
59:10.51
Nick Camilleri
Um, yeah Mike thanks for having me I appreciate it.