how i ‘flipped the switch’ at baseball’s biggest convention

Today, I want to share a humbling and exciting experience that I had this past Saturday (1/4/25)—speaking at baseball’s biggest convention (ABCA) in front of thousands of coaches from all over the world—and also talk about my exact ‘flip the switch’ process before heading on stage to present.

First off, when I got the invitation months ago, I felt a mix of excitement and nerves. This wasn’t just any event—it was the gathering of some of the brightest, most passionate and driven coaches in the baseball world. These were people who live and breathe the game, and I knew I needed to bring my A-game to the stage.

Early Saturday morning as I walked into the convention hall, the energy was electric. Thousands of people, all connected by their love for baseball, filled the seats. As I stood backstage waiting to speak, I couldn’t help but feel a bit of that old familiar nervous energy—the same feeling I’d get before stepping up to the plate in a big game. But just like in baseball, I knew the key was to channel those nerves into focus and purpose.

A long time ago I was taught that the best way to do that is to perceive the ‘high arousal’ energy in the body as a GOOD thing. The old, anxious version of me would have looked at the high heart rate and butterflies in my stomach as a bad thing, and would have gotten nervous about being nervous.

The current version of me knows that those feelings are my body giving me energy to perform, so I channel them with a specific pre-speech protocol, that culminates in me ‘flipping the switch’ into the best, boldest, most confident version of myself. 

Here’s the 5 steps of how that process looked this past weekend before taking the stage (it was also VERY similar when I played and what I have taught to thousands of players and coaches since retiring):

• Eat: My go to fuel before speaking is a Chomps beef stick and a pink lady apple with Justin’s almond butter. Good, solid protein, carbs and healthy fat. 🤤

• Breathwork: In the dressing room I did a few minutes of box breathing to center myself and bring about what I like to call ‘self-control mode’. I like 5 cycles of the 5x5 method: Inhale for 5 seconds, hold for 5 seconds, exhale for 5 seconds, hold for 5 seconds.

• Visualization: I then took a few minutes to visualize success. I first saw myself setting the tone by running on the stage (I literally did run on the stage when introduced), and quickly mentally rehearsed the rest of the presentation. I had done a lot of visualization the prior weeks, so this only took a few minutes.

• Burpees: Before speaking I like to get the blood flowing, so I do a round of burpees. It’s normal to do 10, but I strive to be ‘not normal’, so I did 11. 😁

• Flip the Switch: This is when I become a Hungry Lion (my alter ego) and it is the final part of the process right before I head out on stage…

  • I start by closing my eyes and taking a deep breath while touching my breathe wristband. (pictured)

  • After that I do the motion of flipping on a light switch with my right hand, and in my mind visualize a light switch being flipped on. While doing this I literally picture a lion eating my worst self, a scared sheep.

  • Finally I pound my chest and then it’s at this moment I am connected to the best, boldest, most confident version of me.

Now it’s all about controlling the controllables, focusing on connection rather than perfection, and most importantly having fun.

Hopefully the next time you have a big game, a big test, a big presentation, an important conversation, etc., you can take some of this to use this to create your very own ‘flip the switch’ routine.

Know that it doesn’t guarantee any ‘result’, but it does guarantee one thing: you’ll show up at your best, ready to go do what you do best…CRUSH IT!