Marc Wiese: The Game Ends, The Relationships Don’t

Rhett Parker: Hi, and welcome back to another episode of surviving you sports podcast. I'm your host, Rhett Parker. And today we have a very interesting guest for me because I've known this individual since I was in high school. I think he saw maybe the farthest home run I ever gave up in my life when I was a freshman in high school. I've, I've coached with you. I've played for you. so a unique perspective. me since we've been in each other's lives for long, but but Mark Wiese has ⁓ coached levels of baseball ⁓ and and over the country and has had ⁓ a amount of success In in you sports ⁓ welcome the mark Marc Wiese: Thanks for having me, Rhett. And we've had some great times and just unbelievable conversations and looking forward to this. Rhett Parker: Yeah, I... Yeah, and honestly, we don't always agree. you know, when we coach together ⁓ actually, what, let's talk about that. Because I have coached with some of my former players. And we've obviously together and you've coached with other former players. Tell me about how hard it is because I found this hard to not look at me, Rhett Parker, when we were coaching together, college summer ball, Seattle studs, as not the ⁓ 15 year old or 18 year old kid that you are. And it's a hard thing to not see the player when you're coaching and your peers. Marc Wiese: Well, yeah, you you just told me you're 43 years old. I still think you're 15 or 16. so when you look at it in that perspective, it's you kind of always kind of look back at some of the trials and tribulations, as a player. And then all of sudden, these former players are adults but. To be honest with you, what it's all about. ⁓ ⁓ everything to keep ⁓ game alive and healthy and striving to get great baseball people and just great, great men in general and making sure we're doing great things for ⁓ youth. Rhett Parker: Yeah, and it's very hard with, the professionalization of youth sports to know now, is this person doing this for the right reasons? And realistically, talking to one of the producers of this, we've already had people saying, hey, do you genuinely care? Or are you just trying to make money? And it's like, I didn't, I mean, that thought hasn't even crossed my mind doing this. But the relationships with great people is what we want as coaches and as parents and players to have. And you have done everything from USA baseball to being a state champion coach and winning a lot of games in high school to being a collegiate coach. And you run one of the biggest programs in the Northwest, new level baseball. They're all so different. And the relationships that you have are so different. How do you? I mean, talk about your career a little bit and the relationship aspect and the growth that you've had as a coach. Marc Wiese: Yeah, well, at the end of the day, you've hit it spot on. Just the relationships I've been able to... ⁓ have through these past 30 plus years. Whether it was Brandon, my oldest son, and Jackson, my youngest son, and Jordan, and the teams that we put together starting at eight, nine years old. Well, these families are my closest friends. They're the people that I'm going to go play golf with this afternoon, and the dads, and we go out and we're just reminiscing, just talking about the same stuff over and over again. But at the end of the day, that's what it's all about. It's about memories and creating, the friendships and the allegiances and ⁓ just, man, try to remind our parents at new level, man, surround yourself with people that you have the, ⁓ you're to be with these for the next eight years, potentially for four years, six years, two, whatever. Rhett Parker: Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Marc Wiese: it is and man that's what it's all about and whether it was the USA baseball teams that I had the privilege to be able to coach and ⁓ just following ⁓ kids' careers in touching base with the families and parents it just man that's what it's all about. Rhett Parker: And I, it's funny, started the podcast and one of the parents on my son's 12u team was like, man, I'm to you talk and ⁓ we're now and we're going to be friends whether our sons continue to play baseball. And it kind of hit me what you just said. This is like two days ago, man, I'm looking at a lot of people where I live and that you're right. Like they're my friends now. And it's through me coaching and then them coaching with me or being friends with with my son. And that's like, man, like, these guys are gonna know each other. And I'm gonna know them. We've got a Christmas party here. Like, you start looking around the Christmas party, you're like, Okay, let's see, ⁓ sports sports family, sports fan, and they're your friends. And that's who you want to surround you just said it, you want to surround yourself with people. God is simplify it, you want to hang out. ⁓ that you want your kids to be around, and I actually, you just popped something, ⁓ a conversation we were talking about parenting, I want to say it was over COVID. And you were like, ⁓ I want the kids at my house. Like, I believe it your youngest Jackson, you're like, ⁓ I want them hanging here. Because ⁓ I can see going on. I know the environment, and we talked about making good decisions and all those things. I mean, I'm in the same boat, because you get athletes together in the wrong environment. As a parent, you're like, oh, OK. I mean, we all know. Marc Wiese: ⁓ yeah. Well, we're literally empty nesters right now and Jackson's at Pierce and he's living at the Lawrence's house and with some other guys and he comes back and during the breaks, obviously he comes back on weekends to eat. He doesn't like missing a meal once in a while, but, ⁓ whether it's, know, Christmas break and all, and all the boys were back over, they're up in the bonus room. They're, hanging out, playing video games and just, seeing the gauge Thompson's and the Kyle's that's an amazing. Rhett Parker: Mm hmm. Nice. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Right. Marc Wiese: and Pikes, you know, that's what it's all about. And just like I said, even just going back to, Brandon and Jordan and all those guys are still buddies, as families, we still connect, we still do things together. And this is, those guys are 33 years old now. Rhett Parker: It's amazing. Mm-hmm. I wait that that's funny because I was trying to think I mean, Brandon is to my I mean, somewhat close to my age. Like I remember him when I was in high school. And obviously Jordan and Jackson are a lot younger. But you're also you're also ⁓ when when I when I hear you talk about that, I kind of take a step back and I go man, ⁓ I'm it right now. Like I mean, ⁓ you rewind where you were and and Marc Wiese: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Rhett Parker: I'm trying to always remind myself to enjoy it and enjoy, even when you're tired, even when you're like, ⁓ God, I don't really want to go run a practice with 12 year old boys right now. I don't really want to, but then ⁓ when get there and they start messing around, you get on them a little bit, and then you have a good practice and you're like, all right, boys, we got better today. And then they're bumping on each other, leaving the field and you're like, It was worth it. It was worth it. Marc Wiese: Yeah, well, I mean, I'll tell you, my greatest times in game of baseball has been coaching my boys. it wasn't easy and I a lot and. ⁓ Probably wasn't really fair to Brandon all the time. Wasn't fair to Jordan all the time. I think I figured some things out with Jackson there in the end. I'll never forget, I think Jackson was about 15 years old. And Jackson was a good player and I'm of wired that man, just I'm gonna give everything I had and he just wasn't quite ready to give ⁓ everything had. And I didn't quite understand that. And I went through some frustrations and I remember and my wife saying, I don't want baseball dictating your guys' relationship. And that really resonated with me and I was able to take a step back and allow him to find his way. It was kind of, yeah, maybe I did figure this out. I'm still trying to figure it out, but yeah. ⁓ Rhett Parker: Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think we, I think we all are. And, and, and again, whether you're, you're Mark Wiese, it's been a team USA coach, one state titles at the highest level of baseball in Washington state coach, big leaguers and college guys and high draft picks. You're still trying to figure it out. Like you don't have the answers. I mean, you probably have more than most hopefully, but like you still don't have. Marc Wiese: ⁓ we every day as coaches ⁓ and learned from from coaches and families and kids, ⁓ at new getting the facility ⁓ I took a group down to a 13-year group this fall ⁓ and it was a hodgepodge of different guys and and all and had a few town really talented kids and we had some kids that weren't quite ready to compete Rhett Parker: Mm-hmm. Marc Wiese: At that level, they're going to be really good players. We went 0-4. And, our little, it was the first time I was with those guys and we played number one team in the country, the Bandidos, and they stepped on our throats and weren't very respectful and different things. And our just big thing that weekend was we're just going to go compete the next pitch. We're going to go win the next pitch. We're not going to, we're just going to be relentless in that manner. Rhett Parker: Mmm. Marc Wiese: And those kids did that. They played the same way, whether they're down 21 to nothing or if we were up three to two. And we got a lot better. talked after the games and I'd even bring the whole families together. And I was just like, thank you. You guys made me better. And you back Roy Young, your high school coach. And Roy ⁓ really. Rhett Parker: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Marc Wiese: this is probably 25 years ago, he goes, Mark, it's easy to coach when you have talent and you're winning. And he told me, goes, if I'm down 30 to nothing or up 30, I'm still gonna be the same coach. And that thought went through my mind and I was that. I told these families, I said, thank you guys made me better this weekend. Rhett Parker: Mm-hmm. Marc Wiese: And it's not about winning and losing. it's about getting better. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Rhett Parker: It's fun to win. mean, no one when I put a uniform on you, I am trying to win whether it's 10u baseball or college baseball, but it's the balance of like, okay, why are we here? Because at 10u I'm here for this reason, and I'm trying to win. I'd rather win than lose. But dealing with high school or college guys. Okay, well, I mean, that's different. I mean, the balance shifts a little bit, we do need to win. Marc Wiese: Yeah. Yeah. ⁓ Rhett Parker: little bit more and that's okay. I just think got the balance sometimes, and frankly, know a lot of coaches at new level. And there's coaches that are so different, that are maybe not win enough when they're a little bit older, and trying to win too much when they're younger. And then there's some that kind of hit the sweet spot. And some that are better, 10 new coaches and some that are better 18 new coaches. And it's a big program. Marc Wiese: Mm-hmm, yeah. Yeah. Rhett Parker: And it's hard to like, I mean, we've had conversations, you got to rain this guy in and we got to get this guy going. And it's, it's, it's very interesting to, to see that, from the outside, cause you're in it. I have the outside of, of watching it and, ⁓ my son's team's a little teams and obviously, with PNW baseball around a lot of new level guys. And it's like, man. It's so interesting that one organization can have such a wide range. How do you, cause you're the leader, obviously, right? I mean, you, you're the face of it. You are. And which is, which is great. Um, how do you deal with those relationships? You're managing a lot of different people that have different priorities, different things, different backgrounds. How do you, how do you manage that? Marc Wiese: you Rhett Parker: as trying to get to the ultimate goal of development experiences, fun, failure, winning all that. How do you do that? Marc Wiese: Well, I think, know, especially at the younger ages, it just that constant reminder, hey, we got to develop. at the end of the day, tenu baseball really is its development. It's all practice. ⁓ Like you know, the ultimate goal is where can you be later on? Rhett Parker: Mm-hmm. Bye. So we don't need, just hold on. We don't need to play 75 games at 10. We'll be okay. Right? Okay. Marc Wiese: That's the fine, everybody wants more and more and more now. People wanna go and travel too. We're sending teams to Houston here in a couple of weeks and Huntington Beach and if don't do it, we're gonna lose ⁓ the And ⁓ we've kids to wall factor and different things and it's... Rhett Parker: I know. Mm-hmm. Yeah. ⁓ Marc Wiese: damn if you do, damn if you don't type of situation. ⁓ But it's still getting people to think it isn't about now. Everybody ⁓ instant gratification. They want the clicks. ⁓ want all of ⁓ limelight. That's I'm afraid of what's going on in this game. Rhett Parker: Right. Right. Marc Wiese: That's, it's all great, but it also creates a lot of animosity with other families jealousy. ⁓ ⁓ want this and, but be patient. This game, everybody develops it in different times. Everybody just, I like we have, there's so many families out of there that are putting themselves into debt for. Rhett Parker: Hmm. Marc Wiese: You don't need to do five of them. mean, the teams, that we coached and Jackson and Mason, Pike, and we went on one trip or maybe it was, we went on an experience trip with you guys or, and it was like, man, you're circling that date. And I can't wait to go do that. Well, now we have 10 and 11 year olds that have gone on 15 travel tournaments all over the country already. And. It isn't as important anymore. Rhett Parker: I know. And I love the experiences of doing it. I do think there's such value, but Marc Wiese: Yeah. Rhett Parker: I kids in other sports and like, it ain't just baseball and ⁓ it's it's it's it's everything. It's like, you do this, you're in trouble. And I'm like, I mean, we're in for the past few weeks with family and I have some business out there, but they but they play on a I got to call it football. I can't call it soccer, but they all play on a football club out there. And different. But it's the same mentality of like, ⁓ we're gonna miss out. And like, you're ⁓ especially there that sport is different. You're not missing anything because, There's some kid in Nigeria who Marc Wiese: Thank you. Rhett Parker: genetically when he's 18 is going to walk into the English Premier League and play for Chelsea. Like, so no matter what you do at 12 here in London, any kind of matter, that guy is just going to be a physical specimen and be better than you. Like it's just that is the reality. So going into debt, you broke my heart because I hear that. And I go, man. when you do that the pressure and the stress, you're not enjoying the ride. You're doing that for some instant gratification, but also some thought that in the future, my kid is going to be, a big leaguer. And there's no guarantee that also, by the way, you can put all the money into the experiences and nutrition is and what If your son does not our daughter does not have a genetic makeup to be an elite athlete. I really hope you're not going into to debt Again, even in any and if they do have that specialness because you've been around guys just like I have that are special. You don't even need to do that. They're gonna be they're gonna go there anyways. It just it I listened to you talk because you're in the trenches. in the trenches. It does make me nervous and I am with a couple of my kids going through something very similar where it's like, we do different things and have a different look and people are ⁓ you think you're better than us? No, we This is the path that we want for the kids and it's the path that they want. And that's okay. ⁓ And the way, I'm rooting for your kid. Marc Wiese: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Rhett Parker: Like I want my kids to play with good kids. I want my kids to play with kids better than them a lot of the time. want to go back to one thing because for people listening that are outside of the area, I mean you have a lot of influence in the Northwest baseball and you're going to be humble and say you don't. That's fine. You do just because all things that you do. How hard was it because you're a fiery guy, trust me, played for you. To try to take your mentality with your sons and all of them were talented enough to be good baseball players, right? How hard is that? Because you brought something up that I know I struggle with sometimes and other people do too, that coach their kids. Man, how do you not let it affect your relationship? How do you try to figure out like, okay, man, I can't just ride my son the way that that I do the way I talk about hitting doesn't click with him and I get frustrated. Like, how do you deal with that, man? Marc Wiese: I was really tough. mean, it took me years and like I told you earlier with Brandon, I didn't probably treat him fairly. And he was probably the least talented baseball player of them all, but he was tougher than tough. And I I remember him taking a ball line drive. Sherwin hit ball off his eye. Rhett Parker: Mm-hmm. Marc Wiese: I was out on the field. think there was a runner at second base or third base. almost ran into the base runner. I mean, scariest moment of my life. It ended up, ⁓ he a couple of stitches. He pitched four days later, had no concussion, all of that. I told him, one thing that I always kind of did though was if I did cross the line, I always said I was sorry too. and, Rhett Parker: Mm-hmm. Marc Wiese: talking to them, those still were the greatest moments in our times. then just circling back with Jackson and what Megan had told me and just an experience of us. You know, being in, three state championship games and finals and the heartbreak, that you go through and the love, which is ⁓ at the end the day, you're their biggest fan. ⁓ And, in ⁓ thing I think I did and the teams, my kids probably had it a tougher. Rhett Parker: Hmm. Yep. Marc Wiese: I remember telling Jackson and you know, we're going back to North Carolina and USA futures and Jackson, you know what, buddy? You're my kid. So you're going to sit the first four innings of the first game. ⁓ It's ⁓ you're to wear it a little bit, And so those things in extremely understanding on that, man, ⁓ really hard, but again, best. Rhett Parker: Mm. Yep. Marc Wiese: baseball times in my life is coaching the boys. Rhett Parker: Love it. Love it. Love it. And I just have to, we wrap this up, I just have to say, we to Japan Okay. And I played and we sat by each other flights and played, ⁓ and granted, I think it was 18th We gambled and I learned a lot and learned how cool those experiences are. and, and me and you won the third, the third person with us ⁓ had a, a rough time gambling, but ⁓ he probably, probably does. but I looked at that and I think it's one of the reasons I want people to hear this. That I started doing experience trips. Marc Wiese: He still owes us some money, I think. Rhett Parker: But I look at that experience and that's really relationship. We talk about relationships experiences. It was an amazing time for me. And I do think about our relationship, ⁓ from, that. And, and it is it, ⁓ all little things equal to us being on a podcast that we're trying to help people with right now. ⁓ it can be to, ⁓ to the new level parents that are listening in here too, just kind of everybody, it doesn't have to be baseball related either. what is the takeaway that you want? people listening, athletes, coaches, parents, from your perspective have ⁓ got such a unique career. What's the thing you want people to hear and take away from from this conversation? Marc Wiese: I just think the big message is, hard. If you have passion to play baseball, soccer, what have you, it's work ethic, it's perseverance, ⁓ passion, love. Don't... Don't play the game for this instant gratification, for these clicks, for the social media stuff. Go set your goal, whatever it may be, to be the best you can be and you're gonna get punched in the nose. This game, especially for me, the game of baseball is gonna disappoint you. And for me, I really figured out that... I coached not only for the love of the game of baseball, but you coach to help kids. signed at 17 years old. I wasn't a very good student. I was going to be have to sit out and go junior college or be a proposition 48 or whatever it was because my SAT score wasn't good enough. And so I ended up signing and I wasn't ready. I was out of the game before I was 20 years old. I made a lot of mistakes and I got into coaching for that reason. I didn't have the mental fortitude to be able to get back up after I was punching the nose numerous times and I didn't believe in myself anymore. Well, Rhett Parker: Mm-hmm. Marc Wiese: It's okay and I want our fans, we want our kids to go through adversity and hardships and different things. where we get better. That's where we become adults. ⁓ for most of us, the is going to end. We're not gonna play, in the big leagues. And my greatest gratification in all this that I've really realized is... ⁓ Rhett Parker: Mm-hmm. Yeah? Yeah. Marc Wiese: When players come back to me and go, I get it now. I understand why hard work, being on time, being responsible, all of factors, because what, coach? That's why I'm a successful lawyer today. Rhett Parker: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Marc Wiese: That's why I'm still grinding it out in AAA. But at the end of the day, that's what we have to teach. I'm afraid that, yeah, we all have to have a little sense of little selfishness and it's about me a little bit. it's, I to the post someday when, hey, I gave up the walk off home run and. Rhett Parker: Yeah, I'll never said. Yeah, a little bit. Marc Wiese: Johnny, man, he's going to learn from this and he gave everything he had. it's ⁓ that's yes. And we're so ⁓ worried protecting our youth. Rhett Parker: Yeah, it's gonna be okay. Yep, it's gonna be all right. All right. Yep. Yep. Marc Wiese: They're gonna fail. We need them to get punched in the nose. We need them to get stand back up and let's go. Put the chip on my shoulder and it's go time. Here we go. Because that's nice. Rhett Parker: Yep. Yep. And it's and it I could not agree with you more. ⁓ we got to throw them in the deep end sometimes. And it's gonna okay. I promise you, it will be ⁓ And I want to end on this because there is no feeling like helping somebody get to a college. coaching that kid from a young age or in high school and then also having them come back to you because right before we get on I telling I got players getting married now one guy's breath away from big leagues and one guy's a cop now and I'm trying to figure out how to juggle his wedding in 30 days because ⁓ a my kids are like And he texted me yesterday. He's like, Hey, man, you have an artist who you P did. I know you've been in London. And I went, man, that it made me feel so good. And I went to his graduation to be a sheriff. And man, like, I got goosebumps right now. Just think about it, because that's what I want. Because I got that feeling right now man, helped that person. I don't need credit. You don't need credit. ⁓ I but you can't replicate that feeling on social media. You cannot. It is an internal thing of man, we did it, bro. And I was a small part of it. And you were a small part of the village that got everybody everywhere. So, man, that's just powerful stuff, man. I got I got I got got some goosebumps and and and, respect you so much in a lot different ways. And ⁓ and ⁓ I what do for the youth here in the northwest ⁓ obviously nationally so. Yeah, really appreciate you coming on and sharing your perspectives on things. Marc Wiese: I love it. Love it, Rhett. ⁓ I said, I love our talks, that we have on a monthly basis and just the standard conversation like we're having right now. And I thank you for having us on and, ⁓ Rhett Parker: Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. mean, we are surviving. ⁓ I'm surviving what you survived But you're surviving in a different way. You still have kids playing college, right? And you're teaching other kids how and parents how to survive it like we're no matter your role. That's why I love the name that we came up with. You're we are surviving you sports. We are I'm surviving what you survived already. But you're surviving in different way. And you're teaching other kids and parents how to survive it Marc Wiese: It great and healthy and ⁓ just got to really set back and really ⁓ at what's important. And it even kind of just makes me think right now I've got four grandson boys, know? ⁓ man, gonna get, it's gonna be time before I know it. ⁓ So. ⁓ Rhett Parker: Yes. Mm-hmm. Let's go! I love it. I love it. I love I think that's awesome. Well, appreciate you coming on, man. And, you know, to everyone listening, like I just said, you know, we'll just keep on surviving.