Rob D.: If failure is one pitch away, do you attack or do you hesitate? Let's find out. to softball central podcast your look into the world of fast-pitched softball Today we dive deep into her journey, her lessons, and what players need to hear right now. Welcome to the show, Sam. And softball when everything's on the line, you really have what it takes to be called clutch? Our guest, former Arizona wildcat, Sam Bannister certainly did
Sam Banister: Thanks guys.
Rob D.: the first thing I wanted to ask, if you could bottle up ⁓ one mindset lesson from your time at and give it to every young softball player, ⁓ what would it be?
Sam Banister: don't be soft.
Rob D.: Yeah.
Sam Banister: just... was just telling someone the other day because they said like, what was it about being at Arizona that was so different than anywhere you've ever played? And I think it was just the fact that there was no, nothing less than expected excellence and winning. we thought we were gonna win national championship. Like that was just like so much so that after I won my first one, I gave my ring to my best friend. Cause I was like, ⁓ I'm getting another one next year. ⁓ And she's like, what? And I'm like, yeah, that's what we do. We're ears in a wildcat. So it was just a level of expectation of being the best. And that was just in our head all the time.
Rob D.: This episode is sponsored by the Glove Pope. From custom glove builds to pro level relacing, break-ins and conditioning, They don't just fix gloves, they transform them. Visit theglovepoep.com. So when people hear Arizona Wildcat softball, they think excellence. What did it mean to you to wear that Jersey?
Sam Banister: Every freshman has, I'm sure, the same feeling, but you put, they let you try it on to make sure, ⁓ what size do you want? Even though it might not be your number, ⁓ trying everything on, I remember, because there was only three of us incoming freshmen, ⁓ we all just kind of looked in the mirror like, holy cow, ⁓ is real. All the years of tradition before us, ⁓ greats, Lovey Jung, Jenny Finch, all those, Mackenzie Vandergees, all these girls that came up for you, knowing what they were able to accomplish and that you get to help carry on that tradition. I mean, it's kind of overwhelming because you're like, holy cow, like I just worked my whole life to carry this on and like, am I even going to be good enough to be able to carry it on? And there's just such a sense of pride and like responsibility that comes with it that, coach did such a good job of ⁓ just choosing the with personalities that took it so personally. to carry that on. ⁓ I was like, ⁓ my gosh, don't mess this up. I gotta make sure that I do this right. I messed up a couple times, probably with my mouth a lot more than I probably should have. But when it came to just representing just the Arizona A on my chest, I was so much pride, so much responsibility.
Rob D.: Really? Okay, so at what point ⁓ Arizona a real possibility? Were entertaining other schools or were you just laser focused on being a Wildcat?
Sam Banister: be honest, when I was growing, I don't know if it was just because I was pretty sheltered. Like we lived in the country, to get into town. It was like, ⁓ going into town. was like a 30 minute drive. It wasn't really televised. Social media wasn't a big thing. it wasn't really until high school that I even like knew what college softball was. I think sophomore year, they took me to an Arizona camp and Coach Kendrea kind of started taking notice to me and ⁓ like drive around in his little golf cart, following me station to station. And ⁓ I know, I was just chatting it up with the girls in line. Like, this is so fun. Like there's ⁓ way people here for me to talk to than the camp that I just went to. And then ⁓ my was like, you know, I think he like, I think we should go to another one. I'm like, why? ⁓ We came to this one. And he's like, no, we should, I think he might like you. ⁓ We just started going to Arizona camps and then UCLA started inviting me, Oklahoma invited me, Florida State invited me, Stanford invited me, and then once they got my transcripts they told me to pursue other academic options. And they did that to me twice. I'm like, my mom was like, ⁓ they want it again. I'm like, they know. They already told me I'm dumb. So why am I going to send it again? And they did it again. I'm like, you know, whatever. Good try. So, you know, probably my sophomore year.
Rob D.: had coach Mike Kendrea, ⁓ you were just talking about as your coach. ⁓ He has the second most career wins in division one history. ⁓ What is one specific lesson that coach taught you that find yourself repeating to your own players today.
Sam Banister: One, who has the most wins.
Rob D.: ⁓ hutchins from michigan's
Sam Banister: Okay, I'll allow that. I love Hutch. ⁓ think just like the culture, like setting a good culture and like being a good teammate and genuinely being. excited and proud of your teammates success. was one thing that he just instilled in us. I don't know if it was like he was he was Italian. He loved the Yankees. A lot of what we modeled in our program came from the Yankees. And just like how they like how Derek Jeter, you know, was a leader and you don't always have to be, you know, have the nine best guys out there. But if you have the nine best like teammates, you have a better chance at being more successful. And I think just like the culture in general of what we all stood for and our competitiveness ⁓ is something that I definitely like. You can go through all the generations of my teams every four years and they all are very similar and I'm very proud of that aspect of what I was able to create with those girls because it definitely does take a certain personality to play for me. But also it takes a certain personality to play at a collegiate softball. guess that would be what it would be.
Rob D.: Cool. Great answer. Rob's about to stop the podcast now. Here's the thing, Sam. We'll allow a lot of words on the show, like the F word, shit, whatever. Yankees. You said Yankees. OK. She was like. OK. So if you could refrain from using that word, I would really appreciate it.
Sam Banister: ⁓ no, what'd say? my goshit, what did I say?
Rob D.: think you kind alluded to the ⁓ culture, expectation ⁓ of being a good teammate and celebrating your teammates. Is there anything else like to add?
Sam Banister: we hated losing more than we liked winning, and we were never gonna let that happen. And so we did a lot of strategizing together, a lot of pep talks in the dugout, a lot of headbutts to each other, you know, just like a, we're not gonna lose. there was something wrong with each of us probably. We were a little screws loose, but you know, it worked I guess. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, we're a little cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs for sure.
Rob D.: something wrong that made it right. love the line, we losing more than we like winning. That is a good mindset to because you remember wins you certainly never forget the losses, ⁓ ever.
Sam Banister: So.
Rob D.: How intense your practices compared to what you were used to ⁓ travel ball in high school when you got to the ⁓ D1 college level?
Sam Banister: Well, our practices were so, like, they were so fast-paced I remember we would go full practices, and our infield, like, we would, Coach Kendray was hitting double fungo every day to us, by the way, like, he would get his little glove on, get his little fungo, and be him and Coach Ray, and they would just be smoking balls at us for, like, 45 minutes, back and forth, and we wouldn't miss a ball, like, that's how it was. and it was so... Everything was like as fast as it could possibly be so that when games came around and they almost seemed slow There was competition amongst each other. So there was multiple ⁓ Position players we already knew who the were but this ⁓ the girls right behind you were as good and ⁓ Like I said, like I like the best at everything So ⁓ if I wasn't better than her practice, like I was irritated So it was like always competing against each other ⁓ and doing it at a fast pace for three and half hours every day. It's ⁓ about time you got to the game where you're like, ⁓ this a piece of cake. ⁓
Rob D.: Yeah, that practice how you will play and play how you practice because then you're always playing at the same level, same intensity all the time.
Sam Banister: ⁓ yeah, ⁓ yeah.
Rob D.: So that kind of leads me into the next question. You were talking about the competition at practice and if the other girl was better than you, you, you got pissed off basically. So what did earning your spot look like there? did you, did you have to earn it during practice or if you got a chance to get in the game, you better get a hit and make no errors. What was that like?
Sam Banister: Yeah. It's I was a recruited walk-on so ⁓ I you know the girl that I was at first with was on a full ride and when you give money to somebody, you're probably gonna give them an opportunity first. But like, just the little things, like not just like getting the hits, but like getting the right kind of hits. Like if there's a runner on second and you hit the ball in the left, you know, in the gap to left field, coach is looking for the ball in the right center gap. Even though I'd be like, oh, but I got a hit or whatever. Or like I fielded every ball, yeah, but every throw wasn't perfectly in the chest. Like there was different things. that I remember accomplishing and being like, okay, like now I see what he's looking for. ⁓ But like, he's gonna go with the best chemistry on the team too. Like sometimes you might not be the best at that position, but if ⁓ team is playing different with you in that lineup or the infield's playing different with the way that you communicate on the infield with that lineup, he was an overall like... like team coach, like obviously stats matter and whatnot, but like, you know, one personality doesn't fit. He's going to make a switch. So obviously everything's earned in practice, but he's going to get, and the one thing about coaches, he would give you opportunity. Like he would give you time to figure things out. Like I think I was hit pretty not good. And he was like, no, you're going to figure it out. Like you're still, your stats might not say, But you're hitting the ball hard and you're our person like you're gonna figure it out and I think that that kind of gives you a little bit of room to breathe to especially at a high level like Okay, like I know I don't have to press as much and like he knew that about us too Like he knew we were gonna take it personally He knew we were gonna go and do extra reps if we if we weren't, you know being successful, but Yeah practice and like overall game. He did tell me he was like if I had to make a lineup lineup off of your pregame warm-ups you would never see the field because you take the worst guarding practices of anybody I've ever coached. I'm like thank you. So nice of you to say.
Rob D.: what I wanted to touch on what you talked about there ⁓ what I think a lot of people don't understand. you talked about the chemistry or the communication on the field, right? So you could have, nine All-Americans on the field, ⁓ or you could have nine decent players, but they all love each other. And I'll take the team that loves each other over the team of nine every time. because chemistry huge I think it's overlooked a lot. Everybody's ⁓ looking the stats, whether it's on Game Changer or ⁓ Athletes Live. ⁓ Everybody's concerned about Suzy's batting average or how many bases she stole. ⁓ You alluded to it. I was gonna say, what am I favorite? You ⁓ even to it in one of your posts about. ⁓
Sam Banister: every time.
Rob D.: well yeah, did you see that bomb she hit? And you're like, well first of all, it wasn't a bomb because it didn't go over the fence, okay? Second of all, she caught it and. so anyways, just wanted to agree with you about the chemistry and how coach would see what one person can do to make the team better, whether might have an error.
Sam Banister: Yeah, let's be real. Yeah.
Rob D.: once every four innings but the team just performs better because that person's there
Sam Banister: Stop looking at these game changer stats or whatever you guys are looking at because that's not what's going to get your kid to where she wants to be. These coaches that are coaching in college are looking at the intangibles, how she carries herself, ⁓ situational ⁓ Is genuinely excited when her teammate makes a good play? That was one of the things that I had to teach my 14s when I first started coaching down here was ⁓ there no encouragement whatsoever amongst each other. when we were practicing and I'm like bro she just dove in the hole backhanded it and then hosed the girl at first and everyone's just like like no let's get excited for that like come on guys and so like To your thing like coach was very big on culture and personality and the being focusing on the right things and at the end of the day even I mean obviously we never all hit below 300 but if we did and we won because we did the right things right then at the end of the day that's what we're trying to do and I think that as society and young kids and parents they've Really put the things that are not very important at the forefront and it's changing the game and not for the better
Rob D.: Okay, so ⁓ what's something fans don't understand about playing at the D1 level?
Sam Banister: Like I said, you have to have a little bit of psychotic personality. And just like we live, breathe, eat, sleep, softball, and everyone's like, ⁓ you, you just the sport, you're not that person. it's like, ⁓ no, it is who we And ⁓ proud of that. do think that there needs to be maybe a little bit of ⁓ real integration for after we're done because I think that's what made us so competitive or so successful is because we were just so hyper focused on that aspect of ourselves. But I mean. We can spot a fellow D1 athlete in the wild. I'm like, oh, did you play? And they're like, yeah, I'm like, oh yeah, because we have the same person on the V. Yeah, we can sniff them out. So yeah, yeah, I can tell by the way you just stood in line that you also played. Yeah. Yeah.
Rob D.: Out in the wild. At Walt Disney World. Yep, D1 player right there. ⁓ my god, I love it. Sam, what your biggest adjustments when you went the D1 level?
Sam Banister: like the amount of reps we took and I said I'm going a hundred percent at all times I remember at the beginning he'd be like okay we have a long week of throwing I'm like okay ⁓ whatever I'm still gonna a hundred overhand and then by like two, I'm like, ⁓ my, I'm like, wow, my bicep is like really growing. And they're like, no, that's bisoteninitis. It is very swollen. ⁓ is that why I can't feel my fingers at the end of the day? And they're like, yeah, I'm like, okay. So I think it was just the amount of reps at the highest like pace that you can go for as long as it was. It was just, you know, three and a half hour, 45 minutes of fungo, throwing as hard as you can, you know, every day to start practice.
Rob D.: Mwahahah Ha ⁓ Yeah.
Sam Banister: but yeah, it was just the overall quantity of everything to be honest
Rob D.: Sam, was one teammate that you the most ⁓ and how?
Sam Banister: Yeah. Yeah, Kristi is one that stands out to me ⁓ the most. ⁓ competed heavily with Lainey Roth because she was my other first baseman, so we were physically competing against each other. But Foxy was a junior when I was a freshman and she always did a really good job of holding us to the Arizona standard ⁓ not letting us slide, but she also did a really good job of telling us when we were doing things correctly. I still remember like my sophomore year, we were at the World Series, we were going into the 10th inning against Monica Abbott, ⁓ I will never forget her being like, you've been, I'm like, I'm leading off, she's like, you've been hot, there's nobody better, ⁓ go, keep doing what you're doing. Like, if you get on, we're gonna win, and I'm like, okay. Like you're right, I'm sweating. don't think I can griff this. Like I wasn't wearing batting gloves. Like, my gosh. And she was like, you can do this. Stop being a pussy. You can do this. I'm like, yeah, OK. I can do this. ⁓ I ended up leading off. I got a base hit. ⁓ ended up scoring. That was the one run that we needed to win 1-0. And then ⁓ the next game, obviously, ended up winning. was just, she did such a great job withme
Rob D.: Sam, what do parents misunderstand about recruiting at the Division one level?
Sam Banister: well one the eye test ⁓ like ⁓ well my daughter these stats and yeah does she physically look like a division one athlete Do you have pop like not regular pop like can you smoke like every time you hit a ball like are all of your outs hard outs? ⁓ Do you have a presence about you when you do things? Are your parents normal? What I mean by normal is like, are your parents the ones in the stands that are obnoxious and just like shouting things? Like you can always tell the high caliber players as parents ⁓ they're the ones that like are just chilling and they're not doing anything. ⁓ just there watching their kid, you know, ⁓ the rewards of all their hard work. You gotta get into the weight room these days. Like you can't just like go off of God-given ability anymore. I hated the weight room. But I remember when my dad was like, this is what's gonna separate you. these girls look women and you still look like, you know, a teenager. You gotta do it. You gotta figure out a way to get into the weight room, do the extra cardio, you gotta have a good arm, you have to have good glove work. You don't necessarily have to be the quickest, in everything you do, you to be elite.
Rob D.: So you kind of touched on this before about the intangibles, but what makes a player recruitable
Sam Banister: Honestly, personality. Like, how do you interact with their players when you go to camp? ⁓ their ability to make adjustments quickly. to a UCLA camp and that was one thing that they told me like if you can make an adjustment after the first time that we tell you like you're going we're naturally you know that's just telling us like what your potential is going where it's going to take you. ⁓ Where like if you have to keep saying the same shit seven times and they're still not making adjustments probably not what they're looking for but a lot of it really is personality.
Rob D.: What red flags do coaches notice players don't realize they're showing?
Sam Banister: Like, do they just look like they can't even handle any sort of conversation about what they need to work on? I notice the kids that take off reps when they think I'm not paying attention. And also I like players that hold their other teammates accountable too. Like you don't always need to have it be the coach that's holding you accountable. You can do those things as well. And that's one thing that definitely in this generation I think, or in girls in general, girls want that kind of feedback anymore. They get very offended easily. I would not have done well in this generation of softball. Everyone would hated me. I would not have done well in this generation of softball. Everyone would hated me.
Rob D.: Yeah. What softball at Arizona teach you about life after the game?
Sam Banister: That relationships matter. discipline, even though discipline is like. the most important aspect I think in life. it just like, yeah, did I want to wake up at 6 a.m. and do weights? No. Did I do it? Yes. ⁓ it pay off in the end? Absolutely. And just like, working not just for yourself but for other people, like ⁓ the ripple effect is
Rob D.: So when you look back now, what are you most proud of?
Sam Banister: I'm proud that I stayed all four years. I'm proud, that's such a sad stat to even have. I'm proud that every year my batting average got higher. ⁓ I'm proud of the relationships that I formed and the fact that I still talk to and go on vacations with my teammates. I'm proud of having worn the Arizona uniform and represented Coach Candrea, you know, and was able to win a national championship for, you know, they hit a little bit of a dry spell. I think that was the longest they had gone. think it was five years since they had won a national championship. And I'm proud to have been a part of the team that helped bring it back. And I'm proud to be part of the last team to have won the national championship.
Rob D.: we love all social media you put out. What else is on the horizon for you? I've heard you mention a podcast in your future.
Sam Banister: Yeah, so me and Bustos, Bustos is my teammate Akron, ⁓ and she's now coaching for a school in Texas, a D1 school in Texas, you know, just after getting to like... Getting the same feedback from most of our, I don't know, what'd you call, audience, we were like, you know what, we should do a podcast. And we should let people hear it from the people that have been there. Like I was telling you guys earlier, there's a lot of information out there with social media, but there's a lot of information from the wrong people don't have any daughters ⁓ played. So I have the perspective of ⁓ a softball coach, as a former D1 athlete, as a former national champion, ⁓ a former travel ball player, and also as a parent myself with my boys. ⁓ And she's ⁓ two time gold medalist and she has ⁓ own perspective on things. She was the highest paid professional athlete in softball for a very long time. And we just have, ⁓ we wanna on, a lot of things that we're seeing, not just in softball, but in sports in general, and try to help bridge the gap between athletes, parents, coaches, all of it together, and just bring more information to the table about how do we get back to the things that made youth sports so great ⁓ while we're still navigating this crazy new social media shit storm, if you will, and how do we get all that information out there from like from the horse's mouth like you know she achieved is She is the holder of all of the offensive records at the Olympics Kind of got to listen to her you know I went to national championships And I was a recruited walk-on so that says something about and I was a four-year starter It says something about my work ethic and my thought process and us together, I mean, we're pretty unfiltered. And ⁓ I'm excited to be even more unfiltered because obviously we are representing, you know, our schools and whatnot. So I'm ready to be done with coaching and be able to say what I really would like to say to some of these people on the internet.
Rob D.: you know what that was why we actually started this ⁓ podcast is we're like looking aren't any podcasts a lot of them are about college stats and college players but who's talking about to this level to ⁓ the ⁓ kids that are about to get recruited travel we actually had a great a huge for ⁓ whether your kid should stay in rec ball or go to travel ball. And so many of these kids are like going to travel ball and they don't even have the basic mechanics to throw a ball or, they just want to, you know, say they're on travel or the parents want to say their kids play travel.
Sam Banister: What's They're keeping up with the Joneses. It's like social media. Like we just want to be able to post and show our kids doing these things. And you know what? It puts a lot of pressure on kids really early in their careers. And it's like, rec ball, I played rec until I was in eighth grade and everyone's like, ⁓ yeah, but your rec ball is different. I'm like, no, it really wasn't. Like it wasn't anything special, but you know what? It gave me an opportunity to learn how to be a leader. It gave me an opportunity to run the bases and feel like a speedster, which I was not. ⁓ me to like not have so much pressure on me and to like think about the game differently and to really enjoy myself and even now with my boys like my nine-year-old got asked to play on a travel team I'm like no literally well he's good enough I'm like no one he doesn't need that kind of pressure on him yet two I can't even get the kid to put his ⁓ shoes away without asking let alone spend all this money to be gone every single weekend when that's not something he wants to do. Now, if he's out there every day, hitting off a tee, working his ass off, and he's like, mommy, I really wanna play, see if I can do this, fine, but I can't even get to brush his teeth consistently. Like, I'm not doing that. And I think it really does come from the parents that are like, we wanna be out there all the time. And I'm like, why? Like, your kids only have a childhood for so long, and you guys are in such a rush to like go and hang out in the fucking hotel lobby drinking beer? Like, what are you? Because you know your kids, could be having the swim party at home. Because that's all they care about anyways. ⁓
Rob D.: Oh my God, I cannot wait for your podcast. Folks, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Folks, this is just the tip of the iceberg. We'll be right back with the seventh inning walk off. Welcome back, everybody. This is a seventh inning walk off. This is a little trivia game we play. There's four trivia questions and there's a couple of opinion questions. Each trivia question has at least one point attached or we call them runs. If it does have a second part or a third part those points are called RBI's So anyways we're gonna get started with Bannister ⁓ and I can already tell her palms are probably sweaty because a competitor and she really wants to kick some she does. Okay. All right you ready Sam? Okay. Question number one.
Sam Banister: Yep. I am, ⁓ lord, here we go. Lock in.
Rob D.: Which institution is older, U of A or Arizona State?
Sam Banister: B of A.
Rob D.: That is correct. so now for the RBI. What year was U of A established?
Sam Banister: I don't know. I would have to have studied that. 1892.
Rob D.: Wow, close. 1885. 1885, yes, thank you. All right, Sam, here's question number two at the 2007 Women's College World Series, you had a game-winning hit. What was that hit?
Sam Banister: go. double against
Rob D.: Yes. Boom. Yeah, two run double. ⁓ and then who did the Wildcats beat that day?
Sam Banister: Washington.
Rob D.: she's gonna run rule this whole thing. I'm telling you right now.
Sam Banister: ⁓ lord. That's right. Nothing less.
Rob D.: Okay, so this is an opinion question. This is kind of like a base on balls. There's no runs or points for this. It's just your opinion. What's the one song that takes you back to the 2006 Women's College World Series?
Sam Banister: The one song. I don't know if anything takes me back to the World Series, but there's something that takes me back to Arizona immediately. I think it's Palomita. It's the song and it's the Spanish song and they play it every inning or they play at the beginning of every game at Hill and Brand.
Rob D.: Okay? ⁓ All right. ⁓ In 2007, you and one other teammate were the only ones to accomplish this ⁓ specific hitting feat. was it?
Sam Banister: Multi-home run games?
Rob D.: Hmm... Close? It was a grand slam.
Sam Banister: ⁓
Rob D.: ⁓ Who was the other wildcat that hit a four run dinger in 2007?
Sam Banister: Stacey Chambers? ⁓ Akamene?
Rob D.: Sarah Akamene.
Sam Banister: Dang!
Rob D.: True or false, you only played first base at U of A.
Sam Banister: false.
Rob D.: That's right, because in 2008 you played base due to a teammates injury, correct?
Sam Banister: and senior year I played right field.
Rob D.: Really? Nice. ⁓ okay, I didn't know you... Well, you're speedy. We knew you were speedy.
Sam Banister: Yeah, when you can hit, they'll find a spot for you.
Rob D.: right. Number six. This is opinion one. What is the nicest stadium you played in besides Hillenbrand?
Sam Banister: I don't know. I I'm gonna hate myself for this but Arizona State had a pretty nice stadium. I liked their field
Rob D.: ⁓ really? Okay. Number seven. I'll be seriously, seriously disappointed you get all of this correct, ⁓ she'll get this. I'm just, I'm trying to get in your head. Okay, all right, stick around. ⁓ my god, it's crowded in here. We're multiple personalities. How many national championships does U of A have in softball?
Sam Banister: No, don't do that. Let go. Go! Go, go, it is. Yeah, let's go, Becky. Come on, you can do it. Wait. Eight!
Rob D.: Yes! How many second place finishes does U of A have?
Sam Banister: I don't know because second is the first loser and we don't think about this. Yeah, that's right. It's seven. It's funny because even after we won, coach was like, enjoy it tonight because tomorrow we get back to work. I'm like, damn, we only get like five hours? Okay, well, I'm going hard.
Rob D.: Thank you, Ricky Bobby. It's Seven, yeah. Wow. All right. And here's the easiest ribby ever. Easiest ribby ever. It's like bases loaded, you're at the plate and you get walked. You get the ribby and the run comes home. Okay, you ready? Here we go. How many national championships do you have?
Sam Banister: Okay, go. ⁓ my gosh, two, Sully?
Rob D.: ⁓ we really want to thank you for being on the show. It's been ⁓ an amazing ride, ⁓ just But I also want to get, your social media stuff so everybody can enjoy it as much as we do. and tell us how they can find you if want more information about ⁓ the that you can come and put on their organizations or their teams. And then obviously follow you on social media when you're ready to release your podcast.
Sam Banister: TikTok, SamBanister. And let me look up my Instagram. Let's see, it is SamBanister33. SamBannister33, or you can just call me.
Rob D.: Nice. Love it. So, and then just quickly kind of summarize, Arizona was, was rigid place, but it was an amazing place to play and you wouldn't it any other way. You learned a lot from Coach ⁓ Kendrea. You a from teammates and you just played till... ⁓ The cows came home basically. just, there was like, was no stopping. It was a hundred percent, 110 % constantly. Yeah. that's.
Sam Banister: Yeah. Yeah, I would not change one single thing about my experience at Arizona. mean, than, you know, getting run, rolled by Alabama to end my career at the World Series, it was probably, was one of single greatest moments in my lifetime to my kids being born. Just ⁓ what it has given is something that I ⁓ always cherish ⁓ and tried very hard. I take those, I don't know, whatever call them, learning them, whatever. Everything that I learned in Arizona and that I learned from Coach Kendrea, I now... model my own coaching career after those lessons. And I make sure like, know, even if all my girls don't play division one softball, which a lot of them didn't go on to play D1, but they played collegiately, our mentality is always D1 mentality, Coach Candrea mentality. ⁓ you ⁓ I'm so fortunate to have grown up in, I think, the best era ⁓ of softball. ⁓
Rob D.: Nice. Is there anything else you want to add or plug or anything? Do you have a book coming
Sam Banister: No, this was literally so fun. ⁓ If I could say anything, it would just be to the parents. You can be the taxi, the credit card, you know. don't forget to be your kid's biggest fan ⁓ to remind them that this is what they're choosing and that you're proud of them no matter what. Because at the end of the day, your is what's gonna be standing after softball's done. And you want your entire relationship to have been revolved your talks in the only being about softball and have it be in negative way. light. You know, I had both sets of parents and one that I obviously speak daily and there's one that's just a little bit, you know, more of a rough relationship because, you know, a ⁓ of my career was ⁓ negatively, ⁓ I don't how a better way to say that, but... ⁓ If you are a parent, don't forget to tell your kids that you genuinely just enjoy watching them play because that's what they love to do.
Rob D.: ⁓ Well, once again, thank you so much for being here. It was beyond ⁓ as as I thought it was going to be. And ⁓ my God, ⁓ even fun. meant this has just been such a fun conversation. It was really nice getting to know you as well. Yeah, absolutely.
Sam Banister: Guys, this was super fun. I enjoyed it. Let's do it again.
Rob D.: All sounds good.
Sam Banister: Thanks guys.
Rob D.: the first thing I wanted to ask, if you could bottle up ⁓ one mindset lesson from your time at and give it to every young softball player, ⁓ what would it be?
Sam Banister: don't be soft.
Rob D.: Yeah.
Sam Banister: just... was just telling someone the other day because they said like, what was it about being at Arizona that was so different than anywhere you've ever played? And I think it was just the fact that there was no, nothing less than expected excellence and winning. we thought we were gonna win national championship. Like that was just like so much so that after I won my first one, I gave my ring to my best friend. Cause I was like, ⁓ I'm getting another one next year. ⁓ And she's like, what? And I'm like, yeah, that's what we do. We're ears in a wildcat. So it was just a level of expectation of being the best. And that was just in our head all the time.
Rob D.: This episode is sponsored by the Glove Pope. From custom glove builds to pro level relacing, break-ins and conditioning, They don't just fix gloves, they transform them. Visit theglovepoep.com. So when people hear Arizona Wildcat softball, they think excellence. What did it mean to you to wear that Jersey?
Sam Banister: Every freshman has, I'm sure, the same feeling, but you put, they let you try it on to make sure, ⁓ what size do you want? Even though it might not be your number, ⁓ trying everything on, I remember, because there was only three of us incoming freshmen, ⁓ we all just kind of looked in the mirror like, holy cow, ⁓ is real. All the years of tradition before us, ⁓ greats, Lovey Jung, Jenny Finch, all those, Mackenzie Vandergees, all these girls that came up for you, knowing what they were able to accomplish and that you get to help carry on that tradition. I mean, it's kind of overwhelming because you're like, holy cow, like I just worked my whole life to carry this on and like, am I even going to be good enough to be able to carry it on? And there's just such a sense of pride and like responsibility that comes with it that, coach did such a good job of ⁓ just choosing the with personalities that took it so personally. to carry that on. ⁓ I was like, ⁓ my gosh, don't mess this up. I gotta make sure that I do this right. I messed up a couple times, probably with my mouth a lot more than I probably should have. But when it came to just representing just the Arizona A on my chest, I was so much pride, so much responsibility.
Rob D.: Really? Okay, so at what point ⁓ Arizona a real possibility? Were entertaining other schools or were you just laser focused on being a Wildcat?
Sam Banister: be honest, when I was growing, I don't know if it was just because I was pretty sheltered. Like we lived in the country, to get into town. It was like, ⁓ going into town. was like a 30 minute drive. It wasn't really televised. Social media wasn't a big thing. it wasn't really until high school that I even like knew what college softball was. I think sophomore year, they took me to an Arizona camp and Coach Kendrea kind of started taking notice to me and ⁓ like drive around in his little golf cart, following me station to station. And ⁓ I know, I was just chatting it up with the girls in line. Like, this is so fun. Like there's ⁓ way people here for me to talk to than the camp that I just went to. And then ⁓ my was like, you know, I think he like, I think we should go to another one. I'm like, why? ⁓ We came to this one. And he's like, no, we should, I think he might like you. ⁓ We just started going to Arizona camps and then UCLA started inviting me, Oklahoma invited me, Florida State invited me, Stanford invited me, and then once they got my transcripts they told me to pursue other academic options. And they did that to me twice. I'm like, my mom was like, ⁓ they want it again. I'm like, they know. They already told me I'm dumb. So why am I going to send it again? And they did it again. I'm like, you know, whatever. Good try. So, you know, probably my sophomore year.
Rob D.: had coach Mike Kendrea, ⁓ you were just talking about as your coach. ⁓ He has the second most career wins in division one history. ⁓ What is one specific lesson that coach taught you that find yourself repeating to your own players today.
Sam Banister: One, who has the most wins.
Rob D.: ⁓ hutchins from michigan's
Sam Banister: Okay, I'll allow that. I love Hutch. ⁓ think just like the culture, like setting a good culture and like being a good teammate and genuinely being. excited and proud of your teammates success. was one thing that he just instilled in us. I don't know if it was like he was he was Italian. He loved the Yankees. A lot of what we modeled in our program came from the Yankees. And just like how they like how Derek Jeter, you know, was a leader and you don't always have to be, you know, have the nine best guys out there. But if you have the nine best like teammates, you have a better chance at being more successful. And I think just like the culture in general of what we all stood for and our competitiveness ⁓ is something that I definitely like. You can go through all the generations of my teams every four years and they all are very similar and I'm very proud of that aspect of what I was able to create with those girls because it definitely does take a certain personality to play for me. But also it takes a certain personality to play at a collegiate softball. guess that would be what it would be.
Rob D.: Cool. Great answer. Rob's about to stop the podcast now. Here's the thing, Sam. We'll allow a lot of words on the show, like the F word, shit, whatever. Yankees. You said Yankees. OK. She was like. OK. So if you could refrain from using that word, I would really appreciate it.
Sam Banister: ⁓ no, what'd say? my goshit, what did I say?
Rob D.: think you kind alluded to the ⁓ culture, expectation ⁓ of being a good teammate and celebrating your teammates. Is there anything else like to add?
Sam Banister: we hated losing more than we liked winning, and we were never gonna let that happen. And so we did a lot of strategizing together, a lot of pep talks in the dugout, a lot of headbutts to each other, you know, just like a, we're not gonna lose. there was something wrong with each of us probably. We were a little screws loose, but you know, it worked I guess. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, we're a little cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs for sure.
Rob D.: something wrong that made it right. love the line, we losing more than we like winning. That is a good mindset to because you remember wins you certainly never forget the losses, ⁓ ever.
Sam Banister: So.
Rob D.: How intense your practices compared to what you were used to ⁓ travel ball in high school when you got to the ⁓ D1 college level?
Sam Banister: Well, our practices were so, like, they were so fast-paced I remember we would go full practices, and our infield, like, we would, Coach Kendray was hitting double fungo every day to us, by the way, like, he would get his little glove on, get his little fungo, and be him and Coach Ray, and they would just be smoking balls at us for, like, 45 minutes, back and forth, and we wouldn't miss a ball, like, that's how it was. and it was so... Everything was like as fast as it could possibly be so that when games came around and they almost seemed slow There was competition amongst each other. So there was multiple ⁓ Position players we already knew who the were but this ⁓ the girls right behind you were as good and ⁓ Like I said, like I like the best at everything So ⁓ if I wasn't better than her practice, like I was irritated So it was like always competing against each other ⁓ and doing it at a fast pace for three and half hours every day. It's ⁓ about time you got to the game where you're like, ⁓ this a piece of cake. ⁓
Rob D.: Yeah, that practice how you will play and play how you practice because then you're always playing at the same level, same intensity all the time.
Sam Banister: ⁓ yeah, ⁓ yeah.
Rob D.: So that kind of leads me into the next question. You were talking about the competition at practice and if the other girl was better than you, you, you got pissed off basically. So what did earning your spot look like there? did you, did you have to earn it during practice or if you got a chance to get in the game, you better get a hit and make no errors. What was that like?
Sam Banister: Yeah. It's I was a recruited walk-on so ⁓ I you know the girl that I was at first with was on a full ride and when you give money to somebody, you're probably gonna give them an opportunity first. But like, just the little things, like not just like getting the hits, but like getting the right kind of hits. Like if there's a runner on second and you hit the ball in the left, you know, in the gap to left field, coach is looking for the ball in the right center gap. Even though I'd be like, oh, but I got a hit or whatever. Or like I fielded every ball, yeah, but every throw wasn't perfectly in the chest. Like there was different things. that I remember accomplishing and being like, okay, like now I see what he's looking for. ⁓ But like, he's gonna go with the best chemistry on the team too. Like sometimes you might not be the best at that position, but if ⁓ team is playing different with you in that lineup or the infield's playing different with the way that you communicate on the infield with that lineup, he was an overall like... like team coach, like obviously stats matter and whatnot, but like, you know, one personality doesn't fit. He's going to make a switch. So obviously everything's earned in practice, but he's going to get, and the one thing about coaches, he would give you opportunity. Like he would give you time to figure things out. Like I think I was hit pretty not good. And he was like, no, you're going to figure it out. Like you're still, your stats might not say, But you're hitting the ball hard and you're our person like you're gonna figure it out and I think that that kind of gives you a little bit of room to breathe to especially at a high level like Okay, like I know I don't have to press as much and like he knew that about us too Like he knew we were gonna take it personally He knew we were gonna go and do extra reps if we if we weren't, you know being successful, but Yeah practice and like overall game. He did tell me he was like if I had to make a lineup lineup off of your pregame warm-ups you would never see the field because you take the worst guarding practices of anybody I've ever coached. I'm like thank you. So nice of you to say.
Rob D.: what I wanted to touch on what you talked about there ⁓ what I think a lot of people don't understand. you talked about the chemistry or the communication on the field, right? So you could have, nine All-Americans on the field, ⁓ or you could have nine decent players, but they all love each other. And I'll take the team that loves each other over the team of nine every time. because chemistry huge I think it's overlooked a lot. Everybody's ⁓ looking the stats, whether it's on Game Changer or ⁓ Athletes Live. ⁓ Everybody's concerned about Suzy's batting average or how many bases she stole. ⁓ You alluded to it. I was gonna say, what am I favorite? You ⁓ even to it in one of your posts about. ⁓
Sam Banister: every time.
Rob D.: well yeah, did you see that bomb she hit? And you're like, well first of all, it wasn't a bomb because it didn't go over the fence, okay? Second of all, she caught it and. so anyways, just wanted to agree with you about the chemistry and how coach would see what one person can do to make the team better, whether might have an error.
Sam Banister: Yeah, let's be real. Yeah.
Rob D.: once every four innings but the team just performs better because that person's there
Sam Banister: Stop looking at these game changer stats or whatever you guys are looking at because that's not what's going to get your kid to where she wants to be. These coaches that are coaching in college are looking at the intangibles, how she carries herself, ⁓ situational ⁓ Is genuinely excited when her teammate makes a good play? That was one of the things that I had to teach my 14s when I first started coaching down here was ⁓ there no encouragement whatsoever amongst each other. when we were practicing and I'm like bro she just dove in the hole backhanded it and then hosed the girl at first and everyone's just like like no let's get excited for that like come on guys and so like To your thing like coach was very big on culture and personality and the being focusing on the right things and at the end of the day even I mean obviously we never all hit below 300 but if we did and we won because we did the right things right then at the end of the day that's what we're trying to do and I think that as society and young kids and parents they've Really put the things that are not very important at the forefront and it's changing the game and not for the better
Rob D.: Okay, so ⁓ what's something fans don't understand about playing at the D1 level?
Sam Banister: Like I said, you have to have a little bit of psychotic personality. And just like we live, breathe, eat, sleep, softball, and everyone's like, ⁓ you, you just the sport, you're not that person. it's like, ⁓ no, it is who we And ⁓ proud of that. do think that there needs to be maybe a little bit of ⁓ real integration for after we're done because I think that's what made us so competitive or so successful is because we were just so hyper focused on that aspect of ourselves. But I mean. We can spot a fellow D1 athlete in the wild. I'm like, oh, did you play? And they're like, yeah, I'm like, oh yeah, because we have the same person on the V. Yeah, we can sniff them out. So yeah, yeah, I can tell by the way you just stood in line that you also played. Yeah. Yeah.
Rob D.: Out in the wild. At Walt Disney World. Yep, D1 player right there. ⁓ my god, I love it. Sam, what your biggest adjustments when you went the D1 level?
Sam Banister: like the amount of reps we took and I said I'm going a hundred percent at all times I remember at the beginning he'd be like okay we have a long week of throwing I'm like okay ⁓ whatever I'm still gonna a hundred overhand and then by like two, I'm like, ⁓ my, I'm like, wow, my bicep is like really growing. And they're like, no, that's bisoteninitis. It is very swollen. ⁓ is that why I can't feel my fingers at the end of the day? And they're like, yeah, I'm like, okay. So I think it was just the amount of reps at the highest like pace that you can go for as long as it was. It was just, you know, three and a half hour, 45 minutes of fungo, throwing as hard as you can, you know, every day to start practice.
Rob D.: Mwahahah Ha ⁓ Yeah.
Sam Banister: but yeah, it was just the overall quantity of everything to be honest
Rob D.: Sam, was one teammate that you the most ⁓ and how?
Sam Banister: Yeah. Yeah, Kristi is one that stands out to me ⁓ the most. ⁓ competed heavily with Lainey Roth because she was my other first baseman, so we were physically competing against each other. But Foxy was a junior when I was a freshman and she always did a really good job of holding us to the Arizona standard ⁓ not letting us slide, but she also did a really good job of telling us when we were doing things correctly. I still remember like my sophomore year, we were at the World Series, we were going into the 10th inning against Monica Abbott, ⁓ I will never forget her being like, you've been, I'm like, I'm leading off, she's like, you've been hot, there's nobody better, ⁓ go, keep doing what you're doing. Like, if you get on, we're gonna win, and I'm like, okay. Like you're right, I'm sweating. don't think I can griff this. Like I wasn't wearing batting gloves. Like, my gosh. And she was like, you can do this. Stop being a pussy. You can do this. I'm like, yeah, OK. I can do this. ⁓ I ended up leading off. I got a base hit. ⁓ ended up scoring. That was the one run that we needed to win 1-0. And then ⁓ the next game, obviously, ended up winning. was just, she did such a great job withme
Rob D.: Sam, what do parents misunderstand about recruiting at the Division one level?
Sam Banister: well one the eye test ⁓ like ⁓ well my daughter these stats and yeah does she physically look like a division one athlete Do you have pop like not regular pop like can you smoke like every time you hit a ball like are all of your outs hard outs? ⁓ Do you have a presence about you when you do things? Are your parents normal? What I mean by normal is like, are your parents the ones in the stands that are obnoxious and just like shouting things? Like you can always tell the high caliber players as parents ⁓ they're the ones that like are just chilling and they're not doing anything. ⁓ just there watching their kid, you know, ⁓ the rewards of all their hard work. You gotta get into the weight room these days. Like you can't just like go off of God-given ability anymore. I hated the weight room. But I remember when my dad was like, this is what's gonna separate you. these girls look women and you still look like, you know, a teenager. You gotta do it. You gotta figure out a way to get into the weight room, do the extra cardio, you gotta have a good arm, you have to have good glove work. You don't necessarily have to be the quickest, in everything you do, you to be elite.
Rob D.: So you kind of touched on this before about the intangibles, but what makes a player recruitable
Sam Banister: Honestly, personality. Like, how do you interact with their players when you go to camp? ⁓ their ability to make adjustments quickly. to a UCLA camp and that was one thing that they told me like if you can make an adjustment after the first time that we tell you like you're going we're naturally you know that's just telling us like what your potential is going where it's going to take you. ⁓ Where like if you have to keep saying the same shit seven times and they're still not making adjustments probably not what they're looking for but a lot of it really is personality.
Rob D.: What red flags do coaches notice players don't realize they're showing?
Sam Banister: Like, do they just look like they can't even handle any sort of conversation about what they need to work on? I notice the kids that take off reps when they think I'm not paying attention. And also I like players that hold their other teammates accountable too. Like you don't always need to have it be the coach that's holding you accountable. You can do those things as well. And that's one thing that definitely in this generation I think, or in girls in general, girls want that kind of feedback anymore. They get very offended easily. I would not have done well in this generation of softball. Everyone would hated me. I would not have done well in this generation of softball. Everyone would hated me.
Rob D.: Yeah. What softball at Arizona teach you about life after the game?
Sam Banister: That relationships matter. discipline, even though discipline is like. the most important aspect I think in life. it just like, yeah, did I want to wake up at 6 a.m. and do weights? No. Did I do it? Yes. ⁓ it pay off in the end? Absolutely. And just like, working not just for yourself but for other people, like ⁓ the ripple effect is
Rob D.: So when you look back now, what are you most proud of?
Sam Banister: I'm proud that I stayed all four years. I'm proud, that's such a sad stat to even have. I'm proud that every year my batting average got higher. ⁓ I'm proud of the relationships that I formed and the fact that I still talk to and go on vacations with my teammates. I'm proud of having worn the Arizona uniform and represented Coach Candrea, you know, and was able to win a national championship for, you know, they hit a little bit of a dry spell. I think that was the longest they had gone. think it was five years since they had won a national championship. And I'm proud to have been a part of the team that helped bring it back. And I'm proud to be part of the last team to have won the national championship.
Rob D.: we love all social media you put out. What else is on the horizon for you? I've heard you mention a podcast in your future.
Sam Banister: Yeah, so me and Bustos, Bustos is my teammate Akron, ⁓ and she's now coaching for a school in Texas, a D1 school in Texas, you know, just after getting to like... Getting the same feedback from most of our, I don't know, what'd you call, audience, we were like, you know what, we should do a podcast. And we should let people hear it from the people that have been there. Like I was telling you guys earlier, there's a lot of information out there with social media, but there's a lot of information from the wrong people don't have any daughters ⁓ played. So I have the perspective of ⁓ a softball coach, as a former D1 athlete, as a former national champion, ⁓ a former travel ball player, and also as a parent myself with my boys. ⁓ And she's ⁓ two time gold medalist and she has ⁓ own perspective on things. She was the highest paid professional athlete in softball for a very long time. And we just have, ⁓ we wanna on, a lot of things that we're seeing, not just in softball, but in sports in general, and try to help bridge the gap between athletes, parents, coaches, all of it together, and just bring more information to the table about how do we get back to the things that made youth sports so great ⁓ while we're still navigating this crazy new social media shit storm, if you will, and how do we get all that information out there from like from the horse's mouth like you know she achieved is She is the holder of all of the offensive records at the Olympics Kind of got to listen to her you know I went to national championships And I was a recruited walk-on so that says something about and I was a four-year starter It says something about my work ethic and my thought process and us together, I mean, we're pretty unfiltered. And ⁓ I'm excited to be even more unfiltered because obviously we are representing, you know, our schools and whatnot. So I'm ready to be done with coaching and be able to say what I really would like to say to some of these people on the internet.
Rob D.: you know what that was why we actually started this ⁓ podcast is we're like looking aren't any podcasts a lot of them are about college stats and college players but who's talking about to this level to ⁓ the ⁓ kids that are about to get recruited travel we actually had a great a huge for ⁓ whether your kid should stay in rec ball or go to travel ball. And so many of these kids are like going to travel ball and they don't even have the basic mechanics to throw a ball or, they just want to, you know, say they're on travel or the parents want to say their kids play travel.
Sam Banister: What's They're keeping up with the Joneses. It's like social media. Like we just want to be able to post and show our kids doing these things. And you know what? It puts a lot of pressure on kids really early in their careers. And it's like, rec ball, I played rec until I was in eighth grade and everyone's like, ⁓ yeah, but your rec ball is different. I'm like, no, it really wasn't. Like it wasn't anything special, but you know what? It gave me an opportunity to learn how to be a leader. It gave me an opportunity to run the bases and feel like a speedster, which I was not. ⁓ me to like not have so much pressure on me and to like think about the game differently and to really enjoy myself and even now with my boys like my nine-year-old got asked to play on a travel team I'm like no literally well he's good enough I'm like no one he doesn't need that kind of pressure on him yet two I can't even get the kid to put his ⁓ shoes away without asking let alone spend all this money to be gone every single weekend when that's not something he wants to do. Now, if he's out there every day, hitting off a tee, working his ass off, and he's like, mommy, I really wanna play, see if I can do this, fine, but I can't even get to brush his teeth consistently. Like, I'm not doing that. And I think it really does come from the parents that are like, we wanna be out there all the time. And I'm like, why? Like, your kids only have a childhood for so long, and you guys are in such a rush to like go and hang out in the fucking hotel lobby drinking beer? Like, what are you? Because you know your kids, could be having the swim party at home. Because that's all they care about anyways. ⁓
Rob D.: Oh my God, I cannot wait for your podcast. Folks, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Folks, this is just the tip of the iceberg. We'll be right back with the seventh inning walk off. Welcome back, everybody. This is a seventh inning walk off. This is a little trivia game we play. There's four trivia questions and there's a couple of opinion questions. Each trivia question has at least one point attached or we call them runs. If it does have a second part or a third part those points are called RBI's So anyways we're gonna get started with Bannister ⁓ and I can already tell her palms are probably sweaty because a competitor and she really wants to kick some she does. Okay. All right you ready Sam? Okay. Question number one.
Sam Banister: Yep. I am, ⁓ lord, here we go. Lock in.
Rob D.: Which institution is older, U of A or Arizona State?
Sam Banister: B of A.
Rob D.: That is correct. so now for the RBI. What year was U of A established?
Sam Banister: I don't know. I would have to have studied that. 1892.
Rob D.: Wow, close. 1885. 1885, yes, thank you. All right, Sam, here's question number two at the 2007 Women's College World Series, you had a game-winning hit. What was that hit?
Sam Banister: go. double against
Rob D.: Yes. Boom. Yeah, two run double. ⁓ and then who did the Wildcats beat that day?
Sam Banister: Washington.
Rob D.: she's gonna run rule this whole thing. I'm telling you right now.
Sam Banister: ⁓ lord. That's right. Nothing less.
Rob D.: Okay, so this is an opinion question. This is kind of like a base on balls. There's no runs or points for this. It's just your opinion. What's the one song that takes you back to the 2006 Women's College World Series?
Sam Banister: The one song. I don't know if anything takes me back to the World Series, but there's something that takes me back to Arizona immediately. I think it's Palomita. It's the song and it's the Spanish song and they play it every inning or they play at the beginning of every game at Hill and Brand.
Rob D.: Okay? ⁓ All right. ⁓ In 2007, you and one other teammate were the only ones to accomplish this ⁓ specific hitting feat. was it?
Sam Banister: Multi-home run games?
Rob D.: Hmm... Close? It was a grand slam.
Sam Banister: ⁓
Rob D.: ⁓ Who was the other wildcat that hit a four run dinger in 2007?
Sam Banister: Stacey Chambers? ⁓ Akamene?
Rob D.: Sarah Akamene.
Sam Banister: Dang!
Rob D.: True or false, you only played first base at U of A.
Sam Banister: false.
Rob D.: That's right, because in 2008 you played base due to a teammates injury, correct?
Sam Banister: and senior year I played right field.
Rob D.: Really? Nice. ⁓ okay, I didn't know you... Well, you're speedy. We knew you were speedy.
Sam Banister: Yeah, when you can hit, they'll find a spot for you.
Rob D.: right. Number six. This is opinion one. What is the nicest stadium you played in besides Hillenbrand?
Sam Banister: I don't know. I I'm gonna hate myself for this but Arizona State had a pretty nice stadium. I liked their field
Rob D.: ⁓ really? Okay. Number seven. I'll be seriously, seriously disappointed you get all of this correct, ⁓ she'll get this. I'm just, I'm trying to get in your head. Okay, all right, stick around. ⁓ my god, it's crowded in here. We're multiple personalities. How many national championships does U of A have in softball?
Sam Banister: No, don't do that. Let go. Go! Go, go, it is. Yeah, let's go, Becky. Come on, you can do it. Wait. Eight!
Rob D.: Yes! How many second place finishes does U of A have?
Sam Banister: I don't know because second is the first loser and we don't think about this. Yeah, that's right. It's seven. It's funny because even after we won, coach was like, enjoy it tonight because tomorrow we get back to work. I'm like, damn, we only get like five hours? Okay, well, I'm going hard.
Rob D.: Thank you, Ricky Bobby. It's Seven, yeah. Wow. All right. And here's the easiest ribby ever. Easiest ribby ever. It's like bases loaded, you're at the plate and you get walked. You get the ribby and the run comes home. Okay, you ready? Here we go. How many national championships do you have?
Sam Banister: Okay, go. ⁓ my gosh, two, Sully?
Rob D.: ⁓ we really want to thank you for being on the show. It's been ⁓ an amazing ride, ⁓ just But I also want to get, your social media stuff so everybody can enjoy it as much as we do. and tell us how they can find you if want more information about ⁓ the that you can come and put on their organizations or their teams. And then obviously follow you on social media when you're ready to release your podcast.
Sam Banister: TikTok, SamBanister. And let me look up my Instagram. Let's see, it is SamBanister33. SamBannister33, or you can just call me.
Rob D.: Nice. Love it. So, and then just quickly kind of summarize, Arizona was, was rigid place, but it was an amazing place to play and you wouldn't it any other way. You learned a lot from Coach ⁓ Kendrea. You a from teammates and you just played till... ⁓ The cows came home basically. just, there was like, was no stopping. It was a hundred percent, 110 % constantly. Yeah. that's.
Sam Banister: Yeah. Yeah, I would not change one single thing about my experience at Arizona. mean, than, you know, getting run, rolled by Alabama to end my career at the World Series, it was probably, was one of single greatest moments in my lifetime to my kids being born. Just ⁓ what it has given is something that I ⁓ always cherish ⁓ and tried very hard. I take those, I don't know, whatever call them, learning them, whatever. Everything that I learned in Arizona and that I learned from Coach Kendrea, I now... model my own coaching career after those lessons. And I make sure like, know, even if all my girls don't play division one softball, which a lot of them didn't go on to play D1, but they played collegiately, our mentality is always D1 mentality, Coach Candrea mentality. ⁓ you ⁓ I'm so fortunate to have grown up in, I think, the best era ⁓ of softball. ⁓
Rob D.: Nice. Is there anything else you want to add or plug or anything? Do you have a book coming
Sam Banister: No, this was literally so fun. ⁓ If I could say anything, it would just be to the parents. You can be the taxi, the credit card, you know. don't forget to be your kid's biggest fan ⁓ to remind them that this is what they're choosing and that you're proud of them no matter what. Because at the end of the day, your is what's gonna be standing after softball's done. And you want your entire relationship to have been revolved your talks in the only being about softball and have it be in negative way. light. You know, I had both sets of parents and one that I obviously speak daily and there's one that's just a little bit, you know, more of a rough relationship because, you know, a ⁓ of my career was ⁓ negatively, ⁓ I don't how a better way to say that, but... ⁓ If you are a parent, don't forget to tell your kids that you genuinely just enjoy watching them play because that's what they love to do.
Rob D.: ⁓ Well, once again, thank you so much for being here. It was beyond ⁓ as as I thought it was going to be. And ⁓ my God, ⁓ even fun. meant this has just been such a fun conversation. It was really nice getting to know you as well. Yeah, absolutely.
Sam Banister: Guys, this was super fun. I enjoyed it. Let's do it again.
Rob D.: All sounds good.
