The Brian Cain Mental Performance Mastery Podcast

This weeks guest is Mike Bianco, Head Baseball Coach at The University of Mississippi. Coach Bianco has led the REBS to the 2009 and 2014 SEC Conference championships and a trip to Omaha in 2014. Bianco played and coached at Louisiana State University with quite possibly the greatest mental conditioning coach of all time in 5x NCAA National Championship winning coach and former LSU Athletic Director Skip Bertman. I have been fortunate to work with Bianco and his program since 2009 and was on staff with him when he was an assistant coach with the Team USA Collegiate National Team in the summer of 2013. Bianco is one of the greatest motivators in all of collegiate athletics. His use of stories, team building activities, motivational videos and other strategies have helped turn Ole Miss into one of the top programs in the nation year in and year out. Coach Bianco discusses the importance of training the mental side of the game each and every day and the development of core values within a program that have an impact beyond the game of baseball. Follow Coach Bianco on Twitter @CoachMikeBianco.

This week’s guest is Todd Whitting, head baseball coach at The University of Houston. Coach Whitting led the Cougars to the American Athletic Conference Championship in 2014 and in 2015 and to an NCAA Super Regional in Austin, Texas, in 2014. I first started working with Coach Whitting when he was an assistant coach at TCU in 2006 and have had the honor of working with him each year since. As an assistant, Whitting was instrumental in helping build TCU into a national powerhouse, and he has quickly brought The University of Houston back into national prominence. Whitting will break down how there is no cookie-cutter approach to helping players be successful and to building a winning program, yet there is a process, and that you must be adaptable and flexible in your process to reach maximum success. He also shares his system for developing all aspects of an individual, including a significant emphasis on the mental game. Follow Coach Whitting on Twitter @ToddWhitting.

This weeks guest is Jim Schlossnagle, Head Baseball Coach at TCU. Coach Schloss is one of the top minds in all of collegiate coaching and has led TCU to the 2010 and 2014 CWS. Schloss was recently named Big 12 Conference Baseball coach of the year in 2015 and was the on field manager of the Team USA Baseball Collegiate National Team in 2013. In this podcast, Coach Schloss shares his journey to the pinnacle of college baseball, insight behind the creation of his over 1,000,000 x viewed Quiet Confidence Video, his advice for young coaches on decision making, what it takes to develop a winning culture and a winning mindset as well as the 3 qualities he looks for when hiring a coach on his staff. Follow Coach Schlossnagle on Twitter @TCUSchloss

This week's guest is Erik Bakich, Head Baseball Coach at The University of Michigan. Coach Bakich led the Wolverines to the Big 10 Conference Championship in 2015 and participated in the NCAA Tournament for the first time as a head coach. I first started working with Bakich when he was an assistant coach at Vanderbilt in 2007 and have worked with him in his head coaching stops at The University of Maryland and now at Michigan. Bakich is one of the most well rounded coaches I have ever worked with. When I am asked by other coaches what programs they should go visit to learn from, Michigan is always near or at the top of my list because of the tremendous accelerated player development system Bakich and his staff run on a daily basis. Bakich played for Keith LeClair at East Carolina University and was teammates with our most downloaded podcast with current ECU Baseball Coach Cliff Godwin. He has also coached under legends Jack Leggett at Clemson and Tim Corbin at Vanderbilt. He was on the staff in Nashville with one of the most respected pitching teachers in the world in Derek Johnson, now the pitching coordinator for the Chicago Cubs. To reach your maximum potential, it extends beyond the playing field. We reached back into the archives for this podcast, recorded on April 12, 2013 because of the fabulous strategies for success Bakich shares that you can use to help close the gap from where you are to where you want to be in your program and in your life. Bakich discusses his journey to becoming a Division 1 Head Coach, as well as the demands of having such a position, the difference between being a champion and winning a championship, his weekly leadership, mental conditioning and perspective building sessions, what it takes to have double energy at the house and at the field, the importance of EXTREME organization, having a daily routine and knowing what it is you want to accomplish each day are also among the topics of discussion this week. Coach Bakich also sits in the hot seat and gives rapid fire answers about: National Anthem Compared To What Perspective Poster Concentration Grids Breathing Process Life skills The compound effect Make your bed Recruiting Reading one book per week Omaha The peak performance journal Measurement = motivation The importance of nutrition Leaving a legacy Servant leadership Pat Tillman

Cliff Godwin is the head baseball coach at East Carolina University and one of the top young coaches in all of NCAA athletics. Godwin worked as an assistant under two national championship winning coaches in Tim Corbin at Vanderbilt and under Paul Manari at LSU. He also was instrumental as an assistant coach in leading Ole Miss to Omaha in 2014. I have know Cliff since 2012 when we worked together with Ole Miss Baseball. He has impressed me with his energy, competitiveness and ability to connect with players and get them to play at their best on a consistent basis. As a head coach, his press conference was truly impressive in that he outlined his vision for ECU baseball and the PIRATES MISSION and has since been working relentlessly to make that vision come to fruition. In this podcast, Cliff breaks down the PIRATES MISSION and what he has believes makes a player and a program flourish in the mental side of the game.