Quotes: Skip Johnson Press Conference

Quotes: Skip Johnson Press Conference
Location: Norman, Okla. - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Date: June 3, 2017

TOBY ROWLAND

Opening Statement:

“Welcome everyone. It is an exciting day for Oklahoma baseball. For only the 10^th time in the 112-year history of this prestigious program, Oklahoma has a new head man. For those of us who have gotten to know Skip so well over the past year and for everybody in the college baseball world who has gotten to know Skip so well over the past couple of decades, this is certainly an exciting day. It is a day for the OU baseball family to unite. I see Coach (Enos) Semore is here, Coach (Larry) Cochell is here today, we are in the not too distant future going to undergo a multimillion dollar, eyepopping renovation at Mitchell Park under head coach Skip Johnson. These are certainly exciting days. And now to introduce the new head baseball coach of the Oklahoma Sooners, please welcome Athletics Director Joe Castiglione.”

JOE CASTIGLIONE

Opening Statement:

“Thank you very much, Toby. We appreciate everything that you do serving as our voice of so many things of Oklahoma Athletics. We really appreciate you. As Toby said, it truly is a big day for Oklahoma baseball as we start a new era under Skip Johnson. As I look around the room, I see former players, former coaches, current players, current coaches on our staff and other staff members. It just shows you how important uniting our family really is. I appreciate you all being here. That show of support is truly vital for our program. In fact, it's important for us to build upon it, to cultivate it, as we develop the kinds of resources that our program is going to need as we go forward to pursue championships.

“As we all know, there's a journey, a process, to developing the skills of individual players and building chemistry of a team. Teams generally take on the personality of their leaders. When we vetted a variety of excellent candidates for this job, we learned a lot of good things about each one of them. I'd like to thank Greg Tipton, some of our head coaches, our staff, that all served in helping throughout the search process. I really appreciate your input.

“We wanted someone who had been part of winning championships, who had been to Omaha. We found it in Arthur Johnson. His passion, his purpose, his vision, his plan, continually impressed us. OK, I see a few of you are like ‘I think he just said the wrong name, Arthur.' There are a lot of people in here who didn't know his real name was Arthur, did you? You're wondering, ‘How do you get Skip out of Arthur?' Well, not to digress, but as the story goes, they had a neighbor that was named Skip. And when his mother was pregnant with Arthur, Skip's older brother would pat his mother's belly and would say, ‘There's my Skipper. There's my Skipper.' So while he was born Arthur, from that moment, he was always known as Skip.

“Regardless of how he got his nickname, we studied and learned a lot about his relationship-building skills, eye for talent, his player development and knowledge of the game. All those that he would encounter came away loving him and being inspired by his own spirit. They trusted him, they listened to him, they considered him a brother, a teacher, a mentor, obviously a coach. He embodies the kinds of characteristics that we totally believe are the strength of our Sooner Magic culture and what we believe is important to the formula for our ultimate success. Now, don't let his down-to-earth demeanor trick you into thinking that he isn't a competitor. He might try to trick you into thinking that, but he is a fierce competitor. You're not going to out-hunt him, you're not going to out-fish him, and believe me, don't try to go bowling with him. Whether it's rolling strikes or throwing strikes, Skip is a fierce competitor and he conveys that to all those around him.

“So when we put all these pieces together, and all the other characteristics that we believed were important in hiring the next coach, we realized that we actually had the best person right here as it would be…in the bullpen. So I guess it's only proper that I turn to Skip and I give you the signs and ask you that you now come out, sprint to the mound, and take over the baseball as our new head coach. So won't you join me in welcoming the new skipper, Skip Johnson.

“Before we get going into some of Skip's remarks, I'd like to ask Cathy, Tyler and Garrett to join me at the podium. I'd like a picture because as you know, family is the root of everything we do here.”

SKIP JOHNSON

Opening Statement:

“Following those two guys is probably going to be pretty tough. They can really talk, and it's pretty awesome.

“I want to thank the OU Board of Regents, President Boren, Athletics Director Joe Castiglione, Senior Associate Athletics Director Greg Tipton, for having the conviction and the faith in me to carry this program on to, I don't know about bigger and better things, but to carry this program on and make sure that we develop players and lead these young men and student-athletes to bigger and better things.

“First off, I want to thank my family for all the things they've done. It's been a long time coming. Twenty-seven years of college baseball, and my wife, Cathy, Tyler and Garrett, it's been a lot of long nights probably waiting on me to come in from the road, putting 370,000 miles on my truck, or being gone for 27 days in a row recruiting and just trying to make ends meet when I was at a junior college and of course again at Texas. I want to thank you guys for being there for me.

“The next thing I kind of want to start is I want to thank Ryan Gaines, Mike Anderson, Dillon Stanley, Berto (Roberto Gallegos) and Robert Fulton for being here for me and to talk about the family over at the baseball field and what we've done. To our players, relationships are everything with me. You can go win national championships, but it's the relationships that matter to me. It's getting the phone call at 2 o'clock in the morning, or a guy struggling in professional baseball, or he comes in your office and talks to you, that's what matters. We can win championships, there's no doubt I want to win championships as bad as anybody, but the relationships mean everything to me, always have and always will. That's the only reason I'm here, the relationships I've built before.

“A player development program means a lot to me as well. I think the biggest thing for us on an everyday basis if we're going to engage with our eyes and our heart as coaches, and we're going to encourage young men positively and give them every opportunity to get better and making sure that the team comes first in every form and fashion. Love and caring players are very important to me because without these guys, there's no us. That's the only reason I'm up here. I got a lot of texts last night from former players, and I've just texted back and said ‘You guys made it happen as well as I did.' If you leave your mark on a kid's heart, you carve your name on a kid's heart, you can carve it on marble. A lot of former coaches that are here, I appreciate it. They understand what I'm talking about. And former players because the ultimate goal is to carve your name on their heart, and then marble because it's important to me that you guys are here as well to understand that I'm going to try and carry on the tradition that you left, the mark that you left.

“To all my mentors, to kind of tell a story, my high school coach, Coach Blair, he made me love the game every day. I was at Denton High School, me and Tim Tadlock, he's at Texas Tech, he was a sophomore and I was a senior. He made us love the game every day to come out and practice and get better. Then I got the opportunity to sign a scholarship with Ranger Junior College for $250, wasn't a lot of money. I knew that it was a place where I didn't have an air conditioner in my dorm room, or a heater, and there were crickets everywhere, and I learned a lot about what mental toughness was about. It was important to me at that time. Then I got the opportunity to go play for some of the greatest men I've met, Al Ogletree and Reggie Treadaway. These are mentors of mine, they're very important to me, because they taught me how to teach the game and direct each other one step at a time because teaching the game is fun. You see these guys that are out here that teach the game, but it's more about learning one step at a time because that's what learning is. These guys taught me the patience of it, in it. Then getting the opportunity from Bob McElroy and Keith Thomas. Keith Thomas is a former OU alum that played football here and coached here. These guys gave the opportunity at Navarro to coach where I got to the learn the failures and the successes of the game by getting to practice seven, eight, nine hours a day. I know there weren't any compliance rules if there are any compliance people out there, at junior college. It was about making them better. I learned a lot at Navarro of what to do and what not to do. Then I got the opportunity to coach for a great man named Augie Garrido, and I learned a lot from him and Tommy Harmon along the way. The pressures of the game was really what I learned there. I really thought I knew what I was doing when I went there, and come to find out, I didn't know. So I had to really make sure that I practice those pressures that those kids are going to go through. If you're going to ask those guys to do something, we need to go through that pressure. I really learned a lot there.

“To all the alumni, my door's always open. I want you to come. I want to visit with you. Come to the bullpen, come around. These guys want to know what you went through when you were here. It's important to our players to understand that you left a mark here and we're going to carry on the tradition and we're going to carry the torch. To the guys that sit out on the berm, it's very important that you guys are there for us as well. The red couch guy that sits out there that we have fun with, have to send the policeman out there every day, we love you guys. And for the Yard Birds that sit up in the stands and yell and scream at us about throwing strikes, just make sure you understand they're amateurs, too. They're not professionals and we're going to do everything we can. And we don't have a joystick in the dugout to make them swing and miss it or make them hit the ball with some kind of shock collar on their neck.

“Our product on the field is going to be tough. Guys are going to get after it. We're going to play hard every day, and that's the expectation, that's accountability. I learned about OU from Tim Tadlock and the OU brand a long time ago when he was here and I was at a junior college. He told me that his place had high expectations and what it was about, the atmosphere as a family-owned business. I was here for a year. I believe it. I know how important Oklahoma athletics and Oklahoma baseball is to the state of Oklahoma. I've built a lot of relationships here the year that I was here and continue to want to build those relationships as we go on in the near future. I really appreciate it and am honored to carry the torch for the University of Oklahoma as the head baseball coach.”

Q&A Quotes from Johnson and Castiglione

Skip Johnson

On why he loves baseball:

“My dad was a big football guy and it's kind of funny, I grew up in a bowling alley. I was really good at football, but we practiced so hard it kind of made me hate football, so to speak. I kind of started hating football and started loving baseball. I had a little league coach, me and (Texas Tech head coach) Tim (Tadlock), a 7-up (team). We were around him a lot, he'd give us a five-gallon bucket and he'd run us through the orchard telling us to meet him on the other end. We were around him a lot, taking ground balls with him; he'd throw them to us under-handed like softball. He was a fastpitch softball pitcher. That's how we took BP. He taught us to love the game. Baseball is a game of failure, it doesn't care how you feel. I can tell you that. I love it and it reveals your character.”

On his plans for the team's offense:

“I think that a good pitching coach is always looking at offensive guys. When I got into it, I'm real passionate about my mentors Reggie Treadaway and Al Ogletree, when I got down to Pan-American it was a little bit of a culture shock. I got there two weeks late because we just got done winning the Stan Musial World Series and Coach Treadaway says ‘If you want to be a pitching coach, sit next to me and learn how to hit.' So pitching coaches are really intrigued with offensive guys because being a great pitcher you've got to try to throw two pitches for strikes in any count, hold runners and field your position. And offensively, if they put pressure on you, you get nervous from that. And if you get nervous then you're screwing up the timing of the pitcher. You look at the offensive guys that are screwing up the timing of the pitcher, then ‘Hey we've got to face these guys today. Make sure we do long holds. Make sure we get leadoff hitters out.' So then you really start regurgitating that stuff with the pitcher, make sure he understands and he's got to be on top of his game.”

On if he ever thought he'd be the head coach at Oklahoma:

“No. I envisioned being a head coach, but what is a head coach? Really a head coach is a guy that builds relationships. I tell the pitchers every night ‘Hey, every game is a Friday night game. A Tuesday game is a Friday night game because we want to win.' “Head coach” is just a title; that's all it is. It's not testimony because testimony is more important than titles. I believe that in my heart because it's about teaching and developing, and if we teach and develop, then the championships will come.”

On if he began to wonder if he'd ever be a head coach:

“I was at Navarro (College) for 16 years and got the phone call from (Texas) Coach (Augie) Garrido saying ‘meet me down here.' We're driving around Austin; it's huge. Navarro is like real little and we're driving around in a Porsche. We're talking about offense and he's showing me these houses and I'm like ‘There ain't nothing like that in Corsicana.' He puts me up in the Four Seasons and I felt like one of The Three Stooges in the bathroom; there's powder and cream everywhere. I called Cathy and said ‘I don't think I can do this.' Because Navarro was very important to me; it was where I started. I called her and went back to the south end zone and I come out and look at this big football field and go ‘If I don't do this I'm making a big mistake.' And that's where it kind of started. When I got there, it was big. But it's something we develop every day making it small. It's like a groundhog, every day if you get in a routine and schedule and make people understand the details matter.”

On where he'd be if he didn't get pushed toward Norman by Texas Tech head coach Tim Tadlock:

“Probably in professional baseball, teaching professional baseball. There's nothing wrong with that. I like that. I have a bunch of professional baseball players that I work with today, and I'm blessed to work with those guys. And I think that's what probably would've led me down that road.”

On if he was ready to get out of college baseball after leaving Texas:

“No, I went and talked to Mike Perrin, the athletic director at the University of Texas, and we sat down and talked about it. They were on a search committee hiring guys. I would've talked to the head coach, but when Pete (Hughes) and (Greg) Tipton and Ryan Gaines called about the job here I was excited. I was actually up in New England watching Tyler play, my oldest son, in the New England Collegiate League and I was excited because I know the tradition. One of my big mentors is Stan Meek, he's here today, great pitching guy. So I was excited to see that. The opportunity was there. When I got here I had to build relationships, they were hungry to learn about pitching and I was excited. I think I might've stayed there (at Texas), but I don't know. I would've stayed somewhere in baseball. If not, I'd just go guide deer hunters or something.”

On how he and the players reacted to finding out he was the head coach:
“Yesterday afternoon I found out that I was getting the job. There's a reason why he's the best athletics director in the country. He's detailed and I went through his gauntlet and answered his questions. I went through that and told him who I was, what I was about and what kind of program we're going to lead. When I found out and after I found out I was excited. I called Cathy and Tyler. Tyler was in Hickory, and I called Ryan (Gaines) All of a sudden, my phone just starts blowing up. I've got 500 texts, 500 phone calls. It's a good thing to have. We talked to the players and it solidified. When you visit with them and Joe told them I was the head coach, and I got to visit with them, they made me feel good because I'd done something this year that was in their heart, and they were all excited, you could hear them screaming and yelling on the conference call, and that's a good sign. They're ready to work.”

On hiring a pitching coach:
“I am hiring a pitching coach, but I'm going to be doing the pitching because he's a dynamic recruiter. I'm going to try to, there's no doubt about that. The guy that I'm trying to hire I can't tell you right now because he's got to go through some background checks and what not. I would want him to teach my son how to pitch, so he's a dynamic recruiter and a big personality, and that's what I like.”

On talking to players individually:
“I talked to Devon (Perez) last week when he got drafted. He was excited, and he was on the conference call but I haven't individually talked to those guys yet, but I will. That's part of the process of doing it. I told those guys, ‘You know how I feel and how I feel about you. I love every one of you. The next few days is going to be hectic, but I will call you individually as we go through this.'”

On finding out the job was open:
“It's kind of unique. I was recruiting. I'd been to McKinney and I went to Austin to watch the Texas State Tournament. I went to Houston to watch some baseball. We had two guys we were meeting to sell our house to come up here to put in new appliances, paint and put carpet in to raise the price of our house. I got a call about 11:50 from Pete (Hughes) saying they had let him go. I was shaking thinking ‘not again'. At that point, I wanted to make sure they were aware that I was interested in the job. I'm a guy that stays long term. I was at Navarro College for 16 years and I was at Texas 10 years, so I'm not going to come in here and leave. It's who I am.”

Joe Castiglione

On why he chose Skip Johnson:

“The ability to teach and recruit and to inspire people around him. If you can't do any of those three you're going to struggle. I don't care how much strategy you want to talk. And I didn't just guess on that. I called a lot of people throughout the world of baseball. We talked to people really involved in travel baseball at the scholastic level, you have these huge organizations that run travel-ball tournaments all over the country. I wanted to know about his character and how he handled himself around those areas. We talked to, obviously, a lot of people around college baseball and quite a few contacts around professional baseball who not only understood what he did with players, but understood he respected the game. So all those kind of things helped in validating what we were seeing for ourselves.”

On recruiting around the nation:
“As you know first and foremost it's starts here in Oklahoma, trying to get the best student-athletes out of this state, but being a bordering state to Texas and obviously being close to a lot of huge areas around Texas, that's a big recruiting area for us as well. When you think about Sooner baseball we've had big time players that have helped us get to Omaha and win championships over the years that came from a variety of other places around the country. California has been a huge area for us. When we talk to people who ran a lot of these tournaments, the Area Code (Games), East Cobb (Ga.), Jupiter (Fla.), big travel tournaments throughout Texas, it wasn't just like they were aware of Skip, they knew him and in fact looked forward to seeing him. They went out of their way to say that they couldn't name another coach in their memory in the recruiting times that was more visible than Skip. He went out of his way to represent whoever it was that he worked for in a classy way and make sure players knew he was there watching and evaluating talent. You think about those kinds of things that make our program successful, it's those types of things.”

On managing a team as a head coach:
“The basis of anything we do throughout our athletic program is grounded in our core values. We have ultimate conviction to them and there is no compromising them. As you know, one of the core values is being competitive, so we're not just talking about the other things without the competitive side. First and foremost, we know in today's world what it takes to recruit, particularly the unique dynamics around individual sports, and baseball has its own interesting dynamics. It starts first with those who have an eye for talent and figuring out how they could develop talent and build relationships to create the belief that this program is the best for them. Whether it's the head coach or the assistant coaches or being around the program and its atmosphere and getting them to come here. That had to be the starting point. Of course, there's the technical aspects of the game, understanding and managing the game. Skip and I talked about all those things you have to do as a head coach that you wished you didn't. You'd rather be coaching ball all of the time, but you have to deal with those other things. He's had that experience. He's been a head coach before that won a national championship, so it's not new to him. I talked to a lot of people in baseball, and I know for example Coach (Augie) Garrido talked about how much he relied on him to help build game plans and strategy and handle off the field matters like academics and compliance that go along with being a head coach. It wasn't just about the relationships part, as important as that is, it was about managing the role as head coach and getting people around him inspired to be excellent.”