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Jan 18, 2021

On this episode, MindStrong Project founder Harvey Martin and Strength Coach Brian Peters have an amazingly energizing conversation with Rich Hill, the Head Baseball Coach at the University of San Diego.  

In our conversation, Coach Hill shares his thoughts on how his success in coaching has been so sustainable.  A few themes stuck out - Relationships and Connection.  Coach Hill leans on influences such as Brené Brown, Nick Saban, and Mike Krzyzewski.  He expresses an approach of treating players with firmness, while also being an authentic human.  Brian and Harvey reflect how their own relationships with their leaders have held similar sentiments. 

Furthermore, Coach Hill discusses the importance of cultivating a strong mindset.  He dives into the benefit of having a dynamic mental toolbox, and learning how to interact with fear.  One overarching theme encompassed the entire conversation - Gratitude.  Throughout the entire show, Coach Hill's mindset of abundance and appreciation were both inspiring and contagious.  

Coach Hill has built the USD Toreros into one of the premier Division I baseball programs on the West Coast.  In his 33 years as a head coach at the collegiate level (22 at USD), he Coach Hill has amassed 28 winning seasons and is the youngest coach in the West Coast Conference (WCC) with 1,000 wins.  He is also the winningest coach, both active and all-time, in the WCC.  Coach Hill has seen his Toreros win 6 conference championships, and garnered national attention regularly - being ranked or receiving votes in 15 consecutive years.

Hill has coached dozens of All-Americans, a handful of Major Leaguers- highlighted by the Chicago Cubs' Kris Bryant, reached 8 NCAA tournaments, hosted an NCAA regional as a National seed in 2007, and was the U.S. Collegiate National Team Head Coach in 2015.

From our conversation with Coach, we also gathered that he is chasing every competitive edge possible, and leaning on his faith to impact the lives of collegiate players daily.  Coach Hill spends his days surfing, doing breathwork and meditation, speaking, and aiming to connect with others in the most authentic and vulnerable way.  After spending just an hour with Coach Hill, it's no surprise to see the success he's had at USD.  

***Special Thanks to our great friend and mentor Logan Gelbrich, a former USD Torero himself, who connected us with Coach Hill.