A very cool discussion with a baseball maverick on building a startup, the practicality of data analytics and earning a career in sports.

https://www.athletelab.io/ | https://www.linkedin.com/company/athletelab/

*Originally recorded on August 22nd, 2024.

3:13

Collin pitched at McGill University in Canada and dealt with his shoulder not holding up. He then transferred to Elon University and attended the MLB Winter Meetings as a student. Collin was interviewed for a sales position with the Miami Marlins, but misinterpreted the sales pitch he had to prepare. His off-schedule confidence earned the job.

8:40

“Bringing it” as a college pitcher, first game jitters and getting cut every year from high school baseball provided Collin no shortage of reasons to stay motivated, up his throwing velocity and mental skills.

13:02

Collin learned through the circumstance of not playing that his value add could be bridging the gap between data analytics and on-field play. He learned to code baseball data from a friend during Covid and would spend 10-12 hours per day at his craft. His video analytics at Georgia Southern allowed him the opportunity to become an Assistant Pitching Coach for the Baltimore Orioles in Single-A.

22:48

Helping three ball players at Georgia Southern reach the pro ranks and constantly getting better as an analytics developer and communicator as a coach became hallmarks for Collin that he takes with him into his new position as the Pitching Coach for Siena College in New York.

28:17

Forging a unique career path created curiosity among younger individuals asking Collin how to have a career in sports. This unintentionally led to Athlete Lab which has had a high success rate in placing high-capacity individuals in pro sports.

Outside Your Lane is a podcast on the ground-up climb of sports, available on Apple and Spotify.

Luke Borek Osicka is a sports management student with a background as a singer-songwriter. Pod intro: “Prayer” by Psalm/Trees. To connect, send an email at [email protected].