EP 8 Baseball, Books, and the Beacon of Hope with Atlanta Metro RBI's John and Jordan Hollins

FFEP08HOLLINS

[: 00:00:00

[00:00:32] Jim Powell: Welcome to Fans First, a sports [00:00:35] podcast. My name is Jim Powell. I am proud and honored to be your host today. And we've got a very [00:00:40] special baseball, somewhat baseball oriented program with a little mixture of some other [00:00:45] community service and, um, other goals that, uh, our guests have set for [00:00:50] themselves and for a lot of young people who could use some mentoring and, and, uh, some [00:00:55] experience before they get thrown into the middle of the swimming pool called life.

[: 00:00:58

[00:01:24] Jim Powell: And that [00:01:25] is trying to, uh, inspire, uh, young people in metro Atlanta and elsewhere, [00:01:30] um, to pay attention to their academics, to learn [00:01:35] how to live a disciplined life and be ready to, uh, move on forward in their [00:01:40] coming chapters in life. Is that pretty much what, what y'all's goals are? Yes. [00:01:45] So, so, so my question first is, because a lot of people [00:01:50] probably aren't, you know, Totally familiar with your organization.

[: 00:01:52

[00:02:00] John Hollins: Thought you'd never ask. Um, ATL Metro RBI, we founded it. My, [00:02:05] my father was a police officer and would go into, um, uh, [00:02:10] neighborhoods in DeKalb County, Kirkwood. Uh, it wasn't, um, uh, an [00:02:15] upscale community back then, uh, it was, uh, adjacent to East Lake Meadows, uh, [00:02:20] was a project housing, uh, housing project, and he would go in and get kids and [00:02:25] take them up to the camp memorial and teach them baseball as much as he possibly could.[00:02:30]

[: 00:02:30

[00:02:55] John Hollins: And I started that, uh, my kids were fortunate, [00:03:00] uh, to go to Padilla school, which is a private school in Atlanta. And, um, they [00:03:05] had some of the luxuries of life. But many of these other kids did not, and I grew up not [00:03:10] having those things. And so I had an understanding of what that was like and what a [00:03:15] difference it made in my life.

[: 00:03:16

[00:03:38] John Hollins: Two rookie of the years, [00:03:40] uh, Kyle Lewis 2020 and Michael Harris [00:03:45] 2022. We partnered with some notable people out in the marketplace, [00:03:50] uh, that you may have heard of Marquis Grissom. Yes. With a big help in [00:03:55] starting my RBI program because he would bring four teams. To the [00:04:00] table to help me put this together.

[: 00:04:02

[00:04:26] John Hollins: Is it for kids to play baseball or is it mentoring and getting them in [00:04:30] school? And we knew what our real purpose was. So we said that we will continue to support the [00:04:35] RBI program, but it was time for us to break away and do what we do on our own. [00:04:40] And we've been successful over those last 4 years to help over 35 kids go [00:04:45] to college.

[: 00:04:45

[00:05:12] John Hollins: And God always has a way of [00:05:15] stepping in and telling you what's best. And once he hurt himself [00:05:20] and he was rehabbed and wasn't able to get back on with another professional team, [00:05:25] I thought maybe it's coming to an end and I would move on with the other chapter in [00:05:30] my life. But, He said, Dad, I'm not gonna go to law school like I, like my [00:05:35] oldest son, uh, he played ball and then went on to law school and he's an attorney with the city of [00:05:40] Atlanta.

[: 00:05:40

[00:06:07] John Hollins: Uh, and I'm talking. [00:06:10] Medium kids. I'm not talking about the top dogs. The top dogs get recruited by the top programs [00:06:15] in East Cobb. The top programs, uh, here, uh, even, uh, some of the [00:06:20] ones that I've mentioned, they go after the top dogs, but I look at, I was a mediocre [00:06:25] kid at 11 and 12. But my senior year in high school, I led the state in E.

[: 00:06:29

[00:06:54] John Hollins: [00:06:55] Why are you not? He said, John, don't give me a hard time. He said, we need more people like you to get [00:07:00] in the community and teach them the real the game. He said, it's really raw. He said, there's not a [00:07:05] lot of coaches out there like when you were around. And I realized that baseball was a game passed [00:07:10] down from father to son.

[: 00:07:11

[00:07:36] John Hollins: The other two are athleticism enhanced by skill. So if you have [00:07:40] the athleticism. We can teach you the skill shortly and you're okay. But baseball, you [00:07:45] can be the fastest guy in the world, but you can't steal first base. You can throw a hundred miles an hour, but you [00:07:50] got to throw it over the plate. So there's skills, mechanics, different things that have to be taught.

[: 00:07:54

[00:08:31] John Hollins: So Jordan does the majority of the training. [00:08:35] I'll let him talk about his efforts, what he's been able to do his [00:08:40] accomplishments and and what motivates him to inspires him to continue to do what he do. So go ahead. [00:08:45] Jordan.

[: 00:08:45

[00:08:55] Jordan Hollins: Ultimately, that's our biggest goal. Um, we always kind of say it, we want to [00:09:00] give back, uh, the lessons of baseball and softball to the youth, but also [00:09:05] be able to give those, those goals or those lessons that you learn [00:09:10] through baseball and softball that relate to life. And so that's kind of how [00:09:15] my life came about.

[: 00:09:16

[00:09:38] Jordan Hollins: Anything can happen to you, [00:09:40] and you kind of just got to roll with the punches and just see how, you know. You're going to get through it. How are you going [00:09:45] to overcome that? So, um, after I finished playing, I [00:09:50] ended up playing pro ball and tore my labrum. Like he said, I just wanted to come back and [00:09:55] give back to my community immediately.

[: 00:09:57

[00:10:16] Jordan Hollins: And then after that, coaching was the easy part. Um, so [00:10:20] it was, it was just, uh, through that. So. Now, uh, my [00:10:25] focus is giving lessons, um, given about 5 to [00:10:30] 8 lessons a day, depending on the day, uh, as well as coaching three [00:10:35] different teams. And, uh, we're growing, uh, through that process as well. So, um, [00:10:40] every day is a new day and we're trying to figure out how [00:10:45] we can.

[: 00:10:45

[00:11:05] Jordan Hollins: And

[: 00:11:05

[00:11:27] John Hollins: The kids really respond to him. [00:11:30] Uh, they, uh, they play for him, uh, kind of like a bobby cocks, you know, the kids [00:11:35] love playing for Jordan and, and as we know, in the pros, the players love playing [00:11:40] for Bobby Cox and a great coach. Sometimes it's somebody who has a handle on all the [00:11:45] X and O's. And I think I fall in that category pretty good.

[: 00:11:48

[00:12:09] Jim Powell: Well, you two [00:12:10] fine gentlemen, I can tell you're both huge sports fans, of course, obviously [00:12:15] baseball fans, but you also you keep stressing the power of the [00:12:20] mentorship aspect of this. It's not just about baseball. How do you balance it? Um, [00:12:25] trying to prepare the kids for going on to a successful life [00:12:30] versus trying to make them great baseball players.

[: 00:12:33

[00:12:35] John Hollins: Well, I, I believe you can. Um, mentoring is not, [00:12:40] um, it's not a job, uh, as much as, you know, Coaching can become a [00:12:45] job. Um, mentoring is a way of life and teaching the [00:12:50] principles that I was raised by my father, uh, of doing what is right by [00:12:55] God, you know, Michael Harris. is one of our players that played with us.

[: 00:12:59

[00:13:21] John Hollins: I was honored by Barack Obama, uh, as a lifetime [00:13:25] achievement award for community service, um, unbeknownst to [00:13:30] my son, uh, people outside of the realm who have the [00:13:35] authority to choose these people will find people who are doing things in the community [00:13:40] over a five year period of more making a difference in kids lives or communities.

[: 00:13:44

[00:14:09] John Hollins: It's our priority. [00:14:10]

[: 00:14:11

[00:14:32] Jim Powell: What is it about baseball that you find, [00:14:35] maybe the lessons you learn from the sport that make, make it a perfect vehicle for you to? [00:14:40]

[: 00:14:40

[00:15:01] Jordan Hollins: You might go over 3044. With [00:15:05] four strikeouts, but just because you struck out doesn't mean you can't wake up the next day, go to the [00:15:10] cage, prepare the same way and expect to do better the next game. And the same way about life. [00:15:15] You have to wake up the same, the same exact way with the same exact [00:15:20] passion, or you're going to lose that day.

[: 00:15:22

[00:15:42] Jordan Hollins: It's just learning on how to do that at the higher [00:15:45] level. And how to be able to take it and run with it in your life. How can I apply this to [00:15:50] be a better young man, a better young woman, um, a better son, a better daughter. [00:15:55] So, um, at the end of the day, if we can be able to tie, continue [00:16:00] to tie the sport into life, I don't think, uh, it's very difficult to be able [00:16:05] to relate with them because they kind of bring the energy themselves.

[: 00:16:08

[00:16:29] Jim Powell: So [00:16:30] look at you now. . Yeah. . Look at you now.

[: 00:16:32

[00:16:50] John Hollins: We play up so that they can handle adversity. At the highest [00:16:55] level. And when they get 16 and 17, the adversity begins to drone on, they become very recruitable [00:17:00] because now at 13, they were playing against 15 and 14 at 16. And so [00:17:05] we do that. And what was that's done is given us an opportunity to not [00:17:10] create false hope, but in the same sense, Create a competitor, [00:17:15] somebody who has that lion competitiveness because he's having to scrap [00:17:20] all the time.

[: 00:17:21

[00:17:45] John Hollins: Uh, the umpires give them all the calls, the coaches pick them up and bring [00:17:50] them back where they want to. They promised some playing time and I get here thinking I got the best player and he's waiting [00:17:55] for me to tell him when he's going to start in the freshman. So, we find that [00:18:00] playing up, teaching them to compete, teaching them the aspects of the failure of the game.[00:18:05]

[: 00:18:05

[00:18:26] John Hollins: He said, well, I'd love for him. I said, then he needs to play up. [00:18:30] And unfortunate to that call, the first game he played in, he faced a kid that was 15th [00:18:35] on 87 and it's signed from Tennessee, so he struck out three times. [00:18:40] And I found out he had never struck out all last year, the year before that. And that really [00:18:45] hurt him because he was like, Oh my God, I can't play.

[: 00:18:48

[00:19:16] John Hollins: Uh, a base basketball, a baseball, the coding [00:19:20] aspects, because we're trying to develop them all the way around. And we understand that [00:19:25] technology is the future, even though AI is taken over in a lot of areas, somebody [00:19:30] has to program AI, somebody has to be a part of that. And so we do that. And [00:19:35] we're fortunate to partner with a hedge fund company out of New York that pays for the laptop [00:19:40] space for the, you know, The training and it's all free for the kids.

[: 00:19:43

[00:20:11] John Hollins: It has no culture bearing. It just has an access to resources. [00:20:15] And if those access to resources are there, then all people can be successful. So we [00:20:20] try to make sure that those access to resources are there. So we can continue to uplift the kids [00:20:25] academically and athletically.

[: 00:20:26

[00:20:28] Jim Powell: I could go on with this [00:20:30] conversation like all day and all night. I I'm, I'm loving it. I love your approach to everything. [00:20:35] Um, but I do want to ask you about your November 10th event that you've got coming up [00:20:40] in Decatur off Covington Highway. The local Black Legends of Baseball, I know you all [00:20:45] care a lot about the people who laid the groundwork to allow people like you to be able to [00:20:50] reach these kids and to teach baseball and all that.

[: 00:20:52

[00:20:55] John Hollins: It was kind of a brainchild of mine. I really wanted to honor [00:21:00] those in the community that had played baseball, that they grew up in this community [00:21:05] that helped coach at Gresham Park, where I grew up playing baseball [00:21:10] and many of the other Michael Harris, Quincy Carter, I can go on and on.

[: 00:21:14

[00:21:37] John Hollins: And what are some of the greatest memories? One of [00:21:40] our guys, Ron Smith played with Satchel Paige. And so what was some of the [00:21:45] fun memories of playing with Satchel Paige? And, and he was with the San Francisco Giants [00:21:50] left after being released from there, and I think he left. I'm not sure his story, but [00:21:55] he started playing with Satchel Paige and one of the most memorable times.

[: 00:21:58

[00:22:20] John Hollins: Another one of the members is Robert Smith. I mean, I'm sorry, Robert Mitchell, Robert [00:22:25] Mitchell coached at Morehouse when, um, they had no scholarships, no [00:22:30] feel, uh, and, uh, he and the athletic director who I played [00:22:35] with, Andre Patel, made it possible to reenact and bring baseball back to [00:22:40] Morehouse and they played over at a park field.

[: 00:22:41

[00:23:01] John Hollins: He came over, he was a, uh, batting, uh, [00:23:05] instructor for the East Cobb Astros. And then the Titans up in East Cobb. And he [00:23:10] came and saw me and he said, man, I want to help a program like yours. He's a three [00:23:15] time drafted ballplayer scouted for two professional teams knows [00:23:20] everybody introduced me to vital blue before he passed, which was my childhood idol.[00:23:25]

[: 00:23:25

[00:23:50] John Hollins: He was at Rand High School. Andrean has put more African Americans in high [00:23:55] school and professional baseball than any other high school in the nation. But not only that, [00:24:00] he's created a LE Legacy and, uh, uh, for Rand Baseball in, for [00:24:05] DeKalb baseball. He has a program called MVP Most Viable [00:24:10] Prospects. My son, uh, oldest was one of the inaugural players that played [00:24:15] with.

[: 00:24:15

[00:24:39] John Hollins: And [00:24:40] these guys Can tell stories and can be honored for all the stuff [00:24:45] that they've done for baseball and for baseball for young men of color who [00:24:50] ordinarily may not gravitate towards the sport, had it not been for their [00:24:55] legacy and for what they've done. So we're going to give them the opportunity to talk about that and then talk about [00:25:00] the things of baseball that.

[: 00:25:01

[00:25:20] John Hollins: You know, I saw something where a kid hits the ball out of his hand. He hits it, goes and get it. [00:25:25] It's and goes and get it down out an hour in a farm town. And that's how [00:25:30] he got good because he was passionate enough. He got his shape running back and forth and hit the ball. [00:25:35] Whatever the case is, what did the old guys do that make them love this game [00:25:40] so much?

[: 00:25:40

[00:25:43] Jim Powell: Well, I know Sam Crenshaw is going to [00:25:45] be a big part of your event coming up in November as well as someone that I know pretty well. Um, [00:25:50] and you know, really well. Um, so that's going to be a, that's going to be a great event. November 10th, [00:25:55] 2 to 4 PM in Decatur off Covington highway.

[: 00:25:59

[00:26:12] John Hollins: I'm glad you asked. Uh, that's, uh, if [00:26:15] they go to ATL Metro. RBI dot O R [00:26:20] G and there's a donation page, whatever donation they can give.

[: 00:26:24

[00:26:45] John Hollins: So anything people can do. And if you have a kid, a daughter or a [00:26:50] son that wants to train and get better. Please reach out to us. Phone numbers are on that [00:26:55] website as well. Reach out to us. Let's see if we can work some out. We're very, very affordable [00:27:00] for private lessons, uh, for team training. Uh, and then we [00:27:05] have teams that we put together, uh, as well.

[: 00:27:07

[00:27:19] Jim Powell: Always. [00:27:20] I grew up with them as well. So. Uh, we've got that in common also. So, uh, thank you so [00:27:25] much, guys, for coming on and sharing your your journey and your goals and your [00:27:30] aspirations and the way you're helping these young men and women is really, really impressive.

[: 00:27:34

[00:27:55] Jim Powell: I'm all in favor of that, but also make them get prepared for, [00:28:00] for real life, whether they end up being professional players or not love the work they're doing, I hope [00:28:05] that, uh, anybody that's watched or listened. Uh, to this podcast can jump in, go to their website, [00:28:10] uh, as they described it earlier and, uh, and, and look to help them out.

[: 00:28:14

[00:28:34] Jim Powell: com. Please [00:28:35] keep your submissions to no more than 45 seconds in length. We want you to be a part of our show. [00:28:40] So glad you joined us for today's episode. We look forward to seeing you again very soon. I'm Jim Powell [00:28:45] saying so long for now on fansfirstpodcast. com.[00:28:50]

[: 00:28:52

[00:29:16] Voice Over: See you next [00:29:20] [00:29:25] time.