003 - Candon Dahle - BYU Pitcher

All right, Cannon, thanks for being on here. I'm super excited. Um, Cannon is a junior for the BYU baseball team. You're a pitcher, right?

You pitch?

Yes, yes, pitcher. Okay, he's a pitcher, so I'm really excited to get to know him and get to know some things that he did to put himself in the position that he's at BYU. So first question I have for you, Cannon, is what are Do you have any superstitions or pregame rituals?

Um, I mean, kind of, but not really. It kind of started in high school. So, um, I, I was never really a big like headphones listening to music type of guy. Um, just 'cause, um, I was the kid that never had Spotify Premium when I was growing up. So. So I was like, I hate shuffling through songs and I have to listen to an ad. So I would always just listen to what someone was like playing on a speaker or I'd like play Brawl Stars or like Clash Royale with kids. Yeah. And like, that's what I did before the games. I don't know why, but like now I always have to play a game of Clash Royale before I like go out and pitch. Like I'll play it before I start.

Like you'll be in the dugout playing. Crash Ro— like Crash Royale?

I'll be in the locker room. I'll be in the locker room. So like before I go out and warm up, I'll sit down in the locker room. Like I try and get to the field 2 hours before just so I can kind of get loose and everything.

Yeah.

But then like I normally have to start throwing about 45 minutes before first pitch. So like an hour before I'll play like 2 or 3 games of Clash Royale before I go out. And start stretching.

That's a new one for me.

That is hilarious. That's, that's just what I do. So I don't know.

Hey, if it works, it works. We're creatures of habit. That's so funny. Um, I would always be the one, I played basketball, that was my main sport. And I, I would write in my journal, like I, I had this little gratitude journal and I'd, I'd have to like write in my journal and I listened to like a classical song before. I went out and so my teammates were like looking at me like I was crazy. Um, especially cause I saw, I saw your dad, he played for Colorado Mesa, right? I didn't know that. Yeah. That's, that's where I played.

He played for, oh, that's where you played at?

Yeah.

That's actually sick. Yeah. I, I was, I was looking it up and I was like, I didn't know that.

Yeah. Yeah. I saw he played for several schools, but I was like, Colorado Mesa. I know there. I know that place.

Pretty cool.

All my teammates, I was, um, the only member of my church there, and they were, um, they just thought I was a weirdo, like praying before the game, like doing stuff like that. They just— it was pretty funny. Oh, okay. Um, so kind of moving into you being college athlete, you started at CSI, right? Colorado Or College of Southern Idaho. Okay. And then you've recently gotten recruited to BYU. Is this your first season with them?

Yeah, so this'll be my first year. We're in the second semester here. So just getting down into season. We're supposed to start actually this Friday. So that's gonna be fun.

That's exciting. That's so cool. Yeah. What was something that you didn't expect about college baseball? About playing college baseball?

I mean, I know everyone kind of tells you that like everyone was the best on their team. That's why they're here. Like, like you're, you're not going to be the best athlete coming in just because there's going to be people that have been here for 2 years, 3 years. And in my case where I was like a COVID kid, like we had a 24-year-old at a junior college, like. Like we're not, we're not even at a 4-year and there's athletes that are 4 or I was 18, so 6 years older than me at, at some points. So, um, but I feel like that was just different, just being surrounded by total athletes. Like you kind of, you kind of get it at like showcases and stuff like that. Mm-hmm. But, um, just the speed of the game too. It's like, it's not that much faster, but it's just enough where you're just like, okay, I'm kind, I feel kind of rushed right now. I need to slow down sometimes. But how have you, that was the thing.

Yeah. How have you been able to slow your mind down? Cuz it does get, obviously it is faster. Those athletes, you, you guys are all elite. Like you're not going against kind of the average Joe back in high school. Like how do you slow your mind down for games like that?

Um, one of the things I just try to do is just focus on myself. Cause I know a lot of the times you can just, your mind can wander and you're like, oh, I gotta worry about this guy. Or like in my case, like, oh, I can't let this guy steal second. It's like most of the time that guy's not even gonna score if, if you do your job. So just focus on yourself. Don't really change anything. It's like a lot of kids when they get to the next level, they try to do too much. It's like the coaches know what you do, do what you do.

Like, mm-hmm.

Just do your thing.

Yeah, that's great advice. 'Cause I, I mean, any kid, one, you're going into this new environment and you're trying to kind of like prove yourself in a way. But yeah, it's kind of interesting how kids do that. They, they go back and they say, okay, I've gotta, gotta be larger than life here and try to just totally not stay within themselves and play their game that they were recruited for. And then they ended up, they end up playing. Far worse than if they just do what you were just saying. So I totally agree with that. I think that that's super great advice. So I want you to fill in the blank here. Um, in high school, I wish that I would have blank.

Um, this one's easy for me. Okay. But like a lot of athletes now are doing it better. Um, I, I wish I would've had like the Hansons resource earlier.

So, so explain what handstands is to everyone who doesn't know.

Um, um, so for people who don't know, it's mostly, uh, like sports-specific training or like, uh, more explosive, like sport-oriented instead of just like doing like bodybuilding workouts and like, oh, I'm gonna get really strong, really big. Like it's gonna help you trans— translate, um, power and speed and force into your sport basically. To dumb it down.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Um, what do you feel like that would've done for you?

I feel like it would've helped me so much more just because, um, like my senior year I, I couldn't bench 135s coming outta high school. Like I was, I was the, the weakest kid ever. Like I, like I was never in the weight room. Like I'd mess around with the friends there. Like we had to take a weights class for baseball and basketball. But it was not the same. All my other friends were football. Yeah, but it was like, all my football guys are like, oh, they're repping out 135, like it's for their warmup. And I'm like, I can't even hit that for one. Like, good for you, I guess. But, um, I wish I just would have started that sooner because like, I was also, I was also like super underweight because I graduated at 6'3" and I was 180 pounds, maybe 175. Like I was super underweight, but once I got to CSI, that was something I just took a lot more seriously. And I, I put on weight, like I went from 175 to 205, 210, and just kind of maintained that. I think right now I'm at like 217 was weigh-ins today. So like you're just constantly trying to move up, but also like that weights aspect of pushing yourself. And actually, actually moving up in that instead of like, oh, I'm gonna goof around with friends and hang out. Like everyone else here is doing the same thing as you. Like they're motivated to push you. So I wish I would've just started that sooner.

Yeah, I totally, I subscribe to that, what you just say, because if kids want to be exceptional, if they want to be elite, they have to train exceptionally and train like the elite. Right? And like, for most kids, they are getting a lot better nowadays. And I wish I would have had something like Hanson Athletics in high school as well, because it would have been a lot better for me too. But I think that that's the disconnect that some kids have, is they have these big goals, these big aspirations, but they're not really lining up their— the works. They have the talk, but they're not doing the walk. In a way, you know? Mm-hmm. Exactly. All right. So on the flip side, in high school, I wish I would have— no, in high school, I am glad that I, like, what would you fill in?

Um, uh, so this one's kind of weird just 'cause like most people wouldn't take this as a positive, but I was kind of happy I was a late bloomer, so. Like, like I was, I think my freshman year of high school, I know it's not small, but I was, I was 5'8" my freshman year of high school. And, um, like that, that forced me like in basketball, like normally you're like, oh, the basketball players are tall. Like, yeah. But it forced me to like, oh, I have to be better at everyone at this thing. I have to be better at everyone at this thing. 'Cause I'm not the fastest kid. I'm not the tallest kid. Like I need, I need to shoot the ball well, I need to control the ball well, I need to be able to pass the ball well. Or like in baseball, it's like, I know I'm not, I'm not hitting home runs, but I'm gonna, I'm gonna get on base any way I can. I'm gonna walk, I'm gonna, I'm gonna hit a single up the middle, like in high school when I used to hit. Yeah.

Um, can't do that anymore.

And then having, yeah, I don't do that anymore., but I was like, oh, I'm not, I'm not going to be able to do this part, but I'm going to, I'm going to throw the ball harder than anyone. Like I'm going to work on that. I'm going to throw it better than everyone. Like that was, that was how I thought. And then once that growth spurt or like development kicked in where I went from 5'8 to 6'2, 5'8 to 6 foot, whatever your, your little spurt is, having that already built into me. Helped so much.

I love that you brought that up. I actually, you know, Mitch Matthews played, he was a receiver for BYU, so I had a, I did a podcast with him the other day and we were talking about that exact thing because I kind of asked him what advice would you give to high schoolers now, and it was very along those lines of, you know, like people are born with height they're born with incredible, like, amounts of maybe muscle. There's just some, like, freak athletes out there who don't have to put as much work in as other kids. Um, but he says a lot of kids use that as an excuse or a cop-out in a way of like, I wasn't born with it genetically, so I guess I just don't have a shot. Like, I just don't have a shot of going Division 1 anywhere. And he's like, that's not true. Like, you look at Steph Curry or Klay Thompson, like They're not the tallest, they're not the fastest, they're not the strongest, yet they're some of the best players in the NBA because they've developed that skill level. Like, they— you can control— they controlled what they could control, just like you were talking about. Like, you can control, like, your hit, you can control how hard you throw, you can control, like, this skill aspect of things. You can't control your height, you can't control— I— you can control your speed a little bit. But just the freak athletes, like, you're never going to be as big and as strong as them. But if you can outskill them, coaches are going to choose that probably 10 times out of 10, right? So I love that. But then luckily, luckily for you, the, the growth spurt hit and you were able to kind of have the best of both worlds, which helped you a lot.

Yes, yes, yes, it did. It did come into play. It did come into play.

Uh, Dallis have to be tall, right? They're, they're tall, they're talking tall people.

Um, yeah, they're both, they're both tall.

Yeah, your parents, they're, they're athletes for sure. Um, okay, so you come from a small town, obviously we come from the same small town. Um, and it's hard to make it sometime for kids there. It's hard to get seen. People, there's just not a whole lot of greatness maybe that comes out of there. It's once in a blue moon at times. What do you think was the difference between you and every other pitcher who has come out of Blackfoot? What made you get recruited?

Yeah. That's interesting because I've never really thought about that. And I— because my— like I said, my recruiting route was a little different with COVID and everything. Um, but I also was never a big social media guy. So like I didn't have, I didn't have it. I had Instagram when I was like in middle school, but, um, I like got off of it my freshman, sophomore, and junior year. So like those prime years of like recruiting yourself. Yeah. Like I wasn't on Instagram. I was never on Twitter. Like, and Twitter is one of the biggest recruiting profiles in the world. Like if, if you are like, yeah, I have no shot, throw stuff out on Twitter, throw everything you have on Twitter. But, but my cousins actually had been recruited to, one of my cousins was committed to Utah. He played a year at Utah., and then, uh, he had an injury and he's like, ah, I'm not gonna get a ton of playing time here. Like, let's go to CSI. So that's kind of, that's how I kind of got my in there. And then I went to a fall camp or a winter camp and I went through with them. And that's kind of how I got recruited, which is like the complete non-traditional way. Like most kids are sending tons of emails, sending, sending videos to everyone. Like someone comes and watches their game. Like that's how that works. But I don't know, I felt like my recruiting and comparing myself to other pitchers in the area, slash Blackfoot, was completely different than everyone else.

Yeah, that makes sense. And obviously COVID did throw a lot of different variables in for athletes.

Yes, that's a lot.

Obviously you would have never got recruited if you didn't have the skill level, the talent., the ability to go to the next level. So what do you think that you did more or better than kind of the average high school baseball player?

Um, I feel like the mentality side of things I did pretty well. Like most— not saying most kids are mentally weak, but like when stuff goes wrong, it's okay to say that. Okay. Yeah. Most kids, most kids are mentally weak. Like they don't know how to handle adversity. They don't know how to handle failure. And I felt like that was something I did better just because, like, like I said, like I was the small kid, like I failed a ton. Like I, I had to learn to fail and be able to like, okay, how do I fix this? How do I get better at this? And, and that was something just like my dad had engraved in me. Um, but then like, so like, obviously you said there's natural athletes, they have natural talents. Like my thing was I threw the ball hard. Like, I don't know why, like I just, I always threw the ball harder than everyone. So it was like, okay, like we'll let this kid, we'll let this kid pitch. He throws it hard. Like, let's, let's have him try it out. And it just stuck. So thanks. That's, that's kinda where that was.

Probably. Yeah. And, and with the mentality thing, how have you seen, cuz obviously like I've heard people say, I can't remember who it was, but it was like, what is the difference between some of the best college football players and the best NFL players? It's that— and then I forget who said this, but it's like, the college players, after they drop a pass, hang their head. The NFL players, after they drop a pass, keep their head up and like are looking for the next play, right? Like, that's what, that's what separates the best of the best. And so how have you been able to translate that mentality of being okay with failure to the college level?

Um, so with like the college level for failure for me, so high school, I think I gave up one home run all through high school.

Wow.

And I was like, yeah, like I, I got this. Like I'm not giving up home runs to anyone. Like I'm, I'm the, I'm the man. Like I'm everything. Like I'm, I'm good. And then like 3 weeks into college, I give up a bomb. I'm like, Oh, I'm not as good as I thought I was. And like that kind of messes you up for a second because you're like, I'm on top of the world. And then you go up that one and you're like, dang, I might not be as good as I thought I was. I'm not this guy. And those thoughts are going to kill you. But one of the things we like, the nice thing, again, like the COVID thing, we had that 24-year-old guy that was on the team. He was a big mentor for me just being like, hey, like, pick your head up, like, go get the next one, like, go at that guy, be mad, be like, hey, I'm gonna get, I'm gonna get your friend now, like, I didn't get you, you got me that time, but I'm gonna get him now, like, just having that, like, being able to process failure and being able to not, not just bow down and like be a little puppy in a corner type deal.

Yeah, just bounce back.

Next play.

Kind of that same thing. Of course you're gonna mess up. No, no player is perfect, but it's the ones who can bounce back and just keep going.

I love that. Exactly.

Yeah. So what's the transition been like coming from a junior college to the Division I college where you're at?

Oh, it's definitely a little different just because where I went to, where I went to school at CSI, I think we had, I want to say on campus we had maybe 3,000 students and I think BYU's 40,000 now. So just that in general, is that a big difference? That's a little bit of a difference. Is a big change? Yeah, it's a little different. But from the sports side of it, junior college, there's about your 1 through 4 guys are guys that you're gonna see at the Division 1 level, and they're Division 1 players. Your 5, 6, 7, obviously I'm not saying those guys aren't elite, aren't, don't have the shot of being Division 1 guys. I'm just saying based off how a lineup works, okay, they're, they're your, those are your easier outs. Whereas Division I, 1 through 9, every dude is as good as that 1 through 4 guy at a junior college level.

Interesting. So you kind of gotta bring it. So it's like every time.

Yeah. It's like, you know, like I don't get a break with 6, 7, 8, 9. Like I have to go at 6, 7, 8, 9 now.

Right.

It's like I have to, I have to stay locked in longer.

Mm-hmm. So another thing that Mitch and I were talking about the other day, was, okay, there's 5 and 10% gains to kind of give you an edge against your competition. And sometimes your teammates in a way are your competition because you're fighting for that spot. Just like, just in a way. Okay. Um, doesn't— it can be healthy competition. It doesn't have to be, um, anything but that. But so you are doing the same workouts, the same practices, same film, same everything as your teammates, what's going to make you 5 or 10% better than them to make sure that you're getting that spot and that time on the field?

Obviously, outside, outside of scheduled time practices, like going in, getting reps with Coach pitching, it's a little more difficult because your arm can only take so much.

Like me.

However much you're doing. Like, you can swing 1,000 times, you can, you can take ground balls 1,000 times and you don't have to throw it over to first. But like, throwing, your, your arm can only take so much. So, um, I think the biggest one, like, as a pitcher is working on like pitching mechanics, um, working on location, how things feel coming out of your hand, just like practicing. Like, you don't have to throw it hard. Like, you can just, like, you can literally just throw a ball into a pillow, like just feeling it come out of your hand. Like something like that. But, um, I'd say one thing that we've talked a lot about is focusing on your strengths. A lot of kids are like, oh, I'm really good at this. I'll stay really good at this and I'll work on, I'll work on my, my weaknesses. Whereas you're like, okay, maybe you become more well-rounded, but it's like that thing that you were beating everyone with. Why would you not keep working on that instead of being like, okay, I beat everyone with this, but now I wanna also beat 'em with this. It's like, no, don't, don't fix something that's not broken.

Yeah. Keep, keep your weapon. Sharpen your tool.

Yes.

Interesting. Another thing that, um, we mentioned, and I'm a big advocate for this, obviously, like that's my job, is nutrition. Like nutrition gives people that 5 to 10% gain. And it might not be big because a lot of kids, especially in high school, they can get away with— a lot of kids can get away with it. Obviously it's going to help them, but they're— if they're an elite athlete, they're probably going to be an elite athlete with or without it. But the difference comes when you get to the next level. Like you said, everyone's the elite athlete. Everyone's that star from high school, right? So how do you— how do you approach nutrition?

We kind of— we kind of have it a little easier over here. We have a nutritionist. We work with the football nutritionist.

Kelsey Higginson.

Nice. So he kind of helps us out a lot, keeping us on a leaner, leaner, uh, meal plans just to kind of help us out. But, um, one of the biggest things is just like the amount you have to eat. Like for me, cause I, I've like, I've always known how to like maintain weight and like, oh, I need to eat this. Like I'm hungry now, let me eat. Whereas it's like here, like I wake up for weights at 5:30 and like from 5:30 to 6:00, in between that area, like I'm eating a banana with peanut butter or I'm eating a yogurt. Like I might not be hungry, but it's like I have to get that in or I'm not gonna hit what I want to hit. Like I'm not gonna be able to reach my goal.

Yeah. Have you seen a different, because this is, this is what I'm trying to drill into my athletes, my high school athletes and me. Mainly working with juniors and seniors, but have you seen a difference or do you feel a difference when you eat that snack in the morning at 5:30 versus not?

Yeah, I definitely feel it through the workout for sure. Like afterwards, obviously you're gonna eat more food, like you gotta, you gotta do whatever to keep you, keep you full and satisfied, I guess. Mm-hmm. But, um, but like when I wake up in the morning and I don't have that, I feel just super sluggish throughout the workout. Like I'm just like, I'm slow. My energy level's not completely there. I'm just like, uh, let, let's just get through this. Whereas when I have that in the morning, it's like, okay, like let's get after it. Like we're gonna push ourselves, we're gonna push hard. We're gonna, we're gonna basically go until we can't. Like, whereas the other way it's like, let's just get through this.

Like. Which makes those 5 to 10%. Gains, right? Like if you just show up to a workout and you're sluggish and you just kind of don't want to be there, you're not feeling good, you're not feeling high energy, you get out of it what you put into it. And so if you can't put much energy into it, how are you going to get anything out of it? Right? So that's what I try to— that's what I try to teach my athletes is it's not necessarily, necessarily about the banana. Like it's not necessarily about the yogurt. It's about what it does in your body for you. That translates into performance, into lifting harder, stronger, faster, stuff like that. And so I love that you have that. Obviously, it is super nice being at a school that has the resources like a nutritionist, so that's great. Yeah. Um, okay, if you could travel back in time and be your own mentor for 15-year-old Canden, what would you tell him? None.

None. Oh, that's a tough one for a 15-year-old Kandon.

Yeah, maybe like freshman. Go into your freshman year, Kandon.

That's my— um, I'd say like, obviously every coach says this, but like focusing on the little things. Like, obviously, big, like, a lot of kids love practicing, like, when I was a kid playing basketball, like, oh, you always want to practice hitting the big time shot, hit the big shot, hit the big shot at the end, like, hit those big things, but it's like, you're not in that scenario if you don't take care of the ball, if you don't, if you're, if you can't, if you can't handle, if you can't handle with like dribbling, if you can't pass well. If, if you don't play defense well, if you're not able to slide over, if you get in foul trouble, like you're not able to do that moment. If you don't do those little things for, for him to be like, hey, he has to be in for this moment. And that's, that's kind of something that it took me till like my junior year to figure out. But like my freshman year would have been awesome to have that.

What would the little things have looked like for you from a baseball perspective?

I'd say taking catch play more seriously because obviously as a pitcher, that's what we do is we throw the ball every day. And it's a very, it's a very short window. It's like you're at the field for like 30 minutes playing catch and then it's like bunt defense. And, and I think bunt defense is also like the little things, like working on, working on fielding, making sure you know where you have to be on a backup, making sure that like, hey, if I get the ball, no, like a pitcher's not only thinking, hey, I'm gonna throw it and the ball's coming right back to me, but like if you throw it and you get the ball, like you need to know where that ball needs to go. Like if you have a guy on first, you need to be able to turn 2 there. If you have a guy, um, at third and you only have one out, like you need to be able to look him back and get up, get the out at first, like knowing Knowing those scenarios, knowing those little things that it's like, okay, like, he knows what he's doing, we can leave him in here in this situation.

It's like build it— when you build a house, you can't put the roof on first, right? You can't put the accessories in the house first. You can't have the fancy TV in there without a foundation. Like, you literally— when my kids grow up, if they want to play sports, like you just said, it's going to be the little things. Like, Dude, you gotta, you gotta learn— basketball perspective— you gotta learn how to dribble. Like, how are you ever gonna make a game-winning shot if you don't even know how to dribble? You're never going to be in the game, right? Like, you gotta, you gotta build the foundation in order to start, like, putting the walls up, building on the roof, doing the fun things that you can put inside the house afterwards. But it takes time to develop that foundation, those fundamentals. So I think that that's key for kids especially who are in high school and younger, um, as they're growing up, because they want to look cool, they want to do the cool thing, but they don't realize that to do the cool thing, they got to do the uncool things first.

Yeah.

Well, cool. Um, one more question for you. What— how am I gonna word this for you? What's your favorite part of living your dream of playing Division I baseball?

Oh, I mean, the coolest part is obviously seeing it come together because like you're like, I've been working up for this for so long. I've been I've been doing this for my whole life and then being like, okay, now I'm living it. It's like, it's almost, it's almost like a surreal experience. Um, so one of the buddies I transferred from CSI with to here after our, after our 2 years there, um, our first, our first week down here, we didn't have official practices. So like, they're like, hey, like, we'll leave the field unlocked. Like, you can come and just throw and like, come and hit. Like, you can do whatever. Like, we'll leave the facilities unlocked for you guys. And like, we got there and like, no one was there. Like, it was literally just us in the field. And we're like looking around, we're like, like, this is stupid. Like, like we've, we've finally got here. And like, you're like a little kid again. You're like, I've made it. Like. But there's still that next step afterwards that you're still pushing for, obviously. Like, you're not here if you don't want to try, at least, at least give it a shot of going professional. But like, you're like, oh my gosh, like, I've made it here. Like, I'm, I'm living what little Kandan wanted, wanted to do. Like, I've gotten there. But that's, that's kind of been the one thing that like, that I've enjoyed so much is being like, okay, like, I'm a college athlete. Like, What kid doesn't want to be a college athlete? But then like getting here and like feeling the environment, like with no one there and being like, dude, like we've made it here. Like now we just get to have fun. Like now we get to hang out, have fun and, and enjoy the, enjoy the process with all the guys. Because everyone's kind of in that thing, even if, even if they've been here for 4 years, like the 4-year guy still enjoys being here just as much as the freshman. Like like it's such a surreal experience.

Dang. Well, that is so cool. I love that you're able to kind of soak in the moment. A lot of people live life in the fast lane and don't really allow themselves to be proud of themselves for what they've done. It's always that next thing. And of course, like you said, you want the shot at MLB, you want the shot at going pro, but you gotta enjoy the journey as you do it or else like, why are we doing any of this, right?

So, mm-hmm.

All right, Kandon, is there anything else that you would, is there any other advice that you would give to kids coming up behind you?

Um, any advice? Um, I mean, we've, we've talked about it a lot. Obviously it's your side is the nutrition thing, but like, uh, I think a lot of stuff that goes over people's heads, like with the nutrition part, is like, get your sleep. Like, like make sure you're getting sleep. Like, like here, I, I, I know I'm guilty of it still. Like sometimes I'll be like, dang, we have weights in the morning and it is like, I gotta be up in 5 hours. Like I was like, I gotta get up. Like I gotta go to bed. But like one of the things is like, hey, like get sleep. Make sure you're like, you're taking care of your body. Like, um, just, just that, that's one of the biggest things that I could put out there is make sure, make sure you're getting sleep, make sure you're getting nutrition. Obviously, uh, that's gonna help translate to training and, and your sport. Like, you're just gonna feel better overall.

For sure. Sweet. Well, Kaden, thanks so much. I appreciate you being on here. Um, This was great, and good luck with your season, dude. Season opener this weekend, that's exciting.

Yes, I'm excited. Thank you for having me. I had a blast. This is super fun.