We highlight the No. 3 team, the So Cal Athletics TO - Mercado. We had the opportunity to talk with the manager of the So Cal A's academy, Brian Tidd, and get some insight into him and his teams.

Watch So Cal Athletics TO-Mercado compete at PGF Nationals LIVE on FloSoftball.com



What is your role as manager of the So Cal A's?
We have to So Cal A's Academy, which is the Gamer's Academy we started about six years ago, so I run that along with David Mercado. We have 10 teams in the academy this year. Specifically with the TO team, I co-mange that with Fernando Ornelas, and Greg Testa is one of our head coaches along with David Mercado. My and Fernando's role with the TO team is basically managing the day-to-day and handling the recruiting side of things as well.

Tell us a little more about how the Academy started.
David Mercado and I started it about seven years ago and we were initially the Gamer's Academy. We were under the Gamer's Academy for three years until we saw the success David's daughters were having with the Athletics. So going through our system, we thought it would be a good idea to switch over to the Athletics and have a developmental academy with the proven results they were getting. So that's when we turned it over to the So Cal Athletics about four years ago, and we've just built off of our reputation and results.

Could you explain how the Academy works?
We facilitate teams, so we have 10U, 12U, 14U, and 16U teams. They're all run out of our academy, so specifically everything our 10U teams do our 16U teams do. We're very involved with each and every team and there aren't any teams out there doing their own thing. Each teams stays within our system and that's how we develop them. We have about 140 kids from nine years old to about 16 right now in our system.

As a coach how would you describe your philosophy?
We preach perfection for one. We know each kids isn't going to be perfect every single time but that's what we expect as coaches. We obviously advocate hard work and dedication to the sport, and lastly we want them to have fun playing the game. We're hard on them when we need to be hard on them, and we also allow them to have fun playing.

What's your proudest moment as a coach?
I would say 2013 when this specific team won PGF nationals. We put a lot of hard work into that team. That's probably my proudest moment, but now every time I get a call from one of my kids telling me they've committed to their dream school, that's rewarding every single time. I just got another call from one last night who got her first offer and it kind of just puts chills through your body.

As one of the top three teams in the country, what sets your team apart from all of the great California teams and the best teams in the country?
I would say consistency. We've had girls for four, five, six years and they know what is expected out of them. They know there's always a target on their back based on who we are as an academy. The biggest thing is that they've gained that respect as a team, and they know every time they step on the dirt, someone is coming after them. They've played together so long that they're like sisters, and that's certainly helped with the consistency as well. I also don't think there is another coaching staff out there who prepares like our coaching staff. Considering how much we plan for situations, who we play, when we play, the game plan, I really don't think anyone prepares like we do.

What is the greatest lesson you've learned from softball.
There's always more to learn. Never stop learning. These kids have been with us for quite some time and this year we took a step back and got into softball 101, making sure that we're teaching the girls and they're actually learning on a daily basis and not just playing the game. It's just come back to learning the basics of softball.

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