Ryan Leake

Assistant Coach

1)       All Your Favorites:

1. Food: mom’s flank steak with apple crisp for dessert
2. Movie of 2012: Friends with Kids
3. Movie Character: The Joker (Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight)
4. Book (Author): East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
5. Book Character (Book): Eddie Caminetti (The Green)
6. Show: Family Guy
7. Type of Music: Metal
8. Musical Artist or Band: Pantera
9. Album (Artist): The Blackening (By Machine Head)
10. Song (Artist): Halo (By Machine Head)
11. Artist: Mikey Leake
12. Painting (Artist): “Believe in Surfing” (Mikey Leake)
13. City (foreign or domestic): Santa Cruz, CA
14. State: California
15. Country: Sverige (Sweden)
16. Place to be (anywhere): on top of a mountain or in the ocean (kind of opposites, I know)
17. Sport: baseball
18. Activity: any form of competitive exercise
19. Hobby: surfing
20. Board Game: Cranium
21. Monopoly Piece: car
22. Quote of 2012: “…no paddle, no surf.” (Jaimal Yogis, Surf Buddha) OR “…carry water, chop wood…” (Zen Philosophy)

2)       Why did you choose Santa Clara?
An opportunity to experience a new place while expanding my base of knowledge in a variety of subjects.  Get to combine my passion for exercise with baseball, college athletics, and the finer points of what it takes to be a successful athlete.

3)       What draws you to baseball?  What makes it appealing to you?  What is special about the college game?
I absolutely love to compete and baseball is a sport that punishes athletes for not competing on every pitch.  There is also a romanticism and history about the sport unlike any other in the world.  Ballparks are nuanced, the culture of its athletes is unique, and an overwhelming amount of skill & strategy goes into every play.  The college game is full of emotional investment and places so much more emphasis on team success that it’s difficult not to consider college the most intriguing level of play.

4)       How has the fall season gone for the team and you personally?
The team has definitely taken a liking to all that is new about the program.  They work hard and are trying to “buy-in” to a new system, traits that are allowing them to improve steadily.  From a philosophical standpoint, setting a new standard for Bronco Baseball, the fall has been a tremendous success.  In the sense of physical development there is certainly effort being put forth but still much work to do to maximize each player’s ability.  Personally, I am appreciative of the eagerness to learn in the weightroom and willingness to work systematically in order to benefit from the strength program.  What I can’t wait to do is get really in depth with the guys about the mental aspects of the game and helping them truly understand competing on each pitch.

5)       Who is your favorite guy on the team to compete with?  To compete against?  Why?
Zach Looney in Ping Pong (he never wins); Justin Viele in “Who can look more psychotic?”; Kenny Treadwell in “Who can act like a bigger idiot?”; Spencer Waddell in CrossFit workouts; Ben Campopanini in “Random name generating”; Tommy Nance in “deep thinking”; Matt Ozanne in “Flossing”; Jose Vizcaino Jr. en espanol (the stupid keyboard doesn’t have a tilde); Kert Woods in niceness; Keith Beauregard in vascularity and east coast accents; there’s more, but all for now…

6)       People, living or dead, to compete against (learn from)?  In what?

• Mikey Leake (anything)
• Brad Pitt (picking up women)
• Kayleigh Knudson (heptathlon)
• Osama bin Laden (knife fighting)
• Dalai Lama (quipping)

7)       5 people, living or dead, to have coffee with?

• Laird Hamilton so some of his fearlessness rubs off on me
• “The Most Interesting Man in the World”…obviously
• Dusty Destler…and his mustache
• Kayleigh Knudson because she respects snobby coffee
• John Muir

8)       What would you do with a billion dollars?
Conquer the Seven Summits (highest peak on every continent).  Run, bike, hike across the world.  Home by the Pacific Ocean.  Home in the mountains.  Home by a river.  Home by Lake Tahoe.  Visit all 50 states.  Open a gym with very exclusive clientele.  Open a baseball training facility with my brother, Tim Shibuya, and Guido Knudson.  Harvest my own coffee beans and open a coffee shop called “Take-a-Leake Coffee Roasters.”  Open a deli adjacent to the coffee shop.  Buy my dad & brother 50 new cars so they stop wasting money on them.  Buy my mom whatever job she wants to assure peace of mind.  Buy my favorite surf spot, marry Marissa Miller, surf together forever.

9)       #1 on your Bucket List?

See everything I answered for the billion dollar question…