Randy Mazey Gives His Secret to Life
West Virginia head baseball coach Randy Mazey sat in his seat ready to field questions from the media via Zoom. Unbeknownst to us he had been up since five o’clock and went out into the woods to watch the sun come up while listening for gobblers along the ridge and valleys of the West Virginia hills.
Mazey was dawning a new look, a full beard, and according to him, “some say the salt and pepper look”, then jokingly saying it was more “salt than pepper” and finishing it with a self-proclaimed “distinguished look, like Sean Connery.”
Then he transitioned over to his secret to life by referencing 1991 movie “City Slickers.” It’s your classic run of the mill comedies where a middle-aged man is looking for meaning in his life. Billy Crystal plays Mitch Robbins, a New York radio executive, who is talked into taking a two-week cattle-drive with a couple of his friends who are also facing problems in their lives.
As they head out on their great adventure their led by trail boss named Curly, a tough old cowboy on his final cattle drive. Along their ride, Curly tells him to discover the “one thing” most important in his life and for Mazey, he’s figured it out.
“I feel like about 13 years ago that I figured out the secret to life is, have balance in your life and not get too obsessed with any one part of your life because if you do, if you're obsessed with your job, then everything else in your life is going to suffer because of it. If you're obsessed with one person in your life then different aspects of your life are going to suffer because of it. You need to have balance in your life,” said Mazey.
“And I try to tell our coaches and players that all of the time,” he continued. “And now, is a perfect example. If you don’t have balance in your life right now when a lot of our jobs have been taken away from us – what we do every day, you’ll go crazy. Staring at the walls and wondering what to do but I think I got it figured out because I have balance in my life. I love my family. I’m a family guy. I get to spend time with my wife and kids now. Do projects around the house, that I like doing. We’re outdoors people so we get out and hike, walk the dogs and fish. This morning I got up at five o’clock and went and sat in the woods and watched the sun come up listening for turkeys to gobble. It’s only 11 o’clock and I’m having a great day so far.”
“I hate to think people are going through a tough time and not taking advantage of the opportunities in front of them, if they have them, to spend time with their families because this is a great time to do it,” added Mazey. “I’ve been in college baseball for over 30 years and it’s the first time I’ve got to spend an Easter Sunday from start to finish with them. In the month of March and April, I get to do things with my wife and kids. I’m going to take full advantage of it.”
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