Building a Giant: Head Coach Chris Hanks of Colorado Mesa Baseball | Ep. 109

What You'll Learn in This Episode

Host Ross Hawley sits down with Chris Hanks, head coach of the Colorado Mesa University Mavericks, for a masterclass in sustained success, relationship-driven leadership, and the simple standards that shape a program.

Entering his 34th season at Colorado Mesa, Hanks has built a Division II powerhouse alongside a remarkably stable staff. But this conversation is not a victory lap. It is about the daily work behind a durable culture: knowing people, communicating honestly, playing free, and committing to the idea that a coach's word should be gold.

The highlights:

• Why long-tenured staffs and shared language make a program sustainable
• The two standards that drive Colorado Mesa: out-team and out-compete
• How authenticity, trust, and individual purpose build a real team culture
• Why a struggling or frustrated player needs more connection, not less
• The advice parents need to hear: be a facilitator, not another source of pressure
• How young coaches can make their biggest impact by spending time with players
• Why Division II baseball offers elite opportunities and a great experience matters most

Building a Giant Through Staff Continuity and Shared Language

Hanks credits Colorado Mesa's staying power to a coaching staff that has grown together over decades. Associate head coach and recruiting coordinator Sean McKenna played for Hanks; pitching coach Jeff Rogers arrived at nearly the same time Hanks did; and several other coaches are former Mavericks.

That continuity gives every player the same message, day after day. It also makes the program feel like a family rather than a revolving door.

"When you have that consistency, the messaging becomes consistent. The players know what to expect."

Hanks did not arrive in Grand Junction planning to stay forever. He expected to climb the ladder. Instead, he found people worth building with, watched the program grow, and kept choosing the next season.

Out-Team and Out-Compete: The Standards Behind the Results

Colorado Mesa's culture is built around two simple ideas: out-team the opponent and out-compete the opponent. The first assumes the other club may have more talent and asks a better question: what can this group do together to give itself a chance to win?

The second starts with each player's individual purpose. Hanks and his staff work with players to identify their deepest goal, then reverse-engineer the daily habits that move them toward it. The team revisits its definitions each fall, letting players help shape what those standards look, act, and feel like.

"The most powerful thing for sustainability and consistency within a team sport is simply the team."

The result is not perfection. It is an expectation to do the best possible work every day, then learn how to adjust when disappointment arrives.

Authenticity, Relationships, and the Courage to Draw Closer

Hanks believes every person's superpower is being authentically themselves. A coach's job is to help players see that what they need is already inside them, then give them the trust and structure to bring it out.

That philosophy matters most when a player is unhappy. Earlier in his career, Hanks admits he sometimes pulled away from players who resisted a role or disagreed with a decision. Now he sees that moment as an invitation to engage more deeply.

"The answer isn't pulling away and repelling. The answer is digging deeper, going deeper, showing more love and care and interest in those people."

Honest conversations tell players where they stand, what is possible, and what they can control. Hanks says that kind of care often comes full circle years later, when former players recognize the value of the relationship even if their playing time did not meet their hopes.

Play Free, Keep It Simple, and Make Room for Joy

After an early exit in a conference tournament, Hanks reminded his team of the joy they felt as kids and promised an old-school reward: win the next game, then walk across the street in full uniform for soft-serve ice cream. They won, crossed four lanes of traffic in their spikes, and shared what Hanks calls one of his best postgame celebrations.

The story captures a deeper coaching belief. Players need enough freedom to trust the work they have already done instead of overthinking every swing, throw, or outcome. Great coaching makes the game simpler and helps athletes return to the reason they loved it in the first place.

Leadership That Transfers Beyond the Field

Hanks sees coaching as leadership: connecting with people, giving them meaningful responsibility, and helping them find the roles where they can do their best work. A leader cannot simply post values on a wall and expect buy-in. The people on the team have to understand the purpose and teach it to one another.

That is why Colorado Mesa's returning players introduce new players to the program's standards. Shared ownership turns a slogan into a culture.

"If you're selling those principles... the power is our returning guys teaching it to the new guys and showing them why this is important."

Advice for Players, Parents, and Coaches

For players: Find a great experience, not just a label. Hanks stresses that excellent players and programs exist at every level, from junior college and Division II to Division I and NAIA. The pitcher remains baseball's great equalizer, and players who can process mistakes and failure give themselves a chance anywhere.

For parents: Be a facilitator. Help a player get to the ballpark, access good instruction, and pursue their dreams, but do not clear every obstacle or add pressure after each game. Let qualified coaches coach, let players grow, and remember that the game is over when the game is over.

For young coaches: Come early, stay late, get off the bucket, and work with players. A small mechanical cue may help, but Hanks says the deeper impact often comes from the ten minutes spent showing a player that you believe in them. Correction lands differently when trust is already there.

Make Your Word Be Gold

When Hanks first became a head coach, he asked his father, Bill, for one piece of advice. He expected an X's-and-O's answer. Instead, he got the standard that still guides him.

"Make your word be gold."

To Hanks, that means doing what you say you will do, following through, and having a conversation when you fall short. It is a simple standard, but it is the foundation of the trust that lets teams, families, and programs endure.

Episode Timestamps

Tap any timestamp to jump the player straight to that moment.

• 1:59 - Chris Hanks's Colorado Mesa record and the meaning of sustained success
• 4:01 - Thirty-four years at Colorado Mesa and a staff built to last
• 6:08 - Why Grand Junction became home instead of a stop on the coaching ladder
• 8:34 - Tony Lopez, family, and the scholarship that carries his legacy forward
• 11:48 - Trust, authenticity, and helping players discover their purpose
• 13:38 - Defining out-team and out-compete
• 20:45 - The ice-cream celebration that helped a team play free
• 25:32 - How a disappointing 2003 season reshaped Colorado Mesa's culture
• 27:33 - Honest conversations with players who are not playing as much as they want
• 30:53 - Why coaches should draw closer when a player resists
• 38:49 - Leadership, shared vision, and getting the right people in the right seats
• 44:46 - Why great baseball and great opportunities exist at every level
• 48:28 - Hanks's advice for parents: facilitate, support, and get out of the way
• 52:24 - Advice for young coaches: connect, encourage, and spend time with players
• 57:25 - Bill Hanks's lasting advice: make your word be gold
• 59:23 - Walkout song: "Slow Ride" and learning to take it easy on yourself

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Chris Hanks is the head baseball coach of the Colorado Mesa University Mavericks. Subscribe to the Baseball Forward Podcast for more conversations with the players, coaches, and leaders elevating the next generation of the game.