“The decision to partner with Chris as a member of the team has already been a huge boost for DST. His vast experience brings so much to the table that will positively impact our athletes (and their families) & the DST Team.”
– Director of Business Operations Josh Graber
Learn more about the newest member to the DST Family, Chris Sampson in this interview:
What initially attracted you to DST?
A lot attracted me: the quality of people here, the character of the guys, and just the way they carry themselves. They are always portraying a positive influence on the kids that come through here, and you can just tell that they are extremely passionate about making an impact and being difference-makers, in a positive way, in a kid’s life. Not only on the field, on the court, or in their sport that they play, but also a positive impact off the field as well to help develop those kids to be the best possible person not only an athlete that they can possibly be.
What is your favorite part about DST?
My favorite part about DST is just being able to work with the kids. Again – being a positive influence and making a difference in their life. I like being able to see the kids when they first get started, see where they end up, and the difference between the start and when they finally get close to achieving their goals. I like being able to see the benefits of being in here and working out and really helping that kid that kid achieve their goals and seeing the difference.
Tell us about your role as a parent and a coach.
As a parent, you are always wanting to provide as good of an opportunity as you can and help your kids achieve their goals. I am always trying to not only help them do that, but I believe you have to surround them with good quality people as well to help them and to be positive influences on them throughout their lives. And that is what we get here at DST. That’s why I love my kids being up here and around these guys as much as possible and surrounding them with good quality people.
As a coach, my role is to help motivate them. It is to help them keep their eye on their prize, their goals, and really teach them how to work hard for those goals. I’m helping each of them come up with a plan to develop into not only the best athlete they can be, but develop into being a good quality young man.
Tell us about your kids.
I’ve got three boys; eleven, nine and two. The two-year-old doesn’t go anywhere without his glove, so he is definitely going to following in his big brothers’ footsteps. All three play baseball.
Tell us about your journey to make it to the Astros and what your experience was playing in the MLB?
My journey to the major leagues was a little bit unconventional. I was drafted as a shortstop then converted to a pitcher after I figured out I wasn’t a very good hitter. So my motto is “if you can’t beat them, might as well join them.” (laughs) I attribute that to the failures that I’ve had – coming up as a hitter and just not giving up. My dad always told me, “you can do anything in the world you want to do as long as you work hard for it and believe in yourself to go get it done.” So I just kind of kept that in me to really work hard to get to the major leagues.
One thing that particular situation taught me was not only in baseball, but in life, is that there are going to be failures and there are going to be disappointments. So I’ve learned that it’s how we deal with the disappointments and how we deal with the failures and to keep a positive mindset to keep moving forward to your goals and just believing in yourself.
What do you enjoy most about your roles as a father and a husband?
I enjoy all of it. Just being able to spend time with my wife and with our boys. Because you know now it’s not all about us; with having our boys, it’s all about them and being able to provide for them, help them achieve their goals and what they’re wanting out of life. We also want to make sure that we can help pave a way for them to be as successful as possible, and help them grow up to not just be good young boys, but be great men. We want to encourage them to make a positive impact on people’s lives as they get older as well.
Did you have any nicknames growing up, or while in the clubhouse?
I did. With having the last name Sampson, everyone called me Sammy. Pretty easy nickname to have. And when I was in Double A with the Corpus Christi Hooks, the mascot was actually named Sammy the Seagull. So as you can imagine, my nickname was already Sammy, so now it went from Sammy, or the Seagull, to anything else they came up with. But its basically always been Sammy.
What are you most excited about being on Team DST?
There’s a lot, and I am really excited about this opportunity. But the main thing that I am most excited about is being able to be a difference maker in kids’ lives and being able to have a positive impact on them. When they come in, we’ll be able to get a plan together to help them achieve their goals, and see how far they’ve come from when they started to the end result. And being able to know that I was able to have an impact on them. As well as see them move up through school, high school to college, and knowing that I was able to have that positive influence on them on the field as well as off the field.
If you could eat any food in the world for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I’ve got two in mind. My dad cooks an amazing steak, either a T-Bone or Porterhouse, and it is amazing and so tender that it just melts in your mouth. But my wife also cooks a very delicious pork chop. The way she bakes it, again it is just melt-in-your-mouth good. But if you’re making me choose just one; you know if mama’s not happy then nobody’s happy, so I’m gonna have to choose my wife’s pork chop to keep her happy. Both amazing, and you can’t go wrong with either one.
Want to get to know Chris more? Give him a follow on social media or just call the office line – he’s likely to pick up and help you with any questions you may have!
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