Building Culture & Coaching for Life — with Lehi High Head Coach Andy Hadfield
Full Conversation Transcript
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welcome to roots and branches of Lehi the podcast where we get to know the faces stories and lives that make up our
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community I'm Ryan Harding and I started this podcast as a way for us all to connect with the people we live
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alongside growing up in a small town I learned that connections go beyond blood they're built through shared experiences
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friendships and the moments we celebrate together each week we'll sit down with someone new from Lehi to share their
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unique story their passions and what they love most about living here so whether you've been here for years or
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just arrived join us as we deepen Our Roots and reach out to our branches one
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story at a time welcome Andy Hadfield to the to the podcast here today roots and branches of Lehi um excited to have you
Meet Andy Hadfield: Lehi's New Head Football Coach
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on so thanks for having me yeah glad you're here so you're the coach of Lehi football Lehi High School football right
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yeah just got named the head coach in December just in December okay so just barely yes you yeah you haven't even had
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yeah it's been it's it's been an adjustment for sure okay been an assistant coach on staff there for 10 years okay so that part of it not new
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but the head coaching coach part I was thinking maybe this was like a full-time thing but you were just telling me it's
Balancing Coaching and Business
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not you have another job right yeah I uh I own a lawn care company here locally and uh you know some some coaches around
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will be full-time teachers yeah and one of the one of the things in my interview process because of what I do I I I think
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it's important that it coaches there all the time sure so I spend I've spent the last four months or four weeks sorry in
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the in the high school just being being there cuz I think it's important for the players to know that where to find you and how to get a hold of you and so I do
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a lot of my side business that that pays the money right I do a lot of that from
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the high school just in my office there okay so I'm teaching one class which is they call it the football class it's a weights class oh sure yeah and uh other
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than that I just I have my own office at the school there where I'll I spend the most of my time okay and so you said you
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were assistant coach before yeah so how did so how uh I mean how did you get into coaching SL how did you get into
Journey to Becoming Head Coach
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specifically the head coach job it's it's an interesting story at least it is to me I tell everybody I don't know if
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they want to hear it or not but I uh I have a friend that that he's actually a counselor at the high school he was the
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head basketball coach for a long time at Lehi and he asked if I was interested in
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helping and I pictured that as being you know pop in once or twice a week and help and and that's what I thought about
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two months later he called me back and he said are you still interested and I said yeah yeah whatever you and he said
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well I want you to be my head sophomore basketball coach oh and so that kind of took me by surprise but uh my wife and I
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at the time we just had one you know one kid and one on the way yeah and and I
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jumped on it and said let's go and I never really coaching wasn't ever really part of what anything I wanted to do or
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be a be be a part of I wasn't opposed to it I love sports and so he I I jumped
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into that and sure enough after a year he retired from coaching and so I I thought my coaching career was over
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after one year and uh I had some players on my team that played football and they came to me and said hey coach Larson
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wants to talk to you and I I I said who's coach Larson he said well he's the head football coach so I went in met
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with him and and uh I I I played college football and he said I heard you played college football are you interested in
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coaching football and so I I like yeah you know what let's do this I thought I was done just so happened that a couple
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weeks later the new basketball coach called me up and asked if if I was interested in staying on staff and and I
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looked at my wife and said can we do this and and she said yeah let's do it so I coached both football and basketball for 6 years wow and uh in
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that time we had two more kids and when the new coach took over new basketball coach took over she's like it's probably
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time for you to be done with one or the other yeah and football's my passion I I football if if I had a choice I would
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pick football so so I stopped coaching basketball and I've just done football the whole the last four years and uh
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just been an assistant I coached the tight ends and and helped uh game plan for the the offense and as coach Larson
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decided he was retiring this year a couple of the you know coaches on staff and other people looked at me and said
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well it's it's your job right so I kind of inherited the position as much as anything where you know if I didn't take
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it you know I think a lot of the coaching staff would have gone other places sure okay and we've got a good
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thing going Lee High high school football has been a Powerhouse for the last you know well seven eight years
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yeah and Coach Larson build a an extremely great program and and nobody
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wanted to see that go away so so he so we kind of he kind of prepped me to take
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over and and other coaches looked at me and said go get it go get the job and I
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threw my name in the Hat and and ended up Landing the job so wasn't ever really an aspiration or desire or really a part
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of what I planned on on doing but I enjoy I love coaching I love I love being around the kids I love seeing the
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development I love seeing the successes and the failures and yeah and it's brought a lot of you know joy and and benefits to my
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family even though I'm away from them a lot more than I would be sure there's definitely benefits of being part and
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involved in the community and part of it and and the people you meet and the relationships you build are are so worth
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it oh that's awesome so yeah and and so you've been a part of that career I
Building a Winning Team Culture
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guess that Lehigh high school has had this you know this good time I mean because we've had some successes yeah
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you know I guess a devastating loss this last season right you know it was it was bral down to the down to the wire there
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right I I wasn't I wasn't in a very good spot for about 40 48 Hours my wife my
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wife kept asking me she said are you all right and I said this one just is hitting different it's hard so I know
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the I know it was with the players and the fans it just you know when you when you had success you expect success and
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you want to keep experiencing that success and when it gets taken away from you like it did it just it hurts for a
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while yeah but yeah before coach Larson got there they had been through a decade of really not very good teams and in his
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first season and I always say that I was the reason we started winning cuz his first season there they didn't win any games they went 0 and 10 yeah and I came
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on staff with him the next year and we we started win well we won three games the next year which was a big success
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from where we had been sure and within two years we were playing in the state championship game which which was really cool and in in the last seven years
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we've we've won three state titles and we've been to the semi-finals five times so it's uh six times actually so it's
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it's been the program's completely turned around and the support in the community is is phenomenal and so what
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speak to that for a second like what do you think I mean you know obviously you know you you say coach Larson did you
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know a lot of that but what did he do or you know what did you guys do together what why how did how did it turn around
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well a lot of it I think comes from the support and the staff he has around him right he would always say every day
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every interview he talk that you know I have the best staff in the country sure and and being part of that and knowing
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the guys that I got chance to work with on that staff I Echo those comments like the the the coaches that we have on
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staff the support behind the scenes the the booster club the people behind it it all kind of plays in the fact that how
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the product is on the field and one of the big things with me taking the job is I looked at every one of those coaches
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that I've coached with for multiple years and said hey I'm not doing this without you yeah so if I get the job
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you're coming back and each one of them committed like if you get it I'll I'll I'll be back to coach and the fact that
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I get to retain all those men that help develop these these young young men is a
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really big part of why I think the success will continue not a lot of changes right a new head coach comes in
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and there's always some tweaks and things that will be different which which I've always I've already put some of those things in place but sure the
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more that we can keep similar because it was a good thing oh yeah you know I don't have to change a culture I don't have to build a culture it's set it's
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just maintaining that and then hopefully elevating it to the next level one of my big selling points to the kids and to
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the to the administration was I know Le has been one of the best football teams in the in the state my goal is to be the
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best team in the state and essentially be a top ranked team in the nation year after a year and I think we've got the
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product and the the community and the people around us to be able to be one to be part of that that's awesome yeah so
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how do you approach that you know building that team culture you know and stuff like that you know obviously with
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all the different athletes and stuff like that how do you what do you think's contributed to that team culture there yeah part of it
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is having the people the right people in place so you know we come to practice prepared as a coaching staff the
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practices are the same it's not that the kids show up and they're like oh what are we going to do for the next 6 minutes what are we going to do for this
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time practice is mapped out every coach knows where they're going where they're supposed to be and the kids follow along
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so having the great leadership from coaches trickles down to the players then the players realize once they've been in the system a year or two they're
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like oh this is what we do this is how we do it so just just having that in place beforehand and then eventually I
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don't ever I don't believe that that championship teams are coach-led the the
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players essentially are the ones that are playing and playing the game the coaches are the ones that are preparing them for that but you got to have
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players that end up taking over as those leaders and they're the ones that are making sure that everybody's doing what they're supposed to be doing so you got
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to come in with a with a heavy Hammer at first especially as a new head coach the kids know me you know and I I I think I
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was probably you know the nice coach the the one that didn't didn't stir up anything and and I had to come in a
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little bit with a hammer and lay it down and say these are my rules these are the things that we're changing these are things we're keeping the same and uh
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stick to it you know one of the big things with the rules is if you set them in place but don't deal out the
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punishments or the rewards for following them then they just become words so I I
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gave the kids you know a couple weeks that said hey these are the rules I I'll give you a couple weeks to get adjusted and then here comes the hammer and so
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all this week this is this is Hammer weeks is what I is what I tell you know big thing with me is treating these
The Importance of Respect and Communication
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always you know with respect respect was the number one thing I laid out in everything you do in life you've got to respect the process and respect what
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you're doing to get the results that you want like if you don't if you don't respect people and what they do it's
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really hard to earn that respect back from them so the game of football in general I respect the game of football what it does and and the lives that's
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changed in the process not everybody loves football I love football and I love what it teaches as much as just a
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sport alone so respect the game respect what we're doing in the process to get better every single day and make sure
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you know my slogan with them is be where you're supposed to be doing what you're supposed to be doing and that that's what I say to them every day like if
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you're if you're at least where you're supposed to be do and trying to be doing what you're doing things will work out
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for you and it's a I think it's something they can learn at a young age and by respecting them as young men and
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not treating them like children I put that on them like I'm not I'm not babysitting you but I'm here to help you
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in through the process if you're having hard time I'm here to talk about it if if I can help you in any way get to the
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next level or wherever you want to go I'm here to help you with that so treating them with young as young men
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that they can come to me as an adult and have that open communication I think a
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lot of younger kids these days have a hard time communicating with adults and
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communication is is vital so one of the one of the rules I put in place was an attendance Rule and I I said as an
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employer I expect my employees to communicate with me if something comes up and they can't be there I need to know if you just don't show up that's an
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issue and if in in the real world you get fired from your job so as you're employe or your head coach I expect you
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to be where you're supposed to be unless you've communicated to me beforehand hey I've got a Miss for this or I've got to do that and that and then we can work
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something out and uh it's been amazing the change with these with these young
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men they they I'll be standing there in the hallway one day and they'll come up to me and say hey coach I got to do this this and this I'm like great thank you
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for communicating with me I'll plan on you being there the next time yeah and it's it's so far made a difference we'll
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see what happens I like that in fact that that was one of my questions and maybe we'll go there but like you know
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obviously there's a lot of ways to learn things in life and and you you know mentioned you love football and and
The Role of Sports in Personal Development
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obviously sports are you know one of the ways that kids learn things right uh and
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so I guess you know what other ways do you think you know football specifically and and generally Sports in in you know
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in general are helping young men and young women become better you know what I mean speak to that for a second
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question I don't you know I don't think Sports is the only way you learn it right like everybody has their own thing I do believe that everybody should have
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something they're passionate about that drives them like passion is huge and so whether that's sports or whether that's
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music or arts or anything there should be something in your life that get your heart beating a little bit more that you
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put a little more heart or Soul into to be better than the next at and I think
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that's for me it's s and so that's the Avenue I I like to take and it doesn't really matter what sport although I mean
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I like I said I like football I probably like football more than any other sports sure I I think football has a few key
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elements that some other sports don't have but all of them require sacrifice to be good at you have to you have to
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sacrifice something to put the time into to this to be good at it a lot of people can go play sports but to be good at it
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takes a sacrifice and and that's something that I learned when I was playing through high school and through
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college you know the transition I had to learn when I got to college College playing football did I had I I had to
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work even harder than I already thought I was working to be good at it and some kids that work for and some kids it
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doesn't but one thing it does teach is that nothing's really giving to you in life so you have to go earn it and you
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have to like especially in football or or Sports in general when we're talking is everybody else is trying to win the
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same Championship you're trying to win nobody's just going to say Hey you take it cuz you worked harder than I did but
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but the confidence that comes from the work you put into it when you get out on the field to compete you have a chance
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that confidence will will push you through a lot of the obstacles that come along during the game so I think that
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sacrifice and that just knowing how to work for something you really really want is something that most athletes and
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most people that are really into something carry on through the rest of their life to help them succeed in life
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yeah I mean I I don't know very many people that just wake up with money I mean there I guess it's out there but
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that's not that's not where I came from and and I I like to hear the stories of people that earned what they got instead
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of just for handed well I think we live in a day and age where information comes easy right you know you type something
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in you know you get an answer immediately right and so I think you know fast food different things like that right everything's instant right you know we have instant gratification
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but I think to your point Sports and and and I like that you're you know saying hey it's not just Sports there's a lot
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of things but the sacrifice principle I think is really an important principle there right I mean because obviously if
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you want something it's going to take effort it's going to take some you know
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some some sacrifice essentially to be able to achieve that right I me yeah when I and I have talked to kids too you
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know younger age kids I've had people come and ask me to speak to them and I'm never really quite sure what I'm going to say but one of the things that sports
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taught me was strive to be the best okay and I take that in everything I do when I started my business I wanted to be the
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best I I like nothing else was good enough and so every day I was working to be better than I was the day before as a
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as a father like I want my kids to say my dad is the very best dad out there you know not because I want him to say
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that but I want him to actually think that right and I'll do everything I can to to be the best atad you do I make
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mistakes yeah all the time but I give my heart and soul to my kids and so that I
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feel like I learned those lessons through Sports because when I stepped on
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that field or that court or whatever I was doing I wanted to be better than the guy against me I want I wanted to I
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wanted to compete and I wanted to win so competition in in things I think brings out you know there's there's obviously
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bad that brings out but I think competition drives us to be better and every day
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in my life I'm striving to be better than I was before now with this new position as a head coach I've got some big shoes to fill coach Larsson did a
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phenomenal job and and really is a legend forever through leehi Sports and
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my jobs to be better than he is and and I'm I'm that's the plan I'm going to be better than he was yeah it's not going
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to be easy and it's going to take some time to to to get to that SP spot but I'm not going to let him go out as being
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better than I was because I'm going to give it everything I've got to to take it take that over well and and I'll let
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me add something to that too I guess cuz you know you're trying to be the best dad for your kids my my guess is you
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would probably want them to be an even better Dad than you were right I mean so so to that point you're you may be a
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better Coach than him but it's because you're building on his shoulders too good point really good point like
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hopefully hopefully you set the ground rule for somebody following behind you to be better than you right and I'm sure coach Larsson would say the same thing
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like I hope he I'm sure he hopes I have more success than he did of course right I I learned what I learned a lot from
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him and I'm taking a lot of what he put in place so I couldn't have done this without him you know and and I'll go out
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and say that my dad was the best dad I could have had I mean he was there for me he I me I just there's so many
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examples I could talk about my dad right and things that I didn't like when I was
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a kid for my dad and I've tried to change and things that i' really like that I try and be just like him and
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again yeah it's just that constant growth of of trying to be better and hopefully hopefully you got that ground
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in or ground the ground rules in place that you know what to follow and there's a there's a platform out there for you
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to follow I like that you mentioned you played college right so for some of us
College Recruiting and High School Sports
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that maybe haven't had a kid that actually really excels in sports and stuff like that how many people from
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high school actually go to you know college and play especially a good college too I mean I you know you can play different things but what would you
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say separate some of those guys or you know kind of that path and is it different than when you were do stuff it
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is it is different so I'll on that a little bit first so college recruiting is way different now than it was before
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I mean social media and visibility with the kids it's so much different and they can get out there you don't see as many
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colleges watching that you know film and breaking down film and watching kid unless they're really excited about a kid to begin with so that kid gets kid
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gets in their face and then they start doing more of that where before they wouldn't start recruiting you until they
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had seen your film and saw what you've done so when I was there you know we just get phone calls from coaches and
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then every once in a while get a visit from coaches the recruiting process was really fun as a kid I grew up in a
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household with not very much money we didn't travel a whole lot we got to go to McDonald's once a year you know that was that was kind of what and I think a
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lot of us the dollar grew a lot of us grew up in that in that era where you just didn't go to fast food and spend
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the money like you do like people do now now I mean in like yesterday I had 10 different colleges come through the high
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school and and already know the kids and know who they want to talk to and official visits and unoficial it's a lot
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different but a lot of I mean there's some things that they look for that are out of kids control god-given like size
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especially in a sport like football they they these coaches when they come through they really what they're doing is sizing them up they want to look they
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want to see how big are they really are they that tall are they that big and if they pass the eye test then they take it
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to the next level then they start watching film and then you know want to see their track times and how fast they can run a lot of that was just we put it
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on paper and sent it out when I was in in going to college but yeah the level the level of athlete now is just like
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everything else is just increased these high school kids are so so good they're so talented they put so much time into
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it where when I was playing we we went from one sport to another to another and then you don't after football season was
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over I didn't play football again until the next football season and that doesn't happen anymore these kids are playing year round and and just
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excelling I I like the multisport athlete I think it teaches them a lot of things there's things that baseball and basketball can teach that football can't
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teach sure so I I try and push those kids to do that but the problem is go ahead and go play basketball but you
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still have to do all this football stuff too so these kids are pushed really hard now they they've got to really want it
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to go to that next level and then even if you really really want it you still need the you still need god-given ability to have the size and the speed
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to be able to do it and there are some people that Excel that don't necessarily have all of the god-given stuff and and
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how those people get found I'm not quite sure cuz it's all it's all you got to you got to fit these measurables but we
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have it helps being on a team lik Le high with a lot of good other players CU it's a good way to get noticed we'll
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have coaches out at our Spring football practices you know looking at one guy and then all of a sudden other guy looks
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stands out to him and they're like oh well wait about who's that guy that might not have gotten seen but now he but now he gets seen so having a program
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like we have with such great talent and great athletes it it just elevates everybody else around them and gives
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them all a chance to maybe go play the next level I like that well and so it sounds like I mean obviously Sports and
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I guess you've seen that with the Olympics you know times are improving all the time right people are getting faster better and stuff like that so you
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know which is obviously a good thing right I mean you know we want that to happen so then let me speak to the other side of that I guess because know we're
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talking about how important sports are you know I know sometimes I have children myself and and I I would
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consider my children average Sports you know like not super excelling and stuff like that so so how and not that you
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have any control over this but how do we help those kids too I guess to have the the benefits that Sports has but where
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they're like hey you know I'm not as into whatever sport that is yeah but I
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because I also like academics I like what music or whatever you know like how do we help those kids I guess too yeah I
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mean I think with everything there's got to be some balance even the kids that are really good and have an opportunity to go play need to still go to school
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need an education sure so there's a balance in finding that with everybody not everybody's going to excel at a
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sport but I think you can everybody can benefit from the sport or any you know
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that they put their mind their heart and soul into some of the best players that I've coached in the last 10 years didn't
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play a whole lot best physically maybe not but just like that I connected with
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the best you know I I knew they wanted to play I knew they had put a lot of time in like everybody else and they
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wanted to play there just was a kid ahead of them that was better and I connect with those kids and try to like
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I don't want them to give up so I've built relationships with them and like I said some of my closest relationships
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with players that I've coached are players that that never really saw the field but they showed up every day they still practiced they still sacrificed to
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be there and worked hard and they got better just just playing time and stats and college recruiting doesn't mean that
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the season was a success the the effort you put in there right it's the it's a story of you know you're you know
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working out like the workout process your the end goal is what you want but it's actually the process that makes you
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what you are and so the process of going to practice every day of putting your heart and soul into something whether
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you get the results that you think you need out of them or not the process is what makes you who you are that day so
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I've seen great I've told I've even i' I've put my arm around some of them that are you know defeated because they're not playing and said listen this is this
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is just going to teach you to be a better person you're going to be a successful person in life because you put in a heart and effort and didn't see
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the results that you wanted but you didn't quit and that's such a good teaching point that that I've tried to
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take advantage of with my players to make sure that it's not only results D it's the process driven you know pushing
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the rock up the mountain you know is is great but is it really the only only
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worth something if you get to the top of the mountain or is the process of pushing it up there is what making you a stronger person which obviously is going
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to play out in other aspects of their life whatever career they do if they have a family I I would assume that I
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mean I I played Sports in high school I was like my kids you know average right you know I mean I you know I played in
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high school but like eh you know I was okay right it probably helped that it was a smaller town so you but but my point is that I did learn a lot of
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things from Sports I mean I you know I you know losing winning the amount of effort all the running we have to do and
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different things you know all these things do add up and they do they're hard right but you have to triumph over
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that and I so I I like your attitude towards it well and you probably don't you probably don't look back at every
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day and say this is a direct relationship Force but you're the person you are because of it right like
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everything that we do in life creates who we are as a person and and those instances especially as a teenager have
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such an impact on who you are as you get older that I yeah I don't I don't think back to my playing time and think yeah
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I'm I'm good at this because of that it's not a direct correlation but I do know that a lot of my passions and my
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desires and and and the person that I am is because of what I went through to try
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and be the best at what I was doing so yeah I don't I don't look back and say I'm I'm good at this because I did that
24:57
but I do know that that Sports in general sh shape me into who I am today for sure yeah that makes sense I yeah so
25:04
and and it doesn't matter whether you're great or average or below average again it goes back to find something that that
25:12
you really want to excel at and go chase it and the result shouldn't be why
25:18
you're doing it it should be the process of what you're doing and sometimes that can get hard right when you're running and about to throw up and had enough of
25:24
waking up at 6:00 a.m. to go to the gym and and and put put everything you got into it like some like that's that's the
25:31
process that you got to learn to enjoy which is really hard to do but the the
25:36
ones that figure that out I think end up having a more successful life as they grow up and no matter what it what it is
25:42
that they're doing well to that point I mean from a business standpoint people you pay people that are good at
25:49
something probably better than you and that's why you pay them so we want people to be to excel at whatever their
25:54
their passions are right to get really good at it and that's why hey yeah no I want to help you know XYZ you know do
26:00
whatever it is yeah that's really why we start businesses and and or if you own a business or where you go to work you
26:06
know if I'm an employee as an assistant coach I wanted to be the best assistant coach on staff yeah and it's it it didn't have anything to do with money we
26:12
all got paid the same but it had everything to do with i i this is I want I want people to know that I'm putting
26:18
my heart and soul into it and without telling them hey I'm putting my heart and soul into it it just it comes across
26:23
as something that is outwardly shown because of who you are yeah and that's same with business yeah every time
26:28
you're looking for a business you want you we all especially the service industry we're looking at people that
26:35
are going to give us the best service yeah I like that and and and I like your
26:41
attitude towards you know you say be the best you know I don't sense it's like not necessarily trying to be better you
26:47
know I want to be the best I am do you know what I mean I think that's what that's just to clarify I think when you talk about that we talked about success
26:53
and the best like there's not a measuring stick for like how do I measure that I'm the best dad other than
26:58
the fact that I've put in the effort to be the best dad and uh yeah like I said I made mistakes I've I've I've
27:04
apologized to my kids multiple times like Hey Dad was wrong I I messed up right and part of that is trying to be
27:10
the best dad well I'm going to fix it I'm going to be better and there's no you know there's no hey you're you're
27:17
you're at this level and this person's at this level it's what what you put into it do you feel like you've given
27:23
your best well and even just apologizing to your kids saying hey I messed up there that show them like that's there's
27:30
there's huge lessons even in that we learn from our we learn from from from our successes and failures
27:36
that's exactly so you have to be able to like otherwise dad's perfect and I'll never measure up and it's like okay no dad made mistakes too and so I don't
27:43
know that's great lesson even just there so so you mentioned the LA the loss the highs and lows of sports right I mean
27:49
you're on the high sometimes you're winning games you're feeling good National CH or you know state champions
Handling Highs and Lows in Sports
27:55
how how do you help your players SL yourself you cuz like you said you you know this last game was hard how do you
28:01
handle those highs and Loans I guess you know that's that's a good question they it it's hard to say this is how you
28:08
respond each and every time because they're all different it's really it's really kind of a a coaching philosophy
Coaching Philosophy: Striving for Perfection
28:14
that coach Larson put into place is our job as coaches is to teach for Perfection expect Perfection knowing
28:20
that we'll never achieve that I've never seen anybody play a perfect football game or basketball game it doesn't
28:26
happen but we're our job as coaches is to coach you to be perfect and expect
28:33
Perfection realizing that we might not ever get it so every game you should even games you win games you shouldn't
28:38
win but you end up winning may be really really good games but but it wasn't perfect and there's things you can learn
28:44
from that and so we spend a lot of time and and I don't know that people in our normal lives really do this we're not
The Importance of Self-Reflection
28:50
videoing ourselves all the time and breaking down the video of what I did right and what I did wrong whereas football we have that opportunity to do
28:57
that we film practices and watch practices and you can see what you did wrong cuz a lot of times I think I may
29:03
be doing something that coach is telling me to do in my head but then I go watching a film I'm like oh I see what
29:09
he was saying now so after a win or loss on a Friday night we we meet together as
Grading Players Beyond Results
29:14
a team on Saturday and we will watch every single play multiple times and
29:20
break down each player in each position like and that it's up to them to grade themselves so coaches will take grades
29:25
on the players and you know we grade on attitude I mean not attitude effort
29:30
efficiency and result so you can get a plus minus on each one of those three
29:35
categories so was your effort there did you do the right thing and was the result positive or negative and so we're
29:42
not just grading on results and we're not just but we're grading on are you doing all the other things to get the
29:48
results that you want to get so we do that win or loss doesn't matter can you learn more from A Loss yeah a lot of
29:54
times because the the attitude of the people that are learning is a little more more humbled from A Loss whereas
30:00
when we win and consistently win we sometimes we sometimes don't absorb the
30:05
the teaching that's happening because I'm doing things right I'm getting the results I want so being a results driven
30:11
is is kind of where we're trying to get away from and more effort and and Effectiveness you know like with what
30:18
you're supposed to be doing are you doing the right thing at the right time and so that's really what we spend a lot of time focusing on and uh each each
30:27
coach coaches their position position and grades their position and and holds players accountable based on mainly the
30:32
first two categories and then the result usually plays out with way the first two categories are broken down but you think
30:39
about that I you know in my own life how how often do I go back and grade myself on how I did that day and I think that's
30:46
a really big process and why kids are learning so much in school you know grades mean something grades are a way
30:51
to for the teacher to tell the student hey this is what you struggled on this is what you're good at this is what we need to work on and and there's not
30:59
always a way to grade being a good dad or or being a good employee or a
31:04
business owner there's not always those grades out there but I think there's some self-reflection that that could
31:10
help a lot of us to spend some time and look back and say what did I do right here what did I do wrong how could I do
31:15
this better I know I need to do more of that in my own personal life and take a lesson from what we do with these kids
31:21
and play it into my life and say hey how can I how can I spent my time more effectively that day was I as efficient
31:27
as I should be and did I get the results that I wanted to get I love that it you
31:33
know it be there for perfect right I mean that's how God taught too right you know I mean expectations are super high
31:39
right you know so then so speak to you know a lot of Youth it seems to be struggle with perfectionism and
Balancing Perfectionism in Youth
31:45
everything things like that so how do you kind of you know balance the whole you know hey let's improve let's be
31:51
better without like depressing him yeah without like hey I'm crap I'm never going to succeed because I because I'm
31:58
guessing at times they probably that probably comes in to play a little bit for sure I think I think everybody's dealt with that that's played I'm not
32:05
good enough or I can't do this or that and this kid's better than me cuz there's I don't care what you're playing or what you're doing somebody out there
32:11
is going to be better than you even if you're striving to be the best right and so compar comparison is the thief of Joy
32:16
right like it just if we're always comparing oursel to somebody else rather than looking Inward and say how good can
32:21
I be and that comes a lot with just the environment you know I I like to I love when parents call me and talk to me and
32:27
say hey how can I help my kid do this and that well this is how I would do it take it for what it's worth but it's it
32:34
can't be results driven like we as a coach and and a lot of these these the
32:39
stuff I'm talking about is coaching philosophy as a coach you've got the process has got to be what you coach not
Coaching with Compassion
32:45
the result so half the time I mean a kid drops a pass I'm not going and yelling at him say you got to catch that ball
32:51
that's not coaching that's just a kid knows he's got to catch the ball this is the this is what happened why you
32:57
dropped the ball and this is how we can fix it so the next time it doesn't happen kids are way more accepting of
33:03
that kind of coaching than yelling at a kid when they drop a pass to catch a catch the ball and and I've never like
33:09
you know it's it's not if you get down on them for it they're already down on themselves for it and then it just compounds it and gets worse instead of
33:16
teaching how to make a better process to so the result is what you want it to be
33:22
yeah that's that's that's kind of the way that I go about coaching and I think it resonates with these players and and
33:30
we've had really good I I've coached for the last 10 years coached the tight end position and at Lehigh High School we've
33:35
had four to five kids go on to play college football at that position yeah you know not cuz I'm a great I not
33:41
because I'm a great coach I mean I like to again like to say I'm the best but I I know I'm not but having really good
33:46
players that buy into the process have made them who they are and then they get a chance to go on and
33:52
continue their dream of playing the next level and that's that's that's that for
33:57
me as the results I'm looking for is are you getting what you want are you becoming what you want to become I I I
34:03
like that you have that teaching approach even though you're not a teacher right you know I mean by profession I guess but you are a teacher
34:08
actually but because I yeah as opposed to just yelling at somebody hey do better was like well if they if they you
34:16
know knew how to do better they would it doesn't work it doesn't work so I mean I think that's a lot of things we get mad
34:22
at a lot of people for a lot of things and it's like well most of it's ignorance right it's just I don't know
34:27
how to be better I don't know how to do whatever that thing is better and so the teaching principle I think is I love
34:34
that uh because people tend to want it like you said are down in themselves they want to be better just help them
34:41
learn how right just teach them and whether that's being a dad or a football coach or or you know an employee at work
34:47
or whatever you know what I mean I I the principle's the same just help people teach them you go back to being a dad like your kids want I mean your kids
34:54
want to be good like like kids are gener good like people people are generally
34:59
good and they're not out there to upset you as a dad and so I know when I just
35:05
instantly snap and yell at my kids they feel like they've let me down and that's the last thing they want to do whereas
35:11
if I just talk through them like why is this happening why are we doing this why are you why are you punching your brother let's figure out how we can
35:17
react differently or this process got to where it is right now and and stop it before it happens and they my kids
35:25
respond better than just when I yell at them say you're in trouble right it just doesn't work and so I I see coaches and
35:32
and everybody has their own coaching philosophy and some are you know mine's not always the right one you got to
35:37
change depending on the person that you're coaching and that's that's really big with with the youth these kids are
35:43
trying and a lot of them don't know how and so just yelling at these kids ruins
35:48
that passion a lot of times for what they really want and kids stop playing I've spent a lot of time with the youth
The Role of Community in Coaching
35:55
youth football coaches in Lehi over the years and I know we've got some really really good ones and I think that makes
36:01
a big difference I've had I've had Parents reach out and you know my kid no longer plays because of this coach and
36:07
the other thing that I I try and air on the other side too is like well you don't know like the coach is putting a lot of time and effort into it a lot of
36:14
people want to complain about certain coaches here and there you know one thing that I can tell you is they're all
36:19
putting a lot of time and sacrifice just to be there to help your kid are they doing it the right way maybe not for
36:24
your kid but as as if we're on a team I mean I think every coach does it for
36:30
because they love the sport and they love the kids I I haven't met one that doesn't so if they're in it for that
36:36
then if we work together with the coaches and the parents to help these kids to get what they want out of it I
36:41
think it's it's not just me I'm not the one teaching everything I had Parents call me and I had a parent call me last
36:47
night and say you know my kid wants this and this how what is the best ways that I can help them and I was so grateful
36:53
they called cuz I'm like well this is what I would do and this is how I can help this is what I would do if I were you let's work together and help each
37:00
other cuz it takes a community you hear it all the time but what is that Community what is your village who are the people around you that are you
37:06
actually trust with your kid to make them the best they can be cuz I can't
37:11
I'm not always with my boys and my my daughters to help them be where they're at I trust and expect a lot from
37:17
teachers and other people to give their heart and soul into to my kid to help them be better and and your village
37:24
isn't is huge which you know very much so I I'm a big believer in communities I
37:30
mean and that's that's we need each other we're not supposed to be alone we're not supposed to all live in the woods somewhere by ourselves you know
37:36
what I mean like I mean we need each other uh you have strengths that I don't have and I have strengths that you don't
37:42
have and so and and we need each other I don't know that's just that's that's how I see itess I agree I agree and and
37:49
that's I mean I keep talking about but I love this community I mean I grew up here in Lehi my dad grew up here my
37:55
grandpa and my great grandpa grew up here I mean we even from the time I was in high school Lehi has changed and you know the
38:03
dirt roads we used to ride our fers on aren't dirt roads anymore or concrete and buildings but I love the community
38:09
as it was when I was growing up and I love it as it is now like the people that come here become Lehi people and
38:16
it's such a really such a different feeling in this community than other places that I've been that people buy in
38:22
and and are really good people and want the best for their community and uh you
38:29
know I I I try and let my boys that are playing sports be coached by other people cuz Dad doesn't know everything
38:35
and Dad can't coach you in some some of these things so I always the first thing I do when he's playing on another team
38:41
is introduce myself to that coach and say coach my kid coach my kid how you want to coach my kid and I will I will
38:46
back you up with everything because it's important for my boys to know that when they're playing on a team with another
38:52
coach that that coach is the one that's in charge and and what he says you follow and and Coach yells at my kid and
38:58
gets after him great I can now I can be the one that's not yelling at him and I can put my arm around him and love him up and so if I'm always one coaching I'm
39:05
always one yelling at them it kind of tunes out so I I really I like the multiple sport thing with my kids and
39:12
the coaching they get from other people yeah good I like that any advice you'd give to Young athletes here that are
39:20
looking to play football looking to be on the team and stuff like that any and again maybe not just for that sport but
Encouraging Multi-Sport Participation
39:26
any AD you to give young athletes yeah I think as a as a young kid I don't think we always know what we want to do like
39:33
like football might be the most fun right now but I end up being maybe a better baseball player and liking baseball so I've tried to personally to
39:40
get my kids in as many things as possible and then once we decide hey I no longer like that then we we'll pull
39:46
back on that one but go try everything and find out what you like and what you really want to do and whether my boys
39:51
want to play football or they want to play baseball or basketball it's up to them essentially I want them to Chase
39:57
whatever they're passionate about cuz I'm not going to create that passion for them you know we are all influenced by
40:03
those things around us so do I have an influence on my boys wanting to play football yeah I probably do but if they
40:08
came to me and said dad I don't like football I don't want to play it anymore then let's go find something that really gets you going so I most of the young
40:15
kids these days don't get sucked into one go find out what you really really like that that just naturally get your
40:23
heart beating a little bit more you know instead of being forced like I you know I've told my boy all along if I have to force you to go to practice we're out of
40:29
that sport I'm done and that's a really easy way to say you're not really you're not passionate enough to do this because
40:35
if I'm fighting you to get to where you're supposed to be then we'll go find something else that I don't have to fight you on so do the things you want
40:42
to do try them all and there's something to be learned from everybody so those coaches that maybe you don't get along
40:48
with they're teaching you something that you don't necessarily agree with or teaching you something and I just i' I'd
40:54
recommend to parents like support those coaches whether you agree with their way they're doing it or not support them and
41:00
then you can either be on their side or you can be the one that picks up the pieces you know either way we're we're
41:07
we're learning something so be passionate about something put your heart and soul into it you know half
41:12
effort is never going to get you what you want to where you want to go in anything so I think one of my big other
The Value of Being Present
41:18
teaching points we haven't really touched on is being present so whatever it is that you're doing at that moment be present in that moment you know when
41:24
I'm dad mode I turn off the cell phone and the and the football stuff and and
41:29
it's it's Dad time right you know if you're a religious person and you're you're doing you're a church like be
41:35
involved in the church be passionate about that and be present where you're at it's hard these days with cell phones
41:40
and with being able people to be able to get in contact with you all the time to be present where you're at all the time and I'm not perfect at it you know I'm
41:47
sure my wife would differ that I'm on my phone more than I should be but wherever we're at be present there and be doing
41:54
what you're doing at that moment so you're so that you you can give it everything you've got I think that's a
41:59
really big point you know if you're if you're a student you're in class be present in class you may be dreaming
42:05
about the Disneyland vacation or the practice or the sport you're going to play afterwards but be present and give
42:10
that teacher everything and learn something from them and then when you're at practice or you're at Disneyland enjoy those moments right I've spent my
42:17
life not everything's been roses right but I do I do hold the like I like to
42:23
vacation I like to travel and so I hold I I have those things planned out and I hold those over when things aren't great
42:30
that I have something to look forward to but looking forward every day you know one thing we didn't touch on and maybe
42:36
this is way off topic is uh my daughter when she was four years old was diagnosed with cancer and went through
Personal Growth Through Adversity
42:42
two years of treatment and and that's shaped me more than anything you know you learn from those things a lot but it
42:49
changed looking forward to a lot of things to living day-to- day cuz you never know what the next day brought you
42:55
know you if we if we had a vacation plan and she got a fever well guess what we were spending 48 hours in the hospital
43:01
so the vacation's just out the window so you just you learn to celebrate those highs and and get through the lows and
43:09
she you know she taught me so much through that process that helped me to just enjoy the fact that I get to get up
43:16
today and go do something that I love to do when when that gets taken away from you you realize how important it is I
43:22
wish there was another way but that you're exactly right when things are taken away from you that's when you appreciate it yes yes I wish there was
43:28
another way that's what I've said all along too like I don't want to go through that again to learn learn anything of course not but so try and
43:35
learn more with so so so that God doesn't have to throw one of those things at you yeah you're like let me soak it in because I don't want to learn
43:41
this lesson again right gotta I like that I like that a lot and I like that a
Supporting Kids' Passions
43:46
lot I want to go back to you said we talk about sports people getting more and more refined more and more better
43:52
and stuff like that but you know you mentioned have them experiment with a lot of things right cuz I know sometimes a parent might
43:59
think hey I want my kid to be a football star and so I'm going to start them at age three it sounds like you're actually
44:04
a little different saying though hey have them experiment cuz first of all they may not like football you I mean
44:09
you may want that but they don't and so and they may not have the size to play and they may not like we talked about earlier like there's a lot of things
44:15
these college coaches are looking at I I might I might really want to play football but I'm 5' five and 150 pounds
44:21
I don't care how good you are these coaches are going to look past you so you never really know I'm telling you I've never seen a 36 six nine-year-old
44:27
get college scholarships and I think a lot of times as parents we put pressure on our kids that my kids got to be the
44:33
best like it's a direct reflection of me as a parent if my kid's a really good football player sure which isn't the case and changing that mindset as a
44:39
parent I think helps fix that you know as as a football coach at Lehigh high school I don't know even the seventh
44:46
graders that are coming up or or the ninth graders my job is to coach the kids that I have right there and I'm not
44:53
paying attention to whether your kids on The A Team B team or C team doesn't matter to me what matters is when I get to see them
44:59
and I'm coaching them the effort and the attitude and the the efficiency that they have when I'm coaching them so
45:05
their kid being the best at 6 years old doesn't translate to them being the best as a high school kid so go experiment go
45:10
enjoy those things and find out what they really like CU say you don't want to be as a parent when they're in high school pushing them to go to practice
45:17
and stay after and put in the extra work that it's needed so the other thing that I don't love about specializing in one
45:23
sport is you use the same muscle group all the time you know baseball in my opinion is the best sport for teaching
45:30
mental preparedness because between every single pitch you got to know what have what do I do if the ball's hit here
45:35
what do I do if the ball's hit to me where am I going so between every pitch it's mentally clocking in whereas
45:41
football it's a read and react I'm reacting all the time so you're not I mean you do have to think through things and what I'm supposed to be doing but
45:47
it's a read and react sport so physicality and the aggressing you get from football doesn't you don't get as
45:53
much in baseball but the mental side of it you get from baseball so playing these D Sports helps I know my boy he
46:00
not a great basketball player we just don't push basketball a whole lot but when he when I go put him in junior Jazz
46:06
he's more aggressive which is a 10-year-old that translates because he's been playing football and so he's
46:11
aggressive to go get the ball whereas another kid that might be a better basketball player backs off a little bit and isn't as aggressive so those every
46:18
sport teaches them something to be good at another Sport and then you're just using different muscle groups and and
46:24
mental capacity in these sports that helped you to be a better player player and I don't think that happens if you're a one sport kid you know it does
46:33
eventually you're going to have to go to one or two sports or three Sports it's hard to do more than that you know by
46:39
the time you get in high school there's so much required of these kids that I don't know how you play more than two or three but as a young kid you shouldn't
46:45
be just playing one and I and I would assume that that logic applies to music academics Arts all those different
46:51
things right yeah we're talking sports but it doesn't really matter what it is you're doing right you know and I'm I'm
46:57
I'm not gifted musically at all I'd love to I love music I love listening to
47:02
music but you know people tell me not to sing and put down the you know I can't touch a piano I might know how to find C
47:09
but that's about it so you know you know and I can't I I'll I cannot draw
47:14
anything my my wife is so talented that way I watch her and I'm like I couldn't do that I I I honestly just can't do it
47:21
and it's so hard for me and and some things came easy I was blessed with some god-given size that I was a that benefited me playing sports but it
47:28
doesn't matter it doesn't matter what it is we should be well-rounded and know a little bit I mean I probably should know
47:34
more about music but what whatever field it is you know whether it's the cello
47:39
the guitar the piano like you're going to be a better piano player I'm sure of it if you know how to play the guitar I know I you know the the lack you know
47:46
the little I know about music You Know piano is the basis for a lot of it you know most of your guitar players learn
47:52
to play the piano and that's how they're able to read the music because they learn it by playing the piano so I'm I'm certain that in that field it's the same
47:59
where I'm better if I'm a well-rounded musician than I am just knowing how to play one instrument and and and I heard
48:06
you say I'll repeat it because I think it's worth repeating that if you if you
48:11
have a passion for it you're going to put in the time if I if I have to tell you to go to practice you you're never
48:16
going to really good because you don't really want to do it right I mean and and you and I are both now professionals
48:21
we have our own careers if I didn't like my job I'm never going to get really good at it because I don't enjoy it it
48:27
every day and so if you don't enjoy it you're not going to get good at anything you know so so I think that's why I like your approach of having him explore it's
48:34
my wife and I have done the same thing with our own kids to have them like I don't care what they become I don't care I but I want them to be good at
48:40
something get good at something I don't care what it is I really don't care but explore and figure out what you enjoy
48:46
and stuff like that yeah my 20-year-old daughter is my complete opposite you know we buted heads her teenage years I
48:53
you know she didn't like me and I loved her but I didn't like her very much either right and she's she's done her
48:59
own thing and done a great job at it she's she learned you know she didn't play sports but she had her own vision
49:05
and what she wanted to do you know she graduated high school and paid for her own aesthetician school which was a ton
49:11
of money she she I didn't know this but she had saved all this money that she had earned through high school that's awesome and paid for it and she
49:17
graduated from aesthetician school she's got two jobs right now and and she just she's got her own path but she's working
49:23
hard to be the best at that and she really has things that she loves to do doesn't make sense to me but it's what
49:29
she loves and so I support her in that and think it's awesome love that I think that's one of the jobs of a parent is is
49:35
is you know hey kid Let's help you discover your talents whatever those are again and we all have our own Egos and
49:41
we want sure head football coach would be great if all my kids were awesome at sports I mean that'd be the ideal right you know it's the it's the you know but
49:50
but that's part of your job as dad is hey I want you to have wings to fly in whatever area that is and if you don't
49:55
let him experience that how do you how do you ever really know what you love right well that's yeah you have to give them experiences right and I think
50:01
that's one of your jobs as a parent is to get them involved in different things yeah and then help them guide them right
50:07
that that's that's the other part of it is we all have influence over their decisions that they do make whether we
50:12
like it or not so let them experience different things and do I think six-year-olds 10 year olds make the best
50:18
decisions no obviously that's why we're parents so then then helping them guide them in the right direction to be able
50:23
to accomplish what they've decided they want to go after yes there is still some some uh shepherding or you know still
50:30
some I mean yes it's not hey good luck right no no again there is yes and again
50:35
that's a balance right yeah so Andy this has been great uh is there anything we haven't hit on that you wanted to touch
50:41
on no I mean I I don't know if you like sitting here with me if if if you can
50:46
feel the passion that I have but I like that's I try and talk that way about it right like I am I'm passionate about
50:51
Lehi I'm passionate about football and Lehi high school and the community that I live in I I like to be involved and
The Joy of Community Involvement
50:58
and try and do a lot of things a lot of my buddies I hang out with they're like can you say no to anybody right cuz I
51:03
just like i' I helped coach my boys youth teams and and my wife's a coaching my daughter's cheerleading team and
51:10
we're we're just trying to get involved uh and and everybody you know I think it's kind of their knock on me like hey
51:15
you're you're never here you can never hang out you're never you never have any free time but the benefits that I get
51:21
out of being involved and meeting people or you know and conversations like this like it's fun to be able to share the
51:27
things that I'm passionate about with others and and help instill that passion in somebody else you know hopefully that
51:32
makes a difference in somebody else's life and I know with coaching that's that's what I get with my business you
51:38
know I can sure I can help me people's grass be green and weed free but it's not the same result you get from seeing
51:45
somebody reach their potential and and and Chase the goals that they have and and succeed with that so there's a lot
51:52
of days that maybe I want to sit home and not go do what I'm committed to do but every time every time when you go do
51:59
it the benefit you get from it is so so overwhelming that that's why I do what I
52:05
do and my wife does what I she does and we support each other and in the busyness you know some mornings we we
52:10
wake up and say see you later and we don't see each other till it's the end of the day and you know we're going to
52:16
bed but we both signed up for that and understand it and appreciate what each other's doing and support each other in
52:23
what their their passions are in life and I think think if I think the more of that we get involved with with
52:29
supporting each other and pushing each other it just elevates everybody around you to be better love that sounds like
52:34
you got a good wife then too yeah I don't know if many would put up with this the the amount of uh irons I've got in the fire so she's been super
52:41
supportive and I think you speak to obviously you know there a community podcast right you know we're trying I I
52:47
you're a good example of hey there's there's a lot of joy that comes from being involved right you know and and
52:53
obviously you have to have balance and and you don't want to be uh running faster than you have strength you know kind of thing but obviously it is good
53:01
to be doing things and and to be involved and I think actually to your point on muscles you know your job
53:06
probably exercises different muscles than your coaching job right and so sometimes you know or or church job or different things like that you know
53:12
sometimes it just helps to use different muscles for a second you know and and so then it doesn't wear you out as much I
53:18
guess yeah that's a really good point actually like I I my brain and my mentality completely changes when I go
53:25
from coaching to running my business and and I have different personalities with each one of them some of them some of
53:32
them I'm the you know when I'm hanging out with my buddies I'm the laidback easygoing guy when I'm the head coach
53:37
I've got to have that eight person e personality you know I'm laying down the law and this is what we're doing and
53:43
it's different to be able and it's nice to be able to use those different parts of our brain and our personalities so
53:49
we're not just stuck in one mode all the time I think that's a good point yeah okay well Andy i' Lov to having you on
53:56
you thank you it uh love what you're doing at Lehigh High School it sounds like you know I wish my kids played
54:01
football there's other great coaches and teachers yes no I'm sure there are so but uh sounds like you're doing good any
54:07
uh predictions for the next season well we should have a good team a great question it you know potential to me is
Looking Ahead: Future Prospects
54:13
a really bad word sure because it's it's you haven't achieved or earned any of it so we have a lot of potential and
54:20
hopefully that fires the kids up when I tell them that that the potential is not a good word yeah we should be good we
54:27
you know the programs turned over from coach Larson to a good spot and and you
54:33
know i' I've learned from other coaches that have come through and talked to me you know staying where you're at isn't
54:39
good enough that means you're not progressing so where we've been I'm hoping to elevate it and take it to even
54:44
a higher level and that's the goal i' I'd imagine we're one of the top teams in the state again next year there are
54:51
other really good programs and this the state of Utah as far as football and that's kind of what I know the state of
54:56
Utah high school football has elevated so much in the last 10 years you can see it with the amount of division one
55:02
scholarship offers to kids in Utah it's good the talent around here is phenomenal and and sometimes my wife
55:09
will say to me we got to go move to a small town it's not as CU you're right it it is easier to do all these other things and play sports when you're not
55:15
in such a competitive environment but the thing it does is it does elevate
55:20
everybody around you so even even the kids that are second third string kids here maybe be way better than a kid
55:27
that's a first string at a smaller school and maybe learn more without being on the field eventually in their
55:32
life that helps them succeed so yeah I think we're going to have a great team uh got a great staff support staff and
55:39
and the administration at Lehi High School is behind us and and realizes the importance that a good football program
55:45
has with the whole school spirit and and the involvement with the students so it's nice it's I'm in a nice spot good
55:53
thanks Andy thanks for coming on yeah I appreciate you having me thank thank you for joining us on roots and branches of
Conclusion and Final Thoughts
55:58
Lehi I hope today's story helped you feel a little more connected to the people who make up our community
56:03
remember every person here has a unique story and together we're what makes Lehi feel like home if you know someone who
56:10
would be a great fit for this podcast please fill out the form in the show notes so we can reach out and schedule
56:15
an interview we'd love to hear from you a big thank you to our sponsors the work Harding Home Mortgage team and play
56:21
Harding nightly vacation rentals for supporting this show and helping us bring our community closer together
56:27
until next time keep growing those roots and reaching out to your branches take care
