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- [00:00]
A
Foreign now. Okay, so a lot of people are going to be wondering, who am I talking to? Well, you wear a lot of hats and I think besides the fact that you were my O line coach at Antelope Valley Junior College, you've been coaching football, young men in football for decades. And just when did, when did the calling start? When did you decide you were going to be a football coach? Obviously you played ball.
- [00:35]
B
Yeah.
- [00:36]
A
And take us a little bit your, your journey and how you ended up becoming a coach before you get into the problem child that you had to coach.
- [00:46]
B
I always loved football, but I was always too big and too poor to play youth football. So I had to wait till high school. And I'm an LA product so LA at the time we were three year high school. So I got this not beat out of me my first year and slowly got into it. And I loved football, went into college, East LA Community College. Okay, gotta show my props. I'm a proud Husky. Then I ended up at a small school, the Western New Mexico University. But it was during my senior year I said, you know what? Those childhood dreams of playing in the NFL ain't gonna happen. So I said, okay. I started learning the game and thankfully I had my senior year. It was his first year at the college, he a successful head coach in Nevada. And so I was able to pick his brain. And that senior year I just listened as a student, as a player too, but as a student hoping to pass that on someday. And then the following summer after my graduation, I got a head. I got a call from our head coach, Mike Drake, because I knew I was going to coach. I was setting up the coach in the LA South Central area for one of my coaches from high school. And I get a call from Mike Drake. He was the head coach at the time. Rest in peace, but good man. He had recruited me and all that. And he said, I got it in the budget to get an offense, an assistant offensive line coach for Tim. That was the coach that coached me my senior year. And I said, really? And so I said, well, I explained to him situation. I was lined up to start teaching LA Unified coach at this South Central high school where, you know, metal detectors, all the stereotypes and all that. And then I said, well, give me a week. So I called around and talked to coaches I very much respected and they told me that they wish they had that opportunity because they couldn't do something like that now. He said, if you're going to do it, you got to do it now, right? So a week later I Signed up for it and told him, yeah, I'll be out there. And I went out and that's where I started coaching Western New Mexico and fell in love with it. I, I thought I knew football as a player until I started coaching and then I said, oh my goodness, this, I'm working just as hard as a coach, more mentally than physically as a player. And then it just got under my skin and I started from there. And I realized early there weren't a lot of coaches willing to just dedicate themselves to offensive line.
- [03:13]
A
Yeah. You know, because that's one thing. Before we get into how our paths crossed, I would describe you as a hands on coach. One of the things, one of the things when you were coaching us is that you did every drill that you asked us to do. And but in coming in teaching young men and a lot of times linemen, D lineman, O lineman, we can be really aggressive, angry kids or a little frustrated because it's not maybe the glorious position they thought they were going to play in football. You know, I think very few guys go into the game going, I'm going to play a line, you know, and then they, once you're in it, it's a different thing. And you've been coaching for so many years have, has that your hands on style, have you had to change that at all? Or is that just something that you always, is that how you bridge the gap, how you reach kids? Was it because you were willing to, to do the work with them? Because a lot of coaches don't do that.
- [04:19]
B
Well, you know, I was younger and a little lighter back then and what I had always thought as a player, and you can relate with it and just like any, any, any players, I think what in the world is this fanatic, this crutch psycho asking me to do and why am I doing it? But I, I believe in him, so I'm going to do it. And I told myself if, when I get into coaching, I'm not going to be that guy that can't relate with what these players are doing. So as long as I could. And you were, I was still in my early 30s when, when we, our paths first crossed and I was able to still run with you and lift with you and run the sand dunes.
- [04:56]
A
With you and all those other sand dunes. I cannot wait to talk about the sand dunes. Also another thing that, and you're also a man of faith and, and your Mormon faith and sometimes that can be difficult to connect with young men who don't share the same faith or even Necessarily understand I. It was always your message of positivity that was the connection. It wasn't necessarily your religion, it was the way that you, you walked it, you talked it, you were a man of faith and you were always state. A man of faith, a man of faith. So it wasn't really a religious question with you because it was a, it was a behavior. You carried yourself a certain way. Was that difficult to be able to manage that because, you know, religion is such a hot button issue now. But even back then, to be, to stay so strong in your faith in an aggressive sport where sometimes, you know, you want to be the alpha male so bad, all the stereotypes that go with it, you know, and you, because of your faith would never, I cannot remember one time, and I know I tried to get you to cuss, but I don't think it ever happened. I think, I think we got to dam it once. But having that faith with being in the teaching profession was that difficult at times.
- [06:16]
B
You know, not for me because I thought that my, the one thing I could do is I could be honest and be me. I didn't want to put on, I didn't want to be the type of individual in any aspect of my life that I had a different face here, different face there. Now we all have variations. Yes, but I wanted to stay semi consistent and you know who I was on the practice field and in the game fields got a little more intense. But I wanted to be consistent and be who I am. And I think that that's, you know, I just finished season 40 and I think that's part of the reason I can still relate with some athletes is because I show them me who I am. You know, I'm a big guy. Do I? Yes, I served the two year, two year church mission. Yes. I go to church every Sunday, I attend the temple, etc and all those things that, you know, quote unquote Mormons do, but I'm not preachy about it.
- [07:09]
A
No, no. And you know what? I'd be honest, I think that was the thing. It was. You led by example. So it was irrelevant. It was never, hey guys, let's sit down and talk about religion today. It was just be right. I'm not asking you to be me. I'm asking you to share the respect load in terms of. It wasn't about galvanizing young men. It wasn't. You weren't galvanized to send us on missions. You were galvanized so we could play the game of football and trust each other and get that little Something extra. Because when a player trusts his coach, he will take that extra step. He will dig that extra foot in the trenches. And it's a very fine line. When you see today, when in education we all knew that you were a man of conviction and religion, but we couldn't. If you would have sat us down and had us explain your belief system, we wouldn't be able to. And I think that was the, the unique thing that made it to where you could tell coach stuff. Even though some things in the real world aren't as pretty or some of the things you think because a person has faith, they haven't gone through similar things because they handle their, you know, you always handled your stuff like a gentleman in coaching, which is again, not easy to do sometimes with personalities and whatnot. But that formula seems to have been lost. Do you see where it's. When you see it today, do you see a lot of the, the, the, the bad blood that goes with educators and teachers is that they think they share too much and they lost their way of just lead by the example, not the explanation. Does that make any.
- [08:52]
B
Well, I think what worked for me is I never took myself too seriously, you know, because I had teachers growing up through school and whatnot, that what they said is the way it was and if someone tried to correct them, oh my goodness, that was like blasphemy. What are you doing? You're a horrible individual. And when I taught in the classroom, I wanted to do it on the football field and in the weight room. If I made a mistake, I'd admit it and I'd laugh about it and say, that's part of humanity.
- [09:22]
A
Yes. To be. Yeah, to be human is to err. Now, I can remember the first time we met. So I, we had just come off. We had lost a Loyola in the CFI Championship, Division one championship in LA Stadium. And I had got. I was one of those what they called late bloomers. I had some personal problems and spent my junior year off the team. And there wasn't. I was getting like, mess letters from like, Dennis colleges and Division 3 schools and walk on opportunities and I really didn't know what I was going to do. And they sent a few of us to a classroom. And you were in the classroom and you were recruiting from Antelope Valley Junior College and you had packets and you had playbooks and, and your workout stuff and the things you wanted to do. And I was just, I was. And you were very welcoming to us. You were like. You knew our names. I think it was like four or five of us. But it was very. It was. It was very surprising because I didn't really have a direction, and I came in a room, and the way that you presented yourself was like. You had already had my direction. For me, like, this is. This is the path, man. Like, I'm. I'm in. You weren't inviting. You were accepting. And I think that's what was the big thing, because I had Bakersfield Junior College at all these other junior colleges where they were just selling the program and you were selling yourself. And I think that made a big difference to me.
- [10:55]
B
Wow.
- [10:56]
A
You know, this is how I coach. This is how I do things. And I didn't believe most of it. And we spent that summer. It was me, Will Knight. I think we were the two big freshmen coming over from. Well, freshmen, but we were coming over from high school, and we were the two biggest kids in the valley at the time. So you had us. And then you had some. You had some veteran guys that had kind of developed underneath you. Mike and.
- [11:26]
B
Alex.
- [11:26]
A
Alex. And then Clayton. But Clayton was the D line. O Line. He was. He was a tweener. But you had. And Valencia. So you had, like. And Valencia was. He was the. Supposedly the D1 guy that was going to go off. You had that. You had a D1 looking center, tall center. So you had, like, this nucleus of guys. You had. I think it was seven of us, that kind of. You had seven guys. And I didn't have any transportation, and I was staying. I was living on a buddy's couch at the time when we met. But I remember you would hold summer workouts. Like, you invite, like, hey, summer workouts. And we would go train with you, and no one else was scheduled. You know, you'd just be like, hey, I'm gonna be at the gym from. I think it was. I think it was. We did it for 11 to 3 or something, and we'd all come in and we just lift. And it was like we'd. And it was the weirdest thing because we didn't talk about football much, talked about movies. We talked about lift. Different weights. And, like, you're tricking us into getting a full day's training in. But it was. It didn't feel like we were training.
- [12:28]
B
Yeah. Yeah. Well. And of course, we were big guys, so we talked about food.
- [12:33]
A
Yeah.
- [12:33]
B
Oh, yeah.
- [12:34]
A
And that's when we used to go to the. The Green Burrito.
- [12:38]
B
Yeah. Oh, yes. Yeah.
- [12:39]
A
It was. All right. So there was this place if you could eat the whole Green Burrito. Which was a pound. Right. It was like. It was like some ridiculous amount of. Yeah, it was. It was £5. It was huge. And if you could eat it, everybody ate for free.
- [12:53]
B
Yeah.
- [12:53]
A
So. But we would train all week, and in the hot, it had to be, what, 100 high desert, California hot. And you would make us do the most thing that we hated the most was. Was jogging. But we jog. You had us jogging in the desert. And I would kind of get up, but I can just remember going, who is this guy? Like, he's. I remember saying to Will, because we're jogging behind you and we're tired and you're like, come on, guys. And we're trying to figure out, this coach ain't screamed at us yet. This. You know, and he's doing everything because he's doing everything that we have to do. So it's kind of hard to complain because you're doing the same thing. You're just as hot as we are. You know, we're not even in gear or anything yet. We're just jogging through the desert with you. And it was a consistent thing. And I think the biggest connection for me was rain, sleet or snow. You were there. You never made an excuse. Like, you know, a lot of guys will start two days in, and then by the third day, they have the coach with the whistle and they have us running through the thing, but you were picking thorns out of your socks like the rest of us, you know, and then we would. After we train, we'd organize or go on activities. And this was. This was just summer, like the. We have. By the time it came time for two A days, we had a pretty solid bond as a unit. Yeah.
- [14:11]
B
Yeah. We'd done a lot together already.
- [14:13]
A
Yeah. And like, the weirdest, like, people like, would you and your coach and you guys just do, like. We'd go to the movies and we're all like 18 to what, probably 20, I think was the age range, you know, and we're seeing Hook with you. Yeah. Because you. Because you would also still within the rules of what your belief system was, without getting into it, it was like, yeah, we're going to see Hook. And I remember sitting there going, is this. This is Peter Pan, Right. Like, this ain't hooked like a horror movie. And. But by the end of it, we was. To this day, it's one of the movies I recommend to my kids because it's such a great backstory because we trained all day. You know, our guys are going to the movies and we're like, what are you seeing? Friday, 13th we're going to see Hook. And we did that a lot because it became our thing where we either. We trained on. At the end of the week, we would either go off, we'd either do the Green Burrito, or we do the movies. And it was. It was something that we looked forward to in a. When summertime is an easy time to be distracted for ball players or young college guys, especially in California girls beach activity. And at that time, everybody and their mom was a wannabe thug or drug dealer and, you know, everyone was something. There was so many different distractions, and you were able to keep us all focused. I'm trying to think. I don't think anyone ever missed unless it was like they. Like they went home or something, you know, because not everybody was from the area. But it. Is it difficult to build relationships like that Every year was there. One year was. It just. Was our. Just nucleus, or is that something you've been able to do? Every 40 years is a long time to do it. But is that that formula works for you? Because I always. You always think you're the only one. Like, we think we're the only group that did that. You know, we'd probably be a little. Look, you know, a little aggressive towards the next group. Like, oh, we used to do movies with Coach, too. And because that was like, it's. We just felt like it was us against the rest of the team. And I think for O lineman, that's crucial in bonding because no one depends on each other more than we do.
- [16:15]
B
Yeah.
- [16:16]
A
You know. Yeah.
- [16:16]
B
And then no one gets less love than we do.
- [16:19]
A
Yeah. Yeah. Everyone. Everyone tells the quarterback he's great, but. But is. Is that to this day, is that still how you do it, Coach? You still. You build it from the ground up.
- [16:29]
B
As much as I can because, you know, generations change.
- [16:33]
A
Yes.
- [16:33]
B
Rules change, mentalities change, you know, and then. Then technology's had a lot to do with it.
- [16:37]
A
More.
- [16:38]
B
They're more. A lot. Athletes are more used to playing games on screens and all that stuff. And they're being taught, in some instances, the game by these games. They're being taught football by the games that they play on. On the video screen, on the computer. You guys were different because you guys were willing to. We're students of the game. You start coming in, I brag about it all the time. That era that all they had to do was set up cones for the different defenses we're going to see that week. And then we go over medley and say, you guys Understood you guys grasped into the concept. In fact, we were. We were. Well, now it's commonplace, the zone blocking.
- [17:20]
A
Yeah.
- [17:20]
B
It's involved in interior line play. Well, we called it stack rules back then.
- [17:24]
A
That's right. And it's really.
- [17:27]
B
It's really what J blocking is today.
- [17:30]
A
Well, we. You know, one of the things that you worked with a lot, for me especially, was footwork. Everything was footwork. And you would. And I remember you would. One of your rules is we had to do everything everybody else did, plus ours.
- [17:44]
B
Yeah.
- [17:45]
A
You know, so we'd be out there early doing running back drills. I cannot say that I was very fond of you during those times doing the running back drills. But. But you would. You kind of. The way you did it was. Is like we were so focused on art building our team that we kind of blocked out. And I think for me, when I was at football practice, that's all there was. There was no other thoughts in my head because we were being challenged every day. We'd see the other guys go in, and then you'd have us run hills, you know, and. And for time, you know, or would jump rope with our gear on, and we would do all these things, but we had the mentality that we were doing it as a team. It was like we did it together. I can't remember a guy ever quitting on a drill. You know, like, we never had a guy just because you wouldn't let anybody else down. Now we've slowed down for people, you know, or helped a guy cross the line because he gave all he. But there was this. This. You were able to create this bond to this day that I still. I still think, especially when it comes to work ethic. I think one of the greatest lessons that you taught me is that, you know, sometimes blitz happens. You can't control everything, but the things that you can control do well. You know, if it might not go your way, but if your foot. If your feet were in the right place, if you were, you did. If you prepared yourself to be the best you can be at that moment and it doesn't work out, you can still hold your head up. You know, there wasn't a lot of. I don't remember a lot of guys miss. You miss a block. It was more disappointing to have to go back and tell you that I missed the block opposed to the actual missing the block. And I think that's a tremendous trait. And 40 years of coaching and you've seen all the kids change. I've seen it. My kids are different. You've seen generation with. What was your. What's your. Was that your favorite time when it was just kind of where you could just mold and just go out there and push? Because you pushed us. Like, it wasn't. I'm talking about a fondly, but anybody who went through these trainings would be like, you got to be kidding. We weren't just running in the sand for, like, a minute. We were running marathons. I mean, we were out there for hours. Like, you could not wear the clothes you trained in home, you know, like, no. You know what I'm saying? Like, and it was you. Everybody was like, had to work. And then the. The tremendous thing was, is that we were in such good shape. When it came time for season, we had an advantage because the other guys came into camp to get into shape, you know, and being it was a small school. Do you ever. Do you ever think about how you do that? Like, how would you do that on the large scale? Like, if you were to have to go to, like, a University of Ohio and have to mold lime and obviously your approach would be. Would be the same, but would. That would. Is it unique to the circumstances of coming from that background in New Mexico kind of working your way? Is it. Is it a unique. Your style? Is it just unique to you, or when you meet other coaches and you guys obviously exchange ideas? How many coaches looked at you like, you're crazy when you're saying, like, well, I do it with my guys.
- [21:07]
B
Well, there's. There's one. I'm sorry, I'm old. I'll show you a story. So because of Will, Will signed with byu.
- [21:15]
A
Yeah.
- [21:16]
B
Okay. And I go up there, and they. Because they signed him, they. They invited me to go work summer camps. And at the time, the O. Line coach, Roger French, was just like the old line coach of the college football at the time. And so I go up there and I see a drill that he's doing, and then I go back and I say, oh, yeah, it looks pretty good. And then he came that spring for recruiting, and I had doubled the. Doubled the drill that he had had in. In size, right? And he said. He said, how do you get him to do that? I said, cool. I just asked him to do it.
- [21:51]
A
Yeah. Well. And again, one of the things that you always have said about me as a player is that I talked a lot. So I think one time you asked me during the game, when do you breathe? You never stopped talking. But a lot of that talking had to do with the confidence of understanding what it is that we were doing. You know, it was a level of confidence that I had not experienced before. I typically played football paranoid. I would probably be the best way to describe playing football in high school. It was like I kind of understood it was afraid to make a mistake. So you just. You're just kind of all over the place. And then after coaching with you, it was like things were in slow motion. I come up to the line with a smirk on my face. I know where the ball's going. I know the defense is slanted in the wrong direction. Like, it's just. It's. It was a completely different. It didn't happen overnight. I. I think it probably took about four games when it just kind of just. And then everything slowed down. School slowed down. Everything just kind of. That's why I always say o linemen are the. Were the smartest ones because once we understood it and had that. But it came from confidence. And it's not easy to build confidence in young men especially. That's. We were all different, but. But in a lot of ways, we were all rejects. A lot of us hadn't met our potential. You know, Will and I should have been D1 signees out of high school. Didn't quite go that way. You know, other guys, you know, we had guys like Darren Rogers and Charlie Wright, guys that have 1,000% should have been playing, you know, from Miami or Notre Dame, and they had made, you know, whatever life mistakes had thrown your way or so there was. It was a kind of a. You had like. You were like a recycling bin for damaged potential, you know, like this. Yeah, this kid's six, eight. There's other kids, six, nine, but maybe they just don't get it. And you. You kind of molded. Was the secret sauce, the confidence to build confidence. Was that always the plan?
- [23:54]
B
The plan was for. For me to have to let you as athletes know that you had my complete trust, you know, because all the work that we did together and part of the. The objective of my having you work so hard is that I could get a feel of what your fitness level was and how far you could push. So in the. In a. In a game situation, I could tell if you needed a breather.
- [24:21]
A
Right.
- [24:22]
B
Which you didn't. Which you didn't. Because you were, you know, you had bought in, you'd bought in. But, you know, in later generations, I get a feel. Okay, well, I can tell he's getting a little bit tired.
- [24:32]
A
Well, one thing was that was. Was great was when we would start to wear the guys down right around right around third quarter when D lineman are sucked and we just start. And at first we coach Carter. Carter, scariest man on two feet. Like, I just remember if our head coach. But he was one of those guys where you had to earn it. His respect had to be earned. But when you got it and at first, if you went to him be like, hey, line says 23 power, 24 power. Just let us run the ball down. We'll. We'll ice the clock out and we'll. We'll get first downs and win the game. At first, he probably would have looked at you like crazy, but it got to the point where you would go. Be able to go to him and say, we're just going to run the ball. And it would be like, go. You know, and. But you were building. You change. Guys who would probably started thinking about football as an afterthought because, you know, the goal is you want to be in the NFL or you want to be a Division 1 school, and all of a sudden you're not. And then you're. You're at your junior, your junior college, you know, a few miles from your high school. It's real easy to get caught up in the. The excuse world or the bitter or the frustration world and not necessarily have pride in what you did, but you would not allow us that. Like, we. We were marauders. Like, there was. It was a certain. We were. We were different, you know, and you replicated that so well with me. It went on to. And all of us, I don't think. I think every one of us has been successful. We all got chance to continue our lives as athletes, even the year after our second. And I went through a knucklehead phase. I was gone. I was going to go to a different junior college following some of the knuckleheads that were trying to. You're gonna. It's the best way to get to the league. But I remember coming back. Yeah, I remember coming back and Randy Clemens, who was. He was considered the top O lineman in my high school, you know, and he was supposed to be going off to like a big school, and all of a sudden you had Randy. And then with us, he was the guard, you know, like, he was the. The smaller guy. By the time he got to us, the gap had been. Had closed. We all had traps and we looked different, you know what I'm saying? From a guy that was just a year behind you. But that. But he was another guy that bought into it. Like, guys came in and you changed the. Well, my Trajectory. All of a sudden, I started having notebooks of D1 schools and all kind like. And all conference honors and blue chip all American stuff. Like, all this attention was coming to us, but never at one time were you ever like, all right, you made it, guys. Like, oh, great, you got a cool letter. Cool. Let's go. Let's go on the hop. You know, and we'd be like, well, you want to talk about this? Like, no, no, no. We got. Let's go. We got drills you would never allow us to. To get in front of ourselves. And I think. I think that was one of the deciding factors to me is I've never, ever gotten to a point where I'm like, okay, I'm good. Not obsessively in a bad way. Like, you can enjoy the victory, but understand there's still work to be done, you know, And I think. And I think that has helped me tremendously because. And it's easier for me to reference point because I know where I was at at that particular point in my life. I had absolutely no direction. I was living in different places and had no real. Had a horrible relationship with my family and didn't really know what my plan was going to be if I didn't get a scholarship to go somewhere. Because the other thing was, it was two things that happened. Guys either went, well, three things. The guys went to the military, or they went to college, or they end up working for somebody in the neighborhood, you know, and it's just. It's just kind of like those are the kind of the options for young men with. Who wanted to play ball, and things didn't quite work out. And I did not want the option of ending up, you know, in and out of jail or. And all that stuff. And I remember distinctly when it got to the point where we started getting popular because we were a good football team. Like, we were ranked. We were. You know, we had a bowl game the first year, second year. We're all ranked. We're all getting attention. All of a sudden, people are coming to the games. You know, like, you're starting to get, you know, scout. You see D1 scholars scouts at practice and stuff, and you're starting to get attention and newspaper articles and starting to get all this stuff in, and it. It very easily could have went the wrong way for. For a lot of us, especially me. When you start getting attention and you don't know how to garnish that and you don't necessarily have role models, it could very easy get caught up in that. Oh, I've made it. Or. And you never allowed that for us. Is that just. Where does that come from? Where does that humbleness come from? Is that family? Is that something that just you developed to where you would never let us? Especially me? Because I, you know, I like breaking the banner. I like talking, you know, like, I was. I liked all the. That attention and stuff that went with the game, but there was always a. A moment where I'd be like, I don't know. Coach wouldn't appreciate that. You know, like, it was just. It was. You instilled it in us. Is that. Where did that come from? Because it's such a rare quality, Coach, I don't. You don't see it? You know, your ego never gotten it in front of you.
- [29:52]
B
I think, because, first of all, no one's harder on me than me.
- [29:57]
A
Right?
- [29:58]
B
It's always been. I've always. Every 40 years, all 40 years, I expect to get fired at the end of that season because I'm that hard on myself. And so my word to athletes was. And I don't know if you remember this, but I was asked. I'd ask you a question, some point in the recruiting process or when you first got on caps. I said, how good of a player can you be? And you kind of shrugged your shoulders, and I say, well, let's find out.
- [30:24]
A
Yeah.
- [30:25]
B
And then enjoy the journey. Enjoy the journey. You know, I. All those things you mentioned that we did together, that you guys. Those are precious memories to me. And I was having fun, and I wasn't having fun because you were suffering. I had fun because we were building something together. And I felt when you were. When you were on the field, I was with you.
- [30:47]
A
Yeah. Yeah. And there was a lot of times, because one of the. One, I hated the tailbone pads. I thought they were the dumbest thing in the entire world. And a lot of the Florida guys wouldn't wear them, you know, and they'd be like, oh, they'll never know. They'll never know. Right? And I decided not to wear my tailbone pad for a game. I was like, the hell with it. Like, I couldn't find it in my locker. Got away with it for one game. No one said anything. And we're. We're driving on a goal line, and I had a big block, and I think Cash was running back behind us, and it's like, first and goal. And I had pancaked the guy, and as I was getting off on. The ref comes behind me, and he's like, hey, no tailbone. Pad. Go get a pad. So I had to get out, and. And we're at goal line, and so I had to turn. And I remember I turned. I'm panicking because I. I don't One. I don't want you to know that I didn't. Was. Didn't have my tailbone pad in. And worse, I didn't want Coach Carter to know because I probably wouldn't have been allowed back in the game. Yeah. So. So I come running in, and you. You're looking. You're concerned because you're watching. You see me running in, and you send the. The backup in, and then you're looking at me like, what's going on? And all. I just kept pointing at my helmet, and I was trying to say I did something stupid, but. But you're like, his helmet's broke. Fix his helmet. So the equipment manager's looking at my helmet. He's like, there's nothing wrong with the helmet. I said, I need a tailbone pad. And he was like, oh, Jerry, Jerry, Jerry, Jerry. The scriven manager, he was like, you've got to be kidding me. He's like, all I have is a forearm pad. With his little. Like, just give me the pad. And I stuffed the pad back in, and I come running back out. And you're like, what was wrong? And I get back at the game, and we. We ended up scoring. Come back to the sideline and sitting there, and. And you sit down next to me, and I'm trying to think of every lie I could possibly say. That there's a screw, or with this or with that. And you just said, see me after film day. And I knew I. You didn't want to get into it. You. You knew. I knew that. You knew that I would. That I screwed up in such a dumb thing. But I knew the rest of the game. I didn't bother. I didn't explain anything. I just went back and played ball because I had already known what my consequence was is that I was going to be running my ass off come Monday after. But it was just very smooth, like, touchdown, man. Good. Game's going good. Yeah. Okay, well, see me after film Monday. Nice tailpad. But I. But I remember the terror in my heart of not wanting to go to you and tell you something as silly as that. And I'd be like, I could have made every argument in the world how the tailbone pad was useless. But that's what was expected for us, was to always be prepared. And I always remember I ran away from you. I Could. You were on the sideline. I jogged all the way around to the, like almost to the 50 yard line instead of going into the, to the end to the. Where we're all. Because you could go as far as the 20. I think 20 or 30. You were right in there waiting on me. And I just, just kept going. Cause I was like, nope, if I make eye contact with him, he's gonna know I didn't have my equipment. And I look back at that and I think, man, he had such an impression on me that I was more worried about disappointing him. And of course after that, I just, I had my damn tailpo tailpad in every game. But it was just a, it was such a little thing because we would have moments like, you know, we call the wrong play and I look back and I don't. If someone comes up to me and goes, hey, man, we played against each other, I'll have to sit there for a minute and try to remember. But if I say something like the time that we all thought it was 23 scissors and we. It was 22 and we all went the wrong direction and that was the fourth. And at that time, our office line, we were averaging. I think we had two guys almost getting close to a thousand yards and we went the wrong way. And I made the call. It was on me. And because you had entrusted us to be able to call audibles out there. And I think I said flip it or something and half the team didn't hear me or whatever the hell it was. But I remember everyone's jogging on the sideline and I would not come in. I was just staying out in the 50 yard line. Maybe I can get in on defense. I do not want to go in and tell coach that I made the wrong call because I. But I just. And it was never screaming. I don't think you. I'm trying to. When you think of the stereotype of the football coach, especially the O line coach, the yelling, the screaming, I'm trying to. I can't remember a time where you ever raised your voice in octave, like, other than even an exciting play. It was a high five or a head slap or, you know, something. But I, I don't remember ever you never losing your temper. And, but that doesn't mean you weren't passionate. It didn't mean your face wasn't bright red the whole game. But like, yeah, how do you, how did you maintain that level of just calmness?
- [35:42]
B
Well, you know, I, I being so long in the game, I've learned that if you, if a coach loses his cool, his or her cool, no matter what sport, then that to the player, that's portraying a lack of confidence, a lack of control. So if I would get upset, then you guys, the message to you would be, oh, oh, man, we screwed up bad. We did something. Something's wrong. Something's wrong. What's wrong? What's wrong? What's wrong? Whereas I didn't want that. I wanted you guys to have the confidence that, you know what? They ain't going to stop us. They ain't going to stop.
- [36:18]
A
Did you know it would your. Did you know that your coaching style would translate to so many guys off the field's life?
- [36:24]
B
Did you know I did.
- [36:26]
A
Is that, is that the biggest surprise for you when you run into guys like me or guys like Will and you see that your, your, your coaching style influenced the way that our approach to, to life. Does that ever cross your mind? Like the work ethic? Oh, you know, what you've shared with.
- [36:45]
B
Me recently through text and then when we were able to spend some time at that hall of Fame thing last year, it's just brought tears my eyes because I just feel like, wow. You know, I actually put some. The goal was to help you. Yeah. Win football games, become a better alignment and all that, but, you know, the underlying driving force is to help you, help all you guys find yourself, have direction and go out and enjoy life and be a, be a good contributors to society and etc. Etc. And when I hear stuff like that just touches my heart. It really does. Because community college, we don't get you very long.
- [37:25]
A
Yeah.
- [37:25]
B
You know, we get two seasons. Two seasons. You know, we got longer because we started earlier and all that kind of stuff. But, but you don't get very long. And to hear that, you know, I've got guys I come across, they're in the coaching world, you know, you the kind of the pinnacle being in a celebrity where you're able to impact positively the lives of so many people. And it just touches. Brings tears to my eyes when you, when you told me in the text, I was last week or the week before and I had said, you know, well, you know that that was kind of my goal. And you said, you succeeded.
- [38:01]
A
Yeah.
- [38:01]
B
And I'm not an emotional person, but there's tears in my eyes when I read that.
- [38:06]
A
Yeah.
- [38:06]
B
And I just said, wow, what you.
- [38:09]
A
Were, you were breaking down, it was the end of a football season and you were basically saying how it's another season's coming or gone and you, you Just you. Always the same thing. You always, you're always your toughest, your toughest critic, and you always wonder if you've done enough to help these guys. And I, I just, I, as one of the, as one of your guys, I was like, you did, coach, you did. Because the, the lessons. When the football. Life on the football field is short, she doesn't wait for anyone, and when she's, when she's gone, she's not coming back. But the, the lessons you learn on that field, what you will carry with them, because that is, I think, and again, I, I, I can only speak from a man's perspective. I don't know where I would have ended up in life had I not had football. But not just football, but having at that point in my life where I could have went either way, the ability to use my aggression and anger in a positive way, because the way my coach helped me express it, there could have been the other side where that rage on the field didn't turn off, you know? You know what I'm saying? Like, when you get off the field, you're still got something to prove, you know? Are you still, like, having somebody help you put things in perspective when you're not necessarily understanding the lesson? Because I didn't understand the lessons. I don't think I understood the lessons that you taught me until I was a father and my kids started playing ball and sports and stuff, and they would ask me about when I would play, and I've had tremendous success in football and stuff, but the stories are always the training. Sitting back to back with my coach because we didn't have military press, but it was trust. We trusted each other, you know, and, and pulling thorns out of stuff. And then in a game and, And I'm. It's the fourth quarter, and I can get lower because I, I did the work and telling my kids, you got to be the first one out there, last one to leave. And I kept thinking, where the hell did I used to hear that? And it was, it was you. Every time. I mean, hours before anyone else was out there, we're out there running ropes and, you know, we miss even the movies that you, that you took. And I, I wish I could have Will and some of the guys here because they would back me up on this. You had us all speaking Pawnee because we. You took us to see Dance with the Wolves.
- [40:51]
B
Oh, yeah.
- [40:52]
A
So we were doing all our drills, doing the goodbye scene to Mani to Tanka Oache. I still remember this shit. Sorry Host. And I still remember this. And we'd be yelling this while we're running. Every one of us is. Is. Look, you're. So. You want to go run the dunes? We're not doing it, Coach. We're not doing it today. Not today. But you would. We would all be doing the drills and trying to say something from the movie, and none of us are thinking about the fact that, like, we're going hard in the paint on a windy day and practice ain't even started yet. This is just us being us. But we'd be in the field, and the next thing you know, we were literally at one point making Native American calls on the O line instead of, you know, like. And the guys were the defense. Like, what the. What are you talking about? You know, And. But it was just. I. I'm. And I just. That memory just came to me. But when I'm talking to my kids and they see the look on my face and they're looking at me like crazy, like, wait a minute. He made you run how many? 220 yards? Oh, 20 of them. But we were. We were racing against him. You know, it was like the. The things that you did that you were able to help get energy out, but at the same time, it. You made the work fun, but at the same time, you made it to where it was. Like, it was. It was a part of who you were. Like, you were. You were just getting it out. Like, I.
- [42:14]
B
You.
- [42:15]
A
I never didn't party a lot. You know, I think about that when I was. And it was parties all the time. I think the only time we ever party was free pizza night on Thursdays.
- [42:23]
B
But.
- [42:23]
A
But, like, because we were tired. It was always tired. Like, homework and stuff done. And it'd be 10 o' clock at night. Be like, hey, you want to go? I'm like, nah, man, I got hills tomorrow. Like, you know, like, it. But it kept us off. Like, all of us. Like, Randy was real popular and. And. But we, you know, Chuck and all the guys, the.
- [42:46]
B
The.
- [42:47]
A
We were getting national attention for the football team, the success of the football team. And so there was a lot of opportunities to go be dumb, you know, but we were just too tired. I just remember saying, I don't know about y', all, but I'll fall asleep. Like, I don't want to go out. And our grades were better and. Do you. Oh, that's. You know, because I ended up. I would have to sit out a year to go to Washington. And I remember coming to you. Like, what do I do? Like, you know, because My home situation wasn't great. And your advice was. And listen, me going to Washington looks a lot better on your resume than me going to University of Nebraska at Kearney. But you looked at me and I remember you said this, I said for you, because I was. Because Nick Will had. He had Brigham Young, Nick had Missouri. All these other guys had all these big schools calling him. I had Clemson and Washington, and I had all these big letters coming. And then I had this small school. But the thing was, because I didn't take my SATs and ACTs and all that because I couldn't afford it in high school, this one school could take me now. I could fly out for spring ball. And I just remember you saying, it's more important for me to know that you have a roof over your head. It's. Than it is to be at a big school. This is the best place for you. They'll find you. Trust me. It'll find you. You know, and. And I remember that at the time, I easily could have took as. You don't believe in me, Coach. You don't think I can get the grade. My grades up and take the SAT and in the off season. But you were more concerned about me, the person than the player, because a lot of coaches would have been like, yeah, of course I want to go to Washington, even if I washed out, just to have it on the resume. Well, yeah, I sent. I sent two of my guys to D1 schools this year, but it was more important to you that I go to a place where you knew that you wouldn't have to worry about me. And I thought that was very unselfish and at a time when everyone was telling me whatever the hell I wanted to hear, you know, because I was all conference and, you know, I had gotten a pretty good reputation as an athlete and. And was starting to. And you see all the letters and people are. You have all these new buddies, you know, And I remember when you said that to me, I just looked at you and I didn't. And I called. I called Coach Morris that day and I said, all right. And I still had visits. I didn't even finish my visits. The one I'm mad about. I should have took the Hawaii one just, you know, just to go. But I just remember my coach said that, and I. And. And it was. It ended up being the best decision because you could have easily been like, no, no, just red shirt. You'll be fine. You know, sign the intent with Washington, because that's all you would have needed, you know, and that was.
- [45:43]
B
That was.
- [45:43]
A
I think that was a very fatherly thing to do. And I know that's a. Because in a coat, in a lot of ways, you had a lot of young men with little or no male role models. Like, that was the one thing, I think, that. Which could make things difficult for somebody with your moral strength, because that's often mocked more than it's respected. Does that make any sense? Oh, he's, you know, he's. He's religious. Don't listen to him, dog. He ain't cool. You know, and it was like, you. But you. It was like, no, no, integrity is cool, guys. I don't care what. What you do with it, but integrity is cool.
- [46:20]
B
Yeah.
- [46:20]
A
That's probably the biggest lesson that I learned. But I don't know if you realize that that speech. You were sitting at your desk, we're getting ready to lift weights, and you just looked at me and you said, I think that's the best place for you, because then you have a roof over your head, and that's more important than not, you know? So I think. And I just. I never really got a chance to say thank you for that.
- [46:43]
B
Well, you know. You know, I reflect on it, and I remember our time together very fondly. And I know that along the way. I cared about you. Then, George Mordoch, today, Tyrus. I didn't care about the football players much.
- [47:02]
A
Right.
- [47:02]
B
I care more about you as an individual, as a person. And, you know, I. You throw out the term my guys, and that's how I always refer to former players and I consider part of my extended family that, you know, that I wanted the best for you. What's the best for you? Not that's. I mean, I'm going to coach, you know. You know, and it's. It doesn't matter to me what my resume says, who I've sent here, who I sent there. It's like when the highlights of. When we talk and there's some football mixed in, but a lot of it's not.
- [47:37]
A
Yeah.
- [47:38]
B
Just relating as individuals, as people. Like at that hall of Fame thing, we spent, what, three, four hours together that night with you signing. Signing and all that stuff.
- [47:46]
A
Yeah. You tease me. Yeah. You're like, is this like this your life every day?
- [47:49]
B
Like, yeah. But, you know, I reflected on that and I said, you know what? We had last seen each other, I think it was In Florida, about 10 years before that, maybe longer.
- [48:00]
A
Yeah. I was in the WWE back then. Yep.
- [48:02]
B
Yeah. And I thought, you know what? There's a small Percentage that we talked about football.
- [48:09]
A
Yeah. Very rarely. I think your favorite stories, when I tried to beat up Tony Valencia because he tried to take it easy.
- [48:20]
B
Oh, I got a couple more if.
- [48:21]
A
You want me to show why. You know what? Yeah, why not?
- [48:24]
B
Okay.
- [48:25]
A
All right.
- [48:26]
B
We've got George, George Murdoch. And I don't know where I got that strength because when we got in the weight room that day, I kind of picked you up and moved you away.
- [48:34]
A
Yeah. Because I was gonna get him. Yeah.
- [48:36]
B
And then. And then when you told me, you shared with me. What? Why? Because our heated rival San Bernardino and he's coming up there. Oh, come on, just relax. We're just killing the ball and all that.
- [48:46]
A
Yeah. And I was looked at it like crazy. I wanted.
- [48:50]
B
I wanted to kill him.
- [48:50]
A
Yeah.
- [48:51]
B
I think some of you guys stopped me. Yeah, I wanted to kill him. What did you do? And then I took care of that on Monday. He. He ran till he didn't.
- [48:58]
A
Yeah. That was a year cure all. Nothing. Nothing cures you more than good old running.
- [49:05]
B
Okay, okay. Two stories. Let me tell you this. Okay. All right. Now if you remember, on Wednesdays after practice, we would have a passing league type competition.
- [49:15]
A
It was O line all stars.
- [49:17]
B
Yeah. We split into two and we did all the passing, throwing the ball, all that good stuff and all that stuff. Okay. That was like a highlight of the week. That was our extra as our extra training for the day. And so we're getting a lot of notoriety. Okay. And Brian golden, who was a valley press guy and into very into sports, announcing, all that stuff, Icon, Indiana Valley, he came and he wanted to do an article on you guys. And coach Carter said, fine, you know, directed him to me. And I told you guys, I said, hey, Brian Gold's here. He wants to interview guys. And so I'm going to leave you with him. So instead of playing our game all the. I'm leaving the field, going in and you guys stay and talk to Brian Gold. And you guys said, what about our game? Yeah, he wanted to play the game.
- [50:09]
A
Yeah.
- [50:10]
B
So I, I went over to Brian, I told him, explained it to him. He said, oh, okay, coach. So he sat there and we played our game. I go in and I hang around because, you know, I didn't want to be an in fact any kind of influence. I wanted you guys to have your spot time in the spotlight. Right. And so. But I sitting in the office, I'm waiting, and then I see you guys coming in. I come over, say, so how'd it go? I think it was Randy Coach George talked the whole time. We hardly got a chance to say anything.
- [50:43]
A
Well, he kept asking me questions. Cause he thought I was funny. And if I remember right, Randy didn't say shit. He just stood there. So it was like, moment. And Will wasn't exactly known for voice. They were just. Everyone was like, huh? Yeah. I was like, let me tell you what we do. Because I was proud of what we did.
- [51:00]
B
Yeah.
- [51:01]
A
And also I had won that day because for a while, I was John Elway. Because I was doing the Elway. I was doing pigeon Toad. And I could throw the ball through the thing. The only one I think Will kept. Will kept winning the field. Go kicking.
- [51:16]
B
Yeah.
- [51:16]
A
But the. The. The accuracy. And then we'd play Philly.
- [51:20]
B
Yep.
- [51:21]
A
We played Philly. Yeah. Philly. Because there's no fumble. There's just. You keep throwing. Which if, knowing what I know now, was it had nothing. It was just to keep us running the whole time.
- [51:29]
B
Oh, yeah.
- [51:30]
A
But. Because. But we didn't realize it. And you made us do it in full gear. So just like the jump rope competition.
- [51:36]
B
Yeah.
- [51:37]
A
Yeah. Like, anyone could jump rope, but can anybody jump rope with their gear on? I look back at that as, like, he. Was he an evil genius or is he. He just. We just. We're just so thirsty to be just. We were different. You made us feel different. Because I remember the. The interview. A lot of the guys, I think I started. My personality, my confidence started coming out. So then my charisma really started to come out. But I had like, almost a D lineman's charisma for office alignment. Because I looked at. We gave punishment. I didn't look at it like we blocked, because we looked at, like we. We put punishment. We're going to move you around. We're going to rough you up. So that was kind of my mentality. But the guys, once they relax as we were making jokes and laughing. But I remember the guy was just kind of like, so do you guys do this every Wednesday? And we're like, yeah. And we're telling him our workout stuff. And he was just kind of looking at us like, what the hell? Like, you guys do all this and practice? And we're like, yeah. And I. I just remember being very proud and. But I also remember no one else said anything. They were all just kind of like, huh?
- [52:44]
B
Okay, so we're playing Chaffey College. Okay. And this was a solid conference. We're playing. There were no power to Puffs. You had some really good players, and a lot of them I got to watch on TV later on, because they were that good. So, anyway, we're playing Chaffey College, and it's right before halftime, and we're deep in the red zone. And there's one thing I had always emphasized to you guys. If you see a ball on the ground, cover, cover it, you know? I said, don't try to fall for the glorious scooping and going to go score. You said, coach, I want to start. I said, oh, no, no, we. It's more important we retain possession of the ball.
- [53:32]
A
Yes.
- [53:33]
B
So here we are. College, I don't know, but the ball is on the ground, and there I see number 76. That's true. That's you.
- [53:43]
A
Yep.
- [53:43]
B
There you go. You're the guy. Right. The ball right at your feet as you're down there, nice and low, and what do you do? You scoop it up. And I say, no, you scooped it up. Okay.
- [53:55]
A
You put bad karma out there, Coaches.
- [54:00]
B
Now, you got to imagine this is 67350. Finely tuned athlete, he could play all five positions on the line. This is not a easy guy to push around. Next thing I know, there was 32 guys hammering you from different.
- [54:13]
A
I got hit by every DB within 20 miles of me, and I believe that ball. I coughed it up, the ball popped.
- [54:20]
B
Out, they recovered it, and we're going into halftime because it's right before halftime.
- [54:26]
A
Yeah, right. All I had to do was drop.
- [54:27]
B
On it, and we had a boy of the game, so it was a happy ending. But anyway, we're going in, and I wait and you come in and I wouldn't let you because we had to go through a gate. So you couldn't avoid me because I worked in. And you said. All you said was, coach, I couldn't resist. Yeah, I just. I did everything I could from not laughing, and I let you go and I just said, yep, he's got such a great personality. What a great guy.
- [54:55]
A
Yeah, I wanted that glory so bad. You know, ironically, the last time, the last guy game I played, the last arena football game I played, I. I finally had a scoop and score. I hit the quarterback for a sack scoop, and when I got into the end zone, I. I spiked it. But it was kind of like, that's it. I really was like, that is that. It wasn't anything that I thought it was going to be. And after that, I was just like, we're getting ready to go on the bus back, and I just went to the coach and I said, I'm. I'm done, man. Like, I. I got no. I. It's not what I thought it was going to be like. I just. The. Once you play online on the grass, it just, there's nothing like it. And there comes a point where you're like, this hurts. But I remember when I scooped and scored a touchdown, I just remember the. What I thought was going to be this tremendous joy was just like, that's it. That's why you guys scream. And I just felt like, wow. Like, no, it's way more joy driving a guy into the ground and picking up a first down than there was, you know, scoring a damn touchdown. But yeah, I remember. I was. See, I remember seeing you at the fence and you waiting on with your arms crossed and it's like, I know I'm not gonna get yelled at, but I know he's gonna say something profound that's gonna be stuck in my head for the next four or five days. So that's all I was trying to avoid was like I did. Because it's not the. You. Your coaching style with us would all sit in the bench and would be strategizing if something went wrong or somebody made a bonehead mistake. And we were young guys, we made mistake. We missed blocks and it would just. And you'd be like, I'm disappointed. That's all that needed to be said, you know, and then we just sit there. You'd get up, you'd walk away from us and we'd all sit there. And I remember when Mike and Alex are there, Mike's like, he wasn't disappointed in me. And. And he was like, he's disappointed all of us. You. He's like, no, I made my. If you made it doesn't matter if you made your block. It's a team. Team goes down. He's disappointed everybody except it. Like, he's like, no, I want me. I'm like, you know, but because nobody wanted that coach disappointment like, because Coach Carter's face turned red no matter what. Hold on. Wife's calling me. She knows my schedule better than I do. But I just remember not wanting to be. To hear those words. I'm disappointed in you. Because Coach Carter, when his face turned red, I remember we was saying San Bernardino, our big rivalry. This is when we had Marty Washington our first year and it was the championship game where he slipped in the sand on the two point conversion and we could have won the whole thing, but team fight broke out and I remember the O line. We jumped up and you looked at us and you were kind of stuck because it's a team sport and if Your team's going, and, you know, but you stood there and you're like, easy guys, Easy guys. And. And I started to lead the charge a little bit, and Coach Carter turned around, and his face was as red as the devil. And he said, you step one foot on that field, I will haunt you. You will never play ball again the rest of your life. And I looked, and it was not just me. It was the entire roster just standing there. And, like, I went back, sat in the bench, the guy sat on the bench, and you're like, hey, everybody all right? Yeah, we're good. I ain't going out there. I don't see no fight. Like, ain't gonna be me. Like, there was nothing. The. The contrast. But the difference was. And again, I'm not. I understand there's a place for that coaching style, and I'm not knocking it at all, because Coach Carter, he scared me straight. But. But there is a. A difference in it, because when we did fail, the disappointment of the failure was there, but we knew we could go to you and say, I failed. How can I make this better? I think that is the glue that makes your teaching style so significant. And I wish. You know what you should have wrote 40 years. You need to write a book, Coach. You know, I know a guy, but you should write a book because that. Your teaching style, I think, is. Is kind of has gone to the wayside a little bit. Do you see it with the change? And like I said, you're. You're in there. You're teaching in the. In the junior colleges, in the high schools, has. It has a teacher as an educator. And I don't need a political thing. Just the generations. Kids change. You see the changes. You see the guys coming up my age from back when you coach a guy like me, you got guys coming up now, and you said it's more. It's more technological. But is it. Is it harder to reach them on just the hard work just because there's so many outs, or is it. Is it more difficult or is it just. You just kind of. They don't need as much, maybe, because they can do all their training and stuff on their own now.
- [59:54]
B
Well, what we do now. And I did it back then, but it was. It would start higher, the bar starts lower, and then we raise it.
- [60:04]
A
Okay, so.
- [60:05]
B
So we get. So we start with something that everybody can do, okay, so everybody can do, and then increase it by small increments. And I. I tell coaches. I tell young coaches today. You know, it's like, I. I Don't. I don't want to be the Noah. Right. I want to be the guy that helps you understand the. Process it to where you can make adjustments and audibles on the line of scrimmage and blocking schemes and whatnot. You know, it's like back then, I was young enough that coach harder. He wanted to run the next play. Okay. Run the next and practice, because we all had tons of plays that we're going to run. And so I would run to you if you made a mistake. Yes. You'd be downfield. I'd run to you. And then on the way back, as we're jogging back, I say, okay, what should you have done on this?
- [60:55]
A
Yeah, you leave, you took a false step. Don't. False step. Don't cross over, you know? Yeah. Like you're. How you block him with your head down, you know? Yeah. You know, things like. Yeah. And you would run because Cars. Carter, be like, next play. Next play. Yeah.
- [61:10]
B
And so my. My. My goal is to get you to where, you know, I wanted you to learn it. I didn't want you to just accept what I was.
- [61:19]
A
Right. And then eventually you're doing the figuring out yourself, because then the next plays come in and you're making it. You make adjustments and you're able to do it on the fly. So you. You were building muscle memory in your brain.
- [61:31]
B
And in hindsight, look at it. Well, ain't like life's like that.
- [61:35]
A
Yeah.
- [61:35]
B
We don't know what's. We don't. We don't know what's. Sometimes we don't know. We don't have the answer. So what do we do? We keep pushing. We keep, you know, enjoy the journey as much as we can and find a way.
- [61:49]
A
I think that's the. And. And I am enjoying the journey, coach. I. I am enjoying the journey. And thank you for helping me build the. The map I needed to get to where I went in life. I don't think I would be here today had you not taken that time to coach the way you did, to care the way you did, to not just myself and I'm sure any of the guys that we played with, even Will, his parents, lived in a different state. Like, you were all we had as far as a male role model that was there every day and consistent. And I just want to say thank you for showing up every day, coach. And that's not an easy thing, but you showed up every damn day. And that's when I follow. When I show up to work or if I walk in those doors, Rainsley. You show up, you do what? You do your damn job. So I thank you for that. I appreciate the time, coach. It was great. Going down memory lane, 40 years coaching, you're. I mean, I don't think you'll be coaching until. I mean, even when your time's up, I'm sure up there you'll be coaching something, you know, but you are a man's man. But you're a great coach and a father and a mentor and. Thanks so much, man. I really appreciate you spending this time with me. And hey, you did good for your first podcast.
- [63:11]
B
You did. Hey, that's. Life's about experiences. That's what I thought.
- [63:14]
A
My team's clapping. They're like, he. I told him, coach, don't do podcasts. So this will be fun.
- [63:20]
B
Yeah, this is the first. And I appreciate it. And hey, I celebrate you, big guy.
- [63:25]
A
Don't get too faint. Don't get too big headed on me now. When this comes out.
- [63:30]
B
I think I'll still be able to go to the movie. Nobody will know who I am.
- [63:34]
A
Okay, well, you'll be surprised, but. All right, coach, till next time. Time.
- [63:38]
B
All right, take care now.
- [63:39]
A
Yes, sir.