← Youth Inc. with Greg Olsen
Youth Inc. with Greg Olsen
Greg Olsen Recaps Taylor & Travis’ Wedding + 5-Star Alabama Commit Interview
00:38:41
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- [00:00]
A
What's up everybody? Welcome back to another episode here on you think. Today we got a really cool one. Elijah Haven, five star. One of the top high school recruits in all in the entire country. Record setting passer from Baton Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We're going to dive into recruiting nil. Just the entire landscape that's going on. Only 17 entering his senior year, already committed to Alabama. So youth sports in America are at a crossroads and I'm here to help lead the conversation forward. I'm Greg Olson. Each week we're sitting down with top athletes, coaches and more to talk about what's working, what's broken and what's next. Welcome to you think.
- [00:42]
B
All right, Greg, how was your weekend? How was your fourth of July?
- [00:46]
A
It was good. We had a little bit of a, a mix of a week. We had a little bit of fun. We were able to get away. The kids were off of all their sports so we were able to get away and get out to the beach for a couple days and just kind of enjoy some downt time. And then there was a, a big event that I think a lot of people heard of. If you didn't hear of it, you're probably living in a bubble. So Kara and I flew up to New York, had an awesome time at, at the Travis and Taylor wedding. Saw a bunch of friends, caught up with a bunch of people from all over the place. Yeah, that was obviously special. Big event, you know, incredible crowd of people. It's hard to really put into words the people that you would see in line in the bathroom and people you would see in line at. But everybody was awesome. Everybody had a great time. The event was, you know, beyond amazing and just really cool to get to connect with a lot of old friends and meet a lot of new people. So happy for them, happy for the two of them. Appreciate the invite and safe to say, a couple days over 4th of July to New York City for what very well could be the event of the century. Was a pretty good few days.
- [01:53]
B
Okay, so now I'm going to ask you the real questions. So first, first you were in a People magazine headline with some big names, but who was your favorite hang at the wedding?
- [02:04]
A
Yeah, you know, there was a couple moments of the night where you find yourself and you're kind of like, what am I even doing here? Like, why am I. Like what is this circle? I guess the first one that comes to mind early in the night we're in the cocktail party and you know, walking out of the bathroom and, and you know, a guy you Know, hear a guy's voice and he's like, hey, hey. He's like, dude, I love your hat. And I was like, thank you, man. Like, what? How nice is it to meet you, Tom Cruise? And like, you know, like, you're walking the bathroom with Tom Cruise and he goes out of his way to compliment your hat, and then you have a, you know, two or three minute conversation, you know, amongst a million other people and athletes and entertainers and musicians and everybody just kind of milling around and their guards are down and they're just happy to connect, introduce themselves. Some people know each other, some people don't know each other. So, you know, just a really unique crowd of fun people. But just I, I think the environment that was created, no phones, no cameras, everyone could just be themselves. Enjoy the night. Enjoy Travis and Taylor. But yeah, I mean, how often do you anticipate Tom Cruise telling you he likes your hat, shaking his hand, walking out of the bathroom? I did wash my hands, thankfully, before I shook his hand, but that was kind of a like a. Did I just shoot the shit with Tom Cruise?
- [03:23]
B
Switching gears, let's talk a little bit about the World Cup, Greg. Tonight, the US Has a massive matchup against Belgium. This will be out after the game, but I just want to talk about it a little bit and talk about the significance of both this team, the World cup run and the impact it's having. So we've noticed the. You think team has noticed that TJ and Tate have been posting on their Instagrams, excited about the different games. Obviously Flo Baligan coming back, but how have you seen them get inspired by soccer, get inspired by the World cup over the last couple weeks?
- [04:04]
A
Yeah, I'll tell you, I've seen it with them because I felt it myself. You know, me and my wife last night, we set up literally on the edge of our seats watching Mexico and England. And again, we don't have any vested interest in that game. But you talk about from the crowd to the controversy to penalty kicks, to England playing in essence like a 25, 30 minute penalty kill in soccer. I mean, like, it was almost like a hockey penalty kill. And you know, they're just playing, defending the box and just kicking things out, kicking things out. Everyone is a defenseman. The drama, the amount of shots on goal, and again, not overly vested in whether Mexico or England wins, but just the way these guys are competing, the pride they have for their countries, the crowd, of course, that game being in Mexico. But I've found myself watching games with countries that I don't know a lot about. And then I spend two hours in bed, you know, googling countries and their histories and, you know, it's just a really unique event of a sport that I don't pretend to know a lot about. But over these last couple weeks, I have watched more soccer than I ever have in my life. I'm learning more about it. I think the commentators and the team at Fox have done a great job educating especially the American fan base who might not be avid followers, but yeah, tonight, and then when, obviously when the US Plays, it's like appointment television. Like, we are home, dinner is done, things are over, practices are done, we are home to watch the U.S. and obviously when the U.S. plays in anything, whether it was hockey, you know, you know, months back, we woke up on that Sunday morning to watch America win the gold in hockey or whether it's soccer or, you know, the women's soccer team over the last, you know, decade or so, anytime America, you know, competes on a world stage, we obviously become big fans and I think this is going to do. I'm very anxious to see what the next decade of soccer in America looks like because this has been a pretty amazing moment in the States for a sport that maybe a lot of people are discovering really for the first time.
- [06:09]
B
Do you have any new favorite players that you found over watching?
- [06:14]
A
Yeah, so, yeah, so I, I obviously cheer for America. Like, I want the US to win the whole thing. Earl and Holland. I, I'll be honest, I didn't know a lot about him. I had seen his picture here and there. Didn't really know a ton about him. He might be as impressive of an athlete as I've ever seen. His. Just watching him forget his soccer skill, forget, you know, his ability to score and, you know, that all speaks for itself. His size, his length, his speed, his ability to accelerate, his power, his timing. Like you talk about world class athlete, he's at, he's at or near the top of the list. And it's just amazing to watch a guy play like that and, you know, carry a team that. My understanding is Norway didn't have a lot of expectations coming into the World cup and now here they are advancing to the quarter. So he's been really fun. Of course, to watch Messi play is incredible. We've all known and seen him. He's obviously a household name around the world. But to just see the ease in which he scores and the consistency in which he plays, that, you know, that's special. You know, I'll tell you, I thought the guys from England last night played their heads off. I thought Harry Kane was amazing. That assist he had on that crosser for the second goal, you know, I know he got the red card and gave up the pk. I thought that was a little bit of a weird call. But, man, you're learning about guys that if you don't follow international club soccer, maybe you're not as up to speed on some of these guys, but they are incredible athletes. Their stamina, their endurance, the manner in which they're able to play for so long, it's impressive.
- [07:54]
B
Back to Holland. Who's your NFL comparison of Erling Holland?
- [07:58]
A
Yeah, so, like, Erling Holland, like, I. I joked a couple weeks ago we were getting ready for teu, like, if I could draft any person on the planet and make him come be a tight end, like, LeBron would be on there. He would be on there. Like, he'd be on that Mount Rushmore of, like, not a tight end, but should be a tight end. I don't know. Like, I would say, like, the physicality and the size, like, that's what, like, Gronk always looked like. But I actually think. I think he's faster. Like, he. You know, he's 6 5, and I would love to know how fast he's running. I mean, he. I'm not sure we have a comparison. A guy that I can think of that is that size running at that speed. I mean, Calvin Johnson, like, is he Calvin Johnson? That's probably, like, the closest. I don't know how much he weighs. I'd guess he weighs like 220, 215. Yeah, maybe like a Calvin Johnson. That's probably, like, the name that comes to mind. Length, size, power, athleticism. Off the top of my head, that's probably the closest I could come up with. Elijah, really appreciate you, man. Taking a couple times. A couple minutes here of your time and joining us on you think.
- [09:11]
C
No, for sure. Appreciate you having me.
- [09:13]
A
All right, so listen, we're going to get to the records. We're going to get to all the records that you broke. Louisiana State player of the year and all that. But I want to talk about freshman year, right? It's easy to talk about when you're a junior and you're a star and Alabama's trying to, you know, recruit you and LSU and all these guys. But take me back to freshman year. Like, take me back to. You're not the star. You. You're not the starter. You're just a young kid trying to figure out, like, what is my High school career gonna look like, like how different is the mentality now? And now when you think back to what you were like in those days, like, what would you have told your freshman self?
- [09:51]
C
Yeah, for me, freshman year was kind of different. I actually did start, but I played since my. My school is smaller, so I was able to step up in eighth grade and kind of, you know, get that varsity football experience that year. And then my freshman year, you know, I kind of just jumped in to the, you know, starting quarterback position. And it was definitely some hiccups early on, but it was still a great year overall. But it's definitely a different mindset, you know, now that I'm a senior, you know, a lot of guys look up to me. I'm kind of leader on the team now. So it's definitely a different mindset. Just kind of going in and if I could, if I could tell my freshman year self, I just say, be confident, you know, just who I am and you know what my game is.
- [10:38]
A
So you're playing varsity ball as an eighth grader?
- [10:40]
C
Yes, sir.
- [10:42]
A
What was that like?
- [10:43]
C
It was definitely a little bit intimidating, you know, just seeing all the bigger guys.
- [10:48]
A
So are you just like a role? Like, are you just playing like a package of plays or were you like the full on starter every play?
- [10:56]
C
In eighth grade? Yeah, no, eighth grade. I was just kind of like.
- [11:00]
A
You were just getting time.
- [11:01]
C
Yeah, I was just getting time. So they had me kind of everywhere. Wide receiver, defensive end just kind of gave me that experience. Yeah, got it.
- [11:08]
A
All right, well, I was either way, though, that's. That's impressive. All right, now, now you fast forward and. And there's so many conversations. So I think you being in it, in the moment right now is just super, you know, super fitting for the moment. Like, there's so many things going on about how hard it is for high school kids to get recruited and nil and the transfer portal has taken all these spots. Like, as someone who just went through it now, you had your pick of the litter, you were a national recruit, one of the top players in the whole country. Give us an idea, boots on the ground of what your recruiting experience was like, because I know what mine was like, but that was 25 years ago.
- [11:46]
C
Yeah, it was definitely a wild ride, to put it lightly. Kind of started getting looks my freshman year. LSU started reaching out all different. My first offer was actually Texas Tech, and then that happened and everything kind of just started to skyrocket from there. But then my junior year last year, with the coaching carousel, coaches Getting fired. You know, I had certain schools at the top of my list. And by, you know, the end of the year, everything was completely different. It was a completely different picture. So it's definitely been a. A wild ride.
- [12:26]
A
I say, so Texas Tech is your first offer. So did that come after your freshman year when they saw your film? Did you go to camps? Like, give us an idea of, like, those early offers. Were they in person going to Camp 7 on 7? Like, what. What would you say was the biggest factor? Young freshman, you know, summer, going into sophomore. Like, what were the biggest factors of you getting those early offers?
- [12:48]
C
Yeah, Texas Tech was actually kind of wild. They actually offered me my. That would have been my eighth grade spring. So going into my freshman year, so I hadn't even played a snap at quarterback yet. So it was pretty crazy, pretty unexpected. But they just, you know, took a. They took a. They took a shot. They said they liked how my body looked, and they ended up offering me. And then, you know, lsu, it picked up Baylor, Florida, and then eventually, you know, got Bama. Bigger schools. Bama, Georgia.
- [13:22]
A
So, yeah, love it. So I have a. I have a nephew. He plays quarterback down in Florida. He just finished his sophomore year playing on a good team in central Florida. Had a really good season. He just got off his, like, so he's a rising junior. So a year behind you. And he just went through, like, going to a million camps, and he's going, you know, day camps at all different levels. He did some ivies, he's hit some power fours. He did some group of fives and different camps, different experiences. Kind of a mixed bag, but overall, really positive. What was your experience like? Like, did you have to go to a lot of those early camps to be seen? Did you get recruited off your game film? Did you do a lot of seven on seven? Like, what was your. Not like your traditional football season aside, what was your spring summer approach to both getting recruited and also just working on your craft?
- [14:13]
C
Yeah, it was definitely a mixture of pretty much everything. You know, I did a little bit of seven on seven, but that wasn't really the main focus is mostly camps. Traveling around, going to camps, just trying to put myself out there. You know, most of the schools had reached out, but they still wanted to see me, like, in person and in action. The camps, I had an opportunity to do that, so. So, yeah, it was mostly like camps, but it was just a mixture of everything.
- [14:41]
A
You know, everyone. Everyone has this dream. And again, it's an unbelievable blessing to be recruited and have options and have all these coaches flying in and dropping helicopters on your field, telling you that you're the best player they've ever seen. Like, there is something so cool about being recruited and all that. But I remember when I look back on. On my recruitment a million years ago, like, there were some elements that I didn't like. Like, was there any elements of it that you didn't enjoy? Was there any parts where you're like, you know what? Like, for as cool as this is, does it ever get to be too much?
- [15:13]
C
Oh, man, I wish I could say so.
- [15:16]
A
Like, when I. When I was coming out, the different than now, like, you, we didn't have cell phones, right? So, like, that's how old I am. I'm being recruited like in 030203. So I. My dad, who was my coach, he'd be like, hey, you need to be home tonight at 7 o' clock because the coach from Alabama's calling, or, you know, whoever it was. And I just remember thinking back, like, it's my spring of my junior year. I'm running track, I'm hanging with my friends, I can drive, I have my license. And all of a sudden now, like, yes, it was cool that those coaches wanted to be talking, but I don't know, there was elements of it. I was like, man, I just want to be a kid. Like, I'll talk to him tomorrow. Like, I know that's different with you guys now with, with cell phones and social, but there was an element when I was in high school where I was like, you know what? I just want to make my decision because I'm almost tired of it. Like, I. I'm ready for it to be over.
- [16:08]
C
Yeah, no, definitely, I could, I could speak to that a little bit for sure. You know, just certain schools that you may maybe not be interested in still reaching out, and it's just kind of blowing your phone up. Things like little things like that. Yeah, it's definitely hard to find that balance of, you know, wanting to just, you know, get better, work on your craft. But you also have to, you know, commit to, you know, the process and, you know, where you want your future to be at. So there's definitely that balance, but definitely for me, just having that, that aspect of trying to. Trying to find that balance.
- [16:45]
B
Yeah.
- [16:46]
A
And then the other thing, obviously that's so drastically different now, and I'm not putting you on the spot. I don't need to know the numbers and the money, so I'm not looking to put you in a bad position. But the nil stuff is real. And when you're a five star quarterback and you're going to Alabama and your other choices are Georgia and LSU and pretty much every program in America, like, we all know the reality that quarterbacks drive the ship, whether that's in the NFL or whether that's in college football. So how much of a factor? And again, I'm not asking to tell me who paid you more than others, but, like, how did the nil process, how did you handle it? Did you hire someone that did it for you? Was it your family? Was it, like, how did you set up those conversations when it became, okay, I like this school, now we need to take this conversation to the next level and, you know, talk business because now the reality is even for high school kids, that's what it is. Like, what was you and your family's approach when it came to that?
- [17:40]
C
Yeah, honestly, for us, you know, it's never about the money, but, you know, about the place I want to develop the best at. So those conversations didn't come till pretty much I had my top two. You know, it was Bama and Georgia. And we didn't really dive deep into those conversations until we got to that top two. So we definitely took longer in our process before we started talking, you know, nil and money, because we only really only had the opportunity to do that with my top two, which was Georgia and Bama.
- [18:12]
A
I got to find out what happened to Miami. What happened to Miami in that whole thing? Miami, you weren't what happened, Man, I love coach Dawson.
- [18:21]
C
He's a great coach. Just never really got the opportunity to build relationships with them as much as, you know, I might have wanted to. Great program.
- [18:29]
A
But, yeah, I'm gonna call when I hang. When I get off this, I'm a text Mario. So Mario Cristobal, their head coach, he was my tight end coach at Miami. So me and Mario, we go way back. I might have to plant a little bug and be like, hey, I just got off the phone with this kid. What are we doing? But no, when you. When your finalists are Alabama and Georgia, I think you're in pretty good shape. Let's. Let's dive now into that. Like, all right, so you get to your final two. It's Alabama and Georgia. For any kid in America, they would cut their arm off to have those two options, especially in the world of football nowadays. Like, what was the end? Like, what about Kaylin DeBoer? What about Alabama? What about, like, what about the situation you mentioned? Development made them when it was time to make a final decision. Like, what about Alabama was the final straw?
- [19:18]
C
Yeah, I think for us personally, we felt like we had better relationships with the coaches there. And even through some coaching changes, Alabama just stayed so consistent. So consistent in, you know, recruiting me. You know, obviously, Georgia is a great program. We're so thankful to, you know, Coach Bobo, Coach Smart for, you know, you know, recruiting me and, you know, taking that opportunity off me, but just being. I felt, you know, more like home. And that ultimately led to my decision.
- [19:49]
A
Yeah. Aside from just the football development, were there any other things that were super important to you or your family? Whether it was, you know, location in state versus out of state, big school, small. Like, what were the. What other, like, filters did you guys apply? When you. When you're fielding all of these incoming calls and offers, you got to somehow eliminate people to at least be able to wrap your mind around it. Like, what. What were those things that you guys really considered aside from, hey, I want to go play for a national championship team, I want to, you know, compete to be an NFL pro? Like, what. What about the school that was important to you guys?
- [20:24]
C
Yeah, obviously Alabama is closer to Baton Rouge. I wouldn't really say that was a factor, but that still kind of means something to me to, you know, not be so far from my family. But, you know, family is the number one thing I'm going into recruiting process. Just the interactions, you know, coaches and staff had with my family just so. So welcoming. And to see that from my perspective was a big deal for me. You know, my little brother runs the show over there, so it was. It was just awesome. And I think that was a big factor in my decision.
- [21:01]
A
That's awesome. I'm sure Lane didn't take that real. Lane Kiffin probably didn't take all that real well, did he?
- [21:08]
C
No, we really didn't have much conversations.
- [21:11]
A
Was he late? Was he late getting there? And the timing of all timing was kind of.
- [21:15]
C
The time was kind of bad. But I think the world of LSU is a great program. And coach. Coach Kevin's a great coach as well.
- [21:23]
A
You had a abundance of choices, and while that sometimes can be overwhelming, right. There is almost an element of too many choices becomes difficult in its own right. But the schools that you're choosing from, you really can't go wrong right now. The other side of this. And. And again, I. I now talk to you for 20 minutes, and I can get a pretty good feel for certain kids and their personalities and. And whatnot. So I don't anticipate this being an issue with you at all. But we do know in today's world, these young kids getting money, they're in EA Sports, they're in college football, they're doing brand marketing deals, they got Instagram, you know, they got social media deals. Like, how do you keep yourself grounded? Like, who in your life keeps you? Like, maybe when you're getting out a little bit over your skis and you're feeling like, who keeps you in check to say, hey, we got a big high school senior year, man, we got to defend a state title. You got a lot of expectations. Like, as nice as all this other stuff is, it still does come down to, like, it's all about the ball, man. And like, if you don't play well, all this stuff goes away. Like, who in your life is that voice?
- [22:30]
C
I think, you know, my dad.
- [22:33]
A
It's always dad, right?
- [22:34]
C
It's always, yeah, my dad just, you know, he's always hard on me, pushing on me to, you know, just be the best version of myself. And throughout, you know, all the success and accolades, just to stay grounded, you know, keep, keep my head down, keep working. But I'm super thankful for him, you know, without that, you know, I don't think I would be, you know, where I am today. So definitely thankful. My dad and, you know, his, his
- [22:59]
A
guidance to me, talk more about that. I, I have two sons and a daughter. Some nights I go to bed saying, am I too hard on my two boys? Am I too hard on my daughter? Am I pushing them? You know, the only way I know is that a good fit for them? Like, give me an idea. Obviously your, your family, but you mentioned your dad, like, give us an idea of like, what role does your dad play? Like, is he a quiet pusher? Is he, like, what is his personality? What's been his approach to you? What are his messages to and from games at home? Like, give us an idea of his involvement. And like, when you say he's always pushed me, like, what's his, what's his style?
- [23:39]
C
Yeah, I definitely say he's more laid back. You know, he's more of a quiet. But, you know, he always tells me, like, anytime I need him, you know, he's there. And so just having that and, you know, in the back of my mind is just huge for me because, you know, you know, trials will come, you know, going to college, you know, things aren't always going to work out. So to have my dad to, you know, always be able to lean on is huge for me. And, you know, my coming years.
- [24:08]
A
Is there one piece of advice or one saying, my kids now, like, roll their eyes because I tell them, like, we have all our little sayings in our house that they're tired of hearing me say. But I do think it resonates. Does your dad have one? Like, when you think of your dad's voice in your head, like, is there a certain message or certain words that you could just, like you've heard over and over again that you're like. That's what you hear in your mind for sure.
- [24:32]
C
He has his one saying that. He does. It's from this book, actually. It's called Child wood, carry water. And so throughout the. Throughout the whole book, that that phrase is constantly said. He kind of took that. It's just a reminder to, you know, always just chop wood, carry water. And no matter what you're going through, the success, the trials, you know, just keep working and, you know, you'll reap a harvest. Love that.
- [25:01]
A
That's a good. I might steal that, but I'll give your dad. I'll give your dad credit. You know, another thing that we spend a lot of time talking about with our guests and whether they're, you know, Olympians, professional athletes, hall of Famers, or people that have really studied this, right. They're sociologists and, and some of the best, you know, you know, sports psychologists and people, is this whole idea of specialization and when should an athlete or a young athlete pick one sport? Can they. In today's world, can you be a generalist and still strive to be a high level. And here we, you know, here, now I'm talking to a young athlete who. You're arguably the best player in high school football and certainly being recruited to that regard. Yet in the winter, you're rolling out there on the basketball team. So I guess twofold. Do you still plan on playing basketball this winter? I don't know how that works with, like, graduating, if you're going to graduate early or anything, if so at any point did any football coach, recruiter, college ever say, like, hey, man, we love you, we want you to be our quarterback, but, like, you got to bag the other sports?
- [26:04]
C
No. So that's been a great thing about my recruiting process. No school will ever put pressure on me to, you know, specialize in one sport. Honestly, most of the, you know, schools and conversations we had, you know, the coaches loved that I played. Played two sports. But, you know, I'll be graduating early, you know, after, after this season. I'll be heading up to campus in December and junior basketball I had a
- [26:31]
A
feeling your basketball coach, is he trying, like, pull out? Is the basketball coach at school trying to pull out, like, every stop to say, like, can I get you for two? How deep does your football? Well, like, if you go all the way to the state finals again, how late will that be?
- [26:45]
C
Middle of December.
- [26:46]
A
Oh, so, yeah, you're late. So you're. Yeah, you're not around here. The private schools are done, like, give or take, Thanksgiving. So for the kids that did grab, we had, we had a couple kids that graduated early last year. There is like a couple week gap where they try to squeeze out here in North Carolina, they can squeeze out like a couple weeks of basketball and then, and then they leave. But I had a feeling your, your basketball days have come to an end. But growing up, like, how important was it to you? Like, but even as you started to really make your, you know, make your name in football, like, how important was it to you that when football was over, you rolled out there with your buddies and played basketball and went out and competed in something that maybe all the eyeballs in the gym weren't on you because you're the five star quarterback, but you're just a guy out there playing basketball with his buddies. Not as much expectation, right?
- [27:38]
C
Yeah, definitely. It was always been huge for me. You know, football is my first, you know, I, I enjoy basketball just as much. So it was definitely important me to, you know, keep playing as long as possible.
- [27:50]
A
Yeah. I look back when I. Again, different, different eras, different animals. But like, I look back, my senior year in high school, we won a state championship in football. The next month that we played on a Friday or Saturday, that Monday I was at basketball practice. I don't remember how many games we won. I don't remember how many points I scored. All I remember, it was amazing that back then we didn't graduate early. So like I went to my. And then in the spring I went out and ran track with my buddies. And like, there was such a freedom. There was such a feeling of, like, no one has high expectations. This is not life and death. The world's not coming to an end if we don't win every game like it is in football. Like, I, when I went to college, I missed that. Like, I loved for a couple seasons a year. It was not like football was life and death.
- [28:38]
B
Yeah.
- [28:39]
A
Everything else was just fun, playing with your buddies. Like, and I try to tell kids here all the time, and we have like a huge sports specialization thing going on here in North Carolina where we cannot get kids to play multiple sports. So maybe they don't listen to me. So maybe we're going to play this clip of the best high school quarterback in America, and maybe they'll listen to you.
- [28:59]
C
Yep.
- [29:02]
A
I love it. All right, so before I let you go, give us a sense of now. Right. So we've talked about growing up, we've talked about all the things you've accomplished, but I'm. I'm assuming I don't know you that well, but I'm assuming you want to finish this high school career the right way. Right. Like, so take me from now. What does summer look like? What's your training regimen? What. What are you doing on your own? What are you doing with school? And, like, what are you doing to lay down the foundation that you can finish what's been an unbelievable high school career started in 8th grade. Now here you are as a senior. Like, how do you finish this thing the right way? So when you go off to Alabama, you're like, man, I just think back on my high school career, it couldn't have been better.
- [29:43]
C
Yeah. You know, this month is definitely important. You know, June was kind of busy, you know, had official visits. They had the Nike opening that just reopened back up. So July is super important. Just kind of getting back with the team, kind of putting my focus on having a good senior year, like you said, I think for me, you know, I train with quarterback country, you know, in Mobile, Alabama, and then I've also started to work with Jordan Palmer, who's with QB Summit.
- [30:14]
A
Yep.
- [30:14]
C
In, you know, California. So those are my trainers, you know, trying to plan accordingly of how we kind of want to approach this month and what my training is going to look like individually there. But, you know, while I'm home, always training with the team. You know, we have summer workouts in the morning. Just continue to build that chemistry. So that's pretty much the plan. Just kind of stay locked in and obviously when we won last year, but it's been important to, you know, not get complacent this summer and, you know, because we want another one. So just continue to. Continue to stay humble and, you know, work hard.
- [30:54]
A
I'm gonna put you on the spot. Are you guys the favorites?
- [30:58]
C
You know, I'm biased, so. Yeah, we're three.
- [31:00]
A
Were you the favorite? Well, let me ask you this. When you won it last year, were.
- [31:05]
C
Was.
- [31:05]
A
Were you guys. Did you come out of nowhere? Were you the pre. Like, were people expecting you, like, give us, like, through the playoffs, Was it yours to lose? Or did you. Did you knock off some teams that people thought might have been better than you.
- [31:18]
C
We were. We were highly respect. I will say that because we made it. We made it the my sophomore year and lost. So it was kind of like a revenge tour type of thing.
- [31:28]
A
Got it.
- [31:28]
C
We wanted to get back and we were able to finish the job.
- [31:31]
A
But you can't lose that edge. It's a lot. It's easy to come back after you lost.
- [31:35]
B
Yep.
- [31:36]
A
We have a saying with our kids, like the greatest preventer of future success is current success. Everybody can bounce back after a bad game. A pick. I didn't play well. And you come back to practice rolling well, all of a sudden everyone's patting you on the back and they're telling you how good you are. That's where you really test yourself. But listen, man, I. I've interviewed a lot of young kids. I've been around a lot of young kids. I've lived in this world. My dad was a high school football coach for 40 years. I know we're just sitting across computer from each other, but I, I'd be shocked if I was wrong. Dude, you're, you're maturity, your approach. It is not surprising to me that every school in the country wanted you to be the face of their organization one day. It's not surprising to me that you're probably going to be the starting quarterback at Alabama within the next year or two. Like, man, I wish you nothing but success. Finish your senior year. If I could give you one piece of advice unsolicited, I know you'd probably don't care, but man, as cool as Alabama is going to be and your future is going to be bright and you're going to make a lot of money and hopefully one day, God willing, you're going to be a pro. You will never forget high school football. Enjoy high school football with your buddies. Enjoy playing Friday nights in front of your town. Because as cool as Tuscaloosa will be, it's not going anywhere. Love every minute, love every workout, love being with your boys. Love them up. You're going to get a lot of attention. Love them, give them praise, give them as much credit as you can. And man, you're going to look back on those high school days and be like, maybe you're a national champ, maybe you're a Super bowl winner, who knows? But you're always going to be a high school state champion. And dude, I'll tell you, there's not many things in sports better than your high school days. So I just, I wish you nothing but success, health, and I hope we'll have you back on after the season. Hopefully he's back to back.
- [33:23]
C
No, definitely can't wait.
- [33:25]
B
All right. Our first question comes from Big Ray in Tuscaloosa. He asked. My son struck out three, three times last Saturday in a game that his team lost by one run. On the ride home, I told him he needs to choke up on the bat and stop being scared of the ball. He didn't say a word the whole ride, then went straight to his room. My wife said I made it worse. Did I?
- [33:49]
A
How do we know how old he is?
- [33:52]
B
We do not. But it sounds like he's maybe middle school.
- [33:58]
A
Yeah. So I, you know, listen, I'm not gonna sit here and be, you know, throwing stones in a glass house. I. I've been the first. I've said it many times. There's been many times after games that I have not always said the right thing or had the right tone. So I don't sit here and preach to other dads like, hey, do it the way I do it. But, you know, a lot of ways it's like, hey, I've been there before. I've probably handled things wrong. I've probably handled things right at various times. I've done both a lot. What I found is in those moments, especially after failure, and this is where I've tried to improve, is less technical feedback, less your elbow, your choke up, your feet, your left hip, your ankle. That. That usually doesn't add much value. What I try to dive into those moments is like, what was in your mind at the plate? Like, what. What were you doing leading up to that at bat? What did you do this week in practice? Like, I've always been of one that has tried to connect the process to the outcome. And if the outcome's bad, the lesson there is, yes, of course we want the outcome to be better, but can we tie it to any particular habit or routine or lack thereof leading up to. And say, okay, well, think about the week you had. Think about the work you did or didn't do. And then here was the outcome. Can we connect the two? And then vice versa. After a good game, you really want to reinforce, hey, think of the week you had. Think of how consistent you were. Think of your practice, think of your reps, blah, blah, blah. And then you had the outcomes you wanted. So, like, that's where I'm trying more to lean into instead of, like, hey, if you're not going to hit it, like, that's, that's the Easy thing to say. That's the emotional thing to say. I've had those days. But you want to make sure that you're giving feedback that can be built upon. So my biggest advice in all this is any opportunity we get to connect processes to outcomes and teach the kids how they do or don't relate to each other. If those lessons can be formed out of the 0 for 3 with 3k days or the 3 for 3, 3 double days, that's where we can have growth. We can start laying down these patterns of behavior that don't guarantee future success, but they give you, they optimize the best opportunity to have future success.
- [36:13]
B
All right, our last question today comes from Bethany in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She says, I've got three kids in three different sports. That's six practices a week between them. And last week I missed my youngest game because I was at his brother's. He clearly noticed and I feel bad. How do families with more than one kid in sports actually make this work without someone feeling forgotten?
- [36:36]
A
Yeah, I think that's the, that's the struggle that every single family of multiple sport, you know, multiple children, multiple sport children go through throughout the country. So I think the first thing I'd say is give yourself some grace, right? Like you cannot be multiple places at once. You do your best based on family dynamics, based on how many adults are available to drive. You know, we even find ourselves like sometimes the, the one of one of the kids teams like has multiple close family friends or multiple people that you've known for a long time where if you're going to leave one of your kids alone, it's in that environment because you know, there's people there to look after them. And then maybe one of the kids is on a team that's maybe new or you don't have a lot of close people and you want to make sure they're not there by themselves. So there's so many different factors that go. So do the best that you can. Communicate with your children. Talk about it, talk about the plan. Hey, Saturday, here's why I'm doing this. Here's where I'm going. Sunday month, you know, whatever the days, typically they're multi day. You know, throughout the weeks there's multiple events and multiple days. So communicate with your kids. Be transparent, be open. Hey, is anyone, you know, feeling super left out? I'm trying to balance again, just over communicate so that they don't have any misinterpretations that the reason mom or dad isn't there is because they don't love me as much as my brother or my sister because obviously that's not the case. And with busy schedules and oh, by the way, mom and dad might have to work, mom and dad might have to go out of town. Mom and dad might have like there's other things in the world besides youth sports. I know that's hard for people to believe. So there is no magic formula. Give yourself grace, communicate with your children, especially as they get older and let them know like, hey, I love watching you. I love being there. But in this case, we have multiple children who require my time and attention and we're going to try to be fair. But we love you all. And whether I'm there or I'm not there, that can't have any, you know, it can't determine how you play or how you prepare. And sometimes that just comes with age.