0:00

Terry: and whether that's your high school program, you're going in the doors every day, or a college football program that you

0:03

choose to coach at the way "I sum it up, It is the state of your

0:07

heart. Luke: Season two of The "I" in Win continues with today's guest,

0:23

Terry Harrison, who is that football coach at Friends

0:26

University located in Wichita, Kansas. And Coach Harrison has

0:30

developed a reputation of rebuilding programs prior to

0:34

Friends. Coach Harrison took over a 1-9 Bethel College program in

0:38

2018 and turned them into a nationally ranked team in just a

0:41

few short years, and now he's kind of faced with the simmer

0:44

situation at friends. So Coach "I have to ask you, what is it about

0:48

rebuilding programs that really captivates you?

0:53

Terry: Well, you know, "I, uh, there's probably "I, don't know,

0:55

there's probably some psychiatrist out there who could probably pinpoint it a little better. You know, "I, just "I,

0:59

just, um, in the end, I'm just a football coach, right? And, you

1:03

know, it's, it's a pretty unique deal. You know, "I, I'm a little bit of a unicorn "I. Um, my whole professional careers been in and

1:09

around Wichita, Kansas. So "I was a high school assistant coach in

1:12

a suburb school of Wichita head coach in a Wichita City League

1:15

school, Wichita Heights. And then Bethel College is about 30 miles

1:19

north of Wichita. And then obviously Fringe University's the

1:22

closest university to my house. So I've never moved. My wife's

1:24

had the same teaching job this whole time, so, Part of it is,

1:28

uh, proximity to my life professionally was, was certainly

1:32

played a factor in coming to friends. And then also, um, like

1:36

you mentioned, just, just having a chip on my shoulder. Um, you

1:39

know, "I, "I wasn't fortunate. "I "I grew up in Texas, um, but did

1:43

not play for great high school football program. In fact, my. My

1:47

high school football, um, experience was not, "I not one

1:51

that "I look back at like fondly necessarily, you know? Um, and so

1:55

"I learned a lot of lessons as a high school player on what "I

1:57

wouldn't want to coach like. Um, and then came to college, had a

2:01

similar experience my first three years, um, of playing college

2:05

football in this conference, um, in Kansas. And then man met, uh,

2:09

senior year, had a, had a turnaround, had a new coach who

2:11

kind of changed my idea of what coaching. Um, what kind of impact

2:15

you can have on players. And we, and we kind of turned it around,

2:19

you know, immediately when, when we had a new coach come in and

2:21

any, and ultimately that kind of re-sparked my interest in

2:25

coaching and, and, and made me kinda wanna do that professionally. So having said that, "I think that's a part of

2:29

it. "I, because "I played in poor programs as a high school player.

2:33

Um, "I say poor struggling programs. And then as a college

2:37

player, Man, "I, "I, "I had that change for me as a senior in

2:40

college and "I, guess "I. Think there's a part of me that just,

2:43

you know, loves providing that opportunity and showing kids

2:45

that, you know, when. Losing football games is really hard,

2:49

and it hurts and it's embarrassing and it causes all

2:52

kinds of emotions, anger, and frustration. And for some kids,

2:56

there are kids that, that is their whole experience with

2:58

football. And, and hopefully in a, in a way, we can, as a staff,

3:02

you know, all my good friends are all coaches with us. We all do it

3:04

together. Hopefully we provide an experience for kids that, that,

3:08

um, "I Dunno, that makes football a little more fun than maybe,

3:11

than maybe what it. Luke: "I Wanna go back to the Texas experience in a few

3:15

minutes, but before "I do, do you think there's such a thing as an

3:20

UNSAVABLE program? Like do you, do you think there are schools

3:23

out there at the high school or the collegiate level that maybe

3:27

they're just not capable of success? Terry: Uh, "I. Think that's a complex question. "I Wish "I knew

3:32

the answer completely. I'm the, my, my gut "I mean. When you

3:36

first asked that "I "I think "I was shaking my head. No. "I "I

3:38

don't believe so. Um, obviously there's limitations everywhere,

3:41

right? And as a high school football coach, you, you're

3:44

limited by who walks through the door. You're limited by that

3:46

community. Um, "I. Think we all know "I, "I, "I. I'm not that

3:50

familiar with your area. Right. But "I "I know there's certain

3:52

schools that are probably traditionally in and out year after year. You know, maybe blessed with players that maybe

3:57

some other schools aren't. So "I think there's a, there's a, there's a part of that that it'd be crazy not to acknowledge.

4:02

There just are some towns that, you know, maybe it's people live

4:05

there, maybe the type of community and, and depending on

4:08

how, how it works locally with jobs and, and factories and this

4:11

or that, that, that maybe provides more town as far as

4:13

people. Um, so "I say that. But "I know in the college level, "I

4:17

don't necessarily think so, only because, you know, I'm a small

4:20

college football coach. Our previous school won back to back

4:23

conference championships, didn't have a locker room, it flooded.

4:27

Um, we moved our locker room to a metal building that was an old

4:29

track storage shed, and we went back to back conference

4:32

championships there in a place where no one really thought she could. And so, uh, you know, "I think the recruiting though is

4:36

there's a piece of that that, you know, "I. Again, that, that,

4:39

there, that's its own thing, right? It's separate than coaching in my opinion. There's coaching and there's recruiting

4:43

two different things. and so "I don't know "I, "I don't know that

4:45

about saveable, but "I certainly do this. You know, "I "I do

4:47

believe in creating big time programs as far as, uh, providing

4:50

a big time experience. "I think you can provide a championship,

4:54

big time experience at any school, at high school, middle

4:57

school, little league or college across the country. Um, how that

5:01

materializes and wins, uh, "I think could be dependent on your

5:04

talent, especially as you get later in a season in a playoff.

5:06

Luke: That's a great way to put it. And "I want you to go a

5:09

little bit deeper into creating that big time experience that may

5:14

not necessarily. Directly equate to the outcomes and cuz "I agree

5:18

with you. So can you kind of explain your vision? Imagine I'm

5:22

a parent, you're recruiting my son right now. Cause I'm sure you

5:24

talk to parents about that all the time. Like take me into that

5:27

vision of what you mean by that statement. Terry: Yeah, so I'm a big frosty western guy. So "I, don't know if

5:32

you're familiar with Frosty Western or not, but he wrote a book back a long time called Make the Big Time. We were at "I,

5:36

think it's Outta Print. Um, but essentially to, to be very brief,

5:40

frosty was a former Marine who came back in ko "I football,

5:43

Pacific Lutheran. And won of a couple national champs. But

5:45

anyway, wrote a book called Make the Big Time We're at. And, and to sum that up, in a sentence is the big time is not a place or a

5:51

building or a weight room or facility. It truly is the state

5:55

of your heart. and so that's what we focus on. The heart of the

5:58

player, the heart of the parent. We do that in recruiting, but

6:01

also in that and how we, how we operate, right? And we approach

6:04

our, we we approach every day. Like this is a big time program

6:06

here. And "I "I attack every day. Like I'm Nick Saban or whoever

6:09

you perceive to be the biggest time guy you know out there. And

6:12

"I. Do think that's a state of your heart. "I was very fortunate. Spoke at a clinic at Ohio State, "I, don't know, three

6:17

years ago now, something like that. Um, but the first day in

6:20

the shoe, right in the the Orlando Pace, hall of Fame room.

6:23

And we talked to parents about this, right? Because most people

6:25

don't. There's so many people who don't understand any "I football

6:29

or Division "I two Football or Division "I three football. They

6:32

just do not understand it. They don't know what it is. They don't

6:35

know what it means. So immediately they think it's just

6:38

less than or something like that. Right? And so you have to explain

6:41

that in a way. Um, the way we try to do that is, you know, what

6:45

happens is when you, when you choose a school or you have a program, and whether that's your high school program, you're going

6:49

in the doors every day, or a college football program that you

6:51

choose to coach at the way "I sum it up, It is the state of your

6:55

heart. And so when, when you say that, when "I walked in the

6:58

Orlando past room, the first day "I was there with Coach Kelly,

7:00

our recruiting coordinator, and we were in awe. We were taking pictures of the N F L Shield, you know, "I as just like you would

7:05

be, right? If you walk in the horseshoe "I, it makes your heart

7:08

kick a beat. "I mean, just like if you walked into any of these

7:10

sta, you know, pick your stadium, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan,

7:14

big house, whatever. Your el, your heart rate elevates when you

7:17

walk in the room. Just because it does "I mean. It's this, it's

7:19

this iconic place, right? Um, it almost saw like a monument rather

7:22

than a football field. So anyway, that happened for me in Ohio

7:25

State, and "I was there three days. So day one, heart rate's

7:27

elevated, taking pictures everywhere, this and that, and

7:30

just like, oh man, can you believe that? Eddie George picture here, Orlando Pace, there, all these greats, you

7:34

know, and by day two when "I went upstairs, we're in this room, "I

7:37

noticed there's like a water stain up on one of the ceiling

7:39

tiles. No different than in my office at Bethel College at the

7:42

time. Right. Um, then "I go around, you know, day two going,

7:46

going to the first bathroom was super fancy, but "I "I think it

7:49

was occupied. So "I walked around another hallway going in the

7:51

bathroom, 1940s, tiles that had broken tiles and the, the toilet

7:55

was leaking and it's like, You know, this place is, it's just a

7:59

place. Right. By day three, "I missed my family. "I was ready to

8:02

leave "I, walked up the stairs, saw a crack "I. Saw a cobweb,

8:06

excuse me, in the corner of this hallway walking up the stairs to

8:09

the Orlando Pace room. And, and it does make you realize "I was,

8:12

it was just another place. It just became a new normal By day

8:15

three, "I, my, my heart rate didn't elevate when "I walked

8:18

into the horseshoe. It didn't elevate when "I walked into the

8:20

stadium, any of that, right? And so "I think that's what happens

8:23

to all of us. So if it's fringe diversity, If you play at Ohio

8:26

State, "I mean, think about that. Those coaches, well, I'm sure

8:29

they are grateful for their "I, mean "I "I. Understand there's a

8:31

level of gratitude when you're coaching Ohio State, but their

8:34

heart rate doesn't elevate when they walk in the stadium anymore.

8:36

Their heart rate doesn't elevate when they see the, they have a

8:39

practice facility with all the trophies up on the glass case, if

8:42

you've ever seen it is awesome. You see it from the road, but it

8:44

just becomes your new normal. It becomes, it's, it's, it is your

8:47

job and it's just your, your new every day you walk in and, and it

8:51

almost becomes background noise, right? And so in the. What you

8:54

have to ask yourself. Those coaches there every day, you can

8:57

work there and not have a big time heart and have this gracious

9:01

heart. This, this, this idea of gratitude to work with young

9:04

people every day. You know, hopefully provide life changing

9:06

experiences. And so for us, what we say is, Hey, we don't wanna

9:10

have a program that a hundred thousand people just kind of like

9:13

on one. like Ohio State, when they win, you know, we wanna be a

9:17

pro, we're gonna be a program that 120 families absolutely

9:21

love. and that's kind of this idea of having a big time

9:23

hardened and what we provide for kids. And so, you know, we, we

9:26

talk about that, you know, what it means to be big time. And, you

9:29

know, we do think we provide big time experiences. Our kids have

9:32

phenomenal experiences here. So, you know, it's kind of this idea.

9:34

You talk about you're a parent a little bit, if I'm recruiting you, So many kids here. D one, D one, D one, D one "I mean you

9:41

understand it. You probably live it every day. There. Reality is,

9:43

there's coaches out there that think D one, D one, D one, D one

9:46

"I mean honestly, it's crazy, right? They, they, they think if

9:49

you don't coach division "I football, you're not a good football coach. It's craziness, right? Um, and for some high

9:53

schools, maybe it's one a coaches think if "I can just coach five A

9:55

or "I mean "I, don't know, pick your classification, right? And

9:58

they think then "I will have. All right. And so what we say is,

10:01

look, if we're recruiting your family, people aren't being jerks

10:04

when they say that, by the way. They're just misinformed, potentially. and they need to be reframed kind of what they're

10:09

thinking. So what we talk about, um, is you're not, if you're

10:12

saying you wanna be a Division "I family, that's okay. "I. "I had

10:15

the same goals and dreams. "I wanted to play for Mack Brown at

10:18

University of Texas. "I thought that was, that was big time for

10:21

me. Okay? And so we tell families are, Hey, that's not you. That

10:25

you're not selfish. It's not bad that you want to be division "I.

10:28

The reality is, I'm not division "I football coach, "I coach "I

10:30

football French University. Okay? Now, what "I can tell you is we

10:33

can provide a big time experience. So when you say division one, what do you really. Okay. You mean you want, you

10:39

know, elite academic support, "I mean that's what these guys, you

10:42

hear about it all the time, right? The academic support that these division "I big time athletes have, right? Well, we

10:47

have that. We have a full-time student athlete, academic success

10:50

coordinator with four GA's who monitors everyone's academics,

10:53

right? So you are getting a big-time experience, right. And

10:56

then obviously if you want a big time football experience, you

10:58

expect physical development, right? So strength staff, that

11:01

are experts in their field, not just me as a D-line coach or

11:05

whatever. Some position coach at a college. Who works in the

11:08

weight room so that he can be a football coach. That those are

11:11

two different things. Right? Uh, well, what's cool here at Fringe

11:14

Adversity, we have two full-time strength coaches along with a, a

11:17

four, excuse me, might be three, excuse me, GA's, but some three

11:20

or four full-time GA's that is their whole life is their, their

11:24

whole professional life is devoted to developing these

11:28

strength and speed, all that good stuff, right? So you get that

11:30

experience. You want networking, right? So if you hear the name

11:33

like Ohio State University, right? And we're just using that

11:36

one today. My goodness. "I Love Ohio State. I'm not like knocking

11:38

'em. The, the example today, sometimes it's Alabama, choose

11:41

Ohio State today. Um, you expect like this, this network, right?

11:45

This Ohio State network. So these opportunities postgraduate Well,

11:49

what's really cool here, we're in Wichita, which is the biggest

11:51

city in Kansas. It's not Chicago, so don't judge me there, right?

11:54

But it is the biggest city in Kansas. Um, man, our kids have

11:57

paid internships opportunity. We have kids that signed contracts

12:00

prior to their senior year of football. So what a great opportu. to get a big time experience for kids to leave this

12:06

place with a job, with a return on their investment. Right? And

12:09

then lastly, we, we say, you know, people want big time

12:12

coaching. Uh, or they think division "I means better coaches.

12:15

You know, I've been lucky enough to have great players and be

12:17

coach of the year a couple times. Um, we had the defensive, we had

12:20

the assistant coach of the year. We've had a, uh, oh, coach Kelly,

12:23

who was our recruiting coordinator, was a finalist for

12:26

the football scoop offense coordinator of the year. So you

12:28

do get elite coaching, right? And "I think when you frame it that

12:30

way, families see. Hey are, do we not have D one in front of us?

12:36

Absolutely not. But we do have big time coaches here. And not

12:39

only are you gonna get so these big time, benefits of our

12:41

program, but then also right what we talked about, we're gonna

12:44

coach the hard and, you know, there is certainly an element of

12:47

passion, um, and gratitude and toughness that is required to

12:51

play at the n e "I Division, "I three division, "I two level, and

12:54

however you wanna rank those up. "I don't care. Small college

12:57

football, really kind of all encompassing. Um, and so when you

13:01

do that, man, you, you, you have life changing experience and you,

13:03

you make life, uh, lifelong friendships and you know,

13:06

obviously that's what happened for me as a player and now as a coach. And so obviously I'm pretty passionate about it. Cause

13:10

I'm rambling on now for like, feels like forever. So there you

13:13

go. Luke: your, your passion just, it's permitting through the

13:16

screen. It's phenomenal. "I mean you gave a, you gave a big time

13:18

response explaining what a big time college experience is, and,

13:22

and I'm sold. You have my son. He's only in seventh grade, but

13:24

you have him if you Terry: "I what class that is, but offered on the.

13:29

Luke: So "I mean here? You know, you brought some good things.

13:32

First "I have to tell you, and I'm shocked it took 10 minutes in

13:35

before you may even Mack Brown in Texas reference "I was thinking,

13:38

this guy's from Texas, he hasn't even brought Mack Brown yet.

13:40

You're bringing up Ohio State and Nick Saban. And, but uh, but no,

13:44

it "I it really is true. And your your point when you're talking

13:47

about Ohio State and noticing the water stain. The old bathroom and

13:52

stuff like that. And, you know, so you brought up the Chicagoland

13:55

area. I'm at a Catholic school and, the Chicago Catholic League.

13:58

It's, it's fierce competition. It's fierce competition to get

14:02

kids to go to your school. Uh, we're all fighting over the same

14:05

kids. It's very much like recruiting at the college level.

14:10

cuz if you don't get kids your school closes, the only money you

14:13

have coming in, you have tuition and donations from alums. So it's

14:16

very fierce. And then athletically, we have some of the

14:20

best sports teams in football, basketball, baseball, you name

14:24

it. And, um, that, that's why the conference is so well known

14:28

across the country. And that's one thing that I share in your

14:31

vision. "I talk about it too. If you're only coming here because

14:34

you think we have good facilities, this isn't a good fit. Or if you're only choosing to go somewhere else because you

14:40

think they have good facilit. That's not a good fit for either.

14:43

It should be about more than that. You talked about touching

14:46

people's hearts. "I could not agree more with that statement

14:49

because that's why we enter this business. You said you entered

14:52

because you didn't have a great experience, so now you want to

14:55

give great experiences for kids. And "I share a similar story in

14:59

that "I had the best coaches in the world and "I had some that

15:02

should not have had that title in front of their name. And that's

15:06

why "I did it. Cuz "I "I know what it felt to be. Spiritual,

15:10

uh, spiritually and emotionally and mentally by a coach and. That

15:15

other experience, right? So I'm like, man, "I want to do this

15:17

because "I wanna be the guy that moves the needle for somebody

15:21

because we all have the opportunity to move and touch

15:23

someone's life no matter what profession it is that we choose.

15:27

And "I agree that is the big time experience, but it's just crazy

15:31

because "I. In today's world, the kids are being taught completely

15:35

the opposite and these photo shoots, and it's starting to

15:38

happen in the, like on the high school level, like people

15:41

recruiting the high school level. So now you have eighth grade kids

15:44

like having these ridiculous photo shoots. I'm like, "I, "I,

15:47

just. "I "I can't. I'm just, I'm just not. Because at the end of

15:50

the day, there's one thing "I know that you and "I do agree

15:53

upon. It's about the treatment of people. That's what's really

15:56

important. "I know, that's, a foundation of how you coach and

16:00

how you rebuild these programs that we reference when we started

16:03

this. So, how do you treat athletes that maybe is a little

16:08

bit different than some others in our.

16:12

Terry: Man, "I. You know, "I the hardest part. You know what's

16:15

crazy is you. you're only an ex. I'm only an expert at what we do.

16:18

You know, I'm not an expert at what anyone else does. And you

16:21

know, "I think "I "I. It is a dangerous game when, and, and we

16:23

all fall into it, assuming what maybe some people are doing to

16:25

other spots. Cuz there's so many great places to play including in

16:28

our conference, by the way. but yeah, "I know what we, we try

16:31

really hard to, um, In the recruiting process. And then when

16:36

our kids are here, be the most genuine, transparent coaching

16:40

staff in the country. "I mean really that's, and honestly, "I

16:43

just don't know any other way to be. So, you know, it's kind of

16:45

one of those deals sometimes, like we catch ourselves all the

16:48

time, like, Something comes up, you know, an issue or "I mean "I.

16:51

Don't even know "I. Something comes up, right? And it's like,

16:53

man, how are we gonna tell the kids alright this? And, and then

16:55

it's like, you know what? Let's just tell 'em the truth. And this is what it is. "I mean, you know, whether it's a fundraising

16:59

effort, like, Hey, we gotta raise money because this is X, Y, and

17:02

Z. Instead of trying to dress it up and, you know, play a game

17:06

with kids. We're just, we're just really honest. Like, Hey man, "I

17:08

hate fundraising. Our kids have heard me say "I hate it. Ridiculous. "I hate asking you to do it. It's embarrassing. "I ask

17:13

you to do it, but hey, we gotta do it. So hey, let's have fun and

17:16

knock it out as, as fast as possible. Right? Or whatever, or

17:18

something like that, right? Um, so "I hope "I at some level, "I

17:22

"I. Think kids do connect that you kind of talked about a little

17:24

bit. Like the, the world we live in, societal changes. I mean at

17:28

some level. "I, "I, "I do agree. It is just, it's a crazy world,

17:31

you know, and all the, especially the world. I'm talking the

17:34

football world, it's a crazy world in football. What's cool,

17:37

what's not cool, the expectations that, that, parents and kids may

17:41

have or, and really what they've been told to have. "I don't, "I

17:43

don't think people really know. They just get told, Hey, this is

17:46

what a program should do for you. You know, or, or like you

17:48

mentioned, like, and they see someone else do it and they

17:51

wonder why you're not doing it. So anyway. We try to be very

17:54

genuine and, and very, very upfront and honest and "I and "I.

17:57

Think, um, when we sit down and we have families, you know, we

18:00

recruit, we kind of do a little different, you know, we don't do

18:02

the group visits where there's 90 kids. You know, we, we do a lot

18:04

of individual time with families and, and, and they get to know us

18:08

and see who we are. They get to come watch us. And see how we

18:10

interact with players and we challenge 'em. Play. Look, if you

18:13

watch us coach a game and you're gonna be 20 feet away from me,

18:16

right? Or you watch this workout in a weight room. And, and, and

18:18

if I'm, if I'm not, these things don't come to school here if

18:21

we're not coach. So we, we talk about these, this idea of this

18:24

Christian warrior, right? That we want create "I. Think the world

18:27

lacks tough Christian men. So we, this could be another podcast,

18:30

sorry. But "I do think that "I "I really think a lot of the issues

18:34

you mentioned are a lack of tough Christian father. Tough Christian

18:38

men, tough Christian coaches, tough Christian employers. And

18:42

unfortunately we live in a world where, people when when you put

18:45

Jesus' name on something, they mean they think that means soft

18:48

and. In my opinion, and in our philosophy, regardless, "I, it is

18:52

the polar opposite of that. Um, if you're gonna put Jesus' name

18:54

on your programs, if you're gonna call yourself a Christian

18:56

football coach, it requires excellence. both in knowledge and

19:00

schemes and success, you know, all those things, how you treat

19:02

kids, it absolutely requires excellence and that is really

19:05

hard. "I. It is harder to do that than to be a kid blamer or, you

19:10

know, negative Nancy, whatever. "I is so much hard. to be a

19:15

Christian warrior, right? And we, and we talk about that and, and

19:18

what that means. We try to model it every day. And um, you know,

19:21

on some level that's how, that's how "I hope. "I hope. My kids see

19:24

that. Like my children, I've got three kids. "I hope our players

19:27

see that and they see that man when "I, if we get our butts

19:30

kicked and I've had my butt kicked plenty, man. "I walk around, my chest is big. Um, my chin is up. "I look, people

19:35

square in the eye and "I have a firm handshake and um, we get

19:38

back to work the next week. And "I think if you do that, it does

19:40

create this level of toughness. And so anyway. Long story, "I,

19:45

"I, start chasing these rabbits on this tough Christian warrior.

19:47

That's so, that's another passion of mine, right? So "I talking

19:49

about big time hearts, big time people, and then tough Christian

19:52

men. And, um, you know, we don't outsource "I, don't want, you

19:54

know, "I had a, "I, had a conversation with our, with our golf coach yesterday, other day, who was a friend of mine, "I

19:58

known a long time and come with my own kids like my children. "I,

20:01

don't wanna outsource my kid's faith to a pastor. Well,

20:06

certainly we go to church, by the way, and we've been an awesome

20:08

church here, here in Wichita, and, and we take our kids a youth

20:11

group and man, "I, "I, just talk as we talk about being a tough

20:15

Christian warrior man, a tough Christian man. so many people

20:17

outsource their kids' faith to other people and "I don't wanna

20:22

be that. Right. And that's a hard, that's hard to do by the

20:24

way, you know? Um, because it requires a little bit of

20:27

excellence on your own, right? Just like we don't wanna

20:29

outsource our team's toughness. You have to model that. You

20:31

don't, "I don't wanna outsource our team culture. We have to own

20:33

that every day. And we meet with, we, we're not as organized even

20:37

as "I may be coming across, but "I. We do have a group of young

20:40

men that we meet with that changes by semester. We call it

20:43

the upper room. So 13 kids. And man, we just, we just don't want

20:47

to outsource that team culture. We don't wanna outsource anything

20:49

of our programming and let it depend on people outside of our

20:52

program. and so yeah, "I think when you do that, uh, I'm pretty

20:55

sure we're talking about, you know, Relationships with players,

20:58

building relationships with players. That's how that happens.

21:00

"I think and they see it every day. They know it. We laugh at

21:03

ourselves when we screw up. If "I, if "I call a dumb play "I,

21:06

tell 'em, that was really dumb. My bad. You know, and "I think

21:08

kids do respect that and "I think this generation's athlete more

21:12

than ever respects that. Um, because "I do think kids know no

21:16

coach is perfect. Kids know, Hey, you have flaws. "I have flaws.

21:20

And when you can be honest about it and own those flaws, at least

21:23

in my experience now, especially at the college level, "I. Think

21:26

that's been game changing really at Beth Bethel, "I. Think we had

21:30

a really tight group of kids and we got really close and um, it

21:32

was really hard there, really small school, one of the small

21:35

schools that played college football in the country. like "I

21:37

told you our locker room's in a metal building. I think that

21:39

alone just generated some toughness, right? In this, this,

21:42

these strong relationships. It was super hard to leave. but "I

21:44

can tell you that same thing is happening here at Friends because

21:47

we just, sometimes you have to go through hard times together. And

21:50

we, you know, this year we had a couple games we should have won that we didn't. Right? And "I think those are some of the hard

21:54

times, right? And so, you know, "I think when you do that and you

21:56

do it in a very honest and genuine way, um, and you're not

21:59

trying to, "I can't re. Uh, Nick Saban, "I, "I can't, you know,

22:05

keep, there we go. "I can't replicate. "I can't be Mac brown.

22:07

"I can't replicate Bear Bryant. "I just can't be that person.

22:11

I've tried "I, honestly. I've tried "I mean I've read a book

22:14

and motivated and "I just can't pretend. "I can't fake that. All

22:19

"I can do is lean on my own experience, try to model to the

22:23

best "I can my, my approach after proven winners, and you. Great

22:29

coaches, but in the end it's gotta be me. And anytime "I

22:32

Venture outside of that number one, it doesn't last and it goes

22:35

away. And "I kind of give up on that. Uh, and then number two,

22:38

it's not real. And so we've really honed in on this like,

22:41

like you talk about big time experience like this, this big

22:43

time program, big time hearts. And then tough Christian

22:46

warriors. Right? And that's what we do. And we're not, we are a

22:48

faith-based institution, but they're, if we have everything on

22:51

our team from a non-believer to, we do have a couple kids that are

22:54

in the, faith formations degree. So we are not, you know, it's not

22:58

a team full of kids who wanna be pastored by any means. We have

23:00

everything in between. So, um, and "I and "I certainly will let

23:03

you down, if, if you gimme long enough. But we really try hard to

23:06

do that. Luke: So really at its core what we're talking about is

23:10

establishing, establishing relationships, and that's

23:12

something that any coach who wants to be successful or who has

23:16

been successful know that that is key. That is, that's one of the

23:20

first steps to get. A program in any sport at any level to really

23:25

get going. So take me through your first action steps to

23:30

establish relationships and earning the trust of your

23:33

players. Terry: So "I, I'll tell you the two "I, think "I kind of

23:36

approached it two different ways. "I know. Uh, so my last job when

23:39

"I first got there, "I, "I got, the timing of that was over like

23:42

Christmas break. So "I didn't even, "I couldn't go and have a

23:45

team meeting, you know. and so we did get access to the team

23:48

huddle. We called every player on the roster. Um, me, "I, not we,

23:52

"I, called every player on the roster, introduced myself. Tried

23:56

to just have some energy like, Hey, you know, you inherit bad

23:59

programs by the way. You better, you know, you gotta fake it till

24:01

you make it at, at the initial GetGo and every coach, every

24:04

kid's been told we're gonna win. You know, whatever. They've been

24:07

told, some, they promised something that they can't ma, you

24:10

know, uphold right? But caught every player and just make sure

24:13

they knew who we were. Um, kind of shared, Hey, "I know you've

24:16

got all kinds of anxiety, but man, the main thing is, You know,

24:19

we're gonna focus on team culture. We call it the brotherhood. But you know, just this, just brief under five

24:23

minutes and just, hey, excited to be your coach. Honored to be your

24:26

coach. Proud to be your coach. "I. Think kids, especially kids

24:30

in a program that struggle, just hearing those words. But I'm

24:32

proud to be a Falcon. I'm proud to be, you know, whatever.

24:36

Honored to be your coach. "I think that and, and because "I "I

24:40

am truly honored to be these kids coach, right? "I think that's a

24:43

big deal. So the timing of that was Christopher Break. So that's

24:45

initially how it started. Started there, and then, so that was the,

24:49

previous job currently at Friends. It was, uh, in the

24:52

middle of the fall semester. Um, so it was right after

24:54

Thanksgiving. And so "I, it was a team. We introduce ourself, you

24:58

know, just briefly, Hey, this is who "I am, this is what "I

25:00

believe, but more than that, you know, talking about how, you

25:03

know, football is about culture. That's a great, it is actually

25:05

why football is so awesome, right? It doesn't, it's not every

25:08

time the best team wins, right? It's the best team cohesive. The

25:11

most cohesive team wins, right? The, the best. Wins way more than

25:16

just the most talented win. And sometimes you have both and those

25:19

are special seasons, right? Um, but talking about that and

25:23

educating kids on that "I think that's what's cool. And then what

25:25

"I try to do. Um, and, and, and we "I feel like we did a better

25:28

job of that here at Friends than I've ever done. We observed, but

25:31

then we just modeled what does it mean to be a great teammate And

25:34

we're just in there high fiving kids being never walk by somebody

25:38

without, uh, fist bump ever. That's a rule in our program. You

25:41

will never walk by a football player at fringe univers and not

25:44

get a fist bump. Or if you, when we know our teammates, man, we do

25:47

that. and say, you how, you know, how, how much of a jerk do you

25:51

have to be to walk by a teammate and snap your eyes down and your

25:53

kids have to be coached on that, by the way, cuz the, this generation, when they're uncomfortable, they look at

25:58

their. Or if, if they walk by someone they don't know, they

26:01

look down you, you just have this automatic excuse not to make eye

26:04

contact with someone. You can just look at your phone and it's

26:07

kind of not offensive. You didn't flip 'em off, you didn't, you

26:10

know, you weren't being, you just looked at your phone. And so man,

26:13

we that, that sort of thing, right? So that developed, teach

26:15

kids that. And then when you get kids doing that, think of how

26:18

much different that feels. Then when you get kids doing out on

26:20

campus in the cafeteria, man, it's just this, this idea of

26:24

program change. And then the last thing we do, you know, outside.

26:28

Uh, "I. Mean "I. Think it would stand out probably at the college

26:31

level especially. We take our team and we go to the basketball

26:35

and we invest in another program, and that's when we start teaching

26:37

about entitlement. Okay? Because everybody wants everybody at

26:41

their game. If I'm a football player, "I want the stands

26:44

packed. "I want the band, "I want the everybody on campus to be at

26:48

my game. Well, if you expect that, but then you're not willing

26:52

to go be the craziest student section at a basketball game.

26:55

You, you have some entitlement issues, right? That, that is

26:59

entitlement. You want, you want something from someone that

27:02

you're not willing to give. Okay? And so we go to the basketball

27:05

games, we, uh, do the wrestling tournament. Like we have a

27:08

wrestling team here. We go to the wrestling team. We take a

27:10

championship belt. Everybody dresses up. We're putting their

27:12

pictures out on Twitter. Essentially, we promoted every

27:16

other program on our campus. That's what. And it wasn't about

27:19

football at all, and you wanna talk about making a huge

27:22

impression and a huge splash, especially if you're somewhere

27:25

that's never happened. It is just, man, you wanna talk about

27:29

night and day and honestly, you don't even get anything from it

27:33

outside of you get a little bit of momentum. right? You just see

27:36

a little bit of momentum. You get, you get some fans out there

27:38

that you didn't have otherwise, and they find out, hey, this guy

27:41

is serious about what he talked about in his interview, right?

27:44

When we talked, when "I talked to the president of the school, talk about, Hey, how we're gonna change this culture, how hard it

27:48

is and how football is, you know, like, love it, like it, hate it,

27:53

not. Football drives the culture of a campus, especially at the

27:57

small college level and, and most high schools, right? Especially a

28:00

private, Catholic school like you're at. It just drives the

28:02

culture of the campus and not even in wins and losses. While

28:05

that's important, more so how do your football players treat other

28:10

people? And if you can get your football play players, treating

28:13

people on campus really well, not having a hat on in class college,

28:18

that's a bigger deal. Not having a hood on in class in college,

28:21

that's a bigger deal. Taking your headphones. Looking people in the

28:24

eye. "I mean, just simple things like that. If you can do that,

28:28

that that's what, that's the most feedback we get and people are

28:31

proud that we've won some games this year. We're gonna win

28:34

championships here. "I know that sounds very arrogant to say that

28:36

will happen "I hope it happens next year. But at some point

28:39

that's gonna happen here. We're gonna win championships here. But

28:42

more so than that, we are creating a championship culture

28:45

on campus and somewhere that people want to be. and so that's,

28:49

um, That is what we do initially though, so that that does an "I,

28:52

mean "I. Know, I'm kind of going off a little tangent again, "I

28:54

again, just "I love this stuff. That's what we do. We, we treat

28:58

other people really well and we model that as coaches. And when

29:02

kids see you do that with 'em. "I don't know. If you're "I, don't

29:06

know. If you're not, I'll put you on the spot. But do you know the

29:08

difference between corny and cool Luke: "I do not.

29:11

Terry: if everybody does it, that's the difference. If "I

29:14

expect players, hey. "I want you to go be "I. If we, we have three

29:18

players try to go lead a student section and there's just three of

29:21

'em out there going nuts. Absolutely corny, corniest thing

29:23

in the world. But when you have an entire team of football

29:25

players going nuts, it's really cool. And then people talk about

29:28

it, right? Well, the same way post practice, we do these things

29:32

called put ups. We say a cheer for each other. It's pretty unique when everybody does it. It's really cool, right? But if

29:38

there's just one guy, like in the weight room, we, it's required

29:41

every set, every player on our team has to say, somebody's. at

29:45

least three times. You have to clap or count their reps 1, 2, 3

29:49

out loud. If one guy's doing that, it's like this weird guy on

29:53

the corner who's going nuts in the weight room. It's super weird

29:56

with a hundred guys in, they're like, there's just one guy over. They're like going absolute nuts. What's going on now? Maybe you

30:00

hit too many smelling sauces. Right? But if everyone does it,

30:03

it's electric and then everybody's about five pounds

30:06

stronger on their lift, right? And then when you walk in, people

30:09

walk by and they look in, they're like, what's going on with those

30:11

guys? Um, and that's kind of. You know, that's what we're doing. So

30:15

that's the difference, right? The difference between corny and cool, if everybody does or not. "I mean ll cool J back in the

30:18

day, he rolled his pant leg up, one pant leg up. Then all of a

30:21

sudden, what "I mean? Corniest move ever. But then what

30:24

happened? Then a couple other guys start doing it. Then every

30:27

middle school in the Midwest, kids are walking around with one

30:30

pant leg up. LL Cool J made that cool, right? And the only

30:33

difference was everybody started doing it crisscross, right? You

30:37

remember that group? Luke: yeah. Terry: What were people.

30:39

Luke: "I. "I. Sadly, "I actually know Terry: Well, sadly, that's "I don't know where that example,

30:43

I've never used that example before, but here we go. But they

30:45

turned the, and then what was do, and then everybody, every, every

30:48

middle schooler in high school across the United States of

30:50

America were wearing overalls backwards. You know what "I mean?

30:53

Like that became cool. It's crazy if we told our kids that today,

30:57

they'd laugh us out of the room. Luke: Yeah. Especially cuz they were, they were like eighth grade

31:00

kids at the time or wherever they Terry: But the, but what I'm saying though, that's the

31:04

difference, right? Corny and cool. And. Instead of making

31:07

those things backwards clothes or front roll leg up. You. What we

31:11

make cool is eye contact, shaking people's hand with a firm

31:15

handshake, investing in other programs, creating an electric.

31:19

So when you do that, you feel it. And so, you know, "I don't know

31:22

and "I think when you do it that way, right? It, it is not

31:24

something that's disrespectful, right? When you, when you, when

31:28

you make something cool that honors God in, in our opinion, a

31:31

tough Christian man should. All of a sudden, man, that's, program

31:35

changing for the academic department here. That's, that's,

31:37

that's game changing for classes. And so, you know, "I think a

31:40

coach would be wise to, to focus on those things. You know,

31:43

especially building rapport on campus with. Faculty members, uh,

31:47

fa you know, in the cause of our teachers, whatever, professors,

31:50

faculty members, whoever the academic side of campus. And so,

31:53

"I Dunno, that's what's, that's what's happened for me. And, and,

31:55

and I've certainly, you know, probably learned that, you know,

31:58

as a younger coach at the high school setting, probably didn't do a good job as good a job as that. And "I man, "I wish "I, "I,

32:02

wish "I would have. Luke: Yeah, "I couldn't agree with you more that these types of

32:06

behaviors, once they become cool, they definitely become contagious

32:10

and that a organization can impact a larger organization.

32:14

And, especially like you talked about the behavior football team

32:17

dries the culture. "I think there's a lot of reasons for

32:20

that. It's, it's a physically a big team. There's big guys on it

32:24

that's large in number. and it's one of the first sports to start

32:27

the school year. So if things are going in the right direction,

32:30

that, I've seen it "I live in "I, live it "I. See it in high

32:33

schools, like it could really impact how everyone else treats

32:37

kids. So, my rule thumb, very similar year "I talk about the,

32:40

the basics of hood off. No AirPods, say hello to each other

32:45

in the hallway when a coach comes by and says hi to. don't be like,

32:48

Hey, like, say, you know, hi, coach Merton's. You know, like

32:51

just these little etiquette things and it, it really does

32:54

impact an entire building. "I tell my team, no one should ever

32:57

eat alone, ever should a kid eat alone at the lunchroom there,

33:00

there should be someone that sits by them. even if it's just from

33:04

the optics of it. "I don't expect you to go hang out with them on

33:06

the weekends, but no one needs to be sitting there alone in the

33:09

cafeteria. With everyone else watching him or her. So, uh, it's

33:13

very much on, on the same page with that. And you know, for the

33:16

most part, kids will, "I, "I, don't wanna use the word fall in

33:19

line. Uh, maybe buy-in's the better word. Like they agree.

33:22

Like, yeah, "I mean because "I do think we are wired that way as

33:25

human beings. "I. Don't think human beings are wired to treat

33:27

each other poorly. "I actually think we're wired to treat each

33:30

other properly. And it's, you know, like that's more inherent

33:34

in us. Okay. Someone teaches us. These bad things that we do to

33:39

each other, to be honest with you. so with that said, at least

33:42

that's my opinion. "I don't have any scientific backing on it. But

33:44

with that said, what do you do with resistance to these things

33:49

and maybe resistance to you, resistance to your philosophies,

33:52

just not buying into, to what you wanna do. How do you keep, cuz

33:56

you don't, you can't give up on the kid, but what do you do to

33:59

keep breaking down those walls?

34:02

Terry: Yeah, that's, man, that's, you know, the funniest part.

34:05

Resistance or someone who doesn't fit. That's the battle. And, and

34:10

every, the hardest part, and, and it's hard to say this, this is

34:13

what "I do, only because. Man there, there's just so many

34:17

unique examples. What are we resistant to? Um, what does that

34:21

look like? You know? And, um, that's a, that's a really hard

34:24

one. But "I will tell you, you know, the, the, the benefit of

34:27

college is that, look man, this is not for, it is not for

34:31

everybody. And the hard part in college, when you inherited

34:35

players, they. Commit to you. Um, they didn't come to play for you.

34:41

and we give grace to be honest with you in that regard. Um,

34:43

I'll, I'll tell the kid like, look man, "I, "I know I'm a

34:46

stranger, you know, "I. And we try to, even in that first

34:48

meeting or so, like the kids at Fringe University, so like we

34:51

have some kids now that are, if they're going to their senior

34:54

year, they have more invested in friends than me. They've been

34:57

here. they've played more games here. and "I think just not being

35:01

so arrogant, not to acknowledge that there are kids at Fringe

35:05

University that have invested much more into Fringe University

35:07

than me. as far as time is probably a safer way to put that.

35:10

Right. And "I think being, understanding that. So as a high

35:13

school coach, the, the school, um, my mentor was our head coach.

35:17

"I was the coordinator. "I became the head. And "I asked him that

35:21

same question and he said, and about seniors basically mush. He

35:24

goes, well, you better hope they just tolerate you cuz they've

35:26

been here a lot longer than you have. And "I thought that was a,

35:28

that was pretty good advice. And that was old school advice right

35:30

here. Hope they tolerate you a little bit. Right? But "I do

35:33

think that "I, think "I always think about that. You know, like,

35:36

man, "I, hope those guys tolerate the cool part is, I do like what

35:40

you mentioned I. Think the cool part is, and, and luckily the

35:43

schools I've, the places I've taken over have struggled, and.

35:46

timing is everything, right? But when you take over a struggling

35:48

program, what you just talked about, I don't know if there,

35:51

there isn't science and data, but it just feels better to be a part

35:54

of our program than maybe another one, So if a program that's

35:58

simply outcome based, that's simply result-oriented, that is

36:01

simply just, focused on win loss score stats, that don't, it is

36:05

not very fun. It don't feel very good unless you. But man, what

36:09

does that feel like in the off season? You know, how do you,

36:11

what is that about? Right? Um, and so when you have a, program

36:15

like ours, it's this idea of a growth mindset and built, um,

36:19

about the process over, result, all that good stuff. "I think

36:22

that feels better, right? And when we, we don't just celebrate

36:25

good players, we honestly celebrate all the stuff. That

36:28

results in winning great effort. Um, great teammates, um, We

36:32

celebrate. Like if a kid would do put up like, Hey, this kid helped

36:35

me study for my chemistry test. I'm not that great at. We

36:38

celebrate those kids. That kid may never play it down for us,

36:40

right? So when you celebrate that, it just feels better. and

36:42

so we honestly haven't felt as much resistance as you might

36:45

think. but what we do, what "I will tell you is we "I believe in

36:48

second chances. Um, "I believe in third chances, um, "I think

36:51

there's something to a kid's heart. And, and, and at the

36:54

college level, it's a little, little easier than "I think at

36:56

the high school level. So "I, if there's a high school coach, he's

36:58

gonna be thinking, well, that'd be nice, right? But for us, when

37:01

we call a kid in, if a kid makes a mistake, but he's got a great

37:05

heart and clearly. made a mistake and still has gratitude about

37:09

being at friends and a willingness beer. That's, that's

37:12

handled very differently than someone who walks in and it's

37:15

like Stonewall resistant, clearly doesn't want, doesn't have a

37:20

grateful spirit. Let's leave it that way. Then "I, then "I think

37:22

we, we, we do, we, we react differently to that, right? But

37:26

there's certainly not a "I. Don't, zero tolerance is easier

37:29

for. Um, but "I don't necessarily know that. That's right. because

37:33

everyone has different circumstances. Kids on our team

37:37

at the same school from the same city have very different

37:39

circumstances, and so you have to take out all that in accountant.

37:42

The cool part is "I know "I will say this, the college with kids

37:46

we deal with are 18 to 23 years old. "I think that age group is a

37:51

little more, has a little more empathy for those type of things

37:54

than maybe a 16 year old. It's like, but you said, you know, "I,

37:57

"I, think "I. Think there's something to that. "I "I know our

38:00

kids have some empathy and they, and they, they don't want kids

38:03

just kicked off the team every other day. You know what "I mean?

38:06

So "I do think they, they understand and they're also

38:09

close. They live together in the dorms. They work together off

38:11

campus. They know each other's stories. They know each other's

38:14

struggles. Um, and so if a kids fall short of, so. Man, we just

38:18

kind of take it as it comes. And, and honestly, deal fi, you know,

38:22

like you talked, like we've already talked about kind of the heart, right? Some kids have great hearts and they make

38:25

mistakes. And thank goodness, man, "I, whew, you know, if "I

38:29

had zero tolerance, "I may not be here today. You know, and so "I

38:31

think that's, um, "I, "I think it's always good to keep in mind,

38:33

we, the older we get the, you know, you forget some of the

38:37

mistakes you made as a kid too. Luke: Yeah, for sure. And "I, "I, "I. Want to go back to, we talked

38:41

about your Texas roots and obviously high school football

38:45

and Texas is well documented. "I mean there's books and TV shows

38:49

and. Movies about it. And a lot of those high school coaches from

38:53

Texas have gone on and they're guys that we now watch on

38:56

television. And you know, the one thing that we know from being in

39:00

a profession that "I think surprises, just the casual

39:03

football fan, is a lot of what you watch on Sunday afternoons,

39:07

it comes from the bottom up. Football's a pretty unique sport.

39:11

So you have a lot of these high school coaches are really coming

39:14

up with innovative schemes. And I'm not just saying that to. Brag

39:18

about high school football coaches "I on, but it's like,

39:20

it's the facts and they either elevate because of those unique

39:24

schemes and the success they do. Or college coaches will take

39:28

notice cuz they're out recruiting. and they see what's

39:31

going on and they watch all the film "I "I, like, what that guy's

39:34

doing. So they start doing it, and then the NFL is watching

39:37

college film. Well, you know how it all goes. That's more an

39:39

explanation to the casual fan. So with that said, "I wanna talk

39:42

about your offense, the Flexon. and we're not gonna get into the

39:45

X's and O's about it, but "I mean that's a great example. And

39:48

there's, there's a lot of debate on. Where it fits. It's sometimes

39:52

labeled as a high school offense and it's not gonna have success

39:56

in college. which "I know you've had success at the collegiate

39:59

level. We know obviously the run with Coach Johnson and Georgia

40:03

Tech and you look at Army and Navy and what they're able to do,

40:05

"I mean there's a lot of success to it. With that said, "I have to

40:10

imagine it gets tough recruiting sometimes out there because it is

40:14

contrary to the offenses that these kids thinks are trendy and

40:19

sexy and cool and all those types of things. Despite the fact that

40:23

the flexible wins, you can't argue with that. So "I. What do

40:27

you do to, to create, buy-in from players on your current roster?

40:32

And bonus question, what do you do when you're out there

40:34

recruiting a kid that maybe just doesn't understand the offense

40:39

and, and the benefits to 'em? Because at the end of the day,

40:42

the one thing we know is. No matter what scheme you run, it's

40:44

not gonna win or lose games. It's the belief in the scheme and

40:47

mostly important, the belief in the man next to you and the whole

40:50

team. So, "I know "I threw a lot at you, but "I know you're

40:53

passionate about the flexibility too. Just curious as to what

40:55

your, thoughts are creating that buy-in. What's an offense that is

40:59

not seen as cool anymore? Terry: Yeah, well, the cool, luckily we have a bunch of

41:03

highlight films where we're scoring about 46 points a game,

41:06

and we just kind of pop that on for a couple minutes. Like, oh,

41:08

that's what it could be, you know? And so, It's a really fun

41:11

thing to talk about. We could probably do, we should prob, we

41:13

could do an hour long, like just Flex bone talk there. There's

41:16

nothing like it in all of sports. "I, actually. "I only have,

41:19

there's only one other thing like it, in my opinion. Right. It's

41:22

like how has Flex Bone become whatever it's perceived as. It's

41:27

the craziest thing it makes and it makes absolutely no sense.

41:29

Right? And while that is what it is, it's true. "I. Think the only

41:34

thing you can even, like, how can you equate that to something is

41:37

maybe a knuckle ball pitcher who's won 90% of their games, but

41:41

you don't want a knuckle ball pitcher. Now it makes no sense.

41:43

Right? Um, "I "I. So, you know, "I still on that. You'll think

41:47

about that one later. Like, what else can you compare it to?

41:49

There's nothing like it. There's no offense in basketball, there's

41:51

no defense in basketball that you could compare it to. Right? Um,

41:56

and so you know why it is. who knows, but, but "I will say, For

42:01

us, right talking about our current players, number one, we

42:05

have really fun practices. Our practices are awesome. There's so

42:08

many people that that may perceive it as like, we don't

42:11

beat each other up at practice. We are actually hit, we hit foam

42:14

pads way more than we ever hit each other. we truly aim to train

42:19

our kids to play on Saturday and not trick 'em. Um, and so "I

42:23

think when you do that, our kids going every game. More com,

42:26

there's absolutely nothing you can do on defense to trick our.

42:31

They're gonna know how to block everything that we do. and so "I,

42:33

that does instill some confidence in our players. Um, and this idea

42:37

that, Hey, man, like you're not gonna stop us, if we perform our

42:40

technique well and fundamentals with all that good stuff, right?

42:43

And so that's kind of cool. um, "I know we run a very different

42:46

version of it than, than you might see Army, Navy, and even,

42:49

even Paul Johnson to some level. We line up in the same formations, but we have a different flavor. "I think, we've

42:53

thrown a bunch of play action touchdown passes over the years,

42:55

or we had a quarterback who his congress play of the year. So

42:58

when you throw the film up, "I guess is the point and you put up

43:01

the stats. It's kinda like, look man the goal in office is score

43:04

points, and we score more points than anybody in our conference

43:06

over the last three years. So, "I. Don't know what else to tell

43:09

you if you don't like You know, like that's what we do, right?

43:12

And so "I think some of that comes from a misunderstanding.

43:16

more so than it does kids love or hate something. "I. Think "I.

43:19

Think adults. Specifically, you know, we're in this football

43:22

world because it's not, not as many people do it. even a high

43:25

school coach can almost say some things about it that are

43:27

negative. not even knowing that, that they're, they're doing that

43:30

right because it's not what they're passionate about. So, "I

43:33

may be passionate about option football. You may be passionate

43:36

about five wide, Tony Franklin air raid stuff, right? And just

43:40

because of those two things, my passion's gonna be shown through.

43:43

and it can make the others seem like it's less than "I. Think

43:46

some of that happens, not even people trying to be negative. but

43:48

like "I talked about when, when you win championships somewhere,

43:51

no one else can win 'em and you win, score a bunch of points that

43:54

kind of sells itself. And then you talked about how do we sell

43:58

kids on it? You know, we tell like we ain't got nothing to sell. Um, kids come to practice and hey, talk to our players. So

44:03

we have every quarterback we have. and maybe a different

44:06

office in high school. Every alignment asks them every slot,

44:10

every receiver asks them. and when they do that and they hear

44:12

it from our players, "I, it's, it's a non-issue. you know, the

44:16

people that try to, dance around that as far as at a division, at

44:20

a FBS Power five job, it's because they're trying to get it

44:23

their self, you know, and they're probably wanna run the spread

44:25

somewhere. So "I, you know, you gotta be careful who you listen to. "I don't buy into that stuff. "I. Think if you win it, if you

44:29

win, um, and you prove yourself as a winner. "I don't think that,

44:34

you know, "I "I think people can look past the scheme, especially,

44:37

you know, for us, our retention rate is through the roof. Like,

44:39

so we, we get kids to come and they commit sign letter

44:41

retention. They stay. that's what we do really well, "I. And we

44:46

think that's because how we treat players and families and how we

44:48

recruit. And so when you do that, you know, it, it don't matter

44:52

what offense you run. The cool part about us is we know how to

44:54

fix it. We our, we teach our kids to be experts in it. and we can

44:58

come in at halftime and it's just a, Hey, short, this, this, this.

45:01

Hey, let's go make it happen. And you know, when you do it, it's

45:03

one of those deals. It's the most, in my opinion, is pretty

45:06

"I. It is just one of the most exciting things to. because you

45:09

know how it is, it's "I and you watch the other teams, you hear

45:11

the other coaches yelling from the sideline. Like it's the same

45:14

place. Like, well, not really, but you know, just, just because

45:17

it started, we lined up in the same formation but not the same

45:19

place. So that's cool. And, and we, and so anyway, man, "I, "I

45:23

can talk about that forever, but "I will tell you, we educate

45:26

people on it. We educate parents on it, on recruit visits. We have

45:28

our kids out there and, and honestly, what we hear most of

45:31

the time from recruiting visits, whether it's a quarterback or

45:33

receiver, and we start talking about, Hey, this is how we do

45:36

these things. They say, man, coach, I've. That's the most I've

45:39

ever heard, like as far as diving in the scheme of any coach

45:42

they've ever been around. And so when you do that, they realize

45:45

that, hey, this guy's an expert at this. These coaches are

45:48

experts at this. Their practices move faster than I've ever seen.

45:52

And all their coach and all their kids say they love it here and

45:54

love what they're doing. "I mean when you do that, quite honestly,

45:57

"I, it sells itself. And look, the reality is it's what we're

46:00

gonna do. So if you don't wanna do it, don't, don't come you

46:03

know, go somewhere else. You know? And so when you do that "I

46:06

"I, it makes it a lot of fun. And, and we wanna be the best at

46:08

it, you know? And so you, the schools you mentioned, there are

46:11

some awesome schools out there, um, that, that we, that we like

46:14

"I friends of. But we wanna be the best at it. We don't just

46:16

wanna be a team that runs an offense. We wanna be a team that

46:19

we, we want to be the elite team in the country that does what we

46:22

do. And that's saying a lot. Cause there's so many phenomenal

46:24

coaches out there now. There's less and less of us right now,

46:27

right there. There's, you know, there's less of us in the, the

46:29

club is getting smaller. but we wanna be the best at what we do

46:32

in the country. And "I, "I think every coach should aim for that

46:34

right? To be, to be lead at something. And so we think that's

46:37

attainable for us. Um, we think we can win a national

46:40

championship, with the schemes we run on, both on offense and

46:43

defense. and so "I mean, what else can you ask for, man? Great

46:46

school. Big time school. Like we talked about. with this

46:48

opportunity to compete for national championships within a

46:50

scheme that we can recruit players to, like "I mean for me,

46:53

it's a no-brainer. And our athletic director and president love it. And you know, there's a reason why we're here And, um,

46:58

yeah, so we're excited about that. And, and love, love option.

47:01

Luke: Yeah, and like "I said before, it's all about belief in

47:04

the system. That's really what works "I mean. If there's one

47:06

system that's best as "I, tell my players all the time, everybody

47:09

would run that system. It's all a matter of. Number one, believe in

47:13

the system. Number two, the coach's ability to teach the

47:15

system. And three, the player's ability to execute it. And "I

47:18

don't mean in that order. "I just mean all three of those things

47:20

need to happen for it to be successful. And we're, we're nine

47:23

minutes over, but "I just have to ask you one Terry: No, Hey, I'm good to go now. My kids are getting in bed,

47:28

so life is good. But "I "I you, I'll ask to add to what you just

47:31

add and, and can you practice it effectively? You know what "I

47:34

mean? So that that's the deal, right? So not only can you draw

47:36

up a cool play, but can you practice it in a way that your

47:39

kids prepare all the time. So yes, agree. Sorry about that Last

47:42

Luke: No, no. Great point. So "I "I really like knowing what other

47:47

people are doing. That's a big part of this podcast, and you

47:50

have a very unique perspective being a collegiate coach because

47:52

you get to recruit and you get to go see the good and the bad in

47:56

all these different high school football programs that you've

47:59

recruited. Some of 'em, even across the country, I'm sure.

48:02

With that said, and you don't need to name any names

48:04

specifically if you don't want to, just what are some things you

48:07

have seen or learned from some of these top high school coaches

48:11

that, you know, like what are they doing differently that

48:15

allows them to be so successful? Because those are the nuggets

48:19

that I'm always looking for. Like, what's that guy who's won

48:22

nine state championships in West Virginia at the high school

48:25

level? Like what is he doing to be successful? So, so what have

48:29

you seen out there, Koshi, you could share. Terry: Yeah, "I mean, "I. "I, "I think recruiting has been very

48:34

fun and it's been so eye-opening cuz "I never "I. "I didn't, "I

48:37

wasn't born. To be a college football coach necessarily, or

48:40

whatever that means. "I didn't think I'd be a good, better, better way to put it. "I never thought I'd be a college football

48:43

coach. "I wanted to be a high school PE teacher and a football coach. That's what "I wanted to do. it's actually what my mom

48:47

wanted to do. She wanted to be a PE teacher and a coach, and, and

48:49

she ended up joining the Army and, and life had another, you

48:52

know, life went another direction for her. So in a way, "I was kind

48:54

of fulfilling her dream when "I, when "I got my teachers

48:57

certification, all that good stuff. So anyway, but "I never

48:59

thought I'd be doing this right. And so, What happens is when,

49:02

when you are a high school coach, you can get in these little

49:05

bubbles like you, you're, you, it would be easy for you. Now it's

49:08

kind of cool, like you're, you're way braver than me. "I guess you,

49:10

you're doing this podcast and you're talking to people all over

49:12

the country in this random stranger in Kansas, right? Um,

49:15

but you, very easy for you. It would be easy for you to get in

49:17

the Chicago Catholic League bubble. And just be stuck in that

49:21

bubble, right? And you never venture outside of it and you

49:25

really never find out that other people's going on. Right? Same is

49:28

true for me. It'd be very easy to get in the what, what we call the

49:31

city league bubble. And that's just my world revolves around

49:34

that bubble. Um, so what's been cool? Not necessarily even being

49:38

a strength of mine. I've had to get outta that bubble cuz "I, we

49:41

go out to California, we've had kids from Florida, Oklahoma,

49:43

Texas, like you mentioned Nebraska. We got kids from

49:46

everywhere. you get outta that bubble and you fi you see teams,

49:49

you don't recognize you. They, you put a highlight film up and

49:52

you have no idea where this team is from. And so what I'll tell

49:55

you is some common themes is kind of what your podcast is about,

49:59

number one. the teams that focus on team Coha, Um, that's with the

50:04

way we term. So "I, if you're not 3D coaching's a big part of our

50:08

program. So three team cohesion is the 3D Institute's way to team

50:12

kind of team culture, right? But it teams that focus on that, you

50:15

know, there's a local team here. they're in, they've played in

50:18

every state championship game in forever, and we recruit their

50:22

kids. And when "I played against them, "I was like, they just have

50:25

better players. And then now I'm recruiting their kids. I'm like,

50:27

oh, well, no. They, they just, they do a really good job with,

50:31

with, uh, with their team culture and, and some of the things they

50:34

do. So, "I think finding your own, finding your own way, right.

50:40

to have a great team culture, team cohesion, whatever you wanna

50:43

talk about this idea, this identity as a program that is

50:47

embraced for your whole program. And that could be anything. It

50:49

could, it could kind of start with the scheme and then that

50:52

could morph into your whole team's identity. Right. And so it

50:55

doesn't have to be scheme or, or just something you do outside "I.

50:59

Think it all melts together. And so the teams that, that focus on

51:02

that and the coaches you meet, you can see it in their players.

51:05

"I, I'll be honest with you, when you recruit, The kids, when they

51:08

talk to you, you can just tell like, yeah, they, they do a great

51:11

job on kids know how, like, like we talked about how to be a, how

51:14

to present yourself well in a way that a man would present

51:17

themselves, shake hands, firm handshake, all that good stuff. Right? Well, when you do that, right, wrong or different, it

51:22

translates to football and how they approach practice and these

51:24

things. So if that's, We have seen some, you know, one of the

51:28

unique things we've seen or some schemes out there, like

51:31

defensively, we changed our defense two years ago. Um,

51:34

because there's a school that was like, they were having no

51:37

defender with their hand down. On the, on the entire defense

51:41

within. And then sometimes they wouldn't line up within five

51:43

yards of the ball. So you'd see the offensive line of scrimmage

51:46

and then the defense over here all the way, and then timing the

51:49

snap. And so we did that for a year and led the country in sax

51:52

and tackles for loss. That was really cool. We stole that from a

51:55

high school. that guy's name is Clarence Holly outta steer. If

51:58

you want to, if you want to be entertained, Google Steelwater

52:01

High School football's huddle and watch their defensive highlights

52:04

and, um, "I think that stuff's phenomenal. So little things like

52:08

that, that if you haven't watched that, it would be "I know, uh,

52:11

coach Holly speaks a lot at, at at g Glacier Clinics. Too as

52:14

well. And he has a little bit of a system. He does. So we saw that

52:17

on a highlight film. We were recruiting a kid from Steelwater,

52:19

Oklahoma, and we saw that. I'm like, we're gonna do that. And it

52:22

was the craziest thing. Fun. We still, we still dabble with it a

52:25

little bit, but we went all in on it for a little while and that

52:27

was super fun. And our conference had not, no one had done that. So

52:30

it was a big advantage for us. Um, so that's kind of cool. "I "I

52:34

think And then, man, outside of that "I, "I is simply like, like

52:38

we talked about a little bit earlier, Some coaches we've seen

52:41

do such a phenomenal job. Like you can go four and seven or

52:44

seven four and be the best job. Like just, you see these teams

52:47

that get the most outta their players and then they run into a

52:50

bus. All the play, they just can't. They're just outmanned

52:53

when they get a little later. And so those are the coaches that's super cool to see. And that "I, honestly, "I try to be that, that

52:58

that's what "I hope, "I can be that type of coach, right? To

53:01

where, you know, maybe it's not a state championship every year,

53:03

but man, for us to get to this. Every year and be competitive and

53:07

be in games in the fourth quarter and give ourself a chance to win

53:10

when maybe we don't have the manpower other teams have. That's

53:13

what's super cool to see. And "I think "I think coaches realize

53:16

that, that the hard part, you know, recruiting's its own thing

53:19

and, and you want the best players you know, all the time.

53:21

And you see that and. Oh, that's super cool and it is amazing,

53:24

man. There's so many "I "I. Guess there's more really good coaches

53:27

out there than "I realized. When "I was just a high school coach.

53:29

"I. "I. Just that sounds really me. When "I was a high school

53:32

coach, "I didn't realize, you know, "I, of course "I was 29

53:35

years old. "I as a head coach, my first head coaching job and "I

53:37

was pretty sure "I was the best coach ever, you know, born. But,

53:39

but, Luke: Aren't we all Terry: now, yeah, exactly right. But now "I, real "I mean. There's

53:43

just so many great high school coaches out there who are good

53:46

people. Who give back and are, you know, that's what's cool. And

53:50

we get to go around, by the way, we, we get to go around and we do

53:52

install camps where we teach people how we practice and we,

53:55

you know, we show 'em how to do stuff. We coach their kids a little bit. We do those for three days. That's been fun because you

53:59

do get to see these, just like you see coaches in sometimes

54:02

maybe a rural community or they could be in a more populated

54:05

area, but just man, they're, that are coaching young men to do all

54:08

the things we talked about, you know? Um, "I think that's what's

54:11

cool and "I think that's what, that's what we need, man. "I think, um, it truly is a fight and Being, what's considered cool

54:18

now may not, you know, "I, it's just hard "I guess. There's so

54:21

many options. "I, I'll leave it at that. There's a lot of options

54:23

out there for kids that aren't football, you know, and "I think

54:25

we need football. Football was invented, for, keeping that edge,

54:29

you know, "I think there's a book about it, but, you know, and peace time, just keeping kids. Football's embedded because of

54:34

violent game to keep our, keep our young men tough. and so while

54:38

we don't want kids to get hurt, certainly, and football's not

54:40

war. You, you, we do, we do need football and we do need a level

54:43

of toughness. Um, and "I hope we're providing that. And, and

54:46

you see it happen across the country. Luke: Yeah, and "I "I think you're talking about Sal, PA

54:50

Antonio's book is what you're thinking about is "I. I've read

54:53

it's phenomenal talks. "I "I. America is in love with football.

54:56

It was just, he just draws all the historical connection between

55:00

"I mean, even just why we huddle up and "I. It's just a really, if

55:03

you, if you love football and you love American history, like

55:07

that's, that's the book to read for sure. So, um, well, coach,

55:11

you've been extremely generous with your time, your, your

55:14

passion for coaching, your passion for working with kids,

55:18

your passion for making an impact on someone's. It's very clear,

55:21

like "I said, just permeate through the screen. "I know we

55:24

could, we, there's so many more topics we could address and keep

55:27

going with this. So, uh, we might have to do a part two. look

55:31

forward to following your success. "I, have no doubt just

55:34

given what we talked about just today and doing my research on

55:36

you. It, a lot of successes come your way at Friends University

55:40

and, uh, "I really appreciate you. Sharing your knowledge with

55:43

us, it really goes a long way and the coach is gonna be able to

55:46

take a lot from this episode, which is why I'm doing the

55:48

podcast. So best of luck. And for any coach that's out there that

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wants to get in touch with, Coach I will have his contact

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information in the show notes as well. If you wanna shoot him an

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email and, and talk flexon or more importantly talk about

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culture and team cohesion. So with that coach, I'll let you get

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back to your film and your family and "I, appreciate you for coming