June 12, 2025 • 38 mins
Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks continue their special series on leadership with a conversation featuring Best-Selling Author and Keynote Speaker Jon Gordon. Known for his work on cultivating winning mindsets and championship cultures, Gordon shares key principles that connect success in sports to leadership in life. The guys dive into how much of a team’s identity stems from its best player, why fostering a positive environment is critical for sustained success, and one non-negotiable trait every great player must have.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
And now Move the Sticks with Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
What's up, everybody? Welcome to move the sticks DJ, Buck
with you Buck? How are you doing?
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Man?
Speaker 2 (00:11):
DJ?
Speaker 4 (00:12):
I am so excited and I'm excited because we have
one of our favorite people on today, John Gordon, someone
who you're really close to, someone who I follow all
of his stuff, read his books, listen to his podcast.
I can't wait to just listen to some of the
nuggets that he's going to drop and impart on us
as we kind of share his message to the masses.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Yeah, we've had John on before. If you're new though
and haven't heard any of those conversations, you're gonna enjoy this.
John Is He's an author, husband, father, author, best selling
books and look, he talks to people all over the world,
millions and millions of readers and audience around the world.
He's the author of The Energy Bus. If you've read
that book's phenomenal, The Carpenter Training Camp, Power of Positive Leadership,
(00:55):
Power of a Positive Team, The One Truth, the bazillion books.
And he's done it with all different folks along the way.
He's been a mentor and a coach to guys like
Sean McVay, Dabbos Sweeney, he's done stuff with the Dodgers,
and Dave Roberts. Eric Spolstra is with the heat like
he has all these guys that he has poured into about,
(01:18):
you know, being a positive leader and being a transfer
transformative leader for their organizations. And it goes well beyond
sports into the business realm as well. But Buck, anytime
we get a chance to have him on, we jump
at the chance.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
They just jump at the chance.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
DJ just so much experience, so many connections, so many
lessons that he's given and he's learned, and to just
be able to kind of listen to the encounters that
he's had with so many great leaders. Look, you can't
help but be smarter and really be a better leader
after taking the advice that he gives out and shares
no doubt.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
So, without further ado, here is our interview, our conversation
with our buddy John Gordon.
Speaker 5 (02:00):
Well here he is.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Buck excited to have John back with us.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
John.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
First of all, Man, we appreciate you taking the time
for us today. Where does life find you these days?
Speaker 5 (02:08):
Great to be back with you, guys.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
I am back in Jacksonville, Florida, Panavidri Beach where I live.
Just was on the road in Dallas and then Louisiana
and now back home for a couple of days.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Well, I want to know, tell me about this event
that you just had.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
You're constantly speaking all over the country, You're coaching coaches,
you're coaching leaders in business. But I was intrigued by
seeing the collection of folks that you had together, including
Sean McVay and a whole host of others. Tell us
a little bit about that event and what was accomplished.
Speaker 5 (02:38):
It was really special.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Years ago, I had a vision for an event called
Training Camp where I brought together business, leadership, sports, and
an element of faith based on my book Training Camp,
and it was a vision. And then I started inviting
coaches this year to see if they wanted to join
me and Daniel. I couldn't believe it many of them,
almost all of them said yes. I was expecting them
(03:00):
all to say yes. But we had an incredible lineup
like Dabo Sweeney came, We had Sean McVay, Mac Brown,
Trend Dilfer, we had Kevin O'Connell, Buzz Williams. It was
a collection Corey close people, were blown away by Corey
close to UCLA women's basketball coach. They thought, hey, this
might be the smartest coach in the room. Actually, is
(03:21):
what people were saying. Even the male coaches were saying that,
which is really cool.
Speaker 5 (03:24):
So it was just this great group.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Of guys all sharing, and they also not just talked
about like leadership and culture, but also their brokenness.
Speaker 5 (03:34):
They talked about their failures, their mistakes.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Matt Ruhle talked about how he felt when he left Carolina.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
So the audience was blown away.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Really many people said it was one of the best
events they've really ever been to because guys are being
so raw and real and it was only one hundred
and fifty business leaders in the audience and coaches all
getting together and sharing, and I know the coaches actually
loved being around each other and connecting with each other,
which is a lot of fun. We had a VIP
dinner of the night before Tim Tebow came by. We
were all hanging out and sharing and talking. It was
(04:04):
really special, really great.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
Look, man, it's so inspirational to hear you talk about
the connections and so many team leaders in the same building.
How does it feel for you to know that you're
the connective tissue between so many great leaders around the
country and so many different things.
Speaker 5 (04:22):
That was really special. I was brought to tears.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Matthew West was our musical performer, and Matthew West is
unbelievable and he was playing music and he kicked started
the day and I literally teared up, thinking, Wow, like
we've all come together for this. And to see the
coaches love being around each other and connecting that was
really special.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
And to know that I had this relationship.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
With each one of them over the years, pouring into them,
investing in them, helping them and their teams over the years,
and this was like the one event where they all
came back to be a part of something I was doing.
Speaker 5 (04:52):
Now, I didn't do.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
This all these years to think one day I'm gonna
have this training camp event and they were going to
show up. That's a both said they took away from
it in terms of, like you build these relationships all
these years and then these guys came back for this
event to be a part of it. And I don't
think it could have happened, you know, any other way,
but just having all these relationships and them wanted to
be a part of it with me and then each other.
(05:16):
So yeah, it was a honestly one of the best
feelings I've ever had in my life. And I realized
in that moment, like, Wow, what great people that I've
got to know. These coaches, as you know, are the
best people, Like they're incredible human beings, great integrity, and
then to know that we're able to now make this
impact together. Jim Room, Jim Room, the broadcaster. Jim was like,
(05:37):
there's something going on here. I don't know what is
it is. He goes, I've never been in a room
like this ever in my life. I'm feeling something I
can't explain. And it's the best room I've ever been
in in all these years, Jim said. And I got
up there and I said, hey, Jim, I gotta be
honest with you. That's the Holy Spirit and the audience
(05:58):
the audience laughed, and Jim goes, I think it is.
Speaker 5 (06:02):
It was such a cool moment.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Well, there's there's a whole host of different things I
want to get into with you, and I've been, you know,
looking forward to having you on. And one of the
first ones is it it's somewhat connected to what You're
just talking about getting these people together and people always
looking to learn and grow. But I've never asked you
this question before. Two things, Are all the great coaches coachable?
Speaker 2 (06:24):
And is it?
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Is it something that you've noticed over the years when
you've interacted with these guys that those guys are at
the top of the profession. You mentioned some of those guys.
They are super Bowl champions, National champions. But we always
talk about players being coachable. How important is it that
a coach is coachable?
Speaker 5 (06:39):
Daniel, check this out. This is unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
I didn't even mentioned Billy Donovan was there. Billy Donovan
reached out to me literally a couple of days before it, said, Hey, John,
you asked me to come to your event. Guess what
I can now make it if you still want me. Billy,
you just got nominated inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 5 (06:56):
Yeah, I'll make I'll make that for you. We'll make time.
League says this.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
I want to learn from the other guys in the room.
I can't wait to come learn from them. And he
sat in the back after he spoke and took notes
and was writing down what they were saying. Dabos Sweeney
after his talk was signing some football.
Speaker 5 (07:17):
So he said, hey, guys, guys, can I do this later?
Speaker 1 (07:20):
I want to go hear what Sean has to say,
and he raced back into the room to listen to Sean.
This wasn't like where after I'm done speaking, I'm going
into the green room. These guys wanted to hear from
each other and learn from each other. And that's a
characteristic over the years and working with them. They're always
looking for the edge. They're always looking for something that
they're missing. Eric Spolsher would always reach out to me
(07:41):
and say, Hey, John, what am I missing?
Speaker 5 (07:43):
What's new? What are you hearing these days?
Speaker 1 (07:45):
They're always looking for that new idea, that new thing
that could take their team to the next level.
Speaker 5 (07:49):
And that's what I love about them.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Like you go to high school, and a lot of
high school coaches they think they know it all, Like, yeah, no,
I don't need to hear that.
Speaker 5 (07:55):
I don't need to learn that.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
I mean that's I mean, that's budd high school football
coach man.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Just no care, Yeah, no, curioity, I don't need to
attend that clinic.
Speaker 5 (08:03):
I've seen it all.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
I've heard all these guys are like literally learning and
growing and always looking for that that little thing. That's
why Bill Belichick would always go to the college clinics
to see what they were saying and talking about the best.
Speaker 5 (08:16):
The best are always striving to get better.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
You know, it's funny, John, because what you're saying, you're
talking about guys being lifelong learners. But what I'm hearing
as a coach is I'm hearing the humility that's needed
to be an elite coach.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
That the elite coaches.
Speaker 4 (08:31):
Are humble enough to know that they don't know at all,
and they're seeking answers for the things that are unknown
from other people who've had similar success.
Speaker 5 (08:40):
Yeah, that's a that's a great point. They're you.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
They're humble enough, they got the umilion, They're humble enough
to know, Hey, I'm never stopped. I'm never done growing
the door of greatness. If I think I've arrived, guess what,
it's going to get slammed in my face. So I
have to continue to get better, improve and grow. And
you know what, I'm the same way. I'm learning from
everyone I can meet. I'm always learning from people. When
I see speakers, especially these young speakers out there today,
(09:05):
I'm learning from them.
Speaker 5 (09:06):
You can always learn and grow.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
John is an identity of a team, and we talk
about culture with you all the time, but the identity
of a team, how much of that is connected to
simply the best player on the team and what their
identity and outlook can be. I know we talk about
the coach being at the top of the of the
tree here, but I was talking to a baseball general
manager the other day and he brought up a great point.
He was saying that he had starng with somebody else
(09:31):
in the professional sports world and had brought up this
question of you know, when you bring someone new into
your building, what's the key for them being successful? And
he said, we always they have their their star player,
their leader. And he said, we need that whoever we
bring in has to be able to work with that
star player, that leader. They have to be able to connect.
And I just had never really thought of it that way.
You think about the collective, but the emphasis on who
(09:54):
that key person is. How important is that.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
I'm thinking of the research on gritty teams that if
you have a couple of gritty.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
Guys on that team, that team will be more gritty.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
You don't need every teammate to be a gritty person.
You need these core guys, these leaders, these transformational leaders,
And I've never thought of it that way before, Daniel,
You're right. I mean that one person, if they're a
transform transformational leader, will impact a lot of people around them. Now,
they're not the only key, They're not just the only
(10:27):
one that needs to.
Speaker 5 (10:28):
Be like that.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
You need a couple of guys, You need glue guys,
you need guys who buy in. But yes, a transformational
leader is can We've seen that one quarterback who really
impacts a franchise through their belief, And I think it
comes down to identity and belief and the transfer of
that belief. You got the identity who are we and
(10:49):
who do we believe we are and what do we
believe we can accomplish. So the identity is really key,
and that comes down to the belief about yourself and
about each other. And we know again looking at the NFL,
there are teams when you get a star quarterback and
a great coach, you change the identity of that team.
And a great guy on defense obviously is a huge
(11:10):
key component. A really transformational figure with the Raven's been
the same without ray Lewis, I don't think so. You
need that guy who just walks different, acts different, and
has that presence about them, radiates to everyone on the
team and impacts them. You have a special team, and
you have that, but you also have to have relational equity.
You have to have connection, You have to have commitment
(11:31):
amongst each other. That guy has to be likable, also,
someone they want to follow, someone who brings the team together.
So there are a lot of factors, but identity and
belief are key.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
You know, John. This piggybacks off Daniel's question.
Speaker 4 (11:45):
As a coach, sometimes I wonder because when I hear
the Great Teams talk, you talk about one hundred percent
buying in, everyone is bought in.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
But then when I stand in front.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
Of my team, maybe eighty to eighty five percent are
bought in.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
And then you have these other guys.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
When you talk to these guys and they're really open
and honest, are they able to get one hundred percent
buy in or do they know that they're going to
have some guys along the way that don't fully connect
or buy into everything.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
That we're selling when we're sitting in front of the room.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
I don't think you'll always have one hundred percent buy in,
but you're trying to get as many people to buy
in as possible. And if you can get the ninety
percent ninety five percent, you're doing pretty good. If you
start to have twenty percent not buying in, that's why
you got some problems. And it's also who's not buying in?
Speaker 5 (12:33):
And are the.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
People not buying in being energy vampires? And are they noisy?
Are they gossiping?
Speaker 5 (12:40):
Are they bringing the team down?
Speaker 1 (12:41):
One person can't make a team, but but one person
could break a team, So that one person who's not
buying in could really impact the team if they're an
energy vampire. So I think it depends on who's not
buying in. There are some people that are just not
buying in, but they got a contract, but they're quietly
not buying in. And you got to basically say, I
know that person's here one more year, let's get through it.
Speaker 5 (13:03):
I would love it if you could.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Get rid of that guy and find a way to
get that person to move on, because the more people
you have buying in, if you have one hundred percent
buy in, you're gonna be that much more powerful. Everyone
pulling in the same direction. Pulling on that rope is key.
But yeah, I think we know that not everyone is
always going to buy in. But figuring out what to
do with them? Do I isolate them? I do I
do I allow them to be part of these meetings?
(13:25):
Do I give them a leadership role? What do I
do with that person?
Speaker 5 (13:28):
Is really key?
Speaker 3 (13:29):
All right, Buck, let's pause here just for a second.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
We'll get right back to it.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
In our conversation with John Gordon, if I was going
to ask you, we're in a draft room and we're
discussing players, and we're going over guys we're going to
bring into our building. If I told you John, we're
going to give you one non negotiable on a player
(13:52):
to come into our building, what would what would John
Gordon's one non negotiable?
Speaker 2 (13:57):
We are not.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
There's no discussion. If it's this, we're out.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
It has to be see I have too many. But definitely,
integrity has to be integrity. I mean what you say
and what you do are in alignment. The word integrity
comes from the word integer, which means whole and complete.
Speaker 5 (14:16):
So there's no gap in your character.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
You are whole and you are complete, and a leader
with integrity is a powerful leader. So I would say,
I want someone with integrity who walks the walk, talks
to talk, There's no gaps in their character, and you
know they're going to be steady and consistent. I've been
thinking of a lot about this in terms of consistency.
If you think about Nick Saban, why was he so successful?
He was so consistent. His coaches say that he was
(14:40):
eating the same candy bar every day time. He's that consistent.
So even though the players may not have liked him,
they knew what to expect from him because he was
so consistent. And as a leader, when you are consistent
and they could expect the same thing from you, you
build that trust in that relationship. Now, I would also add,
I want that leader to be very optimist, can have
(15:00):
a ton of belief, and I want that leader to
be someone who is bringing the team along with them
and embracing the team. Jayden Daniels is like, I spoke
to the Commanders before their playoff run. I got invited
at the last minute to go down there and speak,
and they were coming up to Tampa, and I'm like,
can I just drive to Tampa and meet you guys
From Jacksonville.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
Like, no, ten am Saturday morning, that's the time. You
know how that works?
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Oh yeah?
Speaker 5 (15:24):
And I said, all right, all right, I'll do it.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
So I flew there and man, this team was special,
Like I could feel the difference in this room from
the group of veterans. Zach Ertz was in the room, right,
You had you had Marcus Mariota in the room.
Speaker 5 (15:41):
You had a group of guys.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Oh, how can I forget about of course, every guy
that I've met throughout my year speaking I met Zach
and Philadelphia, I met Bobby and Seattle, all the guys
that I met with who were my favorite players on
the various teams I spoke to over the years. We're
now in this one room as a group of guys,
and then you have this young transformational quarterback. It's no
accident they had the success they had.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
You know.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
And speaking of that, because one of the things that
I love to come to you, whether it's your podcasts
or reading your books.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Just to positivity.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
Can you speak on why it's so important for people
or teams that want to do great things to really
create a positive environment so that everyone can be at
the best chase.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
There's so much negativity and negativity will bring you down.
Being positive will guarantee you'll succeed, but being negative will
guarantee that you won't. Negativity causes division, Pessimism causes us
to give up. Discouragement sets in and we stop moving forward.
But optimism and belief and positivity is how we overcome
(16:45):
adversity and setbacks and challenges. So every team is going
to get tested, and it's how we respond to the test.
And it's interesting, Buggy. There are two main frequencies I
figured out I wrote about this in The One Truth.
If you really look at life and you look at
the universe, in the world, everything comes down to two
main frequencies, positive and negative. And that's why everything in
this world is positive or negative, good and bad. Right,
(17:08):
there's the Star Wars, there's Harry Potter, Black Panther, there's
good versus bad, good versus.
Speaker 5 (17:13):
Evil, positive and negative.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
So in life, the negative brings you down and the
positive lifts you up, and it's a battle between negative
and positive. Can we as a team overcome the negativity,
the adversity, the division, and the discouragement that sets in
and the distractions along the way. Five d's that everyone
should be aware of, by the way, doubt distortion, which
are lies, negative thoughts, and also gossip. We've got discouragement,
(17:39):
distraction and division, and when that sets in, the team
falls apart. So what's the key Positivity unites, it, uplifts,
it encourages and allows you to overcome those five d's
to move forward.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
That's awesome. Taking a bunch of notes here as we
go along, I want to ask you about something I
just read this morning. I was glad you were coming
on because this is a time of year. You got Ota,
so you got teams trying to get together. You've got
everybody coming together with the draft picks, the free agents,
the existing veterans, trying to make this whole thing form
and work together. And I saw Kellen Moore the Saints,
(18:15):
he just canceled their practice today I believe it was today,
and said now we're going to go do a team
bonding We're going to go do a team bonding event.
And it was overwhelmingly from the reaction that I saw
from the players standpoint, was overwhelmingly well received.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
I know, I guess.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
They said they had played paintball at one of the
previous mini camps that they had but just from your perspective,
obviously you want to try and get the team ready.
Let's learn the playbook, let's get acclimated with one another.
But when you see a coach like this year one
in a situation make a choice like this, A what
informs that decision?
Speaker 2 (18:47):
And b what are the benefits?
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Well, I'm hoping it's because I sent him the seventh
Commitments of a great Team and it just came out
and I did send it to him, And a big
part of this there's a part of the book that says,
one more day of practice is not gonna make you
a better team, but one more day of bonding as
a team, it will make you a stronger team. So
I'm not gonna take credit. I don't know if you
read it yet or not. I know a lot of
(19:10):
coaches are there. I'm getting the feedback from it and
it's awesome, and a lot of coaches were saying, yes,
this is it. This is a book about commitments and
about bringing a team together and the importance of bonding.
And there's a bunch of exercises in the book that
actually allows the team to become more united and connected.
So I wrote this book to actually get people to
do this very thing.
Speaker 5 (19:30):
So it is everything.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
If I'm a team, I'm a GM, I'm a coach.
I am doing everything I can to create a collective
connection amongst this team, because the more connected you are,
the more committee you will be. If you lack connection,
you will move towards division. And we know that that
separate team, that divided team becomes a very weak team.
So the more connected you are, the strongly you will be.
(19:52):
Now you have to have talent. Of course, you can
be very connected with no talent and you're gonna love each.
Speaker 5 (19:56):
Other, but you're not gonna win a lot of games.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
But if you got the talent and then you have
the connection, then that rises you to a whole other level.
So there are a series of team build on exercises
I actually do with teams now that are our key.
Like one is the five h's, which is in this book.
It's who's your hero, a hardship you face that made
you who you are today, what's the highlight that you're
proud of, what's hilarious? Share something funny, and what do
(20:21):
you hope for? And each guy goes around and shares that.
And I've had teams do this and I tell you
like Clemson did the year they won the national championship.
When you do these kind of exercises, there's a bond
that develops that you don't get otherwise.
Speaker 4 (20:35):
You know, it's funny because DJ and I have talked
about the three h is what we call it, like
hebro highlight hardship. We've done it. I've done that with
my high school team. And I can't tell you, John,
the emotions that come out of that. Kids share things
that you never know that's existing in their personal lives
and it does bring the team together. And one of
the things that can bring teams together adversity.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
A couple of the guys.
Speaker 4 (20:58):
That you alreays talk you talked about exposed to Sean McVay.
They have a knack, but when their teams are having
tough moments, they're able to pull them out and get
them back on track.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
And being around those type people.
Speaker 4 (21:11):
What is the key to being able to pour your
team out of a tough situation and circumstance.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
One, I think it's being consistent still, like you stay
consistent to the principles.
Speaker 5 (21:21):
You know, this is what guides us, and we're not weaver.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
You can't change midstream or mid season. A lot of
times coaches do that, they change their style, they change
how they're acting towards the players, and they went up
losing the locker room. You have to stay consistent. You
have to address the reality of the situation. Hey, this
is the challenge we're facing, this is where we are.
But you also have to provide a path forward and
why you're going.
Speaker 5 (21:44):
To get there.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
You also have to have the relational relationship and connection
individually and collectively. So Sean is so great at talking
to his players and having that one on one relationship
as well as that as well as that collective connection
which is Cayse. So Eric Sposure goes do a tough time,
he's still talking about the vision, still talking about the principles,
still talking about what's going to make them successful, and
(22:06):
not wavering, not wavering, and also not getting negative, not
getting pessimistic, but staying positive and then that encouragement that
is so key. Resilience is about balancing back. But resilience
is not about one person. We often think of the
lone ranger when we think of resilience. It's actually collective
relationship and connection that leads to resilience.
Speaker 5 (22:27):
So Bucky. If you have someone who supports you and
encourages you and.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
Loves you and you know they got your back, that's
going to make you more resilient.
Speaker 5 (22:34):
Well, when you know your coach has your back even.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
Though you're losing and you're not playing well, and that
coach still loves you, believes in you, and it's here
for you, that provides an avenue for growth and hopefully
a comeback.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
John, last one from me, Man, and we always appreciate
your time. But you know, you talk about some of
these college coaches you have relationships, with Dabbo being one
of them. I think about the challenges they face now
greater than they've ever had at the collegiate level with
a wide open transfer portal in the transitive nature of
college sports right now. Two parter here, I feel like
I might. All I do is ask you two part questions,
(23:08):
but two part here, how challenging is it? And what
would be a key to retention to keeping players in
the fold? And then to me, when you look at that,
is that going to be kind of like a secret
weapon if you can have guys. We've seen it in
the NCAA tournament with basketball. You see the veteran teams
maybe not as talented as some of these teams that
(23:29):
have these McDonald's all Americans and some young kids. And
you see these four year guys that have been together,
they've just played together, just a better team. Is that
going to be a secret weapon moving forward?
Speaker 1 (23:40):
It is culture drives talent towards greatness, and the coaches
that build the relationships, that create a structure, a foundation
that these guys can rely on. Dabos said it before.
Players are going to get paid, but they have to
be there and they have to earn it. And once
you earn it, you're going to make money while you're there.
Goes to the same model in the NFL, Like remember
(24:02):
when guys will pay these huge rookie contracts and the
veterans will be upset in the locker room. And now
everyone knows what the rookie contract pretty much is going
to be, and that issue is no longer there. It's
the same way at Clemson, like everyone knows you come here,
you stay, you get paid, and you make X, Y
and Z. But but Dabo says, I'm not going to
pay some young freshmen coming in this huge amounts of
(24:23):
money to get them to come here if they want
to come great, and if they do, they're going to
earn it. So he's built a culture of relationship, build
the culture of connection, and build a culture where you
have to earn what you get. And I think that's great.
And I believe those cultures, those leaders who build those
kind of relationships, the players are there for the right reasons.
(24:46):
There's always going to be someone offering more money, and
that's where we have to look at where does this end,
Like how much can it actually rise? How much could
it go up? How much could this whole universe support
in terms of how many players can make X, Y
and Z. So I really believe the competitive advantage is
going to be everything we're talking about.
Speaker 5 (25:02):
Culture. It's the leadership, it's the teamwork, it's belief, it's being.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
A part of something greater. And Dabbo now knows. He
said he used to lose guys all the time. You
know that they tried to get Now he knows who
his guy is or who they are, Like, he knows
who his guy is because the guy that they're losing
is already getting paid somewhere else. He goes, they were
getting paid in the past. They just and they weren't
coming to clems and we just didn't know it. Now
(25:28):
we know who's getting paid and that's not our guy.
We know who is who is our guy, and that's
who they go after. So I think, you know, I
think now more than ever, the ability to build those
relations and to create a culture where people want to
stay and build a family, where guys are going to
grow and learn and develop and get better, that that's
going to be.
Speaker 5 (25:47):
More important than ever.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
And I think I think the right people want to
be a part of that.
Speaker 5 (25:53):
The ones who go to the highest bidder, you're gonna
lose them, but maybe they're not your right guy anyway.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
You know, John, I'm share with you. I don't even
know if I told DJ this story. So last question
for you is a personal story. So my son is
a walk on. He plays baseball at San Jose State.
But before his freshman year, when he was trying to
make it, I stumbled across your book, Coffee Bean, and
I stuck it in his backpack and I said, hey, man,
I think you may need to read this along the
(26:20):
way as you're going through your journey. A couple years later,
I'm cleaning out his room and there is the book
Coffee Being with smudges and.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
All these things on it where he read it.
Speaker 4 (26:30):
So I want to thank you because that was really
impactful for him as he was trying to do something
that was very difficult for him. But I want to
ask you, where do you get your inspiration for your stories?
Because it's fascinating to me that you're able to put
out a book a collection of books that inspire so many.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Where do you find your inspiration to come up with
these great stories?
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Well, this newest one in seven Commitments, I wrote in
sixteen days and it was a b book that just
came to me. So I can't take the credit because,
trust me, I'm not that smart. And my teammates from
college can't believe what I'm doing now. They're like, you
were a mental wreck in college and this is what
you're doing, and I can't believe what I'm doing now.
(27:14):
So I have to give all credit to God. I'm
a spiritual guy. God literally gives me these ideas. I walk,
I pray on a daily basis, and literally not all
the time, but when it's the right time, the idea
for a book will come to me and I get
the vision, the storyline and sort of how I'm gonna
put it together and I have to sit down and
write it, but I get a vision for what it's
supposed to be. That happened with Energy Bus Training Camp,
(27:38):
even you went in the locker room first that I
wrote with Mike Smith, which is a really great book
for coaches, that book. I wasn't sure we were supposed
to do a book until I walked and I had
the vision of what it was supposed to be on
the framework for it. So got to give all credit
and to know that you read the books, and you
read in Daniel, and that your son reads and that
that's what means.
Speaker 5 (27:57):
That means everything.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
I was on the plane yesterday and who sitting next
to me on the plane right across the aisle.
Speaker 5 (28:01):
Was was Ed Reid.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
Oh nice.
Speaker 5 (28:04):
Couldn't believe it. I'm like, and I go, I go
you Ed read. He's like, yeah, He's like, guys said, Hi,
I'm John Gordy. He goes, he goes, oh, John, I
know who you are. How do you know who I am?
Because I read I read your books? I said, are
you're kidding me? Ed Reid's read my books? It blew
me away, just blew me away.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
That is fantastic. Doesn't surprise me about Ed two. I
haven't been with him for four years in Baltimore. Ed
one of the smartest football players that I've ever been around.
So the fact that he went in to doing some
coaching and wanting to learn and grow, having that growth
mindset doesn't surprise me in the least. John, it has
been great to catch up man. I know you are
bouncing all over the globe here and sharing your message
(28:41):
and we're very grateful to have you as a friend
and we're very grateful for your time today. We appreciate you, buddy.
Speaker 5 (28:47):
I appreciate you, guys.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
I just want to say I forgot to say Eddie
George came to training camp as well, and now to
see what he's doing now in the coaching world is
so cool too, because I've got a chance to work
with Eddie and the best thing is what you guys
do and also seeing how coaches lead an impact.
Speaker 5 (29:02):
Man, that's what it's all about. So thanks for all
that you do. You guys.
Speaker 3 (29:04):
Appreciate you, all right, buck Man. Look, he's always he's
always kind and generous with his time. We ask him
to come on, he always comes on, and it's usually
kind of a thing we're always looking to do this
time of year when we get a chance to kind
of cherry pick some of our favorites to come on.
But again, lots of notes taken there from our buddy
John DJ.
Speaker 4 (29:26):
I'm always blown away when he comes on and shares
from the lessons that he's learned, the people that are
involved in his training camp, the projects that he's doing,
and how quickly he's able to write these books. He's
just a unique person, and I think what's inspirational about
him is just his ability to deal with his own
adversity and becoming a world renowned author in those things.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
It's just a terrific conversation.
Speaker 4 (29:51):
I think everyone who had opportunity to listen in will
walk away not only with a bunch of notes, but
with some lessons that can kind of guide them going
forward as they lead in their own respective communities.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
I got to ask you as a high school coach.
We talked a little bit about team bonding. What does
coach Bucky Brooks do to try and bond the team
together and what's maybe the favorite thing you've done in
your time as a coach.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
So we shared the story about the three ags.
Speaker 4 (30:15):
I've done that with the team, but DJ certain simple
things like having a designated donut day every two or
three weeks where you bring donuts in for the kids.
Last week was National Donut Day on Friday, and so
DJ just you know, donuts are expensive these days. I
know a hundred kids, there's a lot of donuts there.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
In my pocket.
Speaker 4 (30:37):
My little coaching stipend is all gone the donut stuff.
But I think what John said when he talked about,
like Kellen Moore and Kellen Moore talking about a one
day of practice won't guarantee that you'd be better, but
one day of bonding can ensure that you play at
a higher level. I think that's something that is coaches.
We all get caught up in the next practice, the
next drill, the next competition as opposed to its relationship business.
(31:01):
And if you get everyone to really buy in and
to be connected, you're going to have a lot of success.
I think listening to John and heeding some of those
exercises that he's talked about, I.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Think that has really kind of helped me along the way.
Speaker 3 (31:15):
I think back, you know, if you asked me to
recall memories from high school football practice. Right, So I
graduated high school ninety six, so obviously this has been
it's been quite a long time ago.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
But Buck, I can't.
Speaker 3 (31:28):
I can maybe tell you one or two instances where
maybe there was a big hit that I kind of
remember from a tackling drill, maybe something funny that someone
said to a coach, But I mean, very very vague memories.
I can tell you for a fact, I remember, you know,
one year where we were in kind of those grinding
two A days, which I don't know that you can
really do it the way we had to do it
(31:49):
when we were growing up. And then you kind of
show up for that afternoon practice. We're supposed to be
in full pads. We've been going doing this for a
couple of weeks. And we got there and everybody got
all their pads on, got out the practice, went to
the full warm up, and our head coach came up
and said, all right, boys, take your pads off. We're
going in the pool. And we like, the pool was
right there. He had like, you know, the high dive
(32:09):
of all that kind of stuff. So we went over
there and I mean we sprinted to go jump into
that pool. But I mean that was a memory that
I remember. I remember seven on seven or you know,
doing the Oklahoma drill, all those things. I don't have
any memories. I do remember that day though, about how
how excited we were to get out of that heat
and jump in the pool.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
Look, man, I think I think that's the right perspective.
Speaker 4 (32:28):
I think understanding who you have and what they need
at that moment.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
Is a special skill.
Speaker 4 (32:34):
And you talk about those memories and the connectivity. I
was I was at a coaches meeting cif LA City Section.
We had our coaches meeting in the ram's locker room,
and one of the leaders talked about one of the
job of high school coaches is to make sure that
everyone on that team walks away with a friend and
a friend that could be their friend for the next
thirty forty years, talking about how high school sports is
(32:56):
really about that. So when you talk about those memories,
those shared experiences, that's really what it's about. Like, that's
what they can remember far more than the x'es and o's.
They remember those those unique moments, the tough workouts together,
all the other stuff where you become a closer team.
Those are the things that matter. Those are things that
will kind of carry on with them as they go
(33:17):
on to the next level of your life.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
Yeah, I have, you know, high school sports.
Speaker 3 (33:21):
To me, you know, I won't go off on a
tangent here, but I've talked in the past about what
I would look for like in a youth sports coach.
Like to me, it's very simple. If you're coaching kids,
if you're listening to this and you're coaching kids, just
put the right perspective in this. At the end of
the season, I've always felt if you're coaching you know,
let's say thirteen and under, twelve and under, If at
the end of the year, your players are better at
(33:43):
the end of the year individually than they were at
the beginning of the year. If your team has gotten
a little bit better than they were at the beginning
of the year. If you've had fun, the kids have
had a good time. And the last one is they
all want to play the next year. If you've done that,
you've hit that checklist. Who cares how many.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
Games you win?
Speaker 3 (34:00):
You know, what your batting average is, what did stats
say like? If you accomplish those four things as a
youth coach, I think You've done a great job. And
when I think of high school Buck, this is a
very simple one. Man, I would judge your success as
a high school coach, and I would say this to
any high school coach. I know you as a high
school coach, book, but I've always looked at it. Man,
I would judge my success by how many weddings I
(34:22):
get invited to down the line and how many players
hold on to my phone number after they leave campus.
That to me, would be my view of success of
a high school coach.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
DJ.
Speaker 4 (34:33):
I can tell you, man, sometimes we're in this weird
space in high school sports where you almost have to
make a tough decision. In football, you have to make
a decision do you want to be a football factory
or are you really trying to give the great high
school experience. You obviously understand we're in southern California. There
are some football powerhouses here, and look, it's not all
(34:53):
kids from the neighborhood and that's great for them. But
then others are neighborhood schools that are trying to make
do with what they have. And I would say that,
you know, coming off a tough season, the thing that
I am most excited about heading into this year. I
looked at my coaching staff and there are five former players, wow,
(35:15):
that are coaching with me.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
That's great.
Speaker 4 (35:16):
I'm talking about guys that have graduated within the last
three or four years. And so when you think about
all the things and you hear the noise good and bad,
when you talk about former players wanting to come back
because their experience was so good within the program that
they want to kind of pay it forward to me,
that tells you that you're on the right track. And
(35:37):
as long as you're on the right track there, the
wins will eventually come. But it's about really having those relationships,
in those bonds that really sustain you if you're a
coach that's trying to do it, because hey man, you
just kind of want to leave your mark on the
world and kind of make the place a little better
for the people that you're encounting.
Speaker 3 (35:54):
Yeah, and not feed you're not trying to feed your
own ego too, which is gosh. I think we see
that too much in coaching, man. That's why that's why
I appreciate everything that you do buck in the high
school space, because you.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
Just pouring into kids.
Speaker 3 (36:07):
Hey, whoever shows up, we're gonna coach them, we're gonna
love them up, we're gonna we're gonna get better, and
we're gonna have an enjoyable experience. And along the way,
you've had a lot of success in doing it that
way and totally rebuilding a high school program. But you're
not out there chasing kids so that you can go
in there so you can, you know, beat your chest
about how you you know, you've got ten Division ie
kids and this, that and the other that anybody can coach. Like,
(36:28):
come on, man, like, stop feeding your own ego. You
see this high school coach it's all the time. Drives
me insane, Yeah, but it is.
Speaker 2 (36:34):
But I mean, look, that's that's the way of the world.
I mean, we're just in a weird space.
Speaker 4 (36:37):
I mean sports have changed so much over the last
thirty years in terms of those things. Like we went
from our football teams being coached by the baseball coach,
the basketball coach.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
Everyone had a part and being an.
Speaker 4 (36:50):
Assistant and then they would go and lead their respective
sports and the football coach would be an assistant.
Speaker 2 (36:55):
So it was when I was growing up, and.
Speaker 4 (36:57):
There everything is specialization and people do one of their
own thing, and that is great and the game has
never been better in some regards. But we just want
to make sure that, look, man, every player is not
gonna have an opportunity to play beyond high school. Let's
make sure that we give everybody a great experience so
they can look back and really say that, Hey, man,
I have fond memories for my four years at that
(37:18):
high school.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
Have an opportunity to participate in extracurricular activity.
Speaker 3 (37:21):
I always wondered about the guys to go to like
three four high schools, man, like who do you hang out?
Speaker 5 (37:25):
Like?
Speaker 2 (37:25):
Who are you keep in touch with?
Speaker 4 (37:26):
When I looked, it's almost like that an leads to
the level with the port or everyone bouncing around.
Speaker 2 (37:32):
Which reunions did you go to? You go to all
of them? Yeah, that's a great question. How do you
fit in?
Speaker 3 (37:38):
Don't get me started? All right, this has been a
fun one today. Again thanks to our buddy John Gordon
for coming on.
Speaker 2 (37:43):
I hope you guys have enjoyed it.
Speaker 3 (37:45):
We try and have some some different conversations this time
of the year.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
Well, we'll have time for the lists.
Speaker 3 (37:50):
Don't worry about it. If you're craving list will give
you some lists at some point in time, but we're
gonna be selfish and have some conversations we want to
have on the show here.
Speaker 2 (37:57):
So appreciate you guys. We'll see you next time.
Speaker 3 (37:58):
Right here on, move the sticks.
And now Move the Sticks with Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
What's up, everybody? Welcome to move the sticks DJ, Buck
with you Buck? How are you doing?
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Man?
Speaker 2 (00:11):
DJ?
Speaker 4 (00:12):
I am so excited and I'm excited because we have
one of our favorite people on today, John Gordon, someone
who you're really close to, someone who I follow all
of his stuff, read his books, listen to his podcast.
I can't wait to just listen to some of the
nuggets that he's going to drop and impart on us
as we kind of share his message to the masses.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Yeah, we've had John on before. If you're new though
and haven't heard any of those conversations, you're gonna enjoy this.
John Is He's an author, husband, father, author, best selling
books and look, he talks to people all over the world,
millions and millions of readers and audience around the world.
He's the author of The Energy Bus. If you've read
that book's phenomenal, The Carpenter Training Camp, Power of Positive Leadership,
(00:55):
Power of a Positive Team, The One Truth, the bazillion books.
And he's done it with all different folks along the way.
He's been a mentor and a coach to guys like
Sean McVay, Dabbos Sweeney, he's done stuff with the Dodgers,
and Dave Roberts. Eric Spolstra is with the heat like
he has all these guys that he has poured into about,
(01:18):
you know, being a positive leader and being a transfer
transformative leader for their organizations. And it goes well beyond
sports into the business realm as well. But Buck, anytime
we get a chance to have him on, we jump
at the chance.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
They just jump at the chance.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
DJ just so much experience, so many connections, so many
lessons that he's given and he's learned, and to just
be able to kind of listen to the encounters that
he's had with so many great leaders. Look, you can't
help but be smarter and really be a better leader
after taking the advice that he gives out and shares
no doubt.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
So, without further ado, here is our interview, our conversation
with our buddy John Gordon.
Speaker 5 (02:00):
Well here he is.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Buck excited to have John back with us.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
John.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
First of all, Man, we appreciate you taking the time
for us today. Where does life find you these days?
Speaker 5 (02:08):
Great to be back with you, guys.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
I am back in Jacksonville, Florida, Panavidri Beach where I live.
Just was on the road in Dallas and then Louisiana
and now back home for a couple of days.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Well, I want to know, tell me about this event
that you just had.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
You're constantly speaking all over the country, You're coaching coaches,
you're coaching leaders in business. But I was intrigued by
seeing the collection of folks that you had together, including
Sean McVay and a whole host of others. Tell us
a little bit about that event and what was accomplished.
Speaker 5 (02:38):
It was really special.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Years ago, I had a vision for an event called
Training Camp where I brought together business, leadership, sports, and
an element of faith based on my book Training Camp,
and it was a vision. And then I started inviting
coaches this year to see if they wanted to join
me and Daniel. I couldn't believe it many of them,
almost all of them said yes. I was expecting them
(03:00):
all to say yes. But we had an incredible lineup
like Dabo Sweeney came, We had Sean McVay, Mac Brown,
Trend Dilfer, we had Kevin O'Connell, Buzz Williams. It was
a collection Corey close people, were blown away by Corey
close to UCLA women's basketball coach. They thought, hey, this
might be the smartest coach in the room. Actually, is
(03:21):
what people were saying. Even the male coaches were saying that,
which is really cool.
Speaker 5 (03:24):
So it was just this great group.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Of guys all sharing, and they also not just talked
about like leadership and culture, but also their brokenness.
Speaker 5 (03:34):
They talked about their failures, their mistakes.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Matt Ruhle talked about how he felt when he left Carolina.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
So the audience was blown away.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Really many people said it was one of the best
events they've really ever been to because guys are being
so raw and real and it was only one hundred
and fifty business leaders in the audience and coaches all
getting together and sharing, and I know the coaches actually
loved being around each other and connecting with each other,
which is a lot of fun. We had a VIP
dinner of the night before Tim Tebow came by. We
were all hanging out and sharing and talking. It was
(04:04):
really special, really great.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
Look, man, it's so inspirational to hear you talk about
the connections and so many team leaders in the same building.
How does it feel for you to know that you're
the connective tissue between so many great leaders around the
country and so many different things.
Speaker 5 (04:22):
That was really special. I was brought to tears.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Matthew West was our musical performer, and Matthew West is
unbelievable and he was playing music and he kicked started
the day and I literally teared up, thinking, Wow, like
we've all come together for this. And to see the
coaches love being around each other and connecting that was
really special.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
And to know that I had this relationship.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
With each one of them over the years, pouring into them,
investing in them, helping them and their teams over the years,
and this was like the one event where they all
came back to be a part of something I was doing.
Speaker 5 (04:52):
Now, I didn't do.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
This all these years to think one day I'm gonna
have this training camp event and they were going to
show up. That's a both said they took away from
it in terms of, like you build these relationships all
these years and then these guys came back for this
event to be a part of it. And I don't
think it could have happened, you know, any other way,
but just having all these relationships and them wanted to
be a part of it with me and then each other.
(05:16):
So yeah, it was a honestly one of the best
feelings I've ever had in my life. And I realized
in that moment, like, Wow, what great people that I've
got to know. These coaches, as you know, are the
best people, Like they're incredible human beings, great integrity, and
then to know that we're able to now make this
impact together. Jim Room, Jim Room, the broadcaster. Jim was like,
(05:37):
there's something going on here. I don't know what is
it is. He goes, I've never been in a room
like this ever in my life. I'm feeling something I
can't explain. And it's the best room I've ever been
in in all these years, Jim said. And I got
up there and I said, hey, Jim, I gotta be
honest with you. That's the Holy Spirit and the audience
(05:58):
the audience laughed, and Jim goes, I think it is.
Speaker 5 (06:02):
It was such a cool moment.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Well, there's there's a whole host of different things I
want to get into with you, and I've been, you know,
looking forward to having you on. And one of the
first ones is it it's somewhat connected to what You're
just talking about getting these people together and people always
looking to learn and grow. But I've never asked you
this question before. Two things, Are all the great coaches coachable?
Speaker 2 (06:24):
And is it?
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Is it something that you've noticed over the years when
you've interacted with these guys that those guys are at
the top of the profession. You mentioned some of those guys.
They are super Bowl champions, National champions. But we always
talk about players being coachable. How important is it that
a coach is coachable?
Speaker 5 (06:39):
Daniel, check this out. This is unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
I didn't even mentioned Billy Donovan was there. Billy Donovan
reached out to me literally a couple of days before it, said, Hey, John,
you asked me to come to your event. Guess what
I can now make it if you still want me. Billy,
you just got nominated inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 5 (06:56):
Yeah, I'll make I'll make that for you. We'll make time.
League says this.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
I want to learn from the other guys in the room.
I can't wait to come learn from them. And he
sat in the back after he spoke and took notes
and was writing down what they were saying. Dabos Sweeney
after his talk was signing some football.
Speaker 5 (07:17):
So he said, hey, guys, guys, can I do this later?
Speaker 1 (07:20):
I want to go hear what Sean has to say,
and he raced back into the room to listen to Sean.
This wasn't like where after I'm done speaking, I'm going
into the green room. These guys wanted to hear from
each other and learn from each other. And that's a
characteristic over the years and working with them. They're always
looking for the edge. They're always looking for something that
they're missing. Eric Spolsher would always reach out to me
(07:41):
and say, Hey, John, what am I missing?
Speaker 5 (07:43):
What's new? What are you hearing these days?
Speaker 1 (07:45):
They're always looking for that new idea, that new thing
that could take their team to the next level.
Speaker 5 (07:49):
And that's what I love about them.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Like you go to high school, and a lot of
high school coaches they think they know it all, Like, yeah, no,
I don't need to hear that.
Speaker 5 (07:55):
I don't need to learn that.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
I mean that's I mean, that's budd high school football
coach man.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Just no care, Yeah, no, curioity, I don't need to
attend that clinic.
Speaker 5 (08:03):
I've seen it all.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
I've heard all these guys are like literally learning and
growing and always looking for that that little thing. That's
why Bill Belichick would always go to the college clinics
to see what they were saying and talking about the best.
Speaker 5 (08:16):
The best are always striving to get better.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
You know, it's funny, John, because what you're saying, you're
talking about guys being lifelong learners. But what I'm hearing
as a coach is I'm hearing the humility that's needed
to be an elite coach.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
That the elite coaches.
Speaker 4 (08:31):
Are humble enough to know that they don't know at all,
and they're seeking answers for the things that are unknown
from other people who've had similar success.
Speaker 5 (08:40):
Yeah, that's a that's a great point. They're you.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
They're humble enough, they got the umilion, They're humble enough
to know, Hey, I'm never stopped. I'm never done growing
the door of greatness. If I think I've arrived, guess what,
it's going to get slammed in my face. So I
have to continue to get better, improve and grow. And
you know what, I'm the same way. I'm learning from
everyone I can meet. I'm always learning from people. When
I see speakers, especially these young speakers out there today,
(09:05):
I'm learning from them.
Speaker 5 (09:06):
You can always learn and grow.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
John is an identity of a team, and we talk
about culture with you all the time, but the identity
of a team, how much of that is connected to
simply the best player on the team and what their
identity and outlook can be. I know we talk about
the coach being at the top of the of the
tree here, but I was talking to a baseball general
manager the other day and he brought up a great point.
He was saying that he had starng with somebody else
(09:31):
in the professional sports world and had brought up this
question of you know, when you bring someone new into
your building, what's the key for them being successful? And
he said, we always they have their their star player,
their leader. And he said, we need that whoever we
bring in has to be able to work with that
star player, that leader. They have to be able to connect.
And I just had never really thought of it that way.
You think about the collective, but the emphasis on who
(09:54):
that key person is. How important is that.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
I'm thinking of the research on gritty teams that if
you have a couple of gritty.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
Guys on that team, that team will be more gritty.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
You don't need every teammate to be a gritty person.
You need these core guys, these leaders, these transformational leaders,
And I've never thought of it that way before, Daniel,
You're right. I mean that one person, if they're a
transform transformational leader, will impact a lot of people around them. Now,
they're not the only key, They're not just the only
(10:27):
one that needs to.
Speaker 5 (10:28):
Be like that.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
You need a couple of guys, You need glue guys,
you need guys who buy in. But yes, a transformational
leader is can We've seen that one quarterback who really
impacts a franchise through their belief, And I think it
comes down to identity and belief and the transfer of
that belief. You got the identity who are we and
(10:49):
who do we believe we are and what do we
believe we can accomplish. So the identity is really key,
and that comes down to the belief about yourself and
about each other. And we know again looking at the NFL,
there are teams when you get a star quarterback and
a great coach, you change the identity of that team.
And a great guy on defense obviously is a huge
(11:10):
key component. A really transformational figure with the Raven's been
the same without ray Lewis, I don't think so. You
need that guy who just walks different, acts different, and
has that presence about them, radiates to everyone on the
team and impacts them. You have a special team, and
you have that, but you also have to have relational equity.
You have to have connection, You have to have commitment
(11:31):
amongst each other. That guy has to be likable, also,
someone they want to follow, someone who brings the team together.
So there are a lot of factors, but identity and
belief are key.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
You know, John. This piggybacks off Daniel's question.
Speaker 4 (11:45):
As a coach, sometimes I wonder because when I hear
the Great Teams talk, you talk about one hundred percent
buying in, everyone is bought in.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
But then when I stand in front.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
Of my team, maybe eighty to eighty five percent are
bought in.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
And then you have these other guys.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
When you talk to these guys and they're really open
and honest, are they able to get one hundred percent
buy in or do they know that they're going to
have some guys along the way that don't fully connect
or buy into everything.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
That we're selling when we're sitting in front of the room.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
I don't think you'll always have one hundred percent buy in,
but you're trying to get as many people to buy
in as possible. And if you can get the ninety
percent ninety five percent, you're doing pretty good. If you
start to have twenty percent not buying in, that's why
you got some problems. And it's also who's not buying in?
Speaker 5 (12:33):
And are the.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
People not buying in being energy vampires? And are they noisy?
Are they gossiping?
Speaker 5 (12:40):
Are they bringing the team down?
Speaker 1 (12:41):
One person can't make a team, but but one person
could break a team, So that one person who's not
buying in could really impact the team if they're an
energy vampire. So I think it depends on who's not
buying in. There are some people that are just not
buying in, but they got a contract, but they're quietly
not buying in. And you got to basically say, I
know that person's here one more year, let's get through it.
Speaker 5 (13:03):
I would love it if you could.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
Get rid of that guy and find a way to
get that person to move on, because the more people
you have buying in, if you have one hundred percent
buy in, you're gonna be that much more powerful. Everyone
pulling in the same direction. Pulling on that rope is key.
But yeah, I think we know that not everyone is
always going to buy in. But figuring out what to
do with them? Do I isolate them? I do I
do I allow them to be part of these meetings?
(13:25):
Do I give them a leadership role? What do I
do with that person?
Speaker 5 (13:28):
Is really key?
Speaker 3 (13:29):
All right, Buck, let's pause here just for a second.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
We'll get right back to it.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
In our conversation with John Gordon, if I was going
to ask you, we're in a draft room and we're
discussing players, and we're going over guys we're going to
bring into our building. If I told you John, we're
going to give you one non negotiable on a player
(13:52):
to come into our building, what would what would John
Gordon's one non negotiable?
Speaker 2 (13:57):
We are not.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
There's no discussion. If it's this, we're out.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
It has to be see I have too many. But definitely,
integrity has to be integrity. I mean what you say
and what you do are in alignment. The word integrity
comes from the word integer, which means whole and complete.
Speaker 5 (14:16):
So there's no gap in your character.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
You are whole and you are complete, and a leader
with integrity is a powerful leader. So I would say,
I want someone with integrity who walks the walk, talks
to talk, There's no gaps in their character, and you
know they're going to be steady and consistent. I've been
thinking of a lot about this in terms of consistency.
If you think about Nick Saban, why was he so successful?
He was so consistent. His coaches say that he was
(14:40):
eating the same candy bar every day time. He's that consistent.
So even though the players may not have liked him,
they knew what to expect from him because he was
so consistent. And as a leader, when you are consistent
and they could expect the same thing from you, you
build that trust in that relationship. Now, I would also add,
I want that leader to be very optimist, can have
(15:00):
a ton of belief, and I want that leader to
be someone who is bringing the team along with them
and embracing the team. Jayden Daniels is like, I spoke
to the Commanders before their playoff run. I got invited
at the last minute to go down there and speak,
and they were coming up to Tampa, and I'm like,
can I just drive to Tampa and meet you guys
From Jacksonville.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
Like, no, ten am Saturday morning, that's the time. You
know how that works?
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Oh yeah?
Speaker 5 (15:24):
And I said, all right, all right, I'll do it.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
So I flew there and man, this team was special,
Like I could feel the difference in this room from
the group of veterans. Zach Ertz was in the room, right,
You had you had Marcus Mariota in the room.
Speaker 5 (15:41):
You had a group of guys.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Oh, how can I forget about of course, every guy
that I've met throughout my year speaking I met Zach
and Philadelphia, I met Bobby and Seattle, all the guys
that I met with who were my favorite players on
the various teams I spoke to over the years. We're
now in this one room as a group of guys,
and then you have this young transformational quarterback. It's no
accident they had the success they had.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
You know.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
And speaking of that, because one of the things that
I love to come to you, whether it's your podcasts
or reading your books.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Just to positivity.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
Can you speak on why it's so important for people
or teams that want to do great things to really
create a positive environment so that everyone can be at
the best chase.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
There's so much negativity and negativity will bring you down.
Being positive will guarantee you'll succeed, but being negative will
guarantee that you won't. Negativity causes division, Pessimism causes us
to give up. Discouragement sets in and we stop moving forward.
But optimism and belief and positivity is how we overcome
(16:45):
adversity and setbacks and challenges. So every team is going
to get tested, and it's how we respond to the test.
And it's interesting, Buggy. There are two main frequencies I
figured out I wrote about this in The One Truth.
If you really look at life and you look at
the universe, in the world, everything comes down to two
main frequencies, positive and negative. And that's why everything in
this world is positive or negative, good and bad. Right,
(17:08):
there's the Star Wars, there's Harry Potter, Black Panther, there's
good versus bad, good versus.
Speaker 5 (17:13):
Evil, positive and negative.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
So in life, the negative brings you down and the
positive lifts you up, and it's a battle between negative
and positive. Can we as a team overcome the negativity,
the adversity, the division, and the discouragement that sets in
and the distractions along the way. Five d's that everyone
should be aware of, by the way, doubt distortion, which
are lies, negative thoughts, and also gossip. We've got discouragement,
(17:39):
distraction and division, and when that sets in, the team
falls apart. So what's the key Positivity unites, it, uplifts,
it encourages and allows you to overcome those five d's
to move forward.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
That's awesome. Taking a bunch of notes here as we
go along, I want to ask you about something I
just read this morning. I was glad you were coming
on because this is a time of year. You got Ota,
so you got teams trying to get together. You've got
everybody coming together with the draft picks, the free agents,
the existing veterans, trying to make this whole thing form
and work together. And I saw Kellen Moore the Saints,
(18:15):
he just canceled their practice today I believe it was today,
and said now we're going to go do a team
bonding We're going to go do a team bonding event.
And it was overwhelmingly from the reaction that I saw
from the players standpoint, was overwhelmingly well received.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
I know, I guess.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
They said they had played paintball at one of the
previous mini camps that they had but just from your perspective,
obviously you want to try and get the team ready.
Let's learn the playbook, let's get acclimated with one another.
But when you see a coach like this year one
in a situation make a choice like this, A what
informs that decision?
Speaker 2 (18:47):
And b what are the benefits?
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Well, I'm hoping it's because I sent him the seventh
Commitments of a great Team and it just came out
and I did send it to him, And a big
part of this there's a part of the book that says,
one more day of practice is not gonna make you
a better team, but one more day of bonding as
a team, it will make you a stronger team. So
I'm not gonna take credit. I don't know if you
read it yet or not. I know a lot of
(19:10):
coaches are there. I'm getting the feedback from it and
it's awesome, and a lot of coaches were saying, yes,
this is it. This is a book about commitments and
about bringing a team together and the importance of bonding.
And there's a bunch of exercises in the book that
actually allows the team to become more united and connected.
So I wrote this book to actually get people to
do this very thing.
Speaker 5 (19:30):
So it is everything.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
If I'm a team, I'm a GM, I'm a coach.
I am doing everything I can to create a collective
connection amongst this team, because the more connected you are,
the more committee you will be. If you lack connection,
you will move towards division. And we know that that
separate team, that divided team becomes a very weak team.
So the more connected you are, the strongly you will be.
(19:52):
Now you have to have talent. Of course, you can
be very connected with no talent and you're gonna love each.
Speaker 5 (19:56):
Other, but you're not gonna win a lot of games.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
But if you got the talent and then you have
the connection, then that rises you to a whole other level.
So there are a series of team build on exercises
I actually do with teams now that are our key.
Like one is the five h's, which is in this book.
It's who's your hero, a hardship you face that made
you who you are today, what's the highlight that you're
proud of, what's hilarious? Share something funny, and what do
(20:21):
you hope for? And each guy goes around and shares that.
And I've had teams do this and I tell you
like Clemson did the year they won the national championship.
When you do these kind of exercises, there's a bond
that develops that you don't get otherwise.
Speaker 4 (20:35):
You know, it's funny because DJ and I have talked
about the three h is what we call it, like
hebro highlight hardship. We've done it. I've done that with
my high school team. And I can't tell you, John,
the emotions that come out of that. Kids share things
that you never know that's existing in their personal lives
and it does bring the team together. And one of
the things that can bring teams together adversity.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
A couple of the guys.
Speaker 4 (20:58):
That you alreays talk you talked about exposed to Sean McVay.
They have a knack, but when their teams are having
tough moments, they're able to pull them out and get
them back on track.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
And being around those type people.
Speaker 4 (21:11):
What is the key to being able to pour your
team out of a tough situation and circumstance.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
One, I think it's being consistent still, like you stay
consistent to the principles.
Speaker 5 (21:21):
You know, this is what guides us, and we're not weaver.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
You can't change midstream or mid season. A lot of
times coaches do that, they change their style, they change
how they're acting towards the players, and they went up
losing the locker room. You have to stay consistent. You
have to address the reality of the situation. Hey, this
is the challenge we're facing, this is where we are.
But you also have to provide a path forward and
why you're going.
Speaker 5 (21:44):
To get there.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
You also have to have the relational relationship and connection
individually and collectively. So Sean is so great at talking
to his players and having that one on one relationship
as well as that as well as that collective connection
which is Cayse. So Eric Sposure goes do a tough time,
he's still talking about the vision, still talking about the principles,
still talking about what's going to make them successful, and
(22:06):
not wavering, not wavering, and also not getting negative, not
getting pessimistic, but staying positive and then that encouragement that
is so key. Resilience is about balancing back. But resilience
is not about one person. We often think of the
lone ranger when we think of resilience. It's actually collective
relationship and connection that leads to resilience.
Speaker 5 (22:27):
So Bucky. If you have someone who supports you and
encourages you and.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
Loves you and you know they got your back, that's
going to make you more resilient.
Speaker 5 (22:34):
Well, when you know your coach has your back even.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
Though you're losing and you're not playing well, and that
coach still loves you, believes in you, and it's here
for you, that provides an avenue for growth and hopefully
a comeback.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
John, last one from me, Man, and we always appreciate
your time. But you know, you talk about some of
these college coaches you have relationships, with Dabbo being one
of them. I think about the challenges they face now
greater than they've ever had at the collegiate level with
a wide open transfer portal in the transitive nature of
college sports right now. Two parter here, I feel like
I might. All I do is ask you two part questions,
(23:08):
but two part here, how challenging is it? And what
would be a key to retention to keeping players in
the fold? And then to me, when you look at that,
is that going to be kind of like a secret
weapon if you can have guys. We've seen it in
the NCAA tournament with basketball. You see the veteran teams
maybe not as talented as some of these teams that
(23:29):
have these McDonald's all Americans and some young kids. And
you see these four year guys that have been together,
they've just played together, just a better team. Is that
going to be a secret weapon moving forward?
Speaker 1 (23:40):
It is culture drives talent towards greatness, and the coaches
that build the relationships, that create a structure, a foundation
that these guys can rely on. Dabos said it before.
Players are going to get paid, but they have to
be there and they have to earn it. And once
you earn it, you're going to make money while you're there.
Goes to the same model in the NFL, Like remember
(24:02):
when guys will pay these huge rookie contracts and the
veterans will be upset in the locker room. And now
everyone knows what the rookie contract pretty much is going
to be, and that issue is no longer there. It's
the same way at Clemson, like everyone knows you come here,
you stay, you get paid, and you make X, Y
and Z. But but Dabo says, I'm not going to
pay some young freshmen coming in this huge amounts of
(24:23):
money to get them to come here if they want
to come great, and if they do, they're going to
earn it. So he's built a culture of relationship, build
the culture of connection, and build a culture where you
have to earn what you get. And I think that's great.
And I believe those cultures, those leaders who build those
kind of relationships, the players are there for the right reasons.
(24:46):
There's always going to be someone offering more money, and
that's where we have to look at where does this end,
Like how much can it actually rise? How much could
it go up? How much could this whole universe support
in terms of how many players can make X, Y
and Z. So I really believe the competitive advantage is
going to be everything we're talking about.
Speaker 5 (25:02):
Culture. It's the leadership, it's the teamwork, it's belief, it's being.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
A part of something greater. And Dabbo now knows. He
said he used to lose guys all the time. You
know that they tried to get Now he knows who
his guy is or who they are, Like, he knows
who his guy is because the guy that they're losing
is already getting paid somewhere else. He goes, they were
getting paid in the past. They just and they weren't
coming to clems and we just didn't know it. Now
(25:28):
we know who's getting paid and that's not our guy.
We know who is who is our guy, and that's
who they go after. So I think, you know, I
think now more than ever, the ability to build those
relations and to create a culture where people want to
stay and build a family, where guys are going to
grow and learn and develop and get better, that that's
going to be.
Speaker 5 (25:47):
More important than ever.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
And I think I think the right people want to
be a part of that.
Speaker 5 (25:53):
The ones who go to the highest bidder, you're gonna
lose them, but maybe they're not your right guy anyway.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
You know, John, I'm share with you. I don't even
know if I told DJ this story. So last question
for you is a personal story. So my son is
a walk on. He plays baseball at San Jose State.
But before his freshman year, when he was trying to
make it, I stumbled across your book, Coffee Bean, and
I stuck it in his backpack and I said, hey, man,
I think you may need to read this along the
(26:20):
way as you're going through your journey. A couple years later,
I'm cleaning out his room and there is the book
Coffee Being with smudges and.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
All these things on it where he read it.
Speaker 4 (26:30):
So I want to thank you because that was really
impactful for him as he was trying to do something
that was very difficult for him. But I want to
ask you, where do you get your inspiration for your stories?
Because it's fascinating to me that you're able to put
out a book a collection of books that inspire so many.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Where do you find your inspiration to come up with
these great stories?
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Well, this newest one in seven Commitments, I wrote in
sixteen days and it was a b book that just
came to me. So I can't take the credit because,
trust me, I'm not that smart. And my teammates from
college can't believe what I'm doing now. They're like, you
were a mental wreck in college and this is what
you're doing, and I can't believe what I'm doing now.
(27:14):
So I have to give all credit to God. I'm
a spiritual guy. God literally gives me these ideas. I walk,
I pray on a daily basis, and literally not all
the time, but when it's the right time, the idea
for a book will come to me and I get
the vision, the storyline and sort of how I'm gonna
put it together and I have to sit down and
write it, but I get a vision for what it's
supposed to be. That happened with Energy Bus Training Camp,
(27:38):
even you went in the locker room first that I
wrote with Mike Smith, which is a really great book
for coaches, that book. I wasn't sure we were supposed
to do a book until I walked and I had
the vision of what it was supposed to be on
the framework for it. So got to give all credit
and to know that you read the books, and you
read in Daniel, and that your son reads and that
that's what means.
Speaker 5 (27:57):
That means everything.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
I was on the plane yesterday and who sitting next
to me on the plane right across the aisle.
Speaker 5 (28:01):
Was was Ed Reid.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
Oh nice.
Speaker 5 (28:04):
Couldn't believe it. I'm like, and I go, I go
you Ed read. He's like, yeah, He's like, guys said, Hi,
I'm John Gordy. He goes, he goes, oh, John, I
know who you are. How do you know who I am?
Because I read I read your books? I said, are
you're kidding me? Ed Reid's read my books? It blew
me away, just blew me away.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
That is fantastic. Doesn't surprise me about Ed two. I
haven't been with him for four years in Baltimore. Ed
one of the smartest football players that I've ever been around.
So the fact that he went in to doing some
coaching and wanting to learn and grow, having that growth
mindset doesn't surprise me in the least. John, it has
been great to catch up man. I know you are
bouncing all over the globe here and sharing your message
(28:41):
and we're very grateful to have you as a friend
and we're very grateful for your time today. We appreciate you, buddy.
Speaker 5 (28:47):
I appreciate you, guys.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
I just want to say I forgot to say Eddie
George came to training camp as well, and now to
see what he's doing now in the coaching world is
so cool too, because I've got a chance to work
with Eddie and the best thing is what you guys
do and also seeing how coaches lead an impact.
Speaker 5 (29:02):
Man, that's what it's all about. So thanks for all
that you do. You guys.
Speaker 3 (29:04):
Appreciate you, all right, buck Man. Look, he's always he's
always kind and generous with his time. We ask him
to come on, he always comes on, and it's usually
kind of a thing we're always looking to do this
time of year when we get a chance to kind
of cherry pick some of our favorites to come on.
But again, lots of notes taken there from our buddy
John DJ.
Speaker 4 (29:26):
I'm always blown away when he comes on and shares
from the lessons that he's learned, the people that are
involved in his training camp, the projects that he's doing,
and how quickly he's able to write these books. He's
just a unique person, and I think what's inspirational about
him is just his ability to deal with his own
adversity and becoming a world renowned author in those things.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
It's just a terrific conversation.
Speaker 4 (29:51):
I think everyone who had opportunity to listen in will
walk away not only with a bunch of notes, but
with some lessons that can kind of guide them going
forward as they lead in their own respective communities.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
I got to ask you as a high school coach.
We talked a little bit about team bonding. What does
coach Bucky Brooks do to try and bond the team
together and what's maybe the favorite thing you've done in
your time as a coach.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
So we shared the story about the three ags.
Speaker 4 (30:15):
I've done that with the team, but DJ certain simple
things like having a designated donut day every two or
three weeks where you bring donuts in for the kids.
Last week was National Donut Day on Friday, and so
DJ just you know, donuts are expensive these days. I
know a hundred kids, there's a lot of donuts there.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
In my pocket.
Speaker 4 (30:37):
My little coaching stipend is all gone the donut stuff.
But I think what John said when he talked about,
like Kellen Moore and Kellen Moore talking about a one
day of practice won't guarantee that you'd be better, but
one day of bonding can ensure that you play at
a higher level. I think that's something that is coaches.
We all get caught up in the next practice, the
next drill, the next competition as opposed to its relationship business.
(31:01):
And if you get everyone to really buy in and
to be connected, you're going to have a lot of success.
I think listening to John and heeding some of those
exercises that he's talked about, I.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Think that has really kind of helped me along the way.
Speaker 3 (31:15):
I think back, you know, if you asked me to
recall memories from high school football practice. Right, So I
graduated high school ninety six, so obviously this has been
it's been quite a long time ago.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
But Buck, I can't.
Speaker 3 (31:28):
I can maybe tell you one or two instances where
maybe there was a big hit that I kind of
remember from a tackling drill, maybe something funny that someone
said to a coach, But I mean, very very vague memories.
I can tell you for a fact, I remember, you know,
one year where we were in kind of those grinding
two A days, which I don't know that you can
really do it the way we had to do it
(31:49):
when we were growing up. And then you kind of
show up for that afternoon practice. We're supposed to be
in full pads. We've been going doing this for a
couple of weeks. And we got there and everybody got
all their pads on, got out the practice, went to
the full warm up, and our head coach came up
and said, all right, boys, take your pads off. We're
going in the pool. And we like, the pool was
right there. He had like, you know, the high dive
(32:09):
of all that kind of stuff. So we went over
there and I mean we sprinted to go jump into
that pool. But I mean that was a memory that
I remember. I remember seven on seven or you know,
doing the Oklahoma drill, all those things. I don't have
any memories. I do remember that day though, about how
how excited we were to get out of that heat
and jump in the pool.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
Look, man, I think I think that's the right perspective.
Speaker 4 (32:28):
I think understanding who you have and what they need
at that moment.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
Is a special skill.
Speaker 4 (32:34):
And you talk about those memories and the connectivity. I
was I was at a coaches meeting cif LA City Section.
We had our coaches meeting in the ram's locker room,
and one of the leaders talked about one of the
job of high school coaches is to make sure that
everyone on that team walks away with a friend and
a friend that could be their friend for the next
thirty forty years, talking about how high school sports is
(32:56):
really about that. So when you talk about those memories,
those shared experiences, that's really what it's about. Like, that's
what they can remember far more than the x'es and o's.
They remember those those unique moments, the tough workouts together,
all the other stuff where you become a closer team.
Those are the things that matter. Those are things that
will kind of carry on with them as they go
(33:17):
on to the next level of your life.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
Yeah, I have, you know, high school sports.
Speaker 3 (33:21):
To me, you know, I won't go off on a
tangent here, but I've talked in the past about what
I would look for like in a youth sports coach.
Like to me, it's very simple. If you're coaching kids,
if you're listening to this and you're coaching kids, just
put the right perspective in this. At the end of
the season, I've always felt if you're coaching you know,
let's say thirteen and under, twelve and under, If at
the end of the year, your players are better at
(33:43):
the end of the year individually than they were at
the beginning of the year. If your team has gotten
a little bit better than they were at the beginning
of the year. If you've had fun, the kids have
had a good time. And the last one is they
all want to play the next year. If you've done that,
you've hit that checklist. Who cares how many.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
Games you win?
Speaker 3 (34:00):
You know, what your batting average is, what did stats
say like? If you accomplish those four things as a
youth coach, I think You've done a great job. And
when I think of high school Buck, this is a
very simple one. Man, I would judge your success as
a high school coach, and I would say this to
any high school coach. I know you as a high
school coach, book, but I've always looked at it. Man,
I would judge my success by how many weddings I
(34:22):
get invited to down the line and how many players
hold on to my phone number after they leave campus.
That to me, would be my view of success of
a high school coach.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
DJ.
Speaker 4 (34:33):
I can tell you, man, sometimes we're in this weird
space in high school sports where you almost have to
make a tough decision. In football, you have to make
a decision do you want to be a football factory
or are you really trying to give the great high
school experience. You obviously understand we're in southern California. There
are some football powerhouses here, and look, it's not all
(34:53):
kids from the neighborhood and that's great for them. But
then others are neighborhood schools that are trying to make
do with what they have. And I would say that,
you know, coming off a tough season, the thing that
I am most excited about heading into this year. I
looked at my coaching staff and there are five former players, wow,
(35:15):
that are coaching with me.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
That's great.
Speaker 4 (35:16):
I'm talking about guys that have graduated within the last
three or four years. And so when you think about
all the things and you hear the noise good and bad,
when you talk about former players wanting to come back
because their experience was so good within the program that
they want to kind of pay it forward to me,
that tells you that you're on the right track. And
(35:37):
as long as you're on the right track there, the
wins will eventually come. But it's about really having those relationships,
in those bonds that really sustain you if you're a
coach that's trying to do it, because hey man, you
just kind of want to leave your mark on the
world and kind of make the place a little better
for the people that you're encounting.
Speaker 3 (35:54):
Yeah, and not feed you're not trying to feed your
own ego too, which is gosh. I think we see
that too much in coaching, man. That's why that's why
I appreciate everything that you do buck in the high
school space, because you.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
Just pouring into kids.
Speaker 3 (36:07):
Hey, whoever shows up, we're gonna coach them, we're gonna
love them up, we're gonna we're gonna get better, and
we're gonna have an enjoyable experience. And along the way,
you've had a lot of success in doing it that
way and totally rebuilding a high school program. But you're
not out there chasing kids so that you can go
in there so you can, you know, beat your chest
about how you you know, you've got ten Division ie
kids and this, that and the other that anybody can coach. Like,
(36:28):
come on, man, like, stop feeding your own ego. You
see this high school coach it's all the time. Drives
me insane, Yeah, but it is.
Speaker 2 (36:34):
But I mean, look, that's that's the way of the world.
I mean, we're just in a weird space.
Speaker 4 (36:37):
I mean sports have changed so much over the last
thirty years in terms of those things. Like we went
from our football teams being coached by the baseball coach,
the basketball coach.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
Everyone had a part and being an.
Speaker 4 (36:50):
Assistant and then they would go and lead their respective
sports and the football coach would be an assistant.
Speaker 2 (36:55):
So it was when I was growing up, and.
Speaker 4 (36:57):
There everything is specialization and people do one of their
own thing, and that is great and the game has
never been better in some regards. But we just want
to make sure that, look, man, every player is not
gonna have an opportunity to play beyond high school. Let's
make sure that we give everybody a great experience so
they can look back and really say that, Hey, man,
I have fond memories for my four years at that
(37:18):
high school.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
Have an opportunity to participate in extracurricular activity.
Speaker 3 (37:21):
I always wondered about the guys to go to like
three four high schools, man, like who do you hang out?
Speaker 5 (37:25):
Like?
Speaker 2 (37:25):
Who are you keep in touch with?
Speaker 4 (37:26):
When I looked, it's almost like that an leads to
the level with the port or everyone bouncing around.
Speaker 2 (37:32):
Which reunions did you go to? You go to all
of them? Yeah, that's a great question. How do you
fit in?
Speaker 3 (37:38):
Don't get me started? All right, this has been a
fun one today. Again thanks to our buddy John Gordon
for coming on.
Speaker 2 (37:43):
I hope you guys have enjoyed it.
Speaker 3 (37:45):
We try and have some some different conversations this time
of the year.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
Well, we'll have time for the lists.
Speaker 3 (37:50):
Don't worry about it. If you're craving list will give
you some lists at some point in time, but we're
gonna be selfish and have some conversations we want to
have on the show here.
Speaker 2 (37:57):
So appreciate you guys. We'll see you next time.
Speaker 3 (37:58):
Right here on, move the sticks.
Hosts And Creators
Daniel Jeremiah
Bucky Brooks
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