July 22, 2022 • 10 mins
Wayne Larrivee sits down with former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Brett Swain to reminisce on making friends for life (0:44), playing with Aaron Rodgers (2:23), and how he's using his past experiences to help kids focus on staying mentally healthy (8:11).
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
For more than a century, the Green Bay Packers have
been a benchmark for football excellence. Thousands of players have
helped pave the way, and we're here to tell you
their stories. I'm Wayne Laravy. This is the Packers alumni spotlight.
(00:23):
Wide receiver Brett Swain, a seventh round brat pick, got
great mileage out of his short career in Green Bay
in so many ways. It all began in the summer
of two thousand and eight, as it usually begins for
a Packer, on a bike ride to practice, where Brett
made a friend for life. Absolutely. You know, from from
(00:46):
my first year, I hooked up with a kid that
I still followed to this day. And it's someone that
worked within the organization, Jennifer Art, the Art family. So
um I was. I was happy to be her fighter
for for three years. And um I've been watching them
grow up. I've been watching that family over the past
(01:07):
many years just grow through their their life. And now
I think the sun is getting ready to graduate college
and he's playing college football, and um, they're just doing
great and amazing, amazing things. The least who was nine
years old, the girl you rode her bike, and um,
she's Jennifer's daughter, right, Jennifer Art's daughter. The Art family.
(01:29):
So I hooked up with them when I first got
into town, and they just took me in and and
I was eating dinner at their house. Until this day,
we still talk and check in with each other. And
it's amazing. All right, you didn't play with Brett Far,
but you were part of a tumultuous summer. Um. I
would imagine as a rookie on the outside looking in
at the split between the Packers and Brett Far of
(01:51):
that training camp in two thousand and eight, What do
you recall. I just remember my first practice going into crank,
going into the field, and they were chanting, we want Brett,
we want Brett, and I was just like, well, my
name is Brett. So um. I I remember Aaron, you know,
saying something after that practice said, Brett Swain got a
lot of attention today. So I remember that first part
(02:14):
of training camp, and you know that that was a
pretty big deal. So um, I'll always remember that playing
with Aaron Rodgers. What's it like? Tell me your thoughts.
It's amazing. Guy makes you lift your game up, for sure.
Some of the things that I've learned from Aaron are
some of the things that I teach to the kids
that I worked with today. So UM, you know, to
(02:35):
learn those lessons, to learn some of the things that
he brings to the table. Um, it's just something that
gives in a life long journey. So UM, these kids
that I work with, I worked with young quarterbacks and
athletes in my community, and those same same UH steps
and values and and things that Aaron taught me, I
(02:57):
try to instill into those kids. Can you give us
some specifics, um details. Um, Aaron's very detail oriented, from
watching film to how you act on the field. Um.
I think that's where we start. Who you are as
a person, how you watch film, how you play the game.
I think that stuff is very important to who you
(03:18):
are as a football player. If you don't have these
certain values, and it's very hard for you to get
to where you want to go and accomplish your goals.
You were part of the two thousand and ten championship
season here in Green Bay. It started out you guys
were pretty heavy favorites, um, and then the injuries hit
and expectations, at least outside of the team seemed to drop.
(03:39):
Did you ever um, get the field that maybe expectations
were being adjusted as that season went on on one
player after another hit the injury report, and I are,
UM not really, you know, UM, I think that's the
reason why we were We were successful in that moment.
And UM, one thing that I've learned on a Super
(04:00):
Bowl winning team is that you've got to be comfortable
feeling uncomfortable. So, UM, we really painted a great picture
that year. And when it was your time to be
called on, it was your opportunity to step up. So
you had to, uh make sure that you're ready for
that and and that team was ready for anything that
was thrown out our way. And uh we made the
(04:21):
adjustments and we we got through that. What's your greatest
memory of that season. I mean there's a lot of
great memories. I I remember I had a pretty good
game in Atlanta, and um that was something that meant
a lot to me. I remember it was in during
the season and that was a big game for me because, um,
that was a good connection between Aaron and I because um,
(04:44):
I was a number five receiver and we we just
started bringing out the big five package again. It wasn't
something that was around for for a while, so we
brought back the big five package, and I was able
to get on the field with UH, with some great
players and great receivers, and I was able to make
some catches and have some big plays in that game.
And I remember Aaron texting me after the game and
(05:06):
and telling me he was proud of me. And I
thought that was a big moment for me, especially UH,
being a young player, and and then moving forward when
all the injuries started happening. UH, you know, I felt
felt confident, you know, taking those roles on Brent. That
was the regular season game. You guys played well enough
to win but lost, and then you played Atlanta weeks later,
(05:27):
Uh in the H Divisional round of the playoffs. Um,
how different were the Packers at that point in time?
Completely different team. I mean I remember that. You know,
we had to beat the Giants to get into the state,
get into the playoffs. So once we beat them, we
had a whole different um energy on the team. So
(05:48):
we attacked. We tacked playoffs on a whole different mindset.
And UM, you know they say once you're hot, going
into playoffs, you're hot, So we wanted to be that team.
McCarthy kind of broke it down at a quarter. Ors
didn't he quarters of games? Actually you have this to
win this quarter that quarter tell us a little bit
about that mentality, right, So I remember we we broke
(06:09):
it down in the fourth, So I'm pretty sure four
four four or four. So, um, you know, every every
four games we had a quarter of a season and
we had to, you know, make sure that we were
just making our adjustments on within these quarters. Also, remember
we had to get to nine wins. I mean, it's
it's very important to get to nine wins if you
(06:29):
try to make to the playoffs. So once you get
to nine, you see where you're at and then we
have to uh make the goals moving forward from that.
You were the last team to make the playoffs. Um,
what as a group, do you remember the fielding in
the locker room when you finally did it beat the
Bears last weekend of the regular season. You're finally in
the playoffs. What was the feeling at that point in time.
(06:51):
It was amazing. It was amazing because we knew how
good the team was, and you know, we knew that
we were a little bit of the underdogs going through
the injuries and the adversities that we had to deal with. Um.
But but the team rale and the energy within the
within the the guys in the locker room was just
on a on a high level. So, um, we felt
(07:14):
really good going into playoffs and we felt really confident
with with where where everybody was at. But let me
ask you this, Um, you played on a team that
never trailed in any game. I believe you played eighteen
of them, the three playoff games or whatever. You never
trailed by more than seven points. Have you ever been
on a football team that went through a whole season
(07:34):
never down by more than seven points? Did you even
realize it? And didn't even realize that's that? But, um,
you know it keeps you in the game. You know,
it keeps seeing the ball game. So uh, if you
stick around, you know all you need is a few
big plays and you know, we'll see what happens at
the end. There. The Packers as road Warriors went on
to win the Super Bowl. Brett got a chance to
(07:56):
contribute in the big game, and the experiences he had
in Green and Gold are lessons in parks today to
the young people he coaches and advises as a life
coach back in Carlsbad, California, It's just been a progression
of what I've been working on and really been working
on myself since I got done playing. Um who am
(08:18):
I outside of football? Uh? So I got back involved
with my community and started working with the local football team. UM.
I also teach at the high school that that that
I live in, in the community that I live in.
So I'm coaching and teaching at the local high school.
And I just fell in love with development and and
teaching kids. All the experiences that I've dealt with in
(08:41):
my career and what I've experienced, UM, just giving those
experiences back to the kids and and helping them develop
their dreams and goals. So, UM, I've developed my my
whole training programs. I've I've I've built uh football camps,
I've did football leagues, I've done it all, um. But
really it's coming down to, um, the psyche and mental
(09:05):
skills of of each individual, of each kid. Once you
train them how to be great athletes, UM, there's always
another step you can take, and who you are as
a person is very important to me. So that development
and investing in that is really what I've been into
the mental aspect, the spiritual aspect of sports. Even on
the highest levels. We saw it at Wimbledon in tennis
(09:27):
this year. UM, We've seen it in the Olympics as
Simone Biles was unable to do some of her routine mentally,
wasn't able to get to that place. UM. I've often
wondered how you guys put up with it in today
with social media and all the pressure in that regard. Uh,
is it tougher to be a high level athlete today
(09:48):
than it's ever been? Do you think? Absolutely? Um? To me,
one of the verse very first things that I teach
kids and anybody that I work with is how to
organize your thoughts. And with social media and everything that's
going on in the world today, is that there's a
lot of things going on in your head. And if
you don't know how to compartmentalize everything and organize your thoughts,
(10:10):
your thoughts, can you know, go in ways that that
you never thought so. Um. Just bringing everything back to center,
you know, keeping things simple, UM, making sure that you're
focusing on the task at hand, and keeping your thoughts
organizes very important to performance. Okay. Rhett Swain played with
Aaron Rodgers, won a Super Bowl and made lifelong friends.
(10:32):
Not bad for a seventh round draft pick who had
a relatively short stay in Green Bay.
For more than a century, the Green Bay Packers have
been a benchmark for football excellence. Thousands of players have
helped pave the way, and we're here to tell you
their stories. I'm Wayne Laravy. This is the Packers alumni spotlight.
(00:23):
Wide receiver Brett Swain, a seventh round brat pick, got
great mileage out of his short career in Green Bay
in so many ways. It all began in the summer
of two thousand and eight, as it usually begins for
a Packer, on a bike ride to practice, where Brett
made a friend for life. Absolutely. You know, from from
(00:46):
my first year, I hooked up with a kid that
I still followed to this day. And it's someone that
worked within the organization, Jennifer Art, the Art family. So
um I was. I was happy to be her fighter
for for three years. And um I've been watching them
grow up. I've been watching that family over the past
(01:07):
many years just grow through their their life. And now
I think the sun is getting ready to graduate college
and he's playing college football, and um, they're just doing
great and amazing, amazing things. The least who was nine
years old, the girl you rode her bike, and um,
she's Jennifer's daughter, right, Jennifer Art's daughter. The Art family.
(01:29):
So I hooked up with them when I first got
into town, and they just took me in and and
I was eating dinner at their house. Until this day,
we still talk and check in with each other. And
it's amazing. All right, you didn't play with Brett Far,
but you were part of a tumultuous summer. Um. I
would imagine as a rookie on the outside looking in
at the split between the Packers and Brett Far of
(01:51):
that training camp in two thousand and eight, What do
you recall. I just remember my first practice going into crank,
going into the field, and they were chanting, we want Brett,
we want Brett, and I was just like, well, my
name is Brett. So um. I I remember Aaron, you know,
saying something after that practice said, Brett Swain got a
lot of attention today. So I remember that first part
(02:14):
of training camp, and you know that that was a
pretty big deal. So um, I'll always remember that playing
with Aaron Rodgers. What's it like? Tell me your thoughts.
It's amazing. Guy makes you lift your game up, for sure.
Some of the things that I've learned from Aaron are
some of the things that I teach to the kids
that I worked with today. So UM, you know, to
(02:35):
learn those lessons, to learn some of the things that
he brings to the table. Um, it's just something that
gives in a life long journey. So UM, these kids
that I work with, I worked with young quarterbacks and
athletes in my community, and those same same UH steps
and values and and things that Aaron taught me, I
(02:57):
try to instill into those kids. Can you give us
some specifics, um details. Um, Aaron's very detail oriented, from
watching film to how you act on the field. Um.
I think that's where we start. Who you are as
a person, how you watch film, how you play the game.
I think that stuff is very important to who you
(03:18):
are as a football player. If you don't have these
certain values, and it's very hard for you to get
to where you want to go and accomplish your goals.
You were part of the two thousand and ten championship
season here in Green Bay. It started out you guys
were pretty heavy favorites, um, and then the injuries hit
and expectations, at least outside of the team seemed to drop.
(03:39):
Did you ever um, get the field that maybe expectations
were being adjusted as that season went on on one
player after another hit the injury report, and I are,
UM not really, you know, UM, I think that's the
reason why we were We were successful in that moment.
And UM, one thing that I've learned on a Super
(04:00):
Bowl winning team is that you've got to be comfortable
feeling uncomfortable. So, UM, we really painted a great picture
that year. And when it was your time to be
called on, it was your opportunity to step up. So
you had to, uh make sure that you're ready for
that and and that team was ready for anything that
was thrown out our way. And uh we made the
(04:21):
adjustments and we we got through that. What's your greatest
memory of that season. I mean there's a lot of
great memories. I I remember I had a pretty good
game in Atlanta, and um that was something that meant
a lot to me. I remember it was in during
the season and that was a big game for me because, um,
that was a good connection between Aaron and I because um,
(04:44):
I was a number five receiver and we we just
started bringing out the big five package again. It wasn't
something that was around for for a while, so we
brought back the big five package, and I was able
to get on the field with UH, with some great
players and great receivers, and I was able to make
some catches and have some big plays in that game.
And I remember Aaron texting me after the game and
(05:06):
and telling me he was proud of me. And I
thought that was a big moment for me, especially UH,
being a young player, and and then moving forward when
all the injuries started happening. UH, you know, I felt
felt confident, you know, taking those roles on Brent. That
was the regular season game. You guys played well enough
to win but lost, and then you played Atlanta weeks later,
(05:27):
Uh in the H Divisional round of the playoffs. Um,
how different were the Packers at that point in time?
Completely different team. I mean I remember that. You know,
we had to beat the Giants to get into the state,
get into the playoffs. So once we beat them, we
had a whole different um energy on the team. So
(05:48):
we attacked. We tacked playoffs on a whole different mindset.
And UM, you know they say once you're hot, going
into playoffs, you're hot, So we wanted to be that team.
McCarthy kind of broke it down at a quarter. Ors
didn't he quarters of games? Actually you have this to
win this quarter that quarter tell us a little bit
about that mentality, right, So I remember we we broke
(06:09):
it down in the fourth, So I'm pretty sure four
four four or four. So, um, you know, every every
four games we had a quarter of a season and
we had to, you know, make sure that we were
just making our adjustments on within these quarters. Also, remember
we had to get to nine wins. I mean, it's
it's very important to get to nine wins if you
(06:29):
try to make to the playoffs. So once you get
to nine, you see where you're at and then we
have to uh make the goals moving forward from that.
You were the last team to make the playoffs. Um,
what as a group, do you remember the fielding in
the locker room when you finally did it beat the
Bears last weekend of the regular season. You're finally in
the playoffs. What was the feeling at that point in time.
(06:51):
It was amazing. It was amazing because we knew how
good the team was, and you know, we knew that
we were a little bit of the underdogs going through
the injuries and the adversities that we had to deal with. Um.
But but the team rale and the energy within the
within the the guys in the locker room was just
on a on a high level. So, um, we felt
(07:14):
really good going into playoffs and we felt really confident
with with where where everybody was at. But let me
ask you this, Um, you played on a team that
never trailed in any game. I believe you played eighteen
of them, the three playoff games or whatever. You never
trailed by more than seven points. Have you ever been
on a football team that went through a whole season
(07:34):
never down by more than seven points? Did you even
realize it? And didn't even realize that's that? But, um,
you know it keeps you in the game. You know,
it keeps seeing the ball game. So uh, if you
stick around, you know all you need is a few
big plays and you know, we'll see what happens at
the end. There. The Packers as road Warriors went on
to win the Super Bowl. Brett got a chance to
(07:56):
contribute in the big game, and the experiences he had
in Green and Gold are lessons in parks today to
the young people he coaches and advises as a life
coach back in Carlsbad, California, It's just been a progression
of what I've been working on and really been working
on myself since I got done playing. Um who am
(08:18):
I outside of football? Uh? So I got back involved
with my community and started working with the local football team. UM.
I also teach at the high school that that that
I live in, in the community that I live in.
So I'm coaching and teaching at the local high school.
And I just fell in love with development and and
teaching kids. All the experiences that I've dealt with in
(08:41):
my career and what I've experienced, UM, just giving those
experiences back to the kids and and helping them develop
their dreams and goals. So, UM, I've developed my my
whole training programs. I've I've I've built uh football camps,
I've did football leagues, I've done it all, um. But
really it's coming down to, um, the psyche and mental
(09:05):
skills of of each individual, of each kid. Once you
train them how to be great athletes, UM, there's always
another step you can take, and who you are as
a person is very important to me. So that development
and investing in that is really what I've been into
the mental aspect, the spiritual aspect of sports. Even on
the highest levels. We saw it at Wimbledon in tennis
(09:27):
this year. UM, We've seen it in the Olympics as
Simone Biles was unable to do some of her routine mentally,
wasn't able to get to that place. UM. I've often
wondered how you guys put up with it in today
with social media and all the pressure in that regard. Uh,
is it tougher to be a high level athlete today
(09:48):
than it's ever been? Do you think? Absolutely? Um? To me,
one of the verse very first things that I teach
kids and anybody that I work with is how to
organize your thoughts. And with social media and everything that's
going on in the world today, is that there's a
lot of things going on in your head. And if
you don't know how to compartmentalize everything and organize your thoughts,
(10:10):
your thoughts, can you know, go in ways that that
you never thought so. Um. Just bringing everything back to center,
you know, keeping things simple, UM, making sure that you're
focusing on the task at hand, and keeping your thoughts
organizes very important to performance. Okay. Rhett Swain played with
Aaron Rodgers, won a Super Bowl and made lifelong friends.
(10:32):
Not bad for a seventh round draft pick who had
a relatively short stay in Green Bay.
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