340. Cody Moore - Don't Leave Leadership to Chance - Student Athlete Leadership Council Program

In this powerful episode of Coach 360: Beyond The Game, presented by 2Words Character Development, we reconnect with Coach Cody Moore, Athletic Coordinator at Round Rock High School, and his Assistant Head Football Coach and O-Line Coach, Jordan Gesch. Building upon their earlier conversation in Episode 332, this round dives deep into one of the most impactful elements of their program: the Leadership Council.

What started as a way to recognize student leaders has evolved into a structured, purpose-driven initiative designed to build true servant leaders on and off the field. Coach Moore and Coach Gesch share the origins, development, and day-to-day execution of their Leadership Council—from student nominations and rigorous interviews to summer retreats, service projects, and weekly team meetings. This episode is a masterclass in building a student-led program grounded in accountability, humility, and intentional leadership. If you're a coach aiming to empower your athletes to lead with integrity, this is the blueprint you’ve been searching for.

 

Key Takeaways

• Leadership Must Be Earned: Round Rock’s Leadership Council requires nominations, resumes, video submissions, and interviews—ensuring students genuinely want to lead and are willing to work for it.
• Train the Leaders Your Team Recognizes: Instead of picking leaders based on performance or popularity, the council is shaped by peer input, allowing students to nominate those who truly influence the team culture.
• Servant Leadership is Central: Council members are held to high standards and are trained to lead through service, not authority. Their role is to protect and represent the program's core values daily.
• Preparation for Real Life: From creating resumes to participating in panel interviews, students experience real-world processes that enhance their confidence and professionalism.
• Symbolic Leadership: Each member receives a custom-designed challenge coin symbolizing their oath to serve and protect the team—a daily reminder of their responsibility.
• Year-Round Engagement: Leadership development doesn’t pause during the off-season. Retreats, book studies, and summer service projects help maintain momentum and strengthen the bond among council members.
• Intentional Weekly Leadership Meetings: Council members meet every Monday and Friday to discuss team morale, logistics, and leadership responsibilities, creating alignment and fostering trust throughout the program.
• Results on and off the Field: Coaches have witnessed profound transformation in students who might have otherwise been overlooked, proving the long-term value of intentional character development.

 

Memorable Quotes

• "Sometimes you have to train the leaders your kids see as leaders—not just the ones you want."
• "If you're not going to practice leadership, you're leaving it up to chance."
• "We want go-getters—students who do the work, not just the popular kids."
• "Leadership is learned by doing. It becomes real when they teach it."
• "You wouldn’t call a play you haven’t repped. So why expect leadership without training it?"
• "If you want it to be right, you’ve got to put the work in."

 

Episode Transcript

Unknown (00:00):
Hey, everyone. My name is Colton, and I'm the host of the Coach 360 podcast. Here, our goal is to come alongside and equip coaches with the resources to help develop character through sports and raise up the next generation of leaders. Not only do we do that through this podcast and interviewing coaches from across the nation about character, culture, and leadership, but we also do it through our 2 words character development curriculums. If you want to learn more about these or anything else that we offer, visit our website, 2words.tv. That's the number 2 words.tv. Or you can always drop me an email, colton at 2words.tv. Thanks for listening today. Let's get into the show. PMX Pro Maxima is your one-stop shop for the ultimate fitness equipment solution. Are you ready to take your workouts to the next level? With their state-of-the-art equipment, you can achieve your fitness goals faster and more effectively. From strength to cardio, they manufacture a wide range of high quality products made in the USA to maximize your performance. Experience the difference with PMX Pro Maxima and see why thousands of athletes and fitness enthusiasts trust them. Visit ProMaxima.com today to explore their catalog and elevate your fitness journey. Coach Mackey and I have personally gotten the opportunity to train with their equipment in our home gyms. Many of you know of our strongman and powerlifting backgrounds. From big bench presses and deadlifts, we have spent thousands of hours under a barbell and can personally tell you PMX Pro Maxima is one of the best manufacturers of strength equipment we have put our chalked up hands on. And they're made right here in the great state of Texas. PMX Pro Maxima. Find your strength from within. Hey, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Coach 360 Today, I get the privilege of hanging out with Coach Cody Moore. He's the athletic coordinator over at Round Rock High School. He's also got with him Coach Jordan Gesch. He's the assistant head football coach and the O-line coach over there with him. Hey guys, welcome to the podcast. Hey man, thanks for having us again. Appreciate it. Thanks for having us back. Absolutely. Yeah. As you mentioned, this is, this is round two for us. Uh, we had a great conversation here a couple of months ago. Uh, that was episode three. And we got to kind of go through just the foundations of your character program, which is extremely robust. I'll use another quote I used in that first podcast and Mackey was out there recently earlier this year. And he had mentioned, and you guys are doing character as good as anybody in the state. And he just had so much great things to say about you guys. And so we kind of covered the foundations and just some of the core beliefs of your program and the way that you guys do things. And today, uh, we really wanted to unpack your special leadership council. You guys have really elevated that program and it's, I know it's evolved over the years and gotten to a really phenomenal place. So I wanted to give our listeners an opportunity. To kind of unpack that with you guys. And so maybe why don't you guys kick us off by telling us a little bit about, you know, the history of your leadership council, how that's evolved over time and kind of what it looks like today. Yeah. So like the conception of the whole deal was like, uh, all about, um, like the term, uh, unit leaders and, uh, it all started back, uh, when we read above the line, you know, how like eight or nine years ago and, um, you know, urban buyer. Utilized unit leaders and a lot of times it was kind of a popularity contest and we kind of wanted to get away from that and we wanted to kind of challenge the guys that are actually going to be on the council and. Wanted those guys to be there for the right reasons and not necessarily to, you know, win that popularity contest. So, um, and how it's kind of progressed to that is it's, uh, it's gone to, I mean, All guys have to be nominated and you know, they're doing interviews and all kinds of stuff. And, and we can talk more about all those things, but, uh, Yeah, it's gone from us picking everything and it ends up being like the guys that usually play the most, that might have the most influence, that kind of thing, to now it's become something that you have to really earn and work for. Gotcha. Yeah. Well, why don't you, why don't you kind of unpack that? Like what is, I think you mentioned you guys are kind of in the throes of. Uh, some, some component or some timeframe of the leadership council that's really important to you guys right now. So maybe like unpack some of that for us and tell us, you know, what that is, what it looks like. Give us some more details. So we actually, uh, have opened up, um, Like a voting poll. And, um, we ask every kid in our program to vote for, um, a certain amount of juniors and a certain amount of sophomores, which next year will be juniors and sophomores. And, and who they think, uh, should come forward as or be nominated as, um, members of the leadership council. And, um. With that, it turns out to be, you know, roughly ten or so seniors and about four or so juniors currently, you know, juniors and sophomores. And, um. We take those guys and we end up developing a platform for them to to do their first step of the interview process and what all that looks like. It's it's all kinds of different stuff is we actually. Uh, have them create a resume that actually build a resume. Um, they, we actually, Uh, have them do a, a video of themselves, which is very difficult. Uh, you sit there and have to talk about yourself for, you know, three or three to five minutes or whatever it may be. It's, it's pretty difficult. Um, You know, it's actually kind of become a custom here lately, actually, if you go and Uh, put yourself in, uh, go through any kind of, uh, interview process through any school district. They call the higher view. So you actually have to do a lot of questions on camera and that kind of thing. And so it's difficult for us. We wanted to make it difficult and uncomfortable for them. So that's kind of why we went that route. And then, uh, I think the last thing is we, uh, we, we prompt them with a few questions and ask them One of the questions is like, why do you feel like you would be a great addition to the leadership council and that kind of thing. So that's the first step. Um, That also helps us, uh, as I call it, uh, the guys that I interact with the most on our coaching staff, kind of like my inner circle guys. Coach Gash, who's here with me, uh, is one of those guys. And then my offensive coordinator and my defensive coordinator, um, Grant Reisner and Chase Tinney. And those guys, we all get in the same room. We go through all of those Those entries and then we kind of determine who needs to go to the next round. And then the next round, uh, is, uh, an actual in-person interview. In the in-person interview, we asked them to, you know, have a portfolio of Different things I've asked to bring, asked for them to bring to the meeting. And we make them get dressed. We make them wear a tie. The whole works. I mean, like, it's like a full-blown deal. And, uh, they, they sit in front of the The panel is what we're saying. So, um, there's actually been times where we've, we've had, um, Previous leadership council members a part of the, a part of the panel. Oh, that's cool. You know, like students, like athletes. And, uh, so we've had some guys sit on the panel and do that. Um, but then us four will sit on the panel and we'll ask, you know, drill them with questions and, um, from all kinds of different things. Um, you know, what do you do in your spare time? You know, it is, you know, it's kind of loosened it up a little bit. But, um, just kind of give them the hot seat a little bit, ask them some difficult questions, um, with every intention to Have them think and and communicate under pressure, right? When things are hard, when it's an uncomfortable situation. They're able to formulate a, an answer or put together, uh, and communicate an answer that, uh, best represents them. So, um, you know, it's, it's, it's, it's difficult on purpose. Um, and I want them to, to be able to, um, think, uh, in the right way and I want them to be able to have the right answers when things are not necessarily the easiest situations. Yeah. So let's go back, uh, just a little bit. Okay. So first off your, all of the, the, the, your current players are the ones that make that first nomination. Yeah. So they vote and they internally select, you know, the first round of candidates, if you will. Is that correct? Yes. Okay. And then from there, they have to kind of do a pre-interview process with their resume, video, and then respond to some questions. And then you guys go through the review process. So in that, let's unpack those two things just a little bit. First off, what are, what do you normally see? Like, who are the student athletes kind of self-selecting? Um, are you seeing the guys that are playing the most? Are they Uh, the, the, you know, traditional leaders that you would kind of expect to be selected or do you get caught off guard sometimes? No, not necessarily like that. That's the whole reason why we do it is because, uh, there might be some guys that aren't nearly as vocal around us or out in the weight room or on the field or whatever it may be. But have a high level of influence in other settings and those kids end up kind of showing up. And, uh, so that's. Point behind it. We didn't want them to vote certain guys because this or that or they play a lot or they were an all district return returning player or any of that kind of thing. And we wanted them to to vote these guys in. And even when we do vote, though, like, do the vote, we have questions that we prompt the kids that are nominating certain guys. So it's like, so it's like, uh, you have a question off the top of your head, Coach Keshe? One of the questions is like, you know, out of all these guys, who do you think has the, you know, the greatest positive influence on the, on the program currently, or, you know, something along those lines. Yeah, I think so. One of the big things that in the selection process, because whenever we started, we were, we were picking and, um, There, there's certain biases you have towards certain kids that, you know, perform your program and that kind of evolved to, Hey, we want to include the program more. And so that process looked like. Hey, we're gonna, um, have them give some input. And then probably two years ago, uh, we're sitting at leadership summit and Danny Cervantes, who's a head coach was talking about it. And he made the comment. Sometimes you have to train the leaders that your kids see as leaders, not the ones that you want. And I think that really resonated with us. That's good. And so just going and really trying to distill down who do our kids see as the people that are leading them, whether whether we. Agree, disagree, like it or not. Like these are the ones that the kids are going to follow because you can have negative leaders just like you have positive leaders. So you might as well train the guys are going to follow anyway. And, and that's where the conversation became, okay, nominate someone that is the best representation of you. Mm-hmm. As a member of the of the Brotherhood, right? So not necessarily like don't name somebody you like, like name someone who best represents you and what you want this thing to be about. Because I think we give lip service sometimes. As coaches, we say, like, this is your team. And this is what you guys are putting on the field. But really... Like empowering them to say, okay, this is, this is who we want to put forward as who represents us well, because then there's accountability in both directions. Yeah. Yeah. I like that. And I really like that you prepare those student athletes to make that choice. You give them those examples, those questions, you make them think a little bit before they just throw a name in a hat, you know? It's not gonna be just the popular kid and it's not just gonna be the kid that gets the most playing time or your traditional, you know, high performer on the team. Um, because I can see a world in which, you know, sometimes those special team guys, those, you know, second string, third string kind of guys. But man, they bring, they bring the energy to every practice and they bring the best of themselves to the team no matter what. And it's, it's those guys that can, can make a huge impact and a huge influence as well. Um, not just your key players, not just your, your top dogs. And just on that point, I think something that's important to understand structurally is that, like, we haven't really gotten into what the Leadership Council is for, but Coach Moore meets with those guys on a weekly basis. And so that's your... That's like your key to what's going on in your locker room. And so, so if there's not kids on the leadership council that are willing to have open and honest conversations with you, um, But also able to have open and honest conversations with those other guys in the locker room. If there's any friction on either side of that relationship, then it kind of defeats the purpose. So they have to be somebody that. A sophomore who's a first year varsity player is willing to go and talk to, but also to turn around then and In, in good faith, have a conversation with coach more about like, here's what's going on. Yeah. Um, so, so that's important piece. That's an important piece too, is like having the established thread of trust that goes wrong. All the way, uh, the program, not just in, on one side of the coin or the other. Yeah. I like it. Well, working, working kind of down that list. Okay. So in that kind of pre-interview process, so you've got a set of approximately, you know, fourteen guys have been nominated, give or take, and then you guys get them and you do kind of that pre-interview. And then it sounded like you might, you might nix a couple out the gate. Is that, is that correct? You might drop a couple and only focus on interviewing a few. Yes. So the thought is, and what we really try to do is. Um, it all started with us trying to have three representatives on offense. Three representatives on defense. And then one, like I use the term like junior at large, right? Like a guy that is going to like a up and coming guy that has a lot of influence that. We can train so when he becomes a senior, we got a guy that's been through it. You know what I mean? It's not like we're having to reteach all over again, right? So that's how it started. Um, so we, we really want to try to get When I say three and three on each side, like we're really trying to get three seniors on each side of the ball to represent because we are so big and we do spend quite a bit of time separate right in the offensive room or the defensive room. To where that, uh, having that communication amongst, between those guys and with me and what's, hey, what's going on in the offensive room, what's going on in the defensive room, how's it going in the locker room together, right? That kind of thing. But uh, it's kind of grown. Like even last year we had some guys that were really, really good and that's not the, the, the structure that we stuck to. Like last year we had some guys that were like, man, I don't know. I can't decide. Like, both these guys are very good and can bring a whole lot of different elements to the table. So we actually went with Three juniors and six seniors or five seniors or it ended up being nine, right? Yeah, there was nine total. Yeah, so it was nine total. So it wasn't like the typical year, right? And uh, But to kind of get back to your question, like, yes, when we kind of use the nominations and And we, we have those numbers in mind. Like we, we want to have six seniors to represent either side of the ball and then one junior kind of at large. That's, that's the, the thought. So when we, um, Start kind of like paring down a little bit. It goes from like ten nominations and for seniors and four nominations for juniors down to. You know, maybe taking a couple off of each one or maybe one off each one. But if there's some times where you can't decide, bring them all in. You know, like, let's see what they can do. Let's see what they can do when they're on the hot seat, that kind of thing. But that also gives us an opportunity to Truly in fair, like with, with all the intent to be fair in the process to go to through each level, right? Like really try to get, um, You know, our mind in the right spot to make sure that we're picking the right guys to go on to the next level. And sometimes guys will eliminate themselves through that process. They're like, Hey. I'm working through this and, and I don't feel like I'm a good fit and they'll, they'll pull themselves. So, um, but, but really, um, In that pre-interview, you're just trying to parse out what, what questions do I need to ask to make sure that those dudes belong in the room. Yeah. Because I think something that's important about the process, just understanding contextually is like coach more, uh, He came into this and like we designed this whole process around what it's like to interview to be on our staff. Like it's like building a coaching staff. To where, like, you may be a great coach on the field, but if you don't fit in the room, then there's going to be, there's going to be problems, right? Um, it's along those same lines. Like, what questions do I need to ask to make sure that everybody feels good about this person fitting in the room? So I, I think Yeah, you may be eliminating some kids, but also you're, you're distilling down to what questions do I really need to ask, which is different depending upon. You know, where they're coming to the table from. Yeah. You guys have given us. Oh, sorry, coach. Go ahead. No, no, I just wanted to make sure I add one more thing. Um, the whole thought behind the levels and like each stage of this whole thing was because I wanted to also get the go-getters. Like I wanted to get the guys that are going to do whatever they can to be a part of this. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, they're willing to do the work, right? And we all know how high school students are. Like, they might be great students and they, you know, they're very bright and they do a lot of great things. But if they're not willing to do the work and do the work The right way with, uh, with all the right intentions, then like, I don't necessarily want them to be on the leadership council. Like, so yes, that is, seems like a lot of work and a lot of things that they have to do to prep for this thing. But that's also intentional. Like, I don't want them to, to, you know, just be a part of the leadership council because, you know, I, you know, I'm a cool kid or something. I want to be a part of this. I actually worked my way on this thing. And, but here's the deal. These kids are using it for like their, their, uh, college resumes and applications and stuff. Like I was a part of my football leadership council, you know, and this, this is something that means a whole lot to me. And some of these kids are like writing their whole essays about this stuff. Wow. And, and, uh, and some of the training they've actually gotten through being a part of the leadership council. Well, I feel like you guys have given us a, a really good outline of, you know, the type of kid you are looking for in this seat. What would be a, uh, and I really liked, uh, that kind of guiding principle of, of, Hey, we're, we're looking for kids who can think and communicate under pressure and, Um, because sports create pressure, right? Sports give us opportunity to see what we're about when adversity hits in the mouth. And so question for you, what, what would be like a disqualifier though? What would be something that would keep a kid, you know, they get nominated and, but then, you know, at the end of the day, they're just not the right fit for you guys in this time. Yeah, I mean, I guess the best example would be the best, the way I can explain it the best would probably be, um, like throughout the entire year for a leadership council member, like I don't hardly ever. Address the team as a team about the locker room being dirty or, uh, you know, any of those types of like negative things that I don't want to have to like, Uh, communicate in front of the team. That's a conversation that I have with the leadership council. Hey, listen guys, the last, last two days have been pretty embarrassing when we walk in there and we see clothes and stuff all over the floor. We need to go ahead and see if we can fix that. Right. And I use those guys as, as the kind of sounding board for that because it becomes a whole lot different when it's one of your teammates rather than coaches. Golly, coach is always on us. We're always going to pick up this and that, you know, like that kind of thing. So that would be kind of the example and, and kind of like, Do they have the ability to do that? Can they go tell so-and-so that might be the star, five-star dude going off to whatever? Like, can he go and tell that kid that, hey, man, make sure you pick up your stuff before you leave today, please? That'd be great. You know, that kind of thing. Yeah. I'll, I'll tell you a big one. Just, uh, the, the one that really sticks out is we talk a lot about me, my eye guys. And what that means is, um, we really want to make sure that anybody who's approaching this is doing it from a place of service and not, not for the glorification of themselves. And so guys who apply, they're like, you know, what are you hoping to get out of being a member of the leadership council? Well, I want to be in charge so that I can, um, put this on, um, My list of accomplishments and I think that it's going to make me stand out. Um, those are red flags for us because this is Um, you know, it's a, it's a serve. It's a, it's a service group. It's not, it's not a. Power and control group. It is. We're actually going to ask you to do more for your teammates. Um, and take a whole lot less of the, the glory from it. So. Just trying to identify those, those kids who are willing to approach it from, from the angle of I'm here to serve the team. And that sometimes can come out in those questions of what are you hoping to get out of this? How do you see yourself as a member of the leadership council? Because kids will have a tendency to say, like, well, I want to look important to my friends. You know, something to that. Right, right, yeah. So, so those things are definitely red flags. That's good. That's helpful. Okay. So we've got, you've grilled them, you've put them through the ringer, you know, the cream of the crop has risen. And so now. What do you guys do now? What does it look like? You've established your, your leadership council and what's the timeline on that? Are you guys like doing that as we speak? Uh, are you doing that? You know, the first of off season, January timeframe. Well, I actually started. Yeah, go ahead. I'm sorry. No, after you coach. Go ahead. So we will actually start the, the interview process next week. That's what we're doing currently. So we have our nominate, like our nominations. We have. Our videos and all that stuff turned in right now and we're currently in like the sifting process right now and then we'll start scheduling interviews next week for these guys. Gotcha. So, you know, for our listeners tuning in, uh, we'll probably get this out in a couple of weeks. It's April 10th ballpark. So you guys are kind of thinking towards the end of off season, um, guys have probably established themselves during all off season, that sort of thing. You've gotten to kind of see. What you've got working for you for going into the next year. Okay. So they get voted in, uh, at the end of this school year. Now what, what does that look like for y'all? So we actually make a massive deal about it. And, um, And we'll actually bring in one of our You know, one of our foundational members of our program, uh, Alan Franz is, you know, we, we like to call him like our, our team chaplain or a guy that comes and kind of gives us a spiritual element to our, to our team. And yeah, excuse me. Um, And, uh, he'll actually come over and he'll do a big old ta-da. You know, like we're gonna, all right, here we go. We're gonna, uh, What am I trying to say here? We're going to try to announce who the leadership council members are. Yeah. And then so then he'll actually hand them their coins during that time. And it's in front of the whole entire team. And um, you know, we make it a big deal, because it is a big deal, you know. They basically take an oath of service at that point, like. Um, you know, agreeing to like serve the brotherhood in that capacity. Uh, and he addresses all the, all of the points of be real. Like we talked about last time, like, like, right. Serving the brotherhood being giving relentless effort above the line, like establishing that they now have a higher standard, um, Um, then, then everybody else to uphold that and just acknowledging that. And then he talks about like, cause we, we have these challenge coins and when we, when we give the kids. Uh, when, when they are nominated or when they've been presented as a leadership council member. We have these challenge coins and on one side it has just a big double like a double R on one side and the other side it actually has a shield on it and the shield is like representation of like they are The shield to protect the brotherhood. So they're going to uphold and they can to make sure that the they're going to be the representation of our brotherhood. But at the same time, if anybody wants to come and You know, uh, be malicious towards our brotherhood at all. They're going to be the guys that are always going to stand up for it and protect them and protect and protect our values and everything that we do here for, for our, uh, our team and our, and our program. Every coach wants a player led team, but how do you build a player led team? That's the question that led to the creation of the captain's course, a ten week customizable leadership development course for student athletes. The captain's course will equip student athletes to lead their teammates, Promote the growth of leadership skills, create alignment on your core values from coach to athlete, and help build player-led teams. Learn more at www.2words.tv slash captainscourse. I love how you give them something tangible that reminds them of the importance of this role. And I love that. The, the meaning behind the shield, like you, you are here to stand in the gap. You are standing in front of your team to help lead the way and protect them. Yeah. And, uh, you know, we, we were sitting down and we were trying to find a way. To find that one item to be able to represent that and we like there's all kinds of conversations about this or that and we know what can we get them and you know what is what You know, we, we actually did a book study with the leadership council members a couple of years ago and we did row the boat and we were like, let's get them a big old or something, you know, like that kind of thing. And nothing could really, could, could really set. And then. I actually had a conversation with one of the local military members that we have in our community. And, you know, we talked about this like a challenge coin and what that represents and all those types of things. And, uh, then I looked into them and then I started looking into all the challenge coins that, you know, everybody's kind of been handing out here over the last however many years. And, uh, a lot of them had, you know, different You know, figurines and figures and shields and this and that. And so I just actually designed it myself and kind of got it all kind of all together. And there's some symbolism on there too. Like there's some, uh, uh, some symbols on the shield. That represent our core values, which, you know, brotherhood and like we have a couple hands shaking on there and then four to six for us means relentless effort and then. Above the line, and I actually have a line on there that has like, uh, intentional, skillful, and purposeful, like ISF, but ISP, and then on the below it, it's like, uh, BCD, which is blame, blame, complain, defend. And so, like, they, they, that's, The thing that we've encouraged our guys that actually have them is to. It's to, you know, put it on their, on their nightstand or put it on their sink when they get ready in the morning. So they just always kind of a constant reminder of what they represent and what this is important. You know, this is something that, that is, you know, really, really cool that I'm a part of. I just need to make sure I uphold this. This thing that I kind of like, uh, signed up for, you know? Yeah. Well, I love that it's a, it's a, it's a daily reminder, right? Like there's, you know, so, so often we, We think that, you know, maybe a leadership council, a student, a student might in their mind think that, oh yeah, that's that thing I do once a month with coach. You know, there's not a lot of daily thought. There's maybe not a lot of, you know, uh, intentionality behind that. It's just, Hey, we meet with coach and we, you know, we talk about what's going on locker room and maybe we, you know, uh, we get coached up on something, maybe spend a little bit of time on some leadership. You know, character development type stuff. And then we, we go out and then we go do our thing, um, which is play the game. And you guys have designed it and created so much so that it, I mean, they literally applying for a job and then they're treating, they're treating it. They're reminded that this is a Daily job for you guys. I love it. So they're getting rolling, you know, they get voted in end of school year. I imagine maybe their responsibilities start kicking in immediately kind of as they're going into strength and conditioning and over the summertime. They do. We actually do a leadership retreat. We actually get the council, the leadership council together and we'll actually, uh, go off for a couple of days and, and go do some stuff, you know, a little camping trip or something. Um, together and it's usually, I actually, uh, ask a buddy of mine to come kind of MC that whole retreat for us. Uh, his name is, uh, Travis Labhart, shout out Travis Labhart and, and grit ministries. But he comes in, he comes in and kind of like this emcees the whole thing. It's really, really cool and kind of impactful, kind of strips him down a little bit. It's been really good. Throughout the summer, uh, they'll, you know, I just really rely on and lean on those guys to help out with strength and conditioning, make sure all of their position groups and stuff are showing up for strength and conditioning. Um, and then once, and then I also, we also do a book study over the summer. And like I said, a couple summers ago, we did row the boat. That's probably the one that everybody's most familiar with by PJ Fleck. And we would, uh, I had a couple of questions for them, you know, every other week or so that was on a Google doc that, uh, they had to fill in and, Just because, I mean, we're all traveling and they're going to camps and all this kind of stuff that it's hard for us to like find a good meeting space for all of us to be there. So we just had a Google doc that was kind of just rolling with guys's responses on there. And, and, uh, we would just kind of, uh, just talk through those things kind of as it went, as it went. And the questions kind of pertain to the book itself. Um, So we did a book study over the summer and then once two a day starts up, they're, they're the ones that lead all of the camps and stuff too. Like we have a little kid camp. Um, they, they run all of it. I, I, I just facilitate it. And so they're the ones that are having to put things together and logistics and get them signed up and signed in. I mean, they, they run it all. I mean, And they're getting hours for it. You know, they have to have a certain amount of hours to be able to graduate anyway. So, um, they get hours for it. Um, and they're just, it is volunteer hours. Right. Um, but they, they run it, they do it. And they, If they need more help, then they get more buddies to come help. And like I said, um, me and Coach Gash and the offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator, we're just, we're just there to help and kind of make sure that they're kind of staying within the lines, if you will. Yeah. Yeah. Going back to the, the retreat that you guys do, what is kind of the, the higher purpose in your mind? What are you doing? What are you looking for? Is that just, is that relationship building time? Is it, you know, the first, you know, the first time you guys start to, you know, get to go deep, uh, together as a new team, what, what is the purpose or the intention behind that? The whole intent behind it is to actually like get to know each other better. It's crazy to even think this and, And say this, but, you know, our school's so big that our guys don't even know like their siblings' names. Yeah, like other siblings' names. Yeah, or even like, you know, I don't even know. You know, Sean's mom and dad's name or whatever it may be, right? Sure. And so that's the whole, that's the whole meaning behind it and the intent. Um, we want to just get to know each other at a deeper level. Um, I'm included in that and I'll tell you this, you know, even our, um, Throughout that process, there's questions that are asked throughout the entire time and questions like, hey, what, uh, we'll use the name Sean again. Hey, Sean, um, I think that you're the two things that you're really good at are these two things. But I really think that you need to work on this thing for the next. And so like, and it's coming from each kid of each member of the leadership council. So they're able to, to, Hear what these kids are, you know, they're having to communicate like things that they need to grow at. Right. Yeah. So that that's happening throughout the entire weekend. And then at the very end, they also do the same thing, but. I'll tell you the kicker and what got me is I was the final guy that did it. And I sat down in front of those guys and said, hey, shoot, shoot me straight guys. Let me know what I need to do better. You know, as a coach and the, Um, what, what can I grow at? What, what do you need from me? You know, that kind of thing. And Hey, what, uh, what things do you like that I do? And what don't you like that? I think, you know, that kind of thing, but kind of going back to what we talked about last time. You know, it's, it's all about humility and accountability. It's a self reflection, man. Like I want to make sure that I'm here for these guys and it's not anything to do with me. It's not anything to do with my pride. It's none of those things. It's all about them. And, and, and how can I grow these kids to be better? How can I grow them to be better leaders, be leaders, you know? And if they're able to communicate those tough things, you know, in front of their head football coach, which I try to put myself in their seats, you know, when I was their age. There's no way that I'm going to have that conversation with my coach, much less even on the coach's office door. Sure. You know what I mean? Like I was scared. I was scared to do any of those things. Yeah. And I don't, I don't want my, my guys, I say my guys, I don't want any of our guys ever to ever feel that way. You know, I want them to, I want to be approachable. I want them to come to me and, and, and have those honest conversations, especially leadership council members, you know, like, like, There should be no hesitation. So just being able to open up the floor and have those honest conversations during that time was very, very good. And it was good for me. Um, but at the same time, it was good for them because they knew that I wasn't going to sit there and like justify anything that I've ever done or, or snap back at him or any of that kind of thing. It was, it was an open floor. Yeah. Love it. So, you know, the season gets rolling. What does their role look like during the season? How often are you guys meeting? What are you talking about? You know, what does it look like in preparation for game day? Uh, what does it look like on game day? Give us some more context there. So if we can kind of just go through like a week, a week real quick. Um, so a typical game week on Mondays, I always kind of tell them, Hey, Mondays guys, bring your sack of lunch. We're going to have lunch together. So we have lunch together every Monday. And a lot of the time, This is when I'm incorporating all the 2 word stuff. And so like we have the captain's portion, we have like the parent portion, we have the player portion. The coaches portion. So my job on Sunday is to make sure I get the packets out to all the coaches and the coaches are reading the coaches portion and they know what the theme of the week is or the two words of the week is. On Monday, um, I, uh, I hand out the player portion and the captain's portion to the leadership council members. And then I also give all the, the, the player portions all to the players that are, that are also affiliated with our program. Um, but we talk about the captives portion during that time, but we are also communicating who is going to share and who's going to present on Friday during our presentation time. Right. So I get that in front of them and they start talking about, you know, who, who needs to go and go to the front of the group and talk about question number two on whatever questions that are for, you know, because we want everybody to have an opportunity to talk. Gotcha. And so we'll talk about, but the first question every day or every Monday when we have lunch is how we doing, you know, what's, what's, what's the pulse like right now? How y'all feeling? Where's the, You know, how's everybody doing in the locker room? What's, what's everybody's temperature? You know, that kind of thing. Yeah. And that's always a discussion. Sometimes it's good, good, good. Sometimes it's a coach. I think that we need to address this and then we'll have an open conversation. But nothing as far as big, big decisions is not ever made unless I've had that conversation with. The leadership council, but also to like, so we'll, we'll say how we doing. Okay. Moving on. If let's let's let's step two. All right. So what are we wearing on Friday? What would you like? What would you like to wear? Meaning uniform. We want to wear, you know, maroon tops, white bottoms. Okay, good. Sounds good. Uh, what, uh, what next step? Um, I'll go through the itinerary most of the time. Hey, this is what we got. We're actually having a travel this week. This way, make sure that we communicate. Hey, you gotta get your bags packed. Make sure you have all your stuff ready to roll at this, this time. Like, so all the logistical things. That they don't ever think about I'm talking about them. So they understand, like, there's a lot of work and preparation that goes into that. And so they, and hopefully by communicating those things, You're kind of creating this, like, a little bit of appreciation for a lot of the stuff that we do for them, right? But at the same time, like, they're having a prep, too. Like, they're a part of that. So we'll talk about itinerary. We'll talk about what practices look like this week, you know, and then we'll actually talk about game plan some. And just talk about, hey, this is what we really need to, you know, key on on defense. And this is what we got to make sure we accomplish on the offense this week and special teams, this and that. And then I'll kind of open the floor. Anybody want to share anything? Are we good? How's mom and dad? How's the family? Um, and then I always leave them with, hey, make sure you tell your parents you love them and make sure that, uh, you put your phone away at, at dinner time. I mean, just little, little, you know, notes like that. Right. Um, just be intentional when, when, um, you're with your family because guys, a lot of you seniors, man, it's about to be over with. So just, just make sure you, you, uh, take advantage every, every moment, that kind of thing. Yep. That's good. So that's Monday, coach. Keep walking me through it. So Tuesday, um, a lot of it's just follow up, make sure, hey, uh, did you guys get your, uh, your groups, uh, figured out on who's going to speak on, on, On Friday, then on Wednesday, we actually have our little small group time, but we actually do that during the season, too. Like, we'll have a little small group time and the JV guys talk to the varsity guys. And, um, a lot of, a lot of the leadership council guys are, are running those things, but a lot of times our coaches, we're trying to have those conversations with our coaches as well. We don't want the leadership council guys to always be the ones to, to have the, Have the floor. We also want our coaches to be able to have that opportunity too. So they're kind of creating those relationships with their guys. So they're going to go over some of the questions and some of the player stuff and the coaches stuff, uh, from 2 words. And then on Thursday, um, the JV guys actually go and watch Mackey's video for that week. Cool. They're in their, they're in their, their, uh, they're kind of like, uh, swap time. They're in the, they're in the class period. We have some different stuff that we do on, on game days for all the, all the kids. Back when, I don't even, like ten years ago, There's a, um, a personnel check the way that I like to do it. That I incorporated and back then they called it more time. And so I, I, I hate that, but it's still called more time. And so the JB guys are going to, they're going to, we have these things called helmet, helmet checks, more time. And they're going to watch the, the 2 words video. And that's like the whole thing they're trying to accomplish during their class period. We do that same thing with the varsity guys, but on Friday, we also, we incorporate some, some, uh, Alan Fraun stuff. Um, but then we also have, you know, 2 words. We have helmet checks. We have walkthroughs. We have some video, maybe some catching up to do, uh, any of those types of things. But then I meet with those leadership council guys at one o'clock every Friday. It's a part of our itinerary. They, They know they got to be there at one o'clock and we discussed how's the week going? How are we doing? You know, kind of the same format as Monday, but it's like the finished product type meeting, right? Yeah. You know, how do you think practice went this week, guys? You think we're good? You know, how are we feeling? That kind of thing. And then, then we talk about, uh, the captain portion again and revisit that. And then I actually have in addition notes, you know, the things that I've read through or, You know, if I've, I've, I've like read a quote or I heard a quote or whatever it may be. Hey guys, I heard this the other day. Listen to this. This is like exactly where we're at right now. That kind of thing. And the rest of the team comes in and they, and then they do the whole, like, Show out portion. Like I'll, I'll read through all of it out loud and I'll ask, I'll ask the question and that person that's supposed to work on answering that question stands up and they present their question. And, uh, and it's not just the leadership council guys, the guys, the leadership council guys might go like week one or week two. But, um, everybody else, they're supposed to pick a guy in their position groups to, um, to present on Fridays. So we're, it's not just the leadership council. We want to make sure that the importance of this, you know, character building, character training. Whatever you want to call it is, is for the entire team and not just for the leadership council members. Yep. Yep. So, you know, last time we spoke, um, and you've spoken a little bit about today as well, just the importance of, of service, um, for you guys. And so what does it look like for your leadership council to help lead that initiative and serving their community? Um, during the season, off season, whatever the case may be. Well, uh, guess what our, our word of the off season was this year. No, it was actually serve. Yeah. Gotcha. Yeah. So January, January one, we come back in off season and we've built everything around the word serve, just like we did brotherhood the year before. And so, um, These guys that are about to be voted in on, you know, for leadership council, whatever, should have. All the tools and their tool belt to be able to go and serve in whatever capacity they're asked to do. Um, but yes, service is a big deal. And anytime that I ever ask, um, Or we're allowed to, you know, open car doors for elementary kids or even go read. We have a kind of an initiative called Dragon Tales. And so our kids go to our elementary schools and they read to third graders and that kind of thing. It's a big. Really cool initiative that we do for our football team. And then our baseball team call it dragon scales rather than dragon tails. And we read and they do math. But, um, anyways, so our, our leadership council members are in charge of all those things. And so if, if we have, let's say, Hey, we got to go to these three elementary schools on Thursday. Hey, uh, so-and-so, so-and-so, so-and-so, so-and-so, part of the Leisure Council, guys, I need you to pick five guys and I need y'all to be there at seven o'clock and make sure we're opening car doors on this day. And I let them have it. Like, that's them. And it's, and they're there, like, Don't get me wrong. I'll make sure that I go and we, we represent ourselves the right way. We're dressed the right way. We're not out there and flip flops and, you know, warmups, that kind of stuff. Sure. And just make sure we present ourselves in the right, the correct way. Um, but. All those leadership council members for the most part, they know how I roll and they know how I operate. Like, You know, everywhere we go, we represent ourself in a way and like our image is very important, guys. Like, so if you go out there, you look sloppy, they're going to think all of us are sloppy. That kind of thing. So a lot of the guys, uh, kind of uphold that. They do a really good job, but. Yeah, that's theirs. You know, we got opening car doors. You got it. Um, if you, uh, Dragon Tales, the moms, they, a lot of them do that, like the Booster Club moms and stuff. They'll take care of, like, getting the books and all the extra stuff, like the t-shirts and we sign footballs and all kinds of stuff. They'll do that. But the guys that are responsible for putting certain guys in the classrooms and stuff, we allow those leadership council members to, to, to operate that. And that's a full team thing. The Dragon Tells thing is actually a big operation, but that's the entire varsity football team. But I have encouraged the booster club moms that, that run that to really utilize the leadership council members to make sure that those guys are still, you know, leading in those, in those, in those certain areas. Yeah. I think something too, just important to note, like part of the interview. So we talked about the whole process of them. Uh, coming in and being a member of the leadership council, part of the interview, one of the big interview things that we asked them to prep whenever they come in to meet with the panel is they have to bring. Their own recommendations for new service projects, um, to kind of inject things that are important to them. Um, into the service calendar of things that we do. So, so we have some standard things that we do like coach more talked about, but also, um, those guys are expected to bring things to the table and constantly be actively seeking those service opportunities. For things that, uh, uh, that, that we can go, go out and, and do that, that they specifically, you know, want to, uh, participate in. We've done, we've done so many different things, man. Like, yeah, we've got, we've, Like, throughout the summer, we'll even, like, we, our leadership council members have done, like, the 4th of July parade and they've, you know, represented our football team or represented the, like, Round Rock ISD or they went and, like, we have A massive like parade that goes down the middle of Main Street here in Round Rock. And they'll go and like hold the giant balloons like Macy's Day Parade type stuff, you know, just whatever they can, you know, they see a need, they're just going to fill that. Um, but. I mean, anything and everything you think of, we've probably have put our foot in it somehow and, and, you know, dipped our toe in it or whatever you want to say, but, uh, but those, it's a lot of it is, is with those guys leading it and them doing it. Um, now there's a lot of times I'm there just making sure that we're representing ourselves in the right way. But for the first couple, I would say, but they understand how we operate, how we communicate with people, the kind of manners that we work with, that kind of stuff. And then once they got it, they got it and they do a really good job. And I'm actually, I can say that I'm really actually proud of a lot of the leadership council members that we've had over the years. And we have great kids, man. That's another thing too. Like our parents are phenomenal. A lot of times, Uh, it's really easy for me, you know, as, as, as the head football coach, you know, asking these guys to do stuff because a lot of times they know how to act and they know how to operate themselves and, How to represent, you know, something bigger than himself, all that kind of thing. I just end up kind of being the facilitator in a lot of the situations. Gotcha. Yeah. Well, I think it's incredible how much, um, autonomy or, or opportunity that you give these council members. Like you give them Big, big items to run with. And I mean, you give them that freedom, you know, within a framework, you know, as you mentioned earlier that, you know, you're, you're keeping tabs and you're, you got your eyes on them, but you're really giving them a lot of leadership opportunity and. Uh, in, in chance and, you know, and opportunity to, to make a big impact. Yeah. Like I said, I think the, one of the biggest, the best things that I ever heard was, you know, it's, it's a whole lot easier to learn it when you're having to teach it. So, you know, by learning how to be a leader, you gotta be able to do it, man. And put it in motion, put it in action. Yep. Well, coach, um, what would be your advice for, or y'all's advice for listeners that are, that are hearing this outline that you've just laid out incredibly over the last, you know, forty minutes or so? And they're looking at this and you guys have built an incredible and robust program. And maybe a listener's listening to this and they're going, man, like, where do I start? Like, that's a lot. How do I, how do I, how do I do all of that? Or what would be your encouragement to them? Yeah, I'm not going to sit here and say it's not a lot of work, man. It is a lot of work, but I always try to keep the end in mind and like, What is, what are they trying to, to get out of this? Right. And, and what you really need to realize is if I can get them to this step or off the ground in this area, then a lot of the stuff is in a kind of take care of itself. And in turn is going to make Our entire program and culture better. Right. And I, I can say probably, you know, three years ago when we took over this thing, like it's been the first six months and trying to get all this stuff established was, uh, it was a, it was definitely an undertaking for sure. There's a lot, but now that we have established and we just know, Hey, Nope. Our, our whole thing is to try to get the leadership council members established before we start spring football, you know, it's around this day, it's kind of like roughly the end of April. And then it kind of goes from there. Like, we've got it kind of under our belt now, but like the first two years, we've been hustling, man. I'm not going to sit here and say it's like. You know, rainbows and unicorns over here, but it's, that's definitely, you know, something that we've really tried to, to, um, establish because we know how important it is. You know, and I think I, I made a comment last time, like, If you realize how important it is, you're going to spend whatever time you have to spend on it to make sure it's right. Yeah. You know, and, and that is definitely, uh, the example for, or that's, that's exactly the case for, you know, developing the leadership council. Another kind of tidbit, like I was a part of the leadership council when I was at TCU underneath Coach Gary Patterson, right? And being a part of that was an absolute honor. And him choosing me to be on that Um, was, I mean, probably one of the coolest things that I was ever a part of. And a lot of the stuff that I've been kind of pushed forward here is what we kind of did not to the extreme. So at the same time, I'm like, man, what if we did this when I was a part of that, that would have been actually really cool. That's what I started doing. Right. And, and, uh, like I wish there would have been more opportunities for us to do things in that capacity. But, um, you know, I just try to think back on when I was a part of one and, What could I have done, you know, or what can we do to make it better? You know, that kind of thing. And from a practical standpoint, um, I would just say like, ask, like, if you're sitting here listening to this podcast, you're like, man, I love to do that, but I couldn't do it. Get our contact info. Yeah. Send me an email. Like, I'll send you the Google form that we use for nominations. I'll send you the Google classroom that has all of the assignments in it for them to apply and then Uh, you start there and you just, you tailor it to you. It's what we do in coaching. Like you're, you're taking tidbits from here, from there, you know, you're taking somebody's offense, somebody's defense, whatever. Like seek people out who are doing things that you want to do and ask them for resources because all that stuff that we've created. I mean, it's not anything special. It's not going to blow you away, but we can send it to you and it'll be a place to get started. Uh, and you can tailor it to fit what you need. And then you have the framework of finding the candidates. And once you're there, it's just about. Interviewing and going through that process. So, uh, I would say just ask, uh, seek out people, you know, you're, you, you've already taken step one and you're listening, trying to figure out how to do better. Uh, so just reach out to the people who are. Who are doing it the way that you think you want to do it. And we'll be happy to help you. Appreciate that coach. What results have you guys seen? That's oftentimes, you know, we talked about the, and you mentioned it, like this was not an easy lift. This took energy and effort, takes energy and effort every single week. You got to carve time out. You don't have much time, right? You got to commit extra energy and extra time to this initiative and Getting these kids trained up and getting them ready for Friday and getting them ready for, you know, the next thing that they're tackling. So what would you say you guys have seen on the field that helps a listener or a coach that He's listening to this and just like, man, I ain't got the time to do that because I got to focus on the X's and O's. Like we got games to win. So help bridge that gap for those listeners. Well, I'll try, I'll just give an example. Like, we had a kid, and I'm not, you know, gonna say names or anything, but we had a kid that was a tough cookie, man. Like, he really was. And he actually became a part of The, um, leadership council as what we would probably call as like the project kid, you know what I mean? Like the kid that we're going to like invest in. He has the, the, the capability of being a phenomenal leader, but he's just not there yet. But at the same time, like, We really think that he can be special if we can give him some tools. Right. Um, and just kind of the season came, he actually got a personal foul on one of the games. And, and we put coach guys and I pulled in and be like, I pulled him in to the office and had a conversation with him. And we're like, so, you know, first question, why? Like, what would make you, like, represent us that way? But just seeing from where he stepped in to where he is at currently through another offseason and another You know, block of leadership training and character building and all those types of things and being a part of the leadership council and where he's at now. That's like, that's what I'm talking about, man. Like it was, it's been really, really cool. To see that kid grow in areas that he had no clue, you know, like he had no No tools in his tool belt then and now he actually has something where he's he's being a natural leader and it's not something that's forced. He's actually having people follow and And he's, and he's having influence on, on a lot of our kids in a positive way. Um, and so it, it, that's, that's really cool, man. And that's something that, You know, we took a chance. Most of the time, chances don't work, but we took a chance on him and he's actually has, has been doing a phenomenal job. And so seeing stuff like that, it is, it definitely, um, Makes you feel good. Yeah. I mean, and that's why you're in the game, right? Yeah, exactly right. You changed that kid's trajectory. Like you absolutely, you guys absolutely did. And the question I would pose, like in response to your question, what do you see on the field? The question I would pose is, are you going to call a play you didn't rep? You know, you're, if you're expecting to go into a season and you're not going to do anything in terms of training leaders, then you're leaving that completely to chance because your kids are going to lead each other one way or another. There you may luck into positive leadership or you may fall into some really negative leadership, but if you're not working on it, they're going to do of their own volition, whatever they're going to do. So, so you wouldn't call a play you hadn't repped. You wouldn't call, you know, something that you hadn't invested time in. And so you can sit here and say all day, like, we don't have time for this, that, and the other. But if you're not going to practice it, then you're going to leave it up to chance. And most coaches understand that's not a place you want to be. Yep. Hmm. Well, that's good, coach. Anything else that you guys want to share with our listeners regarding the leadership council or just you guys' approach or maybe a different part of the season that we didn't hit on or a different component that's important to you guys that you feel like our listeners need to know? And it's just like we've talked about before, just, uh, you know, just invest in it, you know, just. Um, if you're going to do it, then do it full in, you know? And that's the thing though, like Mackey and two words and you guys have developed all that stuff. It's built, man. It's built. Like if you, if you want to get it, it's off the ground. You can go play by play through all of your resources and the things that you guys have developed and get it It's like introduced to the program. And then once you guys got to get it going, then you can start kind of putting your own two cents in it. But like, that's kind of how. We were needing something. We were needing something to kind of just like a playbook to follow throughout our season. And we've obviously utilized Mackey stuff and y'all stuff that y'all been developing over the last few years. Being able to use the captain's portion has been like spot on for a lot of what our kids needed to hear. And, uh, but that's what I'm saying. Like it's out there. You just got to ask. And if you want to. Any more of that stuff, just like Coach Gash said, like, you just got to reach out, man. We're so willing to help guys out and help people out. We wouldn't have been. We wouldn't be where we are if we didn't have guys reach out and help us, you know, when we had questions and that kind of thing. Love it. Well, gentlemen, thank you all so much for your time today and we'll include your contact information from the last show episode and this show notes as well. Uh, that way if coaches do want to take you up on, on that, uh, they'll be, have a, they'll have a way to reach out to you and connect with you. Again, thank you all for your time. It's just phenomenal work you guys are doing over there. We're privileged. To be a part of it, uh, alongside of you guys and with the curriculum and that sort of thing. And so thank you for who you are and thank you for what you do. Thanks for having us, man. And just like you, you've asked, you said thank you to us, man. No, thank you. Like, thank you for inviting us and having us on the podcast because, uh, this is special to us and I just hope you guys know that. No, well, thank you, coach. Hey guys, one last note before you head off for your day. Over 1400 schools across the nation have or are using one of our curriculums. Are you ready to jump on board? If you want a turnkey program to develop character in your athletes, give us a call at 281-723-9943. We will work with you and your budget to make it as easy as possible. Thanks again for listening to the coach 360 podcast. Now let's have a good one today.