Season 1, Episode 9: The Relentless Mindset Tyler Jones on Earning It Every Day

Episode Transcript
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Coach Matthew (00:00):
Welcome to the Kingdom Guys.

(00:00):
This episode nine ofRoyal Vision Podcast.
Got another basketballplayer for y'all.
So he's a combo guard outtaSpring Mills High School
plays for Adapt Academy.
A U team has been competingat a high level since middle
school originally grew upin Charlestown, currently
lives in Falling Waters.
Just recently won the fourA State West Virginia Boys
Basketball Championship.
Just recently scored 34points up at the Pit Jam Fest.

(00:23):
So without further ado,give it up for thee.
Tyler Jones.

Tyler Jones (00:30):
My God, appreciate your dog.
Yes, sir. Alright, fantastic.

You go.
How's everything going man?
Good man.
How you

been?

Fantastic.
Can't complain at all.
Right off the bat, you'rea basketball player.
Where did you first fallin love with basketball?

Since the age of two, my dad coached
at Jefferson High School.
When he was like in hismid, like early or late
twenties early thirties.
And I just was always beingin the gym, being around a
lot of basketball players,just living in the gym and
I just fell in love with it.

Sure.
. So you said he started offat Jefferson High School?
Yes sir. So that'swhere you grew up?
Yeah.
At Jefferson?
Yeah.
Jefferson County.
So what was it like beingin Jefferson County?

It was just like, I mean it was always just home.
It's why I grew up.
So like I can stillgo back there.
I know all the streets how toget my way, get around like
driving and stuff like that.
So it just feels like home.
It felt like home,

so what ultimately ended up make
causing you guys to leaveJefferson County come over to.
Spring Mill.
So

when I was going into sixth grade my dad got
a call from Luke Samples.
Okay.
And he was like, Hey, you wannabe, be an assistant coach.
And my dad was like, yeah I lovecoaching and stuff like that.
He, I got a younger son too.
He's gonna be in sixth gradeand I have a brother that's
gonna be in fifth grade,so he is bring him up the
program and stuff like that.
Here I am today.
So ultimately, my dad coachingwe found a nice piece of land.
It's it's close to,closer to ville actually.
And we built a house andbeen here ever since.

Cool.
Now, have there been any othersports that you picked up along
the path other than basketball?

Yeah.
In eighth grade Iplayed football.
I had a lot of success.
I played receiver likethat and I always played
baseball growing up too.
I recently started playingbaseball, my PO for the
team, and I played the fieldsometimes, when we're up big.

Yeah.
Yeah.
What's, what do you feellike is the different aspect
that you get from baseballand playing football than
you do from basketball?
What was it that setseparated basketball
from the rest of those?

Yeah, for sure.
Basketball was justkinda like a quick pace.
Like I like that quick pace,like baseball, unless I was
pitching, I was like just likesitting in the field bored.
Oh.
And football, football was fun.
It was a lot of action, butstill just wasn't had it.
It didn't have thebasketball like that I
love go get it on offense.
Go get a bucket, get a stoptalk that talk your trash.
Yeah, just it broughtlike a different I
have like crazy energy.
Yeah.
So I could use thatthe most in basketball.
So I love that a lotabout basketball.

So you feel like you, baseball's kind
of got like a slow pace thatdoesn't match your energy.
You're like one ofthose, Hey, let's go.
Yeah.
Unless

I was pitching I just couldn't like, like
I could be into the game,but unless I was pitching, I
just couldn't find that likeenergy, like that spark, like I
loved like playing basketball.

So what do you feel like are some of the
defining moments early in yourcareer that led you to success?

Yeah, I feel at a young age, like when we
first moved to our new house,we put a basketball hoop up.
And then covid hit.
So like literally all summerI just stay in the driveway
and shoot and shoot and shoot.
Invite my friends over.
We play one-on-one forhours, like from sun up
to sundown, like we justwere playing out there.
And then I played middle school,but I was in seventh grade,
but I played up on eighth gradeteam and I got starting spots.
So like I felt like that reallygot my confidence going and

(03:13):
like I was competing with likeolder kids and I ever since
then, it's just took off.

So you were in sixth grade during Covid?
Yeah.
So how do you feel like Covid.
Really affected your game andaffected your mindset today?

Honestly I feel like for me, it helped me
a lot because it was likecovid, like you're gonna
either make it or break it.
So like a lot of kids, stayedinside play video games, just

yeah,

didn't work out.
But for me it was like, no,like I'm gonna go out here,
I'm gonna work out, I'mgonna shoot a lot of shots.
Even at at a young age,like not doing like
all the physical, likeweightlifting, stuff like that.
'cause I was younger, but likejust putting up shots, keeping
that daily grind going or justgetting up shots, trying to
compete against my buddies,my friends just staying in
the gym and, staying, gettingreps up and stuff like that.

So what was your motivator?
To not be like the crowd andyou stay inside, eat a whole
bunch of junk food and actuallygo out there and put in work?

Honestly, the last dance the Michael Jordan
documentary on Netflix, itcame out right when Covid hit.
Yeah.
And I was like, Iwanna be like that.
I wanna have thework ethic like that.
I wanna have the determinationto drive like that.
And yeah, that justand my dad too.
My dad was like, Hey,you're gonna right here.
It's gonna make or break you.
You gonna keep workingor you gonna do this?
Like I just feel likethose motivators in my life
like just really helped.
And ultimately I wanted it too.

(04:21):
'cause I wanted to bethe best of my ability.

So what's one lesson you took away
from the last dance?

From the last dance, I would say his work
ethic and like the way he stayedon his teammates, like he didn't
try to just be the best player.
He wanted his teammatesaround him to be good so
they could have a good team.
'cause he can't win achampionship by yourself.
Yeah.
Like he was thegreatest of all time.
But you can't win achampionship by yourself.
The way he made his teammatesbetter, like the way he
pushed 'em at practiceand stuff like that.
I think that's thebiggest lesson I took
from the last day for

sure.
It was a reallygood documentary.
Seen it multiple times,but just, and then when you
learn about the flu game, notreally being the flu game.
That's crazy.
Yeah.
That's nuts.
Somebody like that didsomething to his pizza.

Yeah.
That's crazy.
And like he, he's, 'cause hewas so hungry, it was like
two in the morning he spenton it so no one else could
have and eat the whole pizza.
Wake like three in the morninghe's puking and he's oh it's,
he sold it up and had 37 points.
Something like,yeah, it's crazy.

So how do you feel like your upbringing
and your environmentinfluenced your mindset today?

Yeah my parents, they always
taught me like hard work.
Like they're not gonna likejust gimme me everything.
And I grew up in a Christianbased home, so we all
stayed in church and solike going to church on
Sunday is non-negotiable,so I feel like that really
like the non-negotiablesin your life, like working
hard, putting family in Godfirst and stuff like that.
Really it helped, createmy drive and just, to stay,
always stay positive andkeep a strong work ethic.

(05:31):
My parents just instilled in meat a young age and just carried
with me throughout my life.

So how do you feel like religion's
had an impact on yourmindset in your life?

Oh, for me, Jesus, and God, they,
they're my number one.
I wanna be who I am todaywithout them, they just keeping
them the front point makeseverything else so much easier.
Tough decision.
I'm not gonna stress about, I'mgonna go to God, pray about it.
I think when you prayabout it and you meditate
on it, it really helps.
So I think a lot ofbig decisions like
come to Spring Mills.
Just stuff like that.
Like I went toGretty for a year.

Yeah.

But I prayed about that and honestly
that was God's plan.
We got a, a six foot nineforeign exchange brother
from the Congo of Africa, andhe'll be my brother forever.
I wouldn't have gotthat without, going to
Gretty and getting him.
It wasn't like abad year for me.

Yeah.

I miss my friends, I miss my school,
but, God had a bigger planto get Caleb, so and now I'm
back and I'm doing great.
Ultimately it was his plan.
So just trusting in God, Ithink's the big, been the
biggest thing for me and justdecisions, not leaning on just
myself, but leaning on God.

So you talk about you were at Goretti,
what ultimately did causedyou to switch to Goretti,
but then eventually switchback to Spring Mills?

Yeah.
Going to spring MillsMiddle, and being with the
high school, like workingout with them and stuff, I
just, Gretty came calling.
They came and watched a lotof middle school games and
a lot of, a u games thatsummer and they, they wanted
me pretty bad, so I waslike, my dad talked about it.
He was like, it mightbe a good opportunity.
We'll go here for a year.
We were planning to gothere like my full four
years, but it shut down.
Yeah.
And I wanted to come backtoo, but honestly, I think

(06:54):
it's just God at that point Idon't know why I went there.
Like I was stilllike, on the fence.
Yeah.
But I think it's just God,honestly, I had no idea we
were gonna get Caleb andthen looking back on it
now, like it's just God.
Like I can't really sayanything else about it.
It's just God, gettingkilled and stuff like that.
Yeah.

So you're talking about, so Caleb
plays a Towson, doesn't he?
Yeah.
So how, what lessons do you feellike you've learned from Caleb?
What do you feellike he's taught you?

I've learned so much from him.
Just he's a hard worker.
His faith is unbelievable.
Three years ago he was inthe Congo of Africa, had
no idea, not having thebest living situation.
If there's a war in Congoright now, it's still going on.
And, just not knowing when heis gonna get his next meal,
when he is gonna get his nextchance to play basketball.
Just his faith isjust it's insane.
And he just teaches me to,always be humble because it

(07:34):
could be way worse like inthe when you're at drill low,
so could be an even lower.
So just, just to stay faithfuland stay humble and, just always
be thankful for what you have.
I think he's taughtme the most with that.

Do you feel, so what, at this point in
your life, I know you're17, but, or 18, right?
Yeah, I just turned 18.
Yeah.
Okay.
So what do you feel has beenlike the lowest point up
to this point in your life,and what do you feel like
you've done to overcome that?

Honestly, I feel like the lowest point
would be, going to like togore and like just missing
all my friends and likemissing like the, that Friday
night and atmosphere like.
And seeing all them likejust play and without me,
like I feel like I let themdown, 'cause like I left,
like I should be there withthem working hard with them.
I feel like a lotof my friends down.
So I just felt likethat's so selfish.
I left my friends thatwe've been working with
since middle school.
Yeah.

(08:20):
I would just I felt sodown at that time, like
I let them all down.
Like I go hang out with 'em,be like, man, like I just feel
bad like I left, but like Ican't do anything about it.
And looking back on that,I still, God, got Caleb
and stuff like that.
But.
Just probably that, justseeing my friends like out
there playing and me justlike feeling, I just felt so
selfish going to Gretty, likeI felt like leaving them out.
That was probably thelowest point I would say.

Do you think it's possible you just took
a chance on yourself andit ended up working out?

I think, yeah.
It's that I did take a,I did take a yes and no.
'cause like my parents werealso like, they were pushing me
to go that route a little bit.
But yeah, I was confident,like the grads are great, at
playing a good conference.
But I feel like yeah.
I knew I could do that.
I'm a com I'm a competitor.
But at the end of the day,I just miss like that Friday
night light atmosphere.
Yeah.
And playing with my friends.
Just nothing like it.

I get it.
But what do you feel like youlearned from Gretty the most?
Where do you feel like your gameevolved in that year or two?
At Goretti?

Honestly, it involved like the, the
fire playing with pace,it's so quick down there in
the Catholic League, likethose kids are different.
Like you got, you're playingagainst three or four
stars night in, night out.
So just, ramping your gameup and you can't take,
it's either sink or swim.
You gotta go inthere, you gotta play.
So probably just, playing hardat competing and never getting
never just like staying,always gotta be alert, always

(09:33):
gotta know what's going on.
Probably just that, thepace the speed of the
game probably sp up.

So what are some challenges you feel like
athletes commonly face in theirearly stages of their career?

Yeah, I feel like when you're younger,
you only get older guys.
You're getting beat up, you'regetting bullied, you're getting
the guys like, I feel you,you gotta take that, you gotta
take that on the chest andbe like, look, I'm younger.
I gotta still compete.
But I feel like a lot ofkids get down themselves
'cause they're not doingas good as the older kids.
Yeah.
I personally did that'cause I get upset.
I'd be like, dang,I can't do that.
I can't do this.
But I'm like, I'monly in middle school.
These kids, theseguys are high school.
So I feel it's good to goagainst older competition

(10:02):
because you see whatyou gotta bring to the
table as you get older.
But don't get down yourselfbecause that's a lot
of athletes who'll justget down to themselves.
I can't do that.
I can't do that.
No.
You're just younger.
You know what I'm saying?
So just don't get downon yourself if you're,
getting, getting beat up atpractice and you're younger.
Just keep going.
'cause you'll get there.

Oh, it's the perception of what's it called?
Experience.
Yeah, experience.
They just had more experience.
Yeah.
More experience at that point.

Yeah.

How do you feel like personal experiences
outside of sports have shapedthe way an athlete competes?

Yeah, so so you're talking about
like outside of like

Yeah.
So like personal experiences,so anything outside of the
sports that you feel like reallyshaped the way that you compete.

Yeah.
Me and my dad, like whenI was younger, like we'd
always work out like.
Outside just so like our teamand stuff we just go on runs,
go to the gym and, I feellike he installed that in me
you can't do not whatever.
You don't quit.
Keep, just keep going.
And so I feel like that, liketo the game and to like my
team practice, stuff like that.
Like always beingthe hardest worker.
He's every time I come over forpractice, he'd be like, did,

(10:56):
were you the hardest worker?
And I'd be like, yes or no?
He's be honest.
Were you the hardest worker?
So I feel like just, having mydad like install that in me and
just the work ethic and stufflike that just really helped me.
With like practices andgames just to go the hardest

because I noticed when you're at practice, you,
especially training sessions,you and Quai, you guys are
always going back and forth.
Yeah.
Trying to outwork one another.
And another thing is the gym.
So you you're always inthe gym, get, explain that.
And I feel like you don'ttake any days off, right?
Really, ever.
No,

I'm always working like, I keep a bow in
my locker, so after baseballpractice, I'll go and shoot
for an hour and a half.
Just always trying to find waysto get better, if I struggle
with something like thisweekend, I'll go I'll go, hone
it in and the gym will work onthat for an hour and a half.
I just feel like when you'rein the gym and you prepare
yourself, there's not a betterfeeling going to the game
when you're feeling prepared.
So if I don't prepare myself,I'm just, slacking off.

(11:44):
Just not going to thegym, just doing like
the least amount I can.
I don't feel prepared, going,prepared, going to the game.
But if I'm in the gym forhour and a half a day,
lifting, I feel strong.
I feel ready to go in the game.
Yeah.
So ultimate that's gonnahelp me play better.
That's just my mindset.

So what aspect of training do you like more?
Do you like the weightaspect or do you enjoy the
basketball fundamental aspect?

That's tough.
I love being in the weightroom because I like seeing the
gains, but I feel like there'snothing better than just working
hard, getting like a good sweatin just keep going and like
getting shots up with your boys.
There's just, or being inthat gym at nine o'clock at
night, only one in there, ballbouncing, you're sweating.
There's just not abetter feeling than that.
So I feel like.
I love lifting weights, but,basketball's my first love.
So being in the gym, gettingshots up, honing in your game,

(12:27):
like just feeling efficient.
There's no betterfeeling than that.
I'll say it's definitely,the fundamental aspect of it.

So walk me through a, how many days a week
do you train or do you out too?

I try to go, I try to go every day and try
to like just lift on Sundays.
So like sometimes I'llplay pickup on Sundays,
but I try to go every day.

Okay.
So you try to lift every day?
No.
Or just,

just, I try to get in the gym every day.
Like with basketball, shewas on my house, but I lift
four to five days a week.

Okay.
So let's just say todaywhere you're lifting and
you're getting into the gym.
Walk me through, that trainingsession into the, then the
gym fundamental session.

Yeah.
I'll either go to the extremewith my buddies, Bradley and
Ryland, I say and we'll justget like away either whatever,
like we're on, like chest,legs, back, whatever we're on.
We'll hit that and then,just depending if I have
baseball practice, not likeI have baseball practice.

So

Let's say we have school I baseball practice, I'll
go to baseball practice, I'llget get changed and then after
practice I'll go into to thegym and just shoot for an hour
and a half work on finishing,shooting and ball handling
and try to get 150 shots up.
And then I'll work onball hand for 20 minutes.
Okay.
So that's what I do basically.

And where do you feel like, how long
have you been doing that?
How long has that beenyour, like regime?
Your

Yeah every time I get in the gym I've been just
trying to, whatever I feel likeI need to work on that day.
I don't have a set schedule,just whatever I need to work on.
I feel like that, honestly,since middle school.
Since middle school, yeah.
Since middle school.
Yeah.

That's cool.
That's good.
I, there's not a lot of kidsthat do that and then so what
would you tell the kids thatwant to do something like that,
but don't know how to start?

Honestly, it just.
It starts with findingyour motivation.
What's your reason?
What's your why?
And 'cause the best, ifyou don't have motivation
to do that, then thereit is not gonna, you're
not gonna work hard.
Yeah.
So find your motivationfirst, and then just, if
it's not gonna be pretty atfirst, you're gonna struggle.
You're gonna, you're gonna feeltired, you're gonna feel weak.
But 'cause I felt the same way,but you just gotta keep going.
'cause once you get toget consistent you'll

(14:21):
start to feel the, thegains and stuff like that.

So you're talking about whys?
What are your whys?

My whys?
I want to.
God gave me the talent, so Iwant to use, I wanna use it.
Like I, I'm not just gonna, hegave me a tool, so I wanna use
it to the best of my ability.
Honestly, God gave me thisbody and this, this work
ethic, so I wanna use that.
And my dad, I wanna make my dadproud, like I, yeah, he's had
so much influence in my lifeand, I wanna make him proud too.
So that has a lotto do with it too.

I get though, I get that, I get,
wanting to be the best.
Yeah.
Or, the most valuable outthere and make an impact.
For your family, for everybody,that means something to you.
Yeah, I get it.
I understand.
So what lessons from yourpast have helped you succeed
in both sports and in life?

Yeah.
I feel like I've been like,a little cocky at sometimes
and people don't like that.
Middle school man,I was so cocky.
Like I wouldn't always likeI knew I was good, but I was
just, I would boast and Iit just wasn't like, and I
can tell it's making peoplemad and stuff like that.
So I feel like the biggest thingfor me, just staying humble.
Learn, like learning frommy past, being cocky,
doing all this, all that.
But just let your game talk.
You don't gotta, you don'tgotta boast, you don't gotta

(15:21):
be out there, trying to, showkids up all the time, just let
your game talk and people likethat more in the long run.

I get that.
I understand.
I think sometimes people confusecockiness with confidence.
Yeah, for sure.
I think that's the biggestmisunderstanding there just.
I can go, I being cocky isHey, I'm better than you.
I'm this, I'm that.
I feel like confidenceis no I'm pretty good.
I know that I'm good.
I know the value that I bring,so I'm just gonna own it.

(15:47):
Yeah.
I feel like when youseparate, just being from
talking about it, it's,there's a big difference.
Yeah.
So how do you feel likeathletes develop a strong
mental game, and why do youfeel like that's so important?

Mental game's huge.
Especially in baseball.
I'm just gonnastart with baseball.
Like a good a good day atthe plate is one for three
and that's only one hit.
Yeah.
And you can strike out one timeor you can pop out one time.
Like that's getting one hit.
That's a good day.
But you could stillbe, I only got one hit.
Slow down yourself.
Like you gotta keep that.
You gotta keep thatmomentum going for
your, from your one hit.
So baseball is it's huge.
But for basketball, I feel likethe biggest mental thing is,

(16:20):
don't get caught up in the game.
People are gonna trash talk.
People are gonna, say this, thecrowd's gonna have a huge you're
playing in front 2000 fans,crowd's gonna be yelling at you.
Stay locked in, stay with yourboys, stay with their teammates.
Especially, playing down inCharleston and that state
championship game, peoplescream and people yelling.
You gotta stay with your boys.
Just stay calm, stay poised.
And just having that strongme Melo game where focus
on your plays, focus on thescout, execute everything,

(16:41):
and you win games.

So you talk about like trash talk and
you said that use trash talk.
So what is the motivatorbehind trash talk?

That's just how I've always played.
Like especially if I'm playingsomeone like, I'm not really a
huge of, I'm gonna go after him.
I don't want him to be able tosay that he got the best of me
that game, so I'm gonna, I'mgonna talk my trash, especially
a couple games I can go back on.
And, I talked to pretty bad.
I would probably apologizeto 'em for what I
said at the time now.
But, it's just I don'twant them to say they had

(17:10):
a better game than me, soI'm gonna do whatever I
can to get in their head.
I'm gonna trash talk,I may go play I'm gonna
tell 'em about it, okay.
So that's just howI'm gonna approach it.

So I feel you're pretty cool with B Swan.
So is that like a goat,like one of your favorite
games to play in?
Yeah, I like becausehe went to Jefferson.
I like

playing against B Swan, but that's my, I
was with him last night.
Yeah, we just played him on lastnight, but we just joke around.
Yeah.
We don't reallytrash talk much, but.
I just joke aroundwith them, but I like
playing against Muslim.
Em, I have a lot of likeMuslim men, like a lot of
kids I'm not a huge fan of.
So that's my, that's a big game.
I'm like, I'm gonnatalk my trash this game.
I look forward to that.

And how do you feel like that Mo like
talking trash, how do youfeel like that motivates you
to play better or just bemore consistent out there?

It's just I'm not letting you score and I'm
gonna score on you every singletime so I can talk my trash.
'cause I know exactlywhat I'm gonna say.
I talk my trash, butI gotta execute first.
So I'm like, I don't execute,I can't talk my trash, I gotta
execute, get a couple buckets,make a couple good defensive
plays just so I can talk.

And so one thing that I recognize
is, so last summer.
I feel like you wereconsistently out there,
consistently starting, then youget to the season and you're
not getting all the minutesthat you got during the summer.
Yeah.
How did you maintain astrong mindset in order to
still produce when you'reout there on the court?

Yeah, for sure.
Honestly, it was justbeing engaged just falling
in love with the team.
Like not wearing on myself,just, getting with the team and
like just having my boys backand like when my name's called,
go out there and do my thing.
But we had such a good team.
We had a lot of seniors, sobeing the sixth man, some
games started and beingthe sixth man just coming
there, bringing the energy.
Hitting shots, playing gooddefense, hyping my guys up.
Just, honestly playing my role.
And it worked out.

It did.
So getting to playing thestate championship game, walk
me through that experience,

man.
That was, I've beentoo, and it's a once
in a lifetime myself.
Didn't play much.
But this year wasdifferent 'cause I knew.
I knew we had to get itdone for the seniors,
for CT, Loki, chase Max.
Like I knew we had toget it done for them.
Just being in there, being inthat environment I cannot let my
boys, graduate without a ring.
Yeah.
So there was like eitherwin or that's Yeah,
like we have to win.
There's no question like,we gotta win this game.

Yeah.
Where do you feel like.
Where do you feellike you made the most
impact during that game?

Probably like on the boards, I think I
grabbed three big rebounds.
That I didn't even scorethat game actually.
We only hit 2, 2 2 threesand Max hit one and chase it.
Me and Quay and Loka, ourbest three pointers all
here didn't even hit one.
Yeah.
Probably on defensive end andjust rebounding honestly, my
energy, on the bench and likecoming in the game and just,
just playing big spot minutes.

So everybody always talks about, especially
with basketball, your pointsand how much you score, but.
How do you see the hardworkingthings like the rebounds,
the assists the unself, theunselfish things make a bigger
impact than just the points.

Yeah.
It's like the linemen infootball, like the linemen
of football get no love,but they do they block for
the Cuba, they build theholes for the running back.
It is it's kinda likethe unknown work, but
you gotta do it to win.
Yeah.
So you're not gonna get torecognized for, grabbing five
rebounds, having to assist icepasses, setting your guys up.
But.
It's gotta be done.
And I feel like with myenergy, it helps me a lot.
Staying active on the glass,making the right pass, being

(20:00):
in gaps, getting a deflection,the sealer too, just helps
change the whole game honestly.

What strategies, how badly stay focused and
confident under pressure?

Honestly, just, staying locked in.
Don't, do not payattention to outside noise.
'cause once you start payingattention to that crowd.
There's gonna be ahundred different things
going through your mind.
I gotta impress him, Igotta impress this, I gotta
do that, I gotta do this.
Just staying with your guys,staying with your team,
communicating on defense.
Talking on defense.
Just so you know, likehaving communication on
the court helps you staylocked in the game because
if you're, like, if you'relocked in the game, talking

(20:32):
to your guys, you can't lie.
You can't be like,you're in Gap.
No.
You're in help because you'retalking, you're like, I'm a gap.
I'm a gap.
I'm a gap.
I'm gonna help.
I'm gonna help.
And I help.
You're just worried about,you're worried about your
team, making sure everybody'sin the right place.
You're not worriedabout the outside noise.
So that's what helps me.

So how do block out the outside noise?
What what strategiesdo you go through?
Because, sometimes externalpressures they can get to you.

Yeah.
The strategy I use isthey're on the sidelines.
They bought a ticketto watch you play.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So don't worry about them likethey're here watching you play.
So just honestly just play.
Just play.
Let play loose.
Play with emotion,not emotionally.
Sam was also said thatplay with emotion.
So like you're playing hard,you're playing with emotion.
Don't play emotionally,don't want the emotion
to get the best of you.
So yeah, like they paid towatch you play put a show on for

(21:11):
them, but don't listen to what,don't listen to what they say.

And also, I know most athletes,
they have a game, pre-gameroutine that they go through
in order to get prepared.
So what's your pre-game routine?

Yeah, I having fun in the locker room with
the guys, getting hype.
I listen to some music,but normally we have
the speaker playing.
The music, some candybefore the game, gets,
get some sugar in you.
Honestly, like just goingcr, just yelling, screaming,
banging heads off lockers.
Just get as much energy asyou can, like just getting
fired up, pulling a littlebit of trash when you go out.
That's just settingthe tone, honestly.
That's the best thingI can put it that way.

So one thing I noticed is you have a different
approach to the game than mostplayers, I feel like you're
one of those people where it'slike you like to get hype.
Yeah.
You like to get full of energy.
Yeah.
Most other players.
They like, I like calm music.
Like to be relaxed.
What?
Why is that?
I just,

I can't play I can't play calm.
If I'm like, calm before thegame, I feel like I'm just
like lackadaisical and tired.
I like, I have to get upfor each and every game.
Like I gotta, bang my headoff a locker, punch a locker,
run a couple sprints, justget up and I can't play calm.
I gotta be, I gotta belike shaken a little bit.
Almost.

Almost.
What?
Like you just,

yeah, you just can't wait to get out there.
Yeah, like you just.
Something in me just, Ican't play calm, I gotta
get up for this game.
I can't, like if it's a,like we're playing like
an not a good team, I'llmake something up my head.
He said this about me,or he said this about my
mom or he made this up.
I'll just go after oneguy and just, he just set
my mind on that and I'mjust crazy from the jump.

So giving yourself a reason to
go out there and punchsomebody in the face.
Yeah.
Got pretty much,

yeah.
Yeah, that's what I gotta do.

I get it.
But pre-game meal, do youhave any, I know normally
they make you guys food,but what would your be
your go-to pre-game meal?
My go-to,

honestly.
The best meal.
We probably thisyear, chicken alfredo.
Chicken Alfredo.
Oh my gosh.
Not too much, but thatwas probably the best
meal we had all year.
And that was probably my go-to.
We had it like twoor three times.

Okay.
That,

and then I gotta get like a pack of Skittles
or starboard or somethinglike that before the game.

So what is it behind the candy?
The

candy.
I just, I like to get somethingfresh, a little bit of sugar
going through your blood andjust taste good for the game.
It calm you downa little bit too,

because I never, I was always one of those
athletes where it's like.
Yeah.
I can't eat candy before a game.
Yeah.
I can't eat.
I eat Chinese one time it didn'tgo over well but I've always
been like I don't wanna sayjealous, but curious like how
athletes can eat that beforea game and still go out there
and just perform their best.

Yeah.
I feel like there'sthere's a balance.
You can't eat like a wholelike, big pack of gummy
wordss before the game.
Yeah.
Because then you're justgonna be, you're gonna be
cramping and stuff like that.
I feel like a little packof Skittles or like a little
pack of like starburstis not gonna kill you.
So it's having the balanceonly too much, but don't
eat too little, okay.
Just find like a good medium.

So then once you step on that court,
do you have any pre-gamerituals or superstitions
when you're out there?
Or is it

In warmups I'm yelling.
I'm screaming.
Nah, not really.
I just go out there andplay just get hyped,
just get excited.
I don't really have anypre-game, like they're like
LeBron, like Tyler, they don'treally have any something.
I don't really haveanything like that.
I always before I go tothe court, I always like,
handier, point to God.
Just 'cause that.
Yeah.
And during the nationalanthem, I always pray.
Okay.
Until the, until it's over.
I always pray for myteammates just to be safe
and for us to get a winand keep me safe during

(24:00):
the game, stuff like that.

That's awesome.
So how do you feel likeathletes build resilience after
a tough loss or a setback?

Yeah down at the Greenbrier, we had
obviously a lot of peopleknow, we got, we didn't have
the best trip down there.

Yeah.

Lost to Morgantown lost our coach.
So like we were the, wewere at the lowest of lows.
We were still second rateteam in the state, but man,
we were like, we were low,like the morale was down.
Guys were like, what'sgonna happen next?
This, that, honestly, juststaying focused and just
keep working hard and knowingthat you have a good team.
You're just havinga little setback.
You're in the valley there'sgonna be, there's gonna be
mountains, there's gonnabe valleys all year long.

(24:34):
And that was probablythe lowest valley room
was after the Greenbriar.
Losing to Morgantown andhaving all that, scandal.
Just, there was so much media onus, but for the wrong reasons.
Yeah.
So as a, teenager, it'sa lot for a kid to, say,
hearing this about youdid this, you did that.
Like just honestly, stayinglocked in, staying within
your guys, within yourlocker room and just getting
the next one game by game.

So the Royal Vision Podcast, it's sponsored
by Trophies Plus here inMartinsburg, West Virginia.
If you're looking for sublimatedmugs, trophies, awards,
or even embroidered hats.
Go to Trophies Plus inMartinsburg, West Virginia
to go cop all those needs.
So with all that externalpressure, all that external
noise, how do you maintain,your own sense of identity

(25:15):
despite all these thingsbeing said about you?

Yeah it's we know we didn't act the
best, people are throwinglike stuff on top of that.
Like they were throwinglike crazy allegations
that none of us did.
And it was just honestlyjust like laughing at
it and like moving on.
Alright we're gonna showyou what we're really about.
And then we came back,we didn't lose a game.
We beat Hanley.
Yeah.
After we beat Hanley, Ithink in the locker room.
Like we knew like, allright, we got this.
Yeah.
We're like, we're back.

(25:37):
That was like our get back game.
Like Hanley, like therewas over 3000 fans there.
Gym was packed.
Standing room only.
And like we were like,this is our game.
This is the time toget back for our team.
I think we, the guys wentout and played great.
Everybody had a great gameand we were so locked in.
We went by four Points andthey, that was the team that
was leading, that was the numberone team in Virginia Yeah.
At the time.
So like that was a hugelike statement win for us.

(25:58):
So I feel like after thatgame we really locked back in
and we're like, we got this.

Because that was at a point after there
had been like a couple weeksof snow, so there hadn't
been a lot of basketball.
Yeah, it got pushed back twice.
Yeah.

Yeah.
Two reschedules.
Yeah.

And that game, you guys even went
into overtime in that game.

That game was nuts.
Yeah.
It was wild.
Yeah.

So what role do you feel like self-talk
and internal dialogueplay in performance?

Talking to yourself like, especially I
always had a hard time like,like memorizing the plays.
So I would always like,especially like plays like
drawn up for me or like Igotta be in a certain spot.
Talking myself, likethrough what I'm gonna do.
Like I'm gonna do this here,I'm gonna do this here.
I'm gonna be in your gap.
I'm gonna be in help.
I'm gonna cut hereto open him up.
Like just, talking tomyself about what I'm gonna
do, like always thinkingthe next play ahead.
So just stuff like that.

(26:40):
And then talking toyourself like, you got this
like he can't check you.
Stuff like that, just talkingto yourself can always help.

So what are your go-to mindset, rituals
in order to pick yourself upafter, let's say you missed
a couple shots in a row.
Yeah.
Maybe, you gave up acouple turnovers or,

yeah.
My dad always said he was like,shoot or shoot till you're on.
So just keep shooting.
Like I missed a couplethrees early, just, keep
shooting the next one.
You start inside, get a layup,get a get to the free throw
line, hit a midrange, thenstep it back out to three.
So just work in and work out.

So find a versatility, if this isn't
working, then let me go tomy next part of my game.
Yep, yep.
So how do you create that allaround game to where even if
something isn't hidden here, oh,I still got this to back me up.

Yeah, you can, you can always have offense on
offense, but never on defense.
You can never be off on defense.
So co a coach Leighton alwayssaid he is you're nervous,
get out there on defense.
So picking up full court,playing a hard D that's gonna
lead to, getting open shotsand just having the confidence
you're gonna make the next shotmentality, next play mentality.
Just keeping that confidencehigh, not getting down on
yourself and just lookingto make the next play.

So where do you feel like the most fear
shows up in basketball?
Is it fear of not scoringon offense or the fear of
giving up points on defense?

I feel like the fear of giving
up points on defense.
'cause that's likeletting your team down.
I. If you're giving up ablow by middle, you're like
letting your team down.
That's you.
That's, if you're guardinga guy on the perimeter,
that's like minorlyamount, you gotta stop him.
So I feel like for me, likeI'm, I don't want to I know
I'm gonna score on offense,like I'm gonna score, but like
defensively, like I'm, I alwaysgotta stay sharp on, on defense.
'cause you ain'tplaying defense.
You can't play, yeah.
So that's.

(28:08):
That's my mentality on that.

So when you're on defense, what's your mentality?

Yeah.
It's just stay infront, play hard.
Always talk, alwaysgotta talk on defense.
Let my man know I gotyour gap, I got your help.
And just force the guy,like if a guy's like
struggling going left,they're struggling on right.
Force him to his nondominanthand and then cutting 'em off.
And like a lot of guys are like.
If he's, if he canshoot and he's in the
corner, you gotta stunt.
You can't leave him too much.
Yeah.
So just knowing you're, thepersonnel, you're playing,

(28:33):
I think helps a lot too.

Now you play, you just recently played
in Pittsburgh's Jam Fest.
Yeah.
A hoop group.
And you've got you're playingagainst the best competition.
How do you feel likeyour defense showed
up the best out there?

Honestly, being in like.
A lot of teams were bigger thanus being a help, helping, like
helping down rotating backside,just like getting steals, like
on the counters and what theywould spend, attacking that.
The attacking the ball,just putting pressure, like
getting up in the guard.
Don't let 'em have any,like free, nothing's free.
Everything's gotta be contested.
It's just, putting pressureon the ball probably.

And where do you feel like you
excelled the most up there?
Like, how do you, whatimpact do you feel like
that had on your life?
Yeah.
Or on basketball in general,

Scoring for sure.
Scoring.
Like I had 34, the onegame, then 20 the next
game, just scoring the rock.
But honestly, like my teammates,they set me up a good spot.
We have a really good team theywere setting me up in spots, I
was picking my shots, pickingmy spots, just, yeah, probably
scoring the rock for sure.

And so going out there at Hoop Group, you got all
these college coaches, collegescouts, a lot of exposure, but.
Where do you feel like youshowed up and the people that
I guess were meant for you,or the God planted for you
just naturally showed up?

Yeah.
I feel like it wasthat third game.
It was we had twogames the night before.
We lost.
Lost both.
Lost first game by five.
Second Game I won to DovGold, which was a huge game.
They have a really good teamand we could've won that game.
We should've won that game.
But just bouncing back, goinghome, getting something to
eat play at 11 o'clock gettingup, getting your mind right.
You, I got a shower, just gotup and said, God, use me today.

(30:04):
If it's my dayto, it'd be great.
It is.
If not, that's okay too.
I was going the game witha good, fresh mindset.
And we got off to a slow start.
The first, I think it was like16 to four, and I was like,
we're not losing another game.
We're not losing another game.
So just, refusing to lose,like not wanting to lose.
I'm gonna do anythingI can to win.
And, God put me in the spot.
A lot of coaches hit thegame and had a good game.

So what are some common mental challenges
that you feel like athletesface throughout their career?

Confidence.
Losing confidence if like you'replaying and like you're not
getting a lot of minutes, youthink you should be playing,
but you're not having a couplebad games, injuries, like injury
after injury, that, that sucks.
Like I know for a fact like.
Like I'm, my ankle washurt, like all last summer.
It sucked, but I hadto play through it.
I was like, I was alittle bit slower.
Some games like, justcan this just go away?

(30:51):
But like just, stayingpositive, always no,
there's, it could be worse.
Like it could be worse.
So just not feeling badfor yourself and just,
always having that nextgame, next play mentality.

So where do you feel like in your
career, do you feel likeyou faced the biggest mental
challenge that you overcame?

Probably, come off the bench, I came off last
year and I came off the bench.
Like some games.
Some games.
I started the same thingthis year, but I was
mainly sixth man this year.
So that I could have beena starter, like I knew
that, but it was justlike, don't be selfish.
Don't be like, oh, poor me,I'm not starting this, that,
just be there for your guys andI'm gonna get my minutes, so
make the most of it and showthe coach why I could start.

(31:27):
Just stuff like that.

So I know that now with the new
transfer rule where you know,you get your one transfer
regardless of where you live.
How do you feel like that'shad an impact on those
kids that didn't play attheir previous school?
Yeah.
What are your thoughts on that?

I think it's, I think it's good and bad.
Like I think it, itdoes hurt some programs
like losing some kids.
If the program struggling, yougot a good kid ear, you lose
him, then you're just stuck.
And 'cause you can'treally go out and recruit.
That's, coaches do it,but it's not Right.
You're not supposed to.
But I feel like it does openup opportunities for kids
that don't play as much ona really good team like us.
Like we had a couple kidsleave to give some more

(32:04):
minutes and they did good.
Especially like B Swan.
He went to Jefferson.
He did, he had areally good year.
I think.
I think it does, it is agood thing to help kids, get
outta a bad situation or ifthey got a coach they like
over here, go play for him.
So you only get fouryears of high school.
So you wanna make the most of it

True.
That's true.
So how do you feel likeathletes navigate self-doubt
and stay mentally strong?
Under pressure?

Yeah.
Pressure pressure.
It just, I, there's a saying,pressure, I can't think of it.

Pressure is a privilege.

Yeah.
Pressure's a privilege.
Yeah.
That's it.
Samples would always say that.
And and it really is it'sa privilege to be in,
in the spot right now.
It's 64, 64, you got the ball,you got a chance to make a play.
That's a privilege.
A lot of, like a lot.
You might get a whole career.
Never goodopportunity like that.
So it's a privilegeto be in that spot.
So just, not taking as oh, Imight have missed this shot.
I'm gonna get this up.
No, take it as I'm gonnascore or win this game.
It's a privilege tobe in that moment.

(32:53):
That's how I try to attack that.
And then self-doubt.
I feel like you gottahave self-confidence.
You can't any sport or likeanything in, in life, you have
to have confidence in yourself.
'cause if you don't haveconfidence in yourself, who's
gonna have confidence in you?
So that's a big, it's abig thing that a lot of
people struggle with.
Self-confidence.
I just feel like you gottafind something you're good
at and just roll with it.

In moments of self-doubt, do you have any
strategies that you use to,flip the switch get back to
where you have that confidence?

Yeah.
Honestly, just pray about it.
That really works for me.
Just, thinking about the goodyou've had that or like the
good you've done and goingback and if I had a bad game,
like I go back and I lookat old highlights like, oh,
I played really good here.
I just kinda clean some stuffup and I'll get back to that.
Yeah.
So just, looking at your, yourpast successes can really help
that too with, self doubt.
'cause you ultimately,you, if you keep working,
you'll get back to that.

So finding reminders or reminding yourself
of who you know you are.
Yeah.
Like you're, even those moments

you did you did this, you did that, you're
gonna have a bad game here.
You're gonna miss the,you're gonna miss this shot.
It's okay.
That's gonna happen.
That's how the game isbut remember like what
you did like that you'regonna get back to that.

So what strategies do you use to
stay in that present moment?
So you're not like, likeworrying about this in the
past or crap, I did that.
Yeah.
Especially duringa basketball game.

Yeah.
There's no momentlike the present.
Yeah you can't control the past.
You can't controlwhat's gonna happen.
Only thing you can't controlis what you're in right now.
The present moment, likethat shot, that play.
So just, staying locked inon one play and not worrying
about what's gonna happen?
Am I gonna come out?
If I do this, am I gonna,think about the past.
Oh, is he mad at mefor taking this shot?
That's over.
You don't know what's gonnahappen, but you can control
what's in the president.
So just control whatyou can control.

Now, I know that some coaches, and I don't think
samples was ever like thisor laden, they try to control
what you can and cannot do,what you're allowed to do and
what you're not allowed to do.
So how do you go out thereon the court and, take the
shots that you know you'reworthy of without worrying
about, oh oh I probably, heprobably didn't want me to
take that shot or whatever.

Yeah, my favorite shot is the midrange pull up.
Yeah, that's acontroversial shot.
'cause it's, you're gonnahave, you're gonna get
contested, you're gonnaget, it's a tough shot.
But it's my favorite shotto take 'cause I'll work on
the most, I think just liketaking it, having confidence
that you're gonna make itlike it's a tough shot.
I'm gonna make it.
I remember one time, like Ihit a tough pull up and late
I heard, or no, it was Sam.
I heard Sam was like, no.
I was like, Sam, I got you.
It's my shot.

(35:03):
Like I got you.
Like I got you Coach.
And I think it was last yearagainst Hedges in the, the
recent of the semi-final.
And it was a tough pullup and I was in the corner
and Sam was like, no.
I was like, I got you.
I hit it like, I got you coach.
I got you coach.
So he knows that's my shot.
I was like, I got you.

Yeah.

So just having and having the trust, as
you hit more shots, as thatyour game, like the coach,
he'll start to trust you.
You, it'll set you up forbetter shots, in that spot too,

so how do you feel like athletes recognize
and reframe thoughts that mightbe limiting their potential?

So say that again.

So how do you feel like athletes recognize
and reframe thoughts that mightbe limiting their potential?

Yeah.
So you mean taking a bad shot?
Like he like refuse to take liketough shots and stuff like that.

So just so oftentimes like we have thoughts
that because thoughts can betrue, they can be false, and you
can have a thought that mightbe limiting your potential.
So has there ever been a thoughtthat you had about yourself
that you, that was limiting you,but then you reframed it and.
It became empowering.
Yeah,

I think taking a bad shot and coming out,
so I could have a, I couldmake a heck of a play right
here, take a tough shot, butif I miss, I'm coming out.
So I think that I've justbeen like, or I just having
the thought like, oh, I,I can't I can't do this.
I'm off, I can't I can't do thisright now, I should shooting,
but alternately that's my game.
I gotta keep shooting.
So just stuff like that, justhaving the worry of, getting
taken out the game or takinga bad shot or a tough shot.

So what are some of the biggest mindset
shifts that have led tolong-term success maybe in
your career, you feel likein another athlete's career?
Yeah.

Just have a confidence on the court.
Trusting your craft, trustingyour game, like you work on it.
Go out there and use it.
Don't just don't work hour anda half, two hours a day not to
use in the game when it matters.
Yeah.
So just, like trusting mycraft, trusting my game, and
just going out there and usingit to the best of my ability.

And then external pressures, so we talked about
that a little bit earlier.
So how do you feel likethose external pressures,
let's say from your familymembers, your coaches, your
fans, maybe your significantother, how do you feel like
those affect your mental game?
Or can,

yeah, like I feel it does sometimes, but
if you have like my mom, she'sit's like you, if it's just
one game, shows you like,be like patting my back.
My dad's a little harder on, heis you gotta pick it back up.
So I feel like you wanna dogood for them, but at the
end of the day, at leastfrom my feeling like I know
they love me no matter what.
But definitely my friends,like in classic, we're talking
about the game all day.
Like I wanna go out thereand play good for them.
'cause like it's funny, comeback to school the next day out
for a good game, like a big win.

(37:16):
It's yeah, you wanna go andpressure like your friends, like
your fans and stuff like that.
It's definitely plays arole, but at the end of
the day, if you say lockedin don't worry about them.
You're gonna play good.
So that's how, that'show I attack it.

So I know oftentimes with those external
pressures, you start to dothings for other people.
How do you.
Shift it so you know, you'rejust doing it because that's
just who you are and youknow you're doing it for you.

Yeah.
They don't see the hours in thegym that you put, they don't
see, they don't see that whatyou, they don't see what you do.
So they don't usuallyyou have a bad game.
They're not seeing likethe work you're putting in.
So and they're like, if they'relike talking oh, you gotta
do this, you gotta do that.
You don't know my, whatI'm, you don't know the
stance I'm in right now.
You don't know what it'slike to be in my shoes.
So I feel if you play, ifI, my friends they're not
gonna be mad if I playbad or, stuff like that.

(37:59):
But like some people thatare just like, may go to
school with me or may goto different schools and
just watch the games.
They'll make comments like,man, like you don't know.
It's just a bad, like everyonehas a bad game, so not worrying
about having a bad game becausedon't gotta play for them.
You're playing for God andyou're playing for, my parents.
So I'm not worried abouttrying to impress everybody.

So what are some key habits or strategies
athletes use to buildconfidence and build resilience?

Yeah I, what I use I try to build, if I did some
good things that in that game,I'll try to build off that.
Like I'll try to build offsome things that I did and
just building up confidence.
The more confidence youbuild up, the more you're
it's gonna show in the game.
And trusting your teammates.
I think trusting yourteammates is huge.
Trusting him.
I kick him one more, heis gonna hit that shower.
If he hits to me, I'mgonna hit the shot for him.
Just trusting your guys.
Yeah.

So what personal strategies have you
used to build confidence?
Let's say you were at apoint where you weren't
very confident in yourself.
What did you do to gainthat con confidence?

Yeah.
Went back in the gym and justcorrected working on my craft.
If I struggled, shootingthe ball here or handle
the ball here I'd be like,I'm gonna go in here.
I'm gonna fix that.
So the next game I can havemore confidence in the game.

So how does an athlete's belief system
shape their ability toperform at the highest level?

Yeah.
Like having the belief in,that, this guy can't stop
me or I'm gonna do this.
Or our team's we're like,we're flowing on all cylinders.
Having that belief systemwithin your guys, if y'all are
all on point, especially likeour team, you're not gonna,
they're not gonna beat us.
So just having that confidenceand belief that we're gonna
beat you no matter what.
That's hard to stop.

And so for the people with.
Limiting belief systems, whatwould you tell them in order to
remind them that they're stillgood enough, regardless of where
they're at in their journey?

Yeah, like you, you should never like put your,
put yourself to limitations.
Like for me, thesky's always a limit.
Like you should neverput yourself like, oh,
I can only be this good,I can only do this much.
No you get if you really wantsomething, you put your mind to
it, like you can work for it.
That's the bestadvice I could give.

So how do athletes balance their sport
with their personal lives andidentity outside of competition?

Yeah that's tough.
That's probably one ofthe toughest things.
Just balancing having funwith my friends, going out
and like staying in the gym.
I feel like it's tough.
It's a weekend there's a party,there's this, there's that.
Friends that, we're goingfishing, we're going
out, we're doing stuff.
But I feel like you gotta,when that Friday night hits
you, remember, were youout or were you in the gym?
Just.
Just having the constantreminder in your head I gotta
keep, like people are workingso I gotta continue to work too.
Just always trying to, balancethe best you can and just stay

(40:16):
in the gym more than you're out.
That's for me at least.

And then how do you separate your
identity on the courtfrom the off the court.
So a lot of people, they goout there and they just see you
for a basketball player, but.
Sometimes they don't getto see who Tyler really is.

Yeah.
Like all the court,I'm like I'm crazy.
Like me and my like,I people sound crazy.
Like I'm just having fun.
I'm like a really social person.
I can talk to anybody.
But I feel like on thecourt, I feel like my
demeanor on the court, offthe court's pretty similar,
like crazy upbeat, but yeah.
I feel like once you get toknow someone off the court,
like you can definitely tell whythey're like that on the court.
So if people like know me offthe court and they see me on

(40:50):
the court, they're gonna belike, oh yeah, that makes sense.
Like it gels.

And so how do you separate that or, I
guess what I wanna say is howdo you stop yourself from GE
getting pigeonholed when youknow people only see you on
the court and so they createthese false narratives?

Yeah.
Like playing like Friday againstyou're like, like you're a
school that's like cross.
Like they may just tell youlike, let's say you're like
talking trash and like yougot a buddy on the other team.
He be like, dang, like thiskid, he's just cocky and
this on the court and that.
But like off the court,like he's way different.
So I feel like you can'tbe total opposite on the
court than you can off, butthat's, I feel like that's
not a good thing to do.

(41:28):
But I try to, stay pretty,the same on and off the court.
I try to do that.
'cause if you're like a jerk andlike this and that on the court,
people are gonna look at you waydifferent off the court as well.

So what impact do you feel like
athletes have beyond theirsport and how can you use
that platform effectively?

Yeah, like in our school, like we have,
so like the basketballteam has so much impact.
You know what, whatever wedo is like in a microscope.
So it's gonna, peopleare gonna see it.
And that can also beused for good though.
Like we go to the, we have likepreschoolers in our school.
So we'll go take 'em to doactivities with them, shoot
basketball with them or go and,do projects for the kids at,
potomac, just stuff like that.
So like we can use a lot ofthat for good, but also you

(42:04):
got like a lot of eyes onyou, so if you're, you're
getting in trouble in schooloff the court, like it's
gonna, it's gonna come out.
A lot of peopleare gonna see that.

So how do you personally want
to use your platform?
I know social media'sreally big, but how do you
wanna use your platformto influence people and
you stretch your reach?

Yeah, I want to use that as a platform as, I
can, get more people honestlyto God, like more people like.
Coming to our youth group,coming to church and stuff
like that because they like,they know I put God first.
I also think I can useit to maybe start like a
little training business.
Okay, train younger kids.
I think I can use like thetalent that I've learned from
other people and use other kids.
Just keep passing that, theknowledge and the talent.

(42:41):
Just passing it down.

So after basketball, what does
your vision look like?
Once you've steppedaway from the game?

Yeah, I lo I, I wanna stay around the, I wanna
stay around the game for sure.
So maybe go be a coach somewhereor, be a trainer or even I think
being like a team like likea team trainer would be cool.
Like a strength and conditioningtrainer would be fun.
Just anything being aroundlike sports, stuff like that.
I like sports and sports.
I think it's a sports andexercise major need for
that to go to do that.
I just think it'd be cool tostay around the game, stay

(43:09):
around being like a brotherhood,like a team just staying around.
Yeah.
That's just, it's so alphain every aspect of your life.

And so once you've stepped away from, being
that athlete playing every day,what challenges do you come with
that and how do you feel likeyou overcome those challenges?

Yeah, honestly, like I feel
like, staying active.
'cause I've got I cannever just sit around and
do nothing, like all day.
I can't do that.
That's just not how I'm wired.
But I feel like notgetting bored, honestly.
Like I like, going to thegym still, playing pickle
with my buddies here andthere when I'm older.
Find like a men's leagueprobably when I'm older.
Yeah, just stayingactive and just.
Just keeping it going.

And then how do you feel like basketball has
helped you discover your purposeand like what you're supposed
to do or feel like is the impactyou wanna make in the world?

Yeah, I feel like basketball's opened
up so many opportunities.
I've met so many newpeople, like I got Caleb.
I feel like it's just, it's doneso much for me and helped me
with every aspect of my life.
Not only on the court, butoff, like how to be humble,
how to, being a teammate,how to be a leader, how to be
a mentor to younger people.
The freshman company, howto be a mentor for them.
That's gonna help.
But if I own a businessone day, it's gonna help
me to, mentor these people.

(44:14):
Don't get mad at 'em.
They, this is their first time,you were in that position too.
So just be a mentor andbe a leader, but also be
that, good godly, humbleleader on and off the court.
Yeah.

And so what, like what's your vision?
The, you're onlyyour senior year.
What's your vision longterm for basketball?

Yeah.
I wanna go to college,D one or D two for sure.
And play all four years.
If God presents the opportunityto go play in a pro league
somewhere, that'd be great,but I want to, get a good
job and just, set myself up.
I think the biggest thing thoughis getting four, four or five,
four years of free college.
Basketball's gonna,gimme that Lord willing.
And just, set myself up, tobe successful after basketball

(44:49):
when the ball stops bouncing.

So for you, what does long-term success
look like outside of justwinning championships?
You guys did just wina state championship.
Yeah.
But what does successreally look like for you?

Success for me would be, the ultimate
dream would be, go thissummer, pick up a couple,
more offers, D 2D one offers.
And then, go back toSpring Mills and win a
championship and then goplay four years in college.
That's the ultimate goal.
But, sometimes itdoesn't work out.
So I feel like the biggestsuccess for me right now is
just to be to get a full risescholarship with four years, to
play for four years in college.

So how do athletes define their legacy,
and what do you personallywanna be remembered for?

I wanna be remembered for my, my hard
work and how hard I played.
I don't care.
Yeah.
I've had my games whereI score 20, I scored a
bunch of points, but.
I don't remember for that crazykid that played hard and just
never stopped just never stoppedjust kept going no matter what.
Would put his headthrough a wall.
I wanna be remembered as that.
Like a kid that justplayed hard as crap.

The person that just no matter what,
they didn't give up.

Yeah.
Yeah.

And so for the next generation of athletes
that are striving for greatness,what advice would you give them?

Just don't quit, don't give up.
And don't have to do anything,do everything, like every rep,
every game, every practice,you're not gonna get that
practice back, you're notgonna get that rep back, you're
not gonna get that game back.
So just make the most ofit and just, attack it with
a full head of strengthand just, just go at it.

That's good.
That's the conclusion of episodenine, Royal Vision Podcast.
Tyler, do you have anythingelse you wanna say that
came before we sign off?

Nah, appreciate you having me on the on the podcast.
Just, keep going and,everyone, follow the
kingdom he's blowing up.

Appreciate it.
So it's been CoachMatthew Tyler Jones.
Peace out.
Love you guys.

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