October 13, 2025 • 30 mins
🎯 Luke Falk: Recruiting Lessons, Resilience, and the Power of Mind Strength 🏈
From overlooked recruit to Washington State record-breaker to NFL quarterback—Luke Falk’s journey is packed with lessons every athlete and parent can learn from. In this episode of the Significant Recruiting Podcast, Luke opens up about his unique recruiting path, the setbacks and breakthroughs that shaped him, and how “mind strength” is the real difference-maker in both sports and life.
We also dive into the heart behind his brand-new book, The Mind Strength Playbook 📘—a guide for athletes, parents, and coaches to master the mental side of performance. Luke’s story is raw, honest, and full of insights that go far beyond the stat sheet.
👉 Learn more and pre-order Luke’s book at CoachLukeFalk.com
.
👉 For recruiting resources, weekly blogs, podcast episodes, and details on how to schedule me to speak at your school or organization, visit CoachMattRogers.com
Learn more and connect with Matt Rogers here: https://linktr.ee/coachmattrogers
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
So I get in, I get theopportunity, everything gets all
passed out.
I commit two weeks later, thehead coach leaves for the CFL to
be a head coach and a gm, and Iwas already, once I committed, I
was already feeling oh, I madethe wrong decision.
Like I, I feel like somethingbigger is for me.
So that left Washington Stateopportunity to walk on, went and
(00:22):
did that.
Coach Leach said I'd have anequal opportunity to compete.
He didn't lie to me.
He was truthful, he was honest.
Went up there and the starsaligned.
It wasn't a Rudy movie.
It didn't happen overnight.
There was a lot of hardships.
It's very hard to walk on.
It's not just like you go in andyou're like everybody else.
It's not the case.
But I was very fortunate.
I worked hard and a lot of luckhappened Welcome back to The
(00:56):
Significant Coaching Podcast.
I'm your host, Matt Rogers.
Before we jump into today'sincredible conversation with one
of the most decorated D onequarterbacks in the history of
college football, I wanna pauseand ask a quick favor.
If you haven't already, pleaseclick that subscribe button.
Leave us a rating and drop.
A quick comment.
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(01:17):
Every subscription, every starrating and every review helps
this podcast reach more coaches,athletes, and parents who need
these conversations.
In all honesty, it lets me knowthat these conversations are
making a difference and there isvalue in continue to promote
college athletics, mentalhealth, and recruiting
strategies to our listeners.
(01:37):
In reality, it's what keeps thisshow growing and allows me to
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If you believe in what we'rebuilding here, help me keep it
going by subscribing and sharingyour thoughts.
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And remember, you can learn moreabout me@coachmattrogers.com.
That's where you'll find pastpodcast episodes, weekly blogs,
(01:59):
my recruiting books and classes,and even details on how to
schedule me to speak at yourschool or organization.
Now, speaking of amazing guests,Luke Faulk has an incredible
story to tell from walk-on atWashington State to record
setting quarterback to his timein the NFL and now coaching and
writing his brand new book, theMind Strength Playbook.
(02:21):
Luke has lived the highs, thelows, and everything in between.
And today he's here to sharewhat it really means to develop
mind strength, why mentalwellness and performance go hand
in hand.
This is a powerful conversation,so let's get into it.
Here's part two of myconversation with Luke Faulk.
I am so excited to talk somerecruiting with you'cause you
(02:46):
had a very unique route todivision one football and the
NFL.
Talk a little bit about.
What that journey looked likefor you when you were 16, 17
years old?
Yeah.
Windy Path.
I'll try to give you theSparkNotes version.
Went to Logan High School, wasin a system.
I had an older quarterback whowas DJ Nelson.
(03:07):
I had a younger his youngerbrother named Chase Nelson, who
was a freshman.
I was a sophomore and DJ and Iwere.
We were splitting time.
So my dad, he's you know what,you're in a full Nelson.
We need to get you to a schoolwhere you're gonna get an
opportunity to go play.
And at that time, we're livingin Logan, Utah.
He didn't feel like I would getenough recruiting.
There wouldn't be enough foottraffic influenced by some
(03:29):
quarterback coaches who plantedthat seed in his mind.
So moved to California as afamily, go to Oaks Christian
it's Hollywood High.
Everything was.
Great.
Just kidding.
Nothing was great.
Really.
It was friction the entire time.
Go play, don't do well.
And within the first three weekswe ended up moving back to Utah
because I had got benched.
But really what the underlyingthing is our family had split
(03:50):
up.
Our family had separated thattime.
So tremendous adversity at thatpoint.
And football was the last thing.
And yeah, I wasn't playing well.
So we moved back.
The state of Utah deems meineligible.
When I moved back it wouldn'thave mattered because they were
already four and oh or five andoh when I got back here in Utah.
'cause they started the seasonearlier.
So my coach deemed me to be thega, so I started filming the
(04:13):
games, breaking'em down, doingall that type of stuff, not
allowing me to be a victimmindset.
And the, that team goes on andwins the state championship.
They're 14 and oh.
So what does that tell coaches?
Oh, Luke Falk red flag.
So the recruiting thing, I hadan offer from Florida State off
of my sophomore film when I wentdown to Oaks Christian that
summer.
(04:33):
We went to, we had gottenrecommendation to go pop by
campuses, get them to see thesize of me and meet people and,
talk some football.
So at Florida State, DamienCraig was the quarterback coach,
got a scholarship offer on ourway to go to a Bahamas family
vacation.
It was like euphoria, right?
Florida State was my favoritecollege solely off of their
(04:54):
color of the uniform becausethey matched my old high school
uniforms at Logan.
Anyways.
I'm like, oh, the offer's gonnaflood in.
Mom and dad are right about thiswhole thing, this guy.
And then the wheels fell off.
So going into my senior year,nobody really looked at me.
Oregon State said that they werepotentially gonna offer me and
eventually they didn't pull thetrigger'cause they didn't think
(05:14):
I had a strong enough arm.
Idaho, they came and watched methrow at the high school that
summer and Al Papino filmed me.
Did a good job.
Jason Guest was the offensecoordinator there, and I got
offered and then I'm going andplaying my senior year.
I've got them, I've got Cornelland I got an opportunity to go
walk on Washington State.
(05:35):
Idaho staff gets fired, theypull my scholarship, say I'm not
athletic enough, which they'renot wrong.
So right.
Then Cornell probably the bestopportunity I have in terms of.
They really want me, they'reprobably gonna let the lowest a
CT and GPA ever in Ivy Leaguehistory.
They're getting me into school,right?
So I get in, I get theopportunity, everything gets all
(05:56):
passed out.
I commit two weeks later, thehead coach leaves for the CFL to
be a head coach and a gm, and Iwas already, once I committed, I
was already feeling oh, I madethe wrong decision.
Like I, I feel like somethingbigger is for me.
So that left Washington Stateopportunity to walk on, went and
did that.
Coach Leach said I'd have anequal opportunity to compete.
(06:19):
He didn't lie to me.
He was truthful, he was honest.
Went up there and the starsaligned.
It wasn't a Rudy movie.
It didn't happen overnight.
There was a lot of hardships.
It's very hard to walk on.
It's not just like you go in andyou're like everybody else.
It's not the case.
But I was very fortunate.
I worked hard and a lot of luckhappened and, very happy and
proud of my career.
(06:42):
You're a dad.
There was a lot there.
Am I wrong a lot there?
What's that?
Are you a dad now?
I'm a dad.
I'm a dad now, 2-year-old girl.
Let's say you have a boy at somepoint and your boy's in the same
position you're in, sandwichedbehind a freshman and a senior
brother.
What decision do you make?
What advice do you give?
(07:03):
It's actually funny enough, Iwrite about, not the plug in the
book again, but I provide parenttips and coach tips and all that
throughout.
And'cause I think so manyparents, they just want to do
the best for their kid, but theydon't really know, they don't
have a game plan, they don'thave a playbook for it.
And my parents were just doingthe best they could.
They're listening to thisquarterback coach, who was a
very high profile guy at thetime.
(07:23):
And what I cautioned people whenit comes to transferring.
So I had two transfers actuallyin high school.
I grew up in a place calledFarmington, Utah, and the
systems there for me were.
Daddy ball.
I never got an opportunity toplay quarterback unless my dad
was the coach, because it wasalways the coach's kid.
And they ran the triple optionat all the schools that I was
gonna be able to have anopportunity to go play.
(07:45):
They asked me if I could goanywhere, where would I go?
And I said, Logan High School.
'cause, because my uncle was thea defensive line coach at Logan.
The year before their head coachwas running the spread offense
and he took time to meet withour eighth grade football team
and implement the spreadoffense.
And that was the most fun I'veever had in my entire life,
(08:07):
right?
So I'm like, I want to go toLogan.
Also, my grandma's lived therealso Utah State basketball game.
I had grown up going to Loganall the time.
It was like a home away fromhome for me, so it was totally
driven by me.
I want to go and guess what?
It was a total success.
I loved it.
I remember at Thanksgiving therewe would go around the table.
(08:27):
What are you grateful for?
I'm so grateful.
We live in Logan.
Everything was a successsocially football school,
everything.
Then.
This next move comes about.
It's not driven by me, it'sdriven by external.
It's driven about by listeningto other people rather than your
kid.
And I'm going along.
You're 16 years old.
Oh yeah, sure.
(08:47):
I'll go.
I didn't want it.
I wasn't driving it.
In fact, when we moved out thereto California, I had bought a
plane ticket with my own money.
Which, it's not like I did a tonof chores or this, I can't tell
you I, oh, I went and did thisfor summer jobs.
I didn't.
But I had my own money and Ibought my own plane ticket a
week after we moved because Iloved Logan so much.
So what I caution parents is areyou driving it or are they
(09:11):
driving it?
And if they're driving it, okay,let's listen and is it gonna be.
Holistically a great move forhim at Oaks Christian, what's
the dy, what's the dynamicthere?
Okay.
It's a 30 minute commute schoolminimum for most people.
So the community aspect's notgreat.
There's just so many factorsholistically.
Also how often am I gonna see myparents?
My dad was commuting.
(09:32):
I gotta see him four nights, andthen he was four days in Utah.
He had this system.
My mom, it's like, how often didI get to see her, my sisters, my
friends, just nothing.
From a holistic standpoint, wwhat would've told us that's the
right move.
It was all for football.
What could it get us?
So there's more to life thanrecruiting, sports, whatever.
(09:54):
Think holistically.
Think of your family.
Think of what's gonna help yourkid be the best human in as
possible.
That's what I would caution'em.
So now, hey.
What are you wanting to do andtalk'em through that I'm work,
I'm working with a kid rightnow.
He wins the state, so not the,he's at a premier school here in
Utah.
(10:14):
They have a four starquarterback in front of him and
another guy ahead of him.
And the dad and I are tellinghim, Hey, this is the scenario.
You're not gonna get a fair shotto play.
I don't care.
I want to be here.
This is my social, blah, blah,blah.
He stays, he eventually, he getsto play nine and oh is a starter
state championship this year.
That four star quarterback ishealthy again, same situation.
(10:35):
He's got opportunities to gotransfer.
He doesn't do it right now.
He's not playing.
I can't tell you that it's afairytale ending, but for him,
he's had the peace of mindknowing this is what I've wanted
to do, rather than mom and dadshoving him out to go to a
school that he doesn't want tobe at.
And I think so often the parentpushes the kid rather than the
kid wanting it.
It's like Dad wants it more thanthe kid.
(10:58):
It happens every day, and I, ifit happens once, it happens a
hundred times.
And so it's great advice.
It's necessary advice.
We want our kids happy and wehave to buy into the fact that
happiness may not get them.
On the, that you want them onright away, but that happiness
is probably gonna stick withthem and that decision is
(11:19):
probably gonna stick with themand make the rest of their life
a lot better because of that.
So totally that approach.
I think something, can I, goahead.
Can I just do Please.
I think something that can helpwith that is to separate your
identity as a parent than withyour kid, not wrapping what
their success is as yoursuccess.
Letting them live their ownlife.
(11:40):
Like I've heard this analogybefore, it's two sunny side
eggs.
The whites can be all over eachother, support'em, love'em, do
all that.
But the yolks remain separatewhen you scramble it up and your
identity becomes.
Mix with them.
That's when the lines getblurry.
That's when you're gonna makedecisions that you'll probably
look back and go, that reallywasn't what Junior wanted right
there.
(12:01):
Or wasn't What was best forjunior wasn't what was best.
Exactly.
That's what I wanted.
And they vicariously livedthrough their kid to make up for
what they weren't.
I see it all the time,especially in quarterback play
like this kid, I'm, I'm not,obviously not naming names here.
It's like I watched this daddrive his kid at nine years old
and invest everything in it.
(12:21):
The dad's living vicariously tothe kid because he didn't get
that opportunity.
He wasn't that guy.
And that to me, Carl Young's gota great quote about, like the
greatest burden of child mustbear is the unlived life of a
parent, right?
And it's so true.
It's so true.
The greatest thing you do as aparent, have your own separate
life.
Be secure enough in who you areso you don't have to vicariously
(12:43):
lift through your kid and have,and lift them up to lift you up.
Yeah.
It's a huge weight for that kidand all the investments and all
that.
Even with mind strength coachingI see these parents invest so
much money into everything andwhat does that do to the kids?
It's they feel responsible toand obligated to go get the
outcome that mom and dad wants.
They make the moves, they do allthis.
It's anyways.
I'll go on a tangent.
(13:03):
You can see, no, it's passionateabout it.
I do too.
I can lose my, I can lose myhead about it.
And I was blessed'cause I didn'thave those parents.
My parents were too busy to tryand make me into something that
I wasn't.
I wanna throw a word at you andI want you to just talk about
what you think about it.
Is it real?
Is it something we've made up?
(13:23):
Can we do something about it?
Pressure.
Pressure.
I think there are always gonnabe pressure.
I think that what we've probablydone with youth sports in
general is, like I said, justput more pressure on the kid
based upon what I was justsaying.
It's not only is it the kidwanting to succeed, but it's mom
and dad needing them to succeed,especially with NIL, with all
(13:45):
the promises of being in thestardom, the spotlight, all that
stuff.
So I think we've added morepressure by almost I don't see
it with every parent, but it'sif you have a good outcome,
you're loved.
That's the message.
If you don't have a goodoutcome, you know what are you?
What are we doing?
Love is withheld and it becomesconditional.
So I think that adds morepressure and I think it provides
more insecurity for kids thesedays.
(14:07):
And yes.
IL and all that.
There's abso absolutely morepressure right there.
It's like it's ton you.
You're getting paid now, you'rea professional.
What is that doing?
You know what are those things?
And at that age, I don't think Iwould've been ready for it.
In fact, in the NFL, it's like Iprobably wouldn't even ready for
it I think there's way morepressure way earlier on, like my
(14:29):
agent that talked to me when Iwas a junior in college is now
talking to kids as a junior inhigh school.
That's not right.
I agree.
Yeah.
I guess my concern with it is,goes back, and I'll put this in
context when I have, when I'mplaying with little ones or my
kids when they were little, andoftentimes they're gonna fall
(14:52):
down and they're gonna cry.
It feels like the end of theworld.
It feels oh, my knees skinned upand there's tears and it's pain.
I learned a long time ago that Ican get down at their level if
they're, they're down on thefloor, they're crying.
I can get down and look at'em.
Go, are you crying or laughing?
I can't tell.
And it's amazing how quicklythose tears and that crying
(15:12):
turns into a smile and alaughter.
'cause they could see the smileon my face.
I'm going, are you crying orlaughing?
I can't tell.
And how quickly their mind canswitch that off and go, no I'm
laughing, I'm not crying.
That pain, maybe that pain wasall up here more than it was
down here on my knee.
Can we see pressure that way?
(15:33):
Can we, I think it's, can weremove it?
I think so.
I think nerve what you'retalking about is the same thing
I teach with nerves, right?
Not necessarily move it, but Ithink you shift the perspective
on it.
So Wayne Dyer, a guy that Ireally looked up to, he said, if
you change the way you look atthings, the things you look at
change.
I'll use nerves as an example.
I had viewed nerves that whenthey came, oh crap, everything's
(15:56):
gonna get locked up.
Now I'm gonna get handcuffed,I'm gonna go throw up, blah,
blah, blah, blah.
What if I shifted my perspectiveof when nerves come one, I'm
doing something I love, and two,they actually can take my game
to a whole new level because theadrenaline's gonna kick in.
I'm gonna throw the ball better,I'm gonna, be more dialed into
my reads.
So it's a shift of perspective.
So now same thing can happenwith pressure.
(16:17):
Oh, what an opportunity I have.
Blah, blah, blah, blah.
It's just the way you look atit.
So I think it, it comes withtraining or your environment
around you to help you see itthat way.
But if you're coming from anenvironment that's, having you
view it in a particular way,you're gonna see it that way.
So it's all about perspective.
Yeah.
Have you seen the movie for theLove of the Game with Kevin
Costner?
(16:37):
I have.
I actually quote it.
I do too.
I quote it all the time.
It's, when he steps on the moundand it's clear the mechanism.
Yep.
I was never the athlete youwere.
I never had the success you had.
I see that in you when I watchyour film.
Did you have something likethat?
Did you have tools at that pointin your career where you could
(16:59):
block out the noise or was thatsomething that was natural for
you?
Not natural.
So funny enough, that exactexample is in my book and it was
brought up'cause Kurt Warner, Iasked him, Kurt Warner's a,
super generous guy.
I asked him, Hey, can you bepart of my reader feedback group
and read this, give us comments.
And he actually made thatsuggestion off of a concept that
(17:21):
I was talking about in a book.
And so what it is, the concept,how it got brought up in the
book is called Coding Skills.
So what did he say?
Clear the mechanism, which hadhim focus on.
Not the outcome, not what peopleare saying, not this, that, and
the other, but it was amechanism for him to focus on
what he could control.
So when I have athletes codeskills, it's in three to four
(17:41):
words so they can remember it,right?
It's very easy, it triggers it,but it has a deeper meaning.
So clear the mechanism for himwas a way to get him mentally
engaged on what he can control.
Playing catch in that situationfor me, I had coded skills like
that.
So I'll tell you like a codedskill.
I'm going on a tangent here, butit's good.
I'll view one from a physicalstandpoint where you have
(18:02):
physical skills, mental skills,emotional skills, spiritual
skills.
So there is in football.
A guy named Tom House.
For anybody that doesn't knowwho Tom House is, he's like the
father of throwing pretty much.
Quarterback guru.
Quarterback guru.
Nolan Ryland, Nolan Ryan Guru.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Ton of that, right?
Worked with Tom Brady.
Worked with Drew Brees.
Yep.
So I was fortunate to work withhim.
(18:23):
He created a coded skill calledEat the Burger.
What did it mean?
When I'm done throwing, myoffhand should be in a position
that if you put a burger in myhand, I could take a bite out of
it, meaning all my energy andweight's going towards my
target.
Yeah.
Rather than saying that big,long.
Definition there, you say eatthe burger, which triggers all
that meaning same thing canhappen with mental skills,
(18:46):
right?
So clear the mechanism for KevinCosta.
It might've been a whole deepermeaning, but it triggers him
into what he can control.
Yep.
And why skills are so importantis because you can control them.
And when you focus on things youcan't control your anxiety.
Increases performance increases.
So for me, the coded skill thatI created for myself that you're
talking about there is calledCool Hand Luke and what that
(19:07):
meant, I'm never too high, I'mnever too low, right?
But that coded for me.
Hey, I'm cool hand Luke, I'mcool hand Luke.
And that was my trigger.
So it was my clear the mechanismand it doesn't happen.
You have to train it.
Because in high school shoot, Iallowed all the noise to happen.
I had no confidence.
Yeah.
But I, thankfully I worked witha sports psychologist that
(19:28):
strengthened my mind just asmuch my body and that really
elevated my game.
Yeah.
We invest so much money in PA asparents in the clubs and
individual workout, and boy,that investment into sports
psychologist might be the mostvaluable thing we can invest in.
Think about this.
You spend hotels, flights, gas,then the that and the actual
(19:49):
team.
Then the actual this.
When it's done.
How about mind strength?
When you're done playing 18, 25,45 years old like Tom Brady, you
still have it.
You're still gonna be withyourself.
You're still gonna use mindstrength with business.
Who your relationship.
Talk about an investment thathas the most ROI outta anything,
even the physical stuff.
Yep.
You need physical talent to getyour foot in the door.
(20:11):
I needed to learn how to throw aspiral before I could play
quarterback.
But what got me in to be able toplay at a high level, my mind
strength.
And now what do I use?
Is it, do I throw every day?
Is the spiral really keeping myjob security now?
No.
It's my mind strength.
Let's bring it back torecruiting.
Yep.
Because it's not taking a snapin a big stadium.
It's not throwing a pitch in theninth inning or at bat, or,
(20:34):
making a dig on the volleyballcourt.
The pressure of recruiting.
It's all around us.
It's all the time.
It's, it can be 2, 3, 4 years.
You talked about getting anoffer as a 15-year-old
sophomore, right from FloridaState, your dream school.
Can we use those sameprinciples?
How we look at recruiting.
(20:56):
Totally.
What can you control inrecruiting?
Who do you want to go play for?
How many emails are you sendingthem?
What's your highlight look like?
What are all the things that youcan control?
Rather than filling it, you'reat the mercy of the coach or the
mercy at the situation or theschool, so that's what I try to
do, even within my own athletes.
I don't get hired for recruitingyet.
(21:16):
I'll have some athletes thatI'll give tips to because
obviously I've been through it.
Yeah.
So what can you control in theprocess?
And then a big thing too is canyou shift your perspective on
how you view recruiting ingeneral.
Most kids want to go play at theUSC, the Alabama, this, that,
and the other, but maybe whatit's gonna take for you to be
(21:37):
able to get there, if that'swhat you really want.
Rather than just how you getviewed, which is another topic
that we could go on forever, butyou might need to start at the
division two school.
You might need that to be yourstart and go play and where are
you gonna get developed and takeyour ego out of it.
And do you really wanna play anddo you really love ball?
Or do you love what ball isgonna give you?
Do you love what the hype isgonna give you?
(21:59):
So I think you gotta separatethat when it comes to recruiting
of the kids that really want itand love playing the game, they
don't have a problem going tothe FCS score or the Division
two score, or the Division threescore, or the N-N-A-I-A because
it's a farm system now with theway the transfer portal is.
Yep.
You're not stuck.
So I even tell people, I cautionyou to go walk on now as a
(22:20):
quarterback.
Other positions I would stillsay if you want to, great,
because there's moreopportunities for you to show
off on special teams orwhatever.
And I'm sure other sports aswell.
Basketball, right?
I'm not sure the ins and outs,but quarterback, there's only
one of you.
So you better go play at asmaller school and you're gonna
get seen.
And guess what, they got a kid.
The ole Miss starter right now.
(22:41):
Fair State Division two.
Now he's just starting in theSEC.
It's like it is AAA baseball.
It's AA baseball, and you'regonna get an opportunity at the
big leagues.
If I gave you 15-year-old LukeFalk who just got that offer
from Florida State, how wouldyou use that tool with him?
How would what would, whatadvice would you give him on
(23:04):
what that.
Next day looks like?
Or that next step looks likeafter that offer?
For that kid in particular, heneeded a lot of mind strength
because he had a lot ofconfidence issues in terms of
just, he had a whole lot of workhe had to get going on, so I
think, but he got an offer fromFlorida State?
He did.
He did?
Yeah.
He did get an offer from FloridaState, but he was living off of
(23:26):
this teeter totter in terms ofit, it wasn't lasting.
So when it got taken away, it'soh yeah, I'm not worth that.
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
So I think for him it's workingon the things that were gonna
help you become a great player.
It's not about, I've heard TomBrady say it all the time, it's
just when you get drafted, it'syour start.
It's where you start, it's howyou finish.
(23:48):
So what's gonna help you finishthe best way.
So for that kid, myrecommendation to him was, go
enjoy your trip'cause we're onfamily trip.
And then when you get back, whatcan you work on to help you
become a better player?
'cause that's ultimately what'sgonna help you.
In the long run.
I see it all the time with thesetop tier recruits.
Yeah, that's your start.
Great.
That's your start.
You might get more opportunity.
(24:08):
It's like getting more moneyinvested in you.
But a kid like me who walked on,guess what?
He's working on his game andhe's gonna have a harder time.
But his, he's coming for you.
He's coming because he's workingon the things that he can
control to make himself a betterplayer, which ultimately gets
you on the field.
So Sure.
The hoop law and all that.
Even in today's day, I'm surepeople pay for stars, this, that
(24:31):
and the other.
What really is tangible reallyis gonna set you apart is can
you play, are you working onwhat helps you be a better
player?
And then there are tactics Sure.
Of getting recruited, which youknow way more about than I do.
You.
You're pretty smart, my friend.
I'm gonna throw a Chineseproverb at you to wrap this up
'cause you've given me a lot oftime today because I feel like
(24:52):
we've danced around it.
You've used some great quotes.
There's some things in yourbook, I'm sure it's close, but
there's something that I wrotedown in my journal when I was
about 16, 17 years old, and Ithink I literally got this out
of a a Chinese restaurantcracker, what do they call the
Fortune cookie portion Cookie.
Okay.
(25:13):
And I still have it somewhere ina book.
I still have that somewhere.
And it's the idea of, I I'm notgonna say this correctly, but
it's a man who goes looking forlove or searching for love,
loses himself.
That's great.
And at that point in my life,I'm sure I was dating a girl and
(25:33):
that was the idea of love wascenterpiece.
But the older I got, the more Istarted to understand the man
who goes looking for success orlooking for a scholarship or
looking for something.
That Lamborghini, tangibledollars loses himself.
(25:54):
Is there a part of that in yourbook and is there a part of that
in your career that you can giveadvice to families and kids?
Yeah, I think it's kinda what wetalked about.
Prior of just where's youridentity and knowing that you
are enough right with it, thatit's like I heard Wayne Dyer
say, you can never get enough ofwhat you don't need.
(26:15):
All those things that you thinkwill get you what you are
looking for, they're empty.
They won't what you really needis that internal peace, that
internal knowing that you'reenough, that you love who you
are, that.
You do you love who God createdyou to be?
I also heard something today toothat I don't know if it goes in
alignment with it, but it's likehowever you got to the point.
That where you're at, you haveto continue that.
(26:37):
So a lot of people, it's likethey make sacrifices and
compromises to get to thatsuccess.
They're always gonna have tojump through those hoops in
order to sustain it.
So why don't you build yourfoundation on things that are
within your value system thatyou don't have to compromise who
you are.
So I think the greatest thingthat you could do for your
athlete or for yourself ingeneral is how can you start the
(26:57):
internal mastery?
How can you get comfortable withwho you are so you don't need
anything in order to fill youup?
That would be my advice.
Thank you for taking my hot messof a question and making it
articulate.
I knew you would, but that's yousure throw those zingers at me.
So I don't know if that made anysense, but oh my gosh.
It was exactly what I wish Icould have said and I knew you
(27:18):
would.
It's goes back to thatfoundation.
It doesn't matter if we'replaying or recruiting or
building a family or building abusiness or whatever it may be.
Don't lose.
Don't lose the path you're onand who you are.
Yeah.
And if you don't know who youare, you gotta figure that out
first, or you're gonna run intosome real big obstacles down the
(27:38):
road.
That's a great point.
It's, you gotta know who you arefirst.
And quite frankly, sometimesthat takes some life.
I'm 30 years old.
I'm still finding that guy out.
I know him more.
And like you said earlier, Idon't know if it was on this
segment or the last, but it'syou need that experience.
And sometimes the student I lovethis deal.
It's like the teacher willappear when the student's ready
(27:59):
and sometimes you're not readyat 18 years old, 20 years old,
25 years old, and quite frankly.
I'm 30 years old, I'm sure at40, I'm like shoot, I wasn't
ready for that.
But it's like the teacher willappear when the student's ready.
And one of the greatest thingsthat you could do, and maybe
this message hits now, or maybeyou listen to it 10 years from
now and you go, you know what?
I need to rearrange how I viewthings.
(28:20):
It's not about the status I canget.
It's not about the success I canget.
It's about who am I, what are myvalues, what's my mission in
life, and let me work off ofthat.
Luke Faulk, you're an impressiveyoung man and you're gonna do
great things.
And if there's ever anything Ican do to help you or support
you or market your book ormarket your message, you just
holler and I'll be there.
(28:41):
I appreciate it.
This is a fun conversation forme.
I'm looking forward to yousending me your book and
hopefully we do this again.
Anytime, whenever I can help youjust holler my friend.
Thanks, man.
Wow, what an impressive youngman and what a great story and
message from NCAA Division one.
Walk-on to NFL Quarterback toauthor and coach.
(29:01):
Luke's story is filled withlessons on resilience leadership
and what it really means tostrengthen the mind.
I was so impressed with thehonesty and wisdom he shared,
and I know he has so much moreto give the world through his
coaching in his new book, theMind Strength Playbook.
Make sure to visit coach lukefaulk.com, L-U-K-E-F-A-L-K to
(29:24):
connect with Luke and pre-orderyour copy of the Mind Strength
Playbook releasing October 24th.
If you enjoyed today's episode,please take a moment to click
that subscribe button, leave usa rating and drop a quick
comment.
We'd love to hear from you.
Every review and subscriptionhelps more athletes and coaches
and parents discover thispodcast, and it's what allows me
(29:47):
to keep bringing youconversations like the one you
heard today.
And remember, you can find moreresources@coachmattrogers.com.
And remember, there's no D inRogers Coach Matt, R-O-G-E-R
s.com.
That's where you'll find allpast podcast episodes, my weekly
blog, my recruiting books andclasses, and opportunities to
(30:08):
meet with me and schedule me tospeak at your school or
organization.
Until next time, stay focused,stay humble, and keep chasing
significance.
So I get in, I get theopportunity, everything gets all
passed out.
I commit two weeks later, thehead coach leaves for the CFL to
be a head coach and a gm, and Iwas already, once I committed, I
was already feeling oh, I madethe wrong decision.
Like I, I feel like somethingbigger is for me.
So that left Washington Stateopportunity to walk on, went and
(00:22):
did that.
Coach Leach said I'd have anequal opportunity to compete.
He didn't lie to me.
He was truthful, he was honest.
Went up there and the starsaligned.
It wasn't a Rudy movie.
It didn't happen overnight.
There was a lot of hardships.
It's very hard to walk on.
It's not just like you go in andyou're like everybody else.
It's not the case.
But I was very fortunate.
I worked hard and a lot of luckhappened Welcome back to The
(00:56):
Significant Coaching Podcast.
I'm your host, Matt Rogers.
Before we jump into today'sincredible conversation with one
of the most decorated D onequarterbacks in the history of
college football, I wanna pauseand ask a quick favor.
If you haven't already, pleaseclick that subscribe button.
Leave us a rating and drop.
A quick comment.
Here's why that matters.
(01:17):
Every subscription, every starrating and every review helps
this podcast reach more coaches,athletes, and parents who need
these conversations.
In all honesty, it lets me knowthat these conversations are
making a difference and there isvalue in continue to promote
college athletics, mentalhealth, and recruiting
strategies to our listeners.
(01:37):
In reality, it's what keeps thisshow growing and allows me to
bring you more amazing guests.
If you believe in what we'rebuilding here, help me keep it
going by subscribing and sharingyour thoughts.
I promise it'll take 20 seconds.
And remember, you can learn moreabout me@coachmattrogers.com.
That's where you'll find pastpodcast episodes, weekly blogs,
(01:59):
my recruiting books and classes,and even details on how to
schedule me to speak at yourschool or organization.
Now, speaking of amazing guests,Luke Faulk has an incredible
story to tell from walk-on atWashington State to record
setting quarterback to his timein the NFL and now coaching and
writing his brand new book, theMind Strength Playbook.
(02:21):
Luke has lived the highs, thelows, and everything in between.
And today he's here to sharewhat it really means to develop
mind strength, why mentalwellness and performance go hand
in hand.
This is a powerful conversation,so let's get into it.
Here's part two of myconversation with Luke Faulk.
I am so excited to talk somerecruiting with you'cause you
(02:46):
had a very unique route todivision one football and the
NFL.
Talk a little bit about.
What that journey looked likefor you when you were 16, 17
years old?
Yeah.
Windy Path.
I'll try to give you theSparkNotes version.
Went to Logan High School, wasin a system.
I had an older quarterback whowas DJ Nelson.
(03:07):
I had a younger his youngerbrother named Chase Nelson, who
was a freshman.
I was a sophomore and DJ and Iwere.
We were splitting time.
So my dad, he's you know what,you're in a full Nelson.
We need to get you to a schoolwhere you're gonna get an
opportunity to go play.
And at that time, we're livingin Logan, Utah.
He didn't feel like I would getenough recruiting.
There wouldn't be enough foottraffic influenced by some
(03:29):
quarterback coaches who plantedthat seed in his mind.
So moved to California as afamily, go to Oaks Christian
it's Hollywood High.
Everything was.
Great.
Just kidding.
Nothing was great.
Really.
It was friction the entire time.
Go play, don't do well.
And within the first three weekswe ended up moving back to Utah
because I had got benched.
But really what the underlyingthing is our family had split
(03:50):
up.
Our family had separated thattime.
So tremendous adversity at thatpoint.
And football was the last thing.
And yeah, I wasn't playing well.
So we moved back.
The state of Utah deems meineligible.
When I moved back it wouldn'thave mattered because they were
already four and oh or five andoh when I got back here in Utah.
'cause they started the seasonearlier.
So my coach deemed me to be thega, so I started filming the
(04:13):
games, breaking'em down, doingall that type of stuff, not
allowing me to be a victimmindset.
And the, that team goes on andwins the state championship.
They're 14 and oh.
So what does that tell coaches?
Oh, Luke Falk red flag.
So the recruiting thing, I hadan offer from Florida State off
of my sophomore film when I wentdown to Oaks Christian that
summer.
(04:33):
We went to, we had gottenrecommendation to go pop by
campuses, get them to see thesize of me and meet people and,
talk some football.
So at Florida State, DamienCraig was the quarterback coach,
got a scholarship offer on ourway to go to a Bahamas family
vacation.
It was like euphoria, right?
Florida State was my favoritecollege solely off of their
(04:54):
color of the uniform becausethey matched my old high school
uniforms at Logan.
Anyways.
I'm like, oh, the offer's gonnaflood in.
Mom and dad are right about thiswhole thing, this guy.
And then the wheels fell off.
So going into my senior year,nobody really looked at me.
Oregon State said that they werepotentially gonna offer me and
eventually they didn't pull thetrigger'cause they didn't think
(05:14):
I had a strong enough arm.
Idaho, they came and watched methrow at the high school that
summer and Al Papino filmed me.
Did a good job.
Jason Guest was the offensecoordinator there, and I got
offered and then I'm going andplaying my senior year.
I've got them, I've got Cornelland I got an opportunity to go
walk on Washington State.
(05:35):
Idaho staff gets fired, theypull my scholarship, say I'm not
athletic enough, which they'renot wrong.
So right.
Then Cornell probably the bestopportunity I have in terms of.
They really want me, they'reprobably gonna let the lowest a
CT and GPA ever in Ivy Leaguehistory.
They're getting me into school,right?
So I get in, I get theopportunity, everything gets all
(05:56):
passed out.
I commit two weeks later, thehead coach leaves for the CFL to
be a head coach and a gm, and Iwas already, once I committed, I
was already feeling oh, I madethe wrong decision.
Like I, I feel like somethingbigger is for me.
So that left Washington Stateopportunity to walk on, went and
did that.
Coach Leach said I'd have anequal opportunity to compete.
(06:19):
He didn't lie to me.
He was truthful, he was honest.
Went up there and the starsaligned.
It wasn't a Rudy movie.
It didn't happen overnight.
There was a lot of hardships.
It's very hard to walk on.
It's not just like you go in andyou're like everybody else.
It's not the case.
But I was very fortunate.
I worked hard and a lot of luckhappened and, very happy and
proud of my career.
(06:42):
You're a dad.
There was a lot there.
Am I wrong a lot there?
What's that?
Are you a dad now?
I'm a dad.
I'm a dad now, 2-year-old girl.
Let's say you have a boy at somepoint and your boy's in the same
position you're in, sandwichedbehind a freshman and a senior
brother.
What decision do you make?
What advice do you give?
(07:03):
It's actually funny enough, Iwrite about, not the plug in the
book again, but I provide parenttips and coach tips and all that
throughout.
And'cause I think so manyparents, they just want to do
the best for their kid, but theydon't really know, they don't
have a game plan, they don'thave a playbook for it.
And my parents were just doingthe best they could.
They're listening to thisquarterback coach, who was a
very high profile guy at thetime.
(07:23):
And what I cautioned people whenit comes to transferring.
So I had two transfers actuallyin high school.
I grew up in a place calledFarmington, Utah, and the
systems there for me were.
Daddy ball.
I never got an opportunity toplay quarterback unless my dad
was the coach, because it wasalways the coach's kid.
And they ran the triple optionat all the schools that I was
gonna be able to have anopportunity to go play.
(07:45):
They asked me if I could goanywhere, where would I go?
And I said, Logan High School.
'cause, because my uncle was thea defensive line coach at Logan.
The year before their head coachwas running the spread offense
and he took time to meet withour eighth grade football team
and implement the spreadoffense.
And that was the most fun I'veever had in my entire life,
(08:07):
right?
So I'm like, I want to go toLogan.
Also, my grandma's lived therealso Utah State basketball game.
I had grown up going to Loganall the time.
It was like a home away fromhome for me, so it was totally
driven by me.
I want to go and guess what?
It was a total success.
I loved it.
I remember at Thanksgiving therewe would go around the table.
(08:27):
What are you grateful for?
I'm so grateful.
We live in Logan.
Everything was a successsocially football school,
everything.
Then.
This next move comes about.
It's not driven by me, it'sdriven by external.
It's driven about by listeningto other people rather than your
kid.
And I'm going along.
You're 16 years old.
Oh yeah, sure.
(08:47):
I'll go.
I didn't want it.
I wasn't driving it.
In fact, when we moved out thereto California, I had bought a
plane ticket with my own money.
Which, it's not like I did a tonof chores or this, I can't tell
you I, oh, I went and did thisfor summer jobs.
I didn't.
But I had my own money and Ibought my own plane ticket a
week after we moved because Iloved Logan so much.
So what I caution parents is areyou driving it or are they
(09:11):
driving it?
And if they're driving it, okay,let's listen and is it gonna be.
Holistically a great move forhim at Oaks Christian, what's
the dy, what's the dynamicthere?
Okay.
It's a 30 minute commute schoolminimum for most people.
So the community aspect's notgreat.
There's just so many factorsholistically.
Also how often am I gonna see myparents?
My dad was commuting.
(09:32):
I gotta see him four nights, andthen he was four days in Utah.
He had this system.
My mom, it's like, how often didI get to see her, my sisters, my
friends, just nothing.
From a holistic standpoint, wwhat would've told us that's the
right move.
It was all for football.
What could it get us?
So there's more to life thanrecruiting, sports, whatever.
(09:54):
Think holistically.
Think of your family.
Think of what's gonna help yourkid be the best human in as
possible.
That's what I would caution'em.
So now, hey.
What are you wanting to do andtalk'em through that I'm work,
I'm working with a kid rightnow.
He wins the state, so not the,he's at a premier school here in
Utah.
(10:14):
They have a four starquarterback in front of him and
another guy ahead of him.
And the dad and I are tellinghim, Hey, this is the scenario.
You're not gonna get a fair shotto play.
I don't care.
I want to be here.
This is my social, blah, blah,blah.
He stays, he eventually, he getsto play nine and oh is a starter
state championship this year.
That four star quarterback ishealthy again, same situation.
(10:35):
He's got opportunities to gotransfer.
He doesn't do it right now.
He's not playing.
I can't tell you that it's afairytale ending, but for him,
he's had the peace of mindknowing this is what I've wanted
to do, rather than mom and dadshoving him out to go to a
school that he doesn't want tobe at.
And I think so often the parentpushes the kid rather than the
kid wanting it.
It's like Dad wants it more thanthe kid.
(10:58):
It happens every day, and I, ifit happens once, it happens a
hundred times.
And so it's great advice.
It's necessary advice.
We want our kids happy and wehave to buy into the fact that
happiness may not get them.
On the, that you want them onright away, but that happiness
is probably gonna stick withthem and that decision is
(11:19):
probably gonna stick with themand make the rest of their life
a lot better because of that.
So totally that approach.
I think something, can I, goahead.
Can I just do Please.
I think something that can helpwith that is to separate your
identity as a parent than withyour kid, not wrapping what
their success is as yoursuccess.
Letting them live their ownlife.
(11:40):
Like I've heard this analogybefore, it's two sunny side
eggs.
The whites can be all over eachother, support'em, love'em, do
all that.
But the yolks remain separatewhen you scramble it up and your
identity becomes.
Mix with them.
That's when the lines getblurry.
That's when you're gonna makedecisions that you'll probably
look back and go, that reallywasn't what Junior wanted right
there.
(12:01):
Or wasn't What was best forjunior wasn't what was best.
Exactly.
That's what I wanted.
And they vicariously livedthrough their kid to make up for
what they weren't.
I see it all the time,especially in quarterback play
like this kid, I'm, I'm not,obviously not naming names here.
It's like I watched this daddrive his kid at nine years old
and invest everything in it.
(12:21):
The dad's living vicariously tothe kid because he didn't get
that opportunity.
He wasn't that guy.
And that to me, Carl Young's gota great quote about, like the
greatest burden of child mustbear is the unlived life of a
parent, right?
And it's so true.
It's so true.
The greatest thing you do as aparent, have your own separate
life.
Be secure enough in who you areso you don't have to vicariously
(12:43):
lift through your kid and have,and lift them up to lift you up.
Yeah.
It's a huge weight for that kidand all the investments and all
that.
Even with mind strength coachingI see these parents invest so
much money into everything andwhat does that do to the kids?
It's they feel responsible toand obligated to go get the
outcome that mom and dad wants.
They make the moves, they do allthis.
It's anyways.
I'll go on a tangent.
(13:03):
You can see, no, it's passionateabout it.
I do too.
I can lose my, I can lose myhead about it.
And I was blessed'cause I didn'thave those parents.
My parents were too busy to tryand make me into something that
I wasn't.
I wanna throw a word at you andI want you to just talk about
what you think about it.
Is it real?
Is it something we've made up?
(13:23):
Can we do something about it?
Pressure.
Pressure.
I think there are always gonnabe pressure.
I think that what we've probablydone with youth sports in
general is, like I said, justput more pressure on the kid
based upon what I was justsaying.
It's not only is it the kidwanting to succeed, but it's mom
and dad needing them to succeed,especially with NIL, with all
(13:45):
the promises of being in thestardom, the spotlight, all that
stuff.
So I think we've added morepressure by almost I don't see
it with every parent, but it'sif you have a good outcome,
you're loved.
That's the message.
If you don't have a goodoutcome, you know what are you?
What are we doing?
Love is withheld and it becomesconditional.
So I think that adds morepressure and I think it provides
more insecurity for kids thesedays.
(14:07):
And yes.
IL and all that.
There's abso absolutely morepressure right there.
It's like it's ton you.
You're getting paid now, you'rea professional.
What is that doing?
You know what are those things?
And at that age, I don't think Iwould've been ready for it.
In fact, in the NFL, it's like Iprobably wouldn't even ready for
it I think there's way morepressure way earlier on, like my
(14:29):
agent that talked to me when Iwas a junior in college is now
talking to kids as a junior inhigh school.
That's not right.
I agree.
Yeah.
I guess my concern with it is,goes back, and I'll put this in
context when I have, when I'mplaying with little ones or my
kids when they were little, andoftentimes they're gonna fall
(14:52):
down and they're gonna cry.
It feels like the end of theworld.
It feels oh, my knees skinned upand there's tears and it's pain.
I learned a long time ago that Ican get down at their level if
they're, they're down on thefloor, they're crying.
I can get down and look at'em.
Go, are you crying or laughing?
I can't tell.
And it's amazing how quicklythose tears and that crying
(15:12):
turns into a smile and alaughter.
'cause they could see the smileon my face.
I'm going, are you crying orlaughing?
I can't tell.
And how quickly their mind canswitch that off and go, no I'm
laughing, I'm not crying.
That pain, maybe that pain wasall up here more than it was
down here on my knee.
Can we see pressure that way?
(15:33):
Can we, I think it's, can weremove it?
I think so.
I think nerve what you'retalking about is the same thing
I teach with nerves, right?
Not necessarily move it, but Ithink you shift the perspective
on it.
So Wayne Dyer, a guy that Ireally looked up to, he said, if
you change the way you look atthings, the things you look at
change.
I'll use nerves as an example.
I had viewed nerves that whenthey came, oh crap, everything's
(15:56):
gonna get locked up.
Now I'm gonna get handcuffed,I'm gonna go throw up, blah,
blah, blah, blah.
What if I shifted my perspectiveof when nerves come one, I'm
doing something I love, and two,they actually can take my game
to a whole new level because theadrenaline's gonna kick in.
I'm gonna throw the ball better,I'm gonna, be more dialed into
my reads.
So it's a shift of perspective.
So now same thing can happenwith pressure.
(16:17):
Oh, what an opportunity I have.
Blah, blah, blah, blah.
It's just the way you look atit.
So I think it, it comes withtraining or your environment
around you to help you see itthat way.
But if you're coming from anenvironment that's, having you
view it in a particular way,you're gonna see it that way.
So it's all about perspective.
Yeah.
Have you seen the movie for theLove of the Game with Kevin
Costner?
(16:37):
I have.
I actually quote it.
I do too.
I quote it all the time.
It's, when he steps on the moundand it's clear the mechanism.
Yep.
I was never the athlete youwere.
I never had the success you had.
I see that in you when I watchyour film.
Did you have something likethat?
Did you have tools at that pointin your career where you could
(16:59):
block out the noise or was thatsomething that was natural for
you?
Not natural.
So funny enough, that exactexample is in my book and it was
brought up'cause Kurt Warner, Iasked him, Kurt Warner's a,
super generous guy.
I asked him, Hey, can you bepart of my reader feedback group
and read this, give us comments.
And he actually made thatsuggestion off of a concept that
(17:21):
I was talking about in a book.
And so what it is, the concept,how it got brought up in the
book is called Coding Skills.
So what did he say?
Clear the mechanism, which hadhim focus on.
Not the outcome, not what peopleare saying, not this, that, and
the other, but it was amechanism for him to focus on
what he could control.
So when I have athletes codeskills, it's in three to four
(17:41):
words so they can remember it,right?
It's very easy, it triggers it,but it has a deeper meaning.
So clear the mechanism for himwas a way to get him mentally
engaged on what he can control.
Playing catch in that situationfor me, I had coded skills like
that.
So I'll tell you like a codedskill.
I'm going on a tangent here, butit's good.
I'll view one from a physicalstandpoint where you have
(18:02):
physical skills, mental skills,emotional skills, spiritual
skills.
So there is in football.
A guy named Tom House.
For anybody that doesn't knowwho Tom House is, he's like the
father of throwing pretty much.
Quarterback guru.
Quarterback guru.
Nolan Ryland, Nolan Ryan Guru.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Ton of that, right?
Worked with Tom Brady.
Worked with Drew Brees.
Yep.
So I was fortunate to work withhim.
(18:23):
He created a coded skill calledEat the Burger.
What did it mean?
When I'm done throwing, myoffhand should be in a position
that if you put a burger in myhand, I could take a bite out of
it, meaning all my energy andweight's going towards my
target.
Yeah.
Rather than saying that big,long.
Definition there, you say eatthe burger, which triggers all
that meaning same thing canhappen with mental skills,
(18:46):
right?
So clear the mechanism for KevinCosta.
It might've been a whole deepermeaning, but it triggers him
into what he can control.
Yep.
And why skills are so importantis because you can control them.
And when you focus on things youcan't control your anxiety.
Increases performance increases.
So for me, the coded skill thatI created for myself that you're
talking about there is calledCool Hand Luke and what that
(19:07):
meant, I'm never too high, I'mnever too low, right?
But that coded for me.
Hey, I'm cool hand Luke, I'mcool hand Luke.
And that was my trigger.
So it was my clear the mechanismand it doesn't happen.
You have to train it.
Because in high school shoot, Iallowed all the noise to happen.
I had no confidence.
Yeah.
But I, thankfully I worked witha sports psychologist that
(19:28):
strengthened my mind just asmuch my body and that really
elevated my game.
Yeah.
We invest so much money in PA asparents in the clubs and
individual workout, and boy,that investment into sports
psychologist might be the mostvaluable thing we can invest in.
Think about this.
You spend hotels, flights, gas,then the that and the actual
(19:49):
team.
Then the actual this.
When it's done.
How about mind strength?
When you're done playing 18, 25,45 years old like Tom Brady, you
still have it.
You're still gonna be withyourself.
You're still gonna use mindstrength with business.
Who your relationship.
Talk about an investment thathas the most ROI outta anything,
even the physical stuff.
Yep.
You need physical talent to getyour foot in the door.
(20:11):
I needed to learn how to throw aspiral before I could play
quarterback.
But what got me in to be able toplay at a high level, my mind
strength.
And now what do I use?
Is it, do I throw every day?
Is the spiral really keeping myjob security now?
No.
It's my mind strength.
Let's bring it back torecruiting.
Yep.
Because it's not taking a snapin a big stadium.
It's not throwing a pitch in theninth inning or at bat, or,
(20:34):
making a dig on the volleyballcourt.
The pressure of recruiting.
It's all around us.
It's all the time.
It's, it can be 2, 3, 4 years.
You talked about getting anoffer as a 15-year-old
sophomore, right from FloridaState, your dream school.
Can we use those sameprinciples?
How we look at recruiting.
(20:56):
Totally.
What can you control inrecruiting?
Who do you want to go play for?
How many emails are you sendingthem?
What's your highlight look like?
What are all the things that youcan control?
Rather than filling it, you'reat the mercy of the coach or the
mercy at the situation or theschool, so that's what I try to
do, even within my own athletes.
I don't get hired for recruitingyet.
(21:16):
I'll have some athletes thatI'll give tips to because
obviously I've been through it.
Yeah.
So what can you control in theprocess?
And then a big thing too is canyou shift your perspective on
how you view recruiting ingeneral.
Most kids want to go play at theUSC, the Alabama, this, that,
and the other, but maybe whatit's gonna take for you to be
(21:37):
able to get there, if that'swhat you really want.
Rather than just how you getviewed, which is another topic
that we could go on forever, butyou might need to start at the
division two school.
You might need that to be yourstart and go play and where are
you gonna get developed and takeyour ego out of it.
And do you really wanna play anddo you really love ball?
Or do you love what ball isgonna give you?
Do you love what the hype isgonna give you?
(21:59):
So I think you gotta separatethat when it comes to recruiting
of the kids that really want itand love playing the game, they
don't have a problem going tothe FCS score or the Division
two score, or the Division threescore, or the N-N-A-I-A because
it's a farm system now with theway the transfer portal is.
Yep.
You're not stuck.
So I even tell people, I cautionyou to go walk on now as a
(22:20):
quarterback.
Other positions I would stillsay if you want to, great,
because there's moreopportunities for you to show
off on special teams orwhatever.
And I'm sure other sports aswell.
Basketball, right?
I'm not sure the ins and outs,but quarterback, there's only
one of you.
So you better go play at asmaller school and you're gonna
get seen.
And guess what, they got a kid.
The ole Miss starter right now.
(22:41):
Fair State Division two.
Now he's just starting in theSEC.
It's like it is AAA baseball.
It's AA baseball, and you'regonna get an opportunity at the
big leagues.
If I gave you 15-year-old LukeFalk who just got that offer
from Florida State, how wouldyou use that tool with him?
How would what would, whatadvice would you give him on
(23:04):
what that.
Next day looks like?
Or that next step looks likeafter that offer?
For that kid in particular, heneeded a lot of mind strength
because he had a lot ofconfidence issues in terms of
just, he had a whole lot of workhe had to get going on, so I
think, but he got an offer fromFlorida State?
He did.
He did?
Yeah.
He did get an offer from FloridaState, but he was living off of
(23:26):
this teeter totter in terms ofit, it wasn't lasting.
So when it got taken away, it'soh yeah, I'm not worth that.
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
So I think for him it's workingon the things that were gonna
help you become a great player.
It's not about, I've heard TomBrady say it all the time, it's
just when you get drafted, it'syour start.
It's where you start, it's howyou finish.
(23:48):
So what's gonna help you finishthe best way.
So for that kid, myrecommendation to him was, go
enjoy your trip'cause we're onfamily trip.
And then when you get back, whatcan you work on to help you
become a better player?
'cause that's ultimately what'sgonna help you.
In the long run.
I see it all the time with thesetop tier recruits.
Yeah, that's your start.
Great.
That's your start.
You might get more opportunity.
(24:08):
It's like getting more moneyinvested in you.
But a kid like me who walked on,guess what?
He's working on his game andhe's gonna have a harder time.
But his, he's coming for you.
He's coming because he's workingon the things that he can
control to make himself a betterplayer, which ultimately gets
you on the field.
So Sure.
The hoop law and all that.
Even in today's day, I'm surepeople pay for stars, this, that
(24:31):
and the other.
What really is tangible reallyis gonna set you apart is can
you play, are you working onwhat helps you be a better
player?
And then there are tactics Sure.
Of getting recruited, which youknow way more about than I do.
You.
You're pretty smart, my friend.
I'm gonna throw a Chineseproverb at you to wrap this up
'cause you've given me a lot oftime today because I feel like
(24:52):
we've danced around it.
You've used some great quotes.
There's some things in yourbook, I'm sure it's close, but
there's something that I wrotedown in my journal when I was
about 16, 17 years old, and Ithink I literally got this out
of a a Chinese restaurantcracker, what do they call the
Fortune cookie portion Cookie.
Okay.
(25:13):
And I still have it somewhere ina book.
I still have that somewhere.
And it's the idea of, I I'm notgonna say this correctly, but
it's a man who goes looking forlove or searching for love,
loses himself.
That's great.
And at that point in my life,I'm sure I was dating a girl and
(25:33):
that was the idea of love wascenterpiece.
But the older I got, the more Istarted to understand the man
who goes looking for success orlooking for a scholarship or
looking for something.
That Lamborghini, tangibledollars loses himself.
(25:54):
Is there a part of that in yourbook and is there a part of that
in your career that you can giveadvice to families and kids?
Yeah, I think it's kinda what wetalked about.
Prior of just where's youridentity and knowing that you
are enough right with it, thatit's like I heard Wayne Dyer
say, you can never get enough ofwhat you don't need.
(26:15):
All those things that you thinkwill get you what you are
looking for, they're empty.
They won't what you really needis that internal peace, that
internal knowing that you'reenough, that you love who you
are, that.
You do you love who God createdyou to be?
I also heard something today toothat I don't know if it goes in
alignment with it, but it's likehowever you got to the point.
That where you're at, you haveto continue that.
(26:37):
So a lot of people, it's likethey make sacrifices and
compromises to get to thatsuccess.
They're always gonna have tojump through those hoops in
order to sustain it.
So why don't you build yourfoundation on things that are
within your value system thatyou don't have to compromise who
you are.
So I think the greatest thingthat you could do for your
athlete or for yourself ingeneral is how can you start the
(26:57):
internal mastery?
How can you get comfortable withwho you are so you don't need
anything in order to fill youup?
That would be my advice.
Thank you for taking my hot messof a question and making it
articulate.
I knew you would, but that's yousure throw those zingers at me.
So I don't know if that made anysense, but oh my gosh.
It was exactly what I wish Icould have said and I knew you
(27:18):
would.
It's goes back to thatfoundation.
It doesn't matter if we'replaying or recruiting or
building a family or building abusiness or whatever it may be.
Don't lose.
Don't lose the path you're onand who you are.
Yeah.
And if you don't know who youare, you gotta figure that out
first, or you're gonna run intosome real big obstacles down the
(27:38):
road.
That's a great point.
It's, you gotta know who you arefirst.
And quite frankly, sometimesthat takes some life.
I'm 30 years old.
I'm still finding that guy out.
I know him more.
And like you said earlier, Idon't know if it was on this
segment or the last, but it'syou need that experience.
And sometimes the student I lovethis deal.
It's like the teacher willappear when the student's ready
(27:59):
and sometimes you're not readyat 18 years old, 20 years old,
25 years old, and quite frankly.
I'm 30 years old, I'm sure at40, I'm like shoot, I wasn't
ready for that.
But it's like the teacher willappear when the student's ready.
And one of the greatest thingsthat you could do, and maybe
this message hits now, or maybeyou listen to it 10 years from
now and you go, you know what?
I need to rearrange how I viewthings.
(28:20):
It's not about the status I canget.
It's not about the success I canget.
It's about who am I, what are myvalues, what's my mission in
life, and let me work off ofthat.
Luke Faulk, you're an impressiveyoung man and you're gonna do
great things.
And if there's ever anything Ican do to help you or support
you or market your book ormarket your message, you just
holler and I'll be there.
(28:41):
I appreciate it.
This is a fun conversation forme.
I'm looking forward to yousending me your book and
hopefully we do this again.
Anytime, whenever I can help youjust holler my friend.
Thanks, man.
Wow, what an impressive youngman and what a great story and
message from NCAA Division one.
Walk-on to NFL Quarterback toauthor and coach.
(29:01):
Luke's story is filled withlessons on resilience leadership
and what it really means tostrengthen the mind.
I was so impressed with thehonesty and wisdom he shared,
and I know he has so much moreto give the world through his
coaching in his new book, theMind Strength Playbook.
Make sure to visit coach lukefaulk.com, L-U-K-E-F-A-L-K to
(29:24):
connect with Luke and pre-orderyour copy of the Mind Strength
Playbook releasing October 24th.
If you enjoyed today's episode,please take a moment to click
that subscribe button, leave usa rating and drop a quick
comment.
We'd love to hear from you.
Every review and subscriptionhelps more athletes and coaches
and parents discover thispodcast, and it's what allows me
(29:47):
to keep bringing youconversations like the one you
heard today.
And remember, you can find moreresources@coachmattrogers.com.
And remember, there's no D inRogers Coach Matt, R-O-G-E-R
s.com.
That's where you'll find allpast podcast episodes, my weekly
blog, my recruiting books andclasses, and opportunities to
(30:08):
meet with me and schedule me tospeak at your school or
organization.
Until next time, stay focused,stay humble, and keep chasing
significance.
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