July 21, 2025 • 25 mins
Significant Recruiting with Jeff Gard – Earning the Offer
In this episode of Significant Recruiting, I sit down with Jeff Gard, Head Men’s Basketball Coach at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, to talk about what truly matters in the recruiting process.
Coach Gard pulls back the curtain on how D3 coaches evaluate recruits — and it’s not just about stats. We talk about:
- How effort, energy, and communication shape a recruit’s chances
- What separates a good high school player from a great college teammate
- And why fit, development, and long-term growth should guide your decision-making
Whether you’re just getting started or deep in the process, Coach Gard offers practical advice that every recruit and family needs to hear.
🎯 Listen now and get clear on what it takes to be recruited — and to thrive when you get there.
🎧 Find the episode and more resources at coachmattrogers.com — including Significant Recruiting, The Recruit’s Journal, and the Significant Recruiting Launchpad online course.
Learn more and connect with Matt Rogers here: https://linktr.ee/coachmattrogers
Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and all your favorite podcast platforms.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
When you talk about mentaltoughness, what does that look
like to you?
I think it's body language.
When something doesn't go yourway.
Basketball is a game ofreactions.
How do you react?
It's gonna determine the nextoutcome.
Life is a game of reactions.
It's those that react thefastest are the ones that have
the most success.
(00:28):
Welcome to this week's episodeof Significant Recruiting.
I'm your host, Matt Rogers, andif you're a high school athlete
or a parent trying to figure outhow to stand out in the
recruiting process, today'sguest brings a ton of experience
and knowledge in real world.
I'm joined by Coach Jeff Guardhead, men's basketball coach at
the University of Wisconsin inPlatteville, a proven leader in
(00:50):
one of the most competitive Dthree conferences in the
country.
In this episode, coach Guardbreaks down what college coaches
are really looking for not justtalent, but effort, attitude,
resilience, and a willingness togrow.
He shares how he evaluatesrecruits, what makes a player
stick in a program, and the onetrait he wishes more high school
(01:11):
athletes would develop beforeeven stepping on a college
campus.
Whether you're navigating earlyrecruiting conversations,
looking to build a smarterschool list, or trying to
understand where you truly fit,this conversation is packed with
takeaways that can change yourapproach.
Before we dive in, don't forgetto visit.
Coach Matt rogers.com where youcan pick up my book, significant
(01:34):
Recruiting and the recruitsjournals, or enroll in our
significant recruitinglaunchpad, the online class that
helps families take control ofthe recruiting process.
Now, let's get into it.
Here's part two of myconversation with Coach Jeff
Guard.
Coach, there's nobody better atrecruiting than you and your
(01:54):
staff at the D three level.
and I would throw that in at anylevel.
Just how you go about yourbusiness and how you make your
recruits really think about.
What they want that next levelto be like for them.
You don't make it where it's ared carpet.
Hey, we want you to come in.
Yeah, we want you to come in.
(02:15):
But you're expressing thatreality.
What does a Platteville guy looklike to you?
We look for the young man.
That just has that toughnessabout'em.
We also look for an individualthat's unselfish.
And I think that's the one thingis that we're in a world right
now where it's about me.
And It's trying to find thatindividual that is going to buy
(02:37):
in and knowing that, what canPlatteville do for you?
How can we help you grow?
We're bringing you here becausewe see how you fit within our
system.
But it's also this, we can bringyou in here to help you expand
your horizons, make you better,in the four years.
(02:57):
After you leave here, it's gonnaset you up for the next 40 of
your life as well.
But I think that's the big thingis that we just look for the
individual and one that's gotthat toughness about'em.
And toughness is not thephysical it's the mental and
really being comfortable, beinguncomfortable.
I think that's sometimes when wetake a kid out of, out of a
(03:17):
bigger city and you bring'em tosouthwest Wisconsin.
The biggest challenge is thedrive from Chicago to
Platteville per se.
Yeah.
Where you're driving through.
Once we get you here, alright.
Now you see everything that thisathletic department and this
university offers, and that'sthe wow factor.
(03:40):
And then you throw obviously ontop of it.
The tradition and the success ofthe program and the different
things that we can do within it.
That's the big selling point aswell.
But yeah, at the end of the day,it's really finding that the kid
that's got that toughness abouthim, that grit about him that
also wants to be challenged.
And I think that's part of thattoughness, is that I want to be
(04:01):
challenged.
Yeah, go somewhere where you'reuncomfortable because that's the
only way you're gonna getcomfortable.
You're gonna get better, is ifyou go somewhere where
everything's just like it isback home.
Or I'm gonna come here and thisis gonna be easy.
We're gonna challenge you, and Ithink.
When we, even when we talk togreat players, we're at a level
(04:22):
now where obviously we'recompeting for student athletes
that are at the division twolevel or a low division.
One level, they got offers.
And I tell'em, I said, if youwant to be the best, you gotta
go where the best are at, right?
And sometimes we don't, as ayoung man, we don't want to go
where.
We have to earn something.
(04:42):
And we talked about thatobviously in the previous
episode as well, but go whereyou're gonna get challenged, go
where the best players are at,because that's how you become a
better player, and again, it'snot about being a better player
on Mon on Wednesdays andSaturdays when it's game day,
you get to become a betterplayer when hey, you are going
(05:04):
against Logan Pearson four daysout of the week.
You have to compete againstLogan Pearce.
You have to guard him.
He's guarding you four days outof the week.
In practice for two hours eachday that's gonna make you take
you to the next level.
And then when it's your turn,it's gonna be easy.
(05:25):
That's right.
But not a lot of people wanna dothat.
That's a little too tough.
That's too hard for me.
I don't wanna wait.
Maybe is the other big word aswell.
And some, like I said, toughnessis not always mental or
physical, it's the mental sideof things as well.
Are you tough enough to bepatient and let things come to
you?
(05:45):
Where everybody on the outsideis telling you, you should be
going somewhere else.
'cause you're, you could beplaying here right away.
That's right.
Not gonna make you better.
It's not.
I agree.
When you're on a court watchinggames, watching a, au travel
ball, high school games, whatdoes resilience look like to
you?
Because for me, that's what I'mhearing.
When you talk about mentaltoughness, what pops for you to
(06:08):
see?
Man, that kid's got thatresilience.
He's got that determination.
He can overcome a failure oovercome something that didn't
work out in his favor.
What does that look like to you?
I think it's body language.
When something doesn't go yourway.
And I think that's the easiestway is that basketball is a game
of reactions.
How do you react?
It's gonna determine the nextoutcome.
(06:31):
Life is a game of reactions.
It's those that react thefastest are the ones that have
the most success.
And I see it, we had it, in oneof our guys this year.
One of the conference game thatwe lost, he couldn't hit the
broad side of a barn, and he'sone of our better shooters.
And I remember showing him filmthe next day, and I'm like, look
(06:54):
at your body language.
I'm not even worried aboutwhether the shot's going in or
not.
Look at your body language whenthat ball leaves your hand and
you're hanging your head, oryou're letting an explicit fly,
as well.
It's in your head now.
You gotta be able to bounce outof it.
I think some of the best drillsthat we have are, we have a
(07:14):
shooting drill that we do where,you shoot until you've missed
two shots in a row and then itrotate.
You could stay in the drill andkeep on going.
You can finish the entire drill.
It's a three man drill.
You could do all the shootingbecause as long as you don't
miss two shots in a row.
Part of missing two shots in arow is how do you respond when
(07:37):
you miss a shot?
Do you hang your head or do yousay, boom, next, and again, it's
a game of reactions.
And how well do you react,positively or negatively.
I could go back COVI year.
One of our big guys, JustinStovall, was in a pick and roll
on offense.
And our point guard gave him abeautiful pick and roll bounce
(07:59):
pass.
And Justin just went up andthere's nobody in the gym.
Mind you, it's COVID year, butthis is in a game.
And he goes up and literallyjust tomahawk, posturized a guy.
it got to be like a highlightreel and they were pushing it to
ESPN as well, and.
That's great.
And he's all excited and he'srunning down the floor and what
(08:19):
happens, boom.
Down the ball goes lay up on theother floor.
So what do you think happens thenext day, Matt, in practice and
we're going into film session, Isaid, hey great dunk Justin, but
now look at you just gave up alayup.
So it's a game of reactions.
That's right.
And I remember Coach Pet, youact like you've been there
before.
Act like you've been therebefore.
(08:40):
Whether it's something greathappens or something negative
happens, how do you respond toit?
How do you bounce back?
Tell us a lot about it.
And we do that.
We'll high five when somethinggood happens in the game.
But I always tell our guys,celebrate in the locker room.
That's right.
I said we don't need to behooting and hollering or if
there's a dead ball or atimeout.
I expect my entire bench to rushout there and high fiving and
(09:02):
chest bumping with guys comingoff the floor, but not one plays
going on.
Just react.
And again, if it doesn't go yourfavor.
Alright.
Hey, you have an opportunity toget it back on the other end of
the floor.
That resiliency, like you'reasking the question again, I got
long-winded there, but how doyou respond when something
doesn't go your way?
When you turn the ball over,when you get scored on, when you
miss a shot, how do you respond?
(09:23):
Not only when it happens to you,but if a teammate throws a bad
pass.
Do you shrug your shoulders,shake your head, or pissed off?
Or are you, they're down too,right?
Pick'em up, how do you respondthere?
What type of a teammate are you?
You know when things are goingwell, but what type of a
teammate, more importantly, areyou when things aren't going
(09:45):
well and how do you pick thoseguys up around you?
It's the centerpiece of what,how we think as coaches.
We know where we want to be withan individual, where we want to
be with a team, and the idea isyou're such a good shooter.
Yeah.
That miss doesn't affect you.
(10:05):
You know your job is to shoot.
I can have faith in you thatyou're coming off a screen the
next time and you're open.
You're planting your feet andyou're shooting it like that
last shot didn't even happen,correct?
A hundred percent.
And if I get beat on the otherend, man, I'm already thinking
as a mechanic man, I let thatguy go middle.
I let that guy go baseline or Ididn't have my eyes on the
belly.
They're already thinking.
(10:26):
You can see that resilience hasa purpose to it, right?
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Yep.
It's not, ah, I gotta getbetter.
I hate that.
No.
What does better look likeExactly.
Do you know how to do that?
So I just, I love that coach,great.
I'm intrigued to find out whatrole your current roster plays
with recruitment.
(10:47):
They're everything, when webring individuals to campus.
We do a little differently aswell, is that obviously we'll
take'em through some admissionstuff, we'll walk'em around
campus.
My staff assistant coaches willbe with them a lot there.
And then when we go to lunch,that's when we break it off, and
(11:08):
our student athlete will go tolunch with them and we will take
mom and dad.
Somewhere else on campus, maybego sit at a different table.
Yeah.
And because again, I think it'swhen mom and dad are around and
they're around the coaches,we're hearing everything that we
want to hear or they're notbeing themselves.
That's right.
But when they get to hang outwith their guys.
(11:31):
Then you get to hear a littlebit more of who they are, what
they think, or if they'rerunning with the guys, whatever
it may be.
I think that's a key piece ofit.
But then also it's our guys aretrue.
I tell'em, Hey, you're gonnahave lunch with so and you have
45 minutes to just throwwhatever question.
how big of a jerk is coachguard?
That's right.
And they're gonna tell you thetruth.
(11:52):
At the end of the day, I thinkthat's the biggest thing, is
that the worst thing we can doto a young man.
His family to him.
Tell him something that's nottrue.
Because you don't want him toget to your program and man, he
wasn't like that during therecruitment process, yep.
get our guys involved.
I think it's tougher to get thejunior and the senior to really
buy into connecting fully with asenior in high school.
(12:19):
Because they're thinking in theback of their mind.
I remember when I came in, howmuch of an impact did I really
have on that season for thatsenior that year.
You know if I'm a junior orreally a senior, how much is
this incoming freshman gonnahelp me?
I go back to what I said earlierthough, is they gotta understand
and they do is when we bringguys in and you're a part of the
(12:42):
team, it's how do you raisepractice?
Are they gonna make practicemore competitive for us?
Are they gonna be too big of anissue?
Is there gonna be too muchbaggage?
And they'll find out things,throughout that process.
That obviously helps evaluate.
But the worst thing that couldhappen is, a kid, and it's hard
because.
17, 18-year-old sitting downwith a 21, 20 2-year-old,
(13:05):
they're shy.
Even like when they come intoplay in open gyms as well,
they're tentative.
Yeah.
So it's, it is, it'sinteresting.
But a lot of it's also, it'stell the why.
Why did you come to Platteville?
You're from Chicago, you're fromthe Quad Cities, you're from
Milwaukee, you're from GreenBay.
Let them know why you came to,that's.
(13:25):
And I think that the other bigpiece of it, like I tell our
parents as well, is that we havean emphasis of recruiting.
Obviously we're looking attalent, but we will never let
character overrule because thekid's a phenomenal athlete, but
he's got poor character.
(13:46):
I'm not gonna take the kid.
That's right.
Yeah.
And I think, again, when youhave.
Guys around the program that aregood people.
Yeah.
It makes things more comfortablefor mom and dad.
I do use the line with them aswell, that, the final question I
will ask myself with whether youcan play for my program or not,
(14:08):
is, can I trust you with my twoprize possessions?
And that's Hannah and Vince.
Yeah.
If I can trust you.
My kids.
Yep.
And we've had it where Amy andI, or even like today, I said
Hannah and Vincent in the officenext door with Keegan and Max
and Richie.
My assistants, God knows what'sgoing on over there, but I can
(14:29):
trust it that I'm away or evenwhen I'm not away.
You're, my kids are around myprogram so much.
They're in the locker room atafter games.
Yep.
They're at practices.
They're on bus trips.
Yep.
Now, what type of.
People do I have on that buswith me?
Do I want my kids there?
if the answer is no, I don'twant Hannah and Vince there
(14:51):
because of what's gonna be doneon the bus or how these guys
act, then I don't want you.
You're, yeah, you're a greatathlete, but you're not a fit to
our system and to our programand really what we're all about.
They make it easy sometimes,don't they?
Oh, they do.
They absolutely do.
I said sometimes the choices wemake in life, we don't realize
(15:12):
how it's gonna impact us downthe road.
All right, coach, I'm gonna giveyou two more hypotheticals here.
You got a 17-year-old,16-year-old out there, really
talented kid.
He'd love to play at the wack,love to play for you.
how do they get your attention?
how do you want them to contactyou and your team about playing
for you?
What's the best way to do that?
(15:32):
The emails that come throughare, we get so many of'em, they
get watered down.
you get a lot of the genericstuff.
the ones that catch me when I'mlooking through it and okay,
yeah, you're doing a littleresearch on me or you're doing a
little research on our program,The other one.
Talk, phone call.
Not a text.
A phone call.
That's right.
Obviously come visit campus andalso, we have advanced camps, we
(15:58):
have things going on here aswell.
But I will also tell'em, I said,be ready to be told the truth,
and I tell guys that I said,Platteville is not for
everybody, yes, you might wantto be here, but I also may tell
you, I think you have a betteropportunity here.
Or, you want to go to Plava, butwe don't have what you want
(16:18):
academically.
Then why don't let basketball bethe reason that you come here?
It's a part of the reason you'recoming here.
But realistically, I said at theend of the day.
I make the analogy is take abasketball stand on it, tell me
how long you can stand on thisthing.
You're not gonna be there verylong.
That's right.
So you gotta be able to makesure there's an, what's the
(16:38):
bigger why of why I'm coming topla, why I want to be at
Platteville.
Yeah.
You could say, how is thisprogram gonna help me?
Grow, and be the person I wannabe as well.
But I think the biggest thing isjust, open, honest, sincere
communication.
I get so many generic emails.
Obviously, there's recruitingservices that are out there and
(16:59):
there's sending the stuff out.
But you know what a recruitingservice may send out.
For Johnny, they're sending outthe same thing for Timmy as
well.
So it doesn't really break itup, but if it's coming from you,
if you put some thought into itHey, I'm interested in
Plattville because of this morethan just, I'm interested in
(17:21):
Plattville because of thebasketball program.
Yeah.
Again, you're telling me you'vedone your research on us, you've
done our research on thisuniversity.
how do you feel that this is afit for you or why you're
interested in us, giving us thatwhy as well?
Love it.
Same idea.
(17:42):
I'm gonna put you on stage.
There's 300 basketball parentsin the audience.
What's the one thing aboutcollege recruiting you want them
to walk out the door with interms of how to message this
journey with their kids?
What do they need to understand?
Don't get caught up in themoney.
(18:07):
Don't get caught up in thestatistics.
What is going, where can yourson or your daughter go that is
gonna help them grow?
And I think we're in the realmnow as with division three in
particular, is that I'm notgetting my school paid for.
(18:28):
I can go to the East coast.
Hours away from mom and dad andfamily, and I can take this
partial scholarship or because Igot a scholarship, the ROI, or
return on the investment becauseI play club ball all summer
long.
Don't get caught up in that.
Just understand where can yourson or daughter go that's going
(18:51):
to help them grow.
That's right.
As an athlete, but moreimportantly as an individual.
Yeah.
I think sometimes they, get.
Caught up and we always used tosay, you get caught up in the
Roman numeral too much, and ifI'm not getting a Division one
scholarship or division twoscholarship it's a complete
waste of time.
(19:11):
I'm like, no.
At the end of the day, whatdegree are you getting?
Yeah.
If you get your school paid for,great.
But at the end of the day that.
piece of paper that you're gonnaget is gonna take you further in
life, than that game ofbasketball did or the game of
volleyball or whatever sport itmay be.
So again, be there, be patientwith the process.
(19:32):
I think that's sometimes isanother piece of it.
And then maybe the last one Iwould say to a parent, give your
opinion to your son or daughter.
I have had.
So many parents that have comethrough and my staff laughs
about it.
They're like, coach, you win theparents overnight in and night
(19:53):
out.
every parent will walk outtayour office saying, that's where
I want my son to go.
And I'm like, and it's great.
But then, mom and dad don'talways voice their opinion on
where they would like their sonto go.
And they always say it's hisdecision.
I'm like, yeah, it is, but who'spaying the bill?
I always joke around with that,but also I'm like, let'em know.
(20:15):
Why do you think, you might say,we don't think Plattville is a
right fit for you, for somebody,a kid that wants to come here.
Again, that's something thatthey have to live with.
It's kinda don't wait untilsomebody passes away to tell'em
that you love'em.
it's hey, speak the truth now.
Let'em know what's going on.
Where you're sitting at.
I think that is, a very commonthing that we see, or I hear a
(20:37):
lot of is it's his decision andwe're not gonna put any
pressure.
And I'm like telling them whereyou think they should go is not
putting pressure on them.
Yeah.
You gotta give their opinion andsometimes they want.
Your opinion, they may want youto tell'em, but they don't know
how to come across and say, Hey,mom or dad, where do you think I
(20:58):
should go?
Yeah.
They're 18, 17, 18 years old.
They're still trying to figureout what they're gonna have for
breakfast every day.
That's right.
and this is the biggest decisionin their life and you are
letting them do this on theirown.
Yeah.
Without giving any input at all.
I think that's a big thing isjust, be along the journey with
them but also as you're seeingeverything along that journey,
(21:20):
let'em know, I always tell herwhen they leave campus, I said,
Hey, you're in the car with momand dad, for the next hour to
three hour, whatever it may be,talk.
Don't sit in the back of the carwith your headphones on and
looking at your phone and nothaving any conversation.
At some point you gotta have aconversation about what is going
on.
And I think that's where we getcaught up is just the
(21:41):
communication piece of it all,and being willing to have that
conversation I teach parents howimportant it's to ask the
questions that your son doesn'tunderstand what to ask yet.
Yeah.
are you gonna be comfortable ata school where it's 300 kids in
a classroom, in a lecture hall?
When you grew up in Plattevillewhere the largest class was 20
kids.
Correct.
(22:01):
And you had a teacher knowingyou were there, pushing you,
challenging you, expecting, youlove the ocean, you love warm
weather.
You hate cold weather.
Is this school fit you wannalive when you're done?
Do you wanna live at a placelike this for four years?
Exactly.
helping your child.
Ask the right questions, come upwith those answers that really
are meaningful for them, is sucha big deal.
So it's great advice coach.
(22:24):
I think our cross, probably forthe first time, 30 plus years
ago, it's been such a joy towatch your journey.
Where we both started and whatyou've done with it and how
you've created this greatculture and great atmosphere at
Platteville.
It's just so cool for me and I'mthankful that you came on and
had this conversation I'm gonnabe cheering for you till the
end.
I appreciate it, Matt, and it'sa lot of success, obviously is
(22:47):
only possible when you have theright people.
Yeah.
And again, you gotta surroundyourself with those people.
And I, like I said, I've got itfrom top to bottom at
Platteville from a chancellorthat's got our back.
To my assistant coaches, my ga,my student athletes, support
staff throughout.
You know that's possible becauseyou have the right people and
again, I think that's what wefind in plateaus.
We've got the right people downhere as well.
(23:08):
So I appreciate you having me onthough.
Good luck.
I hope you get some rest and Ilook forward to talking down the
road.
Sounds great.
Take care.
That wraps up today's episode ofsignificant Recruiting and what
a great grounded conversationwith Coach Jeff Guard.
His message was clear.
College coaches are looking formore than just skill.
They're looking for charactercoachability and the kind of
(23:29):
consistency that makes adifference in a locker room.
If you're a student athlete orparent tuning in, remember,
recruiting isn't just aboutbeing seen.
It's about being ready, ready tocommunicate, ready to compete,
ready to grow, and that's agreat reason to schedule a 30
minute conversation with meabout where you're at in that
(23:50):
process.
I'd love to talk to you and loveto talk strategy with you about
your future.
You can do that by going over tocoach matt rogers.com, where not
only can you schedule with me,but you can grab a copy of my
recruiting books.
You can jump into thesignificant recruiting
launchpad, my online classesbuilt to help you take charge of
this process with confidence,and you can listen to past
(24:12):
podcasts and read my weeklyblog.
Thanks again for listening, andbe sure to check out part one of
my conversation with Coach Guardover on the Significant Coaching
Podcast where we talk aboutleadership, the Yac Conference,
and the legacy of Coach JerryPeta youe.
Until next time, keep showingup, keep reaching out, and keep
leading with significance.
When you talk about mentaltoughness, what does that look
like to you?
I think it's body language.
When something doesn't go yourway.
Basketball is a game ofreactions.
How do you react?
It's gonna determine the nextoutcome.
Life is a game of reactions.
It's those that react thefastest are the ones that have
the most success.
(00:28):
Welcome to this week's episodeof Significant Recruiting.
I'm your host, Matt Rogers, andif you're a high school athlete
or a parent trying to figure outhow to stand out in the
recruiting process, today'sguest brings a ton of experience
and knowledge in real world.
I'm joined by Coach Jeff Guardhead, men's basketball coach at
the University of Wisconsin inPlatteville, a proven leader in
(00:50):
one of the most competitive Dthree conferences in the
country.
In this episode, coach Guardbreaks down what college coaches
are really looking for not justtalent, but effort, attitude,
resilience, and a willingness togrow.
He shares how he evaluatesrecruits, what makes a player
stick in a program, and the onetrait he wishes more high school
(01:11):
athletes would develop beforeeven stepping on a college
campus.
Whether you're navigating earlyrecruiting conversations,
looking to build a smarterschool list, or trying to
understand where you truly fit,this conversation is packed with
takeaways that can change yourapproach.
Before we dive in, don't forgetto visit.
Coach Matt rogers.com where youcan pick up my book, significant
(01:34):
Recruiting and the recruitsjournals, or enroll in our
significant recruitinglaunchpad, the online class that
helps families take control ofthe recruiting process.
Now, let's get into it.
Here's part two of myconversation with Coach Jeff
Guard.
Coach, there's nobody better atrecruiting than you and your
(01:54):
staff at the D three level.
and I would throw that in at anylevel.
Just how you go about yourbusiness and how you make your
recruits really think about.
What they want that next levelto be like for them.
You don't make it where it's ared carpet.
Hey, we want you to come in.
Yeah, we want you to come in.
(02:15):
But you're expressing thatreality.
What does a Platteville guy looklike to you?
We look for the young man.
That just has that toughnessabout'em.
We also look for an individualthat's unselfish.
And I think that's the one thingis that we're in a world right
now where it's about me.
And It's trying to find thatindividual that is going to buy
(02:37):
in and knowing that, what canPlatteville do for you?
How can we help you grow?
We're bringing you here becausewe see how you fit within our
system.
But it's also this, we can bringyou in here to help you expand
your horizons, make you better,in the four years.
(02:57):
After you leave here, it's gonnaset you up for the next 40 of
your life as well.
But I think that's the big thingis that we just look for the
individual and one that's gotthat toughness about'em.
And toughness is not thephysical it's the mental and
really being comfortable, beinguncomfortable.
I think that's sometimes when wetake a kid out of, out of a
(03:17):
bigger city and you bring'em tosouthwest Wisconsin.
The biggest challenge is thedrive from Chicago to
Platteville per se.
Yeah.
Where you're driving through.
Once we get you here, alright.
Now you see everything that thisathletic department and this
university offers, and that'sthe wow factor.
(03:40):
And then you throw obviously ontop of it.
The tradition and the success ofthe program and the different
things that we can do within it.
That's the big selling point aswell.
But yeah, at the end of the day,it's really finding that the kid
that's got that toughness abouthim, that grit about him that
also wants to be challenged.
And I think that's part of thattoughness, is that I want to be
(04:01):
challenged.
Yeah, go somewhere where you'reuncomfortable because that's the
only way you're gonna getcomfortable.
You're gonna get better, is ifyou go somewhere where
everything's just like it isback home.
Or I'm gonna come here and thisis gonna be easy.
We're gonna challenge you, and Ithink.
When we, even when we talk togreat players, we're at a level
(04:22):
now where obviously we'recompeting for student athletes
that are at the division twolevel or a low division.
One level, they got offers.
And I tell'em, I said, if youwant to be the best, you gotta
go where the best are at, right?
And sometimes we don't, as ayoung man, we don't want to go
where.
We have to earn something.
(04:42):
And we talked about thatobviously in the previous
episode as well, but go whereyou're gonna get challenged, go
where the best players are at,because that's how you become a
better player, and again, it'snot about being a better player
on Mon on Wednesdays andSaturdays when it's game day,
you get to become a betterplayer when hey, you are going
(05:04):
against Logan Pearson four daysout of the week.
You have to compete againstLogan Pearce.
You have to guard him.
He's guarding you four days outof the week.
In practice for two hours eachday that's gonna make you take
you to the next level.
And then when it's your turn,it's gonna be easy.
(05:25):
That's right.
But not a lot of people wanna dothat.
That's a little too tough.
That's too hard for me.
I don't wanna wait.
Maybe is the other big word aswell.
And some, like I said, toughnessis not always mental or
physical, it's the mental sideof things as well.
Are you tough enough to bepatient and let things come to
you?
(05:45):
Where everybody on the outsideis telling you, you should be
going somewhere else.
'cause you're, you could beplaying here right away.
That's right.
Not gonna make you better.
It's not.
I agree.
When you're on a court watchinggames, watching a, au travel
ball, high school games, whatdoes resilience look like to
you?
Because for me, that's what I'mhearing.
When you talk about mentaltoughness, what pops for you to
(06:08):
see?
Man, that kid's got thatresilience.
He's got that determination.
He can overcome a failure oovercome something that didn't
work out in his favor.
What does that look like to you?
I think it's body language.
When something doesn't go yourway.
And I think that's the easiestway is that basketball is a game
of reactions.
How do you react?
It's gonna determine the nextoutcome.
(06:31):
Life is a game of reactions.
It's those that react thefastest are the ones that have
the most success.
And I see it, we had it, in oneof our guys this year.
One of the conference game thatwe lost, he couldn't hit the
broad side of a barn, and he'sone of our better shooters.
And I remember showing him filmthe next day, and I'm like, look
(06:54):
at your body language.
I'm not even worried aboutwhether the shot's going in or
not.
Look at your body language whenthat ball leaves your hand and
you're hanging your head, oryou're letting an explicit fly,
as well.
It's in your head now.
You gotta be able to bounce outof it.
I think some of the best drillsthat we have are, we have a
(07:14):
shooting drill that we do where,you shoot until you've missed
two shots in a row and then itrotate.
You could stay in the drill andkeep on going.
You can finish the entire drill.
It's a three man drill.
You could do all the shootingbecause as long as you don't
miss two shots in a row.
Part of missing two shots in arow is how do you respond when
(07:37):
you miss a shot?
Do you hang your head or do yousay, boom, next, and again, it's
a game of reactions.
And how well do you react,positively or negatively.
I could go back COVI year.
One of our big guys, JustinStovall, was in a pick and roll
on offense.
And our point guard gave him abeautiful pick and roll bounce
(07:59):
pass.
And Justin just went up andthere's nobody in the gym.
Mind you, it's COVID year, butthis is in a game.
And he goes up and literallyjust tomahawk, posturized a guy.
it got to be like a highlightreel and they were pushing it to
ESPN as well, and.
That's great.
And he's all excited and he'srunning down the floor and what
(08:19):
happens, boom.
Down the ball goes lay up on theother floor.
So what do you think happens thenext day, Matt, in practice and
we're going into film session, Isaid, hey great dunk Justin, but
now look at you just gave up alayup.
So it's a game of reactions.
That's right.
And I remember Coach Pet, youact like you've been there
before.
Act like you've been therebefore.
(08:40):
Whether it's something greathappens or something negative
happens, how do you respond toit?
How do you bounce back?
Tell us a lot about it.
And we do that.
We'll high five when somethinggood happens in the game.
But I always tell our guys,celebrate in the locker room.
That's right.
I said we don't need to behooting and hollering or if
there's a dead ball or atimeout.
I expect my entire bench to rushout there and high fiving and
(09:02):
chest bumping with guys comingoff the floor, but not one plays
going on.
Just react.
And again, if it doesn't go yourfavor.
Alright.
Hey, you have an opportunity toget it back on the other end of
the floor.
That resiliency, like you'reasking the question again, I got
long-winded there, but how doyou respond when something
doesn't go your way?
When you turn the ball over,when you get scored on, when you
miss a shot, how do you respond?
(09:23):
Not only when it happens to you,but if a teammate throws a bad
pass.
Do you shrug your shoulders,shake your head, or pissed off?
Or are you, they're down too,right?
Pick'em up, how do you respondthere?
What type of a teammate are you?
You know when things are goingwell, but what type of a
teammate, more importantly, areyou when things aren't going
(09:45):
well and how do you pick thoseguys up around you?
It's the centerpiece of what,how we think as coaches.
We know where we want to be withan individual, where we want to
be with a team, and the idea isyou're such a good shooter.
Yeah.
That miss doesn't affect you.
(10:05):
You know your job is to shoot.
I can have faith in you thatyou're coming off a screen the
next time and you're open.
You're planting your feet andyou're shooting it like that
last shot didn't even happen,correct?
A hundred percent.
And if I get beat on the otherend, man, I'm already thinking
as a mechanic man, I let thatguy go middle.
I let that guy go baseline or Ididn't have my eyes on the
belly.
They're already thinking.
(10:26):
You can see that resilience hasa purpose to it, right?
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Yep.
It's not, ah, I gotta getbetter.
I hate that.
No.
What does better look likeExactly.
Do you know how to do that?
So I just, I love that coach,great.
I'm intrigued to find out whatrole your current roster plays
with recruitment.
(10:47):
They're everything, when webring individuals to campus.
We do a little differently aswell, is that obviously we'll
take'em through some admissionstuff, we'll walk'em around
campus.
My staff assistant coaches willbe with them a lot there.
And then when we go to lunch,that's when we break it off, and
(11:08):
our student athlete will go tolunch with them and we will take
mom and dad.
Somewhere else on campus, maybego sit at a different table.
Yeah.
And because again, I think it'swhen mom and dad are around and
they're around the coaches,we're hearing everything that we
want to hear or they're notbeing themselves.
That's right.
But when they get to hang outwith their guys.
(11:31):
Then you get to hear a littlebit more of who they are, what
they think, or if they'rerunning with the guys, whatever
it may be.
I think that's a key piece ofit.
But then also it's our guys aretrue.
I tell'em, Hey, you're gonnahave lunch with so and you have
45 minutes to just throwwhatever question.
how big of a jerk is coachguard?
That's right.
And they're gonna tell you thetruth.
(11:52):
At the end of the day, I thinkthat's the biggest thing, is
that the worst thing we can doto a young man.
His family to him.
Tell him something that's nottrue.
Because you don't want him toget to your program and man, he
wasn't like that during therecruitment process, yep.
get our guys involved.
I think it's tougher to get thejunior and the senior to really
buy into connecting fully with asenior in high school.
(12:19):
Because they're thinking in theback of their mind.
I remember when I came in, howmuch of an impact did I really
have on that season for thatsenior that year.
You know if I'm a junior orreally a senior, how much is
this incoming freshman gonnahelp me?
I go back to what I said earlierthough, is they gotta understand
and they do is when we bringguys in and you're a part of the
(12:42):
team, it's how do you raisepractice?
Are they gonna make practicemore competitive for us?
Are they gonna be too big of anissue?
Is there gonna be too muchbaggage?
And they'll find out things,throughout that process.
That obviously helps evaluate.
But the worst thing that couldhappen is, a kid, and it's hard
because.
17, 18-year-old sitting downwith a 21, 20 2-year-old,
(13:05):
they're shy.
Even like when they come intoplay in open gyms as well,
they're tentative.
Yeah.
So it's, it is, it'sinteresting.
But a lot of it's also, it'stell the why.
Why did you come to Platteville?
You're from Chicago, you're fromthe Quad Cities, you're from
Milwaukee, you're from GreenBay.
Let them know why you came to,that's.
(13:25):
And I think that the other bigpiece of it, like I tell our
parents as well, is that we havean emphasis of recruiting.
Obviously we're looking attalent, but we will never let
character overrule because thekid's a phenomenal athlete, but
he's got poor character.
(13:46):
I'm not gonna take the kid.
That's right.
Yeah.
And I think, again, when youhave.
Guys around the program that aregood people.
Yeah.
It makes things more comfortablefor mom and dad.
I do use the line with them aswell, that, the final question I
will ask myself with whether youcan play for my program or not,
(14:08):
is, can I trust you with my twoprize possessions?
And that's Hannah and Vince.
Yeah.
If I can trust you.
My kids.
Yep.
And we've had it where Amy andI, or even like today, I said
Hannah and Vincent in the officenext door with Keegan and Max
and Richie.
My assistants, God knows what'sgoing on over there, but I can
(14:29):
trust it that I'm away or evenwhen I'm not away.
You're, my kids are around myprogram so much.
They're in the locker room atafter games.
Yep.
They're at practices.
They're on bus trips.
Yep.
Now, what type of.
People do I have on that buswith me?
Do I want my kids there?
if the answer is no, I don'twant Hannah and Vince there
(14:51):
because of what's gonna be doneon the bus or how these guys
act, then I don't want you.
You're, yeah, you're a greatathlete, but you're not a fit to
our system and to our programand really what we're all about.
They make it easy sometimes,don't they?
Oh, they do.
They absolutely do.
I said sometimes the choices wemake in life, we don't realize
(15:12):
how it's gonna impact us downthe road.
All right, coach, I'm gonna giveyou two more hypotheticals here.
You got a 17-year-old,16-year-old out there, really
talented kid.
He'd love to play at the wack,love to play for you.
how do they get your attention?
how do you want them to contactyou and your team about playing
for you?
What's the best way to do that?
(15:32):
The emails that come throughare, we get so many of'em, they
get watered down.
you get a lot of the genericstuff.
the ones that catch me when I'mlooking through it and okay,
yeah, you're doing a littleresearch on me or you're doing a
little research on our program,The other one.
Talk, phone call.
Not a text.
A phone call.
That's right.
Obviously come visit campus andalso, we have advanced camps, we
(15:58):
have things going on here aswell.
But I will also tell'em, I said,be ready to be told the truth,
and I tell guys that I said,Platteville is not for
everybody, yes, you might wantto be here, but I also may tell
you, I think you have a betteropportunity here.
Or, you want to go to Plava, butwe don't have what you want
(16:18):
academically.
Then why don't let basketball bethe reason that you come here?
It's a part of the reason you'recoming here.
But realistically, I said at theend of the day.
I make the analogy is take abasketball stand on it, tell me
how long you can stand on thisthing.
You're not gonna be there verylong.
That's right.
So you gotta be able to makesure there's an, what's the
(16:38):
bigger why of why I'm coming topla, why I want to be at
Platteville.
Yeah.
You could say, how is thisprogram gonna help me?
Grow, and be the person I wannabe as well.
But I think the biggest thing isjust, open, honest, sincere
communication.
I get so many generic emails.
Obviously, there's recruitingservices that are out there and
(16:59):
there's sending the stuff out.
But you know what a recruitingservice may send out.
For Johnny, they're sending outthe same thing for Timmy as
well.
So it doesn't really break itup, but if it's coming from you,
if you put some thought into itHey, I'm interested in
Plattville because of this morethan just, I'm interested in
(17:21):
Plattville because of thebasketball program.
Yeah.
Again, you're telling me you'vedone your research on us, you've
done our research on thisuniversity.
how do you feel that this is afit for you or why you're
interested in us, giving us thatwhy as well?
Love it.
Same idea.
(17:42):
I'm gonna put you on stage.
There's 300 basketball parentsin the audience.
What's the one thing aboutcollege recruiting you want them
to walk out the door with interms of how to message this
journey with their kids?
What do they need to understand?
Don't get caught up in themoney.
(18:07):
Don't get caught up in thestatistics.
What is going, where can yourson or your daughter go that is
gonna help them grow?
And I think we're in the realmnow as with division three in
particular, is that I'm notgetting my school paid for.
(18:28):
I can go to the East coast.
Hours away from mom and dad andfamily, and I can take this
partial scholarship or because Igot a scholarship, the ROI, or
return on the investment becauseI play club ball all summer
long.
Don't get caught up in that.
Just understand where can yourson or daughter go that's going
(18:51):
to help them grow.
That's right.
As an athlete, but moreimportantly as an individual.
Yeah.
I think sometimes they, get.
Caught up and we always used tosay, you get caught up in the
Roman numeral too much, and ifI'm not getting a Division one
scholarship or division twoscholarship it's a complete
waste of time.
(19:11):
I'm like, no.
At the end of the day, whatdegree are you getting?
Yeah.
If you get your school paid for,great.
But at the end of the day that.
piece of paper that you're gonnaget is gonna take you further in
life, than that game ofbasketball did or the game of
volleyball or whatever sport itmay be.
So again, be there, be patientwith the process.
(19:32):
I think that's sometimes isanother piece of it.
And then maybe the last one Iwould say to a parent, give your
opinion to your son or daughter.
I have had.
So many parents that have comethrough and my staff laughs
about it.
They're like, coach, you win theparents overnight in and night
(19:53):
out.
every parent will walk outtayour office saying, that's where
I want my son to go.
And I'm like, and it's great.
But then, mom and dad don'talways voice their opinion on
where they would like their sonto go.
And they always say it's hisdecision.
I'm like, yeah, it is, but who'spaying the bill?
I always joke around with that,but also I'm like, let'em know.
(20:15):
Why do you think, you might say,we don't think Plattville is a
right fit for you, for somebody,a kid that wants to come here.
Again, that's something thatthey have to live with.
It's kinda don't wait untilsomebody passes away to tell'em
that you love'em.
it's hey, speak the truth now.
Let'em know what's going on.
Where you're sitting at.
I think that is, a very commonthing that we see, or I hear a
(20:37):
lot of is it's his decision andwe're not gonna put any
pressure.
And I'm like telling them whereyou think they should go is not
putting pressure on them.
Yeah.
You gotta give their opinion andsometimes they want.
Your opinion, they may want youto tell'em, but they don't know
how to come across and say, Hey,mom or dad, where do you think I
(20:58):
should go?
Yeah.
They're 18, 17, 18 years old.
They're still trying to figureout what they're gonna have for
breakfast every day.
That's right.
and this is the biggest decisionin their life and you are
letting them do this on theirown.
Yeah.
Without giving any input at all.
I think that's a big thing isjust, be along the journey with
them but also as you're seeingeverything along that journey,
(21:20):
let'em know, I always tell herwhen they leave campus, I said,
Hey, you're in the car with momand dad, for the next hour to
three hour, whatever it may be,talk.
Don't sit in the back of the carwith your headphones on and
looking at your phone and nothaving any conversation.
At some point you gotta have aconversation about what is going
on.
And I think that's where we getcaught up is just the
(21:41):
communication piece of it all,and being willing to have that
conversation I teach parents howimportant it's to ask the
questions that your son doesn'tunderstand what to ask yet.
Yeah.
are you gonna be comfortable ata school where it's 300 kids in
a classroom, in a lecture hall?
When you grew up in Plattevillewhere the largest class was 20
kids.
Correct.
(22:01):
And you had a teacher knowingyou were there, pushing you,
challenging you, expecting, youlove the ocean, you love warm
weather.
You hate cold weather.
Is this school fit you wannalive when you're done?
Do you wanna live at a placelike this for four years?
Exactly.
helping your child.
Ask the right questions, come upwith those answers that really
are meaningful for them, is sucha big deal.
So it's great advice coach.
(22:24):
I think our cross, probably forthe first time, 30 plus years
ago, it's been such a joy towatch your journey.
Where we both started and whatyou've done with it and how
you've created this greatculture and great atmosphere at
Platteville.
It's just so cool for me and I'mthankful that you came on and
had this conversation I'm gonnabe cheering for you till the
end.
I appreciate it, Matt, and it'sa lot of success, obviously is
(22:47):
only possible when you have theright people.
Yeah.
And again, you gotta surroundyourself with those people.
And I, like I said, I've got itfrom top to bottom at
Platteville from a chancellorthat's got our back.
To my assistant coaches, my ga,my student athletes, support
staff throughout.
You know that's possible becauseyou have the right people and
again, I think that's what wefind in plateaus.
We've got the right people downhere as well.
(23:08):
So I appreciate you having me onthough.
Good luck.
I hope you get some rest and Ilook forward to talking down the
road.
Sounds great.
Take care.
That wraps up today's episode ofsignificant Recruiting and what
a great grounded conversationwith Coach Jeff Guard.
His message was clear.
College coaches are looking formore than just skill.
They're looking for charactercoachability and the kind of
(23:29):
consistency that makes adifference in a locker room.
If you're a student athlete orparent tuning in, remember,
recruiting isn't just aboutbeing seen.
It's about being ready, ready tocommunicate, ready to compete,
ready to grow, and that's agreat reason to schedule a 30
minute conversation with meabout where you're at in that
(23:50):
process.
I'd love to talk to you and loveto talk strategy with you about
your future.
You can do that by going over tocoach matt rogers.com, where not
only can you schedule with me,but you can grab a copy of my
recruiting books.
You can jump into thesignificant recruiting
launchpad, my online classesbuilt to help you take charge of
this process with confidence,and you can listen to past
(24:12):
podcasts and read my weeklyblog.
Thanks again for listening, andbe sure to check out part one of
my conversation with Coach Guardover on the Significant Coaching
Podcast where we talk aboutleadership, the Yac Conference,
and the legacy of Coach JerryPeta youe.
Until next time, keep showingup, keep reaching out, and keep
leading with significance.
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