December 5, 2025 • 8 mins
What began as a grassroots effort in 2015 grew into a thriving boys’ and girls’ varsity legacy. The film follows the 2024 boys’ team chasing one last title, but it’s more than a sports story—it’s about identity, grief, leadership, and resilience. One player embraces his adoption with courage. Another plays in memory of his late brother. Coaches, many of them founders, struggle to balance competitiveness and compassion. With emotional interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, the film explores how these young men face life, not just the scoreboard.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's actually been a fun adventure collecting all the conversations
I have since twenty sixteen with those that have been
featured on NBC's The Voice. Now, the question is can
we put them all in one place and not let
them be forgotten in history? Yeah you can. It's called
Arro dot net A R r Oe dot net. Look
for that voice. Enjoy the exploration. Good morning, Brad, how
(00:20):
are you doing today?
Speaker 2 (00:22):
I'm doing great. Arrow, Good to talk with you.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Oh my god, listen to that energy. You really are
a leader when it comes to motivating people, aren't you.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Well Listen, if I get a chance to talk to
Arrow and iHeartRadio and like it's live, I'm gonna be
as excited as I am about building this movie and
trying to let your listeners know they got to go
buy it. Oh my god.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
I love the fact that you use the word building,
because not only did you build this movie, but something
has been built here that is going to change people's
lives well beyond this moment of now. And do you
know how many people have tried to do something like
this and couldn't, but somehow, someway it happens.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
It's so funny. Erro I think about it and my
kids asking all this, I'm like, did you plan to
do this? No? It just evolved and I just kept
pushing and pushing and pushing and pushing. We got a
lot of no's or are a lot and Freestyle Media
said yes, and I just I just took the bull
by the horns and said, let's do it. Let's tell
everybody they need to go out and see The Mighty Oaks.
(01:22):
They need to buy it on Amazon Prime, they need
to see it on Apple TV, whatever they're streaming they
want to. But for me, this movie is more about
giving it back to my community and the kids and
the parents that built this program.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Well, one of the things that listeners need to need
to understand is that, sure, you can go on to
YouTube right now and watch that trailer when m m
mm mmmm, watch the entire experience. That's where the emotion is,
that's where the connection is. Do not judge this book
by its cover in the way of watching that trailer first,
because you've got to get into this.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Well, thank you, Eric. I try to tell people that
the trailer is what the sales, right, but it tells
a story. We don't have these kinds of stories out
there right now. It's a holiday film. It's a feel
good opportunity. You're gonna cry, you're gonna laugh, You're gonna
come together and really be rooting for the mighty of us.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Are you doing any merchandise on this, because you know
darn goodwell, I want a T shirt? Either that or
I want a jersey.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
I'll tell you what erro. I will make sure that
you somehow get some type of swag. I have thought
about merch and you know, after we win the Oscar
for the Best Documentary, we're gonna have a merch set.
I promise you.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
How did you keep it together? Knowing that the process,
because once again we're gonna go back to that word building,
I mean, and learning how to trust the people that
you're surrounding yourself with. People don't understand that until you
are knee deep in it and it's happening.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Well, I can tell you my weaknesses show up real
quick when you're trying to put it put together a
project like this, and so what I try to do
was to hire really good people and let them do
what they're good at. And I think that's you'll see
that in Brendan Hardy, he's the director and played Delaney.
He's the director of photography as well as Eric Swanson,
(03:13):
the editor. These guys put it together. They're pros. They've
done X Games, They've done a World Poker tour, they're
doing the Olympics this winter. I just let them be.
I'm more of the like the sales guy, if you
want to call it that, and just trying to let
them know they're kind of behind the scenes and I'm like, no,
I'm going to scream from the roof, how good you
(03:34):
guys are. So yes, I knew what kind of weaknesses
I had and put people in place to really be
those strengths.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Please do not move. There's more with Brad lead With
coming up next the name of the show, The Mighty Oaks.
We are back with Brad lead with. I would love
to know what the motivational speakers as well as the
leaders are going to say when when they step into
this this documentary The Mighty Oaks, and that is is
that you you put some subjects up there that I
have not seen together in a long time. Competitiveness versus compassion. Now,
(04:04):
I'm compassion driven and I've been told to put that
monkey away so many times, so therefore it was about competitiveness.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
What about you, Well, I think that I love competitive
and compassion. I've not heard it that said that way,
but to me, I love watching people fail, but also
being in a safe place for them to succeed and
overcome those failures to where they feel victorious and on
the field in a safe setting, in a competitive game.
(04:33):
This is where we can teach our young people, and
that's what we're trying to show in the movie, is
how to motivate yourself to go out and compete every
single day, but have the compassion that realized that every
single player on the team has a different story. And
as you saw in the film, we have somebody who's adopted,
we have somebody who lost a sibling, We have, you know,
(04:55):
a lot of different You know, our coach has a
three legged dog, and you know it's in the movie
as well, So you know you got to have a
three legged dog in a movie, right, Harrol.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Oh, I've had one. I've even I've even raised a
paralyzed dog. So I'm totally into this. And now you
know that wasn't there.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
You go and you see the empathy that we have
in the coach and his dog, you know, and that,
like you said, it's his empathy towards his players. We
tell those types of stories within an hour and a
half of this movie.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
One of the things that I learned as a martial
artist is that you learn more from the sidelines. Now
you being a coach and you having this camera on
your back and bringing everything together, do you do you
believe in that theory as well, because I mean, you
got really close to the real artsmanship of this game.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Yeah, I wish I would have played it when I
was a kid. I just love watching it. I say
to a lot of folks, it's the five sports we
all love. It's the contact of football. It's the fitness
of soccer. It's the moving without the ball of basketball,
the accuracy of baseball, the hand eye coordation of hockey,
all in one game. It is truly an art form.
(06:00):
And to watch it at a high level and watch
it from when they were really bad and going back
and watching some of the really bad stuff and now
they're really good, it's really it's like you said, being
on the sidelines, you can see a lot more than
you know what you really can see playing the game.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
I kept telling my wife, I said, you know who's
going to be watching this. It's going to be every
football fan, every basketball fan, even professional bowlers, because you're right,
it does include so many sports, and lacrosse is one
of those things where people are still going, what is
this all about?
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Again?
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Let me watch the show and see if you get
a better grip. And so I think this is going
to be used as an educational tool as well.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Well. I've said that many times. You know, I knew
nothing about the sport and when I embraced it with
my kids, it's what you said. It's a sports story
about a sport we don't know much about in America.
You know, the Canadians it's their national sport. And by
the way, if you have some Canadian listeners gonna love
this too.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
So how did you keep it together during the actual
laying out of it all? Because I mean, there's one
thing that you did, and that is is that in
telling the story, you kept it real. There were so
many different ways that you could have gone.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Yeah that I have to give a lot of credit
to Brendan. He's a storyteller, and every time we had
our conversations about what was going to be in the movie,
I always was like, well, are you sure that's going
to be a good selling point. He's like, we're not
selling the movie. I am creating a story that will
be watched for a long, long, long time.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
And it's it's a timeless movie. And I think that's
that the the sales on side of it, and the
downloads and and the social media buzz. I think we're
going to see why people are gonna love it. Yep.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
I can't wait to talk to you again. Man, you
got to come back to this show anytime in the future. Dude.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Thanks Sarah. I really appreciate your time and I love it.
I mean just having a blast and promoting the movie
and promoting the the sport of lacrosse. And once again,
I'm not any different than anybody else. I just put
it on a film and now I hope that inspires
other people to go out and throw their hat in
the ring, volunteer, help kids out, coach your teams, do
(08:15):
it all.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Will you'd be brilliant today? Okay, sir, thanks a lot.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Aaron, you too, appreciate your time.
It's actually been a fun adventure collecting all the conversations
I have since twenty sixteen with those that have been
featured on NBC's The Voice. Now, the question is can
we put them all in one place and not let
them be forgotten in history? Yeah you can. It's called
Arro dot net A R r Oe dot net. Look
for that voice. Enjoy the exploration. Good morning, Brad, how
(00:20):
are you doing today?
Speaker 2 (00:22):
I'm doing great. Arrow, Good to talk with you.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Oh my god, listen to that energy. You really are
a leader when it comes to motivating people, aren't you.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Well Listen, if I get a chance to talk to
Arrow and iHeartRadio and like it's live, I'm gonna be
as excited as I am about building this movie and
trying to let your listeners know they got to go
buy it. Oh my god.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
I love the fact that you use the word building,
because not only did you build this movie, but something
has been built here that is going to change people's
lives well beyond this moment of now. And do you
know how many people have tried to do something like
this and couldn't, but somehow, someway it happens.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
It's so funny. Erro I think about it and my
kids asking all this, I'm like, did you plan to
do this? No? It just evolved and I just kept
pushing and pushing and pushing and pushing. We got a
lot of no's or are a lot and Freestyle Media
said yes, and I just I just took the bull
by the horns and said, let's do it. Let's tell
everybody they need to go out and see The Mighty Oaks.
(01:22):
They need to buy it on Amazon Prime, they need
to see it on Apple TV, whatever they're streaming they
want to. But for me, this movie is more about
giving it back to my community and the kids and
the parents that built this program.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Well, one of the things that listeners need to need
to understand is that, sure, you can go on to
YouTube right now and watch that trailer when m m
mm mmmm, watch the entire experience. That's where the emotion is,
that's where the connection is. Do not judge this book
by its cover in the way of watching that trailer first,
because you've got to get into this.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Well, thank you, Eric. I try to tell people that
the trailer is what the sales, right, but it tells
a story. We don't have these kinds of stories out
there right now. It's a holiday film. It's a feel
good opportunity. You're gonna cry, you're gonna laugh, You're gonna
come together and really be rooting for the mighty of us.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Are you doing any merchandise on this, because you know
darn goodwell, I want a T shirt? Either that or
I want a jersey.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
I'll tell you what erro. I will make sure that
you somehow get some type of swag. I have thought
about merch and you know, after we win the Oscar
for the Best Documentary, we're gonna have a merch set.
I promise you.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
How did you keep it together? Knowing that the process,
because once again we're gonna go back to that word building,
I mean, and learning how to trust the people that
you're surrounding yourself with. People don't understand that until you
are knee deep in it and it's happening.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Well, I can tell you my weaknesses show up real
quick when you're trying to put it put together a
project like this, and so what I try to do
was to hire really good people and let them do
what they're good at. And I think that's you'll see
that in Brendan Hardy, he's the director and played Delaney.
He's the director of photography as well as Eric Swanson,
(03:13):
the editor. These guys put it together. They're pros. They've
done X Games, They've done a World Poker tour, they're
doing the Olympics this winter. I just let them be.
I'm more of the like the sales guy, if you
want to call it that, and just trying to let
them know they're kind of behind the scenes and I'm like, no,
I'm going to scream from the roof, how good you
(03:34):
guys are. So yes, I knew what kind of weaknesses
I had and put people in place to really be
those strengths.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Please do not move. There's more with Brad lead With
coming up next the name of the show, The Mighty Oaks.
We are back with Brad lead with. I would love
to know what the motivational speakers as well as the
leaders are going to say when when they step into
this this documentary The Mighty Oaks, and that is is
that you you put some subjects up there that I
have not seen together in a long time. Competitiveness versus compassion. Now,
(04:04):
I'm compassion driven and I've been told to put that
monkey away so many times, so therefore it was about competitiveness.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
What about you, Well, I think that I love competitive
and compassion. I've not heard it that said that way,
but to me, I love watching people fail, but also
being in a safe place for them to succeed and
overcome those failures to where they feel victorious and on
the field in a safe setting, in a competitive game.
(04:33):
This is where we can teach our young people, and
that's what we're trying to show in the movie, is
how to motivate yourself to go out and compete every
single day, but have the compassion that realized that every
single player on the team has a different story. And
as you saw in the film, we have somebody who's adopted,
we have somebody who lost a sibling, We have, you know,
(04:55):
a lot of different You know, our coach has a
three legged dog, and you know it's in the movie
as well, So you know you got to have a
three legged dog in a movie, right, Harrol.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Oh, I've had one. I've even I've even raised a
paralyzed dog. So I'm totally into this. And now you
know that wasn't there.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
You go and you see the empathy that we have
in the coach and his dog, you know, and that,
like you said, it's his empathy towards his players. We
tell those types of stories within an hour and a
half of this movie.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
One of the things that I learned as a martial
artist is that you learn more from the sidelines. Now
you being a coach and you having this camera on
your back and bringing everything together, do you do you
believe in that theory as well, because I mean, you
got really close to the real artsmanship of this game.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Yeah, I wish I would have played it when I
was a kid. I just love watching it. I say
to a lot of folks, it's the five sports we
all love. It's the contact of football. It's the fitness
of soccer. It's the moving without the ball of basketball,
the accuracy of baseball, the hand eye coordation of hockey,
all in one game. It is truly an art form.
(06:00):
And to watch it at a high level and watch
it from when they were really bad and going back
and watching some of the really bad stuff and now
they're really good, it's really it's like you said, being
on the sidelines, you can see a lot more than
you know what you really can see playing the game.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
I kept telling my wife, I said, you know who's
going to be watching this. It's going to be every
football fan, every basketball fan, even professional bowlers, because you're right,
it does include so many sports, and lacrosse is one
of those things where people are still going, what is
this all about?
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Again?
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Let me watch the show and see if you get
a better grip. And so I think this is going
to be used as an educational tool as well.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Well. I've said that many times. You know, I knew
nothing about the sport and when I embraced it with
my kids, it's what you said. It's a sports story
about a sport we don't know much about in America.
You know, the Canadians it's their national sport. And by
the way, if you have some Canadian listeners gonna love
this too.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
So how did you keep it together during the actual
laying out of it all? Because I mean, there's one
thing that you did, and that is is that in
telling the story, you kept it real. There were so
many different ways that you could have gone.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Yeah that I have to give a lot of credit
to Brendan. He's a storyteller, and every time we had
our conversations about what was going to be in the movie,
I always was like, well, are you sure that's going
to be a good selling point. He's like, we're not
selling the movie. I am creating a story that will
be watched for a long, long, long time.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
And it's it's a timeless movie. And I think that's
that the the sales on side of it, and the
downloads and and the social media buzz. I think we're
going to see why people are gonna love it. Yep.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
I can't wait to talk to you again. Man, you
got to come back to this show anytime in the future. Dude.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Thanks Sarah. I really appreciate your time and I love it.
I mean just having a blast and promoting the movie
and promoting the the sport of lacrosse. And once again,
I'm not any different than anybody else. I just put
it on a film and now I hope that inspires
other people to go out and throw their hat in
the ring, volunteer, help kids out, coach your teams, do
(08:15):
it all.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Will you'd be brilliant today? Okay, sir, thanks a lot.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Aaron, you too, appreciate your time.
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