Brandon Bakke: Lessons From The Bench. On Team Culture And Purpose

What if your greatest impact doesn’t come from center stage… but from the bench?

In this powerful conversation, Brandon Bakke—author of Lessons from the Bench—shares how a life spent outside the spotlight can actually shape championship teams, strong leaders, and lasting faith. Drawing from his journey as a Division 1 athlete under legendary coach Jerry Tarkanian, Brandon unpacks the hidden value of humility, perseverance, and embracing your role.

From overcoming “me-ism” to discovering purpose beyond playing time, this episode dives deep into what it really means to serve a team—and why the bench might be one of life’s greatest classrooms.

You’ll hear stories of faith, leadership, and influence that go far beyond sports… and may just change how you see your own role in life.

Whether you're an athlete, parent, coach, or simply navigating your place in the world—this conversation will inspire you to lead, serve, and thrive right where you are. 

Grab a copy of Brandon's excellent book!

#leadership, #purpose, #faithpodcast, #Christianpodcast, #mindset, #personalgrowth, #sports #leadership, #overcomingadversity, #teamwork, #identity, #selfworth

"Amazing Greats"  is a library of interviews with highly successful people who have amazing career and life stories and who share how God has impacted their journey.  Hosted by broadcaster Ric Hansen & produced by Klem Daniels.   Available on Apple,  Spotify, iHeart, Google and our  YouTube Channel. 
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Transcript

Welcome To Lessons From The Bench

Ric 0:00

Rick Hanson on Amazing Great with Brandon Bucky Bakke sharing lessons of the best. Well, okay, here we are on a sunny Northwest afternoon. Me being in the Northwest, and my guest today happens to be from the Northwest as well. Brandon Bakke is our guest, and he is uh a tremendous guy, but on top of that, a tremendous author. Uh, let me tell you, uh, Brandon, your book was so good. Uh, it was like um one story after another story, and every story kind of told the lessons of the book. And the book is called Lessons from the Bench. And you spent much of your um playing career as a bench player. And that's where this whole journey begins, where the book begins, and where we're going to begin our story here. But first,

Inside Jerry Tarkanian’s Coaching Style

Ric 1:22

I've got a couple of warm-up questions for you. Uh, number one is uh you played for this guy named Um, and this is a big part of your book as well, uh, Jerry Tarkanian. Uh coach, he's a legendary, he's controversial in some ways. Uh most people who know basketball know that name and know his legend. And so I want your inside scoop on what kind of guy this guy was. Was he intense? Was he humorous? Was he fill us in on that man, Jerry Tarkanian?

Speaker 1 1:53

Yeah. Uh well, first, Rick, thank you so much for having me on. Uh, I've enjoyed listening to the podcast, and so it means a lot to have the opportunity to speak to you and anyone who happens to be listening. Yeah, I was very blessed my senior year in college to, you know, I was at Fresno State University, and all of a sudden, Jerry Tarkanian gets hired to be my coach in my senior year. And at the time, before we went back in time, and and you know, Jerry Tarkanian was the biggest name in basketball. He was featured in Hollywood movies and you know, famous for sucking on his towel and Tark the Shark and all that. And with him, uh, a whole just crazy environment that that he brought with him. He was famous for being the coach at UNLV. And we yeah, kind of felt like he brought Las Vegas to Fresno and the glitz and glamour. Uh, he was not what I expected, uh, which is a lot of what I write about in the book. Um, I think Coach Tarkanian really showed this average bench guy that I was that he believed in me. He uh gave me some opportunities that uh I had to work really hard for, and and he he put me into some pretty incredible uh spots and key moments in games with few seconds to go where I hadn't played at all and and and believed in me. And you know, that says a lot about who he was. He's a very loyal man who really set up um some opportunities for me after I graduated. Uh, so I can't speak highly enough about Coach Tarkanian. I know we all have flaws and we all have you know the things we struggle with. And he, you know, sometimes those are celebrated a little bit more when you're in the spotlight, like he is. But like I believed in me and uh I'm eternally grateful. Perfect.

Ric 3:44

Well, that's uh that's kind of what I wanted to know. And and you highlighted a lot of that in the book, but to just hear it from your mouth and you know, some of those inside stories is is great. So a little bit about you.

Finding Worth Beyond Playing Time

Ric 3:55

You've been um an administrator, a teacher, a coach for over 30 years, and um and and yet you don't even hardly look 30 years old.

Speaker 1 4:03

So um yeah, it's gonna catch up to me at some point. I I hear you. Yeah. Um 30 years, I mean 29 years in education uh this year, which which really gives me a really interesting and unique perspective. Writing, I I see athletes and parents struggle with this idea that they're a bench player, that they're not the starter or the star. And I I've I've watched it and it and it as a bench player myself, I just finally felt compelled. Who who got very, you know, that was a struggle. That my story a lot in the book is about my journey to find purpose and understanding what the importance of that role and and self-worth, to be honest with you. And I just felt like perhaps I had something to offer in that space. And I've been very lucky to be surrounded by some pretty incredible guys who, you know, have gone on to do some amazing things in sports and at the professional level who also were bench players. And I got to kind of share a little bit about those guys as well in this in in the story. So yeah, I'm I'm really thankful to be working with kids every day and hoping I can help in some way.

Ric 5:17

Absolutely.

A Quiet Faith That Stays Steady

Ric 5:18

That's great. And and let's let's jump back to get a little context on you, yeah, on Brandon Bakke. Uh your your faith story started at a very young age. Um, like, and and you were you were an intense guy. I mean, I saw in the book where you said, I think it was the book that you said uh you started journaling at three years old or something like that. It's like crazy. Um, but tell us your faith journey uh as a kid, where where was all of that at for you?

Speaker 1 5:47

Yeah, thank you. Yeah, my my testimony I've always felt is not strong. I've I've always been kind of ashamed of my testimony in a way because I came to know the Lord as a five-year-old. My dad is a is a pastor. I I'm a PK, and my mom and dad just um, you know, were able to uh to spark a love for Christ, and that I was an early adopter, if you will, and I stayed faithful. I I didn't have that that story of the miraculous, the Paul to Saul, you know, miraculous conversion, if you will. I I I've been fairly steady in my faith, thankfully. And I've and it's and I say I've I'm kind of ashamed by it because it's not real glamorous. I I envied sometimes people that could tell those those really incredible conversion stories, if you will, where their life was so dramatically changed, and and mine has not been that. Um, I've learned and I get encouraged by some of those people that you know my testimony is an important one, especially for parents who you know are trying to uh raise their kids in in the in the faith and um hoping that maybe I can be encouraged some of those folks.

Ric 7:00

Yeah, and I and I love those stories too, because I get them on this podcast all the time at those those amazing uh moments and people where they you know made the flip, and it's incredible. Not that's not my story either, but my story's not yours either, because uh I was um, you know, I really came to faith about 10, 12 years ago, but it wasn't in any miraculous, you know, opening of the sky and this amazing thing. So I kind of have the same story. It's just kind of like I got the bug, started digging a little deeper. I'm kind of a skeptic kind of guy and needed proof. So I was looking for a home, right? But anyway, let's get jumping into the book.

Meism And Choosing The Team

Ric 7:36

Uh, I mean, that was such a uh great read. And you know, I am not honestly not a sports guy, okay? I I was um kind of expecting to be a little bored by it, but every little step along the way, it showed um in sports how that those sports stories resonated in all kinds of ways, in all kinds of career goals and all of that. So I was not a basketball player, I was a wrestler in high school. And so the only thing that I know about basketball is they got bigger crowds in the gym than we can. And that was a little disturbing. So so tell us about the first and probably the most important thing, and maybe the theme throughout the book is this whole concept of me-ism. Um explain to us what meism is and uh uh and and how a person gets past it. Let's start with just what is it?

Speaker 1 8:31

Well, and especially with our Christian context here, I think it's an important, important topic. I think in our society, especially, and then and you know it's interesting because the Bible is is littered with this idea that we're about ourselves and that we need to break through that um to to truly appreciate others and life and and and and to ultimately be able to have a relationship with Christ. And um, I I think it's even harder now though. We we um live in a society that is all about me, and that makes it very hard to be a part of a team in any context, whether it's a sports team or a uh uh in a business or organization, to be a part, to submit to an other people and in an organization um is tough. I you know, I joke with people that YouTube should be called me tube because that's what we're that's what we do, that's what we you know are shown is is the way to to to go about this thing in life. So I what I talk about in the book is just I was no different as a you know 19, 20 year old on a division one basketball scholarship, trying to find my way in college basketball. I was about myself. And it wasn't until and and yet I I was coming off the bench, which was the struggle. Um, and I I it was it wasn't until I was able to break through that where I I could, you know, they we talk about like the we before the me. Uh that's that's an old trope in athletics, but it's true until I was able to understand that this was really about the team, and I need uh I wasn't able to find a way that I could help us be successful because that's really what the book's about, Rick. It's about how bench players help teams win. Uh and I needed to know that because I wanted to be important, I wanted to feel like I had value. And so um, yeah, you can't find it. My my contention is you really can't find your your uh role in helping the team be successful until you overcome meism.

Ric 10:38

Brandon Bakki is the author of the book Lessons from the Bench. And he shares his stories and his ideas from the book on amazing greats. And as a as a uh a young man and a Christian young man, were there prayers uh that's that uh make me a starter? Dear God, why why why am I on the bench?

Speaker 1 10:58

No, not not I can honestly tell you no, Rick. I I think um I my dad I shared as a pastor, and and he really ingrained in me that I needed to play with purpose, that I had a and and he had me identify that. And my purpose was to make a positive impact on the community and the people in the athletic department, but most importantly, my teammates. And when I was initially struggling, not getting the playing time I wanted, or not hearing my name, you know, over the getting the nounced for making the big shots or whatever in those early years. Uh, I I had to get grounded back to my purpose. Like, why was I there? Um, and I I had kind of an awakening to be honest with you. I was confronted by our athletic trainer of all people, who was like, You, your attitude is terrible. We thought you were going to be about the team, and you're not. And it was his challenge, his name was Ed Ferreira, that uh really opened my eyes to who I really was at the time. And it's not who I wanted to be.

Ric 12:11

Yeah. And I I love that story when I read it in the book about him, and he's a trainer, uh, but he made the impact on you. And there's maybe your a bit of your aha moment is to kind of come around and and take, you know, uh remove that meism about yourself.

NIL And The Harder Job Of Team

Ric 12:25

But meism has not been helped at all uh by the change in the rules of the NCAA in July of 2021, when they when they changed the rules that the players could uh use their name and their image and their likeness uh for personal gain and and for financial gain, quite frankly. And that kind of took a spin, uh, maybe for the worst in athletics. Do you think that's the case?

Speaker 1 12:52

Yeah, you know, I'm I'm not I I certainly don't like college athletics right now, to be honest with you, um, which hurts me to say. Um, I also think that athletes should be allowed to um benefit from their name and image and likeness. I remember, you know, when I was in college, Rick, I would go around. I was speaking a lot at churches and FCA huddles and um trying to do some good. And any other student at Fresno State could have got paid to do that. I could not because I was an athlete. And that kind of double standard sometimes is what I think has led to where we're at now. That said, where I do think it has caused um a whole heck of a problem is it throws that spotlight back on this is all about me. Yeah. And so, how hard is it to build a team where everybody can embrace their role, bench players alike? If if the next year I'm I'm moving, I'm moving on to another school where I can get paid or I can be the the star, if you will. So that's that makes it really hard. Coach Drew A Baylor, who I write about quite a bit in the book, a really strong man of faith. He talks about how it's different when you're you're sort of coaching now in a dating relationship than in a marriage. And you know, when you just don't have that long-term commitment. So yeah, it's a real challenge.

Trent Dilfer And Serving Athletes

Ric 14:18

So you had uh an interesting interaction with Trent Dilfer in the early days. You're talking about your uh you just mentioned the FCA. Uh that's the um uh federate what it with the actual state. Yeah, and I have a good friend of mine who is really involved in that, George Tolls. I don't know if you ever remember him, but he's been around forever. Anyway, tell me the the Trent uh Dilfer story and and your relationship with him back. This was in Fresno.

Speaker 1 14:47

The way I got to Fresno, to be quite honest with you, I I went on my recruiting trip to Fresno State, didn't know anybody down there. And on on the visit, um, I remember calling my father and saying, Dad, I I don't, I haven't met anybody on my trip who I think is a Christian, at least as far as I know. And my dad says, Oh, you know, I'm sorry, Brandon, to hear that, because you know, that was an important part of my life. And then I said, I actually think this is exactly where I need to be. And so when I got down there, that was my mindset for when I was at my best, that was my mindset that I was there for a purpose to encourage others, serve others, um, perhaps be a light for others. And it was in that time that Trent Dilfer, who, for those who don't know, Trent was a star quarterback, the sixth pick in the NFL draft, Super Bowl winning quarterback. Um, and he had just become a Christian uh at Fresno State. Um, he had one of those miraculous conversions that we talked about earlier. And I happened to just come, I we had a class together and we knew of each other but hadn't met. And I got inserted into his life at that time to just be a solid friend, somebody who had been a quote unquote strong Christian for a while. And he didn't really know what that looked like. And I was just there to be a you know, a model of consistency for him and and help him kind of find a new community where he could really grow in his faith. So Brett and I at then at that point you know decided that we wanted to try to um, you know, increase our our reach at the university. And so we started, we kind of raised some money and got some churches involved, and we started these outreach dinners across from the university where we would invite like hundreds of athletes to come once a month, get fed, which was a big part of the draw, and then hear, hear a, hear a message. And um, it was really incredible time in Fresno where we there were hundreds of athletes who you know came to follow the Lord as a result of that, those seeds that we were planting back then uh together, Trent and I. So yeah, really uh incredible to see what he's done in his life, no doubt.

Ric 17:08

Yeah, and I and I I I want to connect with you a little later in the conversation about how uh Trent uh had a great relationship with Matt Hasselbeck, his competitor for the quarterback position of the Seahawks at one point. But let's jump first into the lessons themselves. There are

Friendships Built In Puyallup Sports

Ric 17:25

nine of them in the book, and there's every, you know, I don't know if we would need to ramble off every one of them because when they buy the book, they will have an opportunity to find all of that. But one of them was about relationships and the relationships that you had even as far back as Puallop High School, a high school here in Washington state. Uh you had friends then that you still have today, and it was largely because of these relationships that developed back in the day. Some of those people were Damon Heward, Brock Heward, Ryan Carr, and others. Were there others that that we might know? Because the Ryan was also a guest on the show. I don't know if you knew that. Yeah, I did know that.

Speaker 1 18:13

Yeah, yeah. And you had RJ Barson not too long ago, and he's a pual guy, a friend of mine. Yeah. Yeah. Um, yeah, yeah. Uh Pualp, we you know, all roads lead to Pualp, I guess, in some ways, right? We do say it's the largest city in the nation. It starts and ends with a P, Rick. So there you go. Uh, Chris Egan, a lot of people in the Northwest know Chris Egan, the kind of face of one of the many faces of King Five Sports who brings joy into everybody's lives. Who he touches, uh, Dane Looker, I wrote about in the book, who is an NFL wide receiver. Um, he he come he hails from Pew Alp as well. And all of these guys have in common uh the same, the the premise behind the book, they all were bench players. In fact, I I tell I kind of start the book, Rick, with all of us have been bench players in in some context in our life. And uh, and those guys, you know, very were very visibly bench players. And and I get to share kind of those behind the scenes stories of how they navigated that and just made a big difference in the in the teams and organizations they were serving.

Ric 19:19

And you still see them and communicate with them on a regular basis, even today, right?

Speaker 1 19:23

Yeah, well, Brock, as you as you know, um, Brock wrote the forward for the book. And um, I was telling you know, you rick before we we went live here that uh Rock uh Brock, um his his episode on your show really is a companion piece to this one because uh my my my senior year I actually moved to Puyallup . Um Bethany Baptist Church was the local church here in Puyallup, and they had been courting my dad, Wolbach, he used his name to to come be their pastor. And he said no like multiple times and they wouldn't give up. And they and he finally was like, I need to maybe I need to listen to where you know they feel God's leading them. So he came out and sure enough, he decides to move our family out our senior year. And when we moved out, I got inserted into the life of Damon Huard. Um Brock was Damon's younger brother, and he was my brother's age. And um, the the youth pastor at my dad's church, where he was pastor, actually led Brock to the Lord and the small group that um in your podcast with Brock, he he shared how he had an accountability group with two other boys and their youth pastor for four years all through high school. One of those other boys, Eric, was my younger brother. And so um Brock and I have just been connected ever since through through my family moving to Pew Allop and the blessings that they you know bestowed on me and and vice versa into their family. So and Brock's the kind of guy, and Damon as well. They never forget where they came from, they never forget the people that they you know have been with and battled with. And so Brock's an incredible guy, and yeah, very grateful he's in my life.

Ric 21:06

Fighting

NBC Camps And Neutral Thinking

Ric 21:07

meism and other important life lessons from author Brandon Bakke. There was another uh connection with the Northwest in basketball, and I this was just mentioned briefly in your book, but I picked up on it because he was another guest on our show here, and that was Fred Kroll and the NBC uh uh basketball camps.

Speaker 1 21:27

Yeah.

Ric 21:27

Who were the coach under at that time, right? In Spokane.

Speaker 1 21:31

Yeah, yeah. Uh NBC is a Christian basketball camp that started out out here in the Washington area, kind of blew up all over, you know, from California to the Northwest. And uh Fred mentored a lot of young Christian coaches and and those who were still kind of trying to figure life out. And he there's a whole generation of people my age that kind of were challenged by Fred and NBC to really grow in their faith and in time. us kind of how basketball and our athletic world can kind of get kind of they can become the same thing. Like we can, you know, and and by the way, Fred was one of the toughest people I've ever met. And that was another aspect of what I came to believe, you know, like being a Christian doesn't mean that we're not tough and that we're not battling and competing hard. And yeah, so Fred, Fred made a big impact on so many of us, really thankful for him. And that's where you met Trevor Mohwad, right? Yeah, yeah. Trevor Moad and I crossed paths. Uh uh Trevor um was most famously Russell Wilson's mental coach. And uh Trevor wrote a book called Neutral Thinking, which has really had a powerful impact on a lot of people. And uh yeah, I met him there. He he he happened to name drop me a little bit in his book, which I was really humbled by. But I I he really has had a had a big impact on me and how I approached mentally navigating the the adversity that comes and the challenge that comes from not being you know the star.

Ric 23:04

Yeah and that's who he that's what he became really is a mental coach for uh other athletes as well as Russell Wilson as you'd mentioned but now he had he got cancer and passed away a few years ago right uh two or three years ago yeah yeah yeah um and that had to be hard for you and and all of the people that he touched in life for sure you didn't write about this guy but I I'm interested in your take on him Sam uh Donald Darnold uh who is not exactly a bench player but he had bench play seasons in his life yeah and he still kind of uh carries himself as a bench player what's your thoughts about Sam you know um I in the book one of the bench lessons that he referred to nine lessons from the bench and one of them is the bench is a gift and I say that because I think life and this is something that I see every day working with high school students life is about adversity.

Speaker 1 24:00

It is about overcoming adversity. And athletics is kind of this sandbox this training ground where you can fail and screw up and hit really hard challenges but it's not life and death. It's not uh you know and where in life do you get that to be able to screw up to that degree and not it not and not have it you know ruin your life if you will and I do think that's one of the challenges that parents sometimes face is we want to naturally remove those challenges. You know I say in the book like we want to teach our kids to climb the mountain not remove the mountain and athletics does that it it allows us that chance to overcome hard things. Sam is a great example of that Sam went through a really tough he was a star gets to the NFL gets humbled tremendously failure after failure people you know famously just doubting him uh and it just seemed he just seemed to handle that the right way I've never met Sam but I marvel at him this year and how well how humble he has stayed through that which I think is one of the gifts of the bench is that it humbles you and allows you to handle success in a perhaps a different way than maybe some who haven't for sure and and that's that was my take on it too and that's what I wanted to kind of get you is he's really um quite the humbled um Super Bowl champion.

Destination Goals Versus Process Goals

Ric 25:26

So yeah yeah he was great yeah a real inspiration no doubt yeah let's talk about goals um there's a couple of different kinds of goals that you identify and both of them are important the destination goals and the journey goals uh kind of tell us your your story behind each of those and the value of each of those for the athlete in the in the book I there is a few chapters where I really lean in on coaches.

Speaker 1 25:51

I think um coaches me being one of them struggle sometimes with the bench it's one of the more complex and more challenging things as a head coach is to keep everybody engaged and involved and and finding their value and their importance um it I talk just about the importance of process that's that's another thing the Seattle Seahawks you mentioned Sam Darnold that uh their coach Coach McDonald did such a great job of this year is is he really focuses on the process of getting better those daily habits routines not necessarily the uh you know the end goal in mind it's more about what we do each and every day um that's what I refer to as the process the process goal I think is people and in organizations we should have a process focused goal um to help us zero in on the behaviors that we want to see those routines those systems that really help us find success and and hopefully meet the end target. That said I also think we should have that that audacious really ambitious goal and uh you know in football terms since we're talking about the Seahawks you know their goals should certainly are to win the Super Bowl I think all of us in our roles and our our team should have that that big goal we're chasing. But more importantly again back to the bench concept is I need to know how I can help our team in my role meet that big, you know, that big challenge, that big destination focused goal. And I think that's where we fall short sometimes is the bench player especially like what do I do? What do I do that's helping us? I'm not the one who's outscoring all the points here but I need to know it explicitly how am I helping us reach that goal and once once you know that my experience is it it really um gave me the purpose that I was searching for you know as a player wanting to find value. Yeah and how can can that translate to spiritual goals faith goals a hundred percent yeah yeah I actually think yeah you know our daily walk as a Christian I think sometimes you know have you ever let me ask you Rick have you ever set a new year's resolution? Are you a resolution guy? Kind of yes yes I think yeah I think a lot of us are right and and what happens we we set a a goal and then most of us eventually fail we don't hit the goal and then we oh you know we didn't make the goal and we start over with something you know a new goal. Yeah well what if instead like a great example that I use with teachers a lot is is we talk about maybe the goal that we want to set is to do a better job with relationships with our students this year. That's my goal. Great I put it up on the board I write it down that I want to I want to be better relationally but what if instead of you know focusing that much on the goal we focus more on the process. What am I gonna do each day to help me improve my relationships with my students and in our faith it's the same way. What am I doing each day to work on my relationship with Christ? I think um focusing more on the process has a direct connection to what it means to be walking with the Lord. And I think when I've struggled in my life I think that's why I I I've lost lost sight of the process and need to get re-grounded back into those daily those daily behaviors.

Ric 29:22

Rick Hansen with Brandon Bachy and his book of life lessons to be a strong leader even from the bench is there a way to calculate the daily progress I mean is there a way to say um if I do this this and this today then I've you know I've made progress uh or is it is it more vague than that?

Speaker 1 29:40

I'm I'm guessing so if I say my prayers this morning and then do blessings over each meal um is that is that you know a a process goal or or is yeah no I mean I think I I think those I no I don't think Christianity is a formula I think um sometimes as parents we struggle with that like we're kind of taught sometimes in Christian circles that if A plus B equals C, if I if I do this with my with my child, then they're gonna end up like this. And you know unfortunately that's not how it works. Like the Bible is filled with stories of failure and and struggle and it's not a perfect my dad always says that um that God works works in the uh and he doesn't work in the perfection that he's always he's working in the chaos. And I think that you know I but I do think you know the more that we are interfacing with God each day sure we're gonna see you know fruit of that no doubt. But I don't think it's a formula. I don't think you know if you miss a prayer at a meal like I think we're okay. But I do think daily habits and routines time with the Lord I have a thing in my life I every day I cross the Narrows bridge um I've made a point when I hit that bridge every day I'm gonna whoever's on my mind I'm gonna pray for um so I I try to put you know those uh if that when this happens then I'm gonna do this to have it trigger in my mind so that it's always on the front of my mind. And uh that's hard to do when you know the rest of life starts to overwhelm us.

Ric 31:19

Well and I gotta ask are you still journaling after being an early journaler is that's is that a part of your routine? You know I I think that's another process for sure that we talked about um yeah I've had great um seasons of life where I've journaled uh admittedly right now I am not in one of them but all through college yeah certainly um uh for much of my you mentioned my youth like I had a pretty great teacher who kind of like had us journaling every day and what a gift to be able to go back and and look at some of those things and be reminded of who you were and sometimes be confronted with you know did did who I want to be is that who I'm is that who I am right now um so yeah super healthy super healthy process yeah there's a there's a pastor that I kind of follow he does a lot of YouTube stuff and and he uh John Mark Comer I don't know if you've heard of him but he has uh you know his book is called practicing the way and then uh as a part of that he calls it uh spiritual disciplines and those are the disciplines that you kind of um you know track if you will on a daily basis and they would they might be uh you know and they're not like you say it's not as regimented as how many times I'm going to uh run laps or you know some some kind of more calculatable uh endeavor but but it is I you know it's helped me because I can lose sight too I can go days without unless I kind of just bring myself to what are my disciplines you know what what what am I doing today right so so that's cool and thank you thank you for you know tracking that in terms of spirituality that's great yeah so you you have been working with young people for decades and I'm I'm really curious and I and I ask people who have had that opportunity and that challenge uh what their thoughts about young people today are you are you sensing that there's uh with the Gen Z that there is spirituality that's growing or not necessarily or do you see that um floating away and and and not being a a good and a decent part of somebody's life these days you know I think it's a really difficult time to be growing up.

Speaker 1 33:40

I

Gen Z Pressure Social Media And Faith

Speaker 1 33:41

think this this generation gets a bad rap sometimes I've I have seen some of the most incredible selfless uh acts by young people over the last 10 years uh that that that are truly inspiring to me. I also think students now like when you and I were growing up we did not have social media um I've I've got a chance to speak to education educators all over the country the last three years and I've asked every one of them who are in a kind of our age group who didn't have social media how many of you wished you would have had social media when you were growing up and I have yet to find one single person who says yes uh and and that's what our kids are are dealing with and and all that comes with that which you know is directly related to the mental health crisis that so many kids are are dealing with. Yeah so I do think that um across the country more and more kids are kind of turning to find uh a a solution to that in their lives um so yeah I do think that there's a kind of a spiritual awakening happening with the that generation right now yeah do you have an opportunity to um I know that you given the role that you have you're not you know supposed to bring your religion into the school but do you do you have a sense for young life's impact on your on your students or um any of the youth organizations? You know Rick my my grandfather when I was a kid he told me once he said Brandon the greatest thing that you could ever say to anybody about God is to not have to say anything at all.

Ric 35:21

And yeah I I work in the public schools I don't talk about my faith um I in fact my book is not a quote unquote Christian book uh because um I've always wanted my my faith my faith to be just lived out in my actions and how I how I treat people hopefully they feel loved and cared about and that my actions can be my testimony um if you will and so um that's been my approach uh in the public school I do see just great community um community work happening and uh there's just a lot of a lot of incredible organizations adults and churches and and peers uh you know they just seem to be um you know very open to you know what's going on in each other's lives which is fun to watch yeah I've had an opportunity to um uh connect with Dan Brown who at your school uh it who heads up a thing called interact which is students who go out in the community and do good things basically and I would walked into his class one time I I do a thing called night to shine here in Gig Harbor and I walked into his class to tell them about this it's a it's an early morning class it's before class it's a it's a I guess more of a club but I was amazed this big art room is filled to the to standing room only with these kids who are there ready to do something for their community and rather to be a part of involved in in good things that are going on there.

Speaker 1 36:57

So I was impressed with that and that was my sense too but I'm not around them like you are that's why I wanted to yeah there's a lot of kids that have a lot of challenges and and we we've that's no different really than it's been for you know the last 30 years that I've been doing this. That said I um I I've seen so many just feats of of brilliance and selflessness as I said a second ago where kids are going out and helping others a heart for helping others I think that a lot of kids um more kids in my humble opinion are motivated by trying to do something that helps others in their with their life like they want to find a a greater value in their vocation and in their future job and I think that's a really good sign for the future and and we need we need this generation uh the world needs this generation so that's why I do what I do no doubt yeah yeah and now it seems to me these days more college and professional um uh athletes are speaking out boldly about their faith you know on public microphones on national television and newspaper articles uh I don't know if that's more than ever but to me it seems like it maybe it's because I'd become a Christian recently and it's it stands out to me.

Ric 38:17

But I'm wondering if you sense that too and if if that affects or has some power with the youth of today the the students of today.

Speaker 1 38:27

Yeah I mean I you know that's a good question Rick I don't know if it's any different than it's been I think there's more there's more you know vehicles to share there's you know social media there's yeah uh you know just uh for you to get your your voice heard is much easier than it used to be uh that said I hope you're right I hope that um there's just more people wanting to share about the you know what's going on in their life and the impact that their faith is having I think you know we see so much negative in front of our you know the the click of a button we see the worst thing happening all over the world which is what helps lead to the mental health crisis that so many people are going in. Yeah that I feel like we need that other you know we need the positive we we need the the stories of how people are finding peace in their life. So I sure hope so I think athletes have a platform I think um just as easily they can they can ruin it by their actions we need you know we need people who are walking their talk yeah and you know are modeling the right things for sure.

Who The Book Serves And Final Takeaways

Ric 39:38

Well the book is great.

Speaker 1 39:39

I want you to tell me a little uh who who is it directed toward who would you like to uh have in this in their hands and what kind of impact are you hoping for yeah thank you and thanks for the the platform certainly I wrote the book to help people um that's where my heart's at and like I said uh people have struggled with this idea of of being a bench player not being the star how to navigate that you know and first Peter we're reminded of how we're all meant we're all given gifts and with those gifts we're we're asked to serve others and I think I wrote this to try to help people figure out what that could look like very tangibly in a team context. So the audience is anybody that's in on a team in any context, certainly a heavy leaning towards athletics um if you are a somebody that is on is struggling coming off the bench right now it's for you if you're a coach or a leader who is trying to cultivate a team uh and trying to find how to empower those non-star players of yours if you're a parent and you have a child and you you know we see parents lose their minds because of playing time and not being a star. And I think they're they're you know we've all been guilty of that and we're all missing it because what we're we're again we're removing the mountain and not teaching our kids to climb it. And the there is such a gift that comes from adversity and from get getting rid of the the me and embracing the we uh that you know uh the book is for anybody who can relate to to that which I think is most of us.

Ric 41:19

Well thank you so much for spending some time with us and just sharing your book and your and your life with us. It's been a pleasure you know even from the moment that um Bob oh is Bob Bob Marsh I was going to say Matthews and I don't know why but Bob I knew that this was going to be a great conversation and then you're a great guy. So thank you so much for spending time with us I I really appreciate it. Praying for the success of the book for the success of your work there at Gig Harbor High School and uh gosh God bless you. Alright thanks Rev take care that was an inspiring look into the power of bench players to help shape the culture of a winning team we just touched on the highlights of his book Lessons from the Bench from Brandon Bachy. It's a real treat to read great stories and real life examples of how the nine lessons from the bench can help out in leading whatever you're thinking today. Buy it, read it, you'll love it. Thanks for your time and God bless