Out of the Mouth of Babes "Our Future Leaders"
Welcome to "Out of the Mouth of Babes: Our Future Leaders" with Kevin Handley Sr.!
In this enlightening and empowering podcast, we delve into the minds of the next generation—the brilliant and dynamic youth who hold the keys to our collective future. Join our host, Kevin Handley Sr., as he takes us on an inspiring journey through conversations with young visionaries, activists, innovators, and changemakers from around the world.
Each episode of "Out of the Mouth of Babes" brings you candid and thought-provoking interviews with these remarkable young individuals who are making a significant impact in their communities and beyond. From tackling pressing global issues to spearheading innovative projects, these youth leaders are reshaping the world as we know it.
Kevin Handley Sr., a seasoned and compassionate host, skillfully uncovers the stories behind these young achievers, delving into their motivations, challenges, and the transformative experiences that have shaped their journeys. Listeners will be inspired by the depth of insight and wisdom these young guests possess, proving that age is no barrier to effecting meaningful change.
Whether you're a parent, educator, community member, or simply passionate about youth-driven initiatives, "Out of the Mouth of Babes: Our Future Leaders" offers a unique platform to learn, engage, and celebrate the voices of the youth. Together, we can gain valuable perspectives and support the aspirations of these incredible young leaders, nurturing a brighter and more inclusive tomorrow.
Join us as we amplify the voices of the youth and discover the extraordinary potential that lies within "Out of the Mouth of Babes: Our Future Leaders" with Kevin Handley Sr. Be ready to be moved, motivated, and inspired!
Out of the Mouth of Babes "Our Future Leaders"
S1 EP5 Pt. 2 - Determination and Discipline on the Football Field
Join us for an inspiring episode of "Out of the Mouth of Babes," where we spotlight two remarkable young athletes from Richmond High School's football team, Kevin Handley Jr. and Jarome Clinton. Kevin and Jarome open up about their initial hesitations and how they transformed those doubts into a fiery passion for football. They share their insights on rigorous summer training regimens and maintaining a healthy lifestyle amidst the demands of balancing academics and sports. Their stories of physical and personal transformation offer a glimpse into the challenges and triumphs of being a student-athlete, with memorable highlights from their journey on the field.
As we venture further into their world, Kevin and Jerome discuss their ambitions of pursuing higher education and how their unwavering determination and discipline set them apart. Kevin equates his relentless drive to repeatedly running through a brick wall, while Jerome emphasizes his steadfast commitment to tasks without complaint. These qualities embody what it means to be an outstanding student-athlete, and they make a compelling case for any college coach in search of dedicated recruits. We express our heartfelt gratitude to these young men for sharing their journeys and look forward to their return on the show.
We are back, welcome back to Out of the Mouth of Babes, the podcast for our youth. Today we have two more special guests. They are members of the Richmond High School football team, and so I'm going to start off by allowing them to introduce themselves. First and last name, what position they play, and then we're going to get into some dialogue. Now, one of the things I want to continue to keep reminding you of is, if you don't know about Gary Roosevelt Panthers on the back there's a Letterman jacket for the Panthers. Over here there's a Letterman jacket for the Hustling Quakers. Those are the institutions where I played football at. They taught me everything about being a coach and a football player and all of the above. So, starting off from the gentleman to my far right, first, last name and what positions you play, and then we'll get into some dialogue.
Speaker 2:I lost my head on the turf for a sec.
Speaker 3:All right.
Speaker 2:Sorry guys, my name is Kevin Hanley Jr. I played long snapper, defensive end and tight end this year.
Speaker 1:All right, next up.
Speaker 3:My name is Jerome Clinton and I'm number 52 for the Richmond High School football team, and the positions I play is center and defensive end.
Speaker 1:Defensive end, center and defensive end.
Speaker 3:Talk to the listeners a little bit about your journey in playing football and what inspired you to pursue football at an early age and then in high school what inspired me to play football is that I see I have seen so much potential in me and a lot, of, a lot of other people did too and I just wanted to keep striving and see if I could. I wanted to keep striving and see if I could take it somewhere else in life and see if I can reach a greater level.
Speaker 2:I think for me, starting now, I didn't like it as much because I was like a nerd, I was like a geek, really. I just liked to play video games and read books, so sports weren't really my thing. But then, as time went on, I kept getting better and stronger and stuff and I started actually really competing and I was like okay, maybe I really can do this.
Speaker 1:So what inspired you guys to play?
Speaker 2:That's always something I've done. Yeah Well, who made you play? I guess that's the always something.
Speaker 1:I've done. Yeah Well, who made you play? I guess that's the question.
Speaker 3:My mom made me play my mom made me play.
Speaker 2:The guy in the blue shirt made me play.
Speaker 1:All right, so talk to us a little bit about your regimen on. What do you guys do like your daily routine? What do you do to become better?
Speaker 2:student athletes so you do you mean like when we're in school, or like in the summertime?
Speaker 3:in the summertime, preparation for the season um, you want to make sure that you're working out and staying fit and it's not getting into a lot of trouble and all that.
Speaker 2:Keeping your mind right and keeping it straight. Well, I think for me in the summer it's not as much of a regimen because it is still summer vacation, but we have like summer practices and stuff and so like getting workouts in at football and then outside of football are really important summer vacation. But we have like summer practices and stuff and so like getting workouts in at football and then outside of football are really important, getting in the playbook, watching film, stuff like that.
Speaker 1:All right, you guys are your leaders of the team. How do you handle that pressure and those expectations?
Speaker 2:Well, being a leader on the team, it's not as hard as it would seem, because when people have stated you to be the leader, people automatically start looking up to you and some will listen to you and some won't. But it's one of those things where you have to find a balance between being a leader and a part of the team. I agree, I agree, all right.
Speaker 1:What are some specific challenges and obstacles you face being an athlete?
Speaker 3:Time time management. I can say that time management.
Speaker 2:Because we don't get as much freedom as our peers to do like go out and hang out all the time, because we have practice four times a week, then a game every week and then practice on the weekends, so we don't have as much time as our peers do to do things that we'd like to so both of you guys are pretty fit.
Speaker 1:Both of you have transformed your bodies around. Can you discuss a little bit to the listeners about the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle outside of the sport?
Speaker 2:I'll let Jerome go first on this one.
Speaker 3:Can you say it again for me please?
Speaker 1:Maintaining and being fit and being healthy. Tell me a little bit about why that's important.
Speaker 3:It's important for you to stay healthy and fit because it can help your performance out there on the field and overall. It can just change your transformation. Like I used to be very big, and all that until I started messing with the weight room a lot more and then, when I started doing that and then also getting the amount of calories and proteins that I needed, it helped me transform my body into just me, getting muscle a lot and I don't know, For me, when I started, like a while ago, I used to be like real short and chubby and so I used to do push-ups every single night for like two, three years straight until I started seeing results.
Speaker 2:So I started off with like calisthenics and stuff because we didn't have access to the weight room when we had first started.
Speaker 1:And that was because of COVID right. And because of COVID, yeah, yeah for sure, talk about some memorable moments in high school, or even let's start off.
Speaker 2:What about some memorable moments for you all in sports and football in general? Well, for me it would be when I had played Team Indiana in eighth grade and we had played in Canton Ohio at the National Football Hall of Fame and won the world championship. In Canton Ohio at the National Football Hall of Fame and won the world championship.
Speaker 3:I remember a moment for me was I think it was my sophomore year, I believe we were in a sectional game against Shelbyville and when we had won that game everybody was just super happy about it and everybody had a joyful moment there and I kind of like I loved it a lot. Everybody was happy that we won and got to move on.
Speaker 1:Are there any role models or athletes that you look up to?
Speaker 3:I used to look up to my cousin Billy Henry a lot for football and all that and just maybe want to strive even more and try to go somewhere with it like the NFL, because he was the all-state linebacker for Richmond Indiana.
Speaker 2:I don't know if I have any like famous role models or anything, but there's some people that I follow that like help me change my mindset and stuff and I'm like listening to them talk, like David Goggins, mike Tyson, who else. Iron Mike like just the way those dudes talk about, like the way they have Like a switch and they can turn things on when it's time to perform, or even sometimes they don't have a switch and it's just always on and they know who they need to be at all times.
Speaker 1:So you guys play defensive end. So you guys are the sack men, right. So I'm hoping that this year we get a lot of sacks out of the two of you, right?
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:So I told the first group that I don't think there's another group of offensive linemen in the state that could compete with those two. And I feel the same way against those tackles. I think with the two of you coming rushing off and in can nobody stop you. So as you look at some of the professional pass rushers who would you say your style is comparable to, or somebody you look up to, I'd say my style would be just like Ray Lewis Big play Ray.
Speaker 3:Yeah, big play Ray.
Speaker 1:What about you, Kevin?
Speaker 2:I might have to contrast him and say Erlacher.
Speaker 1:Yes, Erlacher, yeah, Brian Erlacher. Chicago Bears Go Bears. All righty If it was up to you. Chicago Bears, Go Bears. All right, If it was up to you. What are your goals in terms of the season? What are you guys hoping to acquire? What are you hoping to do in terms of individual goals? Now, I know the team has goals that the coaches set forth for you, but what are some individual goals for you?
Speaker 2:I'll go first. We actually had a meeting this week with the whole team where I had to introduce myself because something we knew we were doing, and I told the team that my main goal this year was to leave this football team with no regrets. I want to be able to say that I've done everything that my abilities allow me to do within the sport, and if that's moving on to play at another level, then I hope that that is what it takes me to do. But I really want to leave with no regrets and be proud of what I was able to do in those four years.
Speaker 3:A goal for me. I want for a goal. I would want to be able to know that I put in a lot of work and I didn't do all that for nothing, do all this for nothing and just sit there and I don't know. I just want to say I hope I don't want to do this for nothing.
Speaker 1:All right, I don't know how to say it. No, you're good. What you know? Part of being on a team is that you have to have some collaboration amongst your teammates. When you see your teammates not collaborating or doing what they're supposed to do, how do you guys help motivate them? Being the seniors and being the leaders?
Speaker 2:It kind of depends on who you're talking to on the team.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so you have to individualize it, right? Yeah, yeah, like there's some people on the team that will listen to you and take your word, like actually, like take what you say and they do it, and there's some people that just won't, they'll just like all right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's like a personality thing. You have to know Like. Then you have to like know your teammates so you know how you can approach them.
Speaker 1:Pressures of playing football and being a student. Talk to us a little bit about that. How do you guys navigate that?
Speaker 2:I'll be honest, I'm pretty poor at that. Why do you say that I'm in a lot of heavy academic classes? I'm in a lot of heavy academic classes and so whenever I'm in season, I don't get as much time as I need to really focus on academics, so I have to sacrifice other things in order to complete what needs to be done. So, like main one's sleep.
Speaker 3:I feel like I can manage it a lot and keep it all balanced. I really don't feel like it's that hard for me because I don't really have that much of hard classes. And yeah, that's really about it.
Speaker 1:If I had to ask you how many sacks you want or you're going to get this season, what would you say? There's ten games. Ten regular season games. How many sacks do you think you're going to get this season? What would you say? There's ten games, ten regular season games. How many sacks do you think you're going to get?
Speaker 2:Let's see the most I ever got in one game in high school, I think, is three. So I can average one and a half each game. What's that? Fifteen?
Speaker 1:What about you, Jerome?
Speaker 3:I can give out 18, 20. Alright.
Speaker 1:We're going to hold you to those numbers. Any other questions or comments or anything you want to say to the listeners out there.
Speaker 3:No sir.
Speaker 1:Nothing Again. This is Out of the Mouth of Babes. A podcast for our youth. We are giving them the platform, the opportunity. You guys both want to go away to college. So if, right now, if there's a college coach out there looking, what would you say to him, or why should he take a chance on you?
Speaker 2:I would say for me. I feel like I'm the most determined individual on this planet. If you give me a task, I'll find a way to do it. I don't care if I have to run through a brick wall a million times In order to reach that task. I'm going to do it.
Speaker 1:And I'm so happy he got the grass cut today. That was one of those tasks.
Speaker 3:I feel like well, what was the question?
Speaker 1:again the question was if there's a college coach out there right now, what would you tell him on why he should?
Speaker 3:take a chance on you. He should take a chance on me because I'm really disciplined and, like Kevin said, if there's a task that needs to be done, I'll get it completed without no word, without no backtalk or nothing. I'll just do it. What I happen to say, a question or question about anything? Just do it.
Speaker 1:Thank you, gentlemen, for your time. We're going to have you back on this show. I hope you have fun. Out of the Mouth to Babes a podcast for our youth.