As football enthusiasts, can you imagine the thrill of running out of the tunnel for the first time, scoring a touchdown in front of a crowd of 80,000, or the adrenaline rush of a game-changing interception? Join me as former Nebraska wide receiver Brandon Kennie and Zach Emerson sit down for an engaging conversation, sharing their vivid experiences from the football field and beyond. We take a heart-pumping trip down memory lane, reminiscing about unforgettable games,
However, this isn't just a conversation about football. It's about life, faith, and purpose. Brandon and Zach explore the intersection of Christianity and sports, offering profound insights into the macro purpose of loving God and others, and how our micro purpose is unique and individualistic. They share their transformative journey from selfishness to purpose, revealing how faith has shaped their perspectives and significantly influenced their post-football careers. Through their faith-filled narratives, they articulate the importance of guiding children in recognizing their purpose in life and using their gifts to glorify the kingdom.
Furthermore, they delve into their entrepreneurial journey of starting Alliance Sports Training, a Christ-centered sports training business, emphasizing the power of trusting God's plan. They also underscore the critical role of youth sports in sharing the message of Christ and protecting young athletes from societal pressures. Wrapping up the conversation, we discuss the significance of coaching with a Christ-centered focus, and instilling a faith-based understanding of purpose in children. Whether you're a sports enthusiast or seeking to live a purposeful life in faith, this candid discussion with Brandon and Zach is sure to inspire.
As football enthusiasts, can you imagine the thrill of running out of the tunnel for the first time, scoring a touchdown in front of a crowd of 80,000, or the adrenaline rush of a game-changing interception? Join me as former Nebraska wide receiver Brandon Kennie and Zach Emerson sit down for an engaging conversation, sharing their vivid experiences from the football field and beyond. We take a heart-pumping trip down memory lane, reminiscing about unforgettable games,
However, this isn't just a conversation about football. It's about life, faith, and purpose. Brandon and Zach explore the intersection of Christianity and sports, offering profound insights into the macro purpose of loving God and others, and how our micro purpose is unique and individualistic. They share their transformative journey from selfishness to purpose, revealing how faith has shaped their perspectives and significantly influenced their post-football careers. Through their faith-filled narratives, they articulate the importance of guiding children in recognizing their purpose in life and using their gifts to glorify the kingdom.
Furthermore, they delve into their entrepreneurial journey of starting Alliance Sports Training, a Christ-centered sports training business, emphasizing the power of trusting God's plan. They also underscore the critical role of youth sports in sharing the message of Christ and protecting young athletes from societal pressures. Wrapping up the conversation, we discuss the significance of coaching with a Christ-centered focus, and instilling a faith-based understanding of purpose in children. Whether you're a sports enthusiast or seeking to live a purposeful life in faith, this candid discussion with Brandon and Zach is sure to inspire.
Hello and welcome to the Kingdom coaching podcast, where we discuss the world of club sports through the lens of Christ. I am your host, micah B. Hey, what's going on everybody? Thank you again for tuning in to what promises to be another amazing episode here at the Kingdom coaching podcast. I'm blessed, very blessed. Today have a full, full house here in the studio. I got former Nebraska wide receiver Brandon Kenny, who is also the current founder, owner and CEO of Alliance Sports Training. Let's go, and we have Zach.
Speaker 2:Emerson yes sir, let's go, let's go.
Speaker 3:That was better than mine. Yeah, I want that one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, is that how I sound?
Speaker 1:You wish you sounded that good.
Speaker 2:Let's, let's be honest right, brandon, let's be honest, right yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I love this. I love that you guys both have names that I could shorten into like make names. I mean you already have one. I mean it's BK. That's a really, really good one. I would use that line all the time. It's BK. You can't have it your way.
Speaker 3:Yeah, stuff like that. I love that. I can't really have fun with that.
Speaker 1:And when I think of like Emerson, I think of like so I'm an A's guy. I don't know, I want to call you emo.
Speaker 2:Anyone ever called you emo, zach?
Speaker 1:No, All right.
Speaker 2:Let's keep it that way. I'm going to call that that's going to work.
Speaker 3:No no.
Speaker 2:Amos. Amos is a good one I've heard I've got Emmy.
Speaker 3:Emmy, z, z, z Z.
Speaker 1:Zemo, zemo, zemo. Okay, that's not terrible.
Speaker 2:Zemo. No Well, we're getting close. Yeah, finding Zemo, we're getting more Zemo.
Speaker 1:I like that. Yeah, I'm going to go with emo. I like that, of course. Yes, sir, all right. So yeah, like I said, I want to keep this thing pretty, pretty light, pretty fun. We'll get into some of the some of the more topics in a minute here, but it was funny. I was having coffee this morning with a couple guys and over at Story's Coffee out west Great place and I was driving by and I don't know why I always see it when I drive on Dodge that life gate is right across the street from west side and that just reminds me of, like, my wife's home church in Aurora. They have this small, it's a decent size building but it's a small congregation. And right across the street there's another church, same big, decent sized church, in a smaller congregation, and I remember seeing that and I just thought that was always kind of odd, that churches are right across the street and I was like I feel like there should be an annual football game that you know that would determine who gets territory.
Speaker 2:I absolutely love that. It's a great idea, yeah.
Speaker 1:So life gate, if you're listening, hit me up on that one.
Speaker 3:Are we talking?
Speaker 1:tackle flag, tackle tackle.
Speaker 3:Are you going all out?
Speaker 1:I'm talking all out. Okay, I want to see senior pastor quarterback. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:I think that should be a rule. That would be amazing.
Speaker 1:If you plant a church within a three block radius of another church.
Speaker 3:You need to have an annual football game.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree. So anytime I see that I'm like I wonder if anyone else has ever thought that that's so funny, man, you know it's a good one, I'd go watch it.
Speaker 2:What I would go watch it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh, yeah, I would go to sports. Oh yeah, I would. I'd be taking bets, I'd be the bookie on the side.
Speaker 3:We got we got first place, don't worry. Don't worry, it's going to go on the offering place. Go on the offering plate. Don't worry guys First they can't hope. I love that.
Speaker 1:That's good. So I've got a question. So you, you played three years with Oscars, right? Yep, so three years.
Speaker 1:So I know you're not, you're not from Nebraska, so you don't have like the same, like like childhood, that like did I did growing up Like it was like a dream of every everybody I went to school with, played football with, was like put on that Crimson Jersey coming out of that tunnel, like that was like. That was like a dream. And so I I'm just, I'm just curious, like on a scale of like one to 10, like how, how amazing did that feel?
Speaker 3:Oh man, it was, that was a 12. Yeah, 12. And especially not, especially not being from here and understanding it all. I tell people all the time when I, when I, was at Nebraska, I don't think I appreciated everything that came with it the stories, the old school games, different things like that and I the example I use all the time is, you know, I would leave every day through the Hawks and that, that statue in the front of Brooke Banger, you know, tom, and I just thought it was just a statue of just Tom helping out a player, and that was the whole thing.
Speaker 3:Until I seen the documentary that came out on big 10 network a few years it was like maybe four or five years ago when they told the story of Brooke Banger and how great he was in the community. And I was just like dude, are you serious? Like that's what I was playing for too, and I didn't know and it's like I took it for granted, like whatever way that it may look if I didn't have access to information, whatever that it was. But you know those type of things that I think about a lot, but I mean the love, the, the, the honor that you get with playing for Nebraska. I feel like Nebraska is like Dallas the Dallas Cowboys. I feel like it's America's favorite team.
Speaker 1:Every day you go, it's all we got. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:But everywhere you go, I feel like it's a, a bar, it's a place to go.
Speaker 2:It's, it's all of that, you know so it was.
Speaker 3:It was great seeing.
Speaker 2:I never.
Speaker 3:I grew up in big 10 country, being from four-way Indiana, so I grew up watching the, the, you know Michigan's and the Purdue's, but I never was a fan of any college team. But I remember watching Eric Crouch against Oklahoma and the throwback pass. I remember that watching on ABC and I was like that's pretty cool, like yeah. I know that's literally that's all you kind of like memory that I have so yeah, man.
Speaker 1:No, that's funny, you know, and go exactly. You got to say something.
Speaker 2:If you throw out all like major life awesomeness, walking out of the tunnel, walk the first time, what? What does that look like? Man what does that feel? As you said, it was a 12. I figured that'd be like a 20.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, it's funny just because, like, I used to be the guy when we started the tunnel Well, not when we started, and they've been. When I got here I was like oh, he's trying to be in the front.
Speaker 2:I'm like I got to sneak up to the front, I got to be the first one running out and it's like you just kind of find your spot.
Speaker 3:So when we were going to do our pregame prayer I would line up like on a side where the door was. I just turned around and just get going. And it's funny because when I became a starter, it was just like it didn't matter no more. I was like well, I'm on the field, I just need to get focused right, but I was so thirsty for when I first got here, like do you go transfer?
Speaker 2:I got to get out in front, I got to be the guy. So determine that beforehand. No, you just. And they may, they may now.
Speaker 3:I'm not for sure. Yeah, but it wasn't like, it was just like whoever got up there. I mean you, heck, you had some pressure and freshman sometime being up there. You like get your butt to do it.
Speaker 1:I come on back Right. Well, that's the experience, that's pretty good, though, and I think the one thing that would probably have topped that for you is I can't imagine what it would be to catch a touchdown, just have a touchdown in that stadium. I feel like I could run for president at that moment, because you have an entire stadium of people that's like yeah, I'll go to war with you right now. Black out, right, oh.
Speaker 3:I can't, I can't even imagine a black.
Speaker 1:I mean it's just just being there. And when anyone scores, it doesn't matter if we're down by 50. If you, if you score a touch, it's just like oh, my goodness, what Like it's.
Speaker 3:I tell my son on the time I'm like dude, once you catch a pass in front of 80,000. Yeah, it's like another. It's funny because the game against Colorado, I think 2000 in it's supposed to be 10. I think we played him at home, rex, it was like a toss, toss, half back pass and he threw it and I called it and I literally like I didn't practice any of this, I just kind of like caught the ball, got an end zone and I like posed for like 10 seconds like in straight statute and then like I just started jumping up and down and Rex was like right next to me, like BK show me some love and I'm just hopping up and down on.
Speaker 3:know what I'm doing. We get to the side. I was like BK, you ain't show me no love and.
Speaker 1:I'm like I'm blacked out, I've never been here before, Dude give me a break this is my first rodeo.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yes. Yeah, the Sue game no that was one before, because somebody we were talking the other day like what is the loudest memorial stadium. Oh yeah, Prince said that too. Prince said that as well. It was that when he, when he was at a block or interception.
Speaker 2:The interception, yeah, but the kick first. Yes, al Jandren, I think you ran around the corner, interception or something and stiffed arm.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, man. They said it was rocking in that thing. Man, yeah, wow.
Speaker 1:Wow, Wow, Wow. So I'm. I'm trying to put together the dates here real quick. So when? When was your first official year?
Speaker 3:I came in summer of 09 from junior college, of course, got community college.
Speaker 1:So did you play with? I can't remember if, like Cody Glenn, was still there.
Speaker 3:Glenn was right after right, okay.
Speaker 1:So he had just gotten out. Yeah, yeah, okay, and Marlon, lucky, yeah, just got. But they were still around, though, so I got to talk to these guys though I remember hearing about Marlon Lucky.
Speaker 3:Yeah, didn't know a lot about Cody Glenn other than, like dude, he's an athlete.
Speaker 2:He switched from linebacker running, running back, running back.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it was just this animal out there. But I mean one thing I would say everybody was so welcoming and loving, yeah, and that's what kind of sold me on Nebraska. You know, I went to Kansas and and this was when Manjino was there I went to Kansas and you know one thing that completely turned me off when I was there was he got. You know, he met us. It was me and two other teammates. He met us. We shook hands. He was like hey, my name is Mark Manjino, nice to have you here, et cetera. So he had a golf cart that somebody drove like, drove him around in, and he went around the field, made a lap, and then he came back to us again. It was like hey, my name is Mark Manjino. I'm like yeah, man, I'm not coming here, dude, you don't know who you got here.
Speaker 3:You don't even remember who you got. So that was the thing. Went to Arkansas. It was too high, yeah, but nothing felt how Nebraska made me feel like it wasn't too far away from the crib.
Speaker 3:Being from Kansas City, red was my favorite color and they were just so loving man, they were so loving. It wasn't always about football. One thing I just story always tell was I played football with Jason Pierre. Paul played, however many years ago I want to blew his hand off. Unfortunately, I won the Super Bowl. But we played together and we were getting a. We were having lunch I believe it was at my junior college coach's house, so it was spaghetti. So we get to the house and I'm just kind of hanging out, we talking, and I'm just trying to be myself but also like proper innocence Cause.
Speaker 2:I don't know, you know I'm trying to figure it out.
Speaker 3:So we get to the table. I'm thinking to myself like Okay, you know, I grew up in a hood. We ain't, we ain't eat at tables, we ate wherever we needed it or we could. So I'm like how do I keep my elbows off? Do I need to put a napkin in my shirt?
Speaker 2:I don't know, I'm just thinking all the stuff I'm just thinking like I'm watching them.
Speaker 3:So I'm like right man, the food comes out and Carl and Bo waste no time. No, alex, any questions. They just start stuffing me face.
Speaker 2:I'm like oh, okay, I can rock with these dudes. I can rock with these dudes, so that maybe feels super, super comfortable with them?
Speaker 1:No, I bet you know, I'm sure you've. Well, maybe you you tell me, did you have any experiences off the field where fans are kind of like starstruck when they like hey, that's, uh, that's Brandon Kenny over there? Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, no, no for sure. Was it like funny or like you have any like funny, awkward stories like that Nothing super weird Um other than just being out and about in the you know a place that you would never think of, right, and just like, cause you, you would always have your Nebraska gear on right.
Speaker 3:And then once they get the action questions right, then they actually named and it's like but all my friends from Kansas city tell me all the time he's like BK. If I had a dime every time I told somebody I knew you. Uh, when they talked about Nebraska some of our friends use it as like uh, like, uh, like a third wheel type of thing to girls and stuff Like, yeah, I know him, that's my God. You want to go meet him? Let's go, let's go.
Speaker 1:Well, nothing crazy man Outside of just the normal stuff I could imagine. I mean, I I remember I think it was 07 and I was downtown Lincoln and so this was, you know, marie's purified.
Speaker 3:Yeah, oh yeah, that's what they prepared. They compared me to. I love him. Yeah, man, love his game. He was like the guy.
Speaker 1:I remember we were at Jimmy John's. We um, yeah, we had just gotten done, doing whatever. We were at a Jimmy John's and Marie's walks in and I was like dude, guys, that's Marie's purified. And I went, guys like you know, kind of get his autograph. I was like no, don't, don't bug him. And I was like I'm going to tackle him and there's like no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I was like no, I'm kidding. So I walk up and I try to be uncle. I'm like stop dog. He just like no, I said, I'm just like Marie's purified.
Speaker 1:Notice me. He felt about so legit at that point Like, yeah, he, he, he and I are guys.
Speaker 2:We're good, we're, we're dudes. That brings me to what I was going to ask. What's the weirdest? You know, you have a 45 year old come up and ask for an autograph or man.
Speaker 3:What's funny is like weird. I tell people all the time like I was. I've always been the same guy.
Speaker 1:Did you ever sign a?
Speaker 3:baby's forehead. Not that they didn't do that, that was. That's like president level, it's like Ricky.
Speaker 3:Bobby, I've always been like a loving dude, like you know, I've had my way as, but even pre Christ it was like it was always loud, goofy, funny, weird, whatever, but always outgoing. So like any, I mean, I would randomly like meet people. I would randomly like meet people and be like you've never been to a Husker game before, like in Lincoln. Right, I'll just be talking to them. I was like you never and you live here. I was like what's your name? I'll give you two tickets for next week.
Speaker 3:Right, so in back then all we would need to do was collect tickets from our teammates if they weren't using them right, a lot of kids from Florida that weren't using so they would just give it to us and I would get extra tickets. But yeah, it was always love with me. I would tell guys all the time that would sneak out the back or the side door of the Hawks when we got done with games. I'm like first off, dude, you ain't even known like that. Second off, like after, after college nobody will be doing so.
Speaker 2:Like you tell me you can't wait 20 minutes to sign autographs. Man like it's cool.
Speaker 3:Hey, right, make you feel a little good too, but it's like you sneaking out the back Like Patrick, my home.
Speaker 1:There's something like well, I'll do.
Speaker 3:I'll go do this Like so. I was always that guy to love on anybody. I made so many random friends been on. Twitter and everything from that.
Speaker 2:So that's awesome. I came up to you and I said, hey, it'd have been love. My son, zach, wants an honor.
Speaker 3:What it did easily, no question, no question.
Speaker 1:I appreciate that I same with like baseball games. My son and I go to a lot of Husker baseball games and like it doesn't even matter how cold it is, the whole team will always wait and sign every ball. That's love. I just love that it's just like it should be about. Yeah, it is. It's just it's about love of the game and just loving those who who appreciate it. You know because you were once that kid and it's just not forgetting where you come from.
Speaker 3:It's just it's important so yeah, it's good.
Speaker 1:No, that is yeah. Well, let's go ahead and jump into it.
Speaker 1:So at lunch we talked about you know, I try to pray in and ask for God to kind of give us, give us kind of a not necessarily like a hot topic, but a but, a topic laid on my heart that I think people are talking about, people have questions about, people have struggled with and you know, let's, let's talk about that, and so so the so the topic that God's kind of laid on my heart for this podcast is I want to, I want to start with purpose so we can, we can take it, we can roll with it. You know, do, do, do whatever. But when I, when I think of purpose, I think of, I think of a lot of things. Right, I think of, like you go back a hundred years in in American, in America's history. Right, you go back, go back a hundred years. And if you, if you, were to pull majority of households, what's a man's purpose?
Speaker 2:You. You'd probably get to say, man to work and bring home an income. What's?
Speaker 1:what's the wife's purpose? To stay to clean and stay home, right. And now you fast forward a hundred years and it's so subjective. I mean before it was too black and white in the sense of, like you know, it has to be this and it can't be anything outside of that, which, which, which was bad. And now it's gone to the other extreme, where it's just it's so subjective because we have no, we have no boundaries, we have no parameters, we have no, we're not looking to anything higher than ourselves for for this purpose. And it brings up all these issues of self identity crisis and, just, you know, anxiety and depression and suicide and all these different things that that play into, play into it.
Speaker 1:But I think you could, you know, bring it all back to, to purpose, and purpose is one of those things we talked about at lunch that kids at a very young age are constantly trying to figure out their purpose on earth.
Speaker 1:They're, they're, they're looking for those, those, those accolades, those out of voice, and however in which form they get those in. That's usually what they identify as their, as their purpose, right, wrong or otherwise, and so that could, that could come in a very positive way and it can come in a very negative way too, depending on who's giving it to you and and and and in what form. But the other thing I think about when, when I think about purpose, is I have to like break it down from a like macro level and a micro level. You know, this is, this is from the Christian standpoint, because as, as as Christians, we have to understand that there there is that macro, that that generalized purpose. Right, and when I, when I think about that, it's it's Matthew 22, 36 through 40. And that's that's him telling us to go forth and make disciples. Okay, yeah.
Speaker 1:Right and then. So that's that's macroly right, like you know. Wait, I'm sorry, that's the wrong verse.
Speaker 3:No, no, no, no, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.
Speaker 1:So that that that verse was love, love Christ and love one another.
Speaker 2:So all my theological friends out there are going to hate me on that, sorry about that I'd write.
Speaker 1:wrote a couple of verses down.
Speaker 1:I read I read the wrong one off, but but anyways, it's the same thing, though we can agree that our macro purpose as Christians is to love God and to love others. Like that it's. It's that simple. It's black and white, yeah, but from the micro level it's a lot more unique. And so the, the verse that I go to, for that is first, first Corinthians 12, and in that chapter Paul is talking about the body and how the and I, as an iron, I can't, you know take itself out of the body because it wants to be an ear, and so on and so forth, and it paints that really good picture that we are all a part of the body of Christ, right, like, so, our, our micro purpose, like your micro purpose, is different than mine, and I can't tell you what yours is and you can't tell me what mine is. We have to wrestle with with our maker on a daily basis to make sure that we, that we're, we're right, in line with that purpose, and that's that's part of you know, that's that's part of the struggle, that's part of the journey of being a Christian is like okay, god, I'm dying to myself. Like, help me find the purpose you have set for me because I've tried my purpose and it's failed.
Speaker 1:Because, again, we talked about that too at lunch, where you look at the disciples and you know Matthew's a good example, right, his perfect purpose, you know BC, before his encounter with Christ, was he was a tax collector. You know, right, wrong or otherwise, he loved it, hated it, whatever. That was his identity, that was his purpose. And then Christ comes in and, you know, flips his whole world upside down. And so there's so many, you know so many kids I run into and I'm sure you know you do too in the club world, where you, you have these six, seven, eight, nine, ten year old kids and they're, they're looking up at you as the coach, and they're not always saying it with their, with their words, but they're saying it with their eyes and their actions.
Speaker 1:Like I Want a purpose, please, like I want to feel wanted and needed, I, I want that and they're looking for that, typically in sports. Because you know, we've we've seen the, the explosion of club sports and and it's we talked about it earlier when you know, adults have come in and they turned it into a business and it's not a business isn't a bad thing itself, of course, but when you take it and you're compromising kids to make a dollar, that's, that's when I have an issue with it and that's when God has an issue with it. And so you have these kids where rather it be from there, from their parents, from their peers, whatever it is is like they're, they're being told their purpose is only what society says it can be. You know you're, you're branded a loser because you know you, you do X, y and Z. You're not good enough to be this, so that's not your purpose. You, you can't be this.
Speaker 1:So that's why we have all those classifications and and all those I mean just horrible, like clicks and yeah, and everything throughout society. And and so I just I wanted you to kind of speak to that because I know we we had talked so for any anybody who doesn't know prior, so Brandon became a Christian six, six years ago. So your, your, your entire football career was BC Absolutely, and so I want you to kind of talk about what that was like for you as a D1 athlete, even before that too. If you talk about, like your, your, your, juco, because I know you, you got, you got, yeah, I picked up D1, but then you had to go Juco because of grades or something, yep, yep, and so kind of talk about that like your purpose and football and what it, what it was like you know BC, and then kind of how that flipped around you know after, after you became a Christian, and we can kind of you know, kind of go in a lot longer. So, yeah, no for sure man.
Speaker 3:Oh, great question too. Thank you for that. It's funny because all it was was just selfishness prior to you know be prior to prior to Christ. It was just me, me, me, me, me. It was what. What can I make Any situation? How can I manipulate it? How can I do whatever I can to make it about me? How can I get the most balls thrown to me? How can I get the most touchdowns? How can I go complain to my coach that I'm not getting the ball enough? Just and I play with Josh Freeman. Right, josh Freeman, former former recruit in Nebraska. It's probably a sour topic for a lot of people still, right?
Speaker 3:That's my dude, that's my guy, guy. That's how I got looked at through Kansas State. They kept saying who's you throwing this a? Who keeps just 84 kids you keep throwing to? Who is it? So you know, I got looked at with that, so it was just real selfishness. Then I was into girls and doing everything my way right, this is respect to my parents at home, stepfather, mother, and just doing all the things that I should have been doing as a young man. Yeah, and trying to figure it out that way. I mean, then you, you get to a point where you really live in rogue and then, like I get the junior college and I have a child right at a 18 years old man and I'm like arrogant, ignorant, to go to my mom and it's like, hey, mom, getting ready to have a child, but, um, don't worry about it, I'm going to the NFL, so we're good. She said, brandon, get the, the, the hell out of my face is what she told me. Get out of my face right now.
Speaker 1:I was like why we're gonna have to take care of everybody. What are you talking?
Speaker 3:about, right, but it's just not knowing. Not knowing man, it's just ignorant. So you know, obviously not making grades, or not necessarily grades, sct scores to get to the d1. So it's like, okay, we're gonna place you in junior college, okay, we're gonna redshirt you. Well, what do you mean? I do I go complaining, I'm gonna cry and I'm ready to come home. Mom, come get me. They redshirted me. There's no way.
Speaker 3:And then in the crazy part about juco football was that, um, there was an out-of-state rule. So there were you. You're allowed 53 people or men on your roster. 12 of them can be out of the state of Kansas. The rest of them have to be okay in state.
Speaker 3:So my coach, coach, jeffrey sins love the death Taught me so many great things, would bring in like 70 dudes out of state and some of them former five star recruits, some of them whatever transfers. And it was like Okay. And I figured out, yeah, and he would just run us through the mud doing all these stuff. I mean, I, I question football daily when I was in junior college because I'd never had worked like that ever in my life. Um, so one thing leads to another. I get to, so I've redshirted, I ended up playing basketball.
Speaker 3:Um went out, there was just running around open gym. The basketball coach was like dude, who are you? Where'd you come from? So, like I'm throwing it off the wall, wind milling in there, like, oh, you need to come play basketball. So I played basketball my first year. I'm going to my second year. I played both. I ended up making the 53 man roster yeah, make the team. Um, after football season was over, I played basketball. I had a great season, all american, all that stuff, all the wazoo, uh, but still worshiping me, still worshiping football, thinking that this is my getaway. Um, so I'll get to Nebraska, get it. I'm fortunate to get a scholarship there at all the places that I had offers from. I get here doing my thing here and then I have my second child, not even before the age of 21 man. So I got now two kids by two different women and both their names are Andrea, dude and I'm like Bk. What are you doing?
Speaker 2:What are you doing right now? Now?
Speaker 3:Thank god I married the second right, so like it all worked out. But like I'm just this young dude Again, still arrogant, going to my mom like hey, mom, yeah, I'm a second child by taking woman, but don't worry I'm going in and failed.
Speaker 1:Yeah, don't you sweat anything.
Speaker 3:So this time she punched you in the face.
Speaker 1:Yeah, as you like, drop, kick me from the couch dude from that one.
Speaker 3:So it's like, yeah, so again, I'm still living for me, I'm still doing my thing, and even as a young father, I'm selfishly putting what I want first, like, hey, man, like Like I'm going to change our lives with this, so I gotta chase this right now, I gotta chase it. So, um, the great thing about the lord is that like he loves us enough to let you do it. Yeah, you, you think it's for you.
Speaker 1:Okay, go spin your wheels, man. I won't, I won't bother you, he'll let you run into a brick wall.
Speaker 3:Do your thing and I'll just be right over here until you're ready, right. So, um, when you really think about that and you think about all the years that you were spinning your wheels, you were going through insanity, right hitting the brick wall, it's like how. But then you also look back now in hindsight, in christ, and you see where he had you Every step of the way, like why I took this route, why I went this way, why I met this person, what, like all of these different things that accumulate to this one big now purpose, right, of what I'm doing now, because I never thought, like I never had purpose. Man, it's a six years ago, yeah, like after football, it was like, okay, what to do? Now, like I know I like people. What do I do with this? Okay, well, I try to be a cop in Lincoln. Didn't work out and I'm just like Okay couldn't pass the physical.
Speaker 1:You just got what the hell?
Speaker 3:That's the physical, just testing stuff I'm like some stuff on today. It's like okay, Can't do that within two years.
Speaker 2:I'm like all right man, so no, I'm just kidding Figure that out and it's like, okay, cool.
Speaker 3:If this doesn't work, what am I supposed to do? Okay, retail, I guess. Okay. Let's try retail right and I found myself loving it. But I loved it because I love people, I love talking to people, I have a heart, I love being, I'm like I'm super outgoing, so it's like that was easy for me.
Speaker 3:So I excelled in it. So the next thing I excelled in was the thing that I'm like, okay, cool, like let's make a lot of money doing this, right, because I didn't know, you can make money being a store manager at some retail spot. I just thought in my mind that it was the doctors, the firefighters, the cops that made these real livings. But, um, so, learning through all of that man and now seeing where I am now, it's like, yeah, bk, you needed to go through customer service.
Speaker 3:You needed to deal with people. You needed to learn how to To talk to people. In fact, find and do things now, because now you're dealing with Parents and sports and their kids and you know that it could get crazy sometimes and their thoughts and how parents are sometimes Bless their hearts, right, but it's like that's why.
Speaker 3:Because I used to think all the time when I was renting cars. I worked at enterprise for three years. It was a branch manager for two of them, ran my own store, and I used to think to myself all the time like lord, there is nothing wrong with retail or renting cars. It's not. I don't want you to think I'm right, I'm coming to you about this, but I'm saying I know there's more like you didn't. You didn't. You didn't have me here just to rent cars. There's no way. I used to tell my boss, in hindsight, crazy. I used to say their name is bridge. I said bridge.
Speaker 3:I just feel like I should be doing more. Like I feel like I should be doing more. Um, I feel like I should be doing more in the community. I feel like I should be doing more with kids. And it was like that was him like knocking on the door and I was still like but I gotta make some money, I gotta make, I gotta make sure my family good. I got this, you know this great deal with the company car and all these different things.
Speaker 1:Like yeah, I can't give this up.
Speaker 3:You know what I mean. But when I finally surrendered at all, man, finally like and it's funny because roy told me this story, shout out to Roy, hey Lou, he told me this story. He said, bk, like, when you get saved, you will feel this way, like lifted off. You know, I'm just and I used to be the dude I was like Do you really like, do you really feel the weight lifted off? I'm telling you, man, when I, when I said, lord, I quit, lord, I'm tired of acting like I know it all, I'm tired of acting like I got all this stuff figured out, when I don't, I'm done, I literally Felt the weight lifted off and it was finally like uh, thank you, son.
Speaker 3:Now I can show you everything that I want you to do right. So now you know I go get married two weeks later, yeah, I get the vision of faith, jump. You know the clothing brand. Then I get a line sports training and slight this what you wanted the whole time. And here I am running my own race.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I'm, I'm curious, kind of kind of want to kind of dig into that a little bit. Yes, please, so do I. Yeah, yeah, zach, you go ahead.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you go ahead. Well, the thing I Like I can feel what he went through, because I kind of went through something similar and so so what I, what I want to know is like now you feel what he was talking about, right?
Speaker 3:Yeah, you feel it.
Speaker 2:You know it. Now tell me about telling other people about it. Yeah, that had the same reaction you did like I don't need you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I don't want to either.
Speaker 2:They don't want to talk about it, mm-hmm, they want to push it away, just like we did. Yeah, and it's so frustrating.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:Like I'm like I got this thing, I got this for you. Why don't you? Yes, yes, yes and then you read the bible, that's.
Speaker 3:That's what happens over and over, over and over. Reject, reject, yes, yes.
Speaker 2:That's like man, I figured it out.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I don't know how yeah, I probably didn't deserve it yeah, I didn't, um, but now I have it for you. Why don't you?
Speaker 3:why don't you want and that was the bottom we talked about in lunch. Uh, like it was that, it was the bible thumping spades, spade um stage in my life because I'm like I got the secret right, zach. I'm like, hey look, I got, I got what you need. My homeboys call me because I'm going through this. I'm going through this and I would immediately just go to Well, bro, go, go read your bible.
Speaker 3:Yes, go get your bible, yeah go get and it's like well, because that Doesn't work with everybody, because that they don't understand that lingo, and that's okay, because we were the same way, right.
Speaker 3:That's what's like okay, but the thing isn't what I've learned Of it all and and sharing your testimony and learning how to share the gospel is like they have to start asking questions. When they see you on tan all the time, yeah, when they see these things happening in your life and it's like as soon as that door opens, like I'm sprinting through, it's like, okay, what's the house? It's all. But let me tell you, let me like, right, let me tell you what's going on, let me tell you who's doing this, and it's like and you and you gauge that, okay, I didn't game a little bit much. Let me let them ponder that and hope they come back, right, but then, as, as you sit there, you can kind of gauge, okay, well, I could go more and go more, but I tell everybody the same thing. I was like dude, I tried everything else. I tried, yeah, everything else. That I thought was my way and it was the right way.
Speaker 2:It was, yeah, I think, people Seeing you yes like, it's not so much what you say probably. Um, because god's gonna do it anyway. We will try and fail, because we can't miserably but I think when they see your change and and what they know before and what they see now, that's I think that's the juice right there for them to know, yeah, and it's just understanding that too.
Speaker 3:man, and just now, knowing that a lot of stuff is just conversation and love, like bro, how are you always so happy and loving and so caring?
Speaker 3:and so yeah it's like, yeah, let me tell you, bro, like, let me tell you how I got a joy. Yeah, man, absolutely the piece that it's so funny. When, um, when I started actually reading my bible, um, I went to you know, talking about purpose. I randomly, just like, opened my bible one day and it's flipped to first Peter, 4, 10 to 11, and it talks about Purpose and talks about why we're here and it's to glorify the kingdom of god. If you have any gift, it's to do that. And I used. I sat there and I'm like, dude, I used to think my charm, my gift, all these things were for me to manipulate, to do other things, it's like. And no, it was, it was for the kingdom, dude, everything that I was missing, and it was for this. So now the perspective is completely changed. Now everything I'm doing it's like no, it's, it's for the glory. If you got a, if you got a gift with numbers, if you got a gift with whatever, that it is man, it's to glorify the kingdom.
Speaker 3:How can you use that to spread that word? You?
Speaker 1:know what I'm saying. Yeah, and you have to use it in the correct way. Yes, because I think about it, even as christians to um, I can't remember which, uh, which scripture it is, but where it's like you could speak eloquently, you can cast out demons, you can do all these things, but if you don't, if you don't, don't love, yeah, you are nothing. That's like, that's like that's heavy, that's because, yeah, like you said, like god's gifted us, and once you become a christian, for me I mean I, I can speak to, like having that weight lifted.
Speaker 1:But a bigger thing for me, as I felt like blinders come off, my eyes were my eyes were very, very open to, to, to my purpose and the purpose of people, and I would just look at people and it's like that person's got purpose. It's from god, yeah, and they look down on our luck like they're near suicide, like I was man. I'm just like. They need to hear about this. They need to understand that they have purpose. You know these kids that we're coaching these kids, that you know, yeah, I don't want to dig, dig, dig, dig, dig too deep into that, but I mean the kids that we're coaching they. They need that purpose and they need that purpose.
Speaker 1:And still, that it's such a such a young age because you can, you can hide yourself in a lot of fake purpose, a lot of that subjective stuff through high school, through college, and then, once you're on your own though, that identity, identity crisis when you're an adult. That's heavy. We're not preparing kids to deal with that. That's why you're seeing so I mean so many big issues in society. It's just like I don't know. I don't know, I don't know how to handle this, because my purpose, was told me, is it's subjective, whatever I want it to be.
Speaker 1:It changed because I moved schools and people looked at me and saw me as this and so they said I was this and so identified as this because I wanted to fit in, and so I'm just like that's it's, it's just really heavy and it just it weighs, weighs, very heavy on my soul, you know. But anyway. So, going back to your story, I want to dig a little deep. Yes, please. So if you can think back to to when you, when you were a kid, when, when was the first time you, you played football man?
Speaker 3:Seven okay, seven Okay. Peewee football Okay.
Speaker 1:How did, how did you get into that? I mean Father, bring you to that.
Speaker 3:I mean brothers, I think it was, if I can, if I, if I can remember this right, I believe it was just like a mechanism for my mom to like get us out, okay, get like, yeah, to just have something, because, dude, I don't want to play first practice. I went to him like, dude, heck, no. I'm not doing this, what is this? Like they hitting me and all no, we're not doing this. Yeah, and it was like I went home and she was like oh no, you're playing, you're playing, yeah, you know what and I think I think it was more so too.
Speaker 3:It's just like that time for her to go do whatever. I mean whatever time and then, as you get to doing it and you change your attitude and you get like oh Wow, like I'm good at this physical, I'm gifted and different things like that. So I started, man, it was seven.
Speaker 1:man, I don't know, do you remember when, when it like clicked as far as like I Don't know if you felt that you were, you were good, or if you were told at a younger age, if you were told a seven like, hey, brandon, you, you should put an extra work. Yeah, you're really good, yeah, you know. I'm just curious if, if that was the first thing you can say, I mean cuz, at seven years old, I mean, it's, it's kind of hard to think back then too, but Would you say that was the first thing that you, you identified as as yourself. Purpose not even close, not even close. I don't think.
Speaker 3:I think it started really home and in like high school, okay, cuz my. So we in four way Indiana metro youth football league was like you played pee we and then JV and varsity. Jv was 9 and 10 and then varsity was 11 and 12. Okay, so then pee we was seven through eight. Yeah, you played in your pee we teams and you went up to the big team. Yeah, I went to a Magnet middle school, performing arts middle school. So it wasn't a a football team, we just had basketball. Okay. So I played from seven to twelve and then I get the middle school and it's like nothing, it's just a basketball. So Like in my mind, I'm gonna NBA now now I'm working on my skills, I'm doing that like.
Speaker 3:I'm gonna NBA, yeah right. And then we moved to Kansas City from four way Indiana and I'm reading the deuce back to football again. Yeah, mom is like, hey, we're gonna take you down to football. I'm just kind of like that ain't played in three years, like so I'm telling all your buddies yeah, dude.
Speaker 3:You're a big dude, you. What position you play? I was like maybe receiver, I don't know, tidy, I don't know. But yeah, yeah, I was a big. I was a big, 200 pound, 205, like freshman, coming in big, really big, cut up, look real good.
Speaker 3:Basketball yeah so they asking me these questions cuz I'm from sewer, different, etc. Man, first day we get pads on a get truck, first play. They clowning me this big old dude from Indiana, he can't even play. I'm like, oh man. So I go back to the crib to like mom, I ain't, this, ain't for me, no.
Speaker 2:I'm a hooker, I'm going to the NBA. You know what I mean.
Speaker 3:Thank, God for great parents that are like, yeah, you doing it right. And then I started to figure it out. I would say, though it really starts sticking with me, that I can change my life with it. Like After my junior year, cuz the junior, my junior year summer got shot and it was just Mind-blowing to me, like it just really like it blew me away because, like we was coming from a party, they shot up our car on the side of highway. Like I'm shot and it just really. It humbled me a Because I'm like dude, I was acting this type of way towards my parents, I was treating my mom like this, I was doing all these different types of things and like selfishly acting and I could have been gone.
Speaker 3:Like it was the through and through back of my arm, through my graze, my chest, and I'm like I could have been gone completely. So that changed my perspective of lot of like okay, I need to be better. Somehow it still wasn't Christ word, I wasn't in that mindset, but it's like I need to just treat my mom man, literally, I'm letting in the hospital bed. First time ever, told my mom I love her, first time we ever even talked, said anything like that on any hospital bed. She had been there for the last like three days. She finally went home.
Speaker 3:Colorado phone, we talking, we talking is like I'm, I like love you, and it was like silence, dude, for like 30 seconds Cuz we just never talked like that. So, yeah, like that was a eye-opening moment for me and then towards that it was like Okay, cuz I had to sit out a couple jamborees and stuff at the beginning of the year because it was July of, it was July 06, going going into senior year. So so yeah, changed a lot for me. But I just knew like, dude, you can change your surroundings with this sport. If you really like, lock in and get after it.
Speaker 3:Yeah so, like after that moment I feel like I was like, okay, like what I need to do, a lot of this stuff was too late to right with my grades and I was trying to go to summer school to Replace grades and different things like that, yeah, but it really changed. It changed your perspective for me to be like, okay, cool, I'm not gonna go D1. That's all right. Like what's the next back step? I went to Mo West to revisit their thinking like, okay, possible, I can go there. And I just didn't like the whole process of the financial aid stuff and how that worked out. Yeah. So then I found out okay, I can go Juco and then still go D1. Okay, cool, let's, let's go that route, you know so. So, yeah, that's what I feel like it really clicked for me man, like you're, you're a really good player, right, you can go do something, right, yeah?
Speaker 1:but did you feel at a young age I mean, I'm sure you did cuz like? That's one of those things men in America you know growing up as as young boys, were constantly looking for that, that affirmation, yeah from father's or father figures in general. Yeah, so. So I'm curious, what kind of like father figures you know we're in your life, yeah, growing up, yeah, and what were what? What were they telling you your purpose? What, yeah, or were there was anyone, yeah, speaking to?
Speaker 3:that my dad was in another prison, unfortunately. So well it for him. It was just straight sports. He was like he would tell me every time I saw it dude, you ain't a basketball player, your ticket out is gonna be football. That's what you tell me was. What's he? A football player?
Speaker 1:Yeah, he played, he did both.
Speaker 3:Okay, monster football went down to they tone up beach, as in a junior college. I think they told Some some Juco down there and it came back cuz my mom's pregnant with me and she was okay, I gotta work, I gotta figure something out, and went that route. But yeah, big time, big time, in four way everybody do them. But he was just telling that like basketball, yeah, not, you do football be a ticket. Then my stepfather used to kind of say same thing around of like hey man, football can really be it for you.
Speaker 1:How old were you then? That was the end. I was eight, nine years, I know okay, so they seen it in me but I was still okay.
Speaker 3:I wasn't seeing it in myself, though, either. Yeah, I felt like other kids around me were super, super good, yeah, and I was just like, well, they're really good. But I didn't understand how big I was and what I really had in that moment. I was a crybaby growing up. Dude, super, super cry. My boy. Yeah, oh, that dude. So that's all. So, yeah, so what I? But that that's what I thought. You know, being like yeah, like like geared early, like that's what it was gonna be, like you're going to be Sports. It was never any B plan. It was never any B plan, wasn't that? Wasn't taught a B plan, never talked about. It was like you go in my. My cousin used to say our time we seen each other, like, hey, man, we gonna see each other in the green room because it's like you know, yeah, yeah, right to get drafted, that's what we thought, that's what we believe right. Couldn't tell us no difference.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I like, so I can appreciate, so that that being instilled in you from a young age and you know, you're, you're seeing these accolades, you're seeing this appreciation, you're going, you're going D1, you're going to to the Huskers and you know you're balling out, you're, you're having a good season, you're having another good season, you're doing well, and then it comes time for, for draft time. You know, like that's that's the moment that you've been preparing for and you're, you know, being told to prepare, prepare for, since you were eight years old, right, and so so walk me through that. I mean, were people telling you you were gonna go at a certain round in the draft? Okay, so yeah, okay, okay, yeah yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:So I mean they got mock drafts that were coming out ages telling you certain things, people calling you. You know, I say it's so funny because I seen like three mock drafts One was going to the Jets in the sixth round, another one was going to the Steelers in the sixth round and one was going to the Packers in the seventh round.
Speaker 1:Okay, so I was like I'm out of here.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm gone, my name gonna be called. Yeah, this is what it is. And then, like, even getting the whirlwind with that of like, okay, nope, name is a call, but afterwards they have a like two days afterwards, assigned priority free agents of like okay, we didn't draft them, but we got them on our board, let's get him in here and they get a lot of money, like an allotted of certain amount. Okay, you can split this up between five, six players, right? So that's kind of this is so that I was a little bummed about it Like right.
Speaker 1:Well, so walk me through those two days, because I, because I can't. I've never been in that situation, but I mean, you're sitting there on your cloud couch or wherever you are watching the draft or hearing about the draft and You're seeing, you know, first round go by, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, so on and so forth, and my name's not getting called up. I've been planning for this. Everyone's been telling me this is gonna come, this is my purpose, this is my identity. And then, all of a sudden, draft days over, and you have to go to bed, mm-hmm, knowing that you, you know, unless someone called you that I said, hey, don't, don't worry. Two days later, I mean, did you get a call like that? Yeah, okay, okay, but okay, okay, okay, okay, because there's so many teams call you and you gotta take what you feel like the best offer is.
Speaker 3:And you, you don't got that much time to take it because they'll get off the phone with you said right, you don't want it, okay, they'll call the next guy yeah so they'll kind of sometimes Okay you some time to think about it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but it was so many the Saints, the Bears, and some of them say, hey, we just want you to come out here, just try out. I'm so okay, I'm not gonna do that. If I got offers right table, yeah, but one of obviously it was Kansas City was one of them. But I was like I don't want to go back home right now, like I want to go somewhere. Right, I want to be away, I want to. But none of the offers really made sense that it didn't look good. And I'm just like in my agent at the time. I was like dude, I think Kansas City would be great for you. Duane Bow was Holding out at that time. It's like you can really have a shot to do something. So it's like, so I think I've waited a day, okay, and then called back and was like okay, like we'll do so was.
Speaker 1:Was there a moment, you know in between, you know when you didn't go in the traditional draft and To when you got that call, is saying hey, we want, we want to pick you up as a free agent that you kind of had that oh Moment like, did you? Did you have a moment like that where it was thinking like it wouldn't happen?
Speaker 1:Yeah like thinking it wasn't gonna happen, or just kind of like rethink your life for a second. Yeah, you know like where it's like Okay, everything I've done up until now was for this, and now it's looking like it's not. Yeah, happen, or at least happen in the way that I want it to. Yeah, right, that's like that's the other thing too, like I don't know what that feels like, if that's a feeling of feeling being slighted or what.
Speaker 3:But Kind of feeling like being a failure in a sense. Into now, that's that's. That's dramatic, but it was that for a couple hours into. Like you got the call, but in hindsight it's like dude, how can you be feel like that when you had all these teams calling? But like in that my mind was like you getting called, yeah, somebody's calling you, yeah, calling your name Ken City had called me during the draft. Like dude, we got a pick in the seventh round, we're gonna get you, we gonna get this. They do that, okay, to butter you up. So when you do go into the free agent, it's like hey, we called you and we was going, so you need to just come up.
Speaker 3:Sure, that's a point too, but, yeah, for a couple hours it was like man really. And then it's like, okay, dude, you still got a shot to go right, still get a little bit of money for signing bonus, right, okay. So then, yeah, when I got the cheese and then I put it out on social media, you guys, I got so much love. It was like, do, how can you be down? Or right, like you go back to the crib. It's love. Everybody know you from this sauce. It's gonna be great. You know you have favorite here too, you know, and it was, it was, it was a great opportunity. I got to see, you know, high school friends, high school, I mean front office people. I mean it was great, it was a great, great, great time and I felt like I did enough to be there. Yeah, but the politics of the game, having so many receivers have, I mean Right, you can only do so much, man. So, yeah, so yeah, it was a little bit, but I knew like, dude, I'm gonna do something.
Speaker 3:I, yeah, I didn't grind it too hard for this. I got right, that's that's exactly my point.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, your whole life has been one giant Workout.
Speaker 3:I mean, it just has been, you know, it's just you know, d, d1 is so different than any other.
Speaker 1:I mean it just is. I mean, I'm sorry, prime time, your prime time is killing it right now.
Speaker 1:He's definitely showing that you don't have to be D1 to be D1. I mean, like he's killing it. But you know, I played golf in college and I had an offer to play, play football, to say, at the same school. It was did D3 school, yeah, you know, and but I was like gosh, they practice way too hard. I was like this is there's, there's, there's no time for me. There's no, there's no time. I'm just like you guys gotta hang out all the time. I mean the brotherhood, I loved it and it was gonna be a blast. I was like I'm not gonna play a pro ball like this ain't me and I think that's okay for you, yeah, you'd.
Speaker 3:I like. Working at Concordia High School as a coach really taught me that because, yeah, I came from like this is me, so in, I gotta get out, I gotta make it, I gotta. These kids are like yeah, cuz I just, I just play the play and I'm like Time I what you not trying to get scholarships?
Speaker 3:I'm not coach, I don't want to do this. I just like, yeah, wait what? And I had to like Reprogram myself. Yeah, okay, bk a, that's okay. Yeah, they don't want to be. I Respected, yeah, but if you're gonna be out here, you gotta give me what you got when you are here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you can't you know what I mean.
Speaker 1:It's gotta be a yeah, it's gotta be, gotta be a hundred percent so I'm cool with that, but no it's okay, like yeah, but I but I share that story because you know I thought it was like super hard. And then I'm talking to. You know I had a few other friends that went like D3, d2 and and we're talking through it, and then, and then I talked to a few guys that were D1. I'm just like, okay, that's next level. You know, next level, torture, I mean, it's just like one giant three day, day, day.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean literally after after college I will wake up For like almost the next you following year for like at six o'clock every morning, thinking like okay, like where I gotta go, where I gotta go inside, bro, yeah, I do nothing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know what?
Speaker 3:it's like, but you your program, because it is that wait, yeah, class, you take a little nap, if you can see one in practice that, yeah, it is that and it's that high level and I get why can't be looked at like that, like dude? I don't want to. I want my cause experience to be. Hey, I don't even want my high school experience to be like that and I get that. For some kids going through the youth, like you, it may not pay now for your high school, that's okay. Yeah, you want your summers, if. But you gotta be able to make a decision and know like you probably won't get a lot of summers to yourself. Yeah, you probably won't get a lot of springs to yourself because you're gonna be doing stuff.
Speaker 3:Seven seven training if you wanted that.
Speaker 1:Well, and it kind of goes back down to that, back to purpose, to it.
Speaker 3:I'm totally.
Speaker 1:And so, like I played with with athletes that their purpose was not sports Hmm, they, they were in it just to be in it and they didn't grind like those of us that were. We were in it, we, we wanted scholarships, we, we wanted to play at the next level, regardless of whatever the sport was, and so that was our purpose and so we were willing to sacrifice anything else, because that's the thing about purpose You're gonna have to sacrifice so much in order to fulfill that purpose and you know that's. That's true for, you know, non-christians and Christians and for those of us that you know that have, you know, become Christians later in life, that that line is so much more definitive of like. You know you, you had to. You know you're I mean, at least for me, like my relationship with, like my family, my relationship with people that mattered, that suffered.
Speaker 1:You know my, you know my family and I, we, we weren't super close. You know I was very distant with, from people very, very fake, you know. But things had to. You know had to suffer in order to push to fill my bucket, you know, and I'm sure it's similar, similar to you, because you know, in order to get to the NFL. I mean, you can't always do. You know what, what your, what your friends want. Yeah, like dude, you don't have a shot like I do.
Speaker 1:You don't have a shot. So I've got to do this. Like I'm sorry, like you've made the decision you want to go out and, you know, do whatever.
Speaker 3:Like that's you, man, but like this is me rock yeah yeah, it's a mindset, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's mental. I mean, I feel like 80% of it is that man like yeah ex's nose. Ex's nose. Having ability, having ability, like that's what it is. But it's like how can you push yourself, how can you really take your mind to that next level? Like I watched the movie on. I've watched it a few times. I love it, mark wallburn, it's home. Is it the lone survivor? Yeah, it's a lone survivor movie.
Speaker 3:I think I'm not I'm not great movie right. But what blew me away was like when they were getting attacked at the end and you know all the the Other folks were coming and shooting them. And this is not like they were on top of a hill, dude, like top of the hill and they were shooting back and they all looked at each other's like five or six I'm like snappy seals and they're like, hey, man, we got a. And they all like jump right and they're like hitting the head and Breaking stuff and they get right back up, yeah, and they're shooting a gun. And shooting a gun, do bone out his leg, it's their cowboys.
Speaker 3:It's mindset, it's like when I seen that it's like dude, I stub a toe at the crib and I feel like I'm about to die.
Speaker 1:Lots of them saying they were cowboys. Clearly, brandon, they were cowboys.
Speaker 2:Another level For life, like we're not for life.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you can break a femur to be cool about it. Exactly, but it shows how powerful your mind is if you really take hold of something, whatever it may be right. Yes, so I Look at that all the time. It's like, bro, you're meant, your mental capacity, yeah, you just got to push it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay. So so now I want to transition that you know, cuz that's a great thing. So the the, the mental fortitude that you have to have to be that, that one, that top 1% athlete right. That being able to transition into, into the life of a Christian, yeah, yeah, taking that same intensity which I know, which I know you have. Yeah, speak to that a little bit.
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely, I think it was. Um, you know, when I first got into Ministry, became a believer I was, I was, you know. I used to say ignorant stuff like this, like yeah, I can't, I can't wait to learn the Bible. Dude, anybody that tried to question me, I'm gonna have everything for me. My dude was like okay, bro, like it's not get out of here, that's not what you do it for right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but it's like but I thought that, right. But I had to like discern this stuff and figure it out. But right, it was one for me. Man, when I me attacking and when I say that it's like I've always been all in do with whatever I do, always been never was. I mean anybody you can ask is like, yeah, dude, if he commits to some of you like, he is all in on it, so that's all I've been.
Speaker 3:So my mindset was like look, I gave everything to football, nonsense, running around with Girl, women being at a young guy, all that type of stuff. It's like you gave everything to that, bro. Yeah, everything you. I cannot not be here and not do the same like I had. Like I had. If I'm gonna Do this Christ thing and I'm like I gotta do it, I doesn't mean like I'm about to be some perfect Christian. What I'm saying is like I really got to try at this. I really got to like right, live this thing out and get back up when you fail. And get like, because to me that's what it is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, don't fall.
Speaker 3:You gonna see it like it's. It's okay to go down the dark hole sometimes, as long as you turn Around it come out that's repeating, right like we humans. So it's like getting people to understand that, but also you believe in that and getting that and I think, man that's how I attacked it of like, live it out, bro. Yeah, live it out, don't make it complicated of what you see all the time and unfortunately, that's what we see. We see Christ being made All these type of things it's like dude. What's the foundation?
Speaker 2:Can we start with the foundation?
Speaker 3:I'm a big, fundamental dude. Yeah, sports, everything. I'm not about to have you practicing Euro steps and all this other stuff if you can't do a left-hand layup.
Speaker 3:Yeah, what are the fundamentals? And like I stay true to that and I believe, like from that God does his work in those Tims that's growing. From that it's like because if you're going from love, serving Fellowship and like all of those things, that you're doing it at a high level, god is gonna do those other things within that walk to help you discernment, the Holy Spirit, all those different things. So that's how I look at it. It's like that's how I attacked it, not more so in a Like competition, like oh, who's a better Christian, but just saying like it's the same intensity.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I can appreciate that because I had, you know, very, very similar story where, when I became a Christian later in life, I was like all I know is sports and so I'm gonna train for this. Yes, because that makes sense for athletes like if you come to Christ later in life, it's like, okay, I need to train for this, because this is far more important. What do you want to understand the gravity? This isn't about a scholarship. This isn't about buying mama a house. This is about eternity.
Speaker 3:There's a turn. Eternity is a moment all day every day life. Yes, it is.
Speaker 1:And so it's just nothing is is more important than that. So it's, it's taking that intensity, yeah, and I, I just love that. So I love having a conversation with you and just being able to, you know, just feel like, feel like how this is so great, you know, just coming to Christ later and being able to use all that intensity. That it wasn't a bad. It wasn't bad. The intensity in itself is is it was just a vehicle, right?
Speaker 3:It was a vehicle, yeah and now it's been redirected. Yes, for for Jesus, yes, glory and it's amplified now Absolutely.
Speaker 1:And so, and that's, you know, that's right, what I tell my son constantly. You know I'm a big, big pusher of excellence. I was like I don't care what, what facet it's gonna be, jesus doesn't really care, he wants it to be God on or in, obviously. I mean I said we're not gonna get you know side tracked with you know so, shaman tix, but he wants you to be excellent, he wants you to give your best all the time to point glory to him.
Speaker 1:And I, I see that in so many young kids these days, young athletes. And so I'm thinking to myself, like what if I have the next branding Kenny on on my, on my team? How can I come alongside him and give him that purpose? Like, hey, god has gifted you as, as an athlete, but, more importantly, god has got a bigger purpose for you, branded. God's got a purpose for you that's gonna impact the entire world for eternity. And you know so I, I, I wake up with that, trying to commission myself that regularly, like these kids that that are on our team. I was telling someone the other day, like the reality is like the next president could be on my team, the next come on man.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the next governor, I mean like we need to be loving these kids.
Speaker 3:Like, like, cries like cries love the church. I'm still that one, michael yeah that one dog, that's that's really good, bro, because it is it gotta, it's the truth has to be treated like that man.
Speaker 1:We can't treat him just like strangers?
Speaker 3:They're not customers, right.
Speaker 1:We can't just treat him like you know here today, gone tomorrow, are you're, you're? You're just a paycheck for me, like no. They they're they're gonna be the difference makers tomorrow and they're gonna be raising kids Based on their beliefs, and if we miss our opportunity To impact them and to show them the greater purpose that gods established eons ago, for them and their family. We failed.
Speaker 3:Yeah, man.
Speaker 1:So it's, it's more than more than baseball, it's more than football. Those are again, those are just vehicles that we're using to redirect kids, redirect society to society, to Jesus and the purpose that he, that he, has for each and every, every person out there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, you know because I, I think about myself and I'm just like I was a stubborn kid yeah, very stubborn, I couldn't, I wouldn't hear. I'm still kind of that way very, very big head at a bit. I'm just like I set myself to a task and I'm like I'm gonna do it. You tell me I can't, I'm gonna do it.
Speaker 3:I'm gonna do it even harder now.
Speaker 1:I'll show you, yeah, so I don't know, I mean what somebody could have done differently for me, because there was amazing Christians in my life that were planting seeds and and I think about them and I just like, okay, I, I want to be like them. For you know, for for the next micah bram, right, you know? Not that I was some superstar athlete, by any means, but I'm still a soul. You know what I mean. I was a soul, a lost soul, on a sports team that Wanted purpose, that wanted those accolades, that wanted to feel accepted and loved like everyone else. And so I, I look at these kids and I'm just like you are all God's children, regardless of how much you may whine, regardless of how much your parents drive me nuts. It's, I mean, like.
Speaker 3:It's just like all right.
Speaker 1:God give me, grace Give me grace. Give me grace, come on, but I'm looking at these kids.
Speaker 3:like you, you are the children of God, you know it's just like that's the game changer, right, like that's the, the lens, the mindset. It's like because, like you said, man, you're stubborn, but those seeds were, those seeds were still there, like they still needed to plant those seeds, like I was telling my son the other day, we was going to the game Yesterday and I said, son, what do you want to do if football don't work out? And he's like Well, that I'm gonna be a top receiver.
Speaker 1:So I'm like I'm like okay, like that's a father's answer. I'm like right, okay, but son.
Speaker 3:What if, like no football, he's like, well, I'm gonna do basketball and I'm like, okay, son, no sports. He was like um, I don't know, like a, a sports businessman, and I'm like, okay, cool, but it's, it's in those moments when I try to plant those seeds in car rides, of like. So what you've been, you know what you've been praying about lately, what you've been asking God for. You know what I mean, because that's what we use. We pray. We pray every morning with our kids, family, wife all together, yeah, and then we used to pray at night and then I'm like, no, I'm not gonna keep praying with y'all, y'all can go pray ourselves. Yeah, I want, I want you to know that God speaks, so like you go talk to him and you go tell him. So I'll just randomly hit him sometimes, like what you've been praying to God about.
Speaker 1:I like what you've been you know?
Speaker 2:have you been praying for my I'll? Have you been, have you?
Speaker 3:this, or just going out and just being Blunt in those moments of like praying for my wife in front of the kids when something's going on, or praying for somebody over the phone when they're in there.
Speaker 3:It's like those are seeds right, they're seeing that are happening right, so it's like we think sometimes we got to be the you can't go there and you can't do that and something that is right. Yes, you got to, you got to disciple them right. But it's also me knowing like, look, I know I believe what God is telling me and I believe that he's helping me raise y'all. And I ain't gonna get everything right, obviously, but I Can't judge that success on what you go doing like, because I know I strayed for however many years. So it's like, yeah, you was brought up in the church, you're raising church, you learn all these different things, but my son's kids still may go. Do they thank you for four or five years, unfortunately, right with the world and how heavy it is, but I just got to stay strong and pure in prayer like look, intercede man.
Speaker 3:Intercede because I can't do it, because the more I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna push from away. I'm gonna say things I don't want to say, I'm gonna be mean about it and hard because all I know is football. Well, you can't do if you and it's like, no, you got to love them in this, but also be like I'm not just accepting nonsense now Coming to my house with but I gotta like, I gotta let you, I gotta let you do your thing, man. So you figured out. But I know those seeds are eating at you. I know they are because you get, you hear it all the time, you talking about it, you praying, you you can't get away from it.
Speaker 1:No, I know you cannot, and that's that's really all we can do. Is parents, like you said, like we, we can't go into their hearts and push a button. Come on, man, yeah, I mean, but you ain't gonna stress me.
Speaker 3:I ain't gonna be stressed about it either. This is gonna hurt me, but I mean, this is like lord, we can't do that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean we constantly need to be pointing them back to Jesus and say, hey, you know, like he's like you're saying to your son just like, hey, football is great, but understand like there's something bigger than this. You know, and if you succeed, understand it's not because you, you know, like check yourself at the door.
Speaker 3:Check yourself at the door.
Speaker 1:And you know, because my son, you know I, so we we live out of town and so we, you know, constantly making that drive in for baseball and so that allows so much windshield time for him and I to talk, man, and I love that and so I'll constantly talk to him and you know, and just we were up in Minnesota for the postseason, postseason game a, a, a, a, a, a wild card. And we were coming back as a six hour drive and I was like you know, I'm going to turn the music off. And I asked him, I said so if somebody came up to you, you know, on your baseball team, and asked you, what does it mean to be a Christian? Like I see, I see you doing these things and you pray and you you don't act like you want any glory and anything like that. What does what does that mean? And like, how, how can I be a Christian? And it hit me because I was like I've never.
Speaker 1:You know, my son's, he, he's, um, he's been baptized, he openly, you know, professes Jesus to be a savior but I don't think I've ever walked through how he can, um, evangelize, and so that kind of hit me and I was like I don't know why I've been dragging my feet on that. I mean he's, he's 11 years old, um, but again, Carpe Diem, I mean, you know, even you know, he turned to use a stake with, with everybody, and so sweet. We talked about that for a long time, wow, and I was like I want you to be thinking about that because he, he would ask me he's like dad, what does it mean for me to serve God? And I'm just like, or to worship God? He asked last time and I told him it doesn't have to look like a Sunday morning service.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it just doesn't?
Speaker 1:you know? Worship to me, from from what I gather from scripture, is when we are existing in, in the realm that God created us to serve him. That's when we're worshiping God at our purest form. And and for me, um, you know it, it it looks different for me than it does to you. And for my son. I told him, you know cause he would feel bad, cause he doesn't like singing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know it's like he's, like, am I worshiping? And I told him I was like, dude, it's a, it's, it's a heart and a mindset and understanding. If you, if you, if you, for him, I really think it's baseball at least right now, yeah, and so it's being able to.
Speaker 3:That's his platform for him.
Speaker 1:He's out there and he's working and he's grinding and using these abilities that God's given him.
Speaker 3:That's giving glory to God. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, Come on. That's what I told him and he kind of smiled and it's, it's stuff like that that our kids need to hear. Wow, it's just like it's different expressions.
Speaker 3:Oh right, I remember being little, like. I was like man, I don't want to raise my hands, I don't want to like, do that. It's a grown man is different now because, like when you do that, that gives other men permission too to be like yeah, like, okay like. I'm not, but that's it. It's like it's different expression.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:It's loving people, it's serving, yes, that's giving glory dog, yes, but they just don't know that because, right, we put it in, going to church, going to you got to look like this and it's like no man. This stuff is changing and the typical Sunday, every day, church is just going to meet. People aren't feeling that vibe. No more of it. No Like to me this is church meeting, that coffee shops going to like that's church man, like living it out and that's what you're talking about.
Speaker 1:That's right, absolutely that's it.
Speaker 3:So it's. We can't keep putting this thing on this old school Western theology nonsense. It's like, bro, just love people. Dog, just serve man, just do what.
Speaker 3:What you are being asked of through the spirit with the scriptures are saying, man, like, live it out that way and get up. When you fall, bro, like that's all I want you to do, just get up. I really like that's where sin gets all of us right. First, it alienates you right and it gets you away from, okay, the scripture. I mean I don't understand it yet. I don't miss, I don't know, I don't know. And it's like, well, that's what he wants you to do. He wants you to put the Bible up because you don't understand it, but all you just need to do is keep reading, just keep reading, just keep seeking. The more you seek, the more you'll find, the more you'll understand.
Speaker 3:I remember when I first started reading the Bible and I found out when I, when I got saved and I gave everything and I felt this Comfort, this peace, this, this. I'm like man, I feel so much peace. I got the reading and I'm like Prince of peace is his nickname. I went around the crib like what is Prince of? I called my pastor like bro. Why you didn't tell me this Like?
Speaker 1:are you for real?
Speaker 3:But it was so mind blowing to me Like it was sitting right here in front of me, dog, Like I'm going through all of this shambles in my mental. And it's like you want peace, man. Bring it to me, man.
Speaker 2:I got you.
Speaker 3:You got you, you know. So it's, that's, that's a, that's a powerful thing, man, and that's really good. Like I'm. I'm being blessed by that man. There were conversations that had two of like it just looks different man. Like it looks, it's okay to sing and do all that too, but like you're doing it now, by how you being a great teammate being a great leader being a yes, and that's why the sports foundation of it in that car is so powerful.
Speaker 3:Cause I thought and I remember talking to Zach about this when we met up it's like I thought I was going to plant a typical every Sunday church. That's what I thought the vision was. I thought up I'm going through this church, plant residency. This is what you want me to do. Okay, cool. And it's like God was showing me different things on Sunday at my church, where I'm like, okay, I don't like that at all and this is weird, and y'all worried about the lights and what's going on. I'm like I'm just here to just and I didn't like that part about it and I was so scared to go to my pastor about it. Like, hey, like I didn't know how it was going to feel and I was like, hey, I don't think if passion is what you make it out to be, I don't want to do it.
Speaker 3:I want to do it.
Speaker 3:He's like, well, bro, you don't got to it. It can be. Okay, you, you're, you're a gift that you can wear so many different hats. You just got to. And I'm like, okay. And then I, a month later, I get laid off from my job as Zenith and beginning COVID 2020 in August. And I'm like, okay, what, what, what now? And I heard God, right there, Right then. And there man, my wife, is downstairs working and he says you cannot work with what I'm getting ready to do with you. I'm like, okay, I went downstairs and say, babe, I'm not working, just got laid off, but don't worry about it, don't worry, god said I can't work because he's getting ready to do something with me.
Speaker 3:A month later, alliance is born. I'm in practice. I'm coaching the kids up. Again, this is my first year coaching, head coaching. I'm figuring it out. You know I was getting a lot of calls from different parents of like, hey, little Johnny's at school acting up, I need you to get with them. Oh yeah, that's my thing, bring them to practice. I got them.
Speaker 3:One day I'm pouring into a kid. He starts crying and I'm like what is he crying for? But then I started crying like trying to pour it in him. I'm like I go home, call my buddy who was helping me coach and I'm like, dude, I didn't think I was going to get this much fulfillment out of coaching these kids. I didn't think this was a thing Right then. And there, this is when OPS canceled school. Okay, I live in Miller. Yeah, we're still playing football, we're still doing everything like normal. Yep, I'm like it's breaking my heart because if I was growing up, north Omaha was where I was being for way in the South side of for Indiana. Okay, it's just like no, my grandma wouldn't, my grandma wouldn't teach you nobody and my mama wouldn't stand at home and teach nobody because you had to go to work, right. So it's like my heart felt for those kids. So I'm like right then. And at that moment he's talking to me, like yeah, it is cool. It is cool.
Speaker 3:I hear a guy say I want you to start a sports training business. I'm thinking to myself, like what? And call it what, what, what would this be? And I heard alliance and I'm like alliance, what is alliance? Alliance, I had a jister would have meant, but when I looked it up, I'm like there it is. You want me to bring kids from North, south, east, west of Omaha together on the one roof to spread them the gospel through the innovative vehicle of sports. I'm like that's it Literally. The next day, dude, I went and got a trademark, I went and got a LLC. Like seven months later we started. We started it at a park, but before that I used to think, I used to say we're not doing anything until we get into building. We need a facility first. That's what I thought. Then God came to me and said you're being bougie, there's that word.
Speaker 2:You're being bougie and I'm like, because I just I just preached a message.
Speaker 3:I had just preached a message at my church over the parables of the talents. I absolutely love that parable and what he showed me was like if you're faithful with what you have, fruitfulness will follow Absolutely. Like, you don't need a building when you have public parks Correct, what do you mean? You need a building? Stop being bougie, stop being bougie. So I literally started it seven months later at a park, man, and it literally like went from there, man. So it's like following, trusting, not leaning on your own understanding, and saying Lord like I don't know what you're about to do with this, let's go. I got laid off. I don't know, but I heard you tell me this vividly I'm gone. Yeah, yeah, I'm gone.
Speaker 2:Yeah, if you would have waited until that, until that gym was secured, would it ever Would have missed it all.
Speaker 3:I would have missed all of all the community events, the youth nights, us starting a football organization, would have missed it because I was waiting on what I thought we needed True.
Speaker 2:That trust is so huge and I am. It's the faith part of it, man.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's like I used to jump so much on my own, I was like you telling me all I got to do is wait, discern, pray and get an answer. Oh yeah, I'm a wait all day.
Speaker 2:And I'm impatient, like I need to answer, like.
Speaker 3:I'm a wait for answer, because this is going to make it easier for me. I'm going to. I'd rather do it this way. And so many people get annoyed with me when I'm like BK. What you thinking about this?
Speaker 2:I was like well let me pray on it just a little bit.
Speaker 3:Well, bro, what you need to, I'm like because I want to do it right. I want to like I've lived that life of making all the mistakes and if I can lessen them, let me do that. No, I love that.
Speaker 1:And one thing I want to encourage you with. I was told years ago when God speaks to you and gives you a vision, it's so important when you get that mission, that vision from God, the the verse, I was told, is tattoo it on your eyelids, you know, because there's going to be days and they may have already started to come where it's starting to get tough you know where, maybe you know finances aren't adding up.
Speaker 2:You know stuff like that.
Speaker 3:Where like.
Speaker 1:Satan creeps in the back door, you know and it's like you know what I mean.
Speaker 3:Yes, it's like hey over here like.
Speaker 1:This isn't going to work. You need to go, do this, like stay the course. God spoke to you. God gave you a vision. Tattoo it on your eye. Yes, sir, you know what I mean. Do not let anyone pull you away from that.
Speaker 3:And I appreciate that that's good right now too, Cause that's right where we are too.
Speaker 1:May honestly with yes no, I appreciate that, I can appreciate that.
Speaker 2:I'm glad you said that, Micah.
Speaker 3:Cause we talked about that too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, a couple of nights ago I was praying and I felt something and I'm like I should write this down, Like why wouldn't I Like it's?
Speaker 1:that important, why would you not? I keep a notebook by my bed for that reason. I'll wake up, and I'll be like yeah, and my wife's like what are you doing? I'm just like go back to bed.
Speaker 2:Oh Lord, I love you.
Speaker 1:Micah.
Speaker 2:I got a question from BK.
Speaker 3:Yeah, man.
Speaker 2:I don't know if you're pivoting, but so one of the misconceptions I would like to say with you sports, when you see a Christ centered team, is soft, you know like oh, they don't compare like the other guys. And I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the alliance is probably not soft.
Speaker 3:Come on, man not even close.
Speaker 2:And so, and we pray before and after the game.
Speaker 1:They're going to hit you with the face. With the Bible Do you pray at?
Speaker 2:the other team.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, we ask sometimes, sometimes they want to sometimes happen, sometimes, yeah, but you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:But you can, you be competitive and and yeah, just go through that, because for anybody that's out there a kid, or a parent that wants to change their experience to like. Micah was talking earlier about, you know, making a buck.
Speaker 3:Yeah, he's adults yeah.
Speaker 2:So if they wanted to go to a Christ centered place youth program, will they still be good? Will they still be competitive?
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I think it all determines on who's at the, who's leading right, and I think that too. I think I think God for the perspective that I've been given and what I've gone through to be able to see it, but then also to be able to. I think it's a thin line that you have to walk, but I earned the game right, the right way, playing hard, playing at a high level. I tell my boys all the time you can glorify God by playing hard, like giving effort. And I said, because there are kids that aren't here right now, unfortunately, that are with God in heaven, that can't play football, there are kids that were born with whatever medical reasons that can't play football or play sports, you play for them. That's how you can glorify God.
Speaker 3:So it's like with that now, now you got the high level of play, now with just energy. Okay, giving them a hundred percent now is teaching them the game, but then also allowing them to like have fun too, like I'm all about, like enjoying the game. You know you score a touchdown. I'm not telling you to go out there and do triple black flips and all that, but if you want to do a little dance, do your thing, man. Like old schoolers, you act like you've been there before.
Speaker 2:And I respect that too.
Speaker 3:But it's like and a fail they doing it. High school, they doing it. I mean college they doing it. This is what they're seeing. So, like that's what the kids want. They want fun, it's fun, and it should be allowed, Like now if you're taunting and doing some other stuff now we're talking about something different.
Speaker 1:It comes down to a hard issue again. That's it.
Speaker 3:I mean, it's like no man. We're going to be competitive and we're going to play at a high level, because that's how you can glorify God. I'm not telling you to go out there and cuss at the other team and talk stuff to him. And now will it get chippy at times?
Speaker 3:Yeah, but we constantly tell our boys don't when we see dirty stuff going on, because this makes coaches really bad when they doing nasty stuff or whatever. And I yell out don't worry about him, you just played the game the right way. And it's like what do you mean?
Speaker 2:I get into that, I'm talking to my player I'll tell my guy to leave you. We can do it afterwards.
Speaker 3:Yeah, don't let him do that extra stuff.
Speaker 1:You played the game the right way. I'm still in that. Yeah, it's real, though, and that's another way. So when you're out there playing, a lot of times people aren't going to know you're a Christian, and so one thing that I know you're trying to do and I've got the same conviction for all the other club sports in Omaha I was like we need to change the status quo of what is the standard for competitive sports, and the easy one is character. Yeah, because character is not taught anymore, and you just touched on it there. Teaching kids to play with character is huge Faith.
Speaker 3:character development and sports that's the three pillars of the line. Sports training man. God gave faith, character development. I had people tell me hey, man, I don't know if I would do that. That's too churchy.
Speaker 1:I said I appreciate you, but this is what God told me to do, so I'm going to do it this way.
Speaker 1:I'm not going to sports his life for a reason because sports is always going to be there, man, so I'm going to sidebar here. I forgot you were Fort Wayne, indiana. Yeah, so the guy who I interviewed two weeks ago, he's up in Fort Wayne, indiana, what? Yeah? So Brad Buckingham. He runs FCA sports up there in the Great Lakes Crazy story. So, fort Wayne, indiana. They started FCA sports, a baseball program up there, and so it started real grassroots with I think they had two teams and they had these phenomenal coaches that loved Jesus and knew the game and they brought these all, all these kids in and it was like, hey, we're going to disciple these kids, we want to develop character and high level athletes, wow. And so they go in, and so they were a double A team. So that's like middle of the road, so it's like single A, double A, triple A, majors.
Speaker 1:But so they, they started out double A their very first year. They go to the Indiana state world's world series for double A and they end up winning and they win it competing differently. And you know I've had a few conversations with Brad and I was like I love that because you're showing all these other clubs that are compromising character, compromising kids compromising all the things for a win. For a win right First. I'm stupid.
Speaker 3:Come on man.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's ridiculous. And so I'm so encouraged when I, when I hear his stories, when I, when I hear about you and what you're doing at Alliance, it's like you can be that high level athlete. You can be an even higher level athlete I would. I can attest. When I became a Christian, my confidence went through the roof, yeah, and there was a season in my life when I told you at lunch. So when I went to college and I told him my story and they're like, oh, this guy is a troublemaker, this guy's got some baggage, we got to make sure he doesn't sin anymore. We're going to lock him up. Crazy. And I ended up getting kicked out of college. Actually, my first year I was hanging out downtown real late, like in Northo and with homeless people and drug addicts and prostitutes. It was a phenomenal time. You know it sounds crazy and I would say it like, like, what do you know?
Speaker 1:I was hanging out some prostitutes and they're like what Cause? I would give him like baseline and just wanted to kind of bait their mind.
Speaker 3:Of course, of course.
Speaker 1:We're down there preaching the word, and they kicked me out of college because I was breaking curfew and I was just like whatever. And so I reverted back to golf what I knew and I hit it with an even higher level of confidence and intensity and I was even better than I was in college, and so it was just like it was kind of kind of dangerous. So I mean, I don't want to side side too much from that, but it's, it's one of those things that this confidence that we get from Christ is so huge. Boldness.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I tell people all the time, like you know, I was the guy everywhere I went. I wanted everybody like me. I want to do whatever I can, like going the extra mile.
Speaker 1:And it's like even lowering myself.
Speaker 3:When I got to certain places or in certain rooms, like okay, like I don't want to be, you know weird, or when they, you know, get to talking about hustler stuff, I'm like enough about me, like what about you? And it's like no BK, that's. That's not honoring God either. But he didn't give you a, a, a gift of um. Not using boldness and not using who you are, it's like no man be your light, and if somebody has a problem with that, then that's an insecurity that they're projecting that has nothing to do with you. Now, that still is a thin line to walk, because you can't walk in all the rooms and swir up and down. That is dim, like you got to have your. But it's like I'm not lowering myself though, like I am who I am. I'm going to be bold about that and I know who I am in Christ. That's what makes it even more powerful, because you can say what you want. I know he didn't say it.
Speaker 3:I know, he's told me. So, like I believe that you know what I'm saying, so, um, that's I, I'm with you, and that confidence takes you to another and people see it and that hopes you pose a question of like why are you so the way that you are? Let me tell you, brother. Yeah, absolutely, and I want to give that to my kid and I want to give it to these athletes, and it's still that I'm just like here's the confidence you you got this, like God's got so much more in store for you.
Speaker 1:And so just the, the commissioning that you know that that we have as believers and and fathers and coaches, you know is taking that into our homes, taking that into our teams. You know taking that into the workplace and letting that light shine, not holding that within, and you know, keeping this God to ourselves, like I don't want to lose them, I'm just going to keep them, I don't want to share them, like that's not what it is, it's good.
Speaker 3:Man.
Speaker 1:We, we need to, we, we need to be intentional about telling these kids about purpose and where their purpose comes from. And it's, it's a collective effort. It can't be done, obviously, through man. I mean we, we, we will be God's vessels as as he does this on earth, but it's going to take.
Speaker 1:It's going to take all of us. You know it's, it's. The numbers are staggering for youth sports in America. Brandon I, I, I saw a statistic here recently. So about 70% of a little more than 70% of youth in America do not attend church anymore and roughly 70% or more of youth in America participate in club sports and it's just like a staggering number. I'm like seven out of 10 kids and I was like that's pretty accurate of the families. I know, yeah, that's just mind blowing. It's a huge mission field. It just is. And I just, you know, I know your heart and your passion and Zaks and mine and FCA's and several other organizations too, that just they love Jesus and they love sports and we see club sports and we see that so many people are just doing it wrong and the kids are getting compromised and they're getting older and they're influencing others and they're self-destructing.
Speaker 2:Well, I think there's a lie out there that you, I think parents buy into it. I think kids probably buy into it, but ultimately it's the parents that are responsible and that's. If you don't do this, you're gonna get left behind.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And there is some truth to that. But you don't have to go that route. There's lots of routes out there there's lots of available things that you can do to improve yourself as an athlete. Yeah. But they see their friends go into this club and it's like, hey, man, if you don't plan that club, if you don't do this, you're not gonna get to play Right. And then you know a lot, obviously.
Speaker 2:I think it's probably more younger thing you know, I'm gonna go play at the next level, but there'd be smaller stuff or maybe big, whatever. As you get older, reality sets in a little bit for some of them. But some still think, hey, man, I need to do, I need to go to this club or I'm not gonna make it, and that's will that club help you? Maybe I'm not saying it wouldn't, but there's more. There's a lot of options out there, and if it's, if you're not rooted in Christ, if it's not Christ centered, then it's not gonna matter, it's been a year.
Speaker 1:You're gonna turn an.
Speaker 2:ACL.
Speaker 3:Very good point.
Speaker 2:And then your identity's gone.
Speaker 3:Gone.
Speaker 2:You're gonna, you know, get cut or something's gonna happen, and then you're gonna be identity crisis. You're gonna be lost.
Speaker 1:And that's when it gets dangerous, Because when all of that's gone, and everyone's gone too, at that point, a lot of times that's just how it is. You know all the smoke clears and you've got nothing.
Speaker 3:You know, it's just feel like I'm on top of the world and it's like, oh, this is great.
Speaker 3:This has made so many people ask you questions and listen, it's like, as soon as it's done, like it was and it was that for me it's getting cut from Kansas City. It's like hold on God, what do I tell people now? Cause they they don't know all the back end stuff, they just know you got cut. So they're like, oh, he ain't good, he ain't, he can't be good if he got cut. That's all you know. So you gotta explain that, you gotta go to that. It's like, well, I don't want to talk to nobody, like I just got you know. So it's one of those things that. And then some guys you know you've heard stories of like it just taking, it takes over them and then they commit suicide, they do something. It's like because they had nothing else.
Speaker 1:Nothing else. No one's told them anything. Like that's their whole identity and like that was me. So my, my identity was golf and so when, when I saw like I thought I was going to have at least some time in the sun, and when I saw that that time that I thought I had was going away, I almost committed suicide in California and you know I talked about that on my first podcast and like that's, that's what traumatizes me about other kids, and you know why I'm so passionate about purpose and self identity. You know we, we need, I mean, like it's so, it's so urgent to be telling these kids this in. And I'm just thinking, you know so, for parents and for parents that are out there listening to this, or they've got kids and they're coming up of age and they're wanting to play, you know, select sports, or they're already playing select sports and I I really just pray that parents start rethinking their priorities. You know, I'm not saying pull your kids from select sports at all, I'm just saying that it's just a healthy way to do it.
Speaker 1:But, yeah, you need to find a coach, a program, something that's going to give you that balance. You know because, again, going back to that, that identity you may be a Christian family, but if you're not intentionally telling your children, if you're not intentionally discipling your children and they're around people who aren't intentionally discipling them for Jesus, let's be honest they're being discipled for something else. That that's just the reality. It's real. You're always discipled and you're always discipling in some way, shape or form. Absolutely, you just are. And I think about those kids and I'm just like it's, it's, it's, it's, it's crazy. But I think about like Friday night lights and I think I'm like booby miles, yeah Right, like that's the extreme. That's the extreme, but that is so real. That's real though.
Speaker 3:You use that.
Speaker 1:That isn't fantasy, that isn't like one percent you see that you do see that more. I think more often than not. I think even more now too.
Speaker 3:Yeah, where we at now Younger ages.
Speaker 1:I mean younger ages. Especially in the baseball world that I'm in, I see kids being, their arms are blown out at younger ages because they're being compromised to win some stupid youth tournament, you know, and, and organizations are wanting to push to win because they put these plaques on their walls and then that's what brings parents Wins, bring parents and parents mean dollars and again it goes down to we're compromising kids for money. And if parents are out there and please listen to this, do not miss this. You need to rethink your priorities with your kid. You just do.
Speaker 2:Well, mike, what? What comes to mind for me is I was a coach, and so I think when you're looking for a, a program, I think it's the coach. That's the most. I think that is.
Speaker 1:Yes, I would agree.
Speaker 2:Regardless of the program, who's at top or who's this the coaches. If you get a good Christ centered coach, it's going to be good, and so, for my experience, I coached for myself in my own glory and trying to put up trophies. Look how good I am look at me. And my big thing was, man, if I go to state, you know, if my the team that I was coaching, they would have to be really, really, really good.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:In a year to make it to the, to the big house. So my whole life, that's all. Hey, I got to get to Pinnacle Bank. Wait, it used to be.
Speaker 1:Bob and Bailey.
Speaker 2:I got to get to Pinnacle Bank. I got to.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, I finally went and that day was like the best day of my life, like I sitting on the you know the chairs that the Husker players sat on, cause I probably Huskers were probably an idol growing up, you know. And so I'm there and, honestly, it was the coolest thing in the world coaching in that gym. The very next day it was completely gone. Yeah, you know the feeling is gone. So now I'm like, okay, well, I did it Now that's gone.
Speaker 3:That's what it's saying. What happened yeah?
Speaker 2:That whole awesomeness was completely gone, and it's because I should have been doing that all for Christ. It's a Christ thing, not a me thing and because I made it me, you know, yeah, it didn't last, there was no. And so for coaches out there, if you want to really grab your kids, grab your Bible, Like Look at that I just do that. I got to write it down. You want to grab?
Speaker 3:your kids, grab your.
Speaker 2:Bible. Oh my God, I love that. But honestly, if you get a coach that cares about your heart, you're going to love that team. You're going to love playing, which is what? As parents, that's what we all want. We want you to love it. We want you to grow in your confidence. We want you to grow in your relationship with the Lord. Find a coach.
Speaker 3:I love that. I already forgot it. I'm a trade post.
Speaker 1:I'm about to put the I think we need to turn into a song, because I'm thinking of like, hi, kids.
Speaker 3:Hi like grab your kids, grab your Bible.
Speaker 1:I think that's what we'll do. I think we need to do that next time.
Speaker 3:Grab your kids grab your Bible. I love that.
Speaker 2:That's so awesome.
Speaker 3:God, that's good.
Speaker 2:And I, yeah, and realizing that as a coach, as doing any of this, I realize now none of it's me.
Speaker 3:None of it's me.
Speaker 2:And that's what you got.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I've taken to be able to take losing easier too, I feel like, and I don't know if that's the thing for you too as well. Vice versa.
Speaker 2:I mean it sucks, but it's like.
Speaker 3:I'm able to be like it's a bigger picture BK.
Speaker 2:Like high-processed. It's the process, it's all good Like they need this lesson.
Speaker 3:I mean, even I remember going to Des Moines and playing in the tournament last year was up. They came back, beat us and I'm just like, and the coach had beat me to it. You know he was like, hey man, after the game can we pray? And I'm like, oh yeah, that's cool. You know we thinking about the beach, all anyway, yeah, yeah and it's like we lose, and he's like hey, coach, I'll steal that.
Speaker 3:And I'm like, yeah, man, we going to wait over here we go over there, but even afterwards you feel so much better, though, Because I'm like Lord thank you for that. Man Put it in perspective Everything in the perspective, because if I would have said, nah, man, we ain't praying with y'all, get on, it's like bro. That would have haunted me for days and weeks, because I know like bro, you being ugly.
Speaker 1:Your heart is ugly right now and that right there is a witness.
Speaker 3:It's a negative witness, but it's a witness.
Speaker 1:You know, when my son, when we lose baseball games he plays 65 games a summer I mean you're going to lose a lot of games and the things I'll ask. I was like, did you do everything you could? And he's like, yeah, I left it all in the field. Did you give all the glory to God? He's like yep. And I'm like, ok, cool, nothing else matters Because it comes back down to evangelizing right, you can't save someone. You can't win a game single-handed. Some reap, some sow, some water, some plant we all have a role to play and as long as you're fulfilling your role, that's all you can do. I mean, the center's not going to score a touchdown. Center's job, he's got a specific job and if he does his job to the best of his ability, he's got nothing to cry about. That's just the truth. That's really good man.
Speaker 3:God, that's good. It's been so powerful man Gee this is good.
Speaker 1:This is good it is man.
Speaker 3:I know we should probably wrap this one up. We're getting a little long, mike will have a lot of anything to do, though. A lot of anything to do, bro.
Speaker 1:No, I'm going to post it as is Just two hours, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:Hey man, Is it serious to write Dude? It's good, no, no, but this is great. It's a great info though.
Speaker 3:Yeah no, this is good. This is good and, like I said, I wanted to get into the weeds.
Speaker 1:Yes, absolutely, and we got into the weeds, absolutely.
Speaker 3:That's where I think this podcast is really going to live. Hey man man.
Speaker 1:I live in the weeds man.
Speaker 3:Being truthful about it too, brother, that's good man.
Speaker 1:So again, I just want to encourage anybody out there listening just as Christians, even as non-Christians, you have to understand that purpose is what drives us day in and day out, and if your purpose comes from anything man-made, it will fail you. It's not a matter of if it's a matter of when. It just is. Don't take my word for it. Brandon Kennedy, sitting right here, played D1 ball, played Pro ball, and I mean I think, brandon, you could say it that as your purpose failed you 1,000%. So there it is OK. So, yes, you can be competitive, yes, you can pursue all this, but understand purpose is bigger than you, it's bigger than me, it's bigger than a sport. It can't be anything man-made. Understand that.
Speaker 1:So I pray that if you're listening to this and you catch nothing else, understand that purpose is key. And for coaches out there, for parents out there, it's not just the job of the pastor. Understand that. It is your job as parents to start the discipling at home, encouraging your kids that they have a purpose, and that purpose starts with their creator, the same creator that created them, created the earth, created the oceans, created. Everything has a purpose for them and it is their job to discern on that. And it is your job as a parent or as a coach to help set up that atmosphere for them to discern that as well. And so there's a lot of great stuff happening in the Omaha area right now with club sports, and I'm excited just to continue to connect with people like you, brandon, and just a guy in the same town doing the very, very same thing. Time worked man.
Speaker 1:And so I know that there's so many people out there that are just unaware of what FCA is doing and what Alliance is doing, and I want people to be aware of that. There are better options out there for your kids, and I'm not trying to dog on any other organization at all, but again, it comes down to purpose, and if you're not seeing a purpose instilled in your youth athletes, you need to reprioritize.
Speaker 1:You need to start asking that question. Look in the mirror and ask yourself what's really important. Is your son's free throw shot more important than true purpose? Because if it is, then you really need to check yourself in the door with that one.
Speaker 3:And so grab your kids.
Speaker 1:Grab your kids, grab your Bible, because we're saving everybody out here now.
Speaker 3:Everybody can save. Everybody can save, everybody can save. You want a Bible. You want a Bible.
Speaker 1:I think we got the hook. I think we got the hook for the song.
Speaker 2:I think we did that's amazing Everybody gets a Bible Love it yeah, so we're saving everybody out here.
Speaker 1:Oh, I love it. I love it. But, Brandon, real quick, if somebody wanted to find you plug into Alliance, how would they do that?
Speaker 3:For sure, man, I'm on Facebook, big on Instagram. I'm going to link them to as well. But Facebook regular Brandon Kenny. Alliance Sports Training on Facebook, on Instagram Alliance underscore sports underscore training on Instagram and then email allianceportstrainingomahawcom If you have any questions. Concerns thoughts I will always. Always get back to you, usually right away, but give me 24 hours if I don't.
Speaker 1:No, that's perfect, I love it. So again thanks, Brandon.
Speaker 3:Absolutely, brother. We appreciate you being here. Thank you guys. Thanks guys, Absolutely Thanks, Mike. It was great.
Speaker 1:Yeah, zach, great, it was a great time. So, for everyone else out there listening, appreciate you guys, be blessed, be blessing Until next time. Take care.
Speaker 3:Peace estimated. Affirming your.