Above The Whistle
Welcome to Above The Whistle. The podcast that takes you beyond the X's and O's and into the mindset of greatness as we sit down with coaches/athletic directors/former players across the country.
Above The Whistle
Coach Kjar: Crafting Legacy and Leadership beyond the Gridiron
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When the whistle blows and the stadium lights blaze, a story unfolds beyond the gridiron—one of resilience, mentorship, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. Today, we look beyond the championships to reveal the heartbeat of Corner Canyon High School football with the illustrious Coach Kjar, a titan of the sport whose life journey transcends the playbook. From his formative years in Wyoming to his unexpected pivot from accounting to coaching, Coach Kjar shares the powerful influences that propelled him to become the five-time state champion coach we revere today.
Venture into the huddle and feel the pulse of a winning team culture, where grit meets gratitude and legacy is built one play at a time. Our conversation takes us through the tactical and emotional facets of shaping young athletes into champions, the magic of a locker room that resonates like a second family, and the delicate art of driving players to their peak while safeguarding their well-being. Coach Kjar's stories of standout players and unsung heroes will inspire anyone who knows the thrill of Friday night lights and the character it forges within those four quarters.
As we wrap up our time with Coach Kjar, we reflect on the broader horizon of leadership and its ripple effect from the high school fields to life's myriad adventures. Hear how humor and authenticity forge iron-strong bonds, and discover the profound satisfaction that comes from nurturing the next generation of coaches and players. Whether you're a sports aficionado or simply drawn to tales of human growth and achievement, this is an episode that captures the essence of what it means to lead, teach, and celebrate the game of life—one down at a time.
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You know, one of the most important kids you'll ever coach is the one that needs the program more than the program needs that kid. Welcome to Above the Whistle with your host, devin McCann. Hey, everyone, welcome to another edition of Above the Whistle. Today we're here with Coach Care. Coach of Koyna Canyon High School football, five-time state champion, one with Jordan, four now with Koyna Canyon. It's a privilege to have you on today. Thanks for having me, yeah, yeah, we've gotten to know each other the past few years. I got to meet you through a mutual friend, your old DC here. Yeah, casey, I love that guy. He's the best. Him and his family are incredible people. So, yeah, it's been a privilege to kind of be able to watch you guys the last few years. I used to run a business over here in Draper and a lot of your athletes would come in and use our mentees. Yeah, I loved the recharge.
Speaker 2It got him right, made sure they stayed healthy.
Speaker 1It was awesome they did and you're an oldest but I know I mean he was religious, he was over there constantly but I love that kid. I mean if there was one thing I'd notice with him is just you know his work, ethic and everything he poured into his game and you know just the passion he had for football and sports in general and I'm sure that comes from you and you know he modeled that behavior. You know, after you as my guest, but a little bit.
Speaker 2Maybe He'll take us some credit too, though she's always good with that.
Speaker 1That's awesome. Yeah, I just want to go ahead and take a quick second. Let you just kind of give us a little background on. You know where you came from, you know how you got into coaching, that sort of thing, yeah.
Speaker 2I just grew up in camera, wyoming, a small town just right there in the southwest corner, and grew up playing sports. There's not a lot to do there. We hunted and fished and played sports a lot and were outdoors a ton and a lot of freedom to kind of roam around and do things. So it was great. It was a great place to grow up and live.
Speaker 2I grew up playing all sports, but especially like just love baseball as I was coming up into it. Football we didn't even start playing until we got into junior high. So baseball, we got to jump on everything because we had, you know, a little like baseball and like junior jazz, basketball and just different things like that. And I had always ran and ran some road races with, did distance running stuff when I was younger with my dad, was big into distance running and same with my three older brothers. So we ran, we ran a lot, same with my sister.
Speaker 2I got into baseball Tell my dad coached me and that was always fun. I was kind of what I love first. And then got into football more and more and then we had had a coach come in that was pretty instrumental in kind of me wanting to become a coach, coach Scott and my dad too, like being a coach and he had helped out with track and helped, you know, coach me, and I just always thought it was something that was kind of cool that you could have a big effect on people because they had had a good effect on me and my other coaches had to. So it was something I wanted to kind of go into. And so you knew, that kind of an early age yeah, I was I initially kind of talked myself out of it and I tried to go into accounting and I definitely doesn't fit my personality but yeah, I tried.
Speaker 2That quickly changed and you know, through talking to our, john Scott was the football coach kind of who had had early on, just in high school, and he had left about midway through my high school career. But I kind of had talked to him when I was at another when I was in college and kind of had got some more insight into that. Then decided to go into coaching. I went to snow for a year and played there, had redshirted, and then decided to transfer to Wayne State in Nebraska and went out and played out there and good experience, played both quarterback and then mostly receiver after a first couple years.
Speaker 1Yeah, I was going to say I think a misconception is you know, you're kind of considered the QB guru, right. But yeah, in college you played more receiver and I think that was an injury, right. That kind of pushed that.
Speaker 2But I had had some concussion stuff that had gone on early on and I couldn't really get that away from him. And then I kind of put that out a little bit and decided to try to just switch positions. And it worked out well, Like I ended up staying concussion free the last like two and a half years of my college career and it kind of got on me a little bit like just the concussion side of it. Like it definitely there's a side where you have to like work it out, like coming back from it and like getting your head right and I mean, this is how many years ago too.
Speaker 1Yeah, I mean, oh yeah, it was a science behind it. Now, I mean, we know a lot more.
Speaker 2Yeah, it's a different now and the helmets are way better, but and you know we practice different than to you. But even then, like I just like just getting through the mental like side of it a little bit is like not being nervous about getting your brain kicked in a little bit. I think took me a little bit of time to kind of work through some of that and, yeah, play there and met a lot of good friends and get people out in Nebraska. They were awesome and my head coach was a really good dude, scott Hoffman, and I had learned some things from him, was able to kind of implement as I moved into coaching in high school and stuff, so it was great.
Speaker 1And so what was your first? I mean, I know you coached over at Jordan High School. That was your first as head coach.
Speaker 2Yeah, as an assistant too. So I came in there in 2004 under the head coach was Alex Jacobson Okay, a good friend of mine that he's passed away a couple of years ago from COVID stuff, but really got my first start with him. That was really really good and instrumental for me to kind of get going and get rolling into my coaching career and he put a lot of trust in me. I was his offensive coordinator after the first year. So the first year I was like a wingbacks coach. They had ran double wing like beer stuff, which I really didn't have a ton of experience with, but as they were, kind of learned some things and we had some success even with that, like just running some stuff, and it helped me learn and grow like as a coach just in different ways and then moved into more spread stuff after that. Once I kind of took over the offense and then in 2009, he took a job down at Dobson High School and I took over as the head coach at Jordan.
Speaker 1Okay, I mean, you had success pretty quickly at Jordan High School, didn't you? Yeah, yeah, I think the other year someone came back toHelp me find my favorite service.
Building a Strong Team Culture
Speaker 2We've got going pretty fast even there as an assistant. Like offensively we had had some good things but we didn't quite get over the hump like I want, like you want, to play off wise. In nine we had a good team. They ended up losing the Bingham in like the first round, but we had kind of been able to put at least a little scare into them. They were so dominant at that time. Yeah, I mean, in 10 we went to the semis. 11, we went to the semis and honestly I felt like we had a good enough team. We should have won it and Maybe didn't quite finish that off.
Speaker 2Our quarterback got hurt, there was a special player and and just you know a little other things. You know your other teams want to win too and they're good football players too. So you got to minimize mistakes and Different deal like that. And then in 12 we were able to put it together and and went it again and then went to the semis in 13 and, you know, put so a couple more playoff wins together, but didn't make it back to the semis. And and then I, in 16, I finished my last season there. We had a good team With the weekly kid that was there, that was our quarterback. That playing down at BYU was a is like is a safety, but we use a special athlete. We had good kids around him and that team was pretty special offensively. Just it was tough like depth wise a little bit there at times.
Speaker 1But so I mean it's. It's interesting to hear, like I mean you can literally go back, you know 15 years and I mean you know every season. I mean, is that just something that you're kind of born with? There's a just because you're just I mean you're so involved. It's just you can remember all this stuff. I mean it's, it's like you have a photographic memory with this sort of stuff.
Speaker 2I think you get like so immersed in it, like that stuff is so easy to remember, at least for me, where other stuff, like I can't remember Conversations I had yesterday, but like stuff like that, I don't know. I think a lot of coaches kind of are like that, where they they can think back and because it was so, you know, important to you as a coach and also the kids and the kids mean a lot to you Like I think you can associate it like with the kids and then they can draw.
Speaker 1There's that emotional? Yeah, okay, with that said, I mean, are there any special moments or special kids that come to mind?
Speaker 2I mean you've coached 20 years now, so I'm sure there's a handful, but yeah, there's been so many that and just in different facets, to like there was this kid that played for us at Jordan his name was Jared Clark.
Speaker 2That this kid wasn't like a all-stater, big-time player or anything like that, but he just he was just such a good kid and fun and like he worked his butt off and he Stated, with the process and like wasn't a starter or anything by any means for us, but he's just a fun kid and like I still get to talk to him and be around him.
Speaker 2And then you got the other side, where you have Kids that were all staters for you and you know, broke records and played in college and and you know, like Alex Hard and McCoy Hills one of them, yeah, but I still stay in contact with them and we'll reach out to them and even more so recently now, like our corner kids you know being around, like Jackson and and and then and you know my own son and and you know Austin Bell or Talmadge handling, like we've had all these kids that are just fun personalities I get that's where you really get paid off because they're so awesome to be around and and just the good times and relationships you build while you're you're putting this together.
Speaker 1So, like I said, I've been able to kind of watch this from you know a Far, but I mean there seems to be this culture. I mean you see people that played in the program, you know, years ago and they're still involved with the program and you just mentioned, I mean there's a handful of players you still, you know, reach out to where they reach out to you and you know. I mean, how do you create that sort of culture? Where does that come from?
Speaker 2I Think it's I Don't know like how much of its.
Speaker 2I mean, there's definitely some part where it's intentional, I think, where you or you do it like because you think about a little bit, but I think a lot of it too is the way like we just operate and then also, I think, the way you try to connect to kids as a coach and also I think they both kind of work together and then I think that in turn connects the kids together too a little bit too, because then they follow that Probably.
Speaker 2Like our biggest thing is like our weight room stuff that we do and and I'm I try to be a pretty Opened, like approachable, fun type guy too like I'll be tough on him, I like is many people have seen or whatever, like on the sideline, like I'll get after you, and like we have high standards that we want to play by and operate by, just in general, but Like we have a lot of fun too, like we mess around a ton, like I'll give kids a ton of crap, and like same with our assistants, like we try to love our kids up and that's really the fun part. I think that's kind of the culture that our kids like buy into, they like it, they enjoy being here, they like working hard, and that's what I think we try to create. That makes some of its intention. I think some of it was just who we are personality-wise, it's coaches like Casey's. The same way, like you know, he likes to have a lot of fun with the kids and joke around, but you're still working hard as you're doing it.
Speaker 1Yeah, I mean any time I come over here, you know, to the high school, I can find you in one of three places, right, I either find you out on the track yeah, I find you on the football field or you're down in the weight room. There's really like.
Speaker 2It's yeah. That's really like for us, I think, and for me especially. What's so fun about it is Get to be with them, get to spend time with them and help them grow, not just in football, but like personality wise too. It's cool, yeah, they were. They're awesome for me too, like it's not just Like they get stuff for me.
Speaker 2I get a lot from them probably so like it keeps me young, keeps me motivated, keeps me wanting to keep coming back for more and and they're. They're so funny, like we had talked about me a little bit before, like they some of the stuff they say or that they do. It just it's pretty entertaining and they're just Throw a breath of fresh air with all the stuff that goes on with adults and everything else. Like that the kids Keep it pretty fun, yeah.
Speaker 1Yeah, I mean just setting up for this podcast, I mean I think there was 10 kids within 30 seconds. That came in to happen. You know, say hi, you know tell you a joke or something. You can tell how much the kids love you and things like that.
Speaker 1And I mean you really have created such a culture here and, like you said, whether that's intentional or I think there's I mean you look at, you know, the new head coach over there with the Detroit Lions and Dan Campbell, just as this, you know persona and he is just who he is.
Speaker 1But it just resonates with his players and you know, I think perhaps with you it's just you're just being you and you're authentic and sincere and people gravitate towards that and they see how much you Care for them and how much you care about football and you just you have a high standard and you expect them to, you know, achieve it. But it's not like you're talking down to them, you're just you're trying to elevate them to be the best it can be and I think it just it fosters just this, this family atmosphere over here. Like I said, I used to have a lot of your kids that would come in and it wasn't just one or two. It was like the entire team would come in and just crash my stash. You know I felt bad for my staff because all of a sudden be 20 kids and you know, trying to take care of everybody, and you know their high school kids too, so they're not the most quiet, it's just.
Speaker 1It's cool to see the culture you created here.
Speaker 2So yeah, it's been a lot of fun. It's like you said to like, I think Sometimes I think personality I think just kind of helps you, like you were talking about with Campbell and some of the like I know so many coaches, like they're you watch clips on saving and like some of those other guys are hilarious, like, they're funny, like, and I think that's like where kids can buy into that or like just personalities that they are kind of Can get into and attract themselves to. It's the same like our like Isaac Isaac said you know, contagious personality and fun kid to be around. Same with Jackson Dardy was the same way, like all those guys like they just find those personality and there's a lot of them like just those are kind of like bigger guys that people know about what we had.
Speaker 1We had Jackson, oh yeah. So I mean that kid you come in. I just loved his personality and all funny. That's a good kid, he's great.
Speaker 2Yeah, he's, he's a fun kid. You still stand, you know with him as well, and yeah, for sure, he was awesome, like, and he, you can mess with all those guys, but yeah, like, just when you add those personalities into your culture, I think it just helps. You know, I think kids get drawn to each other, they start trusting each other, they get bonded together. Is there anything?
Speaker 1opportunities to facilitate that. I was going to say do you do anything to facilitate that? I mean, you know I know weight training, you know getting here early, I mean it's definitely something big for you. I know a lot of your kids run track, yeah. But I mean, is there any sort of motto or like is there, you know, I don't know, I hate to say, but like a slogan or something, you know, an ethos that you guys you don't kind of use that?
Speaker 2Our biggest thing is like our work culture, like through our weight room or our habits of kids playing other sports or doing track, and Just the way we operate, like day to day, like we're going to put in a lot of work but we're going to have fun doing I think Our kids get that. They understand that. I don't think they need, but slowly. Not that I'm against slogans, like I like him to. I just it might be a little complex for me, like it's just easier, just kind of be you and let the kids Kind of figure that out on their own, to where they get to have you know a lot of fun night. You know they know the expectations because other teams, you know other kids before them, have set it up and they get to walk it in and they just follow suit. It's been, it's been pretty fun.
Speaker 1So I mean you have. You've had some big personalities come through and you know some have gone on to great success, I mean even into the NFL. I mean someone like a Zach Wilson. Is there anything you know that you would try to? Would you incorporate those individuals differently and let their leadership capabilities kind of shine through, or does that just organically happen, or I think both.
Speaker 2I think there's times when you like try to identify like their pulse on the team, like on the rest of the team, like what, how their teammates view them, and like then you can kind of can empower them a little bit in different ways, like obviously we have captains and things like that, but also like just putting them in charge of things are giving them more you know of a leash with, you know, maybe Getting on guys or having responsibilities or you know, being in charge of things or being more vocal.
Speaker 2And then their coaches to like position coaches wise, like our offensive line coach is awesome, he's always a good one that can kind of Create or like identify maybe who a leader is up front Okay, you know for us. And same with defensively like the kids, where kids will kind of gravitate into roles like where they kind of see a need and they'll fall into different spots or they'll, you know, they'll be a vocal leader, or if someone will just lead by example or some of them, you get a kind of push along a little bit. I mean we definitely will try to identify maybe who the good leaders are and then try to empower them a little bit more that way, but we'll have like a set program that we can follow with them. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1So I mean, we talked a little bit about, you know, your son, and you've had a couple sons come through your, your program here now, and both of them had really good sex, and you're getting old. One more, though, right One more. So I was talking to Noah one day, and, you know, I just asked him. You know, as your dad, you know harder on you as a, as a player, than you know some of the others, and he's like I don't know. I love to hear his answer to that, though. I mean, do you coach your own sons differently? You have a higher expectation or standard for them than other players on the team, or you know how does that operate?
Coaching Trees and High Standards
Speaker 2I think you would like to think that you're like as a coach, or when you do have a kid that plays for you, that you're, you're the same with all of them. But I think for sure I tried to be better with Tate. I was pretty tough on Noah a lot of times and even his, his receivers coach Pickering was a great friend of mine, has been with us for a long time. He hasn't coached, you know, as involved in the last couple years with us, but he would always tell me to like leave him alone a little bit. Every once in a while he would remind me of, you know, because Noah has good intentions, good habits, good, you know, he practiced hard, he worked hard all the time. He's always just, you know, I think, as a coach or as a nitpicky you know, coach dad, like one of you to do the best he can all the time and you know sometimes they're just going to fall short. That's just how it is, and so you kind of get tough on him a little bit.
Speaker 2But I felt like at times I did a better job of balancing that and then I think I got a little bit better with Tate, although it's tough on Tate too and I was probably those two the worst this last year, because the quarterback always gets it no matter what. Like dark took it, like those poor quarterbacks get it to the like a son to you, to absolutely that point. But like, and I had known Isaac for so long so he probably got a little bit worse than maybe the rest of them had. But yeah, it's tough.
Speaker 1He's one of those kids to that condition and he takes it.
Speaker 2So yeah, I've said it can handle a person out of and he doesn't just brush it off like he'll listen to you, but he's like he's pretty galvanized. His dad's tough on him too, like just like how we were talking. Yeah, he is.
Speaker 1I think there's a. There's a.
Speaker 2Mike runs a very tight shit, yeah, very tight shit, and we'll get guys that are like the kids, like complain a little bit like my kids will give me a hard time. Mike's kids will give him a hard time. But I Think with Mike, like you've seen how successful like his kids have been, some of some of their success is definitely attributed to Him being tough on them and having like this standard up here, right, yeah, I gotta go for that and pushing them, cuz kid. I think kids need that. I think they need a high standard and things that they can work for. I think we all do.
Speaker 1Yeah, I think, as adults, you know, I think sometimes we'd be, we become complacent, you know, because it's just easy and it's it's comfortable, as opposed to you know I'm gonna set my standard high and I'm gonna push myself, I'm gonna get out my comfort zone and things like that. So, yeah, I agree, and unfortunately, you know, as as adults, we don't have our parents necessarily pushing us or a coach necessarily pushing us all the time. It might be easier as a kid because you know we have others surrounding us to see our potential to really, you know kind of Challenges, if you will, on. You know some of those things, I think.
Speaker 2I like that. I think we do maybe need a little, I think, as adults. Yeah, I do.
Speaker 1I think a lot of times you know I could use one at times for sure. Yeah, I mean, you've been extremely successful. You know I'm assuming your coaching staff you look for people that are willing to challenge you and I think that's probably where you're able to Continue to to have success. I think it's those coaches or just you know business people that they find success and then they start surrounding themselves with yes man, yeah, and then they kind of you know, but they level out. They don't continue to level up every year to get that growth.
Speaker 2Yeah, sure, yeah, so that's an important part of it too. Yeah, it just as a coach. But, like you said, in general too, like you have to try to find ways to Maybe up your game each year, yeah, and find ways to learn and get better and always improve, and I Think I have some guys on staff that are awesome at that that helped me, like with that. Yeah, find a different ways to do things better. We got we got a good crew and no, is that?
Speaker 1I mean you know we talked about Casey Cetera and you know he was able to to go ahead and get promoted and move up and get his own program. How many coaches that you've had kind of come through your program and kind of go elsewhere? I mean you're starting to get a little bit of a coaching tree too, aren't you?
Coaches on Growth and Development
Speaker 2Yeah, there's been a few of them. Um, paul of it to kind of early on. He was one that went to Taylor'sville and then Granger and he was he's a really, really good coach. He had some good success at both of those programs that are. That are tough programs to Just put, put it together and put good teams out on the field. You know there's a lot of different things that you have to address With those programs. Maybe that you don't have to hear Um, but he was probably the first one that was a big part of our success in that 12 year when we won it in the years prior to that, and he's a great guy. So it was fun to see him Get out and get going on stuff and he and I still talk all the time, okay. And then another one yeah, would be, I think, the next one's Casey yeah, that crew that have gone on and been Head coaches.
Speaker 2We've had other guys that could be for sure. No, I don't, some of them choose not to like, but there's like our line coach could go do it. Our defensive coordinator now could go do it. We got a couple assistants that could probably go do it and do it well too. Mccoy, I think our quarterback coach could do it, but he's lucky for me, he's like a. He's a Like a business guy the counten type, so he's he's full in on all that stuff and I think this is kind of like his hobby. So, okay, yeah, I don't have to worry about losing him. But guys like Casey like it's tough to see him leave you, but it's so fun to watch him like grow and that's what. Like he was a little nervous about taking that yeah job, which I understand, but I told him I was like the biggest thing you'll do, you'll grow like crazy those first couple years, like it'll. You'll like sometimes regret doing it, but like you're gonna.
Speaker 2It'll be awesome for you and I it's been awesome to watch him do it and I've been way happy for him he's. He's such a good guy and I guess he's helped me so much like as a coach too. Like I've grown a lot from just learning from him and learning different things defensively and just bouncing ideas off of him and growing as a coach and his energy like he's he's been huge and just me developing as a coach to. You know, you know Technically, you know he's a head of the system, but you grow from those guys just as much as you do from anybody else. Absolutely, you can take so much from anybody really.
Speaker 1No, I think that's the, you know, a great leader is able to continue to grow and to, you know, take certain aspects from other people and then also to help them develop, you know. So I think it's uh, you know, I think it's just a great attribute to have as as someone like yourself, to to be able to develop and and help empower these guys to go on to different programs and things like that, because you know there are leaders out there that you know our power, hungry, or they don't want others to succeed. Because then it's like, well, you know, he had Casey helping him coach, that's why he won those championships. It wasn't really him and it kind of, yeah, the tracks it shouldn't be that way, right, oh, I know, but yeah, no, never.
Speaker 2Like that's not how you ever want it to be. Or even Like their success like should never be really tied into whatever you know we do like right in our program. Like I think everybody kind of deserves to have their own, you know, a chance to build what they want to build and yeah, and especially like football wise and get like learning, grow and develop and develop their own their own way. Yeah, I think everybody has their own path. That and it doesn't have to be the same. Like even Casey, like I know he's had buddies like Mike Knight, ben Head coach, that like has told him the same thing like hey, be yourself. Like and Mike's done a great job too great head coach, and he just took a new position too.
Speaker 1Yeah, he's out of that new high school.
Speaker 2Yeah, but I don't think he's he's gonna end up doing that. Oh no, no, I think he's gonna. Maybe he might not coach for a year and then come out. Okay, gotta try to snag him, maybe. I know Casey was maybe gonna try to do interesting. This is such a good dude. Yeah, mike's great. I've learned a lot just from him also, and personality wise he's. He's just a good. Do you get to meet so many good people? Yeah?
Speaker 1so I heard, you know, from a coach up north I won't say any names, but, um, there was something that he said that I really thought was great. He has a high school and they tend to play, you guys, you know, pretty much every year, and Unfortunately I mean corner canyon. You guys are, you know, a powerhouse. You're in 6a and and these guys aren't. And you know the parents complain every year like, why do we play corner canyon? We just, we get killed every year. And you know the story goes that you would talk to the head coach and it's like, hey, you want to. You know, measure team up against. You know tougher competition, um, you know that's how you get better, that's how you sharpen your sword. And you know, I believe in you as a coach and I I think you're gonna do great things with this program. But you know, yeah, come test your medal against us. And Is that why you guys play like teams, like a bishop gorman or you know teams out of california like, yeah, is that?
Speaker 2I think those are, those are the games you I mean you learn a lot from all of them. But like I think, like you just said, like that In in 22 we went down and got destroyed by gorman. Like it was tough, it was humbling, like we we got beat up, yeah, but we learned a lot from and I think it enabled us to kind of grow as a team early and faster and be able to get to a point where you know, we didn't win it that year but we were able to get back to the Championship game and I felt like that might have been a year where we Were maybe a little lower on our talent level than typically what we are. But I think, learning from like some tough stuff early on, like a Big competitive team, like warm and even some of the other games we played, like we lost to li high yeah.
Speaker 2That year too, at our place and we learned a lot from that. We made a bunch of mistakes and and they countered and they were a good team.
Speaker 1Like you learn a lot from those and I think there's more To be learned in losses than there are wins. Yeah, I do.
Speaker 2Every coach says that I think too, where it gets a little cliche, but I I'm telling you like, just from doing it, there's you learn so much. You start. I don't know why, but like you evaluate yourself better, yeah, and you're what you're doing, or like, especially as a head coach, like I think, the pulse of your team, things you got to do better. Like Very rarely do you do that. I mean, we do it, but like to the depth of where I think you can really make a lot of progress, yeah, until you get your post kick.
Speaker 1It was interesting. You know, we were talking before this podcast and some of the things you were talking about were the losses you've had. It wasn't the victories and the, the confetti and and all that was this loss, this play. There was a holding collar or whatever. It was right, but those were the ones that seemed to really stick with you. You know all these years, but yeah, I think that's like I kept the competitive side right.
Speaker 2Yeah, you always, you know, want to compete and win. I think a lot of like, just like you were talking about earlier. Like the wins you win, like you move on, like yeah, I did what I was supposed to do. When you lose or fall shorter, like you have a bad play, like you were, like we had talked about before. We, you know, messed up this game. Like you remember, though, like they sticking your, like they're, like they happened yesterday we talked about that.
Speaker 2Well, it became an 11, or even the one in in you know, 21, that we ended up losing just so many little things. And it's small stuff too. It's like a play here and there. We had had a screen call early in that game that we messed up. Uh, uh, just a protection assignment on the screen before we came off that if we probably execute better, we're in in good shape. Pick up the first down and you keep going, but instead you punt yeah, and we had a, you know, a punt get partially blocked in that game. Like just little stuff like that, like you remember it, and you're like man, that's like, but it's that's just one small thing, but it they, they get on you Like they can be, like every coach says it, but they really do, like they matter.
Speaker 2Yeah, and to try to instill that in your team.
Speaker 1So you know, this year you won the championship, your previous, like you said, you guys fell a little bit short. Is there more hunger after that loss? Well, I mean, what's more difficult coming back from? You know, we were this close, we got to redo it and come back. Or now you've won the championship game and it's okay. Now we've got to climb all the way back to the top of the mountain again.
Speaker 2I think, as a coach, you feel like it's the same almost either way. Yeah, for me it does.
Speaker 1Lucky. Are you able to? Let me ask this then? I mean, you're a very competitive guy and we talked about this a little bit before. You know, there's the story of Urban Meyer, florida Gators. They just won the championship game. Confetti's still falling. He's in his office calling recruits. I mean, I know it's not the same level of college to high school, but are you able to, you know, after the championship game, really celebrate that? Or are you already on to next year and we got these juniors? You know that are coming up and hey, we have the sophomore class, but who's going to be my starting quarterback? I'm losing Isaac, like, does that stuff? I mean, the minute you guys win that championship game, is that stuff going through your head already or no?
Reflecting on Coaching and Success
Speaker 2no, no, no, no, not that early it used to Like, yeah, I think as you try to grow as a coach, you try to. I've tried to make myself almost like kind of enjoy it a little bit more. Yeah, especially like the kid, the like your, like your players, yeah, that that part of it, like Caden was in here just to say no, kid that played for us, that didn't didn't start coming out until his junior year, okay, um, but just seeing them get to, you know, talk to them and enjoy that with them, or even letting the kids, kind of, you know, just celebrate it a little bit and hang on to it. And and especially the senior group, like because they, they earned that.
Speaker 2I feel like and and it's good to, it's good to do that. You don't want to do it too much for sure, right, you're not going to get yourself in trouble, but like it's, it's okay. I think and that's the one thing I think I've tried to learn early on is like I would transition right to it the next year and and you still do it Like you know what I mean. You, it's important to you, but there's definitely like a time where I think you can do that and it doesn't affect you.
Speaker 1Yeah, I think you need to be able to, you know, and and really celebrate it. And I mean urban Meyer, I mean I mean you looked at his health and all that, and it's a huge contributor to just the amount of stress he had and all that. That he wasn't able to enjoy it. I think had he been able to pause and, you know, just kind of take it in for just a few minutes, even things would have been different for him For sure. And I think he would probably say that now, yeah, yeah, I think so too.
Speaker 2Like I think when you reflect like back and like look at that because you do, you put a lot of stress on your or look pressure really on yourself to try to make sure and it's not even so much for yourself and maybe it's different.
Speaker 2But like I feel like and I think most coaches are this way they want it like so bad for their kids, like their players, because of what they've done, like here especially like I was really happy for our kids our defensive coordinator it was his first state championship and he won you get excited and you don't want to mess it up for that. But then, on the flip side of that too, like you also want to have that time after you put all that pressure, and it does happen where you get a candle like oh yeah, all right, this was okay, yeah, this is good. It's good to kind of relax and enjoy it a little bit and you have a little buffer zone in there anyway Because you have other spores, you have track and things like that that are kind of built in where you know.
Speaker 1Yeah, I mean college. It really is like you're on the recruiting as soon as.
Speaker 2All right those four guys go right into it again. Yeah, you have to recruit. They have to try to sign guys Like they're. They have recruits coming on campus to visit Like they're doing home visits themselves, like it's, I don't know how they do.
Speaker 1Yeah, I don't know. I think there's a misconception with Corner Canyon and some of the high schools nowadays with open enrollment, like we talked about this a little bit before. Just you know the fact that there are, you know, kids that are able to kind of choose where they want to go to high school now, and you know a lot of parents and, just you know, community members thinking that you know you're actively out there, you know, trying to recruit people, things like that. I think it's the culture that you've created here that really resonates with kids, and kids talk with social media, with Instagram, snapchat, things like that. You know, I definitely think you built something here that you know kind of like the field of dreams. You build it, they'll come. Do you have, you know? I mean, how many kids do you guys have trying to come to the Corner Canyon now to play and things like that.
Speaker 2I mean I think it's like you said, like I think parents want like things that are best for their kids and whether it's like a good math program or like a good music program. Sports, I think, gets put to the forefront a lot of times because it's what's important to them. But I think when you try to, you know, build something up or create like a successful program, I think sometimes that's just the stuff that happens and I think you get a lot of people that you know try to think it's something different, yeah, or that like you're trying to influence and all this type of things. I think the amount of parents or like even athletes that try to contact you, like as a coach, or like try to create something like that is just it's pretty astounding and it's pretty crazy that to see and it's kind of strange. It puts you in an interesting situation as a coach, but really you just have to try to. You have to figure it out on their own and some kids do and some kids don't, and I think a lot of it's driven by the parents probably, and the kid more than anything else.
Speaker 2I think there's always been that people are out trying to influence and do all that kind of stuff. I don't know that that's necessarily like the thing anywhere. It's like being back in the day when I was at Jordan. We were getting our butt kicked all the time by them. I think that's what I heard. Well, I remember.
Speaker 1Skyline. When I grew up right, Skyline was the powerhouse here and it's all a crew and things like that. Yeah, you always hear that. You always hear that, but yeah it's just kind of a.
Speaker 2I think the parents drive it a ton, though. I just like read talk that everybody wants success for their kids and put them in places where they feel like they can be successful. I don't know.
Speaker 1Yeah, I don't know. It's curious to hear all those rumors and oh yeah.
Speaker 2I hear it all the time yeah, and to know your program and what it's really all about.
Speaker 1And I mean, you were talking earlier like boundary to boundary. You would go up against it, oh yeah yeah, for sure.
Coaching Success in High School Football
Speaker 2Like I think that's what gets lost. I think, especially those first two years, like we didn't have anybody, like those first two years we wanted, like we were truly Because we were a locked boundary at the time, we were truly like a in boundary corner. Can you type team in 17, 18, 19. Yeah, and I think that is. The kids here are awesome and it's a testament, like the kids you have here and you just develop them up and try to coach them up and have success that way, and that since then we've had different kids that have come in because our boundary opened up. Yeah, but like I mean, I think, no matter what, I think with how hard we work and what we try to do, we're gonna be successful. It doesn't matter either way, yeah, yeah, whether kids come in, whether kids don't, like we're gonna figure out a way.
Speaker 1Yeah, oh, I mean you guys have I mean you've seen it, you have a track record to prove it right. So you know you talked about building people up and building up your kids and your players and things like that. I mean you've had a lot of success. I mean I mentioned earlier you're kind of known as the QB guru in Utah. Is it just from your days of playing quarterback, is it? You know, what is it that you're able to do with these kids at quarterback Did to coach them up to such a high level that I mean you've seen them, you know, going to the NFL and things like that.
Speaker 2I think probably the biggest thing that we do for them is try to surround them with, like a good team, why they're here so they can have success, like they can work on a ton of different aspects of their game. You know where. You know if you have a tough time up front and pass protection, and it's pretty hard to throw the ball or like consistent at it, and they just give them a ton of reps in practice of doing it and doing it the right way and drilling them up, and so you start from the base down and you know work with their mechanics and stuff like that.
Speaker 1Are you more?
Speaker 2Honestly, like we won't really mess with mechanics a ton. No, interesting but for sure, like footwork, yeah, we always work footwork, body position, different things like that. Mccoy is our quarterback's coach now. Yeah, I mean he does a great job like with a lot of that stuff, but we won't mess with the arm slot a ton, the way that they transfer like their body weight and create force from their feet up, and the biomechanics of it. We will, okay, arm slot, not a ton, Because honestly, like they're A lot of them are kind of in the position that they're gonna be in.
Speaker 2You can change a little bit. I mean, I think Tom Halsey is the best in the world at it and does all the arm slot stuff and I've been able to listen to him a few times and we do a lot of their stuff and have kids. You know Beck and all those guys Taylor, kelly they're all from that and Adam they're all from that tree and have created a just awesome successful program. 3dqb is amazing. Like I love those guys and a lot of our kids have gone out there. That's what they do full time A lot of times, like it's tough to fix that side of it, and I think they'll tell you the same thing.
Speaker 2There's little things you can do here and there, but like a full fix.
Speaker 2They're usually gonna go back to what they were like, and Tim Tebow was one of the guys that they worked with forever and he like went back to it and like just kind of thrown the same way. I do think it's just tough, but we usually will stay out of that. I think it's more so like we do coach them out technically but then we give them a ton of situational talk after, which I think is huge for their development, where we put them in tough situations. They get to throw the ball a ton in practice. They get to make a ton of reads, they get to throw on the move they, you know, they get to work a lot of run game stuff. They get a focus on that, making throws into tight spots, working on timing, anticipation, and they get so many reps at that. I think can we create that in practice by the way we practice with our tempo that it's able to give those guys an adequate amount of reps to where they really get to develop and flourish as a quarterback.
Speaker 1Yeah, yeah, I mean you've seen the development. I mean it's been fun to watch some of those guys go on to.
Speaker 2You know they're all like good athletes, so you got to start there for them. I think we get a lot of credit sometimes like coach wise, but all those kids were so good and athletic like I mean, that's a championship game.
Speaker 1Isaac won the game on the ground. Yeah, like his running is what and he went wrong.
Speaker 2Like that, either Like he just before, like he's worked at it, like spent some time getting better and which was huge for him to, you know, be willing to do that Like hey, come do a little track work with us, and he kept doing it and a lot of times I know he didn't want to, but like it's helped him and based evidence, yeah, but in the working, yeah, I mean just stuff like that where you can create just opportunities for him for growth in different areas too, and he's huge.
Speaker 1So I mean you've had a lot of success. We've gone over a lot of it. Is there any you know contemplation Do you ever think about what's next? You know, maybe go into the college level, or you know. Like you know, we talked about leveling up. Have you ever thought about taking on another challenge?
Speaker 2It's definitely like something early on in my career I really wanted to do it pretty bad and then I've just kind of grown more and more into the high school game and really, really love it. So there's like not as much urgency, I think, to try to get out of it and get out of the high school stuff and into the college game as much. I think if the right opportunity where there would be something that I would like consider, I don't know that it would just be like a full out. I'm going to do it Because there's a special part. Like the kids here at Corner Canyon are awesome kids and the parents and everybody to work with and our admins awesome. And I still got a kid that's a freshman now that's coming up through this.
Speaker 1It's going to say you're not making any changes yet.
Speaker 2You got at least three more years and I didn't coach any of them when they were little, Like I was never any other little league coaches or anything like that. So I've kind of because I've been a coach, I've missed out on that. So when I get them up here it's fun to have. I'm seeing my daughter who runs track for me Like right, right, I missed out maybe with some of their younger stuff. So I like to take advantage of it now why I have them.
Speaker 1Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely. Well, I know you're a busy man so you know I'm just super appreciative of your time. Like I said, it's been. It's been really fun to watch this, this program, over the years and just to see the kids and the culture you've built and you know just the fun that they have here. I mean they win championships, but they have a lot of fun here and you're developing some really good young men to go out into the world If it's not at football, I mean just to be successful in life. So yeah, thank you so much.
Speaker 2I appreciate you, man, if I appreciate you really having us on. It's been awesome and I think your podcast will keep growing and getting the high school guys and coaches. I think it'll be awesome. I'm excited to you know. Tune into some of your other ones.
Speaker 1And well, if you have any one that you can connect me with, let me know. You can't get casing on there All right, we need to get good.
Speaker 2For sure He'd be good and he could talk to you. Oh, like I can tell you he can tell you stories.
Speaker 1He's a storyteller. I love that guy. He's the best. He is the best. But well, awesome, Eric. Thank you so much and we'll catch everyone else on the next episode. Invokes