Masters Alliance Uncut
Honest Conversations with Masters of their craft about life and Olympic Sport Issues
Masters Alliance Uncut
Inside The “Sorry, Not Sorry” 2025 Awards: Wins, Woes, And What Must Change
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We host the unapologetic 2025 awards, celebrate the year’s most dominant athletes and coaches, and call out leadership choices that hold the sport back. A candid debate on speech, selection, and why adaptability beats excuses shapes a roadmap for real progress.
• AAU–USAT pressure on coaching roles and speech
• Peak performers who win across gear and rule shifts
• Technical mastermind coaching and room culture
• The US medal mask and rank slide to 20th
• Mexico’s urgent need for leadership change
• Wasted talent patterns and category mismanagement
• Why adaptable tactics beat chest guard complaints
• A playful look at fashion versus podium proof
Welcome To The 2025 Awards
SPEAKER_06And the nominees on the wall. And the goals do. We are your host, judges, and jury. Sorry, not sorry. Six, seven, baby!
SPEAKER_05Welcome to Warehouse 15. Uncut. And it is the sorry, not sorry annual 2025 awards. And I am joined by my co-host, my brothers in arms, my comrades in battle. We're leaving for Venezuela soon. Coach Juan Moreno and TJ, who's going to be leading up our operations on ground trying to get our oil back. Welcome, gentlemen. Or should I say hola? And can we get some empanadas and some uh fritas? Yeah, arepas. That's Venezuelan. Uh I love Venezuela. Grandmaster, did you check your mail today? No, what's in it?
SPEAKER_08I don't know, but I got something in my mail to just my mail came today.
SPEAKER_05All I got is all I all I got, I got nothing. All I got, I went out by myself and I bought what I need for Coquito because it's a Spanish tradition to have our Puerto Rican eggnog, and I'm making it for some of my better friends, which if you don't see it in your mailbox, you'll know why.
SPEAKER_08I just got rid of all my accepted it.
SPEAKER_05Oh, that's nice.
SPEAKER_08You see that?
SPEAKER_05First of all price of entry. Price of entry.
SPEAKER_02First of all, I've never seen you wear a hat in your life, so don't ask me for a hat.
SPEAKER_05You know why I have beautiful, you know why I have beautiful hair? Because I never wore a hat. Well, you're lucky. You got good hair, man. You got good hair. TJ, let me see your head.
SPEAKER_08I would say I I need a haircut right now, too. So you know, we can't be out here just not.
SPEAKER_05All right, I you gotta keep your dome, dome covered. All right. Well, it's been it's been a long year. We've had a great year. We had a lot of great stuff that goes on.
SPEAKER_02Before we start, before we start, before we start, you know, you know, I always like to have a beer, but today I'm gonna have to break out the the JMM and you know edge classes. I'm gonna have to do a little late night whiskey, little drink, little poor.
SPEAKER_05That looks like some Scotch Highland Scotch.
SPEAKER_02I'm gonna do I'm gonna do it, you know, like neat today, not no ice, nothing, just kind of sip with you guys.
SPEAKER_05Oh I'm gonna I'm I'm gonna have to get my son. Nico, can you get me a beer from the back, a sour, please? Let me see Nico. Tell Nico to come here. And Nico, come over here. Uncle Juan wants to see you, and Uncle TJ. Come on now.
unknownGive me a second.
Banter, Travel Plans, And Family Moments
SPEAKER_05Oh, he said, give me a second. That's his new thing. He's always testing the limits, right? He tests the limits now. He used to say yes, Baba. Now he goes, give me a second. Now he goes, what?
SPEAKER_02He's a college man. He don't gotta listen.
SPEAKER_05Oh, he don't need me. He don't need me. He's going to Cornell. He don't need me anymore. I got my Cornell shirt, but you will see. He's uh he's getting taller, smarter, hopefully, and all that. Yeah. But it's been a great year. I know we uh I'm going to Portugal at the end of the month, so I'm looking forward to have you guys been to Portugal?
SPEAKER_07I have. Where are you going? I have not.
SPEAKER_05I'm going for soccer, so I'm not really sure, but we're going to like their best clubs. Um, and one of our coaches actually was there with his team when he was in preseason when Ronaldo was just a kid. So he told me that story, which I thought was fascinating. He goes, Yeah, we're looking at this kid, man. We're going, damn, this kid is good. He's like 19, and uh, who was it? Ronaldo. Unbelievable. So just good stuff. Nico, though, had a banner week. He had they have this thing called the beep test. It's where all the players have to get a certain you know what it is. So Nico crushes it, and everybody else on the hands and knees of Nico's just standing there walking, and he the last kid is trying to go with him, the captain of the team. Nico stays up, and then when the kid gives up, Nico does another five rounds.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_05So yeah, he killed the beep test. Come over here, they want to see you. I need a glass. Come over here, everybody wants to see you. Say hello to everybody. Uh big guy. How are you? Get in the mic, get in the mic. Get in the mic. You want to show him the six pack? No. Show them the six pack. Show them the six-pack. Come over here. Oh, damn. Show it again. Uncle Juan missed it. I guess yeah, I want to show you one. He gotta do we're working on his haircut now because he doesn't like his haircut. So we're gonna try to get him a haircut he likes.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_05He looked at your haircut from 88.
SPEAKER_02Nah, nah.
SPEAKER_05I told him a story about what happened.
SPEAKER_02Well, did we have a did we talk since New Year? No, we talked before. What did we do?
SPEAKER_05I don't think so. No, we were supposed to, but I think you guys were all busy. Thank you.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think we talked right after Chris. Happy New Year, guys. I uh happy New Year. Hope uh we have a uh you have a healthy and happy 2026.
SPEAKER_05Well, I let's hope I was in Disney World, Disneyland, I mean. I'm gonna come to Disney World because Nico wants to uh go to Disney World again before he goes to college. But we went to Disneyland on New Year's Eve, believe it or not. So you're cutting in and out.
SPEAKER_02You hear that?
SPEAKER_05Oh, it's still recording, but yeah, he didn't pay the internet. It's still recording, it's just look at this guy.
SPEAKER_02Frozen.
SPEAKER_05Dude, I got I got to the most internet in the world, except it's the slowest today.
SPEAKER_02What's that show?
SPEAKER_05Um I think there's a lot of people watching Unmentionables at home.
SPEAKER_02Like Frozo and something like that.
SPEAKER_05All right, well, we got a we got a long show tonight. It's been a auspicious year. We are getting ready for our wrap-up, but more importantly, we're gonna talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly. Uh, but let's start with uh my master of ceremonies. I think it's gonna be who? TJ or Coach? Who's it gonna be?
SPEAKER_08The great Bambino, the King of SWAT.
Year In Review And Setting The Table
SPEAKER_05Oh, the King of SWAT. Nice. Well, well, I'm assuming that's you. I'm assuming that's you.
The AAU–USAT Ultimatum Explained
SPEAKER_02I'll start it. I'll start it. I've been swatting people up. I'll be back to pull us up. I'm actually watching the national championship. Oh no, the college uh semifinal right now. Miami's playing Ole Miss and just started the fourth quarter at 17-16. Miami's winning, man. Miami's had a chance to kind of blow them out a little bit, but just man, this team is resilient, this old miss team, but it's a good game. Anyway, I I I I know we're gonna get later on to the uh to some of these awards. I think it's gonna be a little fun uh conversation, but I also want to talk about um I gotta get into last week's the last 10 minutes of last week. I had a lot of people asking me about it, and I know we touched on it, and it wasn't the time to get into it, but um just as a refresher, we talked a little bit about you know some things that are going on with both the organizations and more specifically with TJ and some people that are close to me. So, you know, I want to kind of uh rehash that a little bit and and and and talk through it just because I think it's important because once again I think there's some interference and some things going on that just not oh there you go, not uh not not proper, you know. So, you know, TJ, I'm gonna just kind of I'm gonna you know kind of bring it over to you, you know. I want to, you know, talk about the situation. You know, the situation was um just as a real quick refresher, um you know, you were invited um actually by the the AAU to become a regional director to kind of lead your state into some some some cool things. And it was them asking you, not you asking them, they came to you um based on uh you being with tops, based on you being with the national team, based on what they saw, all that good stuff. We know about that. And um when when push came to shove, there was some kind of a private meeting and some MOU signed, and um basically um the USAT basically kind of nixed you specifically, um, and they gave you an ultimatum, which I think is you know kind of a freedom of speech type of thing. And I I feel I feel like it's two organizations almost colluding to um to keep you off, you know, both sides. We know the the dislike for the USAT and the the keeping you on the sidelines for whatever reason um when you have incredible value, but more importantly, here you are minding your own business, doing great things with another organization, and the the parent organization, USAT, gives them an ultimatum. TJ can either do the podcast or or not.
SPEAKER_08So, you know, do you want to talk about a little bit and then we can kind of uh maybe yeah, yeah, it was that whole thing came down to do the podcast or not. I think, and again, we talk about I think last time we kind of touched on it being like about the regionals and the district and all that stuff like that. And those are big positions, right? Those are those are things that are a little bit all involving and blah, blah, blah, S car, whatever. But you know, as the conversation progressed, it pushed over to doing the if doing the podcast would not allow me to be on national teams. Like I couldn't go coach a national team, um, I couldn't be a part of any kind of training camps or anything like that. It kind of extended over to a world of we're not talking about leadership, we're not talking about trying to be internal with the organization, we're talking about things that have been given to other coaches and you know, have three athletes on a team, they talk to you about coaching. Have value for the organization, they talk to you about coaching. Something that's been very like non-connected to anything now is connected to, you know, not only this podcast, but just this podcast and being on this podcast. And and like I said, I think one of them asked me about the oh, I don't know if you have any monetary value for this podcast, and that's irrelevant. The the the the yeah, that's irrelevant.
SPEAKER_05I don't know why we even would even be a question, but just to But I don't I don't think I don't think a half a million dollars a year should get in the way of any coaching position. So if they want you to forfeit the half a million dollars that you make on this podcast, then I think that's unfair.
SPEAKER_02But you know, it's it's funny that again they they look at that. It's almost like a dollar amount, like A, take this potential dollar amount with this for this regional position versus your your freedom of speech, your friends, you know, something that you've been doing for a year that A, you had zero problem with. This is this is my my my two question, my two questions are this, TJ, and maybe you can you know I I wasn't on the conversation. Um, but number one, let's go back to that. Um you said something like, okay, so let's say you you you're not gonna be in leadership. So are you telling me that anybody that speaks out against the USAT or says something in the negative, you know, intonations about referees, about how well or or I'm sorry, how bad a tournament was run, or whatever they want. And all of a sudden they put five people on the AAU national team or AU team that those people can't be part of the organ the the the staff. Are they gonna are they gonna announce this to everybody in all of AU? How would I know? I'm John Smith from Iowa, and all of a sudden, bam, I put a bunch of people on the team, and they, you know, I I don't think they can the thing is they don't care what John Smith says.
SPEAKER_08They care what they care what we say, they care what I say, they care what people that actually have real value and real understanding of what's going on, they don't want those people to talk. They'll let everybody else do and say whatever they want because it's it's irrelevant, doesn't move anything, it doesn't spark any real conversation. But this podcast sparks real conversation. We're again we said in the beginning, we say things, and that's a problem for them. It shouldn't be a problem for for uh AAU. Like I said, this is one we've been doing this podcast since what I said over a year now. We've been doing this podcast through being selected for different teams and situations, and it it's been it's been it's been the norm, and now it now for me it's an issue. Now it's um a problem here's my problem.
Free Speech, Conflicts, And Leadership Failures
SPEAKER_02Here's my problem with leadership, and there's two and there's two leaders right now there's Clinton No and Alex Cobert, right? One is the chair, Alex Cobert's the chair, and Clinton is the director of martial arts. And as far as I know, Alex is responsible for running events, doing these type of things, and of course, having some coordination with some other things. But Clinton is the one that is involved with this whole new negotiation with the USAT. I said last time I do think that Taekwondo is taekwondo, we should roll the boat together. We don't have to be in the same boats, but we should go along the same lines. We should see how we can work together. But when one organization is determining what the other organization could do, that's when I have a problem. And I have to blame Clinton. Why? I have nothing against Clinton. I don't even know him that well as a person. He doesn't know AAU, number one. But number two, he allowed the USAT to decide, you know what? We won't use TJ because you guys, you guys don't, he won't accept your your your terms. He allowed them to do that. He should have said, wait a minute. We like TJ. We just used him on the national team. And he was doing the podcast before. We didn't have a problem with it. We think he's great. We matter of fact, we selected him for this position. He didn't go to bat for you. He basically came to you and said, TJ, take it or leave it. Whatever they say, you gotta do or don't do. That's messed up. That's no backbone. That's not a leader. That's not someone that's looking out for AAU. That's somebody that's looking out for himself. He must want something to do with them because he used you as a pawn. That's the again, excuse my language, that's fucked up. Because that's not what AAU was before, before him, or or long before him. And I don't want to talk about the last administrative.
SPEAKER_05You're expecting Clinton who, by the way. Never heard of him. And I have a general rule when it comes to Taekwondo. If you don't know who I am, you haven't heard of me, you don't know Taekwondo. If I don't know who you are, you're definitely nobody. So Clinton, who? But you're asking a boy. You're asking a boy to act like a man. So don't expect a boy to act like a man. We don't we can't expect that from the USAT. And you know, arguably there are some people that are actually that can be said to be known and know who definitely know who we are. But how do you expect a boy to be act act like a man? He's in a room full of wolves and he's a baby. He's a sheep. So you can't you can't blame him for being weak. He's weak by nature.
SPEAKER_02Well, it's just a it's it's just a shame because, again, I'm not boy, man. I don't I don't really care about that. I mean, he's a successful businessman. He has a very successful uh program, uh chain of uh of martial arts schools, but again, that doesn't matter. What matters is organizational institutional knowledge. He has no idea what AAU does, but his first action, his first main action trying to work with USAT is to get rid of a successful, helpful, useful person. That's not in the best interest of the organization. That is not in the best interest of the organization. And if this is how we're starting, then I got a problem with that. I got a problem with him. Yeah, but you just said it.
SPEAKER_08You said it. It's not about the organization, it's gotta be about them and whatever they got to do.
SPEAKER_05It's the Tanya Harding effect, guys. You're forgetting Tanya Harding. So if you can't win, you can't be good, you can't succeed, then you cut people out around you that can. So, you know, you guys are looking at it just he's he's in the criticism.
SPEAKER_08They have all this righteous bullshit, and like, you know, I this is the positivity is this, and learn from this and build from this and all this shit. And like the the reality is they sit back and they they they cut people short, they do the things that are, like I said, in their best interest. Well, let me I got that's when we start talking about bosses and stuff like that. Well, people people are boy. I think it's a terrible boss decision.
SPEAKER_05I think it's a boy, but let me let me let me people don't know that we actually have a board and we have a chairman of our board, and I was able to find a clip of the chairman of our board, and he's gonna make a comment.
SPEAKER_06Track, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, so anyway.
SPEAKER_05So I just wanted to share that drunk and stupid as well. So, you know, that's the chairman of our board, and that's some advice I'd like to give to uh Clinton who? But go ahead.
SPEAKER_02Like I said, it's just again, I it's an fortunate situation personally for for you, TJ. And but again, I I want to know that it's that standard is gonna be held to everybody. And if that's the standard held to every single person, if they you know, you know, and what determines that? I mean, what what determines if if if it's negative or positive, if it's good or bad, or if it's right or wrong. I just this is once again.
SPEAKER_08They're just gonna go, they're just gonna go silent. This is that's uh that's what they're gonna do. They're gonna say nothing. They're gonna now it's gonna be worse before. You can't, we're at a point where you can't speak out and say when something's wrong. You you're at a we're at a point where you can't, I can't go, that's not right. This isn't right. I don't, I mean, again, when when I start lying, people start calling my phone. I don't get no calls, I don't get no textbooks when people say, Hey man, why you say that? You know why they don't say that? Because half of the shit we say, they think, and they know it's true. That's right. Like we don't come on here and make anything up, we come over here and speak with the things that the situations we've been in, the people that we've been around, and the situation and the and the things that we've experienced. And that's just a fact. I went from being a part of AAU in a in a in a decent level, um, as far as from the Olympic uh Taekwondo side to moving on to like the I mean, we're in I'm in meetings with these guys talking about looking at Olympic sparring rules and looking at regulations for AAU and helping them decide what's is this better than this? And now we're here. So we went through all those stages, and now it's that or the podcast. I had such value until we we sit down and try to like you know shake hands and you know whatever, whatever the goal is at the back of the end of the day. But how does that change? I that's my question I have to ask. How does that how does that change? How does how does how does it matter what I say about uh USAT? Why did why does that affect AAU?
Why US Performance Keeps Slipping
SPEAKER_02And you know what the you know what the crazy thing is is AAU does not need USAT or anything. They're a successful organization, they have a lot of people. Well, we're gonna you know run a C because I think some of these changes and some of these things that these, you know, that you know the mastermind is doing, um, is trying to implement is you know a little far off. And you know, it's gonna be it could be a difficult road for some of those guys, you know. And um like I said, it's just uh I I just I just I feel really bad that the AU has gone this this way. And again, I know the guy, the the director has to be has to be held responsible. Clinton has to be held responsible. He has to answer for this, you know, and he can he can hide, he can say no, and when I see him, I'm gonna talk to him. And when I see him, I'm gonna suggest that he does listen to the podcast so he can get educated, since he thinks that he's holier than everybody else, and he, you know, doesn't listen to podcasts like this because he only does things that uplift him and make him more intelligent for his entrepreneurial business. You know what? You could suck my you know what, because that's a that's an interesting thing. Yeah, you got three Olympic level athletes here that have were doing taekwondo before you were born, probably. Who did way have been around this world way more than you? You don't know anybody. You don't know anybody in USAT? You don't know anybody in AU? You don't know anybody in the world. You know three people. And then you're gonna say something like that. That's that's disrespectful. That's low-key, disrespectful, and hugely arrogant of him.
SPEAKER_08So I said it's a soft boy, soft boy hater shit. Soft boy hater shit. Like who two talks like that? Like who says things like that?
SPEAKER_02No need to.
SPEAKER_08Who says things like that? Well, why would why would you say that? No, then let's not pretend like you're we're pretending that he don't listen. We're pretending that he's not waiting to go watch, or someone's not sending him a message. There's no way you don't turn it on. It's impossible to think. But just to even say it like that and play that game. Oh, you're just so much bigger, and better. That's what I said. They all hide behind this almighty holy stuff and do this and do that, and they all just sit back in the room and figure out how they can make their pockets fatter. And that's it. Whatever that looks like, that's it.
SPEAKER_05Well, I got, I mean, we have our, you know, we had our board chair, and I was able to find he was he was very busy, but our our our president has something he'd like to say, so I'm just gonna I gotta share it with you guys.
SPEAKER_01Well, what the hell is supposed to do, you moron? What the hell is supposed to do, you moron?
SPEAKER_05So anyway, so uh some of my favorite quotes come from the the wisdom of great movies. So yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_08You try to be respectful with these people in the beginning, you know. You you try and I try to be very respectful. I try to understand the worlds they come around. I understand everybody's different, and you know, you expect uh someone coming onto a new leadership position to kind of again fill out the room, understand what's going on, be what you're supposed to be, do your job, but instead we end up doing stupid shit.
SPEAKER_05So the best advice I ever before we move on, the best advice I ever got was from a former boss of mine, vice president of Macho Martial Arts back in the day, Nancy Grossbart. And Coach Moreno and I did a bunch of camps and seminars and built pretty good athletes out of it. And she we had one guy that used to come, I won't mention his name, it was one of our seniors, and he would always act up and get in trouble. Oh and then um we'd complain about him, and then she took me aside and she said, You invited him, you know how he is, you know what he's like. So if you invite, for example, a thief in your house and he steals plates, what'd you expect? You invited him in. So don't complain about the person you're expecting them to be like you, they're gonna be like them, so don't complain when they're like them. So in this situation, Clinton Who, whatever his name is, why you you gotta remember it's an Olympic year. Everybody wants to get on the Olympic teat. They think they're all gonna gain some benefit from it. So yeah. Unfortunately, USA Taekwondo's got its thing, and they all think it's gonna be something, and that's why they're doing this. So they all want to get their little 10 seconds of whatever, whether it's a ticket, a thing, be a guy getting a table, a VIP, right? It is what it is, and it's worse because it's in the States. So don't expect this person who has no history in our sport or or competitive record or whatever.
SPEAKER_02In neither organization. In neither organization, young.
SPEAKER_05So why why why expect the guys who've why expect the grovelers and the guys who haven't done anything to be ethical or moral? They didn't sweat for it. Unless you sweated for it, you bled for it. You know, we got a great song that's going to play at the beginning of this, and it's it's something that somebody created for us, and it talks about you know what you have to do in order to understand what we do. And, you know, it goes back to my other rule. You don't get to talk. In other words, you you can you can opine, you get an opinion, but your opinion better be based in fact. It's like I watched this clown on uh I watched this clown talk about Olympic taekwondo who's never done Olympic taekwondo, never been to an Olympic Games. I don't even think he bought a ticket to watch it. Yet he's going around talking to everybody with a New York action accent and a Korean face about what it is to be an Olympian or what it is to fight like an Olympian. You didn't fight like an Olympian. Shut up and sit down. Don't talk unless you've been to the dance. You haven't been to the dance, you don't get to teach. You get to teach. Don't let the word Olympic come out of your mouth. So that's the same thing with this clown. Who is he? I don't know. I so everybody's successful at business. I've got 20 guys more successful than this guy. And and they're not in Taekwondo, right?
SPEAKER_02So um anyway, so you know, I just I mean, last thing I'll say, you know, TJ, because you're right, give the benefit of the doubt. I mean, I was in the room when he was appointed, I was shocked as anybody else. Um, but okay, you know what? I don't know the guy, so I can't say he's good or bad or whatever. But then now when I see these actions, I wanted I wanted to think the best of him. I wanted to be like, all right, he's a young kid, he's a young man, you know, he's he's he's not an old guy. He doesn't have a whole lot of he doesn't have any institutional knowledge of a of an organization, either USAT or AAU. And and he's put in this position. I thought, okay, let's see, you know, how he acts. And now his first course of action is to to make some kind of major decision like this when he doesn't have to. Because it's AU's going fine and you're an asset, you know, and you know, when when a huge, a huge asset, according to them.
SPEAKER_08A huge asset. It would be terrible. It would be terrible if AU didn't work. This is coming from them. Terrible if they didn't work me. Terrible if I wasn't a part of the team, terrible if I couldn't help the organization. But don't be a part of the pocket. Don't, don't, don't, don't say the things you really think. Don't don't don't point out, don't talk about the sport you've done since you're 11 years old. You don't get to tell me what to talk about. Like you, like you just said, I got more techno knowledge in my pinky than both of them put together. It's impossible. You don't get to speak. But they do, and they make these, they do things that don't make any sense.
SPEAKER_02I think uh I think yeah, we'll we'll see what happens. You know, I mean again, I'm sure we're gonna we can meet them, you know, we'll see them, and you know, I'll see, you know, and we'll see what you know, but they explained. You never do.
SPEAKER_05Did this guy I I mean, I'll just take a quick look here. Did this guy we wouldn't know eating olympics?
SPEAKER_03So what that means is in an space, I get to learn how these three that's him? Yeah.
Kicking Off The Athlete Awards
SPEAKER_05Oh my god. This guy looked like he won the eating Olympics. He didn't I he it's another one of these guys going off his ethnicity trying to become somebody in a sport. Do something. And by the way, live what you preach. Get out there, get out of the gym, young man, and lose a little weight. And and when you go to these kind of things, put on a damn tie. But that's just me speaking. Not I know not you guys. I'm just hypersensitive to these clowns that all become you know gurus of the of the self-help thing. But anyway, moving on to something more positive. Clinton, Clinton, whatever your name is, I wish you the best and and continued success at at uh at uh sucking the Olympic teat of taekwondo, and certainly uh Jay and Steve and Steve and uh and I'm sure you've had uh brown and green and orange at your school as well. But I wish you the best and may you uh live long and prosper, as they say in the Stark check lab. All right. Uh with that say, TJ, uh, you have my heart. I know you love our sport, you do your best to bring the best to it. And um, it's unfortunate when people, you know, I I'm a little bit older now. I got older last month, and and what I realized in talking to Dr. Cape when I was in Korea, you know, you can offer your help to people, and it goes back to that old axiom of, you know, drag a horse to water, can't make them drink. You can't help these fools. They they they don't win, they're not winning, their current teams aren't performing, their men aren't performing, they're women, and outliers perform once in a while, and they call that success. At some point, the U.S. Olympic Committee is gonna wake up to the fact that it spends X amount of dollars on this particular sport that has a potential of four Olympic gold medals and doesn't win any. And at some point they're gonna stop funding them to that tune. You look at somebody like basketball who causes them no trouble and comes home with an Olympic gold medal, and you look at track and field and swimming, which comes home with the majority of the medals because they can. Our sport was given some leeway because it can come home with a potential of four member medals. Back in the day, eight or sixte medals, right? Now it's only four. With that said, there's gonna come a point where they told them they had a plan. It's called the high performance plan, and it ain't working. They told them they were gonna partner with other people like the AAU, and that ain't working either. AAU doesn't produce anybody, nor does USA Taekwondo. So at some point, the clown show and the clown car is gonna empty. And when it does empty, and the USOC wakes up from its stupor, because they're in a stupor, then things are gonna change. And I had a long conversation, who I can't remember who it was, it might have been one of you guys, but it was about why we're in this situation. And what I just said is why we're in this situation. The medals, the money, and they're not matching. In addition to that, without the volunteer leadership at the USOC, which used to happen, nobody's watching the farm. And Jay's perfectly positioned for this because he's been on both sides of the fence. He was a non-performer as executive director of USA Taekwondo. He's now a non-performer as COO or the guy that pulls the strings on Steve McNally, the puppet. And he used to be the same role till he got fired from the USOC and fired from USA Taekwondo. So now he's back in charge of he knows how to co-opt the weaker people. That's his thing. He read the 48 Laws of Power, which he gave me a copy of, which sits on my shelf, holds up my uh computer, which is falling down. And so you can't expect much from these guys. But at the end of the day, if they can't see your value, then do what Coach Moreno has. Done. Take your value somewhere else. Find your value somewhere else. Anyway, enough of that.
SPEAKER_08No, I I um I think I've been very fortunate to be around you know you guys and and kind of just again.
SPEAKER_05Not us, we just got you on, we got you no job. No job.
SPEAKER_08Yeah, no job, no volunteer job. It's a volunteer job. I'm volunteering my time to go there and work, isn't that crazy? They return my ticket price, which takes a while, but I get my ticket back and we're talking about this what we're arguing over. Like this is what we're arguing over. You're arguing me volunteering my time to help an organization build and grow and be around the kids as they develop and work closely with them and have them a role model next to them that that that can actually give them something, is what we're arguing about.
Technical Mastermind: Coaching Excellence
SPEAKER_05I talk, I talk to my friends for free. Everybody else I charge, and that's it. I'll give you one last story as we move on. So I have a rule in my school, as you guys know. I meet every member, I make a determination whether I want them as a member because I'm too old. So if I don't like you, I don't like your family, I don't like what your values are, I don't take you as a student. And I tell you from the beginning, I'm interviewing you. At the end of that interview, I'll offer you a membership. If I can't, I'll suggest somewhere else that might be a better fit for you. And if I can't do that, I'll just tell you you're in the wrong place. So we had a member about nine months, then she said something really strange to me like a couple of days ago. And I looked at her and then I went back to my mantra. So I waited for the class to end. I brought her into my office. I said, You have three months left on your membership. I just want to let you know today is your last day. And I'd rather than drag it out for three months and tell you at the end of that, I'd rather you know now. So this is your last day of classes. And of course, she was upset, called her husband. Husband came in, and I simply said to him, I said, it's not a good fit for us. It's obvious that your wife has some issues, she's not happy, and this is my place, and I want to be happy. I like my clients, I want my clients to like me, and I want I don't want dissension in my lobby. So you're in the wrong place. But I and and that's the way it is. And so I'm so much happier. I let that individual go. Cost me a couple of hundred dollars a month, who cares? But now I'm happy, I don't have to see that individual. They're no longer in my world. It's the Bronx tale when the guy says, owes them the money, right? Says, you got off easy, 20 bucks. That's it. 20 bucks, you don't have to see them out of your life. So there are many people in my life that I'm got off easy. They're not in my life anymore. They owe me money, they're out, they whatever, they're out, they don't like they're out. Your circle of friends gets lesser as you get older. But to this day, the people I care about, like you guys, Coach Moreno, Coach TJ, Steve Capner, Dr. Harvey Schiller, Mary McCagg, the list is short. I got four or five or six people in my life that lifelong friends for reasons. The other ones, they're acquaintances. And when they stop being, uh when they stop behaving well, they're no longer acquaintances. Clients, though, and you should look at the AAU, quite frankly, as a client. You don't owe them anything. You're you're bringing value to them.
SPEAKER_08We're not talking about making a real national team. Let's not pretend we're going to the world championships. Let's not pretend we're preparing for the Olympic event at that in that situation in that time. Like, this is a developmental volunteer organization.
SPEAKER_05You know what I mean? Kevin, Kevin Cosner, they'll find you. It's field of dreams. They'll find you. Build it, they'll come.
SPEAKER_02TJ, that's a great point because listen, it's not real. I mean, it's not a national team. It's the the fighting is real. The the the the team trials is real. Making, you know, winning that event is real, but it's not the now, it's it's a it's a team from AAU. So I mean, it's a travel team.
SPEAKER_08It's a travel travel team.
SPEAKER_02It's a travel team, you know. I mean, but anyway, listen, I get I don't want to I I I I I really I really like AAU. I mean, it's it's a great place for all those things that you said, you know, you know, TJ. It's a good development, it has great camaraderie, has great, you know, programming, it's a lot of good things, but I just this this new switch and all these different things as level two coaches. To be a level two coach, I think you have to have a gol and that gives you the right to protest. But if you have a gol, that means you are you have to be a member of the USAT, which means you have to jump through all their hoops. Again, you're controlling. But that's probably why they did it. But but but it's funny because they'll say, well, you don't you don't have to have the level two, you can just have a level one coach. But but but but but I can't protest. I can't ask no question. I you know, it's just it's it's a weird, it's just this new administration, this influx of of control that the USAT has over them is really sad because now AU is no longer autonomous, it's no longer autonomous. And unfortunately, who's gonna find that out? Are the athletes and the coaches.
SPEAKER_08But like, can I and I think they brought this up at one point. I heard it and kind of went across the table a couple of times. But we're talking about so you get a new coach that comes into the organization. They coach, they've been doing their thing and now they want to be a coach for AAU. They come in obviously first tournament, they're a level one. You're gonna tell me you're gonna let those people protest because they're level ones at one of their first couple events until they get their level two? Because I'm assuming you have to get level one before level two, right? It's like a kind of like a level one, level two.
SPEAKER_02I don't know their system, I mean.
SPEAKER_08But isn't that weird though?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I'm getting level two. I don't care about protest. Imagine. Anyway, let's let that go. I'm sure we're gonna you know have some more go-rounds because somebody will you know give us some more information or someone will say some other things and blah blah blah. It is what it is. Um hey, without further ado, let's get into these uh 2025 uh awards, the sorry, not sorry awards. I gotta say, guys, we had a list of this so long and it was difficult uh to kind of narrow it down, but we we try to keep it short. Um so I'll start off with uh we'll start off with the the lock stock and bear. Hold on a second.
SPEAKER_05We need to we need to, I gotta, because there's gonna be an insert here of welcome to the awards. So just uh we'll we're gonna take a moment here. This is the official awards show. Go, Moreno.
Fashion Statement And Culture Clash
SPEAKER_02Listen, just because you haters out there, I just renamed the first one. The first one is the Peak Performance and Positive Athlete Award. Love it, love it, love it and positive athlete award. I hope you guys like it. So this obviously goes to the best athletes of the year. And uh me and you know, TJ, I think there's a couple of them. So unfortunately, we're not gonna narrow it to one. I think we can go uh two men and two women. What do you think? What do you think, TJ? You give me one. You give me one, you give me one.
SPEAKER_08Male or uh I'll start with our 58 boy from Iran. I think gross that the boy is bad. And he's young too, right? He's young, strong, aggressive, calm. Yeah, he's he's it's gonna be interesting to see him keep going through the next year into the Olympic Games. I mean, I think they got a hot one. I think they got a live one, and I don't think anybody wants to be in the ring in front of him.
SPEAKER_02So I heard a story about this kid. He also won the under 21 worlds. I'm not gonna say what, I'm not gonna say what who he was gonna fight or what level it was gonna be. But he was sitting waiting to fight his next match, and he goes, he said this in English. He's like, Man, I thought I was gonna fight you, but I'm gonna go fight this kid over here. I'm gonna go fuck him up. Like, that's crazy that a Roddy boy just said, Yeah, I'm about to bust this kid up. I'm just like, you know, you're a bad man.
SPEAKER_08But he'd be but he'd be out there doing exactly that. It's lopsided right now. He's nasty. It's it's lopsided in most situations. Always mess up his name. That's why I'm gonna say your name. His last name's Zandy, right? Zandy. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, Zandi. I'm gonna go. Since we did the males, I'll do one more mail. Just get the two males out of the way. It's gotta be Enhike from Brazil. I mean, this kid now is like uh what is he number two in the world, I believe. He's he's unless some changes january. I think you're right. Number one. Is he one? Yeah, he's one. Um, just I mean, listen, he won the Pan Ams, he won the World Championships, he won one of the Grand Prix challenges, and the people he's beaten along the way is just unbelievable. His he's doing it with sometimes speed, sometimes skill, sometimes brute force. Like he's his emotions never get higher than he's just uh he's a pleasure to watch. He's a he's a I personally know him, so it's a pleasure to watch him train and prepare. But more than that, he was just pretty pretty amazing this year. So I think from uh uh an award standpoint, we gotta give it to him. I mean, those two boys are pretty much the standouts for the world championships. I can't think of anybody else. Yeah, yeah. I'll go the first woman. I'll go, I'm gonna go with the Tunisian girl, the lightweight girl. She won junior world championships, she won the world championships, and she won the under-21 world championships, and she's like 18. Like 18 or 19 max. She is sick. She's she's gonna be a force in the 67. She's like one of those young girls, not yet woo, but she's she's already beaten everybody, so I think she's gonna be really, really difficult to handle as we move into this, you know, half quad, you know, this two years of the of the Olympics. So it's pretty good. So I give her one of the females and drum roll flees for the second one. Noah, you know it.
SPEAKER_08What do you got? You got it? It's gotta be Maria Clown. It's gotta be Maria Clown. I thought it was one match this whole year. Crazy. And I think that was a giveaway. I think that was a little bit of a let me go get back out there one more time. Type situation. I don't think we took I don't think we I say we I don't think she took the same energy into that competition. I don't think the same focus. I mean to go that many matches one after another and not drop a match, and she was doing it to a level of like people not scoring any points. People that have got to the finals. Think about getting someone in the finals and shutting them completely out. Zeros.
SPEAKER_02Well, that's what we talk about in a second. But like with her, she I mean she did it to the to the Olympic champion. To the Olympic champion. You know, so yeah, I mean, I think those four, you know, you got Enrique, you got Zandy, you got Maria Clada, and you got Tunisian athlete. I I you can't go wrong. I mean, those are a pick'em. They're all great. You know, congratulations to them for this is at a tournament.
The “We Survived” Organization Award
SPEAKER_08Sorry, I'm gonna go back and talk about hers. This is at a tournament where everybody's complaining about the chess guards, too. I'm saying everybody every time I look online, it's always like, oh, the chess guards don't help the athletes, the chess cards don't do that, chess guards don't do that. This is at a tournament that I think the points were flying across the board at one point. Yeah. And then I know they did that whole something happened, I adjusted it, and everything, but this was she did this when it was probably the easiest point to score.
SPEAKER_02You know what's a good note, good thing about all those guys? They they were all consistent winning, you know, multiple times. And again, when people say, Oh, gen two doesn't work, oh gen three doesn't work, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. These people they had no problem. So they found a way. It was scoring easy, they scored. It wasn't scored, they scored. So hats off to them. They were the most consistent, the most dominant, the most fun to watch. I mean, all the above, all four of them. So congratulations to them. Which if there's a great athletes, I think we gotta look at maybe the the second award is gonna be called the Technical Mastermind Award. Technical mastermind. And this goes to like the outstanding coach because um I mean, obviously the athletes get all the praise, but we all know that you know some of these coaches behind the scenes do some great, great things. And I'll just go ahead and say it. It's uh it's Diego from Brazil. I mean, this boy had nah, come on. I that was last time.
SPEAKER_05Not this time, not this time. Not this time. All right, I'll wait till next year.
SPEAKER_02Now Diego was a master this year, man. He had three people from his own home gym make it to the finals at the World Championship. I mean, that's crazy. Crazy. And but but more importantly for me, I I think more for the technical mastermind is when I looked at Njike beating like uh CJ and Korea and shutting them out. Like those two individuals, CJ and the Korean, are they they just put tons of points up all the time? They score, they score. I mean, they they point gap people quick, you know, and and and and he can shut them out. That I mean, that's crazy. At the world championship and the grand grand uh grand prix challenge, shutting these people out. That to me, I gotta give Diego credit because you know they they knew what they wanted to do to both of those athletes, and and they got it done. So hats off to them uh for for winning that.
SPEAKER_08That's a lot of action from one gym, you know? That's a lot of action from uh I mean you're not like we you can call it what you want, but that's that's amazing. That's just amazing.
SPEAKER_02He's one of my guys. I'm gonna say he's the hottest coach of the world right now. I mean per cap per capita.
SPEAKER_08And I tell him too, I said, man, you you're you're thinking about I I love it because I'm a you know I mean I know we always talk about like uh just in general, I'm a Pan Am I'm a Pan Am person. I I I if I can't win, I I want to see the Pan Am region on top. Like that's just how I've always felt. And I think we've always had like that tough side of the field. You know, we fought and we've had our good points, but it's always like the Pan Am region. And to see to see a country that's in the Pan Am region be that successful with uh uh someone that you know I know obviously, of course, you're a part of everything and kind of building, but it's just to see someone in that get to the point where they're at the world championships, you got other countries wanting to come and invest their time and being in their room, and Asian, you know, Asian countries want to be in their room, and I want to work with them and these guys, that is it's crazy. It is crazy. It's it's entertaining to watch. It's uh obviously, like you said, I I know Diego too personally. I've had an opportunity to be out to his gym and spend some time around him and his guys, and apparently, apparently, somebody in the USAT like contacted him to be coaching in the United States that supposedly somebody had an in with the CEO and you know wanted were interested in bringing him over.
SPEAKER_02He's like, This is impossible. This is impossible. I have work, I have a contract, I have a team. There's no way I thought that was pretty funny that all of a sudden USA Taekwondo and these guys are full of shit, and and someone had an in that hit him up, like, hey, yeah, I'm gonna do this and do that.
Time To Make A Change: Mexico
SPEAKER_08Like, what are we talking about? I don't know. What are we talking about? But congratulations, yeah. Congratulations. Sorry about sorry. Yeah, we'll give you a lot of things. I've had the opportunity to be in his gym and like this to feel the energy of his team and like be around those guys. And the energy's good, the people are nice, but they all work hard. I think I think that's what me when I see good coaches and I see you know successful coaches, I've been in rooms where it felt like that that everyone was on the same page and able to build and kind of grow. So, congratulations, man.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, let's get to some fun ones. Let's get to some fun ones, some lighthearted ones.
SPEAKER_08What are you doing, Harry?
SPEAKER_05What was that?
SPEAKER_02Let's get into fun ones.
SPEAKER_05You gotta watch the video to see that.
SPEAKER_02Uh which one you want to do first, TJ? You you you help me out with that? I'll follow you.
SPEAKER_08I'll follow you. I'll follow you, I'll follow you. I'm trying to open that thing right now.
SPEAKER_02Um let me see. I I'll do a first funny one because I know Grandmaster of Disaster loves this one. The Fashion Statement Award.
SPEAKER_05Oh, like that. Like that. Like that. Let me guess. Tell me who. Tell me who.
SPEAKER_08It's gotta be my boy CJ. I think he's changed the game. Oh, he wins that hands down. He's changed the game. He doesn't he changed the game. Come on, come on.
SPEAKER_02That boy, I never seen that boy wear uh a USA warm-up in my life. That dude, he changed the game. He got his flannel shirt on, he got his hat on, he got his he ain't got no USA stuff on.
SPEAKER_08He gotta get his own line of clothing. You know, he's he's gonna.
SPEAKER_02I gave him the fashion statement of the of the better win some medals because like I said, he win some medals.
SPEAKER_05He better win some medals, or it ain't gonna matter. So it's uh it's it's one thing to it's one thing to do all that, but I can't find his hip-hop name. He's got a hip-hop name, and he puts he puts up all he had a fur coat on.
SPEAKER_08I I I think and I always try to, I know you all you hate when we try to talk around this subject a little bit. Like, I you know, which subject. Just just CJ. And I think he's a you know, we all know he's a talented kid. We all know he's a good thing.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, yeah, he's a talented fighter without a doubt.
SPEAKER_08Absolutely. I like like for me, I think he's got if you said it like a couple podcasts ago, or maybe like one of the first second podcasts. Like, if anybody should have been on Olympic podium, it should have been him. And I know I'm not putting a knock on nobody, but that's that's one he needs because he's done a lot of other things. I know it's we we talk about meddling. He he's as consistent as you can be and not be on top of the podium. That's what I feel.
Wasted Coaching Talent: Hard Truths
SPEAKER_05Well, let's let's let's parse that out for a second. So, and and I mean this in the nicest, nicest sense of the word, right? It we have gone through a lifetime, we've been in the sport a long time, and in going through that sport in a long time, the list is long and laundry in every country, including Korea, of talented athletes who are consistently non-performers at the highest level. To be a high performer at the highest level and win medals consistently, like Juan Moreno did, I did, and you did and others did, and make the podium, and win gold medals means that you have cracked the code. Anyone with talent can make marginal medal performances over a period of time. And I'm not going to mention um, I have a bunch of people that I could mention, but he's a good friend of ours, arguably the best Taekwondo fighter, I think, that was ever produced by the United States. Bad coaching, some he was kind of like Mike Tyson in the sense that when he he didn't have any direction, had he had direction, he would have beat everybody in the world, won a world silver medal. With the right direction, he would have won, been the first world champion, and he lost and got a silver. And that list is long of way more talented, way more, way more athletic athletes that without the proper coach. So if you want to talk about, this is I would call the fashion award, I'll call it the wasted opportunity award. This is an individual that with the proper coaching, the right mindset, less fashion and more form, less function and less, you know, style would be winning hands down because he's athletic and talented. And in this nonsense, Taekwondo that's doing, he's perfectly he's perfectly formulated for it. The jumping and the flying and the bullshit kicking. So, you know, there's no doubt of that. But take, and I'll point to the thing that I showed you guys last time was what tournament, Coach Moreno or TJ, do you ever remember losing and then going into the basement and then sparring with all the other competitors in the world? What name one tournament that we ever did that in?
SPEAKER_08I don't know. That's I hate sound like old school, new school. Like, that's a weird one for me. Like, I I don't I don't know. I would have lost this.
SPEAKER_02Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Two two things. Number one, we're just talking about fashion.
SPEAKER_05All right, back to the fashion. All right, he wins the fashion award. Let's move on.
SPEAKER_02But but but I will I just want to say this just just for conversation's sake, guys. People, we're acting like we're sports commentators right now. When Brett Farr or when Aaron Rodgers messes up, they throw him under the bus. When he does good, they talk good about him. So it's not like they're it's not hating, but I mean it we hope that the kid, young man, didn't miss his his his chance because everybody knows in 2024 in Paris, he had a great opportunity. People lost the the the C parted, and he had a great chance to make it to the to the finals and win an Olympic gold medal, and he didn't. And we know life is is touching. We don't know if he'll get back there. So I'm not you know, everything we were just talking about. It's not a hating, it's not like he's bad, it's just maybe he missed his opportunity, and we hope he didn't. So let's see. Let's hope moving on, moving on. Moving on. So that's fashion. I want to talk about the we survived, we survived award. I say we, I mean organizations. And I'm gonna throw it out there. I think in 2025, the USAT survived because they're big, I'm being honest, they're big guns. We just talked about CJ, Christina, Faye, they lost. And those are the big guns. They got salvaged, they got saved by Michael Rodriguez and John and John Healy. That's it. You know, and you couldn't really expect a medal from either one of those guys. They made the most of it, they got it, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But think about that. If they was if those guys don't save them when their big guys went down, that would have been a disaster. So for me, I think they survived.
SPEAKER_08I still think of it's the surviving depending on who's having the conversation. Like, we we all were we're tackling those people when we watch the world championship. I know we already touched on this, but like it it's it's still a tough position. I think what they finished, 20th? We finished 20th at the world. Like, you know what I mean? But like I'm being honest.
SPEAKER_05When you have to when you have to scroll on your computer, and I got, by the way, I got a large screen. When you gotta scroll on my screen to find the US, and it's under India. That's all I know. I mean, give me a break. I mean, 20th? 20th? What are we 20th in in anything? I mean, I'm just we were never 20th in any state that we ever did.
SPEAKER_08But have we not been surviving since what 2020, 2021? 2021.
SPEAKER_05You've been surviving since Lopez left the room. Let's be clear. Lopez and Lopez was an outlier. He wasn't a product of the system. Come on now.
SPEAKER_08Which was which is not expected. That was not expected. Yeah, but we had the presentation there.
SPEAKER_02World championship from Michaela. I mean, she pulls it out, you know. I mean, then she's in and out, and I mean she never makes Bandom weight again, I don't believe. You know, and then she's out of the sport. They it seems like they always pull one thing out, but it's funny because that's why I say survive, because it masks a lot of the other bad things, the the 20th ranked, you know, you know, group. So I think that it's uh yeah, they survive. In my opinion, unless you guys think there's somebody else out there, uh I think they survived.
SPEAKER_05No, no, they're gonna win. They win the survival. They were they they win the I'm not paying attention USOC survive award. And uh, I I can't find Gloria Gain or Skipped. I shall survive, but I when I find it I'll put it up.
SPEAKER_08They tried to not survive when they let one coach coach eight people at the World Championship. They were trying to take move. Oh, had to be a tank move. You don't do that, they don't do that with anybody.
SPEAKER_05Well, Steve, Steve must have had a hangover with Jay from drinking with Cho. That's all I could figure out.
SPEAKER_02That's crazy.
SPEAKER_05They weren't in the room.
SPEAKER_02So they win. Next category. Next category. Time to make a change award.
SPEAKER_04Oh time to make a change.
SPEAKER_02Drum roll. Sorry, not sorry. Oh, yeah. Mexico, Mexico.
SPEAKER_05Oh, really?
SPEAKER_02Man, they went for the grand. They they went to the world championships and the under-21 and didn't get a medal. In any of them. I don't think they got a medal. Did they get a medal in any of the grand prix?
SPEAKER_08I think not. I don't think so. Uh he got the challenge. No, not the challenge, the grand slam. He got silver at the grand slam. Remember the one after the world championships? Oh, he got the channel. He got silver that next that next two days over three days later or something like that. He ended up with silver. Yeah, but that's you know, man, that's they He's a special guy in a special situation at a special moment. And I you got if this they're in trouble. They gotta figure it out.
SPEAKER_02They gotta figure it out. I did a podcast with these Mexicans uh with Chava and Boris Carillo, and and we talked specifically. Um he's he's a Olympic hopeful. He's a he's a chance to win a medal because he's a kind of unique guy. But other than that, that whole system is just I don't know if it's the athletes, I don't know if the coaches, I don't know if it's the administration, but going these Ofers are just I mean, if if the United States is having a bad luck, these guys are just really down.
SPEAKER_08It just got there, it just it got there fast, though. It got there fast. It got there fast. Yeah, you looked up and it's like bad. And like I said, I I'm a very I follow the Panama region a lot. You know, we know, and everyone knows that Mexico has always been a strong competitor. Mexico could always show up and do some stuff, you know, their energy in their country with the sport of Taekwondo, and it being at one point it was what, the number two sport in the country?
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah. Oh, that's right. Like, no, I think they're like in in the Olympic committee, like they're number like five or something behind diving, behind archery, behind uh flag football. I mean, when they were telling me all these things, I was like, whoa, I had no idea. I had no idea.
SPEAKER_05So it's you're talking about Mexico?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, Mexico on their they're behind flag football.
SPEAKER_05Oh my god. Yeah. Well, I found that I found their board of directors. Hold on a second.
SPEAKER_01Who are you? The free amigo! Who are you?
SPEAKER_05All right, anyway, moving on.
SPEAKER_02Which which actually leads me to so they're the they're the time to make a change award. And then the last one I the uh for today, I mean we'll we'll wrap it up with this one, is uh I I wanted to put this out there because it's a little controversial, but it's because I like I love athletes. I and I always want to see the best for them. And I I came up with this one, the Wasted Coaching Talent Award. So I I I didn't know how to you know word it, but basically I was gonna say is these athletes that had so much potential that everybody was looking at, and somehow you mentioned something about CJ. I don't think at least CJ has done some for sure, for sure. But but these I I got three people and they're they're in this region because you talked about it for the Pan Am. Because I don't know enough about the Turkish athlete. You know, I don't I can't say anything about those guys. I don't know.
SPEAKER_08And um, but I gotta just the ones you follow closely and are dealing with the city.
SPEAKER_02I'm gonna name all three, and I'm just gonna get a quick synopsis synopsis on each one, and then just kind of go from there. The first one I'm gonna say is Kafani Harris. This kid was, I mean, obviously uh CJ-like, but super, super tender.
SPEAKER_08I'm gonna I'm gonna hold my tongue. Better, more taquino. Better Tekwano, more flexible, more flexible. More everything. And and again, I think CJ is a little bit tougher. A little not tougher in the sense of like go, go, he'll fight. But Calfani was different. Yeah, for me. You're right.
SPEAKER_02No, so uh, I just and so I just have to ask, like, what happened? And I can't just like we when coaches want to say they won because of me, then they gotta say they lost because of me. What happened? How did that dissent just go so far down? So I I just think we missed they missed some, you know, whoever's in charge of him missed uh missed the boat. Um, I'm gonna go to this is kind of controversial because I don't know too much about him, but he was like this wonder kid from Mexico, Carlos Cortez. He was doing some good things, he was he was really scrappy and really, you know, catching people and being in these deep fights with people, and then all of a sudden, just losing in the Pan Ams 21 under 21, um, losing at the worlds, losing it under I just I just started I saw a drop off. So I don't know if people caught up to him or if you know he just doesn't have it or they underdeveloped. I don't know, but I don't know what you think about him, you know, TJ. I mean you watch him too. What do you think?
SPEAKER_08I I I think he was very um I can't think of his name. He he liked to fight. He liked to fight, he liked to kick, he had pressure, he had a gas tank, he gave people a lot of problems. And I think like anything, a lot of situations, I think when when you're in a room with coaches that understand what you have and value what you have, they know how to mold that and change that and push that in a direction that kind of keeps you going. I'm not saying I know this kid's young and I know it's a tough sport, and I know the systems and the referee, all the stuff we can talk about, but the reality is that's where we live, and that kid did come out real hot. You know, he was uh he was a big I feel like that was a big expectation for Mexico, and I think he gets a lot of support from that from Mexico.
SPEAKER_02You know, I'm gonna I'll I'll say this about Mexico, and it's a it's a it's a critique. Um their coaching staff is is young. I mean, I think they're good, but they're young. I think they're I think they're leaderless, and I think the athletes feel that. I think the individual coaches are good, but they someone's not the leader, someone's not organizing them and bringing that. And so I think it's it's going down to the athletes where they're just not having the performances that they should. So, you know, Carlos is definitely young, and like you said, he's got a a great gas tank and he's pretty flexible and he likes to fight if he can get back to it. But this year, I have to say, I thought he was gonna pop through. He was my he was my dangerous one. I was like, this kid is something. So that's why I say maybe a little underdeveloped from a coaching standpoint. What else? And my oh my third one, this is one of my favorites because I like. Oh, Miami just scored a touchdown with 18 seconds left.
unknownYes.
SPEAKER_08What's the score though? What's the score?
SPEAKER_02It's gonna it's 30 to 27. If we kick the extra point, it's 31-27th with 18 seconds left. We go into the championship. And I'm gonna get back to this. Is um it's Faith. Faith Dylan. Because I I I close my eyes. Me, two, three, four. I'm gonna even four years ago when she was a junior coming into seniors. I'm like, this is a special girl. She was like a kafani to me. She was she was strong, she was fast, and she's been consistently kind of up there in the semifinals and stuff, but like I feel like they I don't know. I feel like she's not their priority. And I just feel like they're not giving her enough because she should be up there, man.
SPEAKER_08She's they held her, they held her, they held her, they held her at 62 for too long before they let her go 57 because they had uh Anastasia's 57. So they held her 62 a little too long for me, what I think personally, take it or leave it, I don't care. But like I think they kept her 62 for too long. They they should have had her in 57. I think they should have had Anastasia go up higher, move her up 67, we're at 57. A lot of things they could have done. But I was like, I like to show like it's so funny. I remember the first time I saw Fates were at the uh one of those um Grand Slam tournaments or something in Colorado, and uh she asked some boy to like warm up with her. The boy looks at her and goes, Yeah, but like just light, right? And in my brain, I'm going, why is this boy asking this girl like to warm up light? Like, what's she gonna do? And they she's the he agreed and she put her hands up, and I was like, Oh, oh, I got it. I got it, I got it, I got it. He knows something that I didn't know. But she's she's for me, it's always been a tremendous talent. I think her mind's the most open. I think she's always willing to learn. I've had some opportunities to kind of you know cross paths with her a little bit. She's always been nice to me when it comes to that. But I think that she she she's good. She's good, she's strong. I think she tries to understand the game. She's there, they gotta fix it. They gotta put whatever they need to put behind her and get her through because if it's not her, who is it?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and uh same thing. Listen, I I talked to her at the last Grand Prix and just the way she talks about wanting more. I can see that she wants it. I know she has the talent, and I think that they just have to believe in her more and get get behind her a little bit more because and that's what I say. I think it's a it's you don't want to waste a talent like that. You know, I I they gotta give her more, they gotta find a way. They gotta find a way to make this girl good because she is not not good, make her good because she's very good, but get her over that threshold.
SPEAKER_05So well, I found our I found our director of um of development, and he has something he'd like to share.
Closing Notes And Part Two Tease
SPEAKER_06We're going to grab the bull by the balls and kick those punks off campus. What do you intend to do, sir? Delta's already on probation. They are? Yes, sir. Oh. Then, as of this moment, they're on double secret probation. Double secret.
SPEAKER_05Double secret. All right. Well, we only got halfway through our awards because we got into the unfortunate territory of critiquing uh who? I will use his name again, but uh we can't make boys into men, and even though there's a band named that. But I want to thank you both for your time tonight. And there will be a second part to these awards. My personal favorite. We haven't really attached yet, but look forward to the next one. Gentlemen, it's been real. And uh this has been a moment from the Sour Bear. Go 305 hurricanes. All right.
SPEAKER_02Seven seconds.
SPEAKER_05What's the score for the score? All right. We uh we have done, we have done, we have stopped recording. All right, I'll get this up. I'll talk to you guys in the morning. Peace. Peace. All right, I'm not leaving because I want to make sure everything uploads.
SPEAKER_02Yes, it says one minute left.
SPEAKER_08Bro, there's and my room still says the file, my the room still says the files uploading, coach. Mine says one minute left, but I will leave the phone.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, mine too. Mine too. I'm not closing. Man, it's five, it's six seconds left, and they're on like the 40. Oh, there we go. Did you finish?
SPEAKER_08Recording and stop. Your files are yeah, it says it's uploading. You can leave the chat just like I would leave the the box open. That was okay. I think that one was okay. Yeah, yeah, that's okay. It says still recording, though. It still says recording at the top. That's weird. Oh, record, it's still going, right? Yeah, text them, text them. I don't know if it is though, because it says it says the recording has stopped at the bottom. I'll send I'll send a message, I'm gonna close it. Okay. See you later.