The 29/1
Official Podcast of the West Ottawa High School Athletic Program. 29 Sports, One Team. The show that brings you into the lives of student athletes, coaches and other faces in the Panther Sports Community. Bringing you the stories you might otherwise never hear. Join Rodney Vellinga and Athletic Director Bill Kennedy as they dive in with you to get to know each other a little bit better.
The 29/1
Grind And Go Get It, with Elite Hoops Trainer Jorddan Myrick
On this week's 29/1 episode, we sit down with Jorddan Myrick, a West Ottawa graduate whose journey from high school standout to influential trainer is nothing short of inspiring. Through his innovative training techniques and personal experiences, Jorddan is transforming the games of West Michigan's top high school basketball players and helping them open up windows of opportunity they might have never dreamed possible.
Fresh from the post-Thanksgiving hustle, we dive into lively stories from the holiday season, including a turkey trot that turned out to be a trot to the car. :) From playing on the outdoor courts as a 12-year-old boy against grown men to getting a D1 basketball scholarship to Central Michigan University, Jorddan has done it all. The dedication of young athletes at West Ottawa and the surrounding area shines through as they hit the gym for intense training sessions, even on the morning after a holiday. We share the triumphs of a successful season opener and the role of community support in fostering the development of these players. The potential of athletes working with Jorddan is unmistakable, and their hard work promises a bright future on the court.
But going from successful player to influential trainer was not an easy path, and at the beginning, not even an aspiration. Being lost and losing your identity is something that can destroy a person. But piece by piece, little by little, Jorddan found himself and his lifelong calling by saying yes to a random request. A stranger's eyes saw something he could not see himself, and the emergence of the Jorddan Myrick we know now began to emerge.
But basketball is more than just a game; it's about building relationships and community, emphasizing the impact of mentorship and the importance of fostering a nurturing environment. Jorddan's collaboration with other trainers highlights the power of teamwork and shared passion in athlete development. Through his journey, we learn about the transformative power of mentorship and unexpected opportunities, reminding us that sometimes the most challenging paths lead to the most rewarding destinations.
This episode was recorded on November 29, 2024.
Podcasts now dropping at 5pm every Sunday evening for that late weekend chill, or listen Monday AM during that morning commute or workout. Please like, follow, subscribe, or leave a review. Even share with someone who might like to listen. Thanks for taking the time to get to know each other a little bit better. The people who make West Ottawa Athletics what it is. Go WO!
Special thanks to Laura Veldhof Photography.
Speaker 1: 0:00
He would bring me to the park all the time and I was 12 years old and playing against grown men and in those days it was you get to the park and you play, and there would be crowds. So if you lose, you got to go home. My dad didn't like to lose too much.
Speaker 1: 0:14
So, if I'm going to play with him. We had to run it, so he really just bought into me and just had that. You can do this, but you got to put the work in and that had that. You know you can do this, but you got to put the work in and like that's been my mentality from a basketball perspective my whole life is.
Speaker 4: 0:36
You know, grind and go get it. Hey everybody, this is Rodney Valinga with the West Ottawa High School Athletic Program and you're listening to the 29.1 Podcast 29 sports, one team, the show that brings you into the lives of student athletes, coaches and other faces in the Panther sports community, Bringing you the stories you might otherwise never hear. Join myself and Athletic Director Bill Kennedy as we dive in with you to get to know each other a little bit better. So you guys are going will be over here on this half of the court Shadow D.
Speaker 1: 1:06
You're going to shadow guard Ronnie All the way down. Hey, ronnie, go over and dribble.
Speaker 5: 1:11
Get somewhere, though it's like you're getting picked up off the court, the other side of the court.
Speaker 4: 1:14
All right, ronnie you get down all the way you're going to pick up Omari Okay.
Speaker 1: 1:21
That make sense, let's go. Right here, oh, yep hey stay on this half. Yeah, yeah, let's go. Let's get better defensively as well. Come on, shadow guard each other. We gotta be able to defend too. Let's go Down the back.
Speaker 5: 1:35
Good there we go, work your pace, work your pace, work your pace. You do not want this, bro. Good, work your pace, work your pace, work your pace. You do not want this, bro.
Speaker 1: 1:46
Hey, don't make it so fast, all right, because it might be a trap coming. You got to be able to slow down, make a decision. Don't get so sped up. Let's go Last one.
Speaker 4: 1:56
It's important that we lift up and celebrate the people who are doing it right.
Speaker 6: 2:01
Today we sit down with West Ottawa graduate Jordan Myrick. Jordan provides individualized basketball training across West Michigan and works with many of our current Panthers. His training, however, goes beyond the court and we are excited to share his story today.
Speaker 4: 2:15
He was given the gift of basketball as a player and he is now taking that gift and sharing it with younger athletes through incredibly detailed instruction, guidance and occasional bursts of twitchiness.
Speaker 6: 2:29
Jordan Myrick next on the 29.1 Podcast. Let's get it.
Speaker 4: 2:43
Well, hey, everybody, welcome back to the 29.1 Podcast. I'm your host, rodney Velinga, and I am here with Panthers Athletic Director, bill Kennedy. It's the day after Thanksgiving. We went from a beautiful fall scene yesterday to absolute whiteout almost today. Our food coma should be lifted by now, but leftovers are, of course, looming later today, so we'll see how it goes. We hope you all had a relaxing break as the weekend comes to a close. Today, we are flat out thrilled to be with our guest.
Speaker 4: 3:15
As a basketball junkie and fans of innovation and change and the evolution of sport, we get to sit down with someone on the cutting edge of individualized basketball training who is transforming players, helping them achieve their dreams and changing the narrative about what it means to be a complete player. He's a former division one college basketball player and a West Ottawa graduate from all the way back in yes, it's this far back 2011. His high school accolades are numerous, averaging 19.8 points per game as a senior. He was also named to the starting five for the West Ottawa Team of the Century in 2023 by the Holland Sentinel. He's trained the last two Michigan Miss basketball winners in West Ottawa's Gabby Reynolds, east Grand Rapids Macy Brown and last year's Michigan Mr Basketball, grand Rapids' Macy Brown and last year's Michigan Mr Basketball Grand Rapids. Catholic Central standout Drell Fat, fat Brooks. I'm out of breath and it's our pleasure to ask who is it.
Speaker 1: 4:16
Jordan Myrit.
Speaker 6: 4:18
All right, jordan, first and foremost, welcome to the show. It's great to have you here. Seeing you around west ottawa over the last number of years, getting to know you, um, so much respect for what you do and what you have done with our kids. It's kind of cool how I guess our relationship has kind of evolved over time, initially introduced to you, uh, through chris haggland and the stuff that you guys were doing on those sunday south gym sessions, as I like to call them.
Speaker 6: 4:45
Yeah, my guy Chris, for sure, but it's been great to get to know you and I'm excited to sit down with you today.
Speaker 1: 4:51
I appreciate you guys having me.
Speaker 4: 4:53
How was your Thanksgiving, Jordan? What did you do? Anything special?
Speaker 1: 4:56
It was great. I just really hung out, got to see the fam a little bit and it was just nice to spend some quality time and kind of relax, get out of the gym for a day and but you know, day after, we're right back at it, so it doesn't stop.
Speaker 4: 5:10
No, you're right back at it today. How was the food for the thanksgiving?
Speaker 1: 5:11
that was awesome, man. It was we got. We got ribs. We got greens, macaroni and cheese, we got yams. We're talking desserts now Sweet potato pie, pecan pie, pound cake, all homemade German chocolate. Whatever you need, bill, we got it. It's ridiculous. Food was good, but better with the fam. That's really nice.
Speaker 6: 5:40
I heard you might have did a little turkey trot in the morning.
Speaker 1: 5:45
You know what I trotted, so I was present at the turkey trot. I didn't complete it, but I did trot to the vehicle after 1.5 miles. I did not get the five. But hey, I'm limping today, but we're good, we're in good spirits.
Speaker 6: 6:03
That's 1.5 miles more than I did yesterday, so you're good.
Speaker 1: 6:06
It wasn't a fast 1.5, so it was pretty much equivalent.
Speaker 4: 6:10
Yeah, you're running miles as fast as you can. It's not the best thing for you, which we'll talk about in a little while, but you were right back at it today. You were back in the gym today doing some training. Who'd you have in today?
Speaker 1: 6:20
I been today I had Hudson. Um, I had Makai, jt Ben, and um, yeah, that was it.
Speaker 4: 6:29
Wow, so that's uh, you know, right after Thanksgiving, everybody's back in the gym.
Speaker 1: 6:34
It's pretty common, right Like there's not a lot of downtime with your athletes. No, um, you know, that's the beauty of it Everybody loves to work and those are the kids I really want to be around, and West Idaho has a lot of young kids that want to get to it and, you know, I think there's a lot of just a ton of upside with our program.
Speaker 6: 6:49
No doubt about it, you're doing a lot of morning work with our guys, so before school day starts, we're in the gym getting work in.
Speaker 1: 6:56
Yeah, we're getting to it at 6 am and you know we're just for an hour, but that hour is real. It's intense and you know the I see the kids love it, though you know it's early, but they get the sweat going and at the end we get competitive and they're smiling.
Speaker 4: 7:09
so it's just, it's all fun, man yeah, you were in the stands for the uh season opening 76 59 win against godwin heights. Uh, what are your thoughts on the upcoming season? What was like seeing some of your players out there? What do you see from them and the team?
Speaker 1: 7:22
man that was, that was a great opener. Um, I just love to see the kids with just a lot of confidence. You know everybody that, you know the whole starting five. I work with all of them and you just saw confidence pouring out of them and there was no, you know, shock. We got jt running the one as a freshman and got a lot of young kids and there's just they're fully confident, aggressive, getting downhill, getting downhill and I love that and that's really what the training really should translate to and I just I was, I loved it.
Speaker 4: 7:52
Do you see some of young Jordan Myrick when you watch those guys play a little bit?
Speaker 1: 7:56
No, man, those kids are. They're better than what I was. No, I just like I said, with the training stuff, you just want to see it translate and I saw a lot of you know moves I've been working on and just really good footwork, so it was awesome for me.
Speaker 4: 8:11
Yeah, you are definitely a man of detail, which we will talk about in a little while. What's really cool, that's the very same gym you played in. I always do some research on people that come to the podcast.
Speaker 1: 8:23
And I saw you beardless.
Speaker 4: 8:24
I saw. I saw you with a little tuft on the chin. I saw that guy. What is it about you know, coming back in that gym, and is it different for you to train in your own gym, the one you played in, or what's that like for you?
Speaker 1: 8:36
Yeah, I just love being, you know, at West Ottawa. Like I said, I played here and just you know, having these kids work hard and it's really rewarding to see it. Um, when I played, it was there was a lot of community support and it just continues to be that way and I think it has a lot to do with building just the community as a whole.
Speaker 4: 8:57
So, special man yeah, I would say I you know, from my perspective, I see you guys in your roles. I love this like symbiotic relationship. The two of you have you guys maybe talk about that a little bit. Jordan, you have a pass to the gym. You have a key to the school. It is a lot of working together.
Speaker 6: 9:14
Yeah for sure. So I think, like I said earlier, introduced first to Jordan through Chris Haglund and then saw the work that he was doing, really, I guess really for Gabby, because she was the early morning grinder get into the gym trying to fit in a session whenever she could. Then finding gym space is always kind of one of those challenging parts to what Jordan does with the number of athletes that he's working with now, from West Ottawa, it just made sense to me to say, hey, here, let's get you set up, let's get you a swipe card so you can pop in. Oh, there's an oxygen that's available. Boom, jump in, get the work in.
Speaker 6: 9:54
When we're dealing with our kids, it's just awesome to see them be able to have their space here. Conversely, though, it's also awesome to have kids from other schools come in and realize, like, holy cow, look at these facilities that we're in and training in, and you've got uh vanderbosch from holland, christian, who's an absolute beast. You know, ultimately, I want to see all kids reach their potential, whether they're here or elsewhere from the other communities.
Speaker 4: 10:20
it's all about just getting them to realize their full potential when you got started, did you have the ability to get to gyms easy, or what was that like?
Speaker 1: 10:28
you know, honestly, it was that's the biggest part when you're trying to do basketball training is finding gym space. And I was all over the place. I was at boys and girls club for a while. I started off at the fenville cac, right, you know, kind of interrupting what they had going on and uh, yeah, just now having you know bill, really you know kind of interrupting what they had going on and uh, yeah, just now having you know bill, really you know, tap into what I'm doing and having that relationship it's I'm truly grateful. Like it's when you're starting, when you're starting to do stuff on your own, like finding that space is tough. So now it's walking to west ottawa's gym and know that guy, I'm not gonna be bothered, nobody's gonna question me and they know that I'm here for a good, real purpose. And yeah, having that gym space is everything.
Speaker 4: 11:10
When you were younger, did you have someone train you? I listened to some other things that you've been on the past where you talk about being younger. You were a guy who put in a ton of work when you were younger. Did you have anyone train you back then?
Speaker 1: 11:22
Yeah, man, when you were younger, did you have anyone train you back then? Yeah, man. So I had a trainer and his name is TJ Meerman. I actually had the opportunity to coach underneath him as an assistant at Catholic Central two years ago.
Speaker 4: 11:36
Oh, that's right, I forgot about that.
Speaker 1: 11:38
He was at Kenwood Hills at the time. So when I was in high school here I used to drive after school to Kenwood, and that's 45 to an hour with that traffic. We used to get to it and that's what I you know. He really had a huge impact of what I do now his love for the game and just giving back to kids.
Speaker 4: 11:55
How old was he when he was training you?
Speaker 1: 11:57
Man, I was a young TJ. Looks young now still, but that was a young TJ. I'll probably say he's in his, probably in his 30s, I want to say late 30s, mid 30s. So yeah, he was still active. We used to go one-on-one and, you know, used to give it to me I'm not gonna lie to you. But no, he um no, he showed me the way with his training stuff and I'm forever grateful for him what are your?
Speaker 4: 12:20
uh, you put a lot of work back then, always putting in that you had a really nice high school career. What are some of your favorite memories about playing high school basketball here at West Ottawa? What stands out in your memory?
Speaker 1: 12:34
I think the student section always stood out to me. My peers were always, just always.
Speaker 4: 12:39
Black Hole was full.
Speaker 1: 12:40
Black Hole was always full and jumping. Even if we were 4-98 and 98, they're gonna be there every time. You know? Uh, it was. It was a great time having them there and we used to do like the, the pink out games, I think it's the purple out now and you know, just seeing that still is is special.
Speaker 4: 12:58
We have a really good community what are some certain maybe games, you remember, uh challenges that you face as a player yeah, um certain games.
Speaker 1: 13:08
I remember a sophomore year I was really sick um playing out the varsity team and I had probably one of my best games and that was just. That was special to me, for sure we got a jordan myrick flu game yeah, just flu game man, I was sick as a dog and yeah, I think the stats, I had 27.7 rebounds, seven assists, and I don't remember any of it, but I just remember like how tough the game was.
Speaker 6: 13:34
So it was that was a special one for him it's something about the, uh, the illness that makes you really dial in and focus on no wasted energy because you, you, you have to in order to conserve energy. Truly, I remember a game I've you know it was not a super accomplished high school basketball player, I was a six man. I had a role. I was the big physical kid that would come in and give up five fouls. Hey the enforcer very important.
Speaker 6: 13:59
But I think, my best high school game. I was sick, I was popping, you know, throat lozenges every time I went to the bench just to get through. But yeah, it helps you dial in.
Speaker 4: 14:10
Yeah, I find it very interesting that it's almost like a universal experience. Everybody has a game where they weren't feeling well For some reason. You just hit these heights. It's crazy. It is crazy, isn't it Like being sick and having a big game? Wasn't the Gator load or the bad pizza? Not Jordan, michael Jordan, of course we're talking about there.
Speaker 3: 14:35
When you were younger, the goal for you was always to play college basketball.
Speaker 4: 14:37
Talk about how you know what that was like for you as a youngster always having that sitting there or something. I asked you this in the gym earlier today because we spent spent some time together and I asked you if you were always twitchy and anywhere did you have, did you feel like you had? Just you had the ability to do something special when you're younger.
Speaker 1: 14:56
Yeah, man, you know, I really give all my you know promise to my, my stepdad. He really like honed into me at a young age. He had me write down my goals, like on a piece of paper, and put it on the bathroom mirror when I was younger and my first one was to, you know, play Division, I basketball, and he would bring me to the park all the time. And he used to. You know, at 12 years old I'm playing against grown men, you know, and in those days it was, you know, you get to the park and you play and there would be crowds. So if you lose.
Speaker 1: 15:25
you got to go home, my dad didn't like to lose too much. So if I'm going to play with him like we had to run it, so he really just, you know, bought into me and just had that. You know you can do this, but you got to put the work in and like that's been my mentality from a basketball perspective, my whole life is, you know, grind and go get it. So he really, uh, my stepdad is the one, the reason why I've accomplished those goals.
Speaker 4: 15:50
Sure do you think we're losing a lot by people not playing as much like that anymore?
Speaker 1: 15:53
100 on like just running on courts with yeah, you miss like the physicality and just the overall mentality. Like I think kids now it's like everybody's. You know they work out but it's very quiet, it's to themselves. You know, when you're at the park grinding against grown men you get cussed at, you might get pushed and you might hit the ground kind of hard and you know that's kind of a lost art really no foul either out there.
Speaker 4: 16:18
No, you better be bleeding.
Speaker 1: 16:20
Yeah, if you're getting anything yeah, you better be on the way to the hospital, right? So don't call anything soft, but no, yeah, but I've missed the park days. I think I wish the kids had that opportunity where did you, where did you play around here?
Speaker 1: 16:32
yes, the zealand night courts um played out a lot over there. Um, my dad used to get off work and then, like we would just drive to the park and get to it right away from like, I want to say like 5 pm to like we're talking 12 come on, let's go.
Speaker 4: 16:48
Yeah, yeah, like it was different it's concrete.
Speaker 1: 16:51
Like I look at my body now, it's like, oh yeah, I get it. Like I was concrete, yep, and I'm going 100 miles an hour trying to win, getting beat up like how old were you, uh, when you started playing out there? Probably what 12, 13.
Speaker 4: 17:04
No way, I was going to say 15 or 12, 13.
Speaker 1: 17:07
12, 13. My dad used to be like, hey, he's playing, so don't take it easy on him. That's where I really got my confidence from just playing against grown men and being successful at times Through the roof confidence. I'm not worried about a kid my age.
Speaker 6: 17:25
The game slows down when you're playing against those faster older people height, height and weight when you were that age oh, skin and bones man truly.
Speaker 1: 17:34
But I love the game and, like I said, my stepdaddy was like if you're gonna, if you're gonna be good, you gotta go through this.
Speaker 4: 17:39
So let's do it and you said before that you that shooting really wasn't your thing at that age. So are you getting to the cup against these old men?
Speaker 1: 17:47
Yeah, so you know it's windy at times. You know games to 11 to 20, whatever, and yeah, the wind's blowing, you gotta get to the basket. So that's why I really didn't have a jump shot. I played outside.
Speaker 6: 17:58
So much there's there's that famous scene from white men can't jump where they talk about the wind.
Speaker 4: 18:05
It's true. Yeah, did you ever play? Ever play outside on court spell all growing up, right.
Speaker 6: 18:10
I mean growing up in Baltimore, that was, you know we. There was a park, uh about a block up from my house, uh, right across the street. You know the typical uh uh city basketball court.
Speaker 4: 18:22
So you know, 20 foot high chain link fence, black top double rims chain net your, your jump shot better be sweet, because that double rim ain't forgiven, it's not forgiving but it hilarious that you know growing up with that chain net.
Speaker 6: 18:40
I love the sound of the chain net. So when we got like the home hoop uh, when I had when we had dakota and he's at home and wants to get a hoop I went out and got a chain net for my driveway I love that I just had to bring a little bit of that inner city basketball to, uh, the suburbs, truly true I remember, you know I remember back then, too, there was no training, like the guys that I grew up playing ball with, and there's a lot of players that were really good.
Speaker 4: 19:10
It's like we just played on cement courts, like you said, and that's where you learned how to play.
Speaker 6: 19:14
Yeah, that's why I was such a I think, a physical player. Once I started playing organized. But I didn't play organized basketball until eighth grade. That was after we had moved out of the city, you know, north of town, started playing and I was physical from the beginning because that's all I knew. Like if you weren't physical on the city court you weren't gonna be on it very long not at all.
Speaker 1: 19:35
It's a quick one too, you know, and they'll let you know about it you talk about your stepdad a lot.
Speaker 4: 19:40
I I watched the podcast that you're on with ch Cook and I believe it's Be Great is his thing. On YouTube, you talk a lot about your mom on there as well. Right, Like this whole work ethic and all that kind of, can you share with us maybe how she shaped you and influenced you growing up?
Speaker 1: 19:56
No for sure, my mom's my everything. Really. You know, growing up without before my stepdad, it was just me and her and my grandma and she was I was just just sorry, just worked hard and never complained about much at all and just she said she kind of just, you know, held me to that standard. Like you know, life's not always going to be easy, but you know like, whatever you do, you gotta put your, put your shoes on and get to it. So you know, I just my work ethic, you know, like waking up early and whatever, like I saw my mom do that from the jump. There's nothing that I can be like, oh, I'm too good for that, or whatever. Never, I just owe all that to her.
Speaker 4: 20:34
You had some coaches here at West Ottawa who, around this school, particularly influenced you when you were younger.
Speaker 1: 20:42
Von Washington definitely influenced me. He never coached, never coached me, but like he would be, you know, I'd come in the gym and I'd watch him, you know, do his practices and all that and that dude was awesome. He always had, I think, a winning record at West Ottawa, if I'm not mistaken, but I just loved his culture, his, the way that he was, he went about things and you know I try to take some of everything everybody that I like into my training stuff and Vaughn's definitely one of those guys. He was awesome man who is this?
Speaker 6: 21:11
Vaughn Washington Yep.
Speaker 4: 21:13
Oh, I don't know who Vaughn Washington is.
Speaker 6: 21:15
He was a varsity head coach before Jeff Van Fossen came in Yep.
Speaker 1: 21:23
He's got a couple of I think, okay red titles in the trophy case. Yeah, like, and I was always so nobody, I don't know if you guys know I was a water boy, for you know his teams and all that, and I was the biggest, like leonard houston fan and uh, yeah, man, like he had a big impact on me when playing ball.
Speaker 1: 21:38
Um, so, yeah, when I was a water boy and being around von and leonard, like those guys, really like they they really paved the way for me. Honestly, like I loved watching those guys do their thing.
Speaker 4: 21:49
So you were a water boy in like sixth, seventh, eighth grade, something like that.
Speaker 1: 21:51
Yeah, really you were that kid, I was man, I was behind the bench, love it, and that's the love right there, right, yeah, just being around it.
Speaker 4: 21:58
Yeah, you as a sophomore. I believe you committed to Central Michigan right. Was it a sophomore or junior year?
Speaker 1: 22:05
Sophomore yeah, sophomore year committed to CMU right away. How'd that come about? Yeah, so my commitment to Central was probably different than others. I received an offer, I think summer of my freshman year, and then, going into my sophomore year, my, my stepdad, he would um, he's a salesman, right, so he's a talker sure so he would get in with the assistant coach at CMU and let me go up there and play with the guys, when not many high school kids were doing that.
Speaker 1: 22:38
And you know, I would go up there and, honestly, like I would, I would ball out, like I would do my thing and like it was to the point to where you were playing with CMU players as a sophomore at West Ottawa yeah, as freshman sophomore yep for sure. So it definitely, and the legend grows, no, but definitely uh recruiting violations or whatever.
Speaker 1: 22:59
But I didn't even, I didn't even hit the court ready for CMU, but statute of limitations that's 100 right and's no, no hard fouls. But yeah, I would go up there and I would play and, like I would, I wouldn't really get off the court. No, and I was. It was to the point to where it was. I was really super confident and I was like, why would I? I feel like this is home, like why would I go anywhere else? I can play right, I know I can play right away.
Speaker 1: 23:25
The coaches the coaches were watching and they were like, okay. So you know, one day I went with my dad to my official visit and I was like, man, I think this is it. And he was like, yeah, you need to. So I did it, Pulled the trigger on it. As a sophomore, as a sophomore yeah.
Speaker 6: 23:46
Wow, Unofficial visit, excuse me yeah yeah, it's nice to get that weight off your shoulders, right. Yeah, truly Saw it a little bit last year. Once Gabby had that announcement and everything was done, there was a little bit of a weight lifted off of her. You could tell she just played more free.
Speaker 1: 24:05
Moving different right? Yeah, yeah, more confident, just relaxed. That's exactly what it was for me too, for sure, yeah.
Speaker 4: 24:12
You have a freshman season at CMU. You play what was your playing role like there as a freshman.
Speaker 1: 24:23
Man at Central it was really a lot of clapping. Yeah, I had a short-lived career at Central. I got hurt preseason, had some hip problems, oh it was preseason, you got hurt.
Speaker 4: 24:33
Yeah, it was preseason. Oh, I didn't know that.
Speaker 1: 24:35
Yeah it was a rough one Preseason. I I get hurt ran a mile as fast as I've ever ran it and I think my body just turned a corner and I couldn't really recover. Um had shooting pains from my hips to my knees, um, and I was just constantly and I was trying to like explain it to the coaches and they're like nobody really believed me. You know what i'm'm saying. I even would call home like mom, like this stuff hurts, and she was like you just stop being soft. You know, like it was a soft was a big word and like they would throw it on me a lot. So I was like you know what? I am kind of soft. This wasn't anything to play about. And a doctor was like because I went to multiple doctors and one was like you know, looking at your x-rays, you got a 55-year-old man hips at 19. You're probably never playing.
Speaker 4: 25:19
I'm not taking offense to that, by the way, but I can tell you, oh my goodness.
Speaker 7: 25:23
But what I'm saying is it's not a shot at you I know, it wasn't, it was totally accidental.
Speaker 1: 25:32
But that's what they told me and that's 100%, that's hilarious. But yeah, that's what they told me and like it, just it crushed me. Man, that was it. I was doing a lot of clapping on the bench.
Speaker 4: 25:42
When you started, when that happened to you and you played. What was the difference?
Speaker 1: 25:48
Like what started happening to your game? I figured out I wasn't, I couldn't play at that level anymore. When I would so like I would have spurts in practice where I would be okay, but it was short-lived. And I noticed, like defensively I couldn't be who I was and offensively I was, you know, a quick twitchy. I couldn't do that anymore. So I was just a whole different basketball player. And then, you know, with that comes what you lose confidence, everything around you is just different. And then yeah, yeah, ultimately I had to transfer.
Speaker 4: 26:17
Yeah, you resurfaced at Lake Superior State in Sault Ste Marie. Yep, gliac, yep, you played there. I looked at your stats. You played fairly well there. Yeah, didn't last, though. Talk to us about it, if that's right.
Speaker 1: 26:30
Yeah, for sure Lake State was. You know, coach Hettinger, he's just a great guy. He gave me an opportunity. Like I remember I went up there for like a tryout type of deal and you know I was limping but like I was just making it, the game was so slow. So going from D1 to D2, the game.
Speaker 4: 26:47
Sure.
Speaker 1: 26:48
We ran a pickup and the game was so slowed down Like I could just read it and I was throwing and I was throwing. You know, I was really always a really good passer and it was just fluid even though I was limping up the court Right. So he offered me a full ride scholarship off of that and I played like eight games and I was kind of hit man, but I love that dude just for giving me that opportunity.
Speaker 4: 27:08
You were playing and it was hard to play. What stopped you from playing or keep playing?
Speaker 1: 27:15
It just hurt too bad. You know I didn't want to. I was popping the leaves. You know, at one point I couldn't feel my left side of my face. I'm like I got a, you know, 19, 20 years old. Like what am I doing? You know, I love the game, but I got a life to live too. So I had to really make a mature decision. I just stepped away. I stepped away from school and everything.
Speaker 6: 27:35
Yeah, it's wild that you mention popping a leaf, because that's ultimately what dictated me coming to terms with ending my own football career. I had multiple shoulder surgeries, came back, my junior year was in training camp and it was a battle just to get through a practice and you start to look at kind of long-term health effects and impact on your body and all of those types of things and you, you do. You have to make an educated decision.
Speaker 4: 28:04
Yeah.
Speaker 6: 28:06
What did that do from like an identity standpoint Cause? I know, for me it crossed me my grades, my junior year of college, or the worst grades I've ever had in my life, Because I lost that identity. Is that football? You're the football player. Yeah. You have kind of a similar thing. Who's in?
Speaker 1: 28:20
that A hundred percent. So you know, credit to you for continuing your, you know, going to school and all that I just.
Speaker 1: 28:27
I was so lost man, I I um, I just so I dropped out right and I hadn't got surgery and I was like like I had plans to go back and all that, and you know, going to sault ste marie on crutches and I was up there for a week and I was like, hey, coach, you know, I appreciate you and he, he offered me a spot to be a coach when I'm, when I graduated, and all that wow that's like I love steve heading.
Speaker 1: 28:49
he's a great guy and you know, I just, I, just I was like I can't do it. You know I need some time away and like, like Bill said, like my identity was just I don't know who I was.
Speaker 4: 28:59
Well, if you think about it, think about it this way, right, like for the longest part of your life growing up, you were Jordan Myrick the basketball player. You had goals to pursue, you had work to put in, you had dreams to fulfill. Now you're kind of back in that same spot, right, you're Jordan the adult. You're Jordan the trainer. You have young people that you're around. You see their dreams, you put in, work with them, so you found this new role. Yet between the years of what 2014 and 2018? You were neither of those guys. Neither Walk us through what those years were like for you.
Speaker 1: 29:32
Rough, rough man. I didn't, like I said, I didn't know who I was, didn't know what to do. You know I look crazy trying to get back on the court. You know, um my surgeries, I had six months no weight bearing my left and then, right after that, six months no weight bearing on my right, so that's a year off, no walking, you know. And then, so you know, everything really took a toll on me. I got, I was so lost, I I didn't know what to do. I tried, you know, numerous jobs and and I was just a miserable individual um going, you know, kind of being the guide to. You know people like, what do you do? And I just I didn't have an answer for oh, that's the worst thing, isn't it?
Speaker 4: 30:16
It?
Speaker 1: 30:16
was rough man. It truly was.
Speaker 4: 30:19
And you dread the question being asked.
Speaker 7: 30:22
Yeah.
Speaker 4: 30:23
What do you do, Jordan Myrick? That's tough.
Speaker 1: 30:27
I was just like I'll just work. Man, that was the reality of it. I think everything in life happens for a reason, but when you're in that it's the worst.
Speaker 6: 30:40
Then that all changes, right, all changes. You get a random person who out of nowhere says, hey, I want you to train my kid. You talk to us a little bit about who that was and where that came from.
Speaker 1: 30:54
Oh, for sure. So you know I that through all like I. You know I was. Obviously I was lost, but I was in the gym. I just like to.
Speaker 1: 31:02
I love to work out you know, not saying like I was trying to pursue anything in particular, but I was working out and, you know, a parent approached me and he was like hey, will you work out my, my son and you know being that lost guy, I was like nah, I'm good man, you know, and I just want to do this and kind of just go home. And he was like you know, you don't understand, like doesn't matter, you're gonna do it and then we'll go from there. So he didn't take no for an answer and I'm thankful that he did, and I started working his kids out and as that happened, more kids came and kind of found the training rule and I really like it was everything to me, honestly, do you?
Speaker 4: 31:41
ever think about go ahead do you ever think about that? You might not have ever started if someone didn't ask you. Does it ever cross your mind?
Speaker 1: 31:49
it's crazy, right, because that is so true.
Speaker 4: 31:51
But wasn't on your radar, right? No?
Speaker 1: 31:54
no, I never had aspirations to do this at all. I thought, like, from that standpoint, like I never saw myself as a coach, like even when steve heading asked me to like be on the coaching staff, I was like yeah, thanks. But in the back of my mind I was never gonna do that, I could never see myself in a coaching position. So, yeah, when I started doing it, like it just it all clicked.
Speaker 4: 32:20
It was just weird, man sometimes in life you're not steering the ship. No, there's other factors that are pushing you in a certain direction. When you look back at it now, just a little bit as a mature person, when I I I don't, I barely know you. I started talking to you in the summer, dude, I'm telling you what man like spending time in your company. I'm going to get a little emotional here, but it's, it's fantastic, like you are a great human being.
Speaker 1: 32:54
Like there's something special, man Thank you so much, you are too man.
Speaker 6: 32:58
And so many, so many lessons to teach young people and and share with young people, which is really what, ultimately, this podcast is all about. Right, like sharing these stories, getting them out to the community so that maybe a little nugget of of your path or your career can kind of be that piece that maybe helps guide someone else in a direction. Certainly, I think somebody that was important kind of in your role and your growth as a as a trainer is chris hagland.
Speaker 6: 33:29
Yeah, um you know chris has been a really good friend since I started here at west ottawa. Got to see his son, kobe, kind of come up and through um. In my first few years kobe had the handles too man, he really brought it I loved watching kobe haggling
Speaker 1: 33:44
play basketball he had swag. The only thing I didn't like was they never let him loose enough.
Speaker 4: 33:49
They never did he was always kind of let's come back to the cage no, no, no let this let this dog run like he's ready to go he did gosh I remember watching kobe.
Speaker 6: 33:59
It was his freshman year. Maybe towards the end of the season we're at caledonia. He gets pulled up to varsity and he rolls out and kobe was a young looking kid when he was a senior.
Speaker 4: 34:11
Yeah, they called him kai you, the visiting, the visiting student section would call him Caillou.
Speaker 6: 34:16
when he was out there he had the short hair back then yeah, and gosh, seeing him out there on the court his freshman year. But then he goes out and he starts to play and he's like, yeah, he fits, he fits. He might not look the part, but he fits, he's got game. What was kind of the experience like working with Chris and you guys doing those, uh, those camps?
Speaker 1: 34:37
man, chris is my guy. Um, I absolutely love that dude. He taught me a lot like. Um, you know, before chris I was doing a lot of like individual stuff with kids and chris had the camp experience too. So you know, um, when we collabed and did our stuff like, I really picked up a lot from him. And you know, when I did the camps like a lot of it's chris based as well um, yeah, he had a huge impact on how I operate my camps and go about my training. For sure, just a great guy overall. If I ever need anything I can, I know I can call chris and we can just talk it through or whatever. He's a special guy for sure.
Speaker 6: 35:15
Yeah, how do? How do your strengths kind of play off of each other within those those camp settings, right, yeah for sure.
Speaker 1: 35:21
So Chris is really like he's shooting base right. Kobe, kobe, shoot the heck out the ball. And I'm definitely handle base footwork and body movement base. So that was just a perfect combination. Honestly, like you go into a camp, you got the shooting expertise and then you got the handle footwork. For me, and you know that was those were times, man.
Speaker 4: 35:41
I miss chris for sure on your instagram page, which is lit uh, you, there we go.
Speaker 1: 35:50
It's so not, but I'm trying.
Speaker 4: 35:52
Uh, you list yourself as a hoops trainer yeah shooting coach. Yeah, and then this is my favorite part of it A handle slash footwork specialist A hundred percent. We spent some time in the gym earlier today. You were working out with some guys and I came by with a pair of sneakers. This is how it went Stay high, yep, stay high Behind.
Speaker 1: 36:12
Here. Step with your right foot Boom. Yep, perfect. That's the first part. Step. No dribble, though no crossover Step.
Speaker 4: 36:23
Keep that ball here.
Speaker 1: 36:26
Holy crap, step, yeah, so it's like one motion, you see. So when the ball's going behind, you're dropping.
Speaker 4: 36:33
And that's why you played Division 1. A little bit right and that's why I played at Podunk.
Speaker 1: 36:37
It's okay. Podunk, division 1. Podunk, it's okay.
Speaker 4: 36:39
Po-dunk Division. I safe forward step Po-dunk, we need you, that was me man, I love you. All right, starting high Behind, yeah, behind the back.
Speaker 7: 36:46
Let it hang.
Speaker 4: 36:46
Step. Perfect, now Step. Oh, I'm stepping early.
Speaker 1: 36:53
Behind step Boom.
Speaker 7: 36:55
Now watch this, though, so that's the first part right here.
Speaker 1: 36:58
We're eventually going to go step again and cross, so we're going two curls.
Speaker 4: 37:03
You know when I'm watching, you do that. I've seen Gabby Reynolds do that a million times. That exact same thing. What is that giving me as an athlete, when that foot moves out like that?
Speaker 1: 37:13
Options right, because if they bite here, they're sliding with you now I can take off. If they don't move, I can push off right Now here. Okay, you're. They're sliding with you now I can take off. If they don't move, I can push off right now the crossover, so like if they don't bite at all, I'm gonna lean hard, step again and cross.
Speaker 4: 37:28
So now they have to make a decision. Does that make sense? The volume of detail that you brought out in just that short little bit blew me away. Where does that detail come from? Like did you always have that in you, or what? I mean, not everybody thinks that way. It's something else.
Speaker 1: 37:44
No, um, I watch a lot of basketball and then, like I said, I love to work out myself. So anytime I'm doing stuff like, I always try to break it down in my head and try to make it make sense. If I were to teach it to somebody else, so, um, else, so, um, I've been teaching that move for a while too.
Speaker 4: 38:02
So it's no. I know yeah, came pretty second nature, but no, didn't came, didn't come quick for me at all.
Speaker 6: 38:05
I was gonna, I was gonna cut in here. All right, I need shoot it straight. What's? What's the guy's game like?
Speaker 1: 38:12
you know what? Um rodney has a very he's north and south. You know I'm very shifty start and stop he's, he's. You know, 100, zero to 100, and that's okay, that's okay. There's nothing wrong with that.
Speaker 4: 38:23
We're gonna get the pace down you know how we talked about your identity earlier. I am now in this, this. I'm in this fog now of basketball identity I thought it was. I thought I played okay during my lifetime, but no, you look good man like you.
Speaker 1: 38:42
Just, you gotta just a couple little things here and there, that's it you gotta cut more and start getting in the friday morning wrong hey man, you know it was uh, it was definitely a podcast space.
Speaker 4: 38:51
Let's learn a little bit and I learned a lot.
Speaker 1: 38:55
Let's just put it that way you did better than what you think, man oh my gosh, but it's funny, but it's.
Speaker 4: 38:59
It's so nice to you know. As a fan of basketball, though, to know that you, you're bringing that much detail to every move. It's really something. Uh, some of your players that were there I think my son was there today he actually talks about that.
Speaker 7: 39:13
Let's have a listen to that for a second I don't know he he teaches well, like he explains things well. He'll do it from the small, small things to the bigger aspect. You start with the smallest thing, then you pick it up, add stuff to it. But you get your stuff down piece by piece and then you add to it Yep, perfect.
Speaker 1: 39:31
So I showed your dad the behind the back stick right, dropping the same foot back, and then we to a stick cross. We went behind step step cross. Pops is a little lost on that one, but he understands. Like why not? Because we talked about it.
Speaker 7: 39:47
We'll do it slow, then we'll speed up and get into it for sure. That's when it because you do it slow down, look shifty and you get it into fast, and that's when it's real shifty.
Speaker 1: 39:54
Yeah, and then you got options off that first. I'm just seeing how the defender, if you don't buy on that foot, I'm gone. If you step into it, I'm gonna cross back.
Speaker 4: 40:00
Now I got a lane to the middle I just love the detail that you bring to everything. Like you build things, can you explain and just like how you kind of build things up so a player can understand it, get it.
Speaker 1: 40:10
Uh, maybe they're able to master the first small thing and then move forward yeah, my biggest thing as a you know workout guy is, you know, answering the why question. You know, why are we doing this and how does it apply? And so you know, whenever I'm breaking down a move, I want to. I want the player to see the game and then I want them to understand like they have options and how to break the defender down and why we're doing it. Um, yeah, um, that move in particular is not an easy move to learn. Right, that stick into the cross. So, yeah, it's just. It's just those details and understanding like, yeah, like, if something gets cut off, like you're gonna have options off of that yeah, it feels like a great starter move for a lot of people.
Speaker 4: 40:54
When they get the ball and you know, gather and figure out for sure, square up with that defender. Yeah, is that one of your, your main starting places, or do you have a few for people?
Speaker 1: 41:02
Yeah, it just depends. So I can look, you know, work out with somebody for like 10, 15 minutes and kind of just see like where you know I can incorporate some training stuff like some footwork, some body movements, how to shift, how to do this, that and that there. So some kids already have that right. And then now you got to backtrack and understand like where they can get better. Everybody's different. But you know, you give it some time you can really just dissect somebody. Like I'm to the point now to where I feel like I can do that right away.
Speaker 4: 41:28
So different starting points for different athletes, based on the ability they already have, things they've already learned.
Speaker 6: 41:34
That's really cool and maybe what type of player they are right. Like JT Gill's game is going to be a lot different than hudson 100 right you know just they're.
Speaker 1: 41:44
They're different types of players, um, and being able to meet each player where they're at and kind of building off of, yeah, what they have yeah, it's important to really understand each player and you know, I think a lot of you know workout guys, they go through it and it's kind of just one thing. But, like, I try to like do something for you know everybody. You know, hey, we all have an issue hanging the ball. Let's hang the ball today. Let's try this move it's. You know, hey, we're we're shooting flat on our jumper. We gotta get some footwork into our shooting, you know, collectively as a team.
Speaker 4: 42:15
So it's just breaking, breaking things down and making it make sense for the group I uh, when before he got here, I was playing some of this stuff for bill and he asked well, what does it mean when you hang the ball? Yeah, this was really like eye-opening to me, uh, but can you talk about how, what hanging the ball actually is compared to what people regularly do? And then, what advantages does it give a player?
Speaker 1: 42:36
yeah. So hanging the ball is really just having the ball like outside of your body frame, right. So the advantage for that is like and now when I hang the ball, like I can go, I can shoot right and I can cross over and I can make different decisions that take different angles. Where the ball is, you know, centered, that the ball is straight on your palm. You're dribbling the ball down. Now you can only dribble really, and you don't have many options off of it. So that's why I preach like hanging the ball so much and being able to use pace in basketball. So now when the kid has a ball, it's. You know they say triple threat, but you have way more than three options, right that's an old teaching right, correct.
Speaker 1: 43:13
Yep, truly it is truly you know today's game, like they don't call carry too much and essentially it is a carry, but same time, like you gotta take advantage of what you got. So I teach hang the ball and just being able to make decisions off of that and it's, it's really eye-opening when somebody understands it as an old school traditional.
Speaker 6: 43:31
Back to the basket post you can laugh, jordan, I can tell you that kennedy in the 55 was not hanging the ball very often it was one dribble power step into, get a guy on my shoulder and try to get a little hook love it, and that's essential too.
Speaker 1: 43:47
Though you can't, it's not always going to be. You know, guard heavy too. I work with post players as well, so you got to have the, the baby hooks in there. The roll-offs spins.
Speaker 6: 43:56
Yeah, I understand exactly where you're coming from yeah, my, my patented move was the uh baseline fade away. Yeah, I wasn't really like the little patrick yingling.
Speaker 4: 44:05
Well, you took you took him a little left first and then faded away right.
Speaker 6: 44:08
Fake, fake him into the key yeah, lane, and then go baseline and rise up is that patrick ewan or bill kennedy?
Speaker 4: 44:17
who's who, I don't know. It's really weird for us too, because, like bill and I, I'm I'm the oldest in the room. I'm 55. Bill, you're at 47, 47, jordan, you are going on 32 going on 32.
Speaker 4: 44:29
So we are really coming from I wouldn't almost three different eras. You and I are probably pretty close, yeah, but it's amazing to me, like when I watch basketball now, it's like I want to stop in, like so I'll coach. I've coached like courthouse ball a little bit with the guys. I teach my stuff and I'm like man, you know, like it's just different, like I want to teach back back to the basket stuff all the time. I want to teach the show.
Speaker 4: 44:52
I want to teach the head fake I want, and it's all good stuff, but boy, does it change? And what you're doing. It's incredible.
Speaker 6: 45:01
The game of basketball has gotten to a point now where I mean in the NBA it's positionless, right, you put five people out there that can all move and go from all the various positions on the court. When I was coming up it was very still old school, you know, point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward center and because I happened to be 6'3" like, I got lumped into that center power forward role even at 6'3", get to the block, go to the block. Yep Rebound. Yep.
Speaker 6: 45:33
Do all the dirty work. I was like a Jake Gerrits of Francis Scott Key basketball.
Speaker 1: 45:39
There we go. I love that.
Speaker 4: 45:41
What of the old stuff still holds value to you?
Speaker 1: 45:44
Oh, definitely, like you know, if you get, so I work with. I worked with Coriante from he went to Holland played at Cincinnati.
Speaker 6: 45:51
Coriante DeBerry, that guy was a beast.
Speaker 1: 45:53
A beast right Bully yeah.
Speaker 4: 45:56
So those what's his size?
Speaker 6: 46:03
He was bully, yeah, so those, what's his size? He was big six, nine, six, ten. Oh, we're not skinny bully, you know so. And then I wind them. All are out on the yeah, out by the three-point line shooting, shooting the ball.
Speaker 1: 46:08
So you got the inside in kind of presence. But for coriante, like, those same things apply right over the right shoulder, over left shoulder. You have to have all those touches around the basket the same forward that you said the drop step. Still teach all that stuff right. But with Corriante, yeah, obviously the block's important, but if you want to play at a different level, you want to get you know he's playing professionally.
Speaker 1: 46:29
If you want to make more money, step out a little bit, show your range. Now, okay, you can shoot a little bit. Well, a threat off the dribble into your jump shot, oh, now you can do that. Okay, well, let's have you break somebody down. Okay, so they cut you off. Let's get you back into that. You know, dribble down off the post action. So just kind of bringing everything together.
Speaker 4: 46:51
You really help these people expand their games right.
Speaker 1: 46:53
Oh yeah.
Speaker 4: 46:54
So we were in the gym earlier.
Speaker 1: 46:55
The girl from Holland, christian, Yep Ken Vanderbosch, the gym earlier. The girl from Holland, christian, yep Ken.
Speaker 4: 46:58
Vanderbosch, so you talked about her a little bit before. More of a, what a.
Speaker 1: 47:02
Knockdown shooter. Knockdown shooter.
Speaker 4: 47:03
Yep, and then.
Speaker 1: 47:06
Yeah, now she's. She's one of the best ball handlers I work with, girl or boy. She is the ball on a string and she can kind of get to wherever she wants to. Really expanded her game over two years, I think. She went from zero offers and I think over the last summer she had nine. At one point I think she ended with 10, 10 or 11. So yeah.
Speaker 6: 47:27
Yeah, she's a girl that I've been fortunate enough to see because we play Holland Christian. And those games are always really amped up, especially when we're over at the Civic. It's just packed. But her game has really changed mean. She was pure shooter. Stand out beyond the arc. A couple of years ago.
Speaker 4: 47:43
Last year I noticed it right away like oh, this girl's got handle now and with her size she's really going to give guards a lot of trouble this year she's going to have a huge, huge senior year yeah, she's fun to watch man, yeah sure what does a typical week look like for you, when you're training all these different people Like give me like 30 seconds, give me a week.
Speaker 1: 48:03
Yeah, so I probably got like four or six am workouts, probably two on a Tuesday, thursday, back to back after school and then I probably run two on either Saturday and Sunday, two group group workouts. So you're looking at probably like 10 12 workouts total for a week.
Speaker 6: 48:25
Yeah how many kids, would you say, you have training with you at different levels right now?
Speaker 1: 48:30
yeah, man, um, well, for the group. I try to make it like kind of the same level, but I'll probably have to say I don't work with too many young kids right now. But you know, because it's high school season, it's mainly mainly sophomores through seniors and yeah, we run some groups here and I think I got like five or six boys, five or six girls at a time, but the morning groups is probably four west auto boys, yeah, yeah, and then two individuals after work, after school who are your west auto athletes right now?
Speaker 1: 49:05
yeah, I got um hudson darian jt kai um I work with janna honeycutt. She's gonna be a problem. Uh, taylor cat and she's gonna have a huge, huge season huge season I'm excited for her yeah, me too, man taylor, she's just, she's a great person one of the nicest kids you're ever gonna meet ever, ever um, nyla, darian's sister. She's gonna be good too. Um, and I don't want to miss out, leave anybody out. Um, yeah, I, I think I covered almost everybody.
Speaker 4: 49:40
And if you forget somebody we forgive you. It's hard. There's a lot of people to remember.
Speaker 1: 49:44
Little Ronnie. He's in there every once in a while.
Speaker 4: 49:47
Ronnie Ferguson, yeah, yeah, that's my guy he can score 12 points in about 45 seconds if you let him get at it.
Speaker 6: 49:53
Pound for pound the most athletic kid in this building 100% I'd put them against any kid, pure athleticism.
Speaker 1: 50:00
Yep, he's, he's got it, man For sure.
Speaker 4: 50:03
Yeah, big fan of Ronnie. When players talk about you, they always talk about how relational you are. Why do you teach that way and why does the relationship matter to you?
Speaker 1: 50:13
Like I think basketball is cool, but honestly I think basketball is cool but honestly, like I just I love people. You know what I'm saying. Like I like the fact that you know, after the workout or whatever, like we can talk. We can talk about anything life, hard times, good times, whatever you're going through. Like I just want to be able to just be somebody that you can lean on. You know what I'm saying. Like I know I've been through a lot and you know I feel like it applies to a lot of different things. So with the kids that I work with, I just want to be like a big brother to them and you know, let them know like I care, I truly do.
Speaker 4: 50:47
Well, I think they do know. Over the last couple of days I got to talk with a few of them. Here is Ronnie Ferguson, jt Gill, makai Campos and Hudson Valinga talking about working out with you.
Speaker 2: 51:05
I feel like it pushes me and gets me better every time I work out with him. The handle, work, pace work and then conditioning, shooting stuff like that. So it's like moving around in-game stuff. It's just like us dribbling Earlier when we did each of us under hoop dribbling in the paint, just working on our pace and then fast and slow against defenders and stuff like that.
Speaker 3: 51:27
I like well, he like he really pushes this and I've been seeing him on Instagram game work with all the kids in the area and yeah, he's a good role model because like he played college, that means like he really know what he's doing. He gave me like shift years, slow to fast finishing.
Speaker 5: 51:48
So, yeah, I trust him. He just like pushes me Like he's really like I don't know. He just helps a lot. He's always helped me get extra work in to help my process. I feel like with me he's just like he pushes me more and like I don't know, there's like some, there's an extra pushing, pushing me to be great, not just good. It's just like there's a lot of different ways he teaches me and I've learned a lot just from like the simple stuff, like that.
Speaker 7: 52:21
Just a cool dude, like like being around him, he can talk about anything, talk hoops, talk life, like I don't know. It's like a, it's like an uncle.
Speaker 1: 52:31
Older cousin, I'll take the. It's bigger than basketball, right? Yeah, yeah, definitely my guy, for sure.
Speaker 6: 52:42
That's so important for student athletes who are going through things, right Like they can have conversations with coaches, they can have conversations with parents, but then having somebody else that they can call and kind of gain some perspective from so important as they're kind of going through things and hearing. Hearing a different voice, right Like if I'm in the season, I hear coach's voice, I hear the assistant coach's voice all the time, just to be able to have that different perspective also. I think will really benefit those kids.
Speaker 1: 53:11
So I appreciate that. But at the same time, like you know, you take the Gabby's, you take all these kids away from me. Like same effect. You know what I'm saying? Effect. I need the kids too. It's not just Jordan, I need them too. I'm very grateful man doing what I love to do. There's nothing better. Every day I wake up I'm blessed to work with kids and they add to me.
Speaker 4: 53:36
With the stuff that you went through too, with all these kids pouring all this time into basketball. You were also that kid, but then you also got it taken away from you very quickly. What do you do when you talk with your kids or work with them to help them be? I don't be multi-dimensional or understand that. Hey, you gotta just you gotta be more than this too. As much as we're pouring into this, there's gotta be more to you than just this.
Speaker 1: 54:01
Yeah, Um, definitely talk about balance a lot, right, there's more to life than just hoops. You know, um, make sure you go out and do different things. You know, like figure out. You know you don't want to be in a situation where you're just a one trick pony, right, you want to be able to, or also like to, do X, Y or Z. You know life is short in a sense, but also, at the same time, there's a long day, so you've got to be able to have your mind in different things and be able to have different outlets. And you know, if they ever are questioning that, like I just go back to balance, Make sure you're doing other things in basketball, because it's so important to do that.
Speaker 6: 54:36
I mentioned it to Makai as we were kind of coming off the court the other night. His experience through the football season has, I think, benefited him tremendously. Right, he changed his body. He got a little thicker. He's used to more physicality. Going into the lane is nothing like going into the pile on a Friday night, you would know better than I, right For sure.
Speaker 1: 54:58
It's just so important to play other sports and On a Friday night you would know better than I, right For sure, for sure. Like it's just so important to you know, play other sports and if there's a scholarship for you, there will be for you, because you're going to put the work in regardless. So play other sports, do other things and get your mind off. Get your mind off of, like, what's in front of you right now. Just be a complete person.
Speaker 4: 55:18
I'm so encouraged by what you bring to the community and when I spoke on the phone with you the other day I thought you just did training full time, but that's not the case. You are also a teaching assistant at Sheldon Pines and when I learned that I'm like, well, of course he is like who else is fit for something like that other than you? Can you tell us about what you do there and what that entails?
Speaker 1: 55:42
Yeah, no, sheldon Pines is a special place. It's an alternative school for special needs students, for behavioral issues, cognitively impaired impairments and emotional impairments. So you got a lot of kids with different struggles and you know it's a humbling, but it's also like it's a special place to be. The staff is great. I have a great boss, brandy Navarro, and great staff. We're all just super patient. We love the kids. You know we're there for them and yeah, I just like you could take this training stuff away from me, but like this at Sheldon Pines, I absolutely love it there, like I just I love being around people and just trying to help. Honestly.
Speaker 4: 56:28
Well, there's a lot of stuff at Thanksgiving, but there's probably some humble pie too, for sure. You are a very humble person, jordan Myrick. I know Bill and I both feel the same way about you. We are tremendously grateful that you're among us, that you're at this school, that you're spending time with our young athletes when they're not around their coach, when they're not around their family, or when they're in the gym with you.
Speaker 4: 56:52
there's not a better place to be appreciate you guys yeah it's all real too, yep, and we really thank you for coming on here today. And, hey, everybody, remember we are West Ottawa, we are community, we are each other and we got Jordan Myrick among us and just it pretty much can't get any better. Yeah.
Speaker 6: 57:09
Thanks so much for coming on with us today. Jordan Really appreciate the time.
Speaker 1: 57:13
I appreciate you guys. This is a great podcast and I love what you guys are doing and bringing the community together, so it's special.
