.jpg)
All Things Owensboro
All Things Owensboro is a podcast built around the table.
We sit down with people from all walks of life to share real stories, honest journeys, and the moments that shape who we are. Some conversations are about work, some about struggle, some about joy, and sometimes faith shows up along the way.
You don’t have to have it all together to belong here.
Just pull up a chair.
Join host Brad Winter (a professional of nothing, but a fan of great conversation) as we uncover the stories that make Owensboro anything but ordinary.
Local legends. Hidden gems. Community connections.
Hit play and let’s dive into All Things Owensboro!
All Things Owensboro
Why Some Places Just Feel Different… And You Can’t Explain It
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Check out All Things Owensboro's Facebook!
It's been a great episode and I hope you share this with all your Owensboro friends! Thanks for the support and again, if you have questions or guests ideas, send a text!
Today's guest is Jackson Brett, Marine veteran, Apollo football coach, U.S. history teacher, girl dad, and a man shaped by service, family, and Owensboro itself. When Jackson talks about his dad, he's really talking about the blueprint that shaped his life. And you'll hear that blueprint show up everywhere, from the classroom to the football field. I want you to hear this.
SPEAKER_02If his life left a message show, I think it's to uh you know show up, you know, listen and serve. Um, you know, service is one of the most admirable per things that a person can do. You know, it really carries through communities. Uh, you know, in my in my faith and you know, Jesus, you know, that's that's something that, you know, we are always looking for ways to, you know, serve the Lord. And um, and I think that makes a big difference. And I think you have to be faithful. Um, so I try to carry that standard, uh, you know, whether it's in the classroom, um, in my own home, the football field, you know, I remember people, you know, people remember him as a man who, you know, fed bodies and souls.
SPEAKER_00And that right there tells you a lot about who Jackson is and why the way he coaches, teaches, and shows up in this community matters. Let's get started with today's episode. Hey guys, welcome back to All Things Owens Rill. Uh, I'm excited that you guys are continuing to listen to this, continue to support the show. Uh, over we have over 1300 downloads, and for a show that starts in May, that's pretty impressive. And so thank you guys for that. And then also just remember that we do have a new name for those who are listen that are following us, and that is the Blue Bridge Crew. Uh sounds kind of corny, but I think it's good to get some kind of identity. Um, we'll utilize that more and more as we go along. But today I have a special guest with me. I know I say that every week, but this guy is one of the guys that talks to me probably the most in the football field when I'm out there at Apollo. He's a great guy. He's an excellent coach, and I know he invests in the guys really well. And that is Coach Jackson Brett. Coach Brett. I just I'm used to calling you Coach Brett. Oh, absolutely. But but thanks for coming on the show, man.
SPEAKER_01Oh, thanks, Brad. Uh really excited to do this. Uh, you know, I've heard great things about the podcast with the few episodes, and yeah, I'm just really um you know excited to see this uh really grow in the community and stuff.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, well I appreciate it. You know, I don't I don't think anybody likes listening to themselves, so uh so we'll but we'll make it work. Yeah, I don't know how many people actually go back and listen to their own voice. I don't like to do that, but it is pretty cool to go back and see who we've had on. Like we're getting breakfast this morning provided by Libitalia. Um I've had Chris on a few episodes ago. Man, you you just can't beat the the New York bagels that he provides. No, it is a spot.
SPEAKER_02You really can't find stuff like that in this area, too. You can't, yeah.
A Father’s Legacy Of Service
SPEAKER_00So it's it's so good. And so let's go jump into start first, start off with like just your legacy in your family. You know, your dad was a chef, he was a business owner, he was a teacher. I know he recently passed away, but what legacy do you feel he left behind and how does that still influence you today?
Lessons: Show Up, Listen, Serve
SPEAKER_02You know, when when my dad passed, you know, back in November, you know, I got to meet a lot of interesting people through that. You know, I was really surprised and amazed about how many guys my dad even knew. You know, he used to own Trotter's restaurants. You know, some of the older listeners probably definitely remember that place, used to be in the old uh cigar factory mall, had that place throughout the 1980s and 90s whenever he moved here from you know the Cincinnati area and stuff. And, you know, he was a talented chef. You know, he really loved the way that you know we use food to kind of put people together at the same table. Yeah. And he and then like the coolest thing about him was you know, he wasn't chasing prestige at all. You know, he wanted to be there in people's biggest moments, you know, even after he left the restaurant industry, you know, he would be the guy that would, you know, cook food for all the weddings in our family and anniversaries and you know, church gatherings. That was a really big thing too. And you know, he he was he would regularly cook you know really nice meals and take them to St. Benedict's homeless shelter all too. And you know, he so he had that you know really generous spirit. Uh, you know, and then when he uh transitioned to you know teaching, you know, because health uh you know, he had some health issues and that kind of forced him to step away from the food industry. Okay. But you know, that same mentality, that same care, you know, that same uh genuine experience, you know, he really brought brought it to the classroom. And it was amazing, you know, when we came together after he passed away and you know had his visitation and funerals, you know, there were so many of his former students that came there. And, you know, it was just really cool to, you know, kind of see their growth and you know where they're at today. And, you know, he just you know, his legacy was just it's something that shapes me personally every day. You know, he taught me, you know, countless amount of things, you know, we had a really good, you know, relationship built with that, you know. So with him, you know, I try to, you know, focus on building community first. And, you know, in that pursuit of excellence, you know, whether it is with teaching or whether it is with coaching or just general conversations that I have with people. So he taught me a lot of patience. You know, he taught me how to have really difficult conversations that you know we tend to, you know, kind of steer away from and stuff. And, you know, when I every time I nudge a student to kind of or a player or just anybody in general that I countered, you know, to take that extra step, you know, to kind of stretch out and do that. You know, I always, you know, kind of reminded him and you know, I try to, you know, do a lot of things to, you know, that would make him proud. And uh, you know, I know he's always gonna be watching with me and you know, being there for me and my family. And, you know, it's just so meaningful to me, you know, kind of the legacy that he left. And, you know, I kind of want to, you know, carry that on and kind of do it in my own different way too at the same time.
SPEAKER_00So no, that makes sense. And you say you said that he was a teacher. Where did he teach and what did he teach?
SPEAKER_02So he taught special education. He started out at uh Beacon High School, which is the old alternative school before uh Heritage Park came out. So, you know, he and then he moved to uh Davis County Middle School and you know did special education there all the way until he retired.
SPEAKER_00So wow, that's cool. That's really neat. Well, that's cool. It it's weird that he was a uh Panther and you're you're now I agree. But then also uh I mean you grew up as an ace, as an ace, that's right. So we'll we'll get into that a little bit later. But was there a piece or a saying that a piece of wisdom or a saying that your dad uh would say that probably more commonly than not that you still carry on with you today, whether it's through football or teaching or even parenting? Oh, right.
SPEAKER_02You know, everything, his his wisdom, it was it was simple, and uh, you know, it was just all about you know high expectations. I mean, in everything that you do, you know, he would use this phrase a lot, and my granddad said this a lot too. But you know, you know, he would always say, you know, you know, no matter what you do, like in life, you know, no matter what job you have, no matter what uh path you want to take, you know, he's he would always you know stick to this phrase, you know, even if you become a ditch digger, uh, you know, be the best one. You know, it's it's not about the job title with a lot of things, it's about the character that you bring to the job. And, you know, a second piece of advice that he said a lot, and I think this goes hand in hand. It's just it has to deal with, you know, respecting everyone as much as possible. You know, treat the janitor with the same respect as you were treat a CEO. And he would remind us that all the time, you know, and it's you know, and the last thing I think is probably the most important thing, you know, he would always remind uh me and my siblings, uh, you know, you're born with two ears and one mouth. So you should listen twice as much as you speak. And, you know, whether it's football, whether it's teaching, and definitely parenting and uh, you know, being a husband, you know, that type of m mindset, you know, really is important. You know, like on the football field, for example, you know, 100% shows up, you know, when you finish place. Oh, yeah. Um, you know, when you block until the whistle, you know, as an offensive lineman, you know, when you sprint to the ball, even though you know you might not be a guy making the tackle, you know, you're still pursuing, you're still hustling in between reps, you know, jogging back to the line of scrimmage, you know, doing that unglamorous work that you don't tend to see people, you know, that's the stuff that doesn't get recognized, you know, whether it's footwork drills or whether it's film, you know, just anything with it has to deal with fundamentals and most importantly, do it without complaining. You know, just remind yourself that you're blessed to be in the spot that you are, whether you're a starter, a role player, or you know, even you know, a guy who might not get as much time, you know, just be blessed that you, you know, get the ability to uh play one of the greatest sports and you know, be blessed that you know you have you know teachers and adults that you know really care for you and you know want to be with there, be there for you. So respect means, you know, I learn people's names, you know. I think that's really important, people that I encounter. Uh, you know, I'm always thankful for you know my support staff. And, you know, when it comes to football, you know, I I push that sportsmanship and you know, carrying yourself, you know, and representing yourself. You know, we're not representing just our names, our school names on our jerseys, you know, we're representing ourselves. And I think that's you know, one something that's 100%, you know, that you need to take and you need to look at. And, you know, even as a husband and parents, you know, back to the two ears, one mouth, you know, that that mentality has probably saved me from, you know, hundreds of preventable arguments. Yeah. But I'm still learning though, you know. But you know, I try to list I try to listen past, you know, just words that are being spoken, you know, just really take things in. And, you know, I just think that mentality has just really helped me, you know, respond with you know both love and limits at the same time. And yeah, I think that's something that's really important to think about. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Main engines are go.
SPEAKER_00This isn't just a season, it's return to mission. Apollo football was never meant to drift, it was built to rise, to guard what's ours. Because Friday nights aren't just games, they're statements. This is the sky we defend. This is the nest. Under the lights, surrounded by family, fueled by tradition. Home opener, August 28th, 7 p.m. Heritage Hills enter our airspace. Every snap matters, every yard is protected. Every moment belongs to the Eagles. Apollo Football 2026. Protect the nest. Own the sky. Yeah, I love that you said love and limits. That's right. That's a pretty cool I think that's a pretty cool saying because I think it's a good aspect of yeah, love and limits. Like that, those are important. I mean, you talked about being blessed to even play the sport. Uh I was just thinking of the there's that there's a kid. I feel bad because I'm I'm a character coach, but there's a there's a kid that's the water boy. He looks like he's in middle school still. What else? Jamin. But but yeah, so like in the games, he he he's the water boy. No, absolutely. He loves it. He's just so he's so joyful. Like, he's not complaining about, oh, I gotta do the water, like I why am I not getting dressed out, whatever. And so I just think of like somebody on the field who does a good job being like, he's just he's just happy to be there. No, absolutely. It's Jamin. And so uh, so yeah, and I I love how you push the guys on the field. You know, that's that's one of my things too, is you know, when we do stuff, we need to give it our all. We can't just we can't just do it halfway. And that's whether you're on the football field or in the workspace or at school, whatever the case may be. And so I think it's a good job that you hold them accountable as well because I think it's really easy to get caught up in like the well, is it gonna show up in my huddle? Like, you know, is it gonna show up on my social media? But again, if you don't do the basic stuff, the huddle stuff's not gonna matter. I mean, that's what coaches want, right? And so right. Uh when you remember your dad, uh, and I can talk about football and sports all day, but when you when you when people remember your dad, what do you most hope they remember about him?
Faith, Community, And Standards
Practical Wisdom For Life And Sport
SPEAKER_02I think everybody who knew my dad just knew him for his you know his compassion first. You know, he was probably one of the most compassionate person that you know I've ever encountered, you know, because oftentimes, you know, when you're that guy, and we come from a really big family, you know, people would come to them, him and you know, talk about things at their hardest point in their lives, at their hardest moment, because they knew he was such a understanding person. You know, he had a he had this soft-spoken steadiness to him and you know, he had this just master ability to calm a room. And he also had a gift for making people feel seen. You know, whether he was plating a meal for them or you know, maybe he was handing, you know, a nice warm dish to someone at a one of our shelters here in town, you know, in the classroom, he carried that same presence. And and I have a firm belief, you know, that really rubbed off on me that you know, every student that you teach, every student that you encounter, um, you know, everybody has potential, you know, what no matter what it is, yeah, you know, everybody has different paths, but everybody has potential. And, you know, I think he did a really good job finding a patient way of drawing it out. You know, he was a very process-oriented guy. Okay, you know, we just kind of had this understanding that, you know, nothing's gonna get handed to you. You know, everybody does have potential in something, but you know, you just gotta make sure you're taking the right track and you know, you gotta make sure you're being honest with yourself. And I think that's something that young people kind of struggle with. You know, so I also hope, you know, people really remember, you know, when it comes to my dad, you know, how he just consistently showed up. It's it's easy to be generous once, but I think it's much more difficult to, you know, kind of have that generous spirit, you know, every week and every day. So, you know, and oftentimes for us, you know, my parents were ever bit really busy. My dad, uh, you know, as a teacher, you know, oftentimes uh, you know, he worked two jobs most of my life, you know, because you know, Catholic schools, you know, it's expensive, and you know, teacher salaries, you know, nothing to you know brag home about. So tell me I'm married to one. So I know, I know. So, you know, so he, I mean, so he was committed. So, I mean, but at the same time, though, he would cook for us, you know, dinners, and so would my mom. And something I'm always gracious for, you know, it's it was always even when it wasn't convenient. Um, you know, he listened to everyone even when it wasn't easy, you know, even when there was some disappointment there to where, you know, he could think that, you know, we probably could have handled something better there. You know, he still just removed all judgment. And, you know, he and I and I think at the end of the day, he, you know, he taught us that, you know, it's easier just to coast. But that kind of real reliability is part of why so many uh former students and community members still talk about his influence, you know, because he was there, you know, as I keep mentioning, you know, again and again and again in the moments that mattered. So if his life left a message show, I think it's to, you know, show up, you know, listen and serve. You know, service is one of the most admirable per things that a person can do. You know, it really carries through communities, you know, in my in my faith and you know, Jesus, you know, that's that's something that, you know, we are always looking for ways to, you know, serve the Lord. And I think that makes a dip big difference. And I think you have to be faithful. So I try to carry that standard, you know, whether it's in the classroom, in my own home, the football field, you know, I remember people, you know, people remember him as a man who you know fed bodies and souls. So he respected everyone. And and he believed that listening is just one of the greatest forms of love that you can give to somebody. So so that's pretty much the legacy and you know, one of the best ways people remember my dad.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that sounds awesome. And unfortunately I didn't get to meet him, but he's actually a really cool guy to get to meet and get to know. You know, I'm sure the way the upbringing that you talked about, giving it your all, don't coast, you know, those various things that you're talking about, you know, eventually you went to the Marine Ex the Marine Corps. Um I'm sure that has something to do with it, but well, you know, a lot of people have a misconception a lot of time in the military, but what was it like being a Marine and what lessons? I know I so real quick, I so I had a guy who served in the army on well, I recorded with him last week. He's a retired OPD guy, and he's like the military stuff doesn't leave you, you know, you just get in bed with stuff. And so in saying that, uh, I know that it still goes with you in all you do. So how does those experiences guide you when it comes to the teaching, parenting, coaching, all that stuff?
Apollo Football Hype Spot
Love And Limits On The Field
SPEAKER_02So uh you know, I when I became a Marine, you know, we uh you know, we go to Paris Island from this side of the United States. If you're east of the Mississippi Excuse me. Oh, you're fine. If you're east of the Mississippi, go to Paris Island. And uh when you show up to this place, uh it's one of the most life-changing things. And you're you're there for you know just three short months, 13 weeks, but it feels like an eternity though, like while you're there. I mean, the heat was just so you know, the heat was just absolutely just scorching. Uh, you know, because I was there from April to July of 2015. So I mean the heat was just something I've never experienced before. You know, I've been to hot places, but not in that sense. But um but the setting though, it that's just one thing. I think the the best thing about you know what it what it was when I became a Marine and made that decision was that transformation was real and it was internal. It it made me change and it made me take, it made me show like it showcase like these aspects that I didn't even know I I had. And there's one thing, you know, that I kind of pulled from the Marines, and this is one of their big phrases, you know, you see it on the recruiting, recruiting posters. It's a little corny, but just these three words honor, courage, commitment. And those sayings became more than just words on a wall or on a poster, you know, it really became my day my daily standards and everything that I did. You know, I really discovered I was capable of more than you know, I'd ever imagine. And that confidence came from, you know, learning to do very difficult things well and doing that repeatedly because you had people counting on you. You know, you had, you know, as I kind of progressed and you know, got into you know my role in the Marine Corps, I was a uh infantry mortarman. And, you know, you have people counting on you. You have, you know, the guy next to you might have a wife and kids at home. And, you know, they of course they would want to, you know, be able to see them and when we return home, you know, the guy to the left of me, you know, might be have like a really close relationship to their father and mother. And you know, everybody counts on one another. And you know, that type of that type of standard was really important. And I did three different deployments while I was in the Marines, and each one's were kind of really unique in their own. My first one, you know, was probably the funnest one. It was something I never thought I would do. We ended up on a Navy ship, and we just circled, you know, we started in Virginia and we made it all the way to uh the Indian Ocean, and then I was just like, man, this place is just absolutely you know fascinating. You know, every all these different countries and ports and stuff, you know. Luckily, when I did that one, it was more so like a peacetime. There's not really much going on, like things are starting to de-escalate in the Middle East, and so it was a good opportunity for us to travel. We train with militaries in so many different countries. It was really cool to see how you know somebody who speaks a different language with me has that same type of standard too. And you know, I thought that was amazing about how you know those skills are you know worldwide skills, you know. It's just but it's it's a lot different though. But my second deployment though, I ended up in uh Syria. And that was uh that was that really taught me how to be really disciplined. Okay. Uh it taught me how to be, you know, extremely vigilant. It, you know, it there was long hours of watch to where you know you'd be looking at this abyss for you know 12, 14 hours a day. And you know, you know, sometimes you know, we'd have to, you know, provide surveillance for you know this artillery unit that we were supporting there. And it kind of made me develop this quiet professionalism that nobody claps for, which is okay because you know, we're not in it for the glory, we're not in it for you know the prestige or anything like that, we're not in it to get rewards or medals and things like that. But that type of professional, the professionalism though, it made me understand that this is what keeps people safe. So I thought that you know, a lot of the legacies that I kind of learned from that is you know, team over self. That was a big thing. You know, that really translates, you know, to football, it really translates to the classroom, you know, well. You know, marriage? Yo, absolutely. Marriage, absolutely, you know, it it takes a village to do a lot of things. And uh whenever I got out of the military, it was very difficult for me to get back into that, you know, regular role of things because you know, I just kind of felt alienated in a lot of ways. You know, I kind of felt like that I was just so much different than a lot of people, but you know, that wasn't necessarily the case. And you know, I met my wife and you know, you know, we kind of grew together, you know, we had our beautiful daughter, and you know, I start seeing these traits, you know, come back out in me. And it's something that, you know, I really appreciate, you know. So, you know, at the end of the day, you know, a lot of people talk about, you know, this idea of culture, right? And it's actually something that people really struggle to define. You know, you hear, you know, people just throw that word out there a lot, and you know, you when you ask them what it is, you know, they they struggle with it. So, you know, that culture that was built in the Marine Corps, you know, it's everybody had the set, same set standards, everyone had the same beliefs, everyone had the same end goal. So I think, you know, when people have these shared beliefs and when people have like whether it's an organization or whether it's a school or whether it's a family, if everybody is working towards the same thing, I think that makes it so impactful. And you know, I try to bring that back into my everyday life as much as possible. So so yeah, I mean, that's kind of a lot of just uh small side quests, you know, the Marine Corps and stuff.
SPEAKER_00So no, but that's a big part. No, absolutely. And it's cool because you know, I I know, I know it's a little different. My my brother's was in the army, right? He called you a crown unit. I don't know, whatever. No, absolutely. I don't know what you call it. Embrace it. You embrace it. But he was I remember him telling me like one time he went to the Philippines and like they said they did jungle training. No, absolutely. It like trained with the other like the Philippine army, which was which I thought was pretty cool. No, it's in, yeah, it's so so there's some really cool everybody just assumes oh you're in the military, you're gonna go out and and fight, and that could be a possibility, right? But but like it's really cool, you get a lot of cool experiences with that too. Um, I even talked to some veterans who are like, you know, even in the Navy and are like, it was it was so cool being on the ship. No, right. Even though you're a bunch of water, you got to see so many cool places. No, absolutely. So yeah, so there's that side of things too. You know, and I I think you might have answered this already in in this previous question, but we'll ask it anyway. How is being a Marine Corps shape, how you uh approach the classroom, you know, with your students, uh coaching football, uh, with your players, and then being a dad. Looking for a place to get active, connect with others, and have fun as a family? Then come check out the rec at FBC Owensboro. From open gym and a weight room to upward sports and community events, there's something for everyone. Memberships are super affordable, just$2 a day,$10 a month, or$60 a year. And get this, families, you only pay$120 max for the entire family for the whole year. And if you're a senior, college student, or one of our city heroes, like a teacher, first responder, or healthcare worker, you get a discount too. The rec is more than a gym, it's a place to belong.
Remembering A Man Who Fed Souls
SPEAKER_02You know, I when I whenever I saw this question, it's I can't I kind of struggled to kind of kind of put this and summarize it as uh much as possible. But if we look at it like this, and I'll break it down in the classroom first, and then football, and then uh I'll save family for last there. But in the classroom, the Marine Corps gave me, and like I said, it took me a while to think about this, but it really is a simple formula. You know, having a clear mission, you know, understanding what you want to accomplish, you know, having clear standards. You should always have standards for yourself. And you set those expectations high for yourself. You know, that's okay because you know, sometimes we're gonna fail at the things that we do, and we got to learn how to rebuild and continue to work towards those standards and maintain those standards. I mean, the last thing is, you know, clear support. You know, I don't think you can do anything without support. So, you know, what it looks like in the classroom, you know, every single day there's an objective on the wall. You know, this was it'll literally tell you what we're gonna be learning. Okay, right. And hopefully by the end of the day, you know, you can meet that objective. If not, then you know, we'll find ways to, you know, do some remediation and some things like that. And it's really important for me as a teacher to model whatever skill that we're practicing, whether it's a soft skill or whether it's like a hard skill and and run tight routines. I'm a very routine-based person. And I think routines are and structures are something that are you know really important. In the Marine Corps, we call them uh standard operating procedures. Okay. Um and that allowed us to, hey, here's our mission, here's how we're gonna go about it. There's no confusion. Everybody understands, everybody can prove to me that they understand what we're doing. And then whenever we're done, you know, we always, you know, do these what I call these after-action reviews. And I think that's really important. So asking ourselves, hey, you know, or asking myself, you know, what worked? What failed? How can we make adjustments here? And going back to those words of honor, courage, commitment, you know, honor, that means academic honesty, of course. And, you know, I'm always going to keep my word to my students. I think that's something that's really important to do. Yeah. Um, you know, courage, man, you know, as teachers, as pa as a parent, as a coach, you know, we have to have hard conversations and and keeping it respectful. So I mean, courage is, you know, your ability to have those conversations, you know, even if you don't want to, even if you might think that, like, hey, this person might not like me as much after this conversation. Or maybe I'll save some of this for the rest. But but commitment though, I think the most important thing with commitment is you know having a plan and showing up every day prepared, not just on those exciting days. And I think that's sometimes that's one of the most difficult things to do because you know, we all, you know, outside our jobs, you know, we all have lives, you know, we all have families, we have all have, you know, our interests, our interests and likes. And, you know, sometimes, sometimes showing up prepared to things, it can be extremely difficult. You know, we're all tired, you know, you know, we're all you know, busy with things constantly in our lives, you know, humans are just always constantly busy. And, you know, I think that commitment piece is something that I can continue to kind of polish and be fine-tuned with. So in in coaching football, I think the habits that I took from the Marines, you know, maps perfectly. You know, there's I've talked to this guy before, and he's he's one of these guys that's like a pretty firm believer that's like, oh, you never played college football. You know, it's like, how can you coach high school football if you never play college football? And, you know, I I kind of reminded him about like what it is that I'm about to talk to is, you know, you know, I've learned so many things about fundamentals. You know, in the Marine Corps, you know, it's people always see us as, you know, these, you know, clean cut guys, you know, wearing really nice uniforms. And, you know, there's that flash where they try to really market themselves. But in the Marine Corps, though, we would from something as you know, firing a rifle, you know, you would practice just how to hold like when you're at boot camp, you'd practice just how to hold it in a certain position. You know, you would practice that from like the kneeling, the sitting position, the standing position, laying down in the prone. You know, you would practice that for weeks upon end before you even like fire a single round. So that's like they push those fundamentals. They want you to perfect everything as much as possible. Um, and I think uh reps, like reps, when we go to football, you know, reps, just keep going reps. Like let's go fast pace, let's get as many reps in as possible. So I think like the more with repetition, the more you do things, the more you're able to be coachable in a sense. I I think that's what really kind of pushes you, you know, over that hump of you know, being excellent. So I'm a big I'm a big believer that, you know, repetition, being there for practice. I think practice is the most important thing. Um, I think practice is where you see championship. That's like where you start to notice, like, okay, like this is why they're a championship team. You know, you go and you go see those big high schools, you go see these, you know, your global trinities, your Saint X, you know, you go to Cincinnati and go see these Mueller team practices or Cincinnati St. X team's practices, you know, you go down to Texas where you know football is live. Absolutely. Yeah. And their day is built around that. And, you know, I think that practice and that commitment to practice, you know, is so important. Communication under pressure, you know, that's uh that's another big thing. When there is pressure in a game, you know, for a teenager, sometimes it's easy to point fingers, or sometimes it's easy to blame other people, or sometimes it is easy to, you know, just get really frustrated and kind of lash out in that sense. And I think, you know, what I really try to promote is, you know, somebody who faces pressure, somebody who faces a difficult situation, if you're able to remain calm for that, then I think that that's one of the best skills to have is, you know, and I think the biggest piece with that is communication. So and I think that helps us discover, you know, things to where we can see where we have issues, you know. We can because coaches here in a game, you know, I can't see everything that's happening on the field. Yeah, you know, so sometimes I need to, you know, communicate with, you know, the O line or the D line or something like that, and just be like, you know, this is what this is as much as I can see, but you gotta communicate with me though. You know, you gotta give me some tendencies, like what are you seeing?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I see that a lot during the game. No, absolutely.
SPEAKER_02You guys have a conversation.
SPEAKER_00It's not just one-sided, like you have a conversation with them, which is cool. No, absolutely.
Becoming A Marine: Honor, Courage, Commitment
SPEAKER_02And I think I think that's uh I think that's pretty important, you know. And then, you know, last but not least, I love film. I think film is one of the most important things to watch. The players might not like it as much because I might be we might be calling them out for you know whiffs, or you know, when we run our screens and you know, you go out there and try to block a defensive back and a big guy like Anthony Hester, you know, or or Michael Lawrence, you know, they might not break down their feet and they might just try to attack this guy and they just completely whiff and that guy makes a tackle, right? So that's kind of why like players, you know, like if we're doing pass protection and you know, one of our guards, you know, gives up a sack to a blitzing linebacker, right? Like uh that's but like I said, it's not glamorous. It's not something that, you know, obviously, you know, they're gonna take their plays and they're gonna build their highlights and you know, post it on Twitter and stuff like that. But I think film's probably one of the most important parts. You know, it's it allows us to review things, it allows us to see what's working well for us and uh what's not necessarily working well for us. And then from a coaching standpoint, you know, I love watching film with John Edge because you know, this you know, he's a mastermind. He really is. He's uh on both sides of the football, you know, he's able to figure out like where we can exploit things faster. Like, I mean, he'll figure it out in like 15, 20 minutes. Oh yeah, probably longer than that. But but I mean, his game plans, I mean, it's never the same, you know, no matter who our opponent is. You know, we still have like our toolkit that really works well for us, but you know, the more I've watched film with him, you know, I've kind of learned that, you know, hey, there's some things that we can exploit. Like we can install things in the middle of the seasons and come up with really good ideas that might take advantage, you know, whatever the defense is throwing out at us. And uh that's really helped me grow as a cult coach. That was one of the hardest things for like for me to kind of get into when I first started coaching was learning how to break that stuff down, analyze it, and use it as a tool for us. And I think that's a really important tool. So big thing with football though, you know, we talk about this a lot. You know, do your job.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_02Do your job. You have an assignment, let's execute it. All right. If you do not execute it perfectly, if you do not, you know, if we're running a run scheme and you brock block the wrong guy, okay, if you do that wrong, at least do it a hundred percent. At least go over there and that's like that outside backer, you know, that's not your guy you're supposed to pick up. But still, if you still bury him into the ground and you know, you make that impact block on on that player, you know, I'm not gonna be as upset. Like, yeah, I can always correct you. Like, I can always correct you, and I can always correct you and you know, get you to go in the right direction, you know, get you to step with the right foot, get you to get to the right guy. Right. But there's one thing that, you know, you can't coach, and that's effort, right? So, so whenever you see guys, you know, give effort, even if it's the wrong thing, you know, you always gotta find ways to praise that. And so, you know, at the end of the day, oh sorry, and as a dad, sorry, as a dad, uh the Marine Corps taught me about being present and and having this steadiness. You know, you know, as a dad, as a husband, you know, routines, boundaries are really important, and your ability to follow through, I think, is one of the biggest acts of love that you can get. There's there's something that we used to say in the Marines a lot. Like I said, when people think of the Marine Corps, you know, we're the smallest branch, but you know, the capabilities of the Marine Corps are insane what we can accomplish. You know, the amount of if you look at history of the Marine Corps and the battles and stuff that have been won, it's tremendous what they're able to do with small unit leadership. So one thing that I pulled from the Marine Corps, and I definitely use this motto at home a lot, and I use it on the football field and I use it in the classroom, it's this idea of slow is smooth and smooth is fast. And so we breathe, we listen, we solve one thing at a time, and the values I wore on my chest, honor, courage, commitment, you know, that that lives in my daily choices, you know, telling the truth, you know, even when it's costly, you know, that hurts, but sometimes you gotta do it. You know, encouraging, you know, my kids, my daughter, my my wife, you know, to do the to do the the hard thing is more difficult over the easier thing. Um, you know, doing hard things, you know, doing challengable things, challenging things, you know, that's more difficult than you know, going back to that coasting. You know, it's really easy to coast. Yeah. Um, it's really easy for us to kind of put ourselves on autopilot and you know, just kind of coast through things. So, you know, I'm always encouraging people to, you know, like I said, you know, have those high, high standards, you know, respect people at all costs, everyone that you meet, you know, even if you disagree with that person, you know, you can still have these respectful conversations and and you know, ever nobody's perfect at the end of the day. And that's something that, you know, it's really important to listen to. And, you know, back to you know, my father's line, I keep on trying to tie things back into this because uh he was the most influential person on me. So you like back to this, you know, you have two ears and one mouth, you know, that paired with, you know, in the Marines, you know, with situational awareness. It kept me listening first. And that made me a better leader, and that gave me more opportunities and put me in better positions. So, you know, whether I'm teaching or whether I'm coaching or parenting or being a husband, they're the Marine in me, I'm always aiming for the same outcome. And that's to uh, you know, try to build relationships with people, you know, build trust and complete our mission, complete our objective, you know, whatever that may be.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, there's and there's some a lot of gold in that, I feel like, uh just in that one section. And so we're gonna shift gears a little bit to how you, you know, you go into teaching and you know, you teach US history and economics. How do you make those subjects connect with your students in real everyday life ways?
Deployments, Discipline, And Quiet Professionalism
SPEAKER_02So I start by making the work practical. Um, you know, and how can we apply things to our everyday lives? How can we look at a historical event and pull the meaning from this? How can we look at economics and which economics, it's all about decisions, right? It's all about the decisions that we make. You know, that's generally what economics is. It's the study of making decisions. And so what I have students do a lot, you know, we I will give them a mock first paycheck when it comes in economics. Okay. And I can make them do a mini budget. You know, we pull up the grocery apps and I said, all right, this is how everything costs right now, today, today's date, 2025. Okay. You figure out how you can make a mini budget off of this. All right. And you're doing this for three people. Okay, go. And I just kind of let them, you know, work that out on their own. And what else? Understanding the differences, you know, like when it comes to paychecks, all right. Here's your gross pay, here's your net pay, you know, here's FICA, this is what's getting pulled out, you know, your Social Security and things like that. Oh, you gotta have a health insurance, all right? Because if not, then you know that could be a tremendous bill in the future. So we talk about things like opportunity costs. And, you know, I try to put it in terms to where, you know, it's very understandable for a high school, for a teenager, you know, so opportunity costs, you know, what are your trade-offs? You know, trade-offs are a big thing that we talk about on a daily basis in economics. All right, what are you giving up right now for you to be here at school to learn this lesson? All right, what are you giving up for like if you play a sport, you're involved in an extracurricurricular activity, you know, like what are you trading off? What are you giving up in order to be here? Like, how do you get the decision? Like, what's your process? Like, what's your mindset of what brings you to where you're at right now? And so I with that being said, you know, it makes them think like, what are the pros of me being here? What are the cons of being me being here? And it makes them really think, you know, as an adult, you know, every decision that you make, you got to weigh your decisions. So I think that's what's really important uh for the economic standpoint. And in US history, you know, we anchor big themes to live stories. Um, we look at a lot of different things, you know, primary sources, you know, that's those are documents that are coming straight from the time period and stuff like that. It's almost like, you know, reading like the Acts of the Apostles, you know, coming from Paul the Apostle. You know, that's a primary source, one of the greatest primary sources of all time. Um, and it really gives us like, you know, from a religious standpoint, from a faith standpoint, you know, that kind of gives us like our bases as Christians, right? And how we live and, you know, looking at the examples that he did, looking how he interacted with people, looking how he evangelized and, you know, spread this word in such a short time period after Jesus' death, you know, I think that's so, I think that's so powerful. You know, we do the same thing like that in US history. You know, we go back in time, we look at these original documents and we figure out how we can connect that to what's happening right now in our daily lives. And, you know, people always say, you know, history, it's the study of the past. And I I kind of disagree with that. You know, it's it is the study of the past, but it's also the study of the present. You know, how do we learn from mistakes that we made? How do we look at maybe some good things that we did in history and how can we translate that in today's time? And, you know, I think that makes students think critically. I think that makes people, you know, really focus on the now versus the past. And I think that's something that's really impactful to do. So, and at the end of the day, you know, I'm not gonna use my gradebook as a mega megaphone. I'm not promoting any values. The only thing that I promote in my classroom and the way that we look at things is to think critically, and uh, we're just gonna focus on facts. You know, that's what we talk about is the facts. And, you know, that thing's really important too.
SPEAKER_00Hey, quick pause. I'm Brad Winter, host of All Things Owensboro Podcast. If you're looking for a church that feels like home, we'd love to invite you to First Baptist Church Owensboro. We gather Sundays at 10 30 a.m. right next to the Blue Bridge. Infos in the show notes, and if you reach out, my family will gladly sit with you. Yeah, it sounds really cool. It sounds it sounds like you make it really interactive, which I'm a hands-on learner. So for me, Albert, that's a lot of fun. Like I'm one of my favorite teachers. I mentioned this in another uh podcast, but like he was my history professor in college, one of my history professors, and he would always bring the story to light. So it'd be like the Boston Tea Party. He'd be like, Imagine if Jackson over here ran over to Brad and threw his tea off, you know, like and he's from Illinois, like had the Chicago accent, you know, it was great, but like he always brought stories to life. I think for me, like that was really cool because even today I still remember some of his stories, and it's 15, 16 years later. And so I think it's really cool. You're making it interactive, making it realistic. Like, right. Oh, absolutely. Hey, let's pull up, let's pull up the app, let's let's look at groceries. Like kids are and that's something that's a skill that lasts a long time knowledge. So I think we had that excuse as students sometime, like, well, how's this gonna help me in the future? And so this is like a physical skill that's gonna help you in the future, which is cool.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and I think uh financial literacy is one of the most important things. And this isn't this is something it took me a while to learn later in life. But uh, I think, you know, in today's day and age, I think that's one of the biggest challenges. And, you know, I'm a firm believer that you know financial literacy should be a requirement at all grade levels. And you know, I think that's something that's really important because you know, we live in a really fast changing society. You know, things are expensive. And me and my wife, we uh cooked steaks the other night. We got two New York strips. I was like, man, this is like 35 bucks. I was like, just for two steaks. I was like, yeah, I was like, man, we live in a changing uh but financial literacy, I think is really important. I think it should be required for everybody to learn.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. That's probably one of the most practical skills to learn for their whole life. Okay, so we talked about you as an assistant football coach at Apollo. So kind of go into a little bit of what's your why I do it moment, and maybe one story or reason reminds you it's all worth it.
Culture As Shared Standards
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so as a coach, you know, my why, it's not really a highlight reel. When I was when I played football, you know, I wasn't the biggest guy, but I played offensive line. I wasn't necessarily athletic by any means. You know, Coach Edge, you even told me, you know, when you came in as a freshman, and if I were to say that you were my starting senior, I meant sorry, my starting center as a senior, you know, he was like, you were a guy who I didn't know could, you know, walk and chew bubblegum at the same time. And he was right, you know, I I got two left feet. So there was an afternoon when I was playing in high school, you know, I almost walked away from it. I was ready to be done. I was drained. You know, we had some family stress going on. You know, I started working a job and you know, school was piling up. I was starting to become interested in the Marine Corps, and I was just like, you know, and I wasn't starting. And I was like, you know, maybe I should walk away from this. And I'll never forget being at Steel Stadium. That sun was dropping down behind the uprights. It's a beautiful sight to see at any football field, but that sun was dropping down. And I remember talking to uh Coach Edge and Coach Chip Pride, who's still the offensive line coach over there at Owensboro Catholic. And, you know, I asked him if I could talk, and you know, I could I, you know, I was struggling at the time, and I just asked him, you know, what can I be doing different? Because this is something that, you know, I might walk away from. I don't know if it's worth it. And and then immediately I shut up and I listened. And that was something that was really important. They didn't give me this great speech. They just gave me a standard. You know, they they gave me a standard. They ski they helped me sketch a tiny plan, you know, show up early, you know, win the day, go out there on scout team, be go 100% on scout team, even though that's not glamorous, even though there's not people up in the stands watching practice, still go out there, get those reps, do those things that matter, finish every drill. And I started stacking those experiences up, and there was no drama. There was just reps. I mean, that's just all it was to it. And then, you know, a few weeks later, after that, you know, as a sophomore and junior that year, when I was High school, you know, I found my way on special teams and you know I started doing those things right. You know, if I'm gonna be on field go, like I'm gonna be one of the best darn field go blockers on the team. If I'm gonna be on kickoff return, like I'm not just gonna let my guy run past me. I'm gonna make sure I make a block. Uh if I find my way on kickoff, like I want to be the guy that goes down there and makes a tackle. And I feel like if you start doing those small things, they all start to add up. So when it comes to my why, that with those conversations that they had with me, you know, it helped me earn a starting role. And like I said, as a center, I only weighed about 190 pounds. So uh so I mean I was a senior smaller guy, I was a smaller guy, and and I didn't have like the footwork or the skills of go play wide receiver, running back, or anything like that. So so my why, it's remembering those those who helped me along the way, who pushed me to, and like I said, it goes back, uh, you know, they didn't give me this big elaborate speech. They didn't beg me to stay. You know, they just gave me a standard, and that's what helped me, and that's what challenged me, and that's what you know really brought me to where I am today. And, you know, I love football. And, you know, I heard Coach S say this to a player one time, and you know, the player kind of came out late and he said, Well, we'll let you play, but do you love football? And the kid said, Yes, I do. He said, Well, you got to get back to football then. And, you know, I really, whenever I heard that, you know, that really stuck to me. And that's been, you know, I love giving back to the sport. I think it's a beautiful game. I think I like the parts of the offensive line and how it's not the most glamorous position. You know, when things are great, of course we'll applaud the offensive line, but when one thing goes wrong, it seems to be like the lineman's play. Oh, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00It's like this down guide church, you know, like nobody cares about what he's doing until he messes it up. No, absolutely.
Classroom Mission And Routines
SPEAKER_02So that's uh, you know, I feel those true so, you know, and I'm very appreciative too of my coaches and stuff that helped me growing up along the way. So, you know, that's kind of what brings me to where I am today.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and that's cool, and not to dwell on this too much, but I know there's a center at Apollo that kind of you're like, oh I'm 190 pounds. I think, you know, since his freshman, he's lost a bunch of weight. Yeah, he's probably about the same, right? Right around the same area. So it's cool that you get to invest in somebody who's kind of the same, kind of facing that same thing. Like, you're the smallest guy on the field, but don't let that define right how you play. Um, and that's been really cool because I've seen him just grow as a player that way too. David and Goliath, yeah. Yeah, David and Goliath. All right, so we're gonna we may skip a few questions here just to speed up just a little bit. Um, it's a great conversation, but I know we could talk for hours on this stuff. And so let's go into the next question. You know, you've born or you're born and raised in Owensboro. So for you, like what makes Owensboro Owensboro? Like, what's at the heart of the community for you?
SPEAKER_02I think Owensboro is one of the most resilient towns, you know, that I've ever encountered. You know, I've lived in a few places and stuff like that. But, you know, when people need things, you know, when people are at their you know hardest moments, you know, I feel like people show up for their community. And I people I feel like people show up for their families. And you know, we see that at school all the time, you know, and I'm sure you see it at you know, First Baptist here. And, you know, I certainly see it in my parish at uh St. Stephen's Cathedral, and I saw it at my parish growing up in the Catholic community, and you know, people show up for one another. And with that being said, you know, I think this is one of the best places in the United States to raise a family, you know, that you're able to see that firsthand. And and it's and it's great. And we're a very uh faithful town too, you know. I think uh, you know, we have so many different churches, we have so many people that are you know committed to their faith. And and I think that's really important. And uh, you know, last but not least, you know, I think uh folks here, you know, this is a hard-working community. You know, I read a statistic that and uh this made national news. And I anytime Owensboro makes national news, I think it's pretty crazy. There was a statistic during the pandemic and uh Owensboro's economy, like we had like one of the lowest unemployment rates in the whole United States during the pandemic. Oh and I and I think that just showed like how um critical our community is in you know some of the different industries that we have here. It was really important for people to continue to work and things like that, you know, despite everything that was going on. Um so so with that being safe said, you know, when I grew up when I was growing up, I didn't really notice those things, you know. I was like, oh, this place is boring, there's nothing. I hear that a lot. And uh, but now like as an adult, like what I see is you know, it's a very stability community. There's a lot of people with shared memories, and there's a sense, like I said, if you find your piece or your community where you belong, you know, there's a sense that you matter, you know, no matter what community you belong in, whether it's a school community, church community, work community, you know, I think a lot of our places like give people that sense that they matter. And I think that's really important.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, that's awesome. Uh so let's go into a little bit about you know what you do with school or even your your sports fandom. And so, you know, at at you're a bangles fan. Right. I'm a Steelers fan, so I'm sorry about that. But what's the most bangles, like your most Bengals fan moment? Like, was there was there anything you remember it's like, man, that was heartbreaking, or even like, man, I jumped off the couch, I celebrated. It was amazing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I could talk about this for you know a few hours, but I'll I'll keep it pretty short. I'll keep it to a couple memories real quick. My most like Bengals fan moment, I'll start it with the heartbreak story first. That Super Bowl run that we made against the uh the Rams. Hats off to the Rams, haps off to uh Aaron Donald, but man, I can't stand Aaron Donald, you know, after that run. You know, I can see it, you know, you know, the Bengals competed pretty well despite giving up, you know, I think maybe a dozen sacks that game to Joe Burrow.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it was like 13-3, wasn't it? I think so.
SPEAKER_02It was it was it was yeah, very low-scoring game. But I'll never forget though, Burrow had this opportunity though. It was a game-winning drive, you know, he we could have won the game. And you just see Aaron Donald just fly through the line of scrimmage. I mean, he just blow past the offensive lineman, and and then like on the side of the screen, you just see Jamar Case just sitting there waving his hands as he's freaking down the field. He's wide open, and I was like, oh, this is a home run ball if he's not gonna get drilled by Aaron Donald. And Aaron Donald ended up blowing it up and sack season in silence, it's over. I went internal for about a week. Didn't want to be, I didn't really want to be around anybody. Yeah, didn't want to watch the highlights. And it was just so close. And then uh my my happiest moment as a Bengals fan was uh it was just a regular season game. It was a game that me and my dad got to attend together. That's cool. My dad's from Cincinnati. That was like one of the first times he's been back there in a few years. So that's the last game we got to see together. Of course, we got some uh Skyline Chili, which is you know, we're big fans of that. Who did they play? Uh the Chargers game, yeah. So it was kind of like it was almost like a breakout game for Justin Herbert, though. You know, in being in beingless fashion, they lost. Um but uh still though, we were you know, our seats were right there in the end zone. You know, we were screaming, lose like I said, voices are gone by halftime, and it didn't matter though that they lost. So it was it was just the fact I could be there with my dad and we got to you know watch that game together. And even though it stung, even though it lost, you know, wins and losses fade. They really do. But uh your memories, you know, that's that's what really stayed with you. So who day.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, who day, that's right. Uh so I got to go to the Steelers game last year in Cincinnati. It was actually pretty fun. Like they environmentally, like, you know, around the stadium before the game and all, like it they do a good job.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's positive. It really is a positive place. It's not like going to like the Eagles or going up to go to Buffalo.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, no, that makes sense. Well, that's cool. So hats off to you, Bengals fans, for being awesome. All right, so if your daughter was asked to describe you in three words, what do you hope she said? Fun, loving, and grill master. So all right, what's your specialty on the grill?
SPEAKER_02Uh so I'm a I'm a big black black stone guy. Okay, that's like one of my favorite things. I try to cook on it a couple times a week. Uh so my favorite thing to cook is fajitas. Okay. My wife, you know, she preps everything. She gets like the chicken marinated. My wife, she's an excellent cook, but you know, sometimes when it comes to like cooking in the kitchen, you know, she just kind of takes over. She actually cooked a lot with my dad. But yeah, but anyways, my favorite thing though is those fajitas. And I like cooking abocce on there. You know, I I kind of I learned how to do the volcano onion, you know. Yeah, yeah, that's pretty cool. So, yeah, so she loves helping me with that. My daughter does. I always give her the first bite because um I know as I'm cooking, she's out there in the backyard, like riding her scooter and you know, playing and stuff like that.
SPEAKER_00So it's not true for you guys now.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely, yeah.
SPEAKER_00So that's cool. Well, that's neat. Uh we'll have to see that volcano thing sometimes. I'll try. I'll try.
SPEAKER_02I think I've only gotten it like one or two times.
SPEAKER_00Okay, gotcha. Well, hey, well, we talked about a lot of stuff today. Uh, but one thing that I like to kind of do before we go into rapid fire is you know, and I and I bring this up a lot, uh, at least here lately, I've kind of changed it, put this into the podcast, is you know, legacy. Legacy is huge. Legacy is something we don't always think about, and not to be morbid, and we've got things going on. That's just the last thing we we think about is you know, how do we want people to remember us? But you know, what do you personally want to leave as a Marine, a teacher, a coach, and most importantly, because I'm a girl dad, as a girl dad.
SPEAKER_02I think the most important thing is just try to be the best person that you can be. You know, offer kindness to people. You know, I think that generous, you know, try to be generous as much as possible. You know, be generous with your time, be generous with your talent, you know, be generous with your you know, treasure, you know, all those different things. You know, and in a lot of things, it's just, you know, coming from my dad, you know, the biggest thing with my legacy and stuff like that is, you know, I want to, you know, really try to help this community. I really want to, you know, stick around Owensboro for as long as possible. I want to see this uh community grow. And you know, I would love for my wife and daughter to, you know, be a part of that with me and do that journey with me, you know, because this is, you know, like I said, it's an amazing town. It's a very unique place, you know. You know, people, you know, have this hardworking spirit. There's a really good sense of community, and you know, people are just there for one another. So, you know, a legacy that I'm really committed to, and uh this is why I'm glad to you know be teaching at Apollo is you know, try like I want to invest in our next generation as much as possible. You know, this generation, you know, it they're so created, they're so innovative, they can take uh, you know, they're so tech savvy to where they can take certain things and you know just transform things, you know, through tech and stuff like that. So, so the kids that I teach, you know, I see this creative spirit, I see these innovators. And uh so I just encourage them, you know, like I want them to come back to our town and I want them to be leaders here one day. And, you know, I want this city to continue to grow. I want this community to continue to grow, I want to see it flourish. And, you know, that's probably the biggest thing with my legacy. You know, I love, I love my city, you know, I love my communities that I'm a part of. And I want to see in everywhere possible see this place continue to grow, continue to thrive, continue to do good things for people. And that's probably one of the biggest things, you know, with legacy that you know I really want to see is just continue to invest in this community and you know just be there for people, you know, even when they're at their lowest moments or their hardest times.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, that's awesome. And so, you know, that was really cool to think about Legacy again, having people come back. And I've seen a lot of people say, like, I just wanted to get out of town. Like they come back and they they love Owensboro. I mean, so let's go into a rapid fire, 270 seconds of fame. It's geared towards the your code 270 or 270. Sorry, 270. Um, but uh, you know, we got uh just under five minutes to answer this. Uh we don't time this, but no overthinking, just the first thing that comes to your mind. Are you ready, Coach Brah? Ready, let's do it. All right, barbecue, moonlight or old hickory. Moonlight. All right, hey, that's I'm usually I usually hear old hickory. Favorite Owensboro festival. I missed the old barbecue festival. Okay, I've heard that a lot too. I've heard that a lot too. Uh best high school football memory playing or coaching?
SPEAKER_02Coaching a JV, my first year coaching in high school when we uh beat Davis County uh game-winning touchdown, Ross Milburn to uh Eli Williams, and Isaac Barneau sealed it with a field goal in a JV game. It was awesome. Wow, wow, yeah.
SPEAKER_00I didn't know if Milburn uh could throw the ball. No, absolutely. That's cool. Coffee or sweet tea? Coffee. All right, Bengals win the Super Bowl where Kentucky wins the national championship.
SPEAKER_02I'm a Wolval fan.
SPEAKER_00Go cards being a Wolf wins the Super Bowl. I should I should have checked it out. Uh yeah, no, sorry about that. First car you ever drove?
SPEAKER_02A 1989 GMC pickup truck. Okay. Nice. What color? Red. Red, all right.
SPEAKER_00Favorite spot in Owens for Take Your Daughter.
SPEAKER_02Oh. Recently, uh, me and my daughter have been going golf golfing a lot. Oh, really? Okay, Hillcrest. Oh, Hillcrest, okay. I've tried golfing.
SPEAKER_00I mean, I only it was only twice, but I was terrible at it. Alright, so you kind of mentioned this already. But what's your go-to cookout food? Is it burger, hot dog, ribs? Uh leave those three since you already mentioned fajitos. Let's go, let's go burger. I love burger. Okay. If you weren't a teacher, what would you be doing? Probably in like sales or something like that. Okay. Alright. Uh, you know, we didn't get to touch on this uh just for time constraints, but uh for your school, you had an Adam Sandler day. You dressed up as Happy Gilmore. Uh so would you rather, if you're talking about character-wise, who's your favorite Adam Sandler? Is it Waterboy, Happy Gilmore, or Billy Madison?
SPEAKER_02Happy Gilmore. Happy Gilmore.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's Happy Gilmore is a great, great character. Most underrated teacher at Apollo, and no pressure. Underrated teacher.
SPEAKER_02Shout out to Lauren Goffinette. That's who I did my student teaching with. Okay. Probably one of the smartest people I ever met in my life.
SPEAKER_00What does she teach?
SPEAKER_02Uh, she's a U.S. history teacher. Oh, US. Okay, cool.
SPEAKER_00That's awesome. All right, what's your favorite Owens Pearl tradition you never want to see go away?
SPEAKER_02Um, I love the church picnics. Okay. You know, where they do cook the that's the best barbecue in town. Oh, yeah. What our churches cook and stuff like that. I would do that. You know, some really good burgoo.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I don't know what what the Catholic church, like if there's like a training program. No, they're it's just it's just like they do so good jobs.
SPEAKER_02It's just secrets from like the late 1800s, whatever.
SPEAKER_00It's so good. Um, all right, what's your uh classroom hype song if you ever had one?
SPEAKER_02We didn't start the fire by Billy Joel.
SPEAKER_00Okay, all right, all right. Uh boot camp memory you'll never forget.
SPEAKER_02Um the Crucible, which is like the culminating event in the Marine Corps. It's about three days, and uh we might have gotten like 10 hours of sleep in three days, and the big culminating event, it's like a 20 kilometer hike back, and once you're done with the hike, you receive your Eagle Globe Bananchor emblem that officially makes you a Marine.
SPEAKER_00So special. That is really cool. Favorite MRE, or maybe at least the least hated one? Chili Mac. Chili Mac, alright. Uh Harder, a Friday night football game, an Apollo, or a Marine training drill? Oh, let's go Friday night football. Friday night football, okay. There's a lot of stuff that's out of your hands. Uh what's one marine value that shows up in your classroom? Are you kind of anxious, right? But what's one marine value that showed up in your classroom every day? Commitment. Commitment, right? Commitment. Uh Cincinnati Bengals legend you love to meet. Chad Ochocinko Johnson. Oh, yeah, yeah. There you go. I remember Chad. Uh, best part of living in Owensboro. Being close to family. Okay. And then what's one word you want people to always associate with Coach Brett? Grind. Grind. Okay. All right, hey, that's it. Hey, you passed. We don't bring this, but uh good job, Coach Brett. You know, Owensboro knows a little better about you now. Uh barbecue loyalties. Uh, you know, most of it's been old hickory, so no, have you said moonlight. So, real quick about Moonlight.
SPEAKER_02Um, so it goes back to like the food thing. Uh, you know, growing up, my my parents are really good friends with uh uh Jeannie Heath. She used to be Bosley in the Bosley family is who owns Moonlight and stuff. And so when my dad left the restaurant industry and went to teaching, Moonlight kind of recruited him to you know handle like a lot of their cooking for their catering and stuff. Okay. So we kind of we as a kid, you know, we helped. It was actually my first job was catering for Moonlight, and that was something that I was just always around them, and I got to meet the people who you know operated it and worked there on a daily basis. So it's more of a really special, you know, kind of memory for us and stuff.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so a connection in there. Yeah, absolutely. That's really cool. And so, you know, you talk about your Adam Sandler moments, you know, try to get uh what's it what's the kid's name that's a water boy again? I should know that. Oh, Jamin. Jamin, he was dancing the other day with the water boy. Yeah, uh Bobby Duchet. Yeah, and I was like, man, you gotta you gotta come up with your own TikTok like the dance of Water Boy. Uh but uh but no, so Adam Sandler favorites, uh, Marine Memories, of course, uh your your Bengals heartache or or victories. Uh but yeah, it's been fun getting to do that. Now I'm gonna roll into one last question. I always like to ask this to every single guest. But I'll and I love this part because although the interviews are always great, the conversations are great, but I think this is kind of where the goal comes in at. And that is, you know, if there's one thing you could leave with the audience, you're like if they didn't hear anything else in my in my podcast episode, I want them to hear this. So, like anything encouraging, inspiring, challenging, like what would you want to leave the audience of the the podcast?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, anybody who's listening, you know, if you live in Owensboro, like let's let's continue to you know improve our community. Let's uh you know continue to invest in our community. And uh the best way we can do that is you know, invest in our children, you know, at any level. So let's let's be a place where we can give opportunities to people as much as possible. Because I think if we you know, I think investing in education is one of the most important parts of any society. And it's education's the cornerstone of any society. You know, if we want to build a great future, you know, we got to invest in our in our education, we got to invest in our students, we got to invest in our kids. So let's let's continue to do that. Let's create more opportunities. Let's let, you know, Owensboro be a place where people want to come back to. And I think we see that as much as possible. I think we promote that, and I think we really invest in our education and you know, try to, you know, improve the lives of you know our children as much as possible and create opportunities for them, then they'll come back here and they'll bring new ideas and creative ways of doing that. And it would be amazing to see what Owensboro looks like in you know 20, 30 years from now. So that's awesome.
SPEAKER_00Maybe you're a head coach somewhere. We'll see.
SPEAKER_02That'd be cool.
Teaching Economics And History That Stick
SPEAKER_00Uh you know, uh, maybe Apollo, Catholic, wherever. Uh, you've been kind of everywhere on that side. Uh and so, you know, Coach Brad, thanks for coming on today. Yeah, thanks, Brad. Uh, it's been it's been good just hearing about your dad and the stories that how the Marines have uh influenced your life from top to bottom, and even just hearing about your family, you know, you and your wife and your daughter. And so thanks for what you do on the field for the guys, absolutely, what you do in the classroom, and uh I appreciate coming on today.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, thanks, Brad. Yeah, uh love doing this, really enjoyed this. Kind of nervous for when this comes out. I'm glad there's no video though. So that's good.
SPEAKER_00No, there's a reason why I don't do a video. They people don't want to see me. Yeah, so alright, guys, have a great week, Owensboro, and we'll see you next. Thanks for tuning in to All Things Owensboro, where we celebrate the stories, people, and places that make our city special. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who loves this town as much as you do. Until next time, Owensboro, keep loving local, supporting one another, and making Owensboro a place we're all proud to call home.
