How Sports Shape Discipline | Coach Neil

In this episode of Chasing Heritage, Chase Hardin interviews Coach Neil Hawkins, entrepreneur, mentor, and founder of Hawkins Athletics, for a powerful conversation on purpose, discipline, and the role of sports in shaping young lives.

Coach Neil shares his journey from struggling in school to finding direction through athletics, and how the influence of a single coach helped him connect learning, focus, and personal growth. Today, he is impacting hundreds of children by creating opportunities for them to learn through movement, discover their talents, and build confidence.

This episode explores the deeper impact of sports beyond competition. It highlights how exposure, mentorship, and environment shape a child’s development, and why giving kids the freedom to explore different activities is critical to unlocking their potential.

The conversation also dives into faith and obedience, as Coach Neil shares the story of moving his family to Georgia without certainty, trusting direction over comfort, and how that decision led to new opportunities and purpose.

Additionally, Chase and Coach Neil discuss entrepreneurship, emphasizing that building a business should start with purpose, not just profit, and that true fulfillment comes from operating within your natural gifts.

This episode offers practical insights for parents, leaders, and anyone looking to invest in the next generation while building a meaningful life rooted in faith, family, and impact.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Because everybody has a natural gift and talent to do, right? Yeah, no. Good. I had my mom, I had my dad. Um, but uh in school it was hard for me to really stay focused and like I was a knucklehead in school.

SPEAKER_02 0:20

Welcome back everybody to another exciting episode here on Chasing Heritage. Today we'll be speaking to a powerhouse in athletics with a background in education and serving and leading others well. He owns his own private athletic business where he teaches youth and other educators how to best teach and support physical education. Mr. Neil Hawkins is here with us today. Thank you, Coach. What a pleasure it is to have you on Chasing Heritage.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

Thank you for having me. I'm I'm so excited to be here. It's an honor. I'm I'm uh just uh thrilled to be here and to be uh a part of this podcast. It's been great. I've been watching it and uh I love the information that it's uh uh promoting.

SPEAKER_02 1:03

So awesome. Thank you for that, uh coach. And and I've had the pleasure of knowing you uh for about seven years now. Seven years? Yeah, I think it's been about that long time. Seven years. We're gonna call it five to seven. Five to seven. But we've been able to develop a very strong relationship over our time and and you being here in Georgia. Um but what really inspires me the most about you, coach, is your energy and everything that you bring, not just to athletics, but really anything you put your heart into. And you know, to be that type of person, there's a backstory and and there's a background. So just share a little bit about you know, kind of what you're doing today, you know, what that life looks like, and uh what we'll touch base about you know your history.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

Um so I'm Coach Neal. Everybody know me as Coach Neal, especially in the Henry County area. Yeah, right now I currently own my own business called Hawkins Athletics, where we provide private schools, churches, daycare centers, anybody who has alternative education resources. Our service to uh bring physical education to their center, to their space, outside, wherever they are. And um I think it's really important that um all kids have the opportunity to learn through sports. I've been a recipient of learning through sports, and it got me far in life. Right. You know, especially from the first coach that I've met to now being able to coach kids, it's it's really impacted my life, and um I want to continue to do that for kids. Yeah. So it's it's it's going great. Um we're expanding, we're in Henry County, we're in Atlanta, and um it's going great. It's going great.

SPEAKER_02 2:42

No, I I love that for you, coach. And uh, you know, for someone who's got to like see you work with the children, like this is what God made you to do is to teach and live and and really breathe athletics. Yep. But you know, something that you said was you know, athletics is needed for every single human being. Yeah. And, you know, physical activity really keeps us, you know, alive, right? I mean, it keeps our blood flowing. There's so many health benefits. So many. There's emotional, social benefits. Um, can you just talk a little bit more, you know, to some of the benefits of you know being an active kid and not just like being in your house playing video games all the time?

SPEAKER_01 3:22

So I believe a lot of the benefits come from just being active. When you play, your body is out there, it's uh easy to um engage more in what you're doing. Uh especially more so like the not specifically males, but we have to be moving, you know. And all kids, especially now, after COVID, man, it's been a challenge for a lot of kids to be be in a setting where they have to sit still and learn a specific way. I mean, studies show that through movement, kids can learn better. It's proven, it's it's facts now. So I'm I'm able to step into a space where I'm I'm giving kids the opportunity to learn better through sports and not just any sports, sports that they like to play. You know, I think having choice in the things you want to do also helps connect more when you're available to get that opportunity. A lot of the schools now, you know, it's it's so set on specific standards where it limits them. If they don't like volleyball, why should they play it?

SPEAKER_02 4:26

Right.

SPEAKER_01 4:26

You know, I like to give kids choice and have the environment and space set for them to be successful through the movement and things they already like to do. Yeah. So I find success in that.

SPEAKER_02 4:38

Yeah, so and and highlighting one of your points, right, which is you've got your main sports, right? Yeah. You got basketball, football, baseball, softball, volleyball. Yeah. And that's pretty much it down here. There's a there's a few, you know, pockets of soccer, but that's really all that exists. Yeah. And so children, you know, and you can speak to this, they like any game that gives them movement.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:06

Any game that gives them freedom, any game that's getting their blood flowing, you know, teamwork, getting to look up or look forward to seeing your coach. Like just share some of the options that you offer through Hawkins athletics.

SPEAKER_01 5:20

So a lot of other alternative sports that we typically do that is not common is like field hockey. It's a really good sport that teaches hand-eye coordination. And a lot of kids lack that when they first pick up a stick and try to hit a ball in a n in a goal. So that's something that we teach.

SPEAKER_02 5:38

So I know hockey with like ice and like checking people, right? This is a little bit safer than that. Tell us what field hockey is. Like, what is field hockey?

SPEAKER_01 5:47

It's basically uh ice hockey without the ice, without the skates. You know, you run and you are able to uh maneuver the ball through just playing on a flat surface. Okay. So it's not specific to um a certain climate or setting. Yeah. You know, and it's it's great. It's you can play it in the street, you can play it on the grass, you can play anywhere where a ball can roll and you can hit it with a stick. It's easy. Um, another sport that we do that's uh not as common is um lacrosse. We've tried lacrosse and a lot of kids, you know, find uh success in uh being able to share the ball while flicking the stick. Yeah. You know, using two hands. So it's a lot of um unorthodox um styles to different sports that kids may not know they have a genuine gift in unless they are introduced and have the opportunity to play it. And I feel like uh with me, you know, even because you brought up soccer and we have this league, I didn't really like soccer until I played it.

SPEAKER_02 6:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

I watched it and it didn't look like a cool game to play. You know? It was pretty uh it was pretty basic as far as just kicking the ball, running a lot, but it's a lot of strategy in that game. And I'm a strategy person, so I found a likeness for soccer after playing it. Yes. And some kids might have an opinion about a sport before they actually play, and it hinders them from seeing if that's something they're really gifted at. Yes. So having the exposure to do something is really important for kids.

SPEAKER_02 7:14

Yeah. And you you really nailed something right there, which is this predisposed idea of what I can and cannot do. Yeah. That the world kind of sets the frame for our youth these days. But in reality, if you're talented in basketball or football or volleyball or baseball, you have the basic hand-eye coordination, the um under you know, the physical ability to really branch out and play a lot of other sports. Um, one of the ones that I love uh to see that you brought to our school actually was tennis. Um, you know, I have two daughters, both of them absolutely love playing tennis. And because in our area we have lots of tennis courts, most of the time they go unused. So for people who live in areas, if you go check out your local tennis court, there's probably nobody there. Probably nobody and so that's kind of sad though, because we invest all this time and all this money, government resources to build these courts, and then no one uses them. So, you know, utilizing and and playing tennis, I think, is one of the coolest things that I believe most children, you know, really love to play. Yeah. Um, so you brought up um our uh nonprofit Christian Athletic League, uh, which is called Just Kingdom Sports. Uh share a little bit with us what is just Kingdom Sports.

SPEAKER_01 8:44

So Just Kingdom Sports is a uh faith-based organization we created together to really just uh bring in anybody and all kids to learn sports, but also to just feel the love of Christ. That's the center focus. And through that, we've uh grown from just one small team of basketball to now over 600 kids a year that participates in multiple sports. So it's a true testament to what God can do. And and and to add, it's free. Anybody could play, you know, from ages four to sixteen, and uh it's been going great. I'm really happy to be a part of it, not just to be um heading in the athletic uh space of it, but yeah, to see how many people's lives has have been changed through that league. It's like the last two seasons, I think we had over 30 people get baptized after the season's over. So that that to me speaks more volumes than just kids playing sports, but them being able to walk a life of uh wherever they are, meet friends, meet people who love them, and see Christ in that, and then be able to commit their life to Christ is is is amazing, man. It's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 9:52

Yeah, and I'll I'll just I love it. I'll just add to that. I love it. It is, it is really um smoking fire, right? Because you know what what JKS does is it goes to where the people are. Yeah, you know, we don't have to have a church, we don't have to have a building. JKS uses the space that's available, and we set out the goal, and the people come. And they get poured into on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. They get to hear the word of the Lord, and they get an opportunity to be in a Christ-filled community. And their background doesn't matter, right? No, you know, and that's one of the most exciting things that I love about the sports is because it takes a commonality, which is movement, physical activity, and it brings in another great commonality, which is we are all children of God. And so whether or not a family may know that or live their life that way, they get to come and enjoy this free opportunity and really hear about the Lord. So um great work in doing that. I'm grateful to be able to do that with you again for this for this year. I know we have basketball upcoming, and then we'll be also launching our flag football over the summer. So super excited about that opportunity to to do the flag football. Have you ever wondered what makes the Montessori method so powerful? It means fostering independence, critical thinking, and confidence from an early age. Some of the world's most successful leaders were educated in Montessori environments, including Jeff Bezos, Larry Page, Sergi Brynn, and Taylor Swift. If you want your child to grow in a proven, purpose-driven learning model, visit heritegemontessori.school to learn more and take the first step today. Um another amazing thing that I that I find about you, coach, is is kind of your upbringing and you know your powerful story that you share, you know, about being a young kid, you know, kind of kind of from the streets, right? And and you know, in an area where not everybody makes it out. So just share a little bit more, you know, of that story, uh, because it's it's really, really powerful to anyone who can hear it.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

Yeah, so I'm originally from, I was born in DC, raised in Maryland all my life, up until you know a couple years back before we moved to Georgia. But uh my upbringing was it wasn't so bad. It was it was good. I had my mom, I had my dad. Um, but uh in school, it was hard for me to really stay focused and like I was a knucklehead in school, I'm gonna just be honest. You know, I was I think nowadays people call them crash outs. You know, but but but I really used sports to like set a foundation to uh grow and to really get a honey on what was important. Yeah. Because at the time my mom was trying to help me and uh she did what she could, you know. And uh my grandparents was very you know uh really impacted me in a way where they went to church every like almost every day, it seemed like, you know, but but yeah, but that upbringing helped me to have the faith that I have now. I believe that back then my grandparents instilled a lot of things, my mom, my dad, all of the people around me, yes that that helps me now to understand what it was back then, and I didn't back then. So, so I was in sports all all my young, young career, recreational sports, uh, was able to play, and then as I got older and I started having kids, I was able to um coach. You know, I got the opportunity to coach, but um, I think the real reason why I took the opportunity to coach was because of my coaches growing up and seeing how much they impacted my life.

SPEAKER_03 13:59

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 14:00

So uh one of the um coaches that I won't forget is Coach Barrett, who was uh one of the high school coaches at Oxton Hill. He would uh encourage me to um be more focused, and and how he would do that is he would relate things in the classroom to sports. And it really helped me, man. Like um one of the things that uh I when I struggled in math, and why I'm so good at math now, actually, is that he broke it down free throws. Ten free throws, that's 100% if you make them all. Six to sixty percent. So it just put things, he helped me to see that the classroom and sports was the same. Yeah. It just was never presented to me in a way that it was the same. Yeah. So it helped it helped me to start to focus more in it. Yeah. And that changed my life. It did, it really changed my life. Yeah. So uh shout out to all the coaches who are um, you know, being integral in the in the lives of the youth because sometimes they look at school, especially nowadays, as not being necessary. You know, but it really is, it really can help you, um, especially as you mature and get older.

SPEAKER_02 15:16

Yeah. And, you know, I I love your story so much, and it it lets me kind of think back, you know, at mine when when I was a you know, a knucklehead, right? And I was in school, um, I never really felt seen by by any of my educators, uh, none of my coaches. You know, and and so because I never really felt seen, I never felt understood. And because I never felt understood, I felt different. I felt like I was an outcast. And I really made choices to be different than everyone else. So I had, you know, good people leading me and I had opportunity, but I still didn't feel feel seen. I was never really connected. And so I love the fact that you're able to reach into these young people's lives, that you give them something greater to look forward to, but then you're connecting them to that, right? So it's more than just coach so-and-so, blase, blase. Like there's excitement, there's love, you know, there's eye contact, there's a level of passion that exists there that I never really got to, you know, experience. And it's one of the reasons why I'm so motivated in today to be able to give back and really impact and uh affect the youth in in the way that we do. Another really awesome story that um has a lot to do you know directly with basketball, but also Montessori um is Steph Curry. You know Steph Curry. Right? Who does he play for?

SPEAKER_01 16:50

Great shooter. Who does he play for?

SPEAKER_02 16:52

What is he known for? Shooting. Shooting what? Threes. Them bombs! He's dropping them bombs like nobody else. Half court, full court, he'd be practice. Practice, man, practice makes perfect. So there's a really cool story about um Steph Curry, and one of his uh college uh roommates uh did an interview about him and said, Can, you know, when they're sitting down doing the interview saying, uh, you know, can you tell us, you know, something about Steph? You know, that that kind of stands out. He's like, Yeah, I'll I'll tell you a story about, you know, when we were in college. So Steph would never eat lunch with everybody else. He would always be gone. When lunchtime came, he he wouldn't be anywhere to be found. So one day he he went um and grabbed him, went kind of looking for him, was like, hey man, like where where are you going? Like every day you get up, you leave us, like we're all talking about what we're gonna do over the weekend. And Steph tells him, Well, I go shoot free uh free throws. Every lunch I shoot free throws. And he's like, Sound like KD. Where does where does that come from? He's like, All right, I'll share a story. So Steph's grandmother met with him when he was a little boy when Steph said he wanted to be one of the greatest basketball players. And so she would make him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And so she told him that if she's if he skipped lunch and he ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and went and shot three froze instead of eating lunch with everybody else, that he would have a better opportunity of being one of the greatest players. And so in college, Steph was still pretty good. It wasn't like he was some chump, right? He was dropping bombs on people then. But even at that point when he was at almost the highest level of his career, he still took the time to do something to be unlike everyone else. And so it's that impactful moment, one, that he had with his grandmother, but also his direct ability to continue on and on and on with that in into the future. So I I hope for all the youth out there that when we show up, whether it be JKS or whether you be for Hawkins Athletics or Heritage Montessori School, that we are impacting these youth in a way like a grandmother. That's right. Right? Or like a father, or like that coach that you had, or the coach that I never had. That's really what I want us to to be embodying, and that's really a lot of of what you do.

SPEAKER_01 19:24

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:26

So your faith though is also something that is incredible. Oh, yeah. Um, you have some of the deepest, strongest faith uh out of any man that that I've really met in in my life. And you know, the biggest thing that comes to mind with that is your story about moving to Georgia.

SPEAKER_01 19:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:45

Uh so you know, tell me that, tell me that story again.

SPEAKER_01 19:48

That's a good story, bro.

SPEAKER_02 19:49

Because I love to hear it, and it fills up my spirit every time.

SPEAKER_01 19:53

Yeah, so uh back uh in 2020, I um I start noticing things happening. You know, of course the pandemic just kicked off and people was getting sick, and it was it was it was crazy, craziness happening. But in my uh area, I own this town home, and uh it was like it was like row homes, you know, town homes. Yeah. Um in a nice area called Upper Marlborough, Maryland. Um, in a community called Marlton. And uh we we start noticing things uh one day a house would go up for sale, and the next day it'll be uh under contract. And then the next week another house will be up for sale next to that one. It'll go under contract, people moving in the neighborhood. And then on then on the other side of us, the same thing was happening. Yeah, and it just kept happening. And I saw so many new faces and people coming to the neighborhood. I'm like, uh, maybe it's time to go, you know, maybe this is an opportunity. And uh, you know, I prayed about it, and me and my wife decided to sell that townhome and got a lot more for what we paid for it at the time. Yes. So then we went into this, you know, we got on the contract very quickly, maybe in the weekend, because you know, the interest rates was zero or something. It was really low. Yeah. So people was, I mean, you you you would get 40 offers on a house uh overnight, you know? So it was it was a great time to sell. Um, but in the process of looking for a new home, I found that these houses that we were seeking, getting out bid, way too much. We couldn't afford it. So it was hard. Um, and then we had an opportunity to visit down here. My wife has family. So we visited, um, talked to some people down here, and we and we uh and we liked it. The area was nice. It was uh it just was a uh a different environment than where we were used to, but that it uh could be a potential area that we could go to. Right. And and um I noticed that about seven years prior, um, on Facebook, a memory came up and said, I'm going to Georgia. It was crazy that that memory came up. But I did that after I moved, but that that that's another story. But uh so we visited here, we came back home, and um I told my wife, you know, basically we should we should pray and seek the Lord if we should be moving there, you know, basically to fast and ask God, like, should we go here? Yeah, you know, because it's it's a great place. I mean, it's cheaper. You know, at that time a house was probably like 200 and something thousand. Yes. You know, in all areas, nice and you know, so we um we fasted for like 20 days or 21 days, I think it was, and um the Lord told us both, confirmed in both of us to move here. I love that. And um uh through hearing that after the fast was over, and and also during the fast, I was uh following this guy, really famous preacher in um Tulsa, Oklahoma, I think it was, uh Mike Todd about crazy faith, having crazy faith. Yeah, maybe he's sharing the book. Meaning you only needed to believe for something 51%, and God would do the 49%. Yeah. So just enough to to move on it. And that really touched me. So we uh we told our family we was gonna do it. Of course they didn't want us to do it.

SPEAKER_02 23:15

Yeah, they didn't agree. Some resistance. Just wait, you know, just wait.

SPEAKER_01 23:19

Talk to our pastor at the time, and he was like, Yeah, well, you know, you can you just hold off and just wait, you know, it's it could be, you know, challenging going there. At the time, my wife was we both were working up there. We didn't have any job here. Yeah. You know, um, so I just felt the unction of the Holy Spirit to just go.

SPEAKER_02 23:38

I love that.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

So I um we sold the house, and um, shortly after, me, my wife, my three kids, and her dad also sold his house because it was such a good market, and we all moved down here, man. That's fire. Just moved down here. And um the day I came down here, I found a job. Yes. That's how God works. The day, the same day I came down here, I was working at FedEx over in um Ellenwood, Georgia.

SPEAKER_02 24:04

Right.

SPEAKER_01 24:04

I mean, things lined up as if we didn't even move.

SPEAKER_02 24:08

Right.

SPEAKER_01 24:09

It was just, it was just uh being obedient. And I think that sometimes uh in life you don't need to know the outcome of what is going to happen. You know, I think God works through our situation while we're going through it. So you don't need to know the whole story. You know what I mean? Yeah, now and at the time I was reading about all these men in the Bible doing these hard things and they didn't know why.

SPEAKER_02 24:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:35

And God didn't reveal it to them. He just needed them to move. Yes. And now I look back at it and I say, okay, God, now I know why you told me to move.

SPEAKER_02 24:42

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 24:43

You know, because I'm I'm impacting a lot of kids for you. So this is great, it's it's great, man, but you gotta be obedient.

SPEAKER_02 24:51

Yeah, that's powerful, coach. And um, you know, with all the things that you do, and you know, going from like a nine to five job to being an entrepreneur, you know, running your own business. Yeah, you know, for any entrepreneur out there, running your business is one of the most um faith-filled experiences that you can really you know go into. Oh yeah. Um it really is, you know, something that challenges you, um, that requires you to go it to the Lord, right? Oh yeah. In in prayer. And and you know, a lot of times the challenges that we'll go through in that entrepreneur journey are the things that set us up for success financially. Yeah. They set us up for success um spiritually, emotionally, in our families, but it's not without that hard work. Right. So what's one of the most difficult things that you've kind of had to deal with in your transition from nine to five to full-time entrepreneur, you know, writing your own checks, having employees, you know, doing the thing?

SPEAKER_01 26:14

Well, for me, I think um it's difficult to be, you know, I went to school for business and got my degree at University of Maryland, and a lot of things that they taught you in business were very um predictable and secular like driven, like find a problem, fix it, make a lot of money. You know, it was it was very um driven by numbers. Yeah. You know, in business. And I mean, to a certain degree it is. If you want to have a lot of money, then you should be on a certain uh trajectory and uh a scale where you can scale up to to do that if that's your goal. Yes. But in business, I think it's hard when you have to uh look at your business sometimes not for the success of it, but for the purpose first. Yes. You know, the purpose of why you're doing business. And I think sometimes people feel like if you start a business and you're not successful immediately, then the business is wrong or you're doing something wrong. Yeah. The purpose of your business is to do what your gift is.

SPEAKER_03 27:23

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 27:24

You know, I think that in entrepreneurship, that's the biggest sometimes what holds people back the most is that if something doesn't work out in your favor right away, yeah, then the business is wrong or you're doing something that you shouldn't be doing. Right. I don't think you should look at business for a number standpoint. It should be whatever you like to do.

SPEAKER_03 27:47

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 27:49

Because everybody has a natural gift and talent to do, right? Yeah, no. That's your business. Whatever that is, if you can speak well in front of people, that's your business.

SPEAKER_02 28:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:01

If you can play a sport, that's your business. Right. If you're a good writer, don't try to be a foot doctor.

SPEAKER_03 28:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:10

Don't try, you know, of course. Don't do something that's not your calling because you won't find success in it. Even if you find immediate success in it, it won't fulfill you in a way where what you're talented and gift is will fulfill you. Yeah. Because it's rich people out here that have been successful in business, following different systems and doing things a specific way. Yes. Mentors and all these things, I get it. But some of them don't have that same fulfillment in it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:42

Yeah, they don't, you know. They don't have the joy. Yeah. It's it's really missing. And you know, everyone knows people who are successful, maybe they have beautiful families, and they get up and they go to work and then come home. Yeah. It's like they die. Yeah. You know, like they there is nothing more to their life. Yeah. And it's really difficult because they're, you know, 30, 40, 50. And it's like, how does that get reset for you? You know, and if you know the Lord and you and you seek Him, that can recharge you, right? That can realign you.

SPEAKER_00 29:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:19

But if you don't know God and you're on that pathway, a lot of people just go on and on. So it's really critical for our youth to get those opportunities, right? To really be engaged. Yeah. And so you have some beautiful children, right? Yeah, and you uh choose to send them to a Montessori school. It's a heritage Montessori school. Can you just share a little bit about that experience? Yeah. And like, you know, what that looks like for you as a dad, you know, having you know one student in traditional school and then other children in Montessori.

SPEAKER_01 29:57

Yeah. So for me, I think my journey as far as my kids' education has been, it's been good because I've gotten to see three different styles of uh education. Yeah. Me and my wife educated our kids when we first moved down. We had the ability at the time to be able to just pour into our kids at a very young age. Yes. And I saw that they were growing um like they were able to do things at it at two and three years old that a lot of kids probably wouldn't be able to do. Yeah. And then I saw them excel in the public school, right? I they as soon as they was old enough to get in public school, I put them in there and they did well in public school. And then I saw them here at Heritage um at as a Montessori style school, and I see that um it challenges them more. Yeah. It makes them more independent. And it's an expectation set on them here that I feel like isn't a reality in public or any other education.

SPEAKER_02 30:58

This episode is sponsored by Heritage Montessori School in McDonough, Georgia. From pre-K through 12th grade, Heritage offers an elite education rooted in strong community and character development with a 100% graduation rate and 75% of graduates earning college scholarships. Families know their investment matters. If you're looking for a place where education, leadership, and values come together, visit heritagemonessory.school and take the first step in your child's future. Why do you say that there's an expectation? Share a little more about that.

SPEAKER_01 31:34

Because, okay, so for example, when I'm when I'm um helping out sometimes, maybe in a car line, I see these young kids, primary level kids, carrying their own items by themselves. Nobody's helping them. And they take pride in knowing that they can do it on their own. And when that is instilled in you at an age that you're under two, it only gets better as you get older. Versus a kid who's in elementary school and everything is uh done in a way where they are supported. Not to say that they're not supported here, but they are leaning more on the support than the independency.

SPEAKER_03 32:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:15

And it can hinder them. So I think with Montessori, the independent aspect of Montessori is what I feel like is the biggest uh impact for kids. Yeah. Because at some point in life, you're not gonna have mom and dad and grandma and granddad and auntie and uncle. That's right. So the sooner you get comfortable to be able to do things in a way where in your mind I can do it, the easier you will be as you know get older and mature. So I think that that's the biggest impact. Yeah, I love that. I love that.

SPEAKER_02 32:52

And you know, I've had the great opportunity having you know both of my children uh be here at the Montessori school for their entire life and just see at each plane of development, their achievements, their inspirations, their love of learning, their excitement to go to a place where people are coming together, where education is the pinnacle, uh, where principled action is at an expectation above and beyond most places that I enter into. And so I know without a shadow of doubt, by my children being in that environment where excellence is a requirement, means that they'll set that standard in any room that they go into. And so I don't want to raise followers, right? I don't want to raise lost sheep that just go out into the world and they don't know who they are and they don't know where they're going and they get caught up. I want to raise leaders, people who are setting the standards in all rooms that they go into. And it doesn't mean that you're not humble, and it doesn't mean that you don't learn. It just means when you enter a room, you come in there positioned with excellence and positioned at a pinnacle of principle. And you can be the teacher or the learner in that aspect and still set the standard. So that's what I really love, you know, exactly about you know the the Montessori method and and what we really do here.

SPEAKER_01 34:20

Yeah, I like it, huh?

SPEAKER_02 34:21

Um so with your business coach, like where do you see Hawkins athletics going in the next couple of years? Like what is your what are your goals that you have for the organization? And you know, share a little bit more about kind of what you're offering currently as a business.

SPEAKER_01 34:42

So God has uh given me the vision to uh it's big. Yeah. God has um showed me that he's gonna have me impact the youth for many generations. Yes. And um it's through the belief that is going to really help the kids to get there. They have to believe in it. But that I have to believe in it more. You know, that's that's that that's what God is telling me right now. And um where I see myself is that is is across Georgia and many states and um having impact in schools, in aftercare centers, in homeschool hubs, in rec centers, let's go, everywhere, man. Any youth who wants to come and learn through sports. Yes. That's where I see my my company. And right now, you know, our smaller goals is um getting into the to the local schools, because that's where where it counts right now. Right. Is is um being able to uh build relationships with people that are in control of the education. For example, here, you can dictate what the kids are learning. And um it inspires me because a lot of people don't have that autonomy to be able to see an enrichment program and offer it. You know, public schools can't do that right away. No, they cannot. It takes a lot of no um, it takes a lot of uh red tape and knowing people and you know to get into public schools to do certain things.

SPEAKER_02 36:28

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 36:28

Not to say that they're not available, but through the uh private sector of education, I feel like we're gonna be able to reach a lot of kids. Yes. After school programs. Yes. And not just to um reach kids, but communities that want to help the kids. Right. Because the kids aren't going to do what you tell them. They only do what they see you do. So if my mom says she wants to be this entrepreneur and she wants to have this lifestyle, and when and you your kid comes home and she sees their mom doing the same thing and not getting far in life, yeah, that's something that they might not want to pursue.

SPEAKER_02 37:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:14

So so you have to be the example. So the community has to be showing the kid what it looks like to do the things that they want to do. That's why I do these camps. Yeah. These camps that I have, I bring people in that's already achieved something, that has the journey. Yeah. You know, a D1 athlete, a high school coach that's doing it so that the kids can get live perspective of what it costs. Yes. What do you need to do to be in this position? And they won't, they won't learn unless you set the example for them. That's right. So that's why I see my company continuing is reaching kids in any area of their life. Because I think that a lot of kids, some kids aren't gifted in sports. You know, but they might be a good actor. Yes. But through sports, I feel like you can get the most um character development in the sports that can, you know, articulate in every area of your life. Courage, teamwork, you know, um, being on time. Yeah, what about failure? Losing. Yeah. Learning learning how to lose the right way. How how do you be humble in a loss? These are all things that just don't relate to sports. Right. In in business, in school, in relationships, exactly. Hobbies, whatever it is, that always can uh you know help a kid in every area. So that's why I use sports to reach them because it's something that I know will help them as they get older and learn from it.

SPEAKER_02 38:58

Yeah. That's that's powerful, coaching. And you know, I can firsthand, you know, attest to the value of having a sports program. You know, at Heritage, we start sports at 13 months. So very little kids are learning how to develop these skills because of exactly what you said. Children start learning as soon as they're here on the earth.

SPEAKER_01 39:25

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 39:26

Right? And it's up to us as parents, as educators, as community members, to set the expectation and the standards that we want our children to rise to. And so by having athletics, not only are you physically giving their bodies exactly what they need, which is movement, but you're increasing that confidence, the hand-eye coordination, the teamwork, the communication skills, the independence that's required. I mean, the list goes on and on and on and on. You know, show me someone who gets up at 4 a.m. to go to the gym, and I guarantee you I'll show you somebody who's highly motivated. Okay? And that doesn't start when you're 35 and you're 350 pounds, unless you're highly motivated. If you can build that as a child, as a babe, you're instilling something in their life that nobody can ever take away. Motivation is not, you can't steal that from a human being. No, no. Right? You can challenge it, but if your motivation is greater than the problem or the situation, then you will overcome. Yeah. And so that's what's really necessary in our world today. And it's not about money. You know, there's this really disgusting thing happening right now to our youth where people are only monetizing this natural desire to get outside. And, you know, not to call anybody out, but there's a lot of them, okay, in our area right now that are only about money. And it's not even about building character, it's not about building the children, it's not about the community. So we've gotten away from what sports used to be when me and you went to school. Yeah. And we've transitioned into this place where it's pay-to-play. If you're only good, you get looked at. And for everybody else, go find something else to do. And so that actually doesn't work for 80 to 90 percent of the population. And so this is why Hawkins Athletics will achieve its goals, right? Hawkins Athletics, just Kingdom Sports, will be in public schools. Why? Because we're taking it back to what it used to be. And you're seeing this shift because the money has has driven it for so many years. They're cutting sports out altogether. They're cutting going outside out altogether in public schools. You go to any one of Henry County schools right now in elementary school, they only do two days of recess, coach. Two days of recess that they get to go outside, that they get to have free play. That is not enough physical movement. But the reason that they've made that shift is because the motivation is only around the money. It's not around building the kids in a healthy, desirable goal. So you're going into the schools to shift out for them to solve a problem that only continues to get worse and worse. Um, and it really requires, you know, a partnership from an organization uh like like yours.

SPEAKER_01 42:39

Yeah, well, I didn't know it was only two days, man. That's only two days, man.

SPEAKER_02 42:43

It's it's it's terrible. That's why we got obese. Unacceptable. That and uh, you know, screens. You know, yeah, Roblox, right? And and tablets, and you know, forcing our children to learn off of a tablet in the public school, you know? Like we're forcing this sedentary lifestyle, yeah, which is sit down, be quiet, and do what I tell you. And that's not getting anybody anywhere. So um it's inspiring just to have you and your organization and and really do you know what we're doing. Um well, coach, I want to thank you for coming in today and uh doing this interview with us. Um it's been really wonderful just you know kind of having you here. Uh go ahead and share a little bit about you know some things that you're doing right now, how people can get in touch with you.

SPEAKER_01 43:34

Yeah, so um, is that when I look at the camera now? All right, so yeah, so if you're in the uh Atlanta metro area, please reach out to me if you're seeking any kind of athletics for your school. You might have an aftercare program, you might be in need of any kind of um education through sports, reach out to me. You can my phone number is 240 460 4244, and then you can reach me online at Hawk. HawkinsAthletics.com. My social media is Hawkins Athletics on all platforms, so uh you can find me. Awesome.

SPEAKER_02 44:09

All right, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us for another amazing episode on Chasing Heritage. We had Coach Neil Hawkins with us today, the founder and CEO of Hawkins Athletics, one of my very good friends and faith brothers. Please follow and like him. If you're enjoying the content that you're watching on Chasing Heritage, make sure you like and subscribe. We need to continue bringing the highest level interviewees on this platform, and we can't do that without your support. Thank you so much for joining us for another great episode on Chasing Heritage.