Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to the Especially for Athletes podcast, where we explore essential principles that empower athletes to learn life's most valuable lessons through sports.
Speaker: Hi, everybody. Welcome to the Especially for Athletes podcast. I'm Dustin Smith, and I'm here with an an all-star group today. And before we hop into that introduction of everybody, just so all the listeners know, yesterday's interview was messed up by my yours truly when I forgot to hit the record button. So we went through an entire interview.
Speaker: Realized it wasn't recorded, and these guys were super, super helpful and awesome to hop back on today and and try it again. So thank you to all of our guests today. It's ah it's a group of guys I know really well. I've known them for a lot of years.
Speaker: have Justin Miller and Jaron Hall on here. Both are longtime members of Especially for Athletes as well as Quarterback Elite, which is the other program that i'm I'm involved in that Ty Detmer and I started, oh gosh, almost 15 years ago. And we have Ty on with us as well. I think most of our listeners probably know Ty Detmer and Jaron Hall, both BYU quarterbacks, both played in the NFL. Ty was an NFL veteran, he played a lot of years in the NFL and was a Heisman Trophy winner. was in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Speaker: um And Jaron, one of the best quarterbacks in the in the last 30-something years to come out of BYU, spent some time with the Vikings and with the Seahawks just recently.
Speaker: stepped away from his NFL career and he's got a family now living back in Utah. And then Jeremiah Jensen, who was a multi Emmy award winning sports broadcaster here in Utah for KSL, which is the probably the main, you know, news station in Utah. And Jeremiah has been covering sports here in Utah for what, 30 years, Jeremiah, 20, 30, how many years? 20 Me too, exactly, since I started at KSL back in 2005. So in my 22nd year, and I worked there through college as well. So yeah, I've been around the scene here for quite a while, I guess now, which makes me feel really old, thanks. Yeah, well, wait till you're me and you see guys like Jaren and Justin, who you think you were, remember training yesterday, and here they are with...
Speaker: two, three kids, almost Justin turned 29 yesterday. And Ty, it feels like it was just yesterday we started this whole thing. can you believe it's been 15 years? No, it goes quick. ah Yeah, I remember these guys, just little guys out there throwing it around. And, man, it's great to see what they've grown up to become and and the great things they've done so and are continuing to do. so Yeah.
Speaker: Well, guys, before we hop in here, just a quick shout out to our sponsors. We have a handful of sponsors who really make it possible for for especially for athletes to do the things that we're doing. And we're working with thousands of athletes um all over the country. I mean, mostly in Utah. We do have some schools out on the East Coast coming on. We're hoping to get some schools down in in Arizona. We have some up in Idaho. But so thank you to our sponsors, Redmond Relight. You see Jaron Hall, if you're watching this episode, Jaron's wearing the his Redmond Relight shirt proudly. So we thank them.
Speaker: Justin Miller's wearing our Ann Collar shirt. We're we're appreciative Ann Collar and the the shirts that they provide. um we We usually have ah somebody on the podcast, if not multiple people on the podcast, wearing an Ann Collar shirt.
Speaker: Their product is as good as they get. But we're also thankful to Mountain America Credit Union and to the Murdoch Family Foundation for their their sponsorship of especially for athletes. All right. So I want to hop in here picking up on a couple of things. We we talked quite a bit yesterday and in that episode that I mentioned that we I forgot to record about.
Speaker: you know the the The pros and the cons of of media now in youth, high school, and college, and professional sports, and how much everything is now ah amplified. We call the sport light is obviously ah a phrase we use a lot, in and especially for athletes.
Speaker: That sport light is brighter than ever now on on everybody because of, you know, everybody's really a ah media outlet and some some, you know, you could make that argument, right? If you've got a phone, you are in a media outlet. You can post and have millions of people and sometimes see what it is you said and what you posted and everyone's got their opinion on social media. and So it's it's creating some problems.
Speaker: Yeah. I think for all sports, but in particular, and we address this as that, especially for athletes, it's creating some extra pressure on on the the youth. And when I say youth, I even, I would even say the college athlete. I mean, they're still young men, young women, you know, ah what what used to be something they just enjoy doing and they got a little bit of attention for is now something that,
Speaker: you know, the whole country could see the good and the bad. And what they say carries a lot more ah distance now, has ah you know has a lot more bandwidth to it because of social media. So I want to hop into a question that we had talked about a little bit yesterday, but I want to specifically ask Ty and Jaren about this.
Speaker: So Ty and Jaren, maybe talk about, you you two have been part of couple of the biggest, know, football games in BYU history, really. I mean, if if both of you have been a tie you were involved in, if not one, it's it's it's one or two. I mean, probably still number one in that Miami game. The national championship for BYU is obviously a big game, but as far as You know, coverage that that game against Miami back in your Heisman Trophy year was huge. Jaron, you know, not what, four or five years ago, you had a massive win at Lavelle Edwards Stadium against the University of Utah, breaking what was a long streak of wins by ah by rival, the arrival to Utes. And then we just recently at the airing of this podcast here, it'll be a week or two from the big BYU Notre Dame game.
Speaker: you know, which was a huge game and got national interest. So Ty, let's start with you. When we talk about media, you know, you've seen it from your high school days, your college days, your NFL days, and now you're coaching, you know, what are the pros and the cons that you see in the, the,
Speaker: 17, 18-year-old kid having all of this exposure on him. And do you think when you were that age, you know, that would that have been something that that you think the guys back then welcomed? Or do you think that that would have added pressure and made it harder to play?
Speaker: Yeah, I think, um you know, I think I was feel really blessed to have played in us a lot smaller market time, I guess, you know, as far as no social media, none of those things. You could kind of just go play the local news station might come out.
Speaker: do a story on the team if you had a really big game the week before, some of those things. So you you started about that time starting to get some attention and and those types of things. But, you know, nowadays, like you said earlier, you know, the One clip, one one you know tweet one Instagram post, one TikTok can go viral, and the whole country sees it. And so there's more pressure on the the athletes, I think, right now for sure – Just do things the right way and to to carry themselves the right way so that that doesn't happen and and ruin an opportunity that may be down the road for them. So a lot more pressure and and you know responsibility falls on them to to understand.
Speaker: that this, this can happen. So, um, I think there's, you know, there's not enough education on that probably for most players and most high school kids, but you know, they've also all probably seen some of those things happen and then you get caught up in the moment and, and next thing you know, you're in the middle of it. So you gotta be real careful now that he's, uh, that we didn't have to worry about those things back in our time.
Speaker: Yeah. Now, Jaren, you when you came along, social media had been out for several years. um You know, it it was the NIL world had just begun, I think, right? Your last year at BYU or maybe two years. So that obviously you were part of a massive shakeup in in college sports.
Speaker: But you also, Jaren, have kind of a unique um experience at BYU. um And I was there for it. Your first start. as a quarterback at BYU, is down in Las Vegas, right?
Speaker: Was that your ah our first BYU starting quarterback? Yeah, as as a starter, I was 21. I started one game, two games in 2019 when Zach Wilson had to get surgery on his hand. 21 was my first year starting fully. And that was the first game was down in, what's the stadium down there where the Raiders play? Allegiant Stadium. Allegiant Stadium.
Speaker: That was your first one, right? In 21, yeah. In 21, yeah. I remember I drove all the way down there, got a ticket. watched you play and and and drove home. it was It was really fun for me to to be there to see that. But Jaren, you were the first black quarterback to ever start, and still to this day, to ever start a game at BYU. Did that...
Speaker: the the Was there a lot of media coverage of that or did you feel extra ah ever extra, not pressure so much, but maybe just extra eyes on you because of that? that add at all to your start maybe being different than maybe other quarterbacks who had started at BYU?
Speaker: Yeah, it was a big deal. And it was funny because that was my 2019 season. You know, when Zach gets hurt and then I'm in as the backup starting, that's when all the media attention came up. And it felt like away from the field, away from practice. That's the only thing that was fed to me. That's the only question I was asked about from the media. New outlets I'd never talked to. ESPN people wanted to talk about it.
Speaker: um So I thought that was the pro of it was there was a lot of recognition to see the change that had taken place. And then, you know, the negative side of it is that I felt like outside of being on the field, I couldn't just focus on football. So there's a lot of attention. And luckily, you know, you know, my dad and my mom, they're very level headed. And, you know, my dad has great advice and he was able to help keep me focused on, you know, the goal of winning that football game that week, which we didn't do. You end up getting hurt. But um He was able to calm kind of my anxiety and stress around handling the situation correctly because you have, you know, millions of people now seeing this change at BYU, a school out of Utah with all of its history. um And I want to make sure to represent myself correctly and, know, worried about making everybody happy and how they, you know, how I talk about this significance of what just taken place. So, yeah.
Speaker: you know Looking back, I think I would have handled that differently. Some interviews, the way I you know spoke about the history that was taking place. was 21 years old. just got back from my mission. was 20 years old. Anyways, that was a long time ago.
Speaker: twenty one years old so i just go back to my mission're twenty years old anyways that' is a long time ago but I still felt like I was so fresh back to the media and that, you know, and now they're asking me about all these life questions and the significance of such, you know, history taking place.
Speaker: um But I had good enough parents in my corner and, you know, BYU, they had helped, you know, Brent Pine at the time, prepare me for those questions. and um But, you know, that was a whirlwind for me to have that, you know, significant of event take place with very little experience in the media.
Speaker: um But, so you know, it was ah it was a ah good good experience to see how, know, how big the media would be for the rest of my career, you know, to start off with that. So, yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, I would imagine that, you know, you'd only been home a year, year and a half or so from your mission. And I wish the focus could have just been on you know, a new starting quarterback at BYU who was a local kid. I mean, there hadn't been, outside Zach, there hadn't been very many local kids to start a quarterback at BYU in the last, you know, 20 years. Yeah.
Speaker: you know Riley ah got a little bit of of an opportunity. He came out of Logan. But really, there hadn't been a lot. Most had been from out of state. And and the fact that you were return missionary, which was another thing, there hadn't been a lot of return missionaries who had started a quarterback. But the focus seemed to be you know, on on the fact that, you know, you were the first black quarterback. And i I'm guessing that that had to weigh a little bit on you. And you you handled it great, man. So you represented BYU really well and in that in that moment.
Speaker: Justin, you you wanted to talk a little bit to Jaron Antai about NIL. Go ahead and fire off your question. Yeah, I think right along with all the media stuff is more and more kids have eyes on them through social media, and that kind of garners more ability to get NIL money and and sponsorships and different things like that. And ah we talked yesterday a little bit about Ann Collar and some of the other – sponsors that Jaron had or n NIL deals that he had. Jaron, what did that turn into in the locker rooms where now everybody's kind of getting those NIL deals or a lot of kids are? And in the professional world, in the NFL, everybody can look up and see how much everybody's making and what their salaries are and and everything like that. But in terms of NIL, does that
Speaker: get disgust at all and and how does that kind of operate? Can it tear a locker room apart? And then I think for Jeremiah, um go along the same way. How is that translated into high school sports and and what have you seen so far and what do you think is going to continue to develop and in that realm of of what we're dealing with?
Speaker: Yeah, that's a great question. Luckily for me, I was on the early, earliest side of NIL. You know, 21 is when it was first instituted legally. it was my first year starting. Then 22 was slowly but not really picking up. So it was only ah so just a fraction of what these kids are making now, these quarterbacks.
Speaker: um Makes me sick to my stomach sometimes looking at the difference and what I missed out on. But that's OK. Yeah, I think because it wasn't so significant at the time, it it wasn't as big of an issue in the locker room.
Speaker: um You didn't hear these huge numbers thrown around. It was more just we're all just grateful. You know, we're going from our, you know, scholarships, you know, happy to go eat out at lunch a few more times every week and maybe move into a bigger apartment or something if you were married or had a kid. So everyone was happy. In 22, it seemed like as it picked up my next year,
Speaker: Yeah, more guys solidified that it started a whole year and played. And then the conversations picked up a little bit. And and you still saw guys who were a little upset and annoyed that they weren't getting, ah you know, marketing opportunities. And and that's when we really realized how quickly that NIL, you know, when it comes to at that time, it was more focused on brands and companies coming to you or your agent going to them.
Speaker: it was really only tailored to a few of the biggest guys on the team, the quarterbacks, the star receivers, the star defensive player. Not everybody was getting the same love. And so there were some frustrations there on our team. And I remember having conversations certain teammates that were integral to our success, but maybe not getting as much love. And there were times we had to have some sit downs and try and refocus and and just look forward to the next football game and get away from that, um which is why I like the way they're doing it now with the revenue share and everyone can have a kind of a slice of the pie. So I think that solves a lot of those issues. But,
Speaker: There were definitely some moments in the second year of NIL where you start to feel just a little bit of that friction. um But I think teams that had good leadership and and good coaches, like we had Kalani, and he always kept us straight on that stuff. So it never felt like like too big of an issue. But i'm I'm sure at other schools it could have been.
Speaker: Yeah, NIL is interesting. And Jaron talked about some of the impact that can have in a locker room. I know for a fact that had a big impact in the locker room at the University of Utah a couple of years after you'd left and their season where they really struggled. It was it was a problem. And I think that the schools and this new revenue sharing thing is helping with that where it's a little bit more balanced. I think that has been positive in one sense. But the NIL thing to me, it just feels like some of these kids, college and even we're seeing at the high school, I'll get at that to that in a moment, kind of chasing a lottery ticket here.
Speaker: The idea that there's n NIL for everybody is just not true. There's just only so much money out there. And there's a lot of pressure that comes with n NIL. We're seeing backlash now, guys. We're seeing a lot of athletes that have taken the n NIL check.
Speaker: And that hasn't worked out very well. We've seen people sign on the dotted line for an n NIL check and they get in the transfer portal the next year. And all these companies are coming back. Hey, wait a minute. We had a deal. You saw a lot of the stuff at LSU recently. I mean, there's a long list of schools that have had these issues where guys left that had signed for a deal. So NIL is creating a lot of these issues and some and integrity issues. You know, it's that we could do a whole podcast on that.
Speaker: But yeah n NIL is great. It's great that Jaron had an opportunity to finally ah benefit from ah from his work and in it for a long time. Ty, you you know this. ki mcki can you imagine how much NIL Ty would get back? And we're all wearing the Tiesmans. We got our posters on the wall and all this stuff.
Speaker: I mean, you know, it's crazy what what could have been possible back then. so But all those people were benefiting from Ty's work, right? And BYU has been benefited a great deal. i think I certainly think that all of us would not would not argue that Ty didn't deserve some ah you know some recognition and some of the some of the benefit financially that came from that, some of that windfall. So it's good that players are getting paid for what they've accomplished.
Speaker: The problem you see in sports is kids are given NIL before they accomplish it. That's a big, big problem. And I think is some of you that are in coaching now, you and understand that that's that's not the right way to incentivize people to to be great. And to you give people too much too early and you have a problem. And now you're seeing you're seeing a trickle down into high school a bit. Not a lot. I don't think, you know, Dustin, you've probably seen a little bit as a coach where you've had some some kids and that have that have had some opportunities, which is crazy.
Speaker: But I don't see I don't think it's widespread because, again, people aren't just going to throw money at kids without seeing the benefit of that. and there's not a lot of high school kids that are playing at that level that they can. There certainly is. If you go to these Montverde academies and these other places where they're actually getting games on yeah ESPN, you see them so pumping there. They got their T-shirts out and they're pumping whatever product they got. That is trickling into high school. That is a thing. And perhaps some of some families, if they have a really, really good standout athlete, may have to encounter that. I would warn a lot of people. There's a lot of people out there. There's a lot of bad actors that want to take advantage of your kid. They want to take advantage of that opportunity. And there's other things besides NIL where that's going on, where I would i would definitely ask people to go talk to somebody who's smart about some of these things, that has some experience, that can tell you about some of the traps that come with jumping into these NIL things or these recruiting things or other things.
Speaker: ah There's a lot of people that are just trying to make money off of your kid and your situation. So be aware of those things. But There's a lot of traps with NIL, but there's also good things. I know, Jaren, you benefited a great deal from NIL, which you should have been. You should have been able to do that, and it's great that you did. But if not managed properly and not checked properly, especially if it's trickled down into the high school level, there could be a lot of families and a lot of athletes that end up getting taken advantage of, and and that's something to be aware of and and be careful with. If you are an encounter with NIL at the college or any level, that's something you need to be very careful about. Talk to an expert that understands how to manage it.
Speaker: Yeah. And Ty, I want to talk to you a little bit about this because we both have some experience coaching in this at at the high school level. um You know, I know, Jeremiah, to your point you made during that, I don't know.
Speaker: for a fact, I never talked directly to the person or, you know, I've seen the check or anything, but I've heard from enough people who are very close to it that there are some high school kids in Utah who have had a, you know, a local business owner in ah in a high school community pay the kid or pay the dad and the kid is transferred to that school. And and we're we're seeing some powerhouse teams now that have some kids playing on it that, you know,
Speaker: They just came kind of came out of nowhere, and and there's some you know there's some smoke there, but which yeah yeah I don't understand it. but i The brown bag that used to exist in the SEC has now trickled down to high school. Yeah, and I you know like i kind of get it, I guess, in in you know and in capitalism and entrepreneurship. And if you think this kid is going to end up being something someday – you know, and he's going to maybe make it, you maybe want to be first to the party and first into that kid's, you know, ah ah heart or or bank account, I guess, and hopes that someday you get that back. Anyway, it's a whole other discussion. But Ty, I know when we have colleges come and talk to us about our our kids, you I want to get your your thoughts if you've ever had this happen. I had it with one of my
Speaker: players who was a highly recruited a kid out of Utah. He was you know the highest probably recruited kid his senior year, where i i mean I met with every, it seemed like every team in America and a lot of really powerful head coaches. i mean I spent a lot of time with Lincoln Riley and Chip Kelly and all these guys when they came through. And I specifically remember some coaches um bringing up NIL stuff.
Speaker: um Oregon, I can, you know, I'm not ah as worried about it, but but Oregon, I mean, they were throwing some crazy stuff out to this kid. Florida was, you know, some schools in Florida were bringing up the sales tax issue that they don't have it in Florida and how much more money he'd make there. And there was just, but here this 17 year old kid is,
Speaker: having to think about this stuff. And I was having to try to kind of, I couldn't believe I was having these conversations with him and his parents and Ty, have you have you had kids or have you, do you worry about kids being influenced, overly influenced by, ah you know, a couple extra thousand bucks?
Speaker: where they're going to go play versus when it was your day, you just, well you went to BYU because you knew they threw the ball and that was going to be best for you. Are you seeing that or worried about that? Yeah. I mean, we haven't had anybody as highly recruited as, as the kid you had. So, ah you know, that stuff never comes up in our conversations with, you know, FCS or, or some lower level D ones. and If it did, i mean, I don't ask. I don't even, yeah I don't want to be a part of any of that stuff. Uh,
Speaker: the conversations even, you know, so, but what what I have seen here in Arizona, like you hear things, it's not confirmed, like like you said, you know, but um I'm hearing there's a quarterback down here, one of the higher rated quarterbacks in the country that's making a million dollars as a high school player right now that somebody's in a Paying him because he's committed to the right school, and they want to make sure he stays committed. And so what there is no it's not illegal you know to do that. that's That's the wild, wild west. I've got another receiver here that last year as a sophomore, he got offered by USC. Well, now all of a sudden you've got...
Speaker: $500,000 or a million dollars sitting there on the table waiting for you, why are you going to play your senior year? So he's playing his junior year and he's taking courses to graduate early. And so why would you play your senior year if you can graduate early and go make money right now? So the kid's going to miss out on...
Speaker: Being a senior and having all the things that are fun to to do with your classmates and your buddies the senior year. And here's now a football program that's kind of been penciled you in and then marking you down for a big senior year, and and that he's gone. So he's part of that graduating class. So you're going to start seeing more and more of that. It's kind of like when the college guys started opting out of bowl games. I think there's some kids that,
Speaker: you know, what's the incentive if your team's, you know, 500 to finish the season and and to put yourself at risk that if you did get hurt, maybe your IL money goes down the next year. So there's too much money involved to to not have those conversations and to think about that as parents, you know, those, some of this is is a nest egg that can set a kid up for for a long time if they do it right. So,
Speaker: it's trickling down to high school for sure. And and you're starting to see um the, the higher ranked players and the guys offered by these big schools, you know, there, there's no rules against a booster from that school paying guys here in Arizona. We, we've got NIL. You just can't wear your school attire. you can't promote your school and, and it can't be anybody associated with your school, but A booster from Oregon or USC, they're not associated with the high school. They can pay you whatever they want that year to keep you on the hook. So it's the wild, wild west out there right now with with all of this stuff.
Speaker: And I, Jeremiah, I want your thoughts on this, but i the old school hard-nosed, maybe coach in me wants to push back on all this and, you know, what what a this is awful. and But I also get it, like right? I mean, if if my son were in that situation, like you said, Ty, where this is life-changing money, um I get it. I get why – I hate it, i but I get why kids try to – they transfer and they form these kind of super teams because then all the –
Speaker: All the colleges can come to one practice and see all the best kids there. And those schools go and play you know teams all over the country and they get more, you know, they build their brand more. their Their Instagram and Twitter becomes their brand. And so they get more followers and they get more. I get it.
Speaker: And if when you're talking about the kind of money that we're talking about, how do you. Yeah, I get, you know, you want to say, but son, you're going miss out on playing with the guys you grew up with and and going to prom and all these things, but you're going million dollars. Like, I mean, all right, maybe you give those things up, you know, and so it's so sad because I hope it doesn't get to where, know,
Speaker: You know, we don't want to be old ultimate negative doomsdayer, but Ty, what you just said, i remember talking to you about this a couple years ago. We we saw this coming, and I think it's going to happen. I agree with you 100%. More and more, if a kid is already committed or already has those big offers and he's got money sitting on the table, why risk blowing your knee out your senior year of high school and missing out on that?
Speaker: I think it's gonna happen more and more and more. And what you said about the the college kids missing out on the bowl game, it's the same thing now that it's trickled down into the to the high school. You could take that $500,000, you go get a personal trainer, you go get a nutritionist, you go get a sports psychologist, you do online schooling at home and you train four hours a day on getting bigger, faster, stronger, and ready to be at spring ball, graduate early and you're at spring ball at the college you know with hundreds of thousands or a million dollars sitting in the bank. Justin or you or ah Jeremiah, you ah yeah in the in the in the world you're in, in the media world, what do you guys talk about as far as covering all of this stuff? Have you seen it harder to interview and cover kids, high school or college, because of the the brand, the market, the product that they are now? you ah Do you see any of that?
Speaker: It's interesting. What I see is kids bouncing around like all of a sudden the kid with that was at one school a few months later is at the next. I think, you know, not to name any names, there's and I won't even tell you the position, but there's a kid of prominence in the state that has been to three high schools in less than 12 months.
Speaker: I'm trying to chase exactly what we're talking about right now. And that's okay, I guess, if those are your goals and that's what you want to pursue and and you're capable of that. The worry I have is too many kids think it's possible for them. And this is the hard part.
Speaker: The guys we're talking about are the 1% of the 1%, right? Yeah. Yeah. yeah um there's There's special athletes out there that have that future, that that are that valuable. 99% of the athletes aren't, but these kids think they can be or the families think they might be. And then they fall into some of these traps where they're chasing something that's not there or they're allowing themselves to be taken advantage of.
Speaker: because of something that's not there or they're pumping a bunch of money, tons of money. This is something else you can talk about is the amount of money that families are paying right now to train their kids and get them ready for these things. And some of these places and are are charging exorbitant amounts of money. And they know they're going to deliver those results. And that puts a lot of pressure on the kid. to We haven't even talked about the pressure that's on the kid. So it's creating these situations that Create a lot of negative fallout from this. Sure, that one 1% is going to benefit. They deserve it. They can go get that.
Speaker: But how many kids and families are chasing something that's not there? Like i mentioned earlier, it feels a little bit like a lottery ticket, right? Only one kid or two kids or three kids in a state at one time are probably winning that lottery ticket. But 50% of the kids think they got a shot at it. And so it makes, creates some bad decisions. Kids are transferring. They're leaving their schools. or leaving their communities. They're moving. They're literally up. Families are up and moving. Parents are getting divorced so they could be eligible to play in places. Kids are emancipating from their parents so they can be eligible to play so they don't miss the six games that they have to sit out as a transfer. These things are actually happening.
Speaker: And it's insane. Actually, i've saw I saw it trickle down to the Little League of level. A parent wanted his kid to play for at a neighboring so district, and they tried to present to the UFC conference that they were divorced.
Speaker: i'm so It's insane. Like, how is but playing for one place when you're in Little League going to help you achieve your dream? It's just... That's what I'm talking about. People do not fall into that trap. They're the one of 1% that can actually have these things happen to them. Perhaps that's your kid. And if that is, then you need to be careful. And but you all and those are tough tough questions to answer. But tied to your to your to what you brought up, like if you're abandoning your neighborhood and your community and your friends to go chase this,
Speaker: You darn well better believe and know that it's going to that the results are going to be that way. Otherwise, you're sacrificing too much at a young age. So beware. This is again, I'll stress this to get to to the bottom of the question you asked me. Just be very aware. be Be very careful about the decisions you make. Consult with people that you trust that maybe have been through this before and find those people because you don't want to make a mistake with this thing because it can ruin a young kid's life and it can ruin you financially as well.
Speaker: Ty, when you were you were coaching in Texas and and then went to BYU and now coaching in Arizona, the Texas, when you were coaching then, that was sort of, I mean, social media was around, but it wasn't like it is now. And NIL and that stuff wasn't around now. And and and we can move off the NIL stuff. But i have you noticed, I've seen some of this in kids I coached 20 years ago versus kids recently.
Speaker: Have you seen with the social media influence and film and all these things, have you ever had to deal with kids being more worried about their film and how they looked in a game than did they win the game and accepting maybe a role that didn't present as flashy a film? Is that something you've seen a difference now with social media being so prevalent? Yeah, 100%. You know, back 10, 12 years ago, um it wasn't really the case so much there. Now it's about getting your highlights out there. It's about getting exposure for the college coaches, you know, and and there's there's something to that, you know. I had a kid come off the field last week, two weeks ago. We're we're leading thirty five to nothing and at the end of the second quarter, he kind of dinged his shoulder. He wanted to go back in. He's a starter, and I'm like –
Speaker: You're not going back in. We're up 35 to nothing. Why would we put you in for, you know, three plays left in the second half? Why would we risk that? And he's like, Coach, I need film.
Speaker: And I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on. Film against a team like this is not going to help you. you know it is's like It's about the win. It's about like having you for next week, a big game next week that we're playing. If we don't win that one next week, we don't have a chance at the region championship. So as a coach, you're still like, it's about protecting the team, but ah the kids now are about about them. and ah you know i think the love of the game is is lost on a few kids. Now it's more the love of the media, the attention.
Speaker: more so than than the love of competing and winning. So kids got to be real careful now what they're really playing for. And ah and so, you know, yeah we still have a lot of players that love the game. And and that that young man, he loves the game, man. He loves it, competes. One of our better players, works hard in the weight room. I mean, he's a great kid, does everything you ask. But,
Speaker: That goes to show you, you know, a kid like that, that does all those things still in his mind is about the exposure and I got to get clips. I can get recruited. And instead of that team mentality of we're trying to win a championship.
Speaker: yeah, it's better if I do stay out. and And we talked after and he was good. He understood. It's just the heat of the moment. You know, he's he's a 16-year-old kid. So um he wants to be playing. He wants that that exposure. But he also understood my my point of view too as we talked after. So it's it's definitely changed that way for sure.
Speaker: Well, and where I'm seeing, the I put it on the parents. And i here's my fear, guys. My fear is that you you have these kids, all these kids, especially if they're a decent athlete, have goals of playing in college. And we've either all been there or have sons who have been there.
Speaker: And you get, but, Part of that desire to play because of the recent exposure with social media and things, I think there's this extra letdown for the majority of these kids who don't get the scholarship or the chance to go play at college in that, A, they have their this dream of theirs snuffed, but B, they see the disappointment in mom and dad's face because I think in many of these cases,
Speaker: Mom and dad want their week on social media as well. And when, when their son or daughter commits or says they got an offer or gets the all state award or whatever, mom and dad are quick to post all that stuff. And to, and and and I'm not saying, i mean, they're proud of their kids and things, but I've tell parents this all the time. When I speak, we got to, you know, call a spade a spade here. Like we're posting that stuff.
Speaker: because we like having everybody tell us how great our our kid is. Like, let's just call it what it is. And so then when our child doesn't make it and they see mom or dad disappointed and, you know, there's that extra level of, i let them down, you know? And so that's the extra level of pressure and where the mental health and some of that stuff comes into play that I worry about some of these kids and we have to be careful as adults, you know, and as parents.
Speaker: This is a great place to pause our discussion with KSL's Jeremiah Jensen and BYU greats Ty Detmer and Jaren Hall. The second part of this episode will be released soon.
Speaker: In the next episode, we cover topics like overcoming adversity in sports and life, embracing challenges, along with Ty's experiences playing under coach Lavelle Edwards, and how Kalani Sitake had a simple way of communicating with Jaren on the field.
Speaker: turn on your notifications so you know when part two is out again thank you to our great sponsors at mountain america credit union redmond relight murdoch family foundation and and color if you're looking for a home run holiday gift for your student athlete friend or spouse go over to andcaller.com and use code e4a for 15 off your purchase If you're interested in supporting E4A or getting us in your school, please contact us at e4a.org.
Speaker: Thank you, and we'll see you next episode. Eyes up, do the work. Thank you for joining the Especially for Athletes podcast. To learn more about Especially for Athletes organization, get a copy of our book, The Sportlight, or to bring our program to your team, school, business, or organization, visit us at especiallyforathletes.org.
