Hello and welcome everybody. Thank you for stopping by for another edition of the coaches Journey. Today's guest is Ricky Trujillo. Surrender the outcome, which means you gotta you gotta just worry about getting better every day being the best person you can be every day and the outcome will take care of itself. Ricky is currently an assistant football coach at Denton Braswell high school. He has been there for four years and he has been in the middle of the process of developing a brand new program. Ricky gives us some insight into the culture of Denton Braswell their process for bringing the eighth graders into the high school and getting them mixed into the culture. We also discuss something very interesting the TNT's the things that take no Talent Rick. He's a very humble individual and he is a On The Rise he's got some great insight to share with us today and I can't wait for you to hear it. So enjoy this edition of the coaches Journey. All right, coach Trujillo. Happy to have you on here. Thanks for joining me on the show. Hey Matt. Yeah, I'm happy to be on excited to be on it. And you know, I'm a podcast listener. And so I think it's awesome that you have this platform and and I'm honored to be a part of it sir. Thank you. Thank you. I'm really excited to have you on here. And so you've heard the podcast before. Chip maker introduced you and me and for the listeners at home. We're actually doing a face-to-face podcast for once. We're not doing I'm not doing a zoom one. So I'm excited about this is something new for us giving it a try. So I'm excited to do it with you Ricky. And so the biggest thing on the coach's journey is I like to discuss with coaches. The reason why they got into coaching in the deeper meanings behind it. So if you could explain why you got into coaching and what is your Reason for doing this. Yeah, Madam, you know, I always envisioned myself being a coach as early as high school really couldn't tell you why I just that's just what my vision was. It was either going to be a coach or in the medical field and and early on I decided to be a coach and now that I'm doing it, you know, my biggest deal everyday is I like to add value to kids and the people so I'm very passionate about adding value to others. And being a person of influence, you know, I think leadership and is only as far as how much you can influence people. So that's why I do it is to influence others in a positive way, hopefully and add value to people around me. Yeah, that's great. And so I'm curious yet. So you said that you were actually thinking about getting into the medical field. So what changed the what made me change a hard like I want to step away from that and then I'm going to go ahead and jump into And you have mentors that encouraged you. What was it? Yeah, you know really? I think the Common Thread was just helping others. My mom is in the medical field. So that's probably what the motivation was there. And just the Common Thread is just helping others being a servant. But yeah, I had good experiences with football and other sports growing up athletically and you know, I just could see myself being a coach. You know when that time came. That's awesome. So did you did you play college ball? Yeah, I played at Butler University. It's an Indianapolis Indiana. Most people probably know us by our basketball team. It was a cool deal when when I was at school. We went to two national championship games and college basketball. But yes, I played for years there had a great experience when I got to Butler. They were on a 19 game losing streak and by my senior year we were 11 and One most wins in school history, you know conference Champs. So it was a very great experience and valuable experience. That was a great decision to go to Butler. So kind of going back to what you mentioned earlier and adding value to people's lives. Where did that come from? What and for the listeners as well? What do you think us as coaches have to do to add value to kids lives and not just kids but people that we coach with people that we teach with Administration. What do you think are some good examples of what you've done and you've seen from others to add value to people around you. I think the biggest thing to add value to others in to influence others is you have to win on the inside first. You got to you got to be the best version of yourself in order to to give that back to others. And so, you know, I'm pretty passionate about growing and learning myself by no means am I there yet. I you know nowhere close to where I want to be but my Motivation to grow as a person is so I can in turn give that value to other so my biggest thing is man be the best version of yourself. You can be continued to grow learn get better so that you can't transfer that onto others. If you know your kind of low character yourself or you you know, you're not getting better yourself. It's going to be hard to you know, make other people better so that kind of brought but thought when we were talking before we hit the record button we're Cussing podcasts and what we like to listen to and we mentioned the one that I really like to listen to as learning Leader by Ryan Hawk. And so you make a good point. I always would hear from him whenever he talks on his podcast, you know, you can't lead others unless you're able to lead yourself and I think that's so important. It's so true and a lot of times I get into talking with coaches about, you know, we spent so much time, you know in the office so much time scheming planning. And trying to figure out ways to impact kids. Sometimes we may get caught up and forget to take care of ourselves and Lead ourselves. So what types of things do you think is coaches and maybe anybody in any type of any line of work, you know, what's helpful for us to be able to grow and to get better and to lead ourselves. Yeah. That's a great question. And that's a question. I ask myself. You know, when I was a younger coach my first couple years out. I think when you first start everything is new and you're learning and growing and it's kind of natural. It just happens without you being very intentional about it because everything's new but I know probably about your three. I felt like I kind of plateaued and you know, I wasn't growing as much as I'd like and so that's when I got really into reading books listening to podcast trying to find mentors or just co-workers around me that you know, we're better at me and different areas of life. And so intentional that's a huge word for me that I try to think about and you got to be intentional about growing finding different Avenues to grow and then you know, I'd be remiss if I didn't, you know, I'm a spiritual guy and so, you know, I'm I believe Jesus was the best teacher that's ever lived and is the best teacher who's ever lived so as much as I can be like him, you know him being a mentor spending time with him is big and My Girls as well. Well now so did you did you just I mean just on your own you decided. Hey, I'm going to start this journey of self growth and Improvement. Yeah, just kind of happened natural. I read a book from John Maxwell called the 15 invaluable laws of growth and within the 15 laws. I'm reading and I'm kind of telling asking myself, you know and my grown in this area or am I not girl in this area and and unfortunately out of the fifth. I mean, I wasn't checking a lot of those boxes as growth. So that's when the wheels started turning on me trying to be intentional about finding ways to get better. That's great. As you know, it's amazing. It's amazing. Just read it open it up open up your first book. It kind of opens up your eyes a little bit then, you know, it's pretty amazing how that all works and that's awesome that you're you're into self growth and Improvement and I think it's so important for everybody to figure out ways. Ways to do that and so let's go back into a little bit of your journey and coaching. Obviously, you played it Butler and then we didn't go we didn't go very deep into your experience. You haven't always been in the state of Texas coaching. You've had some experience in Indiana as well. So talk about talk about some of your experiences and what you learned in coaching in the state of Indiana. Yeah, right after college, you know, I was lucky to get a job in the suburbs of Indianapolis at a place called Hamilton Southeastern High School. And it's one of the Premier places in Indiana. It's a 6 a there we have great kids. And so that was a great experience for me. I was around great coaches. So, you know, I was learning day. Like I said those first couple years everything was new and and the program one and at the time I didn't really know why we won or what made us successful and now in Texas and in a different situation now, you know, I'm learning. Earning, there's all kinds of things behind the scenes that tap make you win and make the program grow that I didn't necessarily know when I first started out. But yeah, it was it was it was a valuable experience. I was around great coaches great kids. And at one point I thought I'd be there forever but you know things change and and God has a different plan for you and I started Vision myself being a head coach and athletic director. And when I when I thought about that, I went back to being in high school and a kid and I envisioned Self being a head coach and AD and Texas. So that's a long-term goal of mine. And that's kind of where how I ended up down here. That's awesome. So, okay, so I'm trying to trying to get back to where I was thinking you you said things bought things behind the scenes that you started to notice and when you got when you got down here to Texas, can you go can you expand on that a little bit more what types of things that need to be done behind the scenes in order to create a successful program? Yeah. Just just just Developing that culture and and core values and and in a mission statement and just way you run your program and how you handle discipline and you know all the things that that go into making a great program. I was just I was just a cognitive will you know when I first started out and I just jumped on board and rode with it and people tell me what to do and and so now I'm starting the program here, you know, I've been I've been blessed enough to Don't have to start from scratch and and see how you know, given given kids and coaches ownership of core values and how you run things Coach Moore has done a great job of empowering us and you know, letting us have some ownership in those things. So what kind of core values y'all have here at Denton Braswell? Yes, so we are first year here. We create a seven core values Coach Moore and our staff and our kids created those core values and so I can I can kind of list them off for you. It's it's accountability its Relentless effort family Pride. passion compete and in toughness and and so we have those set of core values and they're all defined. There's a definition to all of them in our kids the start off offseason. They they are asked to know the core values and learn them. And so, you know going back to them accountability is everyday in everyway family is an acronym for forget about me. I love you Relentless effort is one of them mentality. So we have these core values and our kids they have to learn them early on in the offseason. And we have cool wristbands. That's a bingo football and being BLS which stands for being a lifestyle and and so our kids have to learn these core values and they get they get a wristband that that shows that they know and then we try to live by them, you know cultures real big and I'm a big culture guy and but I firmly believe that it's more than just putting a poster up on the wall or or just making core values but did not do anything else with them. I really believe it's what you do and how you do things and how you treat each other and people and and just day-to-day how you do things. I think that's what ultimately creates a culture way more than a cool sign on the board or or maybe a five minute talk before you know Athletics, you know, it's just how you do things every single day how you treat people. So what are the day-to-day things that you've noticed here Brad? Well that have been developing that culture because y'all are still brand new school. I mean, was it your fourth year? Yes. We are finishing up your three and we're about to start your for. Okay. And so what are the day-to-day things that you've noticed through developing the culture here with your core values. What is it that you all do as coaches in order to embody that culture that y'all that y'all are trying to create here. Yeah. So, you know, I an example, you know, we're in the offseason and maybe we're doing a hard workout. We're outside really getting after it and kids are getting tired and getting gassed and you know, we have a kid leaning over hands on his knees. You know, we may have some other kids tell them to get up. You know how that goes or hey Get Up Stand Up You know, but one of our core values is passion and passion means contagiously positive. So that might be a type of deal where hey we tell them hey passion passion, and that kind of is a trigger for To hey, I got to be positive with my teammate is awesome that I'm trying to pick my team up but we got to do it in a contagiously positive manner. So that's just day to day keep hitting the core values living it and you know every day just doing things like that. I think really take us back to the core values and how we do things and so it's cool when you know, first couple years coaches are always had to do that. It's cool to kind of see a little transition where players are now doing those things saying those the our core use two other teammates So yeah, those are some of that's an example when you said when you said I got really I got really interested because I've had a you're gonna hear tomorrow with Coach Baca. We discussed how players you know, they start taking over the program and what it is that they're they start to embody the core values themselves and man just kind of describe because I've seen it before, you know, where you're teaching teaching teaching you're trying to get kids bought in you're trying to Them to do the things, you know, like you see like you have up on the board, but you're trying to make them live it and so just to skip describe the feeling of whenever you see in the weight room or when they're doing a hard workout outside when they start taking over and they say things like passion they say things like family and it's just it just makes you feel proud. I mean describe what the scrub those types of those moments when you felt that yeah, you kind of said it Matt and mean I agree whenever your kids start saying the things that you've been you Been preaching to them for a couple years now. It's a proud moment. It makes you feel like man. We are really getting somewhere. We got some special going here now and yeah, absolutely I it gets me fired up when I hear our kids referencing our core values and living out of core values. That's like I said, that's when that's when you really feel like you got something special going and it gets you get you pumped for for the future. That's great. And so so now that you now that we've kind of Open it up a little bit talking about the culture and everything. You're taking me around these facilities which by the way are phenomenal. This is just this is awesome the setup that y'all have here and and you know, I am curious about the process. You're just you're telling me a little bit of what you do for the incoming middle schoolers from eighth grade and how to get them. You almost immediately bring them into the culture and you make them feel comfortable right away in coach whenever I interviewed Coach Compton he mentioned you want to make your program inviting for your kids. So discuss the process that you take your middle schoolers through to help them feel welcomed and to feel like they are part of the the Braswell family right away. Yeah. Absolutely. You know, we all know that coaching is built on relationships and so early on while the kids are in Middle Schools, you know, we have coaches go down and I know most programs good programs do that. They have coaches go down to the middle schools and and start building those relationships with kids. I think the something cool. We do in the springtime is we have the incoming freshmen so their current eighth graders come to Braswell and and they toured a facility. We have different kind of stations for them. So for example one stations where they going to our locker room are subpart C locker room, and we already have name tags with their last names on their locker. So that makes them, you know, they love it and they make some instantly feel like a Bingle, you know, we have another station where they kind of in put on the gear they got the Jersey on and the helmet and they take a picture in front of we have a cool Bingle face that they take a picture in front of and you know, they like the you know how it is. They like to put that stuff on Twitter and things like that and we give them our strength coach goes over our weight program and nutrition and and shows them examples of kids when they were freshmen and then pictures of them when they're seniors and how much they've grown and changed and you know, we just really You show them everything they're going to have at Braswell and and get them excited to be a Bingle. I think that's really important. Just you know, there's lots of schools around and you just gotta you gotta sell your program and and let them know that man grew good things are coming here and it's an exciting time to be a Bingle. That's that's that's great. I think it's awesome that y'all that y'all treat it that way. I mean whenever whenever we were talking about it, I just the way I described his life. Man, I feel like I'm in a small college right now just the way that you'll have it set up and you know going back to turn around the office and everything and seeing what y'all have when we went to the classroom. I'm very curious what y'all use that for meetings, but do you use it for any type of teaching character development or anything like that? And if you if so could you expand on what it is that y'all do and that in that sense? Yeah. We have like you mentioned we're blessed to have great facilities here Braswell and We have a classroom of Team classroom that we use for team meetings. It's used for position meetings. But yeah, it's also we tried to in the offseason twice a week at the beginning of the period. We have a culture development where a coach has a topic that he presents to the team for, you know, five or ten minutes short and sweet, you know, we don't want to waste too much time in the athletic period and we know they got a short attention span. But we try to spend five or ten minutes about twice a week where a coach goes over a topic. And so this past year there was a book called Championship minded and there's a lot of great topics in there that are short and sweet and so each coach kind of took two or three topics and and you know, two or three days throughout the offseason they presented that to the kids and so we talked about it. We reference it throughout the the period and kind of recap it at the end. So yeah, we're at that room for us is very diverse, and we're lucky to have and that's awesome. And I'm like, I'm just like you I'm so interested in culture and culture culture development and so huge. I mean not getting not jumping in too quick of okay. Look we got we got to jump in we got to start our workout now, we got to start a practice right away, but being able to build in time to teach your kids to sit down. It's a slower pace and and to get them to understand the message that you're trying to Send out to them and and create the buzz that you're trying to create around your program. I think that's just so awesome. And it's thank you for sharing that because I think that's a great idea for other coaches to start implementing into their programs as well and that it'll benefit them also, so talked a little bit about the program and everything and you mentioned as well. I'm sure we can go into a lot of depth with this. You're very passionate about you know this topic right here have A strong spouse in order to be a successful coach in order to do your job at a hundred percent and wife's name is Paige and you talked about her just a little bit but you can go ahead and expand a little bit about y'all's relationship. Maybe maybe how it started for y'all and how it is that y'all been able to keep a strong partnership in this profession because it's tough It's very tough and time-consuming and it takes you away from each other. So talk about your experience in that. Yes, Matt, so So yeah, my Pate my wife Paige. She was the head basketball coach here at Braswell and she recently stepped down because we had our first daughter our first child and so she stepped down to spend more time at home. And you know going back when we were up in Indiana. She was coaching basketball up there in a great program. It was home. Her parents were five minutes away and And we decided to move to Texas. He was a big sacrifice for her. And so, you know, I think it's just very important that your spouse is supportive and willing to sacrifice because it is a sacrifice to be a coach's wife or husband. And so, you know, I heard coaches say that when I was young, you know before I was married that you know, your wife is very important because you know, it takes a big sacrifice. So just just like I mentioned earlier being in assured about growing you got to be intentional about keeping your relationship at home strong, you know, haven't had keeping your family healthy and strong and and I think that's key because if things aren't great at home, then it's going to be hard to to do a great job at work and Lead kids and and do a good job will relationships at work and school with your kids if your relationships aren't at home aren't healthy. So, you know, that's that's something that I'm very Intentional about is keeping my relationship with my wife and family strong keeping a balance. We all know that's harder in the season of keeping a balance with your time. But you know, it's important, you know, I'm still a young guy and we just had our first child but you know, I've seen the other side of when things aren't great at home and how it affects can affect you as a coach. So I think that's really important that you keep keep your home life healthy your intentional about that and also, you know It's You know guys who aren't married yet that's important when picking picking a wife is that she understands the sacrifice and and what it's going to take to be a coach's wife, you know going back to my wife being a coach she was a head coach here at Braswell and so I got to be on the other side of being a coach's husband and she's getting home late every night and I'm having to do the dishes and clean up the house and get you know, do all that and that's tough to so you got to appreciate what your wife doesn't home holding it down at home and Pay attention about keeping that relationship healthy I think is very important and advice. I'd give young guys out there. So do you think you think both y'all being coaches probably helped that probably helped out in the beginning of everything. Yeah. Absolutely. I think it's helped us be able to relate to each other. You know, she understands the stresses that go into coaching and how you know, sometimes you do take home. Unfortunately, you know, something may happen at practice or in the game and and how you do take it home and thank you. Thank about and how your mind is always going and I think that's definitely helped us relate to each other and keep our relationship stronger because we can relate you know, and I think any relationship that you can relate to each other put yourself in each other's shoes and just maintain that that trust and respect is going to keep your relationship strong. So that absolutely has helped us. I know she always says that she was a head coach So that she can understand me when I'm a head coach one day. That's a deep thought by her, right? That's awesome. That's great advice. So I was curious why you're talking to y'all get competitive at home at all. You know. Yeah, we do get competitive not as much anymore. But when we first started dating she's a basketball player and she's a really good basketball playing her day. So our biggest arguments always joke with Franz about which is true. Our biggest arguments have been playing one-on-one basketball. We've gotten pretty intense and Not talk the rest of the day if you got really really going that day and one on one. That's awesome. So I think it's I think that's great that y'all both have had experience as coaching and to be a to be a to be a to be a married couple that both coaches. I mean obviously to be able to relate that's awesome. You know, I'm I'm still I'm still young. I don't have a family of my own or anything. So it's great that you're teaching me these this advice as well and for you young coaches as well. Make sure that you're listening. Right. It's so important to make sure that you're keeping those relationships strong also, so I was I was wondering too. I mean how beneficial has it been for you both being coaches. How much is it helped you grow as a coach yourself? Yeah, you haven't paid just has helped me grow and and every every way possible, but I've got to see her and see her be a head coach and kind of learn from her mistakes and things she's done well and You know the word I think about when I think about my wife and like I said going back to advice for young guys out. There is a Synergy. I love the word Synergy and my definition of synergy is one plus one equals three and so together you're way better than you would be, you know alone if you guys have a strong relationship you guys are able to just exponentially improve each other and She challenges me professionally spiritually and so having her and having her be able to relate to me and and me be able to see her and the things that she's gone through as a coach's has I think is preparing me for my future. Yeah, that's awesome. And you know it, you know, not everybody not everybody is in the situation. Y'all are were both the our coaches or anything, but I think that's such a great. I love that word that you use right there Synergy and I I think that anybody no matter what if your if your wife's a coach or she's not a coach or if your if your husband's not a coach whatever it is, I mean you can find that way to relate to each other and you know, I think you know, this is kind of a thought. I'm just having right here. I mean, I think it's so important that we talk about family just like you did with with your culture here at Braswell. I mean, you got to involve your family as well. I mean, obviously it was probably easy to bring your wife around practice and all that because She was here at the school. But I mean do you think do you agree that maybe that it's important that you need to bring your family out to be around the players and to get to get themselves in the culture as well. Yeah. Absolutely. You know, we're blessed here at Braswell Coach Moore and he's a big family guy and his kids and a lot of our coaching staff kids are always around the field house and and wives all have great relationships with each other and and they're always around and it's a family environment here and that is important because we spend so much time here at the field house. We spend so much time together as families that you know, it is one big family. And so I think any great program has those relationships with each other as far as coaches with each other as coaches wives kids growing up together. It is a big deal to have that environment and culture that people people love coming around field house. They love going to games together. It's just enjoyable enjoyable lifestyle because it is it's a lifestyle. It's more than more than just a job. I believe being in the coach profession thinking about you know, I just whenever you talk, you know, I just I get I am getting so many ideas of questions that I want to ask you. So I appreciate the dialogue you're giving your coach has been awesome. And so talk a talk to us a little bit about how it's been y'all opened up the school. Did you did you come here when the school first opened? Yes, sir. I'm on the original staff and you Year one I was here eyebrows. Well, okay. So I was gonna I was gonna go ahead and dive in there the process you and I kind of talked about that a little bit before we came in and we started hitting the record button the process of developing a new program. How much is that helped you grow as a coach. How much is it helped your entire staff grow. And then how has it helped your kids grow and developing that process and getting people to buy in. Yeah, it's been Aren't a new program and being a part of that has been very exciting very challenging and you realize when you start a new not only a new football program, but a brand new high school that you know, most places already have systems in place the way they do things and and when you start something you got to develop that so there could be no stone left unturned or can be no detailed left out. And so you have to really think through those things once again coach more. You know, he obviously It was the heavy lifter and all that but he empowered us and and included us in a lot of those processes. So, you know just things you take for granted like having your facilities ready at the beginning, you know, when we started Braswell, all our facilities weren't weren't done. So we were busting kids over to our ISD Stadium for practice every day. And that's 25 minutes away and our equipment. Was that the admin building Being and and so, you know the week before our first game we've only had our kids a few weeks and the week before our first game. We're having to haul equipment over to our field house instead of prepare for for our first game. So, you know, there's lots of challenges, you know, we didn't have seniors our first year we started out with only Juniors and it was a it was a varsity schedule from the get-go. So it's been a challenging process, but it's also been a learning process. SS growing growing deal and I believe our coaches and our kids have learned a lot from it. They've you know, they've earned, you know, no pun intended as earned her stripes and I think we're ready to raid a win here Braswell, you know, I was I was kind of talking to you about a book about bamboo trees and how you know you water the bamboo tree and it takes years for it to grow in those first few years. It doesn't do anything and then and then finally it kind of explodes and takes off and so I'm excited for the future here. I Braswell what was the name of that book real quick. You know, man. I wish I could tell you that just be like, yeah, if you search bamboo book, I'm sure it'll be the first thing on the search. Alright, awesome. I'll make sure to I'll make sure the Google search that a little bit that's great. So let's talk a little bit about your head coach coach more. You've mentioned him a lot. You say he's this is first job as a coach watching him and you know, you've talked about you want to be a head coach one day. What are the types of things you've learned just being under him and just trying trying to understand the experiences that he's been going through and being a first year head coach. Yeah. It's been you know, one of the first things I noticed about Coach Moore was a My first summer we're working out our kids and how many times he told kids that he loved them and he was proud of them. And you know, I'm a guy who says I love you and stuff at home. But you know looking back program. I was at before I don't remember telling my players that often. So that was that was one of the first things that that I remember about Coach Moore was him telling kids that he's proud of them. He loves them. That's something I try to do pretty much daily. I tell my tell my guys that tell my kids that because it is about relationships. He's great with relationships. You know, I know my communication Style with kids is truth and Grace and you know, you can't be a yeller and screamer because they eventually tune that out and it becomes a environment that you know, they don't want to be around so I'm real big on Trent kids ride and and give them truth and Grace and hold them accountable, but you do it in the For way and building building their confidence and making the complicated simple when it comes to scheme and things like that. These are all things that coach more does and you know, I've just, you know, try to been a sponge around him. He's a he's a he's a awesome and sharp offensive mind. But I think one of his biggest strength is just how he leads our program and leaves our fellow coaches. So as you're talking there I was right. I was starting to write down a question that I wanted to get to and so I'm glad that I'm getting this opportunity. If you just we've talked on the phone getting to know you a little bit. You're very big. We've already discussed your big growth guy. How can we become better Learners as coaches? Because you know talk about some of the advice that you have to get for young coaches when you were starting off, you know, what are the steps we can start taking, you know for especially for coaches for young coaches get a head start before they even start in the profession. They can start learning and growing and and getting ahead of the Game a little bit so that they can have the impact that you've had on your players hit on a little bit earlier. I would say, you know, the biggest thing is fine people that are better than you, you know, you don't want to be the smartest guy in the room with you are you're in the wrong room and so and that could be anything if there's a you have a guy on your staff that you just kind of admire his family life and his relationship with his wife seems strong and his kids. You know talk to him about that. Try to grow in that aspect, you know, there's a guy all staff that you just noted. He's sharp with the X's and O's and on the board get what him and try to learn from him. There's just that that's what I try to do. I try to I try to look for guys that are better than me in different aspects of life and try to learn what you can from them. And I probably need to do a better job of just kind of asking for them to be asking them if they can mentor me more and spend some extra. Time, you know I try to be, you know respect people's time. And so I try to just kind of asked around the office and just have conversations. But while I'm having conversations with guys, I'm always trying to learn that it's not just you know shooting the breeze with him. I'm usually trying to learn something pick something up from do a lot less of talking and a lot more of the listening. So that's that's what I would that's when my advice would be for young coaches is trying to be around people better than you that you can grow from. And that's an all aspects of life. Not just you know x's and o's with football. Okay. So what is some of the best advice and I'm sure you've heard a lot of it. It's I like to ask this from coaches because then I can I can be a little selfish and add it to my wheelhouse a little bit but for everybody else, what's the best piece of advice that you've learned in your experience as coach my best advice? I think something that sticks out to me is a and I know a lot of young coaches me and you kind of discuss this a little bit and before but is Not just being a rush to get to the next job or the next title. You know, I know I'm not you got to be where your feet are and and something I kind of think about and live by is surrender the outcome, which means you got to you got to just worry about getting better every day being the best person you can be every day and and the outcome will take care of itself. You don't have to go searching for that next job or or the next day the next step or it'll happen naturally will happen. Organically. You just gotta do a great job at where you're at now help people help, you know do a great job coaching be a great assistant coach for your head coach and your coordinators and opportunities will come there's enough opportunity for everybody who are doing things the right way and and taking care of business. So that would be the biggest thing I've heard from from people is don't be So worried about the next job and I definitely try to implement that in my career. And so that's what I would give young guys is don't be so worried about is trying to find a title just be the best coach you can be to your kids to your head coach to your coordinators and and opportunities will happen organically. So what is you talk about being a great assistant coach and I can I can tell you know, I haven't been around you. Been around you to see what you do, but I mean I can just tell that you are an example of a great assistant coach. And so what do you think? What do you think it is that you do? Go ahead go ahead and brag on yourself a little a little bit. I know you probably don't like to do that. But what is it that you do that you think helps make you a great assistant coach and then what more what more do we all need to do to be looking for opportunities to be a great assistant coach to coordinator a head coach. Yeah, I think the first thing is and Coach more. He always tells us, you know, you got to be the head coach of your position so full ownership the head coach of your position, you know, I know I've heard the saying and people say that their position takes the, you know mentality or they take the they're like their position coach, you know, so I really do try to look out in the field and hopefully my position is is guys who are giving their best all the time. Relentless effort great attitudes, you know things that take no talent. I like to say that when my guys is the TNT. We got to be great to TNT's the things that takes no talent because that's what you can control, you know, every single one of my position players can control the TNT's regardless of talent level. So it starts there being a head coach of your position. No job is beneath you whether that's you know, cleaning out the equipment room. To open it up lockers for kids to mowing the grass doing the laundry all the stuff that you know is kind of dirty work and coaching you got to be willing to do all that stuff. Just so the program goes and just you know, I tried like I said, I'm a young coach but I try to look for opportunities to help out other coaches around me other players around me, you know, I try not to coach other. Dishes too much, but there's something that I see another player doing that in their position that I know I can I can help out with you know, I may pull me aside and kind of tell them something. I'm real big on giving kids confidence. So, you know, I don't want to over Coach a kid at another position technique-wise, but if I can kill to help give them confidence brag on them a little bit and say hey man, I'm notice you doing a great job out there. Keep it up. I try to find Opportunities to do that because that's big giving kids confidence so they can play and It's have fun out there. So those are just some ways that I try to be the best assistant coach I can yeah, and I'm you know me. I'm the same way. I love to I love to put coffee give confidence to kids. I mean, I just, you know, you can be the you can be the greatest teacher of technique and and greatest X's and O's guys but guy ever, but if you don't if you don't give them confidence, then they're not going to be able to go out and perform and so I commend you. Percent for that and so it's so important you've got to instill that confidence and you know one thing that I really like to do and I firmly believe in is as soon as you see a kid do something that you think is great or that falls in line with your culture or core values. You need to immediately, you know point that out and praise them and because I feel like it I feel like it creates a domino effect for other players to want to follow that example. So I mean I if you want to expand any with anything more any thoughts that you have with that, I think that's so true that you've got to you've got to put that confidence in kids and don't be afraid to do that. You know, don't feel like you've got to be the you got to be the hard coach, you know, you got to be tough on them all the time. You know, you work on your soft skills work on saying hey, you did great at this. All right so build on that and let's get better at what you're making a mistake on right here. You know, I'm saying I hundreds in agree. You know, I'm Big, you know, we kind of sketch John Gordon earlier and he's a big positive guy and you gotta you gotta build kids up and you got to give a lots of positives. You can't have, you know, I'm a Believer you got to give three or four or five positives to every negative that you give a kid. It can't be the opposite way. And even though that can be easy to do because you're coaching them up there doing things wrong, but there's ways to hold kids accountable in the coach home coach him hard, but doing it like I said in a A graceful way and not shaking her confidence. You know, I firmly believe that you can coach kids hard hold them accountable in a way that doesn't tear them down. You're still building them up. You know. Hey, you didn't do this. Correct this rep, but man to read before that. Yeah, you did this awesome justjust, correct this and we'll be rocking. So I agree 100% And if a kid did have a tough practice and maybe you had to get on a little bit and it's just was a tough practice for them. I'm a firm believer. Rent at the inner practice goal of them up. Don't let him go home. Don't let him go home upset and just thinking about how bad practice when or how coach jumped on me. I think you got to love them up and tell them you love them. Tell me proud of them tomorrow's gonna be better so that they don't go home and it just gets the to brew and get worse at home. So I'm a big believer in that. Yeah. And so I mean, you know, it's, you know, we look in society today and we feel Uh that, you know, we kind of make judgments on the generation that our kids are in now that you know, they're dead. Everything's handed to them. They're not tough. They're not they're not resilient or anything like that. I mean what I mean, do you think it takes a little bit of you need to go deeper and understanding the the society that kids are living in in order to develop that confidence. I know I'm kind of thinking deeply here, but maybe we just you know, sometimes whenever we don't we just think oh, well, they can't do that. Because you know, they weren't like us when we played or something like that. You know, how much of it does it take understanding this generation what it is that they deal with on a daily basis. Yeah, I think relating the kids is huge and developing that relationships with them because I agree I hear that, you know kids aren't as tough as they used to be as we were but you know, that's one thing without going into too much details, you know, I had some a lot of adverse situations and challenges growing up that now in hindsight. Insight years later I'm glad I went through those things. You know, I kind of had a nomadic childhood and I went moved around a lot. I went to three high schools, you know, financially things were always great at home. Sometimes relationships at home work great. And and so I look for those times when the kid you can just tell maybe they got something on their mind you go talk to him. And I think it's I love when I can relate to a kid and tell them a specific story of how I had went through. Same thing man when I was your age, and I think that's key to help the kids because you know, you can't let a circumstances to find you and sometimes the biggest thing is just how you perceive those circumstances. That's really what can can put you down. So I think when you can relate to the kids and and you know show them hey, even though this is this stuff is going this thing at home is tough, you know, you're not defined by that you can overcome that. It's kind of how you perceive it. How you respond to it? And I still believe kids can can be tough and be everything that we wanted to be hold them accountable relate to them. Love them up and sky's the limit. I still believe kids are great kids. Like they've always been mad. So God man, that's powerful. I'm just thinking like so I mean you're so right because you're saying it start it starts with us as as leaders. As the coaches and so if we if we start this this belief that when the kids screws up right here and he's done it multiple times and we just said all he can't he can't do that. Now. I understand. You got to figure out you got to put a kid in the best situation possible. You don't want to ask them to do something that that you know, they may not be capable of doing it. But so you can give them that confidence, but at the same time you don't want to just write a kid off. You don't want to lose belief. In them you always want you want to make them feel like they're playing for something bigger and just just going back to that confidence thing. We keep talking about I think it like you said there it starts with us as coaches and our mindset and understanding that if we're if we're not going to believe in them. They're not going to believe in themselves. I mean, I can see not in your head. What are the thoughts do you have? Yeah, I think you know one thing I go back to is is motivating the kids. Sometimes they just lack motivation and it goes back to We hit on a lot of just relationships with them. You know, I've heard coach more say before unless you took a kid home asked about their family bottom of milled and don't jump on them yet. You don't know him yet. And so I think if you really put in the time to get to know a kid and the form that relationship 99 at a hundred times that kids going to run through a wall for you and it's going to try their darndest to do exactly what you want to do and then it goes back to the to TNT. He's you know, the things that take no Talent I've yet to experience where kid is not going to play hard for me after I form that relationship with them and in the things that they it may be a challenge from the dude just because athletic leader not there. I'm going to keep coaching them up and trying to hold him accountable, but I'm not going to repeat his tail just because you just know physically he can't do something and so, you know, that's just kind of my coaching Style and what I believe in and just forming those relationships that motivates kids they want to run through a wall for that. Should they respect in that they trust and so gaining that trust gain that respect you fought most of the battle at that point. So yeah mentioning time to like it takes a lot of time. I mean, you know, I don't I don't know. I don't know the science behind developing relationships or anything. But I mean, I mean golly it takes it takes months. It could take a year with a kid. I mean, I don't know how it works. I think it all just depends on the on the kid and then yourself and how much you're willing to put into the relationship but going into time and developing relationships. You said coach more he mentioned if you haven't driven a kid home or if you haven't taken them to get food or restaurant or whatever. You can't rip a kid. So what are some ways that we can start stealing time developing that time to build the relationship maybe some examples that you have done and taken advantage of in order to strengthen your relationship with your position players and other players on the team. You know, I think you know as Texas coaches we are we we talked earlier. I think what makes Texas Texas and we are blessed to have athletic period of time and so we already have so much built in time. I don't think there's any reason why we can't build this relationship with kids because in other states that's not the case. You may see the kid after school during the football season and then when season is over you don't see that kid for a few months, so We're very lucky in Texas have the athletic period so we can see our kids daily, but just just still in time, you know, when they're stretching or after after after practice or when you see him in the hallway. It goes a long way asking how Mom and Dad's doing had her brother's doing how to grade the checking in on her grades. Just knowing that someone cares about them. I think that goes a long way but I just try to find Opportunities when they're just changing in the locker room or you know before the athletic period when our Because they come in they have first period so some of them get their little early kind of going in there spend some time with them. And then what are what are other guys after school? And you know, when they're kind of just hanging around the field house go talk to him go. Ask how things were going and you can have some fun and jump around with them. Just kind of doing all those things. Like you said, there's no magic to it. But putting that time in there's no there's no replacing the actual minutes and hours spent with those kids. To form those relationships. Absolutely and you know, I feel like it takes a little bit of a humble mindset to to want to go into locker room and just talk to kids and all of that instead of getting caught up and I got to get I got to get this done for practice. I got to get this prepared and not thinking well, there's no point in me going into locker room. I don't need to have a conversation with the kid, you know, I think it takes a little bit of a humble mindset and I just I could read it in you man. You just you take that you take that. On set for sure. I think it's that's awesome. And then coach this is it's been awesome. I think we could talk for hours and hours and hours, but I know that you've got your family to go home to you. Got to Brent. You got a kid who was just born. I think that's awesome. But I do want to go ahead and close it out. And you know, you've given a lot of great advice and I appreciate your time. But if there's anything that you would like to say advice wise for a young coach coaches have been been in the profession for a long time. What's one thing one message you'd like to get out of could be even to your players. What's one best that you would like to give out get out to people through this podcast my biggest my biggest thing that I try to live by and you know, I'm still pretty young and I've only been doing this for 10 years, but I like to live by you you get what you give and so it's a It's a natural law. It's a lot at you. Not break. Okay, so you got to see the cloud you're going to reap what you sow, you know, I'm kind of going back to you know spiritual but I'm a strong believer. You're going to get what you give and if you're giving your best every single day you're going to get that back in return and and it's also the opposite if you're kind of half telling things and your kind of cutting corners and and you trying to get yourself out of things and you're going to get that in return so I love that saying I try to I try to really instill it in my players. You're going to get what you give even if the coaches and watching what you're putting into it is what you're gonna get out of it. So that's kind of just something that I'd advise people. I like to live by and and I'm a you just can't break the law of that of reaping and sowing and so once again get what you give and surrender the outcome and good things are going to happen. Well coach. Thank you again. This was awesome. I really am grateful for the opportunity. I love to do this and getting to meet getting to meet guys like you your high-level guy. I think that you're in the profession for the right reasons, and so thank you again. I appreciate this time, and I hope you have a good rest of the weekend and I hope we continue to stay in touch as we learn and grow and continue to get better in our careers. Thank you for that. Absolutely, Matt. Thanks for having me on. Another thank you to coach Trujillo for joining me on the show today and taking the time out of his busy schedule to share some of his thoughts with me. This is my first opportunity to do a face-to-face interview and it was a blast every single second. We got the feed off of each other's energy and I think that made for a great interview. He shared a lot of great Insight. I loved his approach to coaching. I love his humble attitude and mindset and I think it's a great example that he leaves for his players and for other coaches around him, and I can't wait to see Coach Trujillo does in the rest of his career. Thank you again to all of you who listen to the coaches journey and supported thank you for then sharing it with others on social media. And if you would like to continue to support coach attorney show, please just give a simple follow on Twitter by searching at the coach's Journey or follow on Instagram by searching be underscore coaches Journey. Also, please hit the Subscribe button at the top of the page if you're on Apple podcast or whatever platform you used. Subscribe continue to listen continue to grow discover your wise a coach and impact kids every single day. Thank you. Have a great day.
Ricky Trujillo is currently an assistant football coach at Denton Braswell High School. This is Ricky's 4th season at Braswell and he has been a part of opening up the very young program! Ricky has spent time coaching not only in the state of Texas but he got his start in the state of Indiana, where he also spent his time for college. Ricky attended Butler University and played football during his time at Butler as well. He is a humble individual and is an up and coming coach with a lot of potential. Some of the topics that Ricky and I discuss are the culture of Denton Braswell and their process of making an inviting environment for their incoming freshman athletes. We also discuss what his beliefs are to be an effective coach and a topic that he was very passionate about... having a great spouse as a coach. During this talk we get into how Ricky's wife Paige has been a huge supporter in his career as a coach and how her being a coach has helped Ricky in his growth as well. This was a very fun episode and... it was also the FIRST in person interview that I have had the opportunity to conduct! 