January 2020 - 30

season is we started to get better talent, but we were
so young that we didn't have any leadership. I started
questioning myself as far as what kind of training I ever
received to be able to train and develop leadership. I
started doing some research and sought professional
help from this company called The Program. It's a
military type company, and they came in and for 48
hours worked with me and my staff. They then did
half a day with the team on leadership training and
development.
I did that for a good six years at Tiffin, and I think
it's one of the best things I've ever done for my career
and for my coaches. We all want to think we've got the
magical Xs and Os, but there's so much more to it. I think
it's about working the players extremely hard but also
showing that you care and you love them. And it's about
getting them to buy in. If you do that, they'll run through
a wall for you.
Did you have a defining moment where you
decided you wanted to coach?
I didn't want to be a coach. I had no interest. My dad
was a successful businessman, and I earned my business
degree from Valdosta State. My senior year, Hal Mumme
told me I should get into coaching. I remember saying I'm
not doing that.
" I found out real quick that if you're going to try
to do something you have a passion for and love,
you're going to have to pay your dues. "
For three years, I was in the back of a bread truck
in downtown Atlanta at 3 a.m. Me and my wife had just
gotten married and, as a young couple with no kids,
we felt like we had plenty of money and could run the
world. But I hated my job, which just made our lives
miserable. I called Mumme and said I want to get into
coaching.
I volunteered for one year at the high school where I
played. I then started in Georgia as a high school football
coach for two-and-a-half years, and Dana Holgorsen
was my receivers coach. His brother, Brett, got the head
coaching job at Iowa Wesleyan College, and he called Hal
Mumme and said, " I want to run the air raid, but I need
a young guy who I can't pay hardly anything to. " That
guy happened to be me. I was payed $12,000 to be the
offensive coordinator.
I found out real quick that if you're going to try to do
something you have a passion for and love, you're going
to have to pay your dues.
As you thumb through this magazine, you
probably have a whole list of wants and
needs for your student athletes. Getting the
funding for it all? That's the challenge.
A Daktronics video display can add
revenue to your athletic budget. Your
Daktronics Sports Marketing (DSM) rep
will help you secure sponsors now and in
years to come, at no extra cost to you.
Schools that go digital and partner with
DSM bring in an average of $40,000 in
revenue per year. That could pay for your
video display and fund a lot of your wish list!
LEARN MORE AT
DAKTRONICS.COM/WHYVIDEO.
30 JANUARY 2020
Choose #114 online
http://www.DAKTRONICS.COM/WHYVIDEO
January 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2020
