This one is special to me. As most of you know, I grew up without a permanent father figure in my life. I've mentioned in the past that there was a select group of men who helped mold and shape me into the man that I am today. I'm not sure there is another man in my young life who was as influential as my guest today. His name is Matt Labrum and he was my high school football and baseball coach.

Today, we talk about his influence in my life and thousands of other young men's lives, the power of allowing kids to fail (including some failures of my own), why competitive sports are so valuable in a young man's life, why he cut his entire team from the football program, and a man's responsibility to future generations.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS

• The power of allowing kids to fail
• Why competition is critical for young men
• How winners continue to find a way to win
• The politics of raising children and coaching
• Pros and cons of coaching your own children
• Our obligation as men to give back to future generations
• How sports are about so much more than the game
• Why one high school football coach cut his entire team
• The difference between being a parent and being a defender
• How to raise boys through the power of competitive sports

MATT LABRUM

Men, I did this interview a little while ago and I've been anxiously waiting to release it to you. Every single one of us has some very influential people in our lives. Today, I'm talking with probably the most influential man in mine, especially as a young boy learning to become a man. He is a high school educator. He has been teaching for more than two decades and, in addition to that, he is a high school baseball coach (when I was in school, he was the head football, basketball, and baseball coach).

He gained some national attention several years ago after cutting his entire football team from the program for grade and attendance issues, and how his team was showing up in the community and at school.

This is a man I admire and respect as he shaped a lot of who I was as a young man and who I am still becoming. He never took it easy on me. We talk about two experiences in particular during this conversation but I never doubted how much he cared about my progress and the progress of the boys under his care.

Please leave us a review at http://orderofman.com/itunes

Shownotes: http://orderofman.com/164

Website: http://orderofman.com