Building Excellence

#31: Ben was Seattle Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll's right hand man. From a University of Southern California walk on to the NFL sidelines Ben shares his story of faith & purpose. 

As a student at USC Ben wrote for the Daily Trojan. He was focused on pursing a career in journalism. What started as a good idea about documenting what it was like to go through walk on tryouts for the USC football team turned into even more than what he imagined. Ben made the team. This was at the prime of the USC football dynasty in the 2000's. Throughout his time at USC Ben connected and developed a relationship with Coach Pete Carroll. It led to an opportunity to work on the USC football staff and then with Coach Carroll to the Seattle Seahawks. 

In Ben's book "Walk On" (From Pee Wee Dropout to the Sidelines - My Unlikely Story of Football, Purpose, and Following an Amazing God) he talks about "the nudge". He shares that every time he gets the nudge from God of stepping out in faith he tries to take it. In the show you will see how many times he has done just that and in the moment he didn't see the results that he thought he would. However, God has bigger and better plans. From his own experiences you will see how sometimes it is not the momentary results, but the courage and diligence to act and follow God's nudge in your life, even when you can't see the outcome. 

For more info on Ben Malcolmson check out https://benmalcolmson.com/
His Book - Walk On (also being turned into a movie)

Enjoy the show!

#30: OSU Baseball All American, Houston Astros draft pick, & 2015 Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, Michael Freeman, shares on developing consistency, building a routine, and just go do it.

Many who followed Mike's story could easily believe that he was an overnight sensation, however Mike shares how that is simply not the case. Rather it was a culmination of ruthless consistency to get better each day. 

Mike's baseball journey was not an easy or glamorous journey. Upon his high school graduation he chose to sign at Eastern Oklahoma State College in Wilberton Oklahoma, where he redshirted his freshman year. After 3 seasons at Eastern, he was fortunate enough to earn a spot at Oklahoma State University. After a ok junior season, Mike had a break out senior season earning him the 2015 Big 12 Pitcher of the Year & an All American selection. He was then drafted by the Houston Astros in the 7th round of the 2015 MLB draft. 

Mike shares the principles that helped him achieve success, along with the stories and lessons that shaped him to become the person he is today. 

Enjoy the show!

#29: Keith Chesley is an assistant men's basketball coach at Army West Point. In this show he shares so much from leadership, building a culture, being ready, having a whatever it takes mentality, finding a way, and just figuring it out. 

Before getting to West Point he came from James Madison, were he served as the Director of Basketball Operations for the 2020-21 season. In his role, he was responsible for all day-to-day operational aspects within the program including player development, team travel, budgeting, equipment, new arena design and game scheduling. With his assistance, the Dukes had a worst-to-first turnaround from the season before. JMU claimed the CAA regular season title and earned the top seed in the conference tournament for the first time in 28 years.

Prior to joining the Dukes' staff, he spent the 2019-20 season at Georgia Southern as the Director of Basketball Operations. The Eagles went 20-13 and advanced to the Sun Belt semifinal, but the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The year before that, he served as the Director of Basketball Operations at Stetson University.

Chesley got his start in coaching at Florida State, where he served as a graduate assistant from 2016-18. The Seminoles advanced to the NCAA tournament both years he was there, including a run to the Elite Eight in 2018. Six members of the team went on to sign NBA contracts.

Chesley owns a bachelor's degree in liberal studies with a concentration in special education from the University of Maine at Augusta, where he was a four-year star on the court. He is the program's all-time leading scorer with 2,119 career points. Chesley also enjoyed success in the classroom. A four-time United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Academic All-American, he was also named the organization's National Student-Athlete of the year in 2015. Chesley additionally earned his master's in sports management from Florida State University in 2018.

#28: Jared Gallagher is a dedicated professional in the sports industry with more than a decade of experience across all facets of athletic events. 

Jared got his start in the public address booth during his senior year of high school announcing grade school football and high school soccer in his hometown of Owasso, Oklahoma. In the following years, he gained experience in media relations, broadcasting, game management and entertainment at every level of athletics.

After a three-year stint in Florida, Jared returned to his home state of Oklahoma and currently announces at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. Over the last decade, he has had the opportunity to announce more than 1,100 athletic events. In addition to his experience, Jared has obtained professional certification from the National Association of Sports Public Address Announcers, the only such certification of its kind.

In 2017, NASPAA selected Jared as the Bob Sheppard Public Address Announcer of the Year, the highest professional honor for a public address announcer. He is the current PA announcer for the OKC Dodger, University of Tulsa football and basketball, and has does numerous others including NCAA March Madness. In the show he shares his story and many of the lessons he has learned along the way!

Enjoy the show!

#27: Current Furman Men’s Basketball Chaplin & Pastor of Freedom Church Nate Muse. Nate poses so many great questions to reflect upon. A key concept he focuses on is knowing yourself. Do you know who you are and where you keep your identity? If you don’t know the answer to that question then how can you expect to lead others well? Help dives into some real action steps to get you going and growing in the right direction. 

A few more things he touches on: 
- how to grow relationships through deep connection
- connection grows compassion
- having a desire to develop others
- focused leadership and attacking things head on
- what does success look like to you?
- are you exhausting all you can do each day?
- we find out the most about ourselves when the heat is turned up
- do we have healthy processes and habits that will grow us?
- long obedience in the same direction
- we all do what we desire the most

There are so many great points that he brings up and these are just a few. Throughout the show you will see why Nate is so well respected and sought out for wisdom and counsel. You can also see how God honors those that use their gifts, abilities, and talents to serve. 

Enjoy the show!

#26: Head Coach of the Greensboro Swarm, Jordan Surenkamp, on attention to detail, knowing yourself, and getting comfortable being uncomfortable. 

Growing up in Indiana, basketball and competition was always a part of Jordan's life. He had the opportunity to play college basketball at Wabash. Upon graduation he went to start his coaching career at South Alabama and then on to the NBA with the Charlotte Hornets. 

Jordan shares many different experiences and insight from his career in coaching. In the show he touches on what separates those individuals at the elite level, how to take advantage of opportunities, how to develop authentic meaningful relationships, pursuing your passion, and much more. 

When we recorded this show Jordan was the video coordinator of the Charlotte Hornets. Since the recording he was elevated to the Head Coach of their G-League team the Greensboro Swarm. His recent appointment to head coach is a current real life example of "being where your feet are" and doing a great job where you are at, which he touches on in the show.

Enjoy the podcast!

#25: Founder of the Sports Armory, Coach Pace has been dedicated to athletics and sports performance his entire life. At a young age he was competitive in basketball, track, and boxing. A love for physical conditioning developed at the start of middle school. Due to an unwavering desire to become a great athlete, his activities quickly became a lifestyle. Coach Pace received a full scholarship to play basketball for St. Gregory’s University where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science.

Coach Pace is known for his ability to pull the best out of the athletes he trains.  His adolescent athletes respect him, trust him and look up to him as a mentor and friend. The one thing all of Pace’s athletes will tell you is “He is the best at what he does because he’s never satisfied with what he knows right now.”

He has been working as an active strength and conditioning specialist since 1998 and has been certified with National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) since 2002. Coach Pace also serves as a member of the NSCA Oklahoma Advisory Board and holds certifications as a sports nutritionist through the International Sports Science Association, certified C360 master trainer, and a certified USA Weightlifting Level 1 Sport Performance Coach.

For more information on Coach Pace, read The Coach Pace Difference.

#24: Are you taking advantage of the opportunities you've been given? Former UTSA long snapping standout, Matt Bayliss, sits down and shares what it takes to achieve a career of perfection. With over 500 plus snaps without a messed up snap, Matt talks about how to find your niche and be great at what you do. 

Coming out of college Matt was in the top 3 of deep snappers  for the NFL. Throughout his career he put in the work and reaped the rewards, but there is much more to his story than just that. Long snapping is not a common path. It is one that has a unique route to get to the college level. As Matt was early in high school he decided he wanted to focus on long snapping, so that he would have an opportunity to play college football. Throughout his story you will see how he figured out what he wanted to do, took initiative, and took advantage of the opportunities in front of him. He became confident once he committed and shares how that is a motto to live by in your own life. That confidence will build belief in yourself and that belief in yourself will build success in your life. 

Enjoy the show!

#23: John Benzinger shares what it means to love people well, work smarter and not harder, and encourage others. John is a living example of what it means to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. 

John did not grow up with a lot, but rather everything he needed. He had loving and supportive parents and a lot of siblings. Two of his siblings had down syndrome and he shares how much they impacted his life. Once he got married he took a leap of faith and stepped into his fear of moving away from his home in Kentucky. He touches on what those moments were like not only starting fresh in a new town, but also in business. He shares how his faith became more real and how it has guided him through his life. In this show John touches on many different aspects of building excellence, being honest, developing relationships, having courage, taking risk, and trusting God. Just a few of some great lessons from John Benzinger.

John has been a great influence upon me and I know he will be to you! Enjoy the show!

#22: Ian Davis is a former professional golfer and All American at Oklahoma State University. In the show you will see that Ian's preparation, confidence, relationships, and work ethic are what helped propel him to succeed.

Ian grew up with supportive parents that encouraged him to pursue his dreams of playing golf. Once he made the commitment to go all in for golf he never looked back. He talks about how important is it to have discipline and stay committed to the process even when you may not feel like doing something at the time. It is about doing the little things over and over again, behind the scenes, that helps prepare you for the the moment. Those little moments of preparation give you the confidence to compete at the highest level. 

He shares some of his experiences playing golf  both in high school, college, and professionally. And he also touches on overcoming adversity, staying focused, building processes to help accomplish your goals, and much more!

Enjoy the show!