B.U.I.L.T. D1FF3R3NT Studio Podcast - Hosted By Coach Randy Narciso

Some students learn how things work. Others can't stop asking how they could work better.

Reyhan Ali appears to be wired for the second question.

In Episode #76 of the B.U.I.L.T. D1FF3R3NT Studio Podcast, Coach Randy sits down with Reyhan, a Grade 12 student whose interests sit at the intersection of aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, creative projects, and music. His profile identifies him as an ENTP “Visionary,” with creativity, innovation, work-life balance, and continuous improvement among his core values.

And academically, he's built a strong foundation.

Reyhan currently carries a 4.0 GPA and 1530 SAT. His AthletIQ Connect dashboard identifies Aerospace Engineering as a 98% major match, Mechanical Engineering at 95%, and Industrial Design at 92%.

But this conversation isn't about celebrating numbers.

It's about discovering the mind behind them.

We unpack three things:

• Curiosity: what makes Reyhan want to understand, challenge, design, and create.
• Execution: how a student with multiple ideas learns to turn imagination into completed work.
• Impact: what Reyhan ultimately wants his engineering ability to accomplish for other people.

We also explore failure, experimentation, calculated risk, patience, focus, and why some of the greatest lessons aren't found in getting the answer right—they're found in discovering why the first answer was wrong.

His analysis identifies UT Austin, Rice University, and Texas A&M as his three highest college matches, followed by Stanford, the University of Houston, Texas Tech, Baylor, Caltech, Purdue, and Georgia Tech.

This episode is for the student who takes something apart because they need to understand what's inside.

For the creator whose brain is constantly producing another idea.

For the parent raising a student whose curiosity sometimes seems impossible to turn off.

And for anyone learning that intelligence becomes far more powerful when you combine it with discipline, patience, and purpose.

Because getting the right answer is valuable.

Learning to ask a question nobody else thought to ask can change everything.

Welcome to Episode #76.

Welcome to the B.U.I.L.T. D1FF3R3NT Studio Podcast—where we don't just talk about success… we train it.

Handle today with intention.
That’s how champions are built. 💪🔥

What if the most important part of your college application could never fit inside a GPA or test score?

That's where Reem Ali's story begins.

In Episode #75 of the B.U.I.L.T. D1FF3R3NT Studio Podcast, Coach Randy sits down with Reem, a Grade 12 student preparing for one of life's biggest transitions: moving from high school into college and beginning to turn her interests into purpose.

Reem's profile reflects a student driven by compassion, balance, fulfillment, and growth, with strengths that include adaptability, empathy, work ethic, creativity, and perseverance. Her academic interests include psychology, music, and community service, while her strongest identified academic pathways include Sports Psychology, Public Health, and Health Sciences.

But this conversation isn't simply about where Reem wants to attend college.

It's about who she's becoming before she gets there.

We unpack three things:

• Identity: discovering what matters when achievements and numbers are stripped away.
• Resilience: responding when expectations, pressure, and reality don't line up.
• Impact: turning education, compassion, and personal experience into something that can improve other people's lives.

Reem also discusses developing her voice, becoming more intentional with her time, and learning how everyday habits can move an ambitious goal from something you hope for into something you systematically pursue.

Her current planning dashboard lists a 3.6 GPA and 1250 SAT and identifies GPA and SAT improvement as priorities. It also identifies UT Austin, Rice University, and Texas A&M as her three highest college matches.

This episode is for the student who wonders whether they're enough.

For the parent trying to help their child navigate what comes next.

And for every young person learning that your current numbers describe part of your journey—but they don't tell your entire story.

Because the real question isn't simply:

“Where will I get accepted?”

It's:

“Who am I becoming—and what will I do when opportunity arrives?”

Welcome to Episode #75.

Welcome to the B.U.I.L.T. D1FF3R3NT Studio Podcast—where we don't just talk about success… we train it.

Handle today with intention.
That’s how champions are built. 💪🔥

Episode #74: Mike Benbow — Winning Every Day: Building Men Beyond the Scoreboard

Everybody wants to win.

But what if the greatest wins never show up on a scoreboard?

In Episode #74 of the B.U.I.L.T. D1FF3R3NT Studio Podcast, Coach Randy sits down with Mike Benbow—Head Football Coach, Athletic Director, and Government/Economics teacher—for a conversation about what happens when a program decides that developing people matters more than collecting trophies.

Coach Benbow’s mission is simple:

Win Every Day.

But that doesn’t only mean football.

It means service.

It means creating great young men.

It means helping student-athletes become the kind of husbands, dads, leaders, and “low-level superheroes” the world needs every day.

And after 33 years “under fire,” Coach Benbow has gained the kind of perspective that only time, pressure, responsibility, and repetition can create.

This episode goes deep into:

• Why culture has to be built around something bigger than winning
• How service can create stronger teams and stronger people
• Why young men need standards that extend beyond sport
• What it means to “Win Every Day” in school, sport, and life
• How great coaches turn groups into real teams
• Why pressure reveals what truly matters
• How veteran leaders learn to appreciate what they GET to do
• Why a successful program should be measured years after the final game

And here’s the psychological shift:

What if winning the game is only the smallest version of winning?

Because if your athletes become more disciplined, more dependable, more selfless, more prepared, and more capable of leading others…

That impact lasts longer than any final score ever will.

For student-athletes, there’s a message here too:

You are not just training for Friday night.

You are training for responsibility.

You are training for adversity.

You are training for leadership.

You are training for the person you will become when nobody is keeping score.

If you did start treating every practice, every classroom decision, every relationship, and every responsibility as an opportunity to “Win Every Day,” how differently would you show up?

This episode is for athletes, parents, coaches, educators, and leaders who believe the real purpose of sport is not simply to produce better players.

It’s to produce better people.

Welcome back to the B.U.I.L.T. D1FF3R3NT Studio Podcast—where we don’t just talk about success… we train it.

Handle today with intention.
That’s how champions are built. 💪🔥

Episode #73: Coach Don Loperena — The System Behind the Basketball Combine Program

Getting cut doesn’t always mean you weren’t good enough.

Sometimes it means you weren’t developed enough… yet.

In this episode of the B.U.I.L.T. D1FF3R3NT Studio Podcast, Coach Randy sits down with longtime friend, mentor, business partner, and coach Don Loperena to break down the Basketball Combine Program and the system that has served as a foundation for his successful basketball teams.

Coach Don is old school.

Standards matter.

Details matter.

Understanding the game matters.

And after more than 20 years on the sidelines at Monroe High School and Granada Hills, he’s returning to Monroe this season to take over a boys varsity team that finished 3–21 last year.

That’s not a reason to run from the challenge.

For Coach Don, that’s exactly the kind of challenge coaching is built for.

But the bigger story is the system behind how he develops players.

The Basketball Combine Program was created to help high school athletes develop beyond traditional drills and workouts—especially the players who get cut from tryouts, struggle to earn minutes, or simply haven’t been taught how to truly understand the game.

This conversation dives into three areas that make the program different:

FULL-GAME STATISTICS.
COMPREHENSIVE FILM BREAKDOWN.
BASKETBALL IQ.

Because improvement becomes different when an athlete can finally see what the coach sees.

Inside this episode, Coach Don breaks down:

• Why getting cut can become a turning point instead of an ending
• The difference between training skills and developing a complete basketball player
• Why statistics tell a story that points and rebounds alone can’t explain
• How comprehensive game film exposes habits players often don’t realize they have
• Why basketball IQ can separate two athletes with similar physical ability
• How players can use objective feedback instead of emotion to improve
• What “old-school coaching” can still teach today’s athletes
• Why systems create repeatable development
• How he plans to rebuild confidence, accountability, and competitiveness at Monroe
• Why great coaches don’t just maximize potential—they help players discover capacity they didn’t know existed

Because there’s a major difference between saying:

“I need to get better.”

…and knowing exactly what better looks like.

If you did give a young athlete full-game data, detailed film analysis, basketball IQ training, and a development system they could repeatedly follow, imagine how differently they could walk into their next tryout.

This episode is for:

• High school basketball players
• Athletes who were cut from their team
• Players trying to earn more minutes
• Parents looking for objective player development
• Coaches who want athletes to understand the game at a deeper level
• Anyone who believes development should be measured—not guessed

Because sometimes the player who gets cut today becomes the player nobody can ignore tomorrow.

They just need the right system.

Welcome back to the B.U.I.L.T. D1FF3R3NT Studio Podcast—where we don’t just talk about success… we train it.

Handle today with intention.

That’s how champions are built. 💪🔥

What if the thing that makes an athlete faster isn’t always another workout — but finally feeling like they belong?

That idea changes the conversation.

In Episode #72 of the B.U.I.L.T. D1FF3R3NT Studio Podcast, Coach Randy sits down with Bella Vista High School cross country and track coach Harold Kuphaldt to unpack what happens when elite standards and genuine belonging exist in the same program.

Harold knows elite performance firsthand.

As a high school runner at Bella Vista, he became a Section Champion and Nor-Cal champion, finished second at Nationals, competed at the state championships in the two-mile, led the nation in the two-mile and 5K, and recorded the second-fastest mile time in the country.

He continued his career at the University of Oregon, becoming a two-time All-American and a sub-four-minute miler.

But the most important part of Harold’s story may not be a time on a stopwatch.

It was finding his people.

Cross country gave Harold confidence and connection. That confidence carried into the classroom, helped create an opportunity to compete in college, and ultimately influenced the father, husband, employee, and coach he became.

Today, he is helping create that same opportunity for another generation.

Bella Vista’s distance program regularly develops athletes capable of competing at the highest levels of California high school cross country and track. But Harold is equally intentional about creating a place where athletes — including kids who may feel different, overlooked, neurodivergent, or LGBTQ+ — can feel safe, accepted, challenged, and part of something bigger than themselves.

This conversation is about three things:

Belonging. Standards. Transformation.

We break down:

• Why belonging can become a performance advantage
• How coaches can maintain elite standards without making athletes feel disposable
• Why confidence developed through sports can transfer into academics and life
• How systems and daily habits help young athletes handle pressure
• What parents should look for beyond wins, rankings, and recruiting exposure
• Why developing the human being can ultimately develop the athlete
• How Harold’s own experience continues to shape the way he leads

And there’s a bigger lesson underneath all of it:

A stopwatch can measure performance. It cannot measure the full impact of a coach.

If you’re a student-athlete trying to find your identity, a parent searching for the right environment, or a coach responsible for developing the next generation, this conversation challenges you to rethink what a successful program really looks like.

Because medals matter.

Opportunities matter.

College matters.

But who that athlete becomes along the way matters even more.

Welcome to the B.U.I.L.T. D1FF3R3NT Studio Podcast — where we don’t just talk about success… we train it.

Handle today with intention.
That’s how champions are built. 💪🔥

Everybody wants to go fast.

Very few people respect what has to happen first.

That’s where this conversation starts.

In Episode #71 of the B.U.I.L.T. D1FF3R3NT Studio Podcast, Coach Randy sits down with Ryan Lucker, an In-School Intervention teacher and running coach who has worked with a wide range of students and athletes across different schools.

And no matter where he goes, one thing follows him:

Buy-in.

His athletes strive for more.

His teams become family.

And years after the season ends, former athletes still reconnect with him to run, grab food, and talk about life.

That tells you something important.

Leadership is not just about getting people to perform for you.

It’s about building relationships strong enough that people still want to be connected to you when the scoreboard is gone.

Ryan’s athletic journey is just as revealing.

He ran track and cross country in high school, competed in indoor and outdoor track in college, raced unattached in cross country, and has completed around 26 marathons—including two Boston Marathons, New York, Antarctica, with Berlin next.

Through all of that experience, one lesson stands above the rest:

Don’t skip your base training.

Because runners—and athletes in general—often make the same mistake.

They try to jump back in where they left off.

They chase speed before rebuilding capacity.

And the result can be predictable:

Early peak. Injury. Frustration.

Ryan’s message is simple:

There is always time to go fast later.

This episode is about three things:

Foundation. Patience. Connection.

We unpack:

• Why base training matters physically and mentally
• Why athletes rush progress and what it costs them
• How patience can become a competitive advantage
• Why consistency often beats intensity
• How great coaches create genuine buy-in
• Why strong teams feel like family
• How relationships outlast seasons
• What endurance training can teach student-athletes about school, sport, and life
• Why long-term development requires pacing, planning, and discipline

If you’re an athlete, this conversation may change how you think about progress.

If you’re a parent, it may change what you encourage your athlete to chase.

And if you’re a coach, it may challenge you to ask whether you’re building performance—or something deeper.

If you did one thing differently after hearing this episode, stop asking:

“How fast can I get there?”

Start asking:

“What foundation do I need so I can stay there?”

Because shortcuts might create a temporary high.

Foundations create staying power.

Welcome to the B.U.I.L.T. D1FF3R3NT Studio Podcast—where we don’t just talk about success… we train it.

Handle today with intention.
That’s how champions are built. 💪🔥

What if failure isn’t evidence that you can’t do it?
What if it’s evidence showing you what to do next?

That psychological shift can change an athlete’s entire future.

In Episode #70 of the B.U.I.L.T. D1FF3R3NT Studio Podcast, Coach Randy sits down with Shane Sutcliffe, a high school English teacher and varsity baseball coach who has spent 27 years developing young people academically and athletically.

But there’s another layer to his story.

Coach Sutcliffe teaches in the same rural community where he was raised.

Growing up surrounded by trees, he learned to dream about what existed above them—to see possibility beyond what was immediately visible.

That perspective now shapes how he teaches and coaches.

Possibilities are only limited by our effort and mindset.

Coach Sutcliffe also knows what happens when ambition works against you.

As a baseball player, he wanted success so badly that he sometimes allowed failure to get inside his head. Instead of using failure as information, he took it personally.

Years later, that experience became part of his leadership philosophy:

Failure can be wonderful—because failure gives us the opportunity to adjust.

This conversation explores three critical ideas:

Believe. Adjust. Grow.

We break down:

• Why student-athletes must become their own biggest fan
• How failure can become feedback instead of identity
• Why wanting success too badly can sometimes interfere with performance
• How growth mindset changes academics and athletics
• Why effort and mindset expand what young people believe is possible
• How athletes can learn to make adjustments instead of emotionally collapsing after mistakes
• Why self-belief has to exist before external validation
• How parents and coaches can help young people take ownership of their journey

For student-athletes, there’s a powerful lesson here:

You are not your last strikeout.
You are not your last grade.
You are not your last mistake.

You are what you decide to learn from it.

If you did one thing differently after hearing this conversation, stop asking failure, “What does this say about me?”

Start asking:

“What is this teaching me?”

Because the moment young people learn how to adjust, their lives begin to become their own.

Welcome to the B.U.I.L.T. D1FF3R3NT Studio Podcast—where we don’t just talk about success… we train it.

Handle today with intention.
That’s how champions are built. 💪🔥

Winning gets attention.
Impact earns a legacy.

And there’s a difference.

In Episode #69 of the B.U.I.L.T. D1FF3R3NT Studio Podcast, Coach Randy sits down with David Cassaw, Head Coach at La Costa Canyon High School, for a conversation built around more than three decades of teaching, coaching, competing, leading, and developing people.

Coach Cassaw has never viewed coaching and teaching as simply a job.

It has been his life’s work.

For more than 30 years, he has committed himself to leaving people and places better than he found them—and his philosophy challenges one of the biggest misconceptions about leadership:

Caring about people does not mean lowering the standard.
Sometimes caring means demanding more.

Because when athletes know you believe in them, challenge them, and genuinely care about them, accountability feels different.

This episode goes beyond wins, awards, and championships.

It’s a conversation about three things:

Relationships. Standards. Legacy.

We break down:

• Why relationships and high expectations must coexist
• How consistency over years builds programs that last
• Why difficult conversations are sometimes an act of belief
• What competition teaches athletes about adversity and preparation
• Why loyalty and commitment still matter in an impatient world
• How great coaches help athletes discover what they’re capable of
• Why experienced leaders must continue learning and evolving
• How parents and athletes can recognize environments built for long-term development

Coach Cassaw has experienced winning, losing, pressure, disappointment, change, mistakes, and success—and those experiences have reinforced one central belief:

Leadership isn’t about getting people to follow you.
It’s about helping people discover what they’re capable of.

That matters for every student-athlete trying to find direction.

Every parent trying to make the right decisions.

And every coach trying to build something that lasts.

If you did one thing differently after hearing this conversation, make it this:

Raise the standard—and make sure the people you're challenging know exactly how much you believe in them.

Because wins fade.

Awards fade.

Titles change.

But people remember the coach who saw something in them before they could see it themselves.

Welcome to the B.U.I.L.T. D1FF3R3NT Studio Podcast—where we don’t just talk about success… we train it.

Handle today with intention.
That’s how champions are built. 💪🔥

Everybody wants the outcome.

Not everybody is willing to live the standard.

And that difference changes everything.

In Episode #68 of the B.U.I.L.T. D1FF3R3NT Studio Podcast, Coach Randy sits down with Dominic Farrar — Head Football Coach, Athletic Director, Teacher on Special Assignment, and a veteran educator and coach whose leadership philosophy has been forged through decades of serving young people.

For Dominic, success isn't built on one accomplishment.

It's built through constancy of purpose and consistency of performance.

Show up.
Do the work.
Be who you say you are.
Put the people you serve before yourself.

But this conversation goes deeper than football.

Dominic shares how working alongside his father helped shape his understanding of leadership and how carrying that legacy forward has taught him something every coach, parent, educator, and student-athlete needs to hear:

Legacy isn't simply what you leave behind for people.
Legacy is what you leave behind in people.

We break down:

• Why relationships and standards cannot be separated
• How accountability changes when young people understand the why
• Why consistency becomes even more important when circumstances get difficult
• What adversity reveals about preparation, character, mindset, culture, and leadership
• Why catching young people doing things right can be as powerful as correcting what they're doing wrong
• How coaches and parents can develop people instead of simply demanding performance
• Why identity, habits, and daily standards ultimately determine who an athlete becomes

Dominic also opens up about the influence of his father, the responsibility of protecting and continuing a legacy, and why winning alone can never be the final measurement of leadership.

Because eventually...

The season ends.
The scoreboard turns off.
Someone else gets the title.

But who people became because you were there can continue for generations.

This episode is for student-athletes learning how to handle pressure, parents trying to prepare their children for what comes next, coaches building cultures, educators shaping young people, and leaders who understand that influence carries responsibility.

If you did one thing differently after hearing this conversation, make it this:

Stop asking only what you're accomplishing — and start asking who is becoming better because you're in their life.

Welcome to the B.U.I.L.T. D1FF3R3NT Studio Podcast — where we don't just talk about success... we train it.

Handle today with intention.
That’s how champions are built. 💪🔥

Your athletic career has an expiration date.
Your impact doesn’t have to.

In Episode #67 of the B.U.I.L.T. D1FF3R3NT Studio Podcast, Coach Randy sits down with Coach Werner—a coach whose résumé immediately makes you stop and ask:

How does one coach lead athletes across surfing, girls water polo, track, and travel baseball?

But that's exactly what makes this conversation different.

Coach Werner isn't defined by one sport.

He's defined by his ability and willingness to coach the person competing in it.

As a high school head coach in surfing, girls water polo, and track—and a coach of a 10U travel baseball team—he has worked with different athletes, environments, personalities, pressures, and definitions of success.

His philosophy is simple:

Open doors for athletes. Don't shut them.

And underneath that philosophy is an even more powerful belief:

Every athlete brings something special to the team—or they wouldn't be there.

This episode goes beyond wins, statistics, starting positions, and trophies.

It's a conversation about:

• Seeing value in athletes before they see it in themselves
• Opening opportunities instead of prematurely labeling young people
• Coaching the individual instead of simply coaching the sport
• Helping athletes discover their role and identity
• Being present during a competitive window that disappears faster than athletes realize
• Developing habits that carry from athletics into academics, college, careers, and life
• Teaching young people to become the best version of themselves rather than somebody else's version of success

Coach Werner also delivers a message every student-athlete needs to hear:

For most athletes, competitive sports represent only a small portion of their lives.

Eventually, the practices stop.

The games end.

The uniform comes off.

And life keeps moving.

So while you have the opportunity…

Be in the moment.

Compete.

Learn.

Work.

Have fun.

Pursue your passion.

And become the best you that you can become.

This episode is for student-athletes wondering where they fit, parents navigating their child's athletic journey, and coaches who understand that their greatest responsibility isn't simply building better competitors.

It's opening doors that help young people discover what's possible.

Welcome back to the B.U.I.L.T. D1FF3R3NT Studio Podcast—where we don't just talk about success… we train it.

Handle today with intention.
That’s how champions are built. 💪🔥