Five years ago, Stan Granger and I sat down for an interview. It was centered around late Holt wrestling coach, Rocky Shaft. I learned a lot from Stan in that interview so I asked him to hop on an episode of Their Story.

Stan unfolds his thoughts on parenting, effort and failure. It's been a long road to where Stan is today, and he pays homage to his mentors, idols and those who kept him on the right path.

By being on the right path, he has enabled his two sons to become great human beings along the way. Despite learning on the fly, Stan is doing the work to be the best parent he can be.

With learning on the fly comes failure. Stan talks about his relationship with failure and how its evolved throughout the years.

Stan does a great job storytelling and giving us an insight into his life in this episode.

Jayce is a senior at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. Since he was young, he wanted to be an agent. As the years progressed, he focused on becoming an MLB agent and began laying the groundwork to do just that. He started JKR Baseball and the JKR Podcast in order to put himself in position to talk, interview and network with athletes, coaches and scouts.

In this episode, Jayce talks about his upbringing and some personality traits he acquired that have helped him become the outgoing person he is today. He's driven and motivated, and he also talks about why that is. His entrepreneurial spirit is showing in his brand and work ethic and everything he puts forth towards his passion project which will help lead him to his desired career path.

JKR Podcast: https://jkrpodcast.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jkr_baseball/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JKR_Baseball

Gavin Smith is incredibly wise beyond his years. In his early 20's, Gavin already has loads of experience when it comes to athletic and life experiences. He played college baseball at Carl Sandburg College up until the covid-shortened 2020 season. At Carl Sandburg, Gavin had mental hurdles to overcome when it came to baseball. Things like imposter syndrome and self-doubt crept in and never seemed to leave him, which ultimately helped lead him to the end of his playing career.

After Carl Sandburg, Gavin transferred to Illinois State University. Gavin is now working at Prep Baseball Report in a few different capacities. He's also the face behind Mindlete, a social media page dedicated to helping student-athletes, especially baseball players, master the mental side of the game. Since Gavin faced struggles of his own, he believes his mission is to help those get through the things he went through.

In this conversation, we talk about how to transform failure into learning opportunities and lessons. We talk about Mindlete and the mission behind it. We talk about a lot of things that can help young athlete today, and it would be a disservice to NOT listen to Gavin talk about his experiences.

You can find Mindlete on Tik Tok here: https://www.tiktok.com/@mindlete?lang=en

Ben Diggle is a legend in the amateur baseball scene, especially in the state of Illinois. Ben is a former JUCO coach and former coach and recruiting coordinator with the Central Illinois Outlaws. He's helped countless of young men achieve their dreams of playing at the next level. Many, many players attribute a lot of their success to Ben.

Ben has started the program Diggle's Diamonds. This program promotes high school baseball players in the form of mentorship, advice, recruiting news and promotion via social media. You can find more on Diggle's Diamonds here: https://www.ddrecruiting.com/teams/?u=DIGGLESDIAMONDS&s=baseball

We talk about what truly motivates us as individuals. At the end of the day, it's you against you. How do you get yourself up for today's challenge, and how do you dominate it?

This is one of my favorite conversations yet. Ben is an unbelievable storyteller. Do yourself a favor and listen to this episode

There's more than meets with eye with Christian Barczi. You'll hear me say it many times throughout the episode - there's many, many layers to Barczi. He had an interesting collegiate career at Valparaiso, earning All-Horizon League honors as a freshman, then running into various setbacks before graduating with a degree in Communications. Through those setbacks, Barczi has embraced failure and has learned so much from that very word. Barczi has a younger brother, Colin, who is committed to Vanderbilt to play baseball. Colin has all the tools to be successful on the diamond, but Barczi just wants Colin to know he should have fun along the way and hopes he learns a thing or two from his journey. Christian is Colin's biggest fan and it's evident in the way Christian speaks about the younger sibling.

Christian and his buddies started Chaotic, a clothing line designed to empower everyone in the face of chaos. You can catch me wearing the comfortable Embrace Chaos t-shirt. Chaotic just released their hat line, with some wildly impressive products. Go check them out and snag a tee, hat or hoodie!

Chaotic: https://pursuechaos.com/

Charlie Manning, head wrestling coach at Reavis High School in Burbank, Ill. joins Their Story. Charlie grew up in the southwest suburbs of Chicago and attended Stagg High School in Palos. He began wrestling when he was young, and after a rocky start to the sport, he began to pave his way. He was a 2x IHSA runner-up and wrestled at Eastern Illinois University. He's been the head wrestling coach at Reavis since 2010 and has built a great rapport with his student-athletes over the years. Now, he has two children of his own and balances an unbelievably busy life. Great conversation here that covers losses and regret in sports, building trust with athletes and how, as life changes, your wants and role models change.

I can't thank Charlie enough for this conversation and the lessons he's taught me over the years. As we continue with Their Story and storytelling, Charlie has played a big part in my story, as has Reavis High School as a whole.

Follow Their Story on social media channels Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheirStoryPod

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theirstorypod/

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theirstorypod?lang=en

Remi Monaghan, a former classmate of mine, stars in episode nine. Remi's career in TV began long ago while working through many different internships in college, often sacrificing a 'normal' college experience for the career she ultimately wanted. She interned for D.C. United, the Pittsburgh Penguins and others en route to a degree in Journalism and an eventual first gig in Texoma. She now works in west Michigan at Fox 17. Her framework in which she weighs decisions and lists pros and cons is second to none. Her biggest takeaway is asking herself if the experiences she believe she will have outweigh the risk of never having them. She also talks how much she appreciates watching high school athletes and their passion for the game, and she gives advice to anyone looking to jumpstart a career in their field, not just media.

Michigan State is a big part of who Remi is. She reflects on her time as a Spartan and how it propelled her to the place she is in today. Overall, a great conversation with a great human being. She embodies so many great characteristics, and she puts them on display in this episode.

Follow Remi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RemiMonaghan