SPEAKER_00 0:04

You're listening to the Hanging with the AD podcast, where we break down hot topics in athletic administration and lessons words through leadership. Now, here are your hosts, Josh Matthews and Don Baker.

SPEAKER_01 0:18

Several months ago, we had the opportunity to hang out with an original outlaw. Well, not really, but our guest today shares a name with one. Johnny Ringo of Highland Park High School in Dallas, Texas. Coach Ringo has built a culture based on a foundation of principles that focuses on not just mental and physical toughness, but a commitment to respect all whom his students and coaches meet. A true believer in self-assessment and the benefits that can be gained from it, Coach Ringo strives to serve as a beacon of hope for his students and coaches, and we have no doubt he will make you better following our conversation today. Let's settle in and get to know Coach Johnny Ringo.

SPEAKER_02 1:12

Coach Ringo, we're glad to have you joining Don and I for this episode of Hanging with the AD. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us for what we think is going to be a great conversation today.

SPEAKER_03 1:23

You bet. Thanks for having me. Excited to get the chance to visit with you guys.

SPEAKER_02 1:27

Yes, sir. So for our listeners, Coach Johnny Ringo is the director of athletics for the Highland Park Independent School District in Dallas, Texas. Coach, we'd like to start the show with a short bio of each guest. We call it the back of the baseball card bio. And we just talked a little bit about baseball before we got on here. So know you're a baseball fan. So if you could just share with us and our listeners what the back of Johnny Ringo's baseball card might look like.

SPEAKER_03 1:53

No, Sidney, it's funny. I was sitting with a coach last night, uh, baseball coach from one of the surrounding school districts that has a card collection, baseball and football. If you bring that up, uh he's worth that's insured for almost $300,000. So wow. He's got some he's got some unbelievable cards. Um I used to have some, don't have any anymore. But uh this is my 38th year. I coached for 30 years, uh, primarily football and track and was a head coach for a number of those years. And um and then I've been the athletic director the last eight years here at Highland Park. I've coached at the college level at Texas, Texas Tech SMU. But primarily my time is spent at the high school level. I'm the son of a high school coach, my wife's a coach's daughter, uh, and so it's kind of in our blood, and um, so just been a part of my life for uh, you know, as long as I can remember.

SPEAKER_02 2:37

All right, let's start off with a little bit more about that. You talked about how you got here and and the background. Talk a little bit more about the why. Why are you involved with athletics? What role did athletics play in your life and why are you an athletic administrator?

SPEAKER_03 2:52

Well, I I think uh knew from the time I was probably 10 or 11, you know, just hanging around the fieldhouse like most uh coaches' kids do during the course of season practice, summers, uh, that you know, that's what I really wanted to do. I felt like uh being able to watch the example my dad and other high school coaches set uh for me and for the athletes that they were uh fortunate enough to coach. Uh I just saw the impact they had on their lives, and I felt like, hey, this is something that's um really neat. I would love to do it. And um, my parents had other ideas, I think they thought just because of the lifestyle and the amount of money maybe you make or don't make, that maybe I needed to be a doctor. So I think I was pre-med at the University of Texas for a semester, and then I realized that, you know, it's not really what I want to do. Number one, I didn't want to study that hard. And uh number two, I felt like, you know, again, I just want to coach. This is what I want to do. So sat down with my dad, we talked through it, and um, I was able to begin my career at Austin Westlake in uh Austin, Texas, a great program there as well, one of the story programs in Texas uh in football and many other sports. And the athletic director there uh hired me to coach in the middle school. He and my dad had been college roommates and teammates together at Southwest Texas State University, which is now Texas State. And so just I've had a lot of great opportunities to be around tremendous people and mentors from the time I was a young boy uh through college and in my early career that have put me in the position, I guess, to have the um opportunities I've had and to be able to work with great people, both coaches and and kids.

SPEAKER_01 4:16

Coach, let's dive right in here and spend a minute or two on what you're putting together there at Highland Park. I've believe when you assumed the role of AD there, you were quoted as saying a lot has changed in the last three decades, but the core principles of athletics are the same. Highland Park will continue to emphasize a commitment to building dedicated, hardworking young men and women. We will focus on winning with integrity in ways that promote self-confidence and pride. What advice would you give to the athletic leader who is really struggling with evolving with an ever-changing generation and time while at the same time sticking to a set of core values that don't change, uh, that are timeless, and they're trying to instill them in their programs?

SPEAKER_03 4:56

Well, I think for the big word for us is culture. And and you know, we we try to have a culture that's uh encompasses our entire athletic program. Uh, and those core values for us are attitude. I mean, I'm gonna go through there's six of them we talk about daily. And um uh the first two are attitude and effort. We feel like those are non-negotiable, that everybody can be uh uh show up each day with a great attitude and give great effort. We talk about being coachable and teachable, uh, we talk about uh mental and physical toughness, we talk about improving every day, uh, we talk about uh respect for all. We think that's important in today's world. And then the one, the last one that's probably the most important, that it's always going to be about the Scots. It's not about an individual athlete or set of a set of athletes or a group of parents. And so that culture is in place athletically, and then each of our head coaches here do an outstanding job of developing their own culture. And so I think for a new AD or for one who's trying to maybe get things turned around, uh, when I was coaching, uh, my three of my first uh four head coaching positions were where we had to go in and turn it around. And I think it's just this uh that you're this light of positivity and beacon of hope each day that hey, we can get this turned around, we've got great coaches in place, we'll hire. Uh and whether or not you've got great athletes or are just marginal or or average athletes, you still can, in my opinion, be very successful uh in in every area. And and we talk a lot about that, you know, the scoreboard is important, but that's not the end all for us. It's always about can we develop young men and young women to be good people right now? And then obviously when they leave us, they're better for having been around us, uh, and that's our goal each day. And so I think my advice to you know, uh to an athletic director that was just getting started again, I'm 60 years old, I've been in this a long time, would be just those things. You know, you each day is going to be a struggle. It's a struggle here right now, just because of what we're dealing with, and everyone across the country with COVID. You know, we're in this uncharted territory, and I'm tired of hearing those two words, but uh I think you know, for all of us, it's just uh right now that you you've got to have that those core values in place and things that you can go back to and lean on when times are tough. Uh, and so that you don't um say uh become discombobulated and you and you get out of sync with what you're about and and who you're about and what your program's about. Uh and so all of our coaches uh here, we we try to follow that athletically uh for the entire program, and then each of them will dive a little deeper, obviously, into that within their individual programs.

SPEAKER_02 7:15

Coach, with those core values, how do you give them to your coaches? How do you remind your coaches about them and um you know kind of help your coaches pursue those and see that uh they are getting implemented into those programs?

SPEAKER_03 7:31

Well, we we meet monthly. We just met this morning. We'll meet at 7 a.m. And you know, it's uh those have always been in person, of course. Now that everything's virtual, and uh and so they're a mixture of whether they're at school or still at home, and so uh those are things that Josh we talk about um each time we meet. And so we'll go through those athletic core components, those six again, and we'll talk through those and and really just uh dive into it uh and explain it a little bit at the beginning of the year, maybe in August or July at our initial coaches meeting, and this and then just touch on those again as as the year goes by. And so, you know, sometimes it's uh it's a little thing, you know, just the um mental and physical toughness piece of it, for example. You know, we that's important that our athletes understand the grind uh that's required to be successful, but at the same time, that mental piece uh you know doesn't comprise maybe mental health. So we have to talk about the mental health part of it right now with what our kids are dealing with, opportunities being taken away, given back if they're quarantined, not quarantined, all those types of things. And so uh those are pretty broad in scope, but at the same time, when we get a chance to as coaches, which is uh uh a lot at least once a month, and then for me, it's when I'm out and about watching practice, watching games, uh, am I seeing these core values, not only the ones we have in place from an athletic program uh standpoint, but also the ones that they have in place for their individual program to see are we practicing those as coaches and as athletes? And and we can see that obviously um, you know, in our kids and our coaches, and if it's there and if it's not there, we can we can address that as well.

SPEAKER_02 9:03

Yeah, that's really good. I think a lot of us are guilty, or at least I'm guilty, of you know, putting something out and kind of giving it surface level level attention and not following up. So um that was kind of a selfish question, if not hopefully it helped a lot of people. But let's let's change our uh focus a little bit to talk about facilities a little bit. Um I've been to Highland Park, I haven't been to the high school, but I've been to that area, the SMU, been to SMU a couple of times. Uh the Bush library is phenomenal. Just that that area y'all are in is just an outstanding place. But y'all have some very impressive facilities there at Highland Park. Some of them, some of them are very new. Can you speak to the importance of promoting your facilities and from a facility standpoint, having the vision to know what you need to know before you need it?

SPEAKER_03 9:51

Well, and that's you know, that's when I I've been here eight years, and I think um, you know, the five uh first five years, Josh, we were involved with you know facility studies uh and bond studies and trying to determine what we would need to move move forward uh and to take care of our kids in the manner uh befitting maybe this program and the history and tradition of the Scots. Um, you know, and and we had an indoor facility when I came that's uh you know 90 yards. I think it's got uh 80 playable, but it but it's a it's wide, it's full width and uh or length of a football field. And so we, you know, that's a great opportunity for us to have that. And and we but but other than our stadium, our stadium is about 50 years old and it's got a great collegiate field, sits right in the middle of a neighborhood, seats about 8,500. Um we didn't have that wow, you know, I guess, facility, so to speak. The gymnasium was older and uh the natatorium had been there for 50 or 60 years. It was a gym before it was a natatorium. Uh and so when you know when people talk about Highland Park, it's because of the athletic success we've been fortunate enough to have, they might use the word wow. And if they came to look at our facilities, they used the same word, but it wasn't used in a positive way. They said, Wow, this is what you this is all you have. And so we had weight rooms that were too small, we were spread out all over the place. And so um we've now added um, we've completely redone Highlander underneath uh for the football team. Uh and the girls uh cross country and tracks has had some things done to that area as well. They've stayed. We've had all the other sports that used to be in the stadium move to the Northwest Edition. Uh so we have gymnastics, cross-country, golf, trying to think what else down there, soccer. And um, so we've got a huge gymnastics facility now that's that's fantastic, and a lot of that is uh through our bond, but also through uh fundraising. And so we've probably raised over two million to try to cover some of the things that weren't covered with the bond. Uh we have a golf facility that's got uh two indoor hitting bays uh with with track man uh for both, and we've got a putting area in there, and so uh that Northwest edition is great. We've got a weight room down there as well, um, and then of course locker and team team meeting room facilities for boys and girls. And then in Highlander, as I said, it used to, it was girls cross-country and track and football, and those are the two that remain there. Uh, but football's completely been redone with with two new two uh team rooms, and then uh varsity moving downstairs, but then across the street, next to the indoor, we had our C Tennis Center, which is an indoor tennis center that had been a part of Highland Park for oh, I don't know, 15, 20, 25 years. And we tore that down two or three years ago and moved that uh across the street from our outdoor courts. And so now we have the outdoor tennis center and the indoor tennis center that has three courts, and so our kids can uh obviously train there. C Tennis Center is a part of uh us, uh HPI Ste, but it's where our young athletes train. And so we have a pipeline of you know tough young tennis stars coming, and in the place of the indoor tennis center, we built the multi-purpose uh building, which will house baseball and swim, new natatorium was built, uh 5,000 square foot weight room will have doors open to the indoors. So uh and when you walk in, this is the office that I'm in is new, just outside in the foyer. We've we've got this legacy hall of all the uh uh sporting events uh that have come before these kids so they can remember the history. So we're not finished with it yet, but it's it really we have some facilities now that that would mirror uh and look a lot like collegiate facilities if you came by and saw what we have. And and that's important, I think, for our kids. It's important for them to realize you don't have to have great facilities to be successful. But now that we do have these great facilities, uh you know that that tradition and that legacy is important that they realize they've got to uphold that in every way possible.

SPEAKER_02 13:24

Yeah, that's wonderful. That's good for them. I know uh probably just keeps y'all moving in the direct in the same direction a lot faster now. So coach, one other thing that uh is a part of y'all's program is positivity. Uh we noticed that in 2018 at the inaugural positive coaching alliance or the PCA North Texas Positive Impact Awards and Benefit, you accepted the Community Impact Award on behalf of your athletic program. What did that mean to you and what have you put in place, in your opinion, to warrant that recognition?

SPEAKER_03 13:55

Well, I think for we we try to do a lot. Uh I think um the main thing that we've talked to our kids about is just that that humility uh and serving others. You know, we feel like that's the I carry a little card in my wallet that says be no ego. And uh it just talks about being humble and serving others all of the time. And so that's a big focus when when I meet with our captains, and I'll meet with our captains uh Thursday morning, and we meet about six times a year, and so it gives me an opportunity to meet with all the captains of all sports. So we've got about 75 to 80, uh, and that's my chance to you know talk about our leadership uh plan in place uh athletically. And so uh for us though, that award, I think a lot of that came from just what our kids try to do from a from a community service standpoint. All of our programs are involved in at least one to two community service projects, and um, so they realize it's very important to give back, and so I think that positivity piece it goes hand in hand with something like that. When you get a chance to work alongside your teammates and your coaches in a venue, other than just you know practicing games and training for a season, uh they get to see a different side of our coach, and a lot of time our coaches see a different side of our kids. So that's really been something that we think is is very important that our kids remain humble uh and and that they serve others and that they get a chance to be involved in community service. So I think that's one of the reasons that we were able to be a part of that award. Uh and then I think in working with Positive Coaching Alliance, that's really helped our coaches and kids with uh the great message that they have in place as well.

SPEAKER_01 15:20

Coach, I don't know if this is still the case, but I read where your wife serves or has served as a director of communications and public relations. Is that correct? Yes, sir. Now I I have found or have you found that having her as a resource in that department has helped your communication or how maybe you approach a problem that you may encounter. I know that I married an English teacher, and it was one of my greatest accomplishments in my life because I I typically write things out, I hand them over to her, they bleed out in red ink all over the paper right there before my eyes, and then she hands them back to me, and all of a sudden I sound much more intelligent. Do you think that every leader should have someone like that that they trust uh who can ensure that their narrative is articulated as it should?

SPEAKER_03 16:03

Of course. And uh and just like you, we all marry up. I mean, we're not probably not uh we don't deserve the great spouses that we have, but uh she does the same for me. I mean, I bounce a lot of things off of her. A lot of the times I'm sure she gets tired of hearing uh about it, and so I'd be sure to check on her day as well. But uh she does take all that I do from a communication standpoint, whether it be written or verbal, and critique it as needed and then uh add her take on it. And um, so you've got to have those people in place. I think that's that's just so important uh to have help with that. But that's one of the things that we talk about, and we talked about it this morning with our head coaches that communication is the is the most important thing that we do. And we try to be transparent in all that we do. We're not always gonna make everyone happy. We understand that because you have to make decisions as to who plays and who doesn't get to play, who makes your team, who doesn't get to make your team. And um, but if we if we if we've already been transparent in how we go about our process and what we're trying to accomplish and do, we feel like it at least that's half the battle, that we get a chance to do that and uh and communicate properly with parents. And so um I feel like as you are probably we're probably pretty good writers, that we can put something together that's pretty good. But like you said, when you take it home and you think you've got a great um uh plan in place, you give it to your wife, and all of a sudden it comes back, and that that A, you think you have an A and it turns into a D.

SPEAKER_02 17:19

Yeah, you got that right. So, Coach, you just mentioned that communication is the most important thing we do, you believe. Uh I've heard this progression statement about communication, I think it's really good. Maybe a John Gordon thing, I'm not sure. It just says communication builds trust, trust generates commitment, commitment fosters teamwork, and teamwork delivers results. So, why, in your opinion, do so many leaders struggle in this area that all of us probably think is the most important?

SPEAKER_03 17:49

Well, I think sometimes maybe it's uh that trust piece is probably the word that I would go to with our parents, and that we ask them to trust us. And so, and we still for for you know all the uh great things that have occurred here long before my time and even now during my time uh with our coaches and kids, um, we still run into an issue at times with uh trust from parents, you know, whether or not we're doing what's in the best interest of their son or daughter. And they always seem to think, you know, they don't want to come to us with issues for fear that their son or daughter won't play, we'll take it out on them. And that never happens in any athletic program across the country. I mean, people are going to be professional and how they go about their business. And so I think for us, uh, you know, that's the biggest thing is that again, the communication is huge, but that trust uh needs to be there as well. And so we do, we just ask our parents to trust us. We do put a lot of our athletes as well that that, hey, if I'm communicating with you, what gets home to your parents needs to be what I told you. Uh, and and we follow up with phone calls and emails with the parents if needed, but uh but we also sometimes know that message is going to be skewed when it gets to mom or dad. And so we try to follow up and be sure that we're all on the same page. And so I think, you know, for the most part, 98% of our parents, like everybody's parents, are unbelievable. You know, they're great, great people, and then we've got a few like everywhere that um you know you run into problems, and it never it never seems to be enough for them that you that you're trying to do the right thing. And so we we look at John Gordon, we we look at all those different groups just like you, that that with for great vote motivation and words of advice each day, whether it be Twitter, Instagram, um, and so those are things that we try to convey to our parents as well. And so we feel like the more ammunition we have, just what you mentioned, Josh, with that quote that he has, that they understand that hey, we're trying to do the right thing here. Again, it's not always going to be uh you know what you feel might be the best thing for your son or daughter, but but our main focus is the team and uh and and and are the Scots.

SPEAKER_01 19:36

You know, it's the Scots for us. Coach, you you mentioned uh social media there just a second ago. Scrolling through your Twitter feed, it seems that almost every tweet of yours has multiple pictures to go along with it. Uh, I've done some research in this area and in Twitter stats and the analytics and and how tweets gain more traction when they have pictures and media attachments as opposed to not, sometimes four, five, six times the amount of traffic. Could you tell us why it's important uh for you to include those pictures with your information on your social media posts?

SPEAKER_03 20:08

I think it just gives it life, for lack of a better word. I mean, it is if I'm looking at something and reading something, and like said with John Gordon or others, they post a great, a great message each day, but I think the pictures bring life to it. They the kids get excited about seeing you know uh themselves on Twitter, Instagram. Uh, and so we've got great photographers here that help me out. I mean, they just they literally email or or uh you know text me pictures and then I'll include that. And I'm I'm behind the game right now because we had our first home game last week with COVID, and and uh so I'm I'm behind uh all my tweets and Instagram. But uh for me it's just really important to try to um you know uh get our message out athletically and everything that we do, and and what better way to do that than through Twitter and Instagram uh in showcasing our kids. And so it's always about them. I don't I'm not gonna, you know, I don't tweet out my favorite Mexican food restaurant or anything like that. I mean, it pretty much is just about the Scots and and what we're able to do. So and and then so it's you know the Instagram piece of it. Obviously, I can get get into video a little bit there. And I guess now, I mean, again, I'm 60, so uh people are telling me I can use video on Twitter now, coach. I hadn't figured that out yet, so it's still it's just a fixture. So I'm working on it.

SPEAKER_02 21:18

Yeah, you're getting there. I did see that you uh tweeted out uh a very special Mother's Day to your wife. So you uh you did recognize someone other than your athletes, but you're uh you know our most favorite assistant coaches, right? Uh exactly our lives. So uh I did notice that. So that's good. You uh you recognize uh the the entire team there. Right, exactly. Speaking of coaches and and staff and teams, coach, notice that you have about 58 coaches listed on your athletic website. Now that may be big to some, small, depending on who's listening. Uh that could be a uh a large average or small staff, but we know it's 58 different personalities that you have to deal with. What would you say is the number one skill that athletic directors must possess to deal with the many personalities of the people that we lead?

SPEAKER_03 22:10

I think patience is one, uh, you know, and then uh just uh being able to sit down with them one-on-one at times and talk through any issues that you may have. To me, it's a it's a lot like raising children. Uh they're not children, obviously. I mean, Coach Allen, our legendary high school football coach, I mean, he's you know, he's I'm 60 coaches 70s, 10 years my senior. We've known each other for 40 years and and been great friends and mentors to each other. Um, but that's what it still is for me. It's almost like raising children. They're just, you know, and not that they're immature, they're not doing things the right way. It's just that you've got to work through this balance uh with your own family and raising your kids. The same thing with your team. And for us, the team is a family too, you know, for us. So those kids are like our our, you know, uh a second family. And um, and so it we just look at it that way. I think that helps us in in a lot of ways, Josh, just try to work through that piece of it, realizing that everybody's different, everyone may have a different opinion about what we're doing. Uh, but as long as we can all be on the same page when we walk out that door of the office, then then and and and serve our kids in the best way possible, then I think we've achieved that goal. So for me, that's what it is more than anything else, is that patience again is communication, it's talking through issues that you may have, and then realizing that uh everyone's not going to agree with you. And I always tell them about how you don't have to agree with me. We do have to have a boss. There is somebody that has to say, look, we're gonna try to try it this way for one time. If it doesn't work, and we've had a lot of that in COVID with since March with this COVID, and so that's been an issue.

SPEAKER_02 23:39

So I wanted to um ask a question. Uh once again, maybe it's a selfish question because I'm in a similar situation. I have uh folks on my staff that are my senior, 10, 10, 12, 8, whatever it is. How do you have a hard conversation with those experienced coaches? You've got a legendary coach there uh uh as your head football coach. How do you have those hard conversations with those guys who have a lot of uh uh a huge reputation and they're older than you?

SPEAKER_03 24:11

Well, I think it's just again that respect and trust. I go back to that. I think that's they realize that uh how hard we all work uh in what we do each day, and they know that um you know, with that this part of the athletic program of me and our admins are working just as hard for them. And so uh sometimes we have to have those conversations, and they're you know, they are tough and they're always behind closed doors, but I think at the end of it we we come away knowing that we still have that love for each other and respect for each other uh as we move forward that um we're trying to do what's best for kids. And I think that's what it's always about. It's not necessarily about you know what play you call, what defense you call, did you make the right decision uh with your offseason training? It's it's nothing to do with that. It's it's it's about kids and putting them in a position to be successful. And a lot of times some of those uh discussions and conversations might revolve around uh keeping athletes, cutting athletes, you know, things of that nature. And so I think I I just try to approach it that hey, I'm gonna offer you a different perspective here. Not necessarily gonna play devil's advocate, but let me let me look at it from the perspective of maybe a parent, and maybe some of the questions you'll get from that parent, and maybe I can somehow in some way help that conversation when you do have that conversation. So we do have those. Everyone does, but I think is you know, I don't take it personal. I tell our coaches all the time, parents are are not going to be objective when it involves their son or daughter. I mean, you just have to understand that you have kids of your own and you haven't been objective. You're being you're normally going to be subjective when you deal with people. And so I tell them, don't take it personal when they're upset about you know their kit, what whether it be playing time or your treatment of them or whatever it may be. Just be able to walk away from that and and you know, basically let it roll off your shoulders and say, hey, I understand where you're coming from. Uh, because uh most of our people here, just like anywhere else, they want to be heard. If they want to talk to you and and see you about their son or daughter, they just want to be able to get their points across. And most of the time they come away, they may not agree with your final decision, but they understand it and respect it. And I think that's uh, you know, I just try to help our coaches with that. Don't don't take this personal. And and yet it's hard to do that sometimes because of the amount of time that they invest in this pro in the in their programs and their athletes.

SPEAKER_02 26:16

Right. Well, thank you very much. That's that's really good.

SPEAKER_01 26:18

Yeah, I think that I tell young ADs all the time that it took me the better part of three years before every time I would lay down at night, I didn't feel like my chest was just so tight because I was taking, I was internalizing everything. I was, you know, everything that every parent said, everything that every coach said. And that kind of leads me to my my next question. I know that you are a fan of John Gordon. He states in his book, The Power of a Positive Team, that your team is is just as likely to catch your bad mood as the flu. And on the flip side of that, they're gonna catch your good mood as well. And as a team member, your attitude, energy, and leadership are contagious uh and have a big impact on the culture of your team. Obviously, I'm gonna assume that you would agree with that. And how do leaders focus on this concept as they battle the daily hurdles of being an athletic administrator? Most of the time, when people call us, like I've told other guests of ours, they're not calling just to check on us. They're calling because they got a fire that they won't put out. And so what would you say to them uh as they're they're battling that day in and day out?

SPEAKER_03 27:18

Well, I think because it as you as we all know, I mean, these last six months, whatever it's been, I mean, it's been that daily. Uh and so it's been tough. I mean, I think uh, you know, misery loves company is what I always tell people. And so, you know, we don't we can't be miserable. We we the the the image that we portray to our to our kids in our community, uh and even me to our coaches needs to be one of positivity. And and have I done that 100% of the time? No, because it's been tough. Uh there are days when you're, you know, I think you're just we're pushing against uh uh this hill that we just can't move, we can't budge, or this, or this weight we can't get off our shoulders. But I think like you said, uh Don at the end of the day, it's just about when we and one of the things we talk about improving every day. So I'll tell our coaches and kids, you know, when you lay down at night and put your head on the pillow and and whether you pray or or just get ready to go to sleep, you're trying to relax, whatever it may be, then ask yourself, you know, did I did I improve today? Did I did I get better today? And in those areas, uh, you know, there's there's six or seven questions that you know you can ask yourself as well. That you know, are these things that we uh did and can do and and get better at? And uh and I think if you did that, then you're okay. If not, then that's where you got to ask yourself, you know, where can I improve today? Did I get angry at someone I shouldn't have? Did I lose my temper? Well, you know, did I not did I not smile? So we really we talk a lot about Scott Care here with our coaches and our kids mentoring each other, you know, coaches mentoring coaches, uh coaches mentoring kids, kids mentoring athletes mentoring uh athletes, and then and back the other way, athletes mentoring coaches as well. And so one of those is is that positivity piece of can we when we see someone in the hallway, we see someone in the community, you've got a great smile on your face and say, Hey, I hope you're having a great day and hope things are going well. And you know, and sometimes they say, Well, coach, I can't I can't do that. That I said, well then just be a great actor or actress. You know, that's what it's about. They don't have to know how you really feel, just hey, I'm a great actor today, and then people are gonna think, man, I'm coach has got a great attitude, he's giving great effort, he loves life, and realizing there's lots of struggles that we go through, but at the same time, I think that's one of the ways that that we've tried to approach it. That that obviously if things are not going as well as we would like, we hope we could change some of that and make it make it a better day, you know.

SPEAKER_01 29:22

Yeah, I I have me and my wife both being in education, there's there's roughly 13, 14 educators in my family. It's kind of our family business. And and I I tell people all the time we probably could be like off-Broadway actors and actresses as well, you know, because you just I mean, you just have to be on, you know, there's no time for you necessarily to have a moment uh and and you have to get out of your feelings a little bit. And to kind of just un one last time to touch on these things, and it's funny because sometimes we have questions lined up, and then the guest just we we feel like you know you you had the questions in advance, which you didn't, uh, but you keep touching on stuff that we wanted to talk about. I'm originally from Valdasta, Georgia, where I played football for Nick Hyder there, uh and we were guided by a set of priorities that I still live by in a lot of ways today, and it was God, family, country, academics, friends, and then Wildcats, the team. And you just mentioned that core component of improve every day. That in my opinion, that's my favorite one. You know, that idea of you trying to improve and at the end of the day looking yourself in the mirror and seeing if you've done that. Could you just one more time go down the list of those priorities and that you guys are kind of those core components that you live by?

SPEAKER_03 30:32

Yes. Uh the first one, and we think again, this is the one that's non-negotiable for us, is just that attitude and effort piece. And again, it it you go back to being a great actor. I mean, I'm on you have a great attitude. I tell them you wake up every day, look yourself in the mirror and smile. You know what, it's a great day to be me. Uh, and I don't and I don't say that in a in an arrogant way, it's just say it's a great day to be, you know, whomever you are. Sure. And that's why you got to approach that day. So that great attitude. And the effort part, I feel like uh just like improving every day, uh, you know, everyone can give great effort no matter your your talent level. And so, you know, if they're a third or fourth team uh on any of our uh programs, you still can give great effort. So attitude and effort are big things for us. Uh the the second one is the coachable, teachable piece. And so we ask them to be coachable. We have great coaches in place that are going to instruct you properly, put you in position to make plays and have success. But along with that, coachability becomes the teachability. So we we want that transfer over to the classroom uh and the academic side of it, so that when you go into a classroom with your teacher, you're doing the same thing. You're a teachable young man or young young lady in class. Uh, physical and mental mental toughness, we feel like that that goes hand in hand with being a champion. You just can't, I don't think, have a success at a high level if you're not mentally tough and physically tough. And again, that mental piece of it doesn't necessarily mean, Don, that you know, I can't, I'm not gonna have a bad day or the stress or the anxiety that our kids feel today for a lot of different reasons, that that won't be there. I'm talking about during practice and games trying to be mentally and physically tough. Uh respecting all uh is a big deal for us, uh, just because we feel like you know matter what your your background is, where you come from in life, whatever it may be, uh that's very, very important. And then uh improve every day, like we talked about, uh, because again, it goes back to what no matter what talent level you have, you can improve, you can get better in some small area academically, athletically, socially, at home with your parents getting along, your brothers and sisters, uh, and and in the community. And then the last one, as I said, was the most important is just it's always going to be about the Scots. Uh, our middle school mascot is the Raiders, so it's about the Raiders for them, but that way we try to get away from that self-entitlement that's that's so prevalent today that you know it's about me, it's it's not about you. And we do have some athletes that obviously people watch us play and they say, well, it is about him or her because they're pretty good. But I tell you, those athletes that have been in that position for us um for the most part, uh most well all the time have been great, great leaders and great, great people with very humble uh and and and that uh have a servant heart in all that they do.

SPEAKER_02 32:57

Well, coach, that's uh that's great, great stuff right there. And we probably should end right there, but uh you mentioned a couple big topics in in this conversation. One is the core values, which you just went back through again. And I think any AD listening, any person listening will be challenged to have develop their own core values and develop core values within their athletic department. At least I know I have been. But you develop you mentioned something early in the interview uh when we talked about your uh bio, the by the baseball card, and you talked about your dad for a minute. So I'd like to finish off by just talking about regional coach Ringo. Talk to us a little bit about where your dad coached, uh, what sports did he coach, and then finish it up if you don't mind, tie it up uh about what leadership lessons did you learn from your father that you find yourself applying today as a leader in athletic administration?

SPEAKER_03 33:50

Yes, well, he coached uh primary football and track, and uh many we were in San Antonio uh when I was probably 10 or 11 years of age, and he was head coach at South Sand there. He had coached prior to that Rifirio and up in the Dallas area, um, some and then from the time I was 12 until I graduated from high school, we were in South Texas, just west of San Antonio in Carrizo Springs. He was the head coach there. And so uh all of his coaches, uh a lot of them grew up in that area, uh, and so is a very tight-knit group, a lot of coaches, kids that were uh my age as well. Uh, but I think just being able to watch uh him daily, the type of man he was, the way he led coaches, the way he led young men uh and lived his life was I think again uh the best example I could have in trying to apply that to my own career and my own life. And so he's a pretty special guy. He was a uh running back in college and you know weighed, I don't know, 190, 200. Now he's about 125, he's battling some health issues, but he's 82, uh doing well. But he is the original coach Ringo, as I always say, and so uh you've seen the pictures, and so he's uh he's a lively character for sure, and uh was a great athlete, highly competitive, and and uh but he did the right way. And so I think those are things that I take from him uh and and just the way he managed his life and managed us as a family. Because it's not it's not easy, you know. We we uh do a lot with coaches outreach through our Bible study here, and and um you know they have the conferences in the summers for for couples and and we help support that. My wife and I, and we'll get letters from coaches, families all the time about you know that they're at a point of whether or not they continue to stay in the marriage just because of the difficulty involved in that, and as we all know, the time involved. And so you know it was tough for mom and dad as well, but yet just the loving family that they have and uh two sisters and I, and and uh being able to grow up and be around that was was huge. And again, that's the reason I chose the profession I chose. It was him. Uh I didn't want to do anything else, even though I probably could have done something else, but I felt like this was a calling and you're in it for a reason, and and really you're in it for kids, and that's what it's all about. So he was a major influence in my life. So love him to death.

SPEAKER_02 35:57

That's good. Well, having a strong pedigree and strong values uh definitely uh gives us a glimpse of why you've been as successful as you have been. Uh, we're gonna move into our two-minute drill. Don, before we do, I thought we might give coach a minute. Uh, do you want to talk a little bit more about your coach's outreach program? I I know my wife and I have been to a couple of uh uh retreats together, and that's a huge time for us. So maybe talk about that if there's folks in your in the Dallas area or maybe other areas that uh they could attend those. Uh we'll give you a minute to talk about that if you'd like.

SPEAKER_03 36:32

Well, we've got I think you know, we've got a number of Bible studies here in the area, and a lot of those are specific to each school. Uh one of our community members who had uh sons and daughters play for the Scots, Kent Stainback leads ours. Uh and so I meet on Wednesday mornings at 6 30 tomorrow morning and um do that weekly and run through that 12-week program. And then, you know, the summer we've got the banquet up here that we it's mainly a fundraising banquet, but it's also a time where coaches uh and others are able to share their testimony. So it's been a big part of who we are, what we do. I mean, we've got quite a few coaches that that come to the Bible study, majority are probably football coaches, but we do have other head coaches of other programs there as well. And so I think it's again, it's just another opportunity for you to get together with a group of of men and women, if they, you know, because we'll have women involved and as well, our women coaches, um, that you know, they just you have it, it's it they see you in a different light, they see you at a different time. It's not always about just athletics, we're all on the go, not you know, 90 to nothing. It seems like each and every day, and a lot of times you can lose perspective of what you know what you're about and uh where your faith is. And so that's important that we have that chance to to get together like that.

SPEAKER_02 37:39

That's good. Thanks for sharing. Appreciate it. Good luck with that. Uh, Coach Baker, I think we're ready for the two-minute drill.

SPEAKER_01 37:44

Okay, coach. What we're gonna do is we're gonna hit you with some rapid fire questions. We want you just to tell us the first thing that comes to your mind, okay? Okay. Love to win or hate to lose. Uh love to win.

SPEAKER_02 37:59

All right, no pressure here from two Braves fans, but greatest sporting event you have ever attended.

SPEAKER_03 38:06

Uh well, no, that was a pretty good game last night, but it was only game one. Um, so uh for me it was the uh uh being a graduate of the University of Texas uh was the uh national championship game uh in the Rose Bowl years ago when Vince Young um 2005 I think it was the national championship game. So that was that's right up there with uh with any that I've I've seen or been to.

SPEAKER_01 38:27

That's awesome. Uh if you won the lottery, what is one indulgence that you would have for yourself?

SPEAKER_03 38:34

Let's see. Uh probably play more golf.

SPEAKER_02 38:39

Amen. Uh what's your favorite vacation spot or favorite place to travel to?

SPEAKER_03 38:44

We love Austin. Uh we love being down there, but we also love uh anywhere where there's uh white sand and a beach. We we we we enjoy that quite quite very much.

SPEAKER_01 38:54

One word to describe yourself.

SPEAKER_03 38:58

Um let's see. Um hopefully uh let's see, uh outgoing and caring. I couldn't have one. I mean I'm outgoing, but also hopefully people see me as caring. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_02 39:09

What is one word others would use to describe you?

SPEAKER_03 39:13

Uh I hope they would think that I'm I'm fair and honest and compassionate. You know, I mean that's again more than one word, but uh and that I, you know, the kids are first for me. That's good. What is the your favorite perk of your job? My interaction with the with the kids for sure. I mean, that's the biggest thing for me. It's uh being around our our our coaches and programs. You know, as an AD sometimes you're not coaching anymore, and that last eight years you kind of lose that touch, you know, because you're around those kids 24-7, you're around them more than their parents. So that's the biggest thing for me. It's just getting a chance to be out and leave this office and be around practicing games.

SPEAKER_02 39:48

You touched on this earlier. What is a favorite childhood memory?

SPEAKER_03 39:53

Just being around my dad, the field house, I think, and games, and and I just watch coach's kids today do the same thing, and that's that's probably the one of the best for me. And then also um the times that uh assistant coaches and their sons were together with me and my dad, and that was a lot of fun. There were ranches down there, and we were able to go hunting and fishing and doing all that growing up. That was pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01 40:13

Now, I'm gonna go ahead and assume this isn't the first time you've had this question asked to you, but you you share a name with a very uh famous American Western outlaw in Johnny Ringo, noted for his deadly quick draw. So my question to you is would you make a good cowboy?

SPEAKER_03 40:28

I think I would. I think I would. I've uh worked cattle before. I've you know uh worked on fence lines. Um I think I would. I think I'd be okay. And I hadn't done it in a long time. Yeah. So and I'm old. I don't know if I'd be able to stay on that horse for very long, but I think I could get on one, stay on for a little bit. There you go. Good, great answer.

SPEAKER_02 40:47

What advice would you give your younger self?

SPEAKER_03 40:50

Uh I think not to take things too seriously. You know, again, I talked about it earlier, just let it roll off your back and just you know, try to go through the day uh at the end of the day and decide what you need to improve upon, and the next day just get after it and do the best you can and and not take uh things too so seriously. I mean, as coaches, you know, we sometimes we when I'm still coaching, you remember every loss, and for whatever reason, you don't remember the wins. And that's just crazy to me. I mean, you can remember some, obviously, when you know I've been in part of some state championships here with our teams, and that's been great, but um and that that shouldn't be the case. It ought to be that you celebrate every great moment you have with your kids and your coaches and your family. What's your favorite thing to do outside of work? Uh just spend time with family and just relax. But I also love to, as I said earlier, love to play golf, and um that's probably it.

SPEAKER_02 41:38

What's your biggest pet peeve?

SPEAKER_03 41:41

Uh I think I'm I'm I'm I'm not uh I'm not patient uh with those that maybe, you know, I uh they're lazy, I guess that'd be the word for it, and maybe not the right word, but just I I think if you're gonna work at it, you know, you gotta work at it and and work hard. And um so if if I and I think if if I see folks with with potential and maybe they're not, you know, uh getting to that full level uh that's possible for them from a potential standpoint.

SPEAKER_01 42:07

Now I didn't ask you what your golf handicap was, but what what is a hit a hidden talent that you have?

SPEAKER_03 42:15

I've got one for sure. I think I'm pretty funny. I think I'm uh my wife my wife used to think I was a lot funnier. Uh you know, 30 we've been married 31 years, so maybe year five through 15 that was hilarious, and now maybe a chuckle, but I think I at times I can still get her to laugh really hard. So I think I've got uh sense of humor maybe sometimes people don't see quite as much. There you go.

SPEAKER_02 42:36

Yeah. What uh what's one thing that can instantly make your day better?

SPEAKER_03 42:43

I just think of seeing it click for a for a young man or a young uh lady, an athlete in some form or fashion, and just watch them be able to apply uh all of the principles and maybe core values and and culture that you've tried to instill in them within your program. And so when I see our coaches and it transfers and they become coaches themselves, that's huge for me. Then then you know you you're on to something there and that program's gonna be in good good shape.

SPEAKER_01 43:07

Now, you know, in a day and age of of Twitter and Instagram and apps and all this kind of stuff. If you were snowed in in a mountain cabin and you only had one board game, what would it be?

SPEAKER_03 43:20

Let's see. Well, um dominoes in the board game, but I do like I'll play some dominoes. Um maybe I guess I don't know for lack of a better monopoly. I don't know. I can't remember. That'd be a good way to pass the time, yeah. Yeah, it wouldn't be. My wife's got a bunch of board games. We never seen her play them fun enough. And so I I don't think I have the patience to sit down and do that very much. But if I was loaded in, I'd have to find something to do.

SPEAKER_02 43:43

Yeah, I think our household's the same way. My wife would be a board game person, but I I don't partake. Coach, one last question, kind of our trademark question that we finish with. Today you've been hanging with the AD, but let's say you could hang out with anyone, who would that be a wife?

SPEAKER_03 44:02

Well, uh I think for me, um Tom Landry was a huge, you know, um uh I guess just a guy I had a chance to caddy for him at a at a program years ago. I was a young kid in Texas and came up and just said, hey, I want to go and and and have a chance to you know go to this tournament. And I kind of just I think I forced myself on him so much that he finally decided to take me as a caddy that day. And he had a hole in one that day. So that was a pretty neat deal. Um but I think just he, that type of coach, I think another one that really had an impact on me, other than my dad. Uh there's so many in Texas High School uh Coaches Association that were huge. Um Randy's one, you know, he's a past president, I'm a president. But I think also Mac Brown was, you know, he and I were, and of course, the thing about coach is that he um, you know, we we would have had a good relationship and close relationship, but he he probably made about a thousand people feel that way. And that's one of the things that makes him special now again in North Carolina. I mean, he's just got this this uh aura about him that's that's pretty cool. And so uh those are two, and then I and I think that you know from a religious standpoint, I obviously want a chance to hang out with, in my opinion, Jesus, and maybe maybe we will someday, hopefully. And so uh uh I think that's huge. But I uh you know, it's uh there's so many. It's just for me, there there would be a long, long list of people that have been so instrumental in my life and helping me um it whenever needed that um depended depended down to one. But I think just watching Coach Landry and Mac Brown and uh and some others, that's been huge for me to have a chance to to watch how they work and how they go about their business.

SPEAKER_01 45:37

Coach, thank you so much for the pleasure of your time today in a very busy time. Uh glad that you carved out some for us, and I know that our listeners are going to benefit from it. So thank you so much for sitting down with us today.

SPEAKER_03 45:46

You bet. Enjoyed visiting with you guys.

SPEAKER_02 45:50

Coach Johnny Ringo, thank you for being with us today. You most definitely gave us plenty of insight from your 38 years in education. Insight that can make us all better people and better leaders. It is no wonder that Coach Johnny Ringo is one of the leading athletic directors in the state of Texas. For us, there were three key leadership essentials that we took away from Coach Johnny Ringo's conversation today. One is that communication is the most important thing that we do. Another essential is that having a positive attitude is the best way to win every day. Coach Ringo said, it's a great day to be me. What a great quote. And finally, what a great practice of having a set of individual and program core values for yourself and your athletic department. Now, may we all be able to take the wisdom of the Highland Park ISD Director of Athletics, Coach Johnny Ringo, and apply it to our positions and become better leaders because of it. And now, before you move on to your next podcast, could you please take a moment and leave us a rating or a review right there on iTunes or wherever you may be listening? We really enjoy hearing from our listeners and appreciate your support. Thanks for doing that review for us. And until next time, thank you for spending your time hanging with the AD.