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 learned through leadership. Now, here are your hosts, Josh Matthews and Don Baker.

SPEAKER_03 0:17

Today we once again head west and sit down with Brandon Larson, who serves as the athletic director for Highland High School in Gilbert, Arizona. Brandon's people-first approach has created a winning culture, and his ability to put people in positions to be successful is second to none. Let's settle in and get to know Brandon Larston.

SPEAKER_02 0:44

Brandon, we're so glad to have you join it, Don and Me for this episode of Hanging with EAD. Thanks for taking time out of your day to join us.

SPEAKER_01 0:51

Oh, absolutely. I'm I appreciate it to be here. Um, been listening to you guys' podcast now for the last couple of weeks since I've been introduced. So it's it's been great information. I picked up a lot of nuggets from you guys. So I appreciate you having me on. Well, we appreciate that.

SPEAKER_02 1:04

Thanks for listening. Thanks for the kind words for sure. For our listeners, now Brandon Larson serves as the athletic director at Highland High School in Gilbert, Arizona. He's held this position since July of 2019. And prior to Highland, Brandon was the AD at Coronado High School in Scottsdale, Arizona for two years. Uh we met, I met Brandon uh while attending the Arizona AD conference a few weeks ago in the in the fall of 2023. Uh, took a class, and we'll get into that in a few minutes. But uh, Brandon's another uh great AD out there in Arizona. Uh he has a background in coaching football, coaching background there in football. Uh so we'll uh we're anxious to get to know Brandon and get him to coach us up on uh some of the things that he does really, really well. But let's stop right there. Let him tell us a little bit more about his journey through the world of athletics. Uh Brandon, if you listen, you know this is what we call the back of the baseball card bio. So take a minute, tell us what the back of Brandon Larson's baseball card would look like. Absolutely. Um, so I guess. I guess if it was Don Larson, you'd have a perfect game on there, right?

SPEAKER_01 2:10

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 2:11

There you go.

SPEAKER_01 2:12

Yeah, no, um, so I actually took a weird way into athletic administration. So I was a decent football player in high school and uh started behind some Division I guys and ended up going to the NFL. So I found my path in athletics through coaching. Uh, after I graduated high school, I got into to coaching high school football, did that for 15 years and just through a weird set of events, um, was in Texas coaching football, thought I would never leave the state, and just had some some family stuff come up with some health. And we just decided it was it was time to move back to Arizona. So when we started figuring out how we were gonna make that move back, uh, we felt it's probably best that I went into administration uh rather than coaching uh through some financial measures. And I was fortunate enough to find the AD job at Coordinado. And I'll tell you what, this is my seventh year in athletic administration, and I've absolutely fallen in love. So um had a lot of success as a football coach. I was part of two state championship teams there, uh part of a district championship team in Texas, and I just I loved coaching. But if you were to ask me now, you know, what I would choose between coaching and athletic administration, I would I would stick with the AD route. It uh it's been a blast. So husband to a beautiful wife who is stuck with me through all those things, and then uh father to four children.

SPEAKER_03 3:37

Good deal. Now you something you left out there that that we want to kind of dive into just right out of the gate. You you are an AD, but you're also you do some motivational speaking as well. And all of us have to, at one point or another, in this role as the AD, get up in front of people. And I read a uh poll one time that said people would rather die than get up and speak in public. And so maybe tell us some secrets of being an engaging speaker, maybe help out those that are listening, because we all have to do it, but quite frankly, people would rather die than do it. And so if we could find a way to make it a little bit easier, that would be great.

SPEAKER_01 4:15

So so I'll tell you, like it it's it's still scary. So I grew up in a in a faith in a church to where um we didn't really have like a like a leader that spoke, uh, people from the congregation speak every week. So from the time you hit 12 years old uh to the time you die, uh you're you're asked to speak to the congregation about probably once a year. And so that's where I started just kind of getting that comfort level of of getting up there um and speaking to people. So as I as I've started to dive into the world of motivational speaking and speaking with groups uh beyond just the athletic administrator, uh what I found is you just got to kind of do it. The biggest thing I found is when I'm comfortable with something and I feel prepared on something, it's a lot easier to speak to. The times where I get a little bit more nervous are the times when I kind of have to quote unquote wing it. So I think preparation is the big thing. Um, it's better to over-prepare than underprepare. If you can come up with you know several items that you want to speak to and how you want to speak to them and have those prepared in advance whenever possible, it makes that that public speaking a little bit easier. So when I go out and and I kind of always joke about people, I'd rather I'd rather speak in front of 5,000 people than you know one or two. I get more intimidated by some of the smaller conversations uh than I do the the big ones. Because I feel like if I'm if I'm speaking to a thousand people, I have a better chance of my jokes hitting, I have a better chance of you know connecting with at least somebody. Whereas if there's two people in the room, it's it's a it's a you know, you're either getting it or you're not. So preparation is probably the biggest thing I would say in that aspect of just just kind of feeling confident in what you're speaking about, and just know that at the end of the day, like you know, people may judge, they they may have their opinions, but how you approach yourself and how you feel about yourself, I mean, that's the ultimate indicator.

SPEAKER_03 6:08

Yeah, I think another thing that I've seen you do is it like you you you'll pull in like a personal element, right? So it may not be like on track of what you're talking about, but it makes you human for a second there. And I think that that too, it kind of brings the temperature down a little bit and makes you just like everybody else in the room, right?

SPEAKER_01 6:26

Absolutely. Um, so when I do my parameeting every year, I actually have several stories that I tell. I think storytelling is a big piece of, you know, when you get up and speak, kind of what you spoke to, Don, of if you can make that personal connection, it makes it a lot easier to speak to things. So, you know, when we speak about officials and how we approach uh officials as a community um and how we should act at games, I actually uh tell a story, and I don't tell them it's me yet. I tell about I call him the Floresville dad, and that was a town I coached in. And and I talk about this dad at a soccer game, and he's he's yelling at the refs, and it's a it's an eight-year-old soccer game. I mean, they're wearing t-shirts for uniforms. This is not big time in any way, shape, or form. And you know, as I'm telling the story, and eventually this guy gets kicked out, and so I end the story with basically, well, well, I'm sitting in my truck thinking about what I just did, and then you know, you get the laughs of everybody realizing that you know that was a story of you, and it kind of brings that that personal touch of like, hey, I've been in your shoes, I've made the mistakes that I'm asking you not to make. You know, I'm not on a soapbox telling you what not to do. I'm trying to tell you, like, hey, I embarrassed the crap out of my eight-year-old son at a rec league soccer game. So, you know, if I can if I can turn the corner, then then we can all turn the corner as community. So though this the storytelling and those personal touches definitely they they make a difference.

SPEAKER_02 7:46

Yeah, it's good. I know you said that uh when we were in class. And uh I I agree. The the best times I've talked to people is when you make that connection and you show them that we're not we're human too. We're not perfect, right? So uh that's really good. Hey, speaking of that class um that I was able to attend LTC 709 uh with you and Missy Townsend, who's a former guest of ours. She and Don work together at the National Conference one year. That class is on communication. So you kind of just did that with communicating to a large group or speaking to a large group. But let's talk about key strategies that are required of an athletic administrator in order to communicate effectively. Obviously, as ADs, our groups are varied. We have students, coaches, superiors, which for some people, uh like Don's case or even small school systems, so those superiors run all the way up to the superintendent. Uh, you have parents, community members, future student athletes to young kids, uh, probably several other groups that I haven't mentioned, right? Trainers, all kinds of people. I know you probably can't hit them all, but what must we be good at to communicate well with such a variety of stakeholders?

SPEAKER_01 9:00

That's a good that's a great question. If I were to say the the thing to look at first is meeting people where they're at. So you you know, you talked about you know 10 different groups that you potentially have to communicate with, uh, really looking at what are what are the needs, objectives, and challenges of those groups. So a great book I read um called Anatomy of Peace uh by the Arbinger Institute, and they and they go into focus where when you're communicating with people, you know, you want to see them as people, not objects. And and every person has a need, they have an objective, and they have a challenge. So when I look at my communication styles with you know my coaches, or if I have to go talk to a superintendent or my community, I'm really looking to see, you know, what are those needs, objectives, and challenges that they have, and and how can I meet them where they're at. So, you know, for example, I have you know several different coaches, you know, 24 programs. I know that I'm gonna approach my girls' basketball coach a lot different than I'm gonna approach my swim coach. Um, you know, my girl's basketball coach, she's been doing it now for four years. Um, she's a little bit younger. I know, you know, when I'm communicating with her, it's gonna be more of an in a teaching style. And like, hey, here are the things that I need you to to look at when you're communicating with your you know, players and parents and community. Um, whereas my swim coach, you know, she's been doing it a long time, you know, has a lot of experience in the industry. She's gonna know a little bit better of what she needs to communicate. And so my communication with her is more of like, hey, here's what came across my desk. How can we work on this together uh to get the best possible results? So for me, it's really just kind of trying to see where they're at and see what their needs are. You know, it's it's something that I haven't always been good at, to be honest with you. Uh, when I first got into coaching and um got into kind of where I was in my career, kind of to that back of the baseball card I didn't mention. I started in the finance industry for about uh 11, 12 years before I got into the education piece. So I had been coaching football the entire time. But when I when I first got into the industry, I was an arrogant, arrogant person. And it actually took uh a coach of mine uh pulling me aside and basically saying, Hey, if you want to survive in this industry, you got to change the way you approach these kids. Like you're you're a jerk, like they don't respect you, they don't like you, they're gonna do what you say because they fear you, but that's only gonna go so far before you know they just start bailing on you. So that was a conversation that was had with me when I was, you know, kind of young in my career. They got me to really start to change and think about how I communicated with people and what approach I took. So it's taken me, you know, a long time and several years to kind of hone my craft. But you know, through some great mentors of mine and and people that I've worked with, I've been able to kind of figure out that communication piece is huge and meeting people where they're at.

SPEAKER_02 12:06

Yeah, it's good. We all knew it all before we realized we didn't know anything, right? Absolutely. I mean, I think we all can uh attest to that uh that uh conviction that we knew everything when we were younger. But uh I love how you've come up with a formula to communicate. I think that's good. Um, never really heard that, but uh you know, you just pare it all down to those three things. So it helps you figure out how to communicate effectively with whichever stakeholder you're uh you're talking to. That that's a good little formula there. So thanks for share.

SPEAKER_03 12:37

Now, Brandon, let's kind of piggyback off of that. Something you said in there about if you treat people you know a certain way, they just kind of get beat down to the point where they just kind of turn turn you out. As a leader, where does the morale of your coaches fall in your list of priorities? Because we all know that teaching and coaching is getting more difficult, right? I mean, it's not digging ditches, but it's tough work. And maybe what do you do to promote a good, strong morale when when you have to make decisions that could possibly lower it, right? I I can't tell you how many times we go back and forth in this office all the time when something new comes down and we're like, we're having to add something else to a already a plate that is spilling over already and how that's going to be received. Is there a way that we can take any of that away if we're gonna add anything? Just the having those conversations, uh, they can be very tough. They can be very lonely as you decide to do that. But how do you do that but maintain a positive morale on your staff?

SPEAKER_01 13:32

Oh, that's a that's another good question. So I probably say morale for my staff ranks at probably one of the highest. So I I heard this somewhere and I can't remember where, but basically, if you take care of your employees, they're gonna take care of your customers. And so I know a lot of people talk about you know doing what's best for kids, and I absolutely believe that. But there's oh, it was Richard Branson from uh from Virgin. But I've always kind of followed that that your coaches have the the most touch on your student athletes, and so if you take care of them, they are gonna be the ones that are gonna be able to kind of turn the ship or get the kids headed in in the direction you're needed to go. So for me, that that staff morale, um, those relationships, they they rank at the top of the list. Uh, one of the things we talk about a lot with our coaches is you know, Urban Meyer and Tim Kite with their E plus R equals O, we reference that a lot. So we as a staff have kind of embraced that deal where you know events are gonna happen, things are gonna be put in our way, we're gonna be asked to do things that are absolutely out of our control. So the only control that we have in that in that formula is our response. So if we want a positive outcome and we're being asked to do something, you know, we need a positive response.

SPEAKER_03 14:52

Uh it's funny you say that. Does it have anything? Do you have do you personally wear your E plus R equals O band? Because yeah, I've ripped through like three of these at my kids' practices so that when we get in the car, I know how to behave. So I'm glad that I'm glad that there are other other ones of us out there in the world. That's good.

SPEAKER_02 15:11

Yeah, but he doesn't have it tattooed on him like uh Brian Kite does.

SPEAKER_03 15:13

I I I'm that's like what is that about the the chicken and the egg and and commitment and all that kind of stuff. I'm not as fully bought in and committed as he is. He's bought in, but he's not committed, right? There you go.

SPEAKER_01 15:24

Yeah. Well, after seeing that now, Don, I think I'm gonna have to go give me a couple of those because I'll tell you what, I I need those more often than not, especially in in this day and age. But yeah, like that uh the the e's are getting harder and harder. Um, and it's getting harder and harder to to do those R's in a positive way sometimes. But that's that's really what we focus on as a staff and and just making sure we have a really cool uh vision at our high school. It's elite hawks, elite purpose, and elite stands for enthusiasm, love, integrity, toughness every day. And so we kind of we we take those core values and we kind of we kind of run forward. And so when we use our E plus R equals O, uh, we really put that into the the everyday section of you know, you every day you're gonna have to do something difficult. Every day you're gonna have to make decisions. Um, people aren't gonna like your decisions all the time. I mean, we got 3,000 you know coaches up in the stands every Friday night telling us you know what plays a run and and how we should do things. And you know, if we if we listen to everybody every day about how they feel things should be ran, it it'd be a tough world. So just coming back to your point of that that staff morale, we really do. We try and focus just on the things that we can control. And then the second part of that is is the love part of our elite. Uh, we really buy into it. If you if you were to come by our school and spend a day with us, there hasn't been a person yet who hasn't said it just feels different. Uh, when you walk into that school and you walk out, you can you can tell that we are a tight-knit community. Um, unfortunately, in Arizona, we're a school of choice state, and so communities are becoming fewer and far in between, and we're one of the last strongholds. So we kind of focus on that that love aspect of making sure we take care of each other, making sure that we carry each other as people and and got each other's backs. Because if if we don't, then nobody else will.

SPEAKER_02 17:23

That's really good. So, speaking of Gilbert, Arizona, uh, you talk about the family there, the culture, the community. Let's say we don't know much about Gilbert, Arizona. I had really never heard of it until I met you. I don't know much about Arizona. Uh, but the cool thing is, I came back uh about a week later, uh, I was going through resumes uh for a position here, and one of the um candidates for the position had worked and lived in Gilbert, Arizona. I was like, yeah, I just recognize that. Uh I was just uh talking to someone from there. So it's kind of neat. Uh, what makes Highland Athletics unique? You might have just said it. Maybe you want to expand on that love component. I don't know. Uh, but what is something that y'all do that really works for y'all and you would recommend others try to implement?

SPEAKER_01 18:10

Oh, that's a good one. Well, your first question, Gilbert, Arizona is a small farm town turned huge city over the last 25 years. Nice. So I actually am an alumni of Highland High School. So it's been a blessing to come back and be an AD where I graduated from. When I went to school here, there was nothing but fields around our school. There was one neighborhood across the street, and I think we had maybe 60,000, 70,000 people in the town. So it was decent size, but now we're in 2023, and I actually just left an administrator meeting this morning and looking at projections for enrollment. Our our town's up to 240,000 people. Wow. So in in 25 years, it is you know quadrupled in size, and it has kept some of the old small town feel stuff to it, but it also has a lot of a lot of big city problems now. So it's still a wonderful place to live. I think we were voted safest place in the United States, uh, the safest city uh the last couple years. So it's a beautiful place to raise a family. Me and my wife, we we grew up here. Um, my my wife's family is one of the first families actually in Gilbert. So, you know, at our wedding, we stood in line, I think, for about three hours meeting people that I had no clue who they were. So when when you talk about Highland, um, we're one of six high schools in our district. Um, but what makes us special is I think our our culture. We I got the job, I'm going into my fifth year, and when I went into the job, previous AD has set uh set some things up to be successful. But what I tell people is essentially it was it was Tinder waiting to be lit. And so I came in there. Uh, we try to put some things in place with facilities, coaches, and culture, and the community just gravitated towards it and it and it took off. So, you know, when you when you look at our school, kind of what I said before, we are a tight-knit family, and and when you're in, we'll treat you like family. Uh, we we exemplify some high character traits at our school. We uh our kids are amazing. Like, and I I get a credit for a lot of this stuff, but at the end of the day, it's our coaches and kids. We have amazing kids and amazing coaches, and they do a really good job of putting the focus on character and culture before winning. And it's very evident when you come out to our school, if you're looking at our football team, we're we're ranked number six in the state right now. But if you were to just look at us on paper and come out, you're like, there's no way these guys should be able to compete. And every every week, week in, week out, we we beat teams we shouldn't, we hang with teams we shouldn't. And it's really because of the way our kids buy into being just good young men and young women and putting forth you know that maximum work ethic. So it it's it's not common anymore. Uh, so we feel like we do something a little bit different in that aspect, and we hold kids accountable, and the kids hold each other accountable. So I think that's probably one of the biggest reasons why we've been able to have the success we've had. Uh, this last year we tied a state record with nine state championships in our school, and it was it was an exciting time. And like I said, there there's there's teams that you know, if you look at our basketball team, I don't think we had anybody over 6'2, but we were able to to win a 6A state title and a double overtime thriller. You know, one of our kids hit a three pointer with two seconds left to win the game, and it was just an exciting time. But like I said, you if you look at our kids, there there's no way we should be hanging with these people. And so, you know, we got great coaches to put them in a position to succeed, and we got great kids who Just work their tails off and and do things the right way.

SPEAKER_02 22:03

That's really good. So it's funny, we say this all the time how sometimes the the guest uh sets up the next question by the answer of the previous question, and you just did that. So uh we all we always consider you know that we got really good guests when that happens. Uh but um we heard a quote on Lynch with a leader, which is a podcast we listen to, kind of a mentor guy of ours that does it, and and it gets back to what you just said about winning is not the goal, right? Winning is not necessarily the motivation, even though we know that you know nine state titles will motivate another group to try to um duplicate that, right? But the quote is if the competition is your motivation, then you could grossly underperform and still be successful. So if the competition is your motivation, then you could grossly underperform and still be successful. What does that mean to you and how do you apply that to your athletic program?

SPEAKER_01 23:04

Oh, that's a that's a good one. To me, I I look at that as kind of embracing the grind. Um so one of the things that we talk about at our school is winning is a byproduct of your culture. If you were to go into any of our team meetings from any of our coaches, you're never gonna hear the word win come out of their mouth. And it and it's kind of crazy in this day and age with how much focus there is on it, but they really don't they don't talk about winning. And our cross-country coach, he's been doing it for 30 years. Um he's won, I don't know how many state titles um with cross-country and track. And when you go to the state championship cross-meet this cross-country meet this Saturday, you won't hear him say one thing about winning. His his thing will basically be like, hey, it's another race. You go race the best that you can race and just see where it lands, see what happens. And and the kids buy into it, and so kind of coming back to that quote, I think if you if you embrace the competition and you embrace the grind and you look at just performing at the best of your ability, kind of that John Gruden, you know, quote of success, then I think at that point you're gonna find that you're gonna see yourself in a lot of successful situations. And success is defined in different ways in different places. You know, it it coronado, where I was at, for us, um, we had a girls' basketball team who had the longest uh losing streak in the state, I think at 54 games before I got there. Uh, we hired a new coach and we talked about just focusing on process, you know, getting girls out there, getting them to show up consistently and put in effort consistently. And that year we we were put in a really weak region, but we ended up winning the region after a 54-game losing streak. So it kind of came back to that deal of she never talked to him about winning championships, she never came and talked to him about you know even winning games. It was basically can you do the little things right consistently? And if you can do that, then you will find that you put yourself in a successful situation. So it's something that I will continue to preach, uh, no matter where I'm at, because at the end of the day, I've I've seen it. I've seen it with my own two eyes, and I and I've seen it work at small schools, it haven't been very good. I've seen it work at big schools where you know you you should be at that level. So, you know, the proof's in the pudding, in my opinion, when it comes to that.

SPEAKER_03 25:25

Now, Brandon, this is a leadership podcast. That's kind of how we spin it, and and and we believe that that's what it is. And when you talk about being in a leadership position, you talk about you know those difficult decisions that you have to make. You mentioned having 3,000 know-it-alls in the stands every, you know, on a Friday night. Yeah, they know it all until it's fourth and one at midfield, right? And then you want to you want to just turn around and go, okay, what what now? And then at that point, they don't really know what to do. So in your mind, what is leadership? Uh, how would you define it? What does it look like if if we said define leadership and then follow that up with show me, uh, what would you say and then do?

SPEAKER_01 26:06

To me, to me, leadership is putting people in a place to be successful, and that looks different ways at different times for different people, for different programs. But at the end of the day, being a leader is just is allowing people to be put in a position of success. So in my position as an athletic administrator, the way I look at that is what resources do my team uh need, what resources do my coaches need, uh, making sure that they have everything that they possibly can from a resource side to be successful. Um, from that point, I look at what leaders am I hiring, because leadership is a giant ladder. I could be the best leader in the world, but if I don't have great leaders below me and they don't have leaders below them, then you know at some point somebody's gonna fall down in that ladder. So making sure that that all the rungs on the ladder are solid, and making sure that you know those leaders below me are able to, you know, lead their their departments or their teams, and then making sure that I'm providing uh the resources I need for the leadership above me. You know, we we all have a boss, we all answer to somebody, and so when I look at you know my district athletic director and my principal, I want to make sure that I'm putting them in a position to where they look good, and you know, things aren't hitting their desk, and you know, they're able to perform their job duties uh to the best of the ability. So when I when I look at leadership, it really is, you know, you hear this this servant leadership talk about all the time, but uh to me a good leader is a servant. Um they're they're gonna do the things that are necessary and required to make sure that those people that are under their watch um have the tools and and resources necessary to be successful. And sometimes that comes with hard conversations. You know, it's it's what I have found is I've gotten a little bit older is the generations are definitely turning, um, society has definitely changed. The the way that I would have been approached, you know, 20 years ago is gonna be different than the way I approach people now uh 20 years later. And so you know, coming back to that communication piece of of trying to have those conversations that may be difficult at times, but at the end of the day, stuff still gotta get done. You know, I was having a conversation with some teachers yesterday that it was a difficult conversation, and you know, I'm gonna have to do some follow-up to it because you know I think some feelings might have got hurt, but at the end of the day, you know, we're we're not gonna lower our standard and we're gonna challenge you to be better. And I think for some people that's that's difficult to hear. For others, they're self-reflective and and they just move on with it. But trying to figure out a way in in my position to where I can have those conversations, but still lets you know that you're loved, still lets you know that you're appreciated, it still lets you know that you know, if I'm asking you to do something different, it's not because I don't care about you, it's the exact opposite. It's because I do care about you, otherwise, you know, we wouldn't be having this conversation. You know, I I remember being uh you know an athlete, you know, when I was smaller, and coach would tell you, like, hey, if I'm if I'm yelling at you, that's a good sign. It's when I stop talking, you need to be worried. So that's right.

SPEAKER_02 29:26

Yep. I think we've all said that. I've even told my son that, right? He don't he don't want to get coached. And I'm like, man, when I quit coaching you, that's when you're done. So you better enjoy, you need to enjoy it.

SPEAKER_03 29:36

Told my daughter that last night, yes.

SPEAKER_02 29:38

Yeah. That's right, yeah. It's one of the best things. It's amazing how many times we have to say it though for people to believe it. Brandon, man, you landed a plane great right there. That was our last question before we get to our two-minute drill. I know you've probably been waiting on the two-minute drill a little bit, but um I I don't know that we would have expected the quote leadership is a giant ladder, but it is a great uh word picture there, and it answered a question perfectly. And then and you added some great things about server leadership, but uh what what a what a discussion on leadership. We appreciate your um candor, we appreciate your wisdom and expertise there, especially in that communication piece, because you've been up in front of a bunch of people and can help us communicate. So thanks a lot for uh making us better today. And now Don's gonna get us going with two-minute drill.

SPEAKER_03 30:28

Okay, Brandon. We're gonna hit you with some rapid fire questions. You just tell us the first thing that comes to your mind, okay? Sounds good. What was the first job you ever had ever in your life?

SPEAKER_01 30:38

Oh, I was a cashier at Sonic. It was the worst job ever. That sounds miserable.

SPEAKER_02 30:45

In Arizona?

SPEAKER_01 30:46

Yeah, I was in Arizona. Um, I remember they they'd opened up right down the street. I had just turned 16 and was, you know, looking for a job, and then they were hiring whoever, as evident them hiring me. And uh I was one of the the few that could actually do math. So they uh they threw me on the register and the cashier, and I'll tell you what, man, I I feel like I'm half deaf listening to those things because you know, trying to get people's orders and and just hearing them through that little muffled microphone was was miserable.

SPEAKER_02 31:19

Yeah, I don't hear well. I would not do good with that for sure. But uh that's good. What is your favorite thing to watch in sports? Not necessarily the sport, but the elements of it.

SPEAKER_01 31:30

Oh, okay. So um my oldest son um got really good at soccer, and I always thought soccer was like, hey, kick the ball around and kick him in the back of the net, and whoever has more roles at the end wins. And so as my son started to get a lot better at soccer, I actually sat down with my soccer coach, Ike Coronado, who was a was a world-class soccer coach, state championship, ODP, all that stuff, and said, All right, I gotta learn more about this, so teach me about it. So he he actually sat me down and put me up on the whiteboard and talked X's and O's. Um and so what I've started to love about kind of like soccer and then being a football coach is I I love the chess match. I love watching the just the the strategies that go into sports, um, even to the point where like my badman coach is talking to me about strategies of how he ladders girls. Um, and so when I watch sports, I really like to see the chess match that's going on in the game and and see kind of coaches trying to outsmart each other and seeing what they can do with their athletes. And so half the time I don't even watching the game anymore. It's trying to figure out you know what scheme they're trying to use to beat the other team.

SPEAKER_03 32:44

That's good. What TV show or movie should we watch? What is a must-see, in your opinion, that everybody should watch?

SPEAKER_01 32:52

Oh, I don't know if I want to say that on a podcast, man. I might get myself in some trouble. Oh, you know what? Like, so when I before I became an educator, um, I had owned a business with a buddy of mine and 2008 hit and it destroyed everything. So I went back to my wife and said that I either want to be an attorney or a teacher. And she said, Well, I don't want you to be a lawyer, so I'm like, all right, well, I guess I'm gonna be a teacher. So um a buddy of mine got me into this show called Suits. I don't know if you've seen that, but it's essentially a a guy who doesn't have a law degree, who you know has a photographic memory, he ends up getting hired with a law firm and and kind of poses as an attorney. But uh that show, his my wife calls it my male soap opera. But it it's a great show. I love the I love the intelligent um dialogue that happens amongst the show. Um it's it's awesome. So that's the one I've been into lately. It's good.

SPEAKER_02 33:55

All right, we're gonna play a game of over-under. Let us know. Uh we're gonna give you a little phrase or an object. Tell us if it's overrated or underrated. So the first one is over-under Toy Story movies.

SPEAKER_01 34:08

Oh, underrated. I don't I don't cry at a lot of things, but I'll tell you what, when uh I think it's Toy Story 3 or 4 when the the kid goes and gives all his toys away. And uh just that that transition from being a kid to an adult, that that tugged at the heartstrings a little bit, man.

SPEAKER_03 34:28

Yeah, I agree with you there. Okay, now being a football guy, this is one football guy to another. I need to know this. Over under shotgun formation on third and one.

SPEAKER_01 34:39

Ooh. Okay, so I would I would normally say underrated because I was a huge spread option guy, but having watched our team for the last couple years, when it when it came down to getting that yard, I I think that it's a little underrated. I think going under center is uh is not utilized enough.

SPEAKER_03 34:58

Oh, thank you so much. I'm a defensive guy, and I'm like, can we please, can we please just get under the center? Anyway.

SPEAKER_01 35:05

Yeah. I'll tell you what though, there's there's been some quarterbacks though. Uh we played a team last year that um best quarterback probably in the state and nicked off the country, and he was a fullback playing quarterback, and when he was in the gun and they they had short yardage, and he got that ball and got a full head of steam, it was it was tough to stop. But yeah, I think more teams than not go under center, get the yard, and then move off black.

SPEAKER_02 35:30

Alright, so um, yeah, so much of a spread option guy, that's your Twitter handle, right? Yep.

unknown 35:36

Yeah, there you go.

SPEAKER_02 35:37

Saw that.

SPEAKER_01 35:38

I haven't changed it in a long time.

SPEAKER_02 35:39

That's alright. Uh, over under something I eat every morning, bacon.

SPEAKER_03 35:44

Oh, underrated. Bacon is the candy of the meat world. Oh, that is a that is a perfect description. Uh, over under mustaches.

SPEAKER_01 35:54

Uh, overrated. It's probably because I can't grow one though. I've I tried one time. It was it was pitiful. My my wife, I think she lied to me. She said she liked it, but going back and looking at pictures of that time period, it was uh, yeah, never again.

SPEAKER_02 36:09

All right, last one, over under group chats.

SPEAKER_01 36:13

Uh, overrated. Yeah, amen. Yeah, it uh I I have a couple of group text groups going with uh you know our aid our admin team and coaches and stuff. I'd rather talk to people face to face.

SPEAKER_02 36:27

Is it me or is it just awkward to get in, like to jump in? I mean, I don't I'm in something, I really like everybody in them, but it's like I don't know how to how to respond sometimes. It's weird, really awkward.

SPEAKER_01 36:39

Yeah, and I I'm I'm a really sarcastic guy, so I'll I'll send a lot of gifts in those things, and I just never know how they're gonna be received. I think they're hilarious, but I've I've probably offended somebody a time or two. Yeah, that's funny.

SPEAKER_03 36:53

All right, what was your first car that you ever owned?

SPEAKER_01 36:57

Oh, a 1990 Nissan Sentra. It was uh my uh my mom ended up getting a company car, and so she handed that down to me, and it was so bad that when we were going uphills, you'd have to turn the AC off because it couldn't it couldn't go very fast. We used to call it our turbo switch, so we would you know that and it was back in the day. I mean, some of these people listening might understand, but it didn't have a CD player, it had the cassette player in it, so we had to do the uh the little conversion where you put the cassette in and then you plugged it into your disc min, and then we we'd jam out in that car.

SPEAKER_03 37:36

Yeah, we were after my after my daughter's soccer practice last night, one of the dads is walking out and he turns his car on, you know, from his key fob there or whatever. And I said, and I've got I I drive like a 20-year-old truck, and so he said he gets, oh I gotta warm the car up, and I was like, I bet you don't have a tape deck though.

unknown 37:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:55

Just keep it moving. Some of the people listening might have a might know what a cassette deck is. Yeah, I'm right there with you. Uh that's funny. All right. Uh, what is the best event you have seen in person? Concert, sporting event, anything.

SPEAKER_01 38:10

Oh, that's that's a good one. Um, I would have to say the the state championship basketball game that I talked about earlier. It was uh we went into double overtime. Um we had a chance to win it. That was probably the most intense event that I've ever been to in my life. Um, I was sitting there with my principal, um, my wife, some people we knew. Um, you know, we had our student section going. We had people that in our school kind of popped out of the woodwork. It was like, I'm just getting chill, just like talking about it. But it was probably one of the greatest events that I've been to live.

SPEAKER_03 38:50

So that's good. Now, this is something we've asked all of our guests this season. So I'm a big fan of a good sandwich. So, what is your favorite sandwich? If you have to have one, where's it what should go to?

SPEAKER_01 39:00

Oh, give me any kind of spicy chicken sandwich. So, spicy chicken, Chick-fil-A, Nashville hot chicken, um, the the combination of the chicken and the spice, however you slice it or dice it. And then yes on the pickles. I love pickles on a sandwich.

SPEAKER_02 39:16

So that's a new one right there. How about the uh new Chick-fil-A, the honey pimento with the jalapenos and all that on it?

SPEAKER_01 39:24

Oh, you know what? I I tried to do the pimento cheese when I was living in Texas for a while. I had a head track coach I worked for that was all about it, and and we went to a track meet and he tried to introduce me to it, and I just I couldn't do it. Yeah, can't do it. Totally agree. Gross.

SPEAKER_02 39:39

I yeah, it's good. All right, let's finish with this today. Coach Brandon Larson, you've been hanging with the ADs, but let's say you can hang out with anyone, who would that be and why?

SPEAKER_01 39:50

Oh, that's an easy one. Um, so four years ago, I lost my oldest son in a car accident. Um, he was 16. And if if I could spend just another five minutes with him having a conversation, um, I would love to do it. He uh he was a joy of our lives, and losing him was really hard. Um, but you know, I feel like I could have conversations with him, you know, on the other side of the veil quite often. But yeah, given the opportunity, that's a no-brainer.

SPEAKER_03 40:19

Absolutely. Brandon, thanks for the time today. We look forward to sharing your thoughts on leadership. I know it's gonna help our listeners. It definitely helped us today. So thanks again for the time. Absolutely. Thank you, guys.

SPEAKER_02 40:30

Well, how about Brandon Larson, athletic director, Highland High School in Gilbert, Arizona? Tell you what, I only met Brandon one time and sat in his class, knew he was a great teacher. Uh, could tell he was probably a great coach because he was a great teacher. Um but I didn't know his depth, right? He only taught on one subject, communications, which we ask about. Um but but I loved his answer there on communications. He's got a great little package, a great little system to be able to communicate individually with his different stakeholders. Needs, objectives, challenges of that person, of that stakeholder. So I think that's a great way to approach our communication styles, know the needs, know the objectives, and know the challenges of those people. Maybe that last one is the most important. If we understand their challenges, we can have empathy with them and then we can connect with them and help them and serve them, right? But man, what about uh his answer on being an engaging speaker? This comes from a pro. He has spoken to large groups, he's a motivational speaker. Be prepared, be prepared, prepare ahead of time. Uh, if you're prepared on it, you can speak to it and you can speak with depth there. So, man, that was a great challenge uh to bring in that personal element to make it personable, to connect with your audience, and then that last answer on leadership is a giant ladder. Love that uh unique definition. All the rungs have to be solid, uh, and we have to lead those people that are a part of our ladder, both up and down. So really, really good challenge there. Uh, and then I would I would just challenge you to you know, listen to that last answer about who you'd hang out with, because that is uh kind of the fabric of Brandon Larson, the leader, the man, the husband, uh, the dad, and it it it has affected him and his leadership style in what I would say a very uh a very positive way, even though it's not a positive circumstance by no means, but uh Brandon is able to share a personal um encounter with um with tragedy and and help us all learn how to be better leaders, better men, better people uh through that. So I appreciate Brandon's transparency there uh and just man, just his um expertise uh in in as a leader, as a person. Brandon, we appreciate you. Good luck to the Highland Hulks, and uh we wish you the best. Now, if you're listening, if you love this show, we'd love to hear from you. Um Brandon would probably love to hear from you. So if you want to reach out to us on social media or on the platform you're listening from, please leave us a rating or review. And as always, thank you for spending your time hanging with EAD.