I’ve had this conversation many times in life and talked about it a few times on the podcast. The idea of the juniors model in hockey. If you’re not familiar with it, high school aged hockey players at times but more common those who graduate high school go on to play juniors.

There are three different tiers of junior hockey. Tier #1 is the highest level and players typically go Division I after playing juniors or are sometimes drafted straight to the NHL. Tier #2 is a step down from Tier #1 and only covers certain player expenses. Tier #3 is the lowest level of juniors and a true pay-to-play model. Majority of these players from Tier #3 will end up going Division III or end up playing club hockey in college.

The model is interesting. I worked at multiple institutions that sponsored hockey. I also went to a high school that had hockey. I’ve had many different conversations with those in the hockey world and really come to appreciate the juniors model. Spending two years, following a passion of something you love while growing up in some of the most important years of your life.

Recently, on the podcast we’ve had multiple guests who got into college coaching but their original job wasn’t as a coach or recruiter. They were an administrative assistant. To me this is a fascinating route. The fact these individuals were able to understand the entire operation of the program as opposed to focusing on a specific role in coaching or recruiting. In some ways, it’s how I believe we should operate in higher education.

Being able to gain work experience and understand the greater picture of that role. Almost like an internship (more than an externship) at the start of your schooling as opposed to the end. Would make the classroom experience that much stronger. Think of how many times we send students off to college and they change their major, once, twice, sometimes three times! Allowing students to gain experience working in an area they think they’ll enjoy, before their schooling could make their experience and our society much more productive.

Football Coach Mike DuFrane started his career at Division III with playing success at UW-Whitewater where he was part of a national championship program. He spent many years coaching D3 and D2 football across the Midwest (Minnesota-Morris, Carthage, Loras, Marietta, St. Scholastica, Finlandia, Northern Michigan) and is currently an assistant football coach at Enterprise High School in Alabama. This episode dives into roster building, building programs, developing recruiting relationships across Midwest, importance of family and much more!

Listen to Jake von Scherrer's journey through coaching, athletic administration, and podcasting. He spent time at the high school and college level (Umpqua, Missouri Valley College, Norwich). Spending time working in seven different states. He talks about early influences with coaching, adaptability, networking, processes, learning from career setbacks, starting his podcast and much more!

"Part of building confidence comes down to how we recognize the evidence of progress we've already accumulated. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves of how far we’ve come." - Zach Brandon

Really enjoy how honest Jason Garrett is about this. A topic rarely talked about in the coaching world. Although, starting to become more popular. You need your sleep.

"As a head coach, you’re either a ‘night guy’ or a ‘morning guy’ and you’ve got to be careful about being both." - Jason Garrett

_{Fired Coaches Podcast started in May 2020. The podcast interviews coaches, scouts, media and others connected to the sports world that fell from the mountaintop. They were either fired, resigned or told that their contract would not be renewed. Level does not matter. The story does.}