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my name is Tim Carper, also known as Coach Carp. Um, the name of my business is Skills and Drills Institute. Um, the people I serve are usually, uh, athletes from the ages of seven all the way up to probably 18, but, um, can get into the college age as well. Awesome. I can't wait to learn more. Tim, sports have been a huge part of your life since childhood. What first sparked your love for athletics, and why did football become the sport that captured your heart? Well, football sparked my love for athletics. Um,

Meet Coach Carp And His Mission

1:01

when I was younger, I, I-- and I can remember the first time I ever saw a professional football game. I'm gonna date myself here. It was probably 1984. Um, I was watching, um... We, we were living up in, uh, we were in Northern New Jersey. We had just moved out of New York City, out

The Moment Football Hooked Him

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of Brooklyn, and, um, I was watching the Giants play the Bears, and I was mesmerized by Walter Payton. Like, I, I'd never seen it before, and I was just hooked as soon as I saw it. And at that point, football became, like, the s- the, the sport that I loved but, you know, something that I thought I wanted to do. And when I say thought, I-- Because I was watching adults or grown men play on TV, I thought you had to be an adult to do it. Um, but there was a surprise waiting for me later on. Um, before we moved, um, I was riding my bike in the neighborhood, and I rode past a local high school, um, where my sister went to high school, and I saw a practice, but it was kids. And, you know, I almost ran my bike off the road, off the path, 'cause I was like, "Oh, you know, kids can play this sport too?" So after that, when we settled where the next place we moved, had my parents sign me up, and I've been hooked- Awesome ever since. Yeah. I'm glad you found out that kids could play football, too. Yeah. Yeah. I, I mean, it was, it was kind of like a pivotal moment in my life because, like I said, other than that, I thought I would have to wait till, you know, I was 18 or older or what have you, so... Yeah. So you have a remarkable journey from youth football player to collegiate athlete at James Madison University. Looking back, what are some of the biggest lessons that football taught you both on and off the field? Um, on the field, football has taught me perseverance. Um, you know, nothing ever came easy. Um- Everything on the football field you have to earn, you know, through your hard work, your preparation. Um, and even at each level, it gets different. Nowadays, it's different because of the, um, the tools and the resources that are available. But I didn't watch film when I was in youth league, for sure. Um, we didn't have huddle. And we watched film

Perseverance Teamwork And Studying Film

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weekly in high school, maybe once a week. But in college, you know, it became like, you know, classroom time was real important. Um, learning schemes and adjustments and studying film, not just watching film. I tell athletes all the time, "You can't watch film like you watch TV." You know, you have to study it. You gotta rewind, play back. You gotta look for certain things, you know, and, you know, gotta take notes and write things down and kinda piece things together. So, um, but perseverance, um, and accomplishment. And off the field, um, I was in the locker room with a whole mix of people from different parts of the state, parts of the country, different nationalities, backgrounds, what have you. So, um, the sense of teamwork, I've never had a problem working with anybody. And, you know, we always said in the locker room, you know, like, you know, "All we care about is can you play? Can you help us win?" You know, don't care what color you were or where you were from. So, you know, I would embrace anybody, you know, that I had to work with. Yeah, I think that's a good quality to have, being able to work with people of different backgrounds and different nationalities. Yeah, I think sports transcends so many of the, you know, what would be perceived as differences or, you know, what have you. You know, not just football, I think any sport because, you know, you're in a team environment, so, you know- Right you kinda have to, for the betterment of the team and success of the team, you gotta get along with your teammates. Right. And then could you talk a little bit about your scholarship story at James Madison University? Um, so I, um... Can, can I say my high school name and all that? Do I name drop? Yeah. All right. So I went to Chantilly High School. Um, I broke my collarbone, uh, early part of my senior year, so I kinda sat the rest of the season and the entire playoffs. Um, it's weird. I, I had a teammate who had a more compound fracture, but his healed faster than my hairline fracture,

The Walk On Path To JMU

5:19

so I was never able to return. Um, and I honestly had no initial aspirations to play college football. At our, um, closing banquet, my head coach, um, he said something, you know, he said something about all the seniors. And, uh, Coach Myers said, when he talked about me, one of the last things he said was that I was gonna help somebody at the next level And he kind of partly sw- flipped the light switch on for me, 'cause, you know, I had teammates coming up to me afterwards like, "Where are you going next year? Where are you..." And I was... I kinda was taking it all in, and I was kinda like, "Well, you know, I haven't decided yet." 'Cause in my mind I'm like, "I haven't decided anything yet." So, um, I knew the schools that I had applied to. Um, and honestly, just visiting James Madison was gonna be my choice because of the major that I majored in. Um, and I liked the, the, uh, campus every time we visited. So, um, when I got there, found out there was a walk- you know, there were walk-on opportunities. Um, I didn't do anything in the fall except kinda, you know, weight training, kinda staying in condition, staying in shape. And I went out for the team in the spring. Um- So went through the spring. I thought I looked terrible, but I was invited back for fall training camp. And, uh, two days before the team was gonna leave, uh, the first game was versus McNeese State in Lake Charles, Louisiana. A special team coach stopped me in the locker room, uh, foyer and said he wanted to look at me on special teams. So I didn't know what that meant at the time, but the next day I was put on the kickoff team, I was put on the punt team, uh, I think I was put on the punt return team. I wasn't on the kickoff return team yet. So, but that meant I was traveling with the varsity squad, um, you know, just like that. So told my parents, you know, "Hey, I'm leaving for Louisiana in two days," and, you know, it was on from there. Um, and just over the course of my career, I, um, didn't play much other than the special teams my freshman year. My sophomore year I was, was splitting time, um, with another, uh, senior. And then by my junior year, I was starting. And before the season, I met with the head coach and he told me, um... He basically was just-- Coach Wood was just, you know, very blunt, straight out. He said, "You know, I know you are interested in, uh, possibly earning a scholarship." And then he told me, he said, "You either earn it all or I'm not giving you anything." Basically, basically he wasn't gonna give me like a quarter or a half or whatever. He said, "You either get it all or you get nothing." So, you know, I had that motivation going into the year. We opened up the season against the University of Maryland. Best game of my college career. Best game statistic-wise, everything. But the next week against Hofstra I break my thumb, and I shattered the joint here. I remember getting the X-rays that night. Um, and it was amazing. I was just, I was praying it was just dislocated because, you know, I didn't come out of the game when it happened. But the adrenaline was flowing until I let the trainers touch it on the sideline and then that's when the pain set in. Um, X-ray showed it was broken in six places, so the joint was basically shattered. Um, came home, had surgery. This happened on a Saturday night. I think I had surgery on a Tuesday. Um, had screws put in it that are still there. Um, and I sat out for four weeks, and I came back and I played the remainder of the season with a soft cast on. Um, but I came back in and it was fortunate-- Well, I don't wanna say that. S- Two of my teammates, um- They both did the same thing on a play when one wasn't supposed to. It was on a, a field goal block where both the corners rushed. Only one is supposed to rush, and they ended up colliding, and one injured the other. So I got thrown right back into the starting lineup, like first game back. And I was able to finish the s- season really strong. Um, from my position at cornerback, I ended up, statistically I finished fourth on the team in tackles. So I think I had a safety and a linebacker, and two linebackers in front of me. Um, so you know, for me it was just showing that I was really active on the football field. Um, so after the season, I met with the head coach again, and I remember he called me into his office and he told me, he said he asked my position coach whether he should give me the scholarship. So I said, "What'd he say?" "Well," he said, "go ask him." I'm like, "Okay." And I was kinda like, "Well, I thought you were gonna tell me." So anyway, I go down and talk to, uh, Coach Fellow, and Coach Fellow tells me, he said, "I told him to give it to you." So you know, I was kind of speechless for a moment, and then I walked back to Coach Woods' office. And when I got there, the scholarship contract was on the desk. And you know, I signed it and, you know That, I think, was my first tears of joy experience. And it was just so much because of the sense of accomplishment and the work that I had put in, and the fact that I was so worried that breaking my thumb may have robbed me of that opportunity, but it didn't. And, you know, I just appreciated coach for recognizing, you know, the work that I put in and, you know, what I wa- was able to produce. And, you know, I was on a full scholarship for the rest of the, the way there. And, you know, the other s- cool thing about that was my teammates had found out before I told anybody. So, you know, when I was walking out, I was getting high fives and hugs, you know, in the football office and, you know, they were happy for me, and that, that made me feel good that they, they were just genuinely happy to see that happen for me. Yeah. So that, that was a, that was awesome experience. Yeah. I think that's a really good story of resilience because, you know- I appreciate it you, you broke your thumb, and then you played through your ini- your injury and, you know, you ended up with that scholarship. I think that's amazing. And if I could say, that's something I like to share with my athletes, you know, and I tell them all the time, you know, everybody's path is different, and, you know, just because, you know, you may not have the f- full scholarship offer or anything coming out of the gate, but, you know, you still have the opportunity to earn it, uh, you know, if it's, if it's there for you. Um, and I still have... I, I didn't bring it with me. I still have my scholarship contract, um, the last one I signed, um, because we had a... Coach Wood left, and Coach Matthews came in, so in '99 I had to sign a new contract, um, scholarship contract with his name on it. And I show kids this. You can see, you know, the head coach's name, the athletic director. Um, you can see that it says full athlete, you know, uh, academic, you know, school year, um, tuition, room and board. Um, and I, but I just show them to them 'cause it's a real living thing and that you can touch it and, you know, like, this can happen for you, too- Yeah you know, no matter what. And, you know, and it doesn't have to happen in the fairytale sense. You know, maybe you don't go off to Alabama or something like that. Maybe just go to, you know, a smaller school in Virginia or another state. But, you know, if that's your opportunity and that's your path, then take it. You know? Yeah. I was... If, if somebody wants you, then you should go play for them. Right. You know? And dreams happen on different levels. Right. Absolutely. Yeah. And so after your playing career ended, you transitioned into coaching. What was it about teaching and mentoring athletes that made you realize you had found your next calling? So actually, I didn't wanna coach. Okay. And I, I based that on what I saw of my college coaches and almost the- I don't, I don't wanna say lifestyle, but the work schedules they had, that they had to maintain. Like, the lights in the football office were almost never off. And

Injury Setbacks And A Full Scholarship

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I'm just like, "Wow, these guys are always here." And, uh, one year, I think it was my sophomore year, my roommate and I-- It was my redshirt sophomore year. My roommate and I, we lived in an off-campus apartment, and we went over to visit two of the coaches. And when we got to their apartment, like, it was, like, bare bones, nothing. Like, I don't even know if they had mattresses or they had, you know, bed frames, you know, whatever in their room. But I know in the living room there were a couple chairs and there was a card table, and that was it. Wow. And I was just kinda like, "Wow, I, I didn't know that they I don't know if they had to live like that, but I, I just, I came to realize their salaries weren't that, uh, lucrative at the time. Um, being an assistant coach at a 1AA back then, so, you know, things are much, much different at JMU now. But that kind of put a bad taste in my mouth about coaching from as far as, you know, what kind of lifestyle can you live and maintain? Um, so it wasn't until years later, um, I think it was around 2012, a friend of mine was an assistant basketball coach at Dominion High School, and he reached out to me and said, you know, "Hey, there's, there's some, some coaching opportunities here. They're looking for some JV coaches." And in my mind, I just said, "You know what? Hey, you know, I'll find out some more information about it." Well, three interviews later, um, here I am with a job as a assistant JV coach and assistant varsity coach. Um, and it was one of the greatest experiences I ever had, um, especially working at that level. Um, so I, I realized for me that I had something to give back because I just basically shared my experiences and the knowledge that I had from the game and, you know, the life lessons that it taught me. So I just tried to pass those on, you know, kind of pay it forward with the kids. And I realized that as it went along, like, this was, you know, the right opportunity to take and, you know, it, it, it was a, it was a great experience. Yeah. And then what, um, from that experience, was that what inspired you to create Skills and Drills? Actually, it did. Um, and I'll tell you exactly when that happened. Um, we were preparing for a playoff game. We were playing in the regional championship game. Uh, we were at Ster- uh, Salem High School, so we were in Salem, Virginia. And one of, uh... I, I played defensive back, so one of the, uh, other athletes-- I played defensive back, but I coached linebackers and running backs on the high school team. Um, one of the, uh, DBs, um, asked me to help him warm up before the game. So I was like, "Sure, okay." So we went outside, um, and I honestly just put him through some of the drills that I would've warmed up with in college and, you know, I may have added something to it. We did about four or five drills. I think we got warmed up for about 15, 10, 15 minutes. And When we were done, you know, I kinda went over to him and said, "You, you know, you feeling all right?" And he was kinda... Didn't say a whole lot, but he had this look in his, on his face, and I was like, "What's wrong?" You know, "Were the drills okay?" He was like, he's like, "The drills were great." And I said, "Well, what's the matter?" He's like, he said, "I've never done any of those before." He said, "I've never even seen those drills before." So, kept that in the back of my mind, and then I started to think about it, I think on the bus ride home. Like, you know, maybe there's an opportunity for me to, you know, branch off and... 'Cause I, I'd seen and heard of other, um, trainers, but I never thought about it for myself. But after doing that, I was like, "Well, maybe I have a little more to offer." And it kinda spun into a program where Skills and Drills was birthed just to be kind of a DB-type training drill, which is what I specialize in, you know, as based on my position. Um, but then it grew because y- I said I coached linebackers and coached running backs. I played running back in high school. And then I just started to lean on some of the things that I had seen experience-wise and then, you know, just being creative with putting drills together, you know, and thinking about, "Well, how would I prepare and how would I do this or that so how," you know, "that I could pass on to these kids?" And then it became, you know, wide receivers were added to it. I coached at another school. I did one year at, um, Bishop O'Connell, and I coached wide receivers and DBs there before I got out of coaching. And then, you know, I was adding quarterbacks, I was adding D-line footwork, and I created a footwork program, then I had a conditioning program. So it just kinda kept growing and materializing and, you know, I'm just like, "God, all right, stop with all the ideas," 'cause every time I get an idea, I spin off another program. So, um, so that's kinda where it is. And this, uh, Skills and Drills I started in 2017. Wow. So almost, almost 10 years. Almost 10 years. Yeah. Awesome. Yeah. Yeah. And then you often emphasize character, discipline, and accountability alongside athletic performance. Why do you believe those qualities are just as important as speed, strength, and skill development? Character Character, discipline, and accountability Okay. So one, um, I always tell the kids, "Your character matters," and it's not so much o- on the field. It's, I always tell them the type of person you are as a teammate, you know? And especially to the high school guys, because I said, "You know, when these coaches come to recruit, you know, they're putting their stamp of recommendation on you to their head coach." So kind of their reputation's on the line. But every head coach, you know, when they come in, they establish their culture, and type of kids or the athletes they want in their locker room. So I'm like, "No coach is gonna let you and your attitude and your ways come in and, you know, kind of break up what he's... or he or she has established." So I'm like, "You're not worth the risk, you know? Uh, no matter how good you are, they will just go on and find the next version of you that doesn't have all those, you know, issues or baggage, if you will." So, you know, I tell them that, and you, you... Why do you wanna be... You, do you wanna be a type of teammate that your teammates, the teammate that your team doesn't like? That guys don't like playing with you, that they don't wanna block for you, that they don't, you know, enjoy being around you? Um, you know, I used to tell athletes all the time, you know, with guys in the locker room, you know Why do you, why do you want your teammates to fear you? Or why do you, you know, why do you, you walk around with that persona that nobody should mess with you? But then these guys are watching your back on Friday nights or Saturday mornings, Saturday afternoons, you know. And, you know, I think your character matters to them because as a teammate, you should value each other. Um, you know, you, you should matter to me and or like I matter to you. Like you have my back like I have your back. And, you know, you're, you're there when I look, and I'm there when you look. So, you know, I think, like I said, character matters, you know, as far as fitting in and being a part of the team. You know, even if you're not a guy that's playing, you know, all the time. You know, I had guys when I coached high school, you know, that weren't as athletic, and they didn't play as much. But I tell them, "I appreciate the fact that you come to practice every day and you put in the work." And I have a joke with them and I say, "You don't get on my nerves." You know, "You're not here screwing around, you know, I don't have to look and tell you to stop. You know, whatever, you're paying attention, you're locked in." And, you know, I said, "I appreciate that, and that keeps in the back of my mind if I do have an opportunity or, hey, you know what? Maybe I need a special teams spot filled, then you're the person I would think of because I see the work you're putting in, you know, and I see the character. You've, you've caused me to develop trust," which I think, you know, is huge in coaching, you know, that you, you want your coach to trust you and believe in you. Um, as far as discipline, uh, look, hard work pays off. You know, I tell the kids all the time, you know, what we do when nobody's watching, you know, is where all the work is done. You know, I always tell the kids, "Look, you're not gonna flip a switch on a Friday night and just become this whatever." I said, "The guys that can flip switch, switches, they, they playing on Sundays, and most of them have two commas in their checks because they can flip that switch off and on." So I'm like, "We're, we're not at that level yet, so we gotta put in the work." And, you know, it shows, and I, I tell them all the time, you know, the work that you put in. I say, "Coaches are watching everything. Coaches don't miss anything. When you think they're not watching, they are watching. You think they're not listening, they are." And I said, "You'd be fooling yourself if you thought you had a terrible week of practice and your coach thought Friday night, well, he's just gonna be, or she's gonna just be this..." I keep saying he 'cause I'm talking about football, but I'm s-- any sport. Um, basketball, you know, baseball, softball, whatever, that you're just gonna f- become this different person on game day You know, they're gonna go off your track record from the week. And again, there's that word trust. That can I trust you on game day to do the right thing? Because what you've shown me throughout the week is that you're, you, you, chances are you're not gonna do it or you're gonna get there Friday because you haven't been paying attention, you haven't been locked in. So when the situation comes, you're not gonna do what I as a coach expect you to do because you may not know what to do because you weren't locked in and weren't paying attention. Um, so discipline as far as how you prepare yourself, preparation with the film watching, you know, um, your practice habits, you know, even the way you condition. You know, uh, we, we, we learned a hard lesson when I was a coach before we lost a game because we ran out of gas And but I, the kids, you know, kinda told them, "You guys got what you deserve," because throughout the conditioning through the summer,

Why He Started Coaching Anyway

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everybody's lollygagging or the skill guys like to hide with the linemen, the bigger guys, so they like to hide in there so they can run slower. And, you know, right, and I said, "We got exactly what we deserve." And everybody's like, "Well, Coach, I wanna condition next week. I can't wait to get out there." I'm like, "It's too late for that." You know, and this game's gonna come back to bite us, and it did, it, it did in, in our playoff seeding eventually because it was a game we should've won. Um, I'm sorry, what was the third, uh... Um, it was character, discipline, and accountability. Oh, absolutely. Accountability. Um, accountable for your actions. You know, you have to be responsible for the things that you do, and you're responsible for your job. You know? You can't do someone else's job on the field because, well, and if you do their job, who's gonna do your job? So you have to be accountable for what is asked of you and what is expected of you. And even down to your, your, your, your valuables or your equipment. You know, I have athletes come to training all the time, "Oh, I forgot my cleats," or, "My mom forgot to pack my cleats," or, "My dad..." I'm like, "No, no, no, no. It's not Mom and Dad's responsibility." I'm like, "You have to start taking ownership of this 'cause you're invested in this. You should pack your bag the night before and make sure you have everything so you don't get up the morning of and you're scrambling 'cause this, and you're gonna tend to forget things." And Mom and Dad may not know that, hey, I like to practice or train in these gloves, I like to play games in these gloves, or I like to wear these cleats for this. They don't know that, so and it's not their responsibility to know that. You're an athlete. You should, you should know where all your stuff is so when you get there, you have everything you need. Because, you know, sometimes athletes are superstitious. I don't have my lucky wristband or, you know, I don't have my towel. Uh, now you're all flustered and, you know, mentally, you know, off, off track with, uh, what you need to do. But if you take care of your business the day before, part of preparation and being accountable to yourself is, like I said, don't, don't come to practice and tell me Mom or Dad did anything. You, like I said, you, you gotta have some skin in this game too. Yeah. I think these are also important, like, life lessons. Absolutely. Yeah, you can apply it- Absolutely anywhere in your life. Absolutely. Yeah. Um, youth sports continue to evolve every year. What trends or changes are you seeing in athletic training today that parents and athletes should be paying attention to? Well, from what I observe, it's, it's different from when I, excuse me, when I was a player, you know Excuse me. Today's athletes, you know They don't have the road that kind of, when I say us, the old heads had to travel. You know, we had practice whenever coach said we had to practice. We had two-a-day practices, might be three-a-day practices if he didn't like one of the two-a-day practices, you know? And You know, nowadays, you know, back then

Skills N Drills Begins With One Warmup

26:43

I never dared to think to question or talk back to my coach. You know, now from what I see, you know, and I'm not saying anybody shouldn't have a voice or opinion, but, you know, just sometimes I don't see the level of respect or reverence that some used to have for coaches that they don't have now. And, you know, even parents advocating for their kids, which is great, but, you know, the coaches' opinions used to be more valued, which I think they are in some cases still. But, you know, parents, you know, that's your son or your daughter, and, you know, they're-- you see them a certain way that, you know, and I hate to say it, it's not all the time rose-colored glasses, but, you know, you may feel like your son or daughter is not getting the opportunity that they deserve. And I always used to tell parents, you know, "Instead of coming Friday night, how about come stand at the fence on Monday through Thursday and watch your athlete practice, and then you'll see why what's not happening on Friday nights," you know, because of the product he's producing in practice. Because he may go home or she may go home and tell you one story, but why don't you come witness the real thing? Um, the other thing too with the youth sports has gotten so serious nowadays, like winning. It, it almost seems in some cases that the winning matters almost as much to the kids as it does like the coaches, like the competition with the coaches, where I've seen, and I'm not saying this is the case everywhere, but I've seen YouTube videos of like coaches going at it, not the kids. And I'm just like, "Man, don't you guys have to go to work tomorrow?" You know? And where I s- I've heard cases of recruiting, you know, where, you know, they're grabbing athletes who may not be in the area, what have you. You know, you pick them up for a tournament because you wanna win the tournament. So, and I just feel like, you know, but what does that say to the kids that have been there all week working and, you know, game day comes and you grab a, somebody that they never seen before that you knew of, and, you know, you just needed them for this game. And, you know, I just, I feel like sometimes on some, in some cases things have gotten a little diluted, like I said, just based on what I've witnessed. And I'm not saying it's everywhere and it's not everybody. I just, you know... I don't remember when I was younger any of that, you know, being the case. You know, when I was playing Parents were cheering and yelling, but it wasn't like, you know, parents weren't on the field, they weren't on the sideline and, you know, they weren't that close to the action. So, you know, it was just kind of we belong to the coach and that was it. Yeah, like- Did I answer your question? Yeah. Okay. Yeah, it did. Uh, and then looking ahead, what are your goals for Skills and Drills Institute and how do you hope to continue serving athletes, families, and the community in the years to come? So for me, my goal has always been, you know, I just wanna see my athletes do well. Um, and that's o-on the field or off the field. You know, any athlete, I tell them, "Look, in my mind, I don't care if you never go pro or what have you. I, I, I want you to be, if that's what you want, I want to see your dream come true. But if not, I hope when I meet you in 10 years down the road, hey man, you're, you're a wife, you're a husband, you're a mother, a father, you're a productive member of society, but you're doing well in life." You know, and I hope some of the things that we worked on out here help transition into other areas of life. You know, the challenges that we went through during training, the way you saw yourself

Character Discipline And Accountability In Sports

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work and overcome out here, I hope you can work and overcome them in the classroom, you know, or in any other life situation that you, you're faced with, that you won't give up, that you know, you know, if you work hard, you can, you, you can do it. Um, and then for me, like I said, I've always just wanted to have a reputable business. I prided myself on making sure, you know, the name Skills N Drills is, you know, clean in these streets, so to speak. That, you know, I don't have any parents-- You know, there's no rumors about me. I don't have any parents saying, "Hey, this guy mistreated my kid. You know, don't go to this guy." Because I've never wanted any of that, and I've been very particular even about the people I would interact with, you know, reputation-wise, um, and just what I do. You know, uh, it, it really is, um, humbling to me when parents tell me, "You know, I could take my kid here or there, but I bring them to you because I like what you do with them," or, "My kid trusts-- My kid listens to you. I trust you." You know, parents all the time come, they drop their kids off, and they leave. You know, and I always tell them, you know, "I'll be here when you get back. I'm not gonna leave your son here 'cause the session's over and I gotta go." No, I'm, you know, I'm responsible for them when you leave them in my care. So, you know, I just always wanted to have a great reputation. I'm not a coach that... You know, I'm a motivator and I'm an encourager. I'm not a big yeller or a screamer. I don't curse at my kids. Um, you know, I just feel like, you know, and this is me. Now, I've, I've experienced whatever, and I always tell kids, "Chew the meat, spit out the bones." You know, behind all or whatever every coach has, there's a message in there that you gotta be able to find. You know, you may have to find it betw- Kinda a couple of F-bombs, but there it is followed by some. But, um, you know, but I tell the kids, you know, "For me, I'm always gonna speak to you respectfully, you know, as, as a person. I'm not gonna demean you. Now, but if you need me to kick you in the butt and nudge you, yeah, I, I can do that." And I've had kids say that to me. You know, "Coach," you know, they wanna be coached harder, and I appreciate that. But then some, you know, I say, you know, the ones you may have to handle with oven gloves, you know, that personality-wise they're just different. Man, you can't talk to this one the way you talk to that one or coach him or teach, teach him the way you teach this one. So everybody learns different. So, you know, those are things that I've taken in. So for me, with my business and with training, I tell kids, athletes two things. I say, "Listen, if you ever work with anybody, number one, they need to be able to explain to you what you're working on, what you're doing, so that you understand it." It doesn't matter that they understand. It's their idea. Of course, they understand it. Of course, it makes sense to them. It needs to make sense to you, and they need to be able to explain it in a way that you can understand and execute But they may also have to explain it away differently so the person behind you in line can understand and execute, and they gotta be able to do that. And I said, number two, they should always be able to tell you how, when, or where this applies in a game situation. So if you say, "Coach, you know, well, when would I use that or execute it?" They should have an answer right off the bat. Scenario, this, this, this. And I said, "If you can't get those things, you may need to consider, you know, who you're working with." You know, because I'm not one to shoot from the hip. You know, you can be creative or what have you, but I feel like you always have to have a plan. And I think kids can see through that. Kids know whether you know what you're talking about or not. And, you know, they know if you're making it up as you go along or if you're reaching for what have you, and they're there. And then I think, you know, it's hard for them to buy what you're selling if they feel like you don't know, you know, you're not sure even what you're saying. So, um, so for me, like I said, my reputation with the business and, um, I like for the kids to come. I tell them, "Look, we're playing a game." You know, training is not hard. I- I always tell them, "Look, this is not a long division problem. This is not a science project. This is sports, you know, football or whatever. It's supposed to be fun." Now, it's challenging, and I said, "If it was easy, everybody'd be out here. It'd be standing room only 'cause everybody'd be out here doing it. All your friends would be out here, but some of them are at home playing video games or watching TV. You're out here putting in the work. So, you know, y- you're gonna have to give to get. So, you know, it's gonna be challenging." And that's my job, to continue to up the challenges, to pull the best out of you. And if there's more in there, I gotta continue to pull it out, because what's the point of doing something that you've mastered and you can do forward and backwards? There's no challenge in that. We're not getting any better. Now we're kinda just leveling off. We wanna continue to ascend. So, you know, a coach once said when I was, um I wanna say my high school coach said this. He said, "Either y- you can get... You're either getting better or you're getting worse, but you never stay the same." So, so that's my goal, is just for the athletes to continue to ascend and to, uh, to get better. Yeah. And it sounds like you care about your athletes truly, you know? You know what's funny? And I'm gonna tell you, I'm gonna tell you who said this to me. I got a, a compliment, and it said, you know, "I'm looking at the way you respond to your athletes, and it looks like you, you always respond from a coach's perspective of what's best for the athletes and about their development, but not so much as a salesperson or someone trying to fill a session." And I appreciated that, but you know who told me that? Who? ChatGPT. Wow. Yeah, I... So I, I use ChatGPT when I-- if I have to send a long email out. And, you know, I always wanna make sure, "Hey, does this sound too personal?" I don't wanna offend the parent, you know, but I wanna get my point across. But I want them to, you know, feel like, you know, I'm always gonna have their athlete's best interests at heart. And, you know, that's what helps me kinda with the wording, you know, um, smooths it out for me. And that's what it told me. He said, "You know, I've been work..." This is how it was talking to me, you know? Yeah. "I've been working with you for a while here, and I noticed whenever you respond to your parents, whenever you, you know, send me, you know, s- things to rewrite, you know, you always talk from a coach's perspective, and you always have the athlete's development and best interests at heart, and, you know, never sounding like a salesperson trying to fill a, uh, trying to fill a, uh, slot." So I, I appreciated that, ChatGPT. So... And I'm sure the parents also appreciate that. Yeah. I, I, I, over the years, I've, I've been blessed, and I'm so grateful. I've-- I was thinking about this on the way over here I've always worked well with the parents that I've had the opportunity to work with. Um, thus far I haven't had, I don't know if you wanna call them those parents or I've never had to experience that. Um, most of them have always trusted, trusted my judgment and, you know, like I said, I try to conversate with them and kinda keep it collaborative 'cause for me, I, I'm, I don't ever feel like I'm the end all be all. For me, I've always felt like I'm a part of the village, and I know I'm not the only Dayton, you know, I'm not the only show in town, so there's other trainers, you know, so I appreciate the fact that you're trusting in me. And then if you make a decision to go otherwise, that's fine then, you know, then my time hopefully was well spent and that was my, that was my time with your athlete, and now he's moved on or she's moved on. But you know, I, I appreciate being part of the village so, you know, I hope, like I said, to do my part there. And parents have told me, you know, like I said before, where they're like, "You know, my kid listens to you, that's why I bring him here," or, you know, "My kid trusts you," or, "I trust you," or, "I like the, the way you work with them." I, I, believe it or not, I have athletes that are not playing competitive sports anymore. They just come for the footwork training and the work to stay in shape. But they just like, you know, what I do and the parents like what I do, so they just want the kids to stay with me, and I appreciate that. I, I don't take that lightly or take it for granted, so that's why, like I said, each one of my athletes, I try to get to know them. You know, they're not just numbers to me. When they come out there, you know, I gotta break the ice with the new ones 'cause they won't say two words to me, you know. And I'm like, you know... I tell the parents all the time, you know, session or two for them to get to know me, me to get to know them, kind of break down a couple Uh, put some guards down so they realize, hey, you know what? They could get in the car and say, "Hey, Mom, I hate that guy. I don't ever wanna go back to him again." So, or they could say, you know, "Yeah, I wanna come back the next week." So then I try to get to know them, you know, outside of the field. You know, what are they interested in? What's their favorite subject? You know, what do they do to have fun? And then, or whatever sports teams they're interested in. So I keep that in mind so when they come back the next time, I've learned something or I've brought something with me to conversate, to continue the conversation, and it's just to set them more, more at ease and to make them feel more comfortable. Um, and even the way I train, I'm just trying to build confidence. You know, I tell the kids all the time, I call my training grounds a lab, and you know, the lab is where we come to make those mistakes, where we come to learn from them. So it's okay to, to mess up here because this is where we're gonna correct and learn from it. But I don't want you to be afraid like you're doing something wrong or that I'm gonna be mad at you. I'm like, "No, it's never like that." And that's me just continuing to build their confidence. So once they're training confidently, it doesn't matter what happens because then what I like to tell the parents is by about four sessions with them, I'll see them turn a corner, but then they'll turn a corner mentally because then they're gonna start thinking like an athlete 'cause that's how I'm training them. And a lot of times they'll stop in the middle of a rep because they felt what they did before I can say it, and I'll always ask them. But then that's them saying, "Hey, coach, can we start that again? Can we do it again?" Or they're not satisfied with their rep and they wanna do another one. So, you know, once we get to that point, then, you know, they say we're cooking with grease and, you know- Yeah then we're, now we're developing. You know, we, we laid the foundation, now we're starting to build upon it. Yeah. Awesome. So teaching them that recognition and being able to, you know, find where they can improve. Absolutely. Yeah. And for athletes, parents, and coaches who would like to learn more about your programs or connect with you, where can they find Skills N Drills Institute and get started? So I have a website. It's www.skillsndrillsinstitute.com. Um, I-- My email, can I say that? Yeah. Sorry. Yeah, yeah. I'm asking. First podcast. All right. Coach Carp, uh, c-a-r-p@skillsndrillsinstitute.com. Um, um, on Instagram, @skillsndrills. Oh, and Skills N Drills is not A-N-D, it's the letter N, like here. Skills N, N Drills. So 'cause there is a Skills And Drills, that's not me. Okay. So, um, at, on Instagram, @skillsndrills. Um, on X, at- _skillsndrills. Um, Facebook, Skills N Drills Institute, and, uh, TikTok, Skills N Drills. Oh, and YouTube, uh, Skills N Drills. Awesome. So, um- Yeah different social media outlets. Um, you can direct message me, email me, um, or however. And, you know, I look forward to hearing from you. Is this my sales pitch? You know, sorry. Um- Yeah, so lots of different ways to reach you. Yeah. Yeah. So, absolutely. And, um, like I said, I'm local in the area. I'm in Ashburn, um, Virginia, and I've been here training outside, um, on the grass. And, you know, I've been at the location that I'm at for the past eight years. Yeah, s- since 2018.

Youth Sports Changes Trust And How To Connect

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So, and I've been there. I've had a great relationship with the facility, and that's where I've been. Awesome. And then as we wrap up, is there anything that you'd like to add that we haven't touched on today? Um, I don't think so. Um, I just would like to say thank you, um, like I said, for you guys contacting me out of the blue. Like I said, I've never done a podcast before, um, and I was a little apprehensive till I looked at it. And I saw some familiar faces in your, on your social media page, so I was just like, "Wow, this would be a new experience and hopefully, you know, a fruitful one for the both of us." So- Yeah I just thank you for the opportunity. And, uh, I hope everybody who's listening learned more about me, because if you ever watch any of my videos, I'm not in any of them. I don't wanna be in any of them. I want-- You know, when I post videos, it's to display the athletes. Now, to display the work that we do, you'll hear my voice, but, you know, I don't want it to be about me. So now you're seeing the guy behind the camera. Hi, everybody. Right. You know, I, I keep it, if I can say this, you know, I used to tell the kids, um... Are you familiar with VladTV? No. All right. He's a podcaster. He used to-- He interviews a lot of, um, artists, hip hop and whatever. But he's always the voice behind the camera. The camera's always on them- Mm-hmm and he's back there doing the voice. So I tell them, you know, "I keep it VladTV." I don't-- I never wanted to be in there, and I don't... You know, I-- Even when someone films for me, film the athlete. I-- You know, it's not about what I look like or what I'm doing or seeing. They can hear my voice and coaching them, but, you know, focus on their movements and what they're doing, so. Yeah. Awesome. Thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today. Thank you for having me. Thank you for sharing your knowledge, passion, and inspiring story with us, and I wish you the very best in all that comes your way in the future. Thank you so much