SPEAKER_07 0:00

I've never done coaching to to get recognition. There's times where I've gotten a message from a parent or a former player of mine. How can you not get teary eye at hearing those messages? Amazing.

SPEAKER_02 0:11

That note, I want to show you a a little clip of number of you because you teach me everything.

SPEAKER_05 0:19

You are an amazing coach. Thank you for everything, coach.

SPEAKER_03 0:25

I'm forever grateful for that number that we're going to take that opportunity and continue to work hard, continue to have my confidence, continue to be a better person.

SPEAKER_01 0:36

Hey there, and welcome to the Woodburn Podcast, where we believe every story matters, and every neighbor has something worth sharing. I'm your host, Gilbert Lopez. I'll be sitting down with local business owners, community leaders, and hometown heroes right here in Woodburn. You'll discover amazing people in your own backyard. And if you're more connected to the community we call home, make sure to follow us on Instagram and YouTube at Woodburn Podcast to be the first to know about new episodes and announcements. Welcome back to the Woodburn Podcast. Today I'm sitting down with Coach Marco Chacon, Woodburn native, you soccer coach, creator of Coaching with Marco, and the new head soccer coach for Jervis High School.

SPEAKER_07 1:27

So I'm excited to be here.

SPEAKER_01 1:28

Thank you for coming. I want to start the podcast with some icebreakers. What is your favorite soccer club?

SPEAKER_07 1:34

Favorite soccer club is Portland Thorns. Is there a backstory to that? I'm just a big fan of women's soccer. I love being able to watch them. The NWSL has the best players in the world, and it's the U.S. women's national team, the Jersey and Wayne. They're the best team in the world. Nice.

SPEAKER_01 1:48

Okay. How about Messi or Rolando? I go with Messi.

SPEAKER_07 1:54

My son hates Messi, but like I said, he can't deny the resume at this point.

SPEAKER_01 1:59

No. The GOAT. Michael Jordan or LeBron James. Kobe Bryant. Kobe Bryant.

SPEAKER_07 2:05

Kobe Bryant 1A, 1B, as we were speaking earlier. Yeah, too.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

Yep. Just his mindset is different.

SPEAKER_07 2:10

I'm a huge basketball fan. I love basketball. But I always think about it like this. Like LeBron, I think he's one of the goats. But if you shrink him down to like our height, like a lot of his game is based off power. A Kobe, you shrink him down. He is technique, technique, technique. So for me, it's always going to be Kobe.

SPEAKER_01 2:27

How about favorite restaurant in Woodburn?

SPEAKER_07 2:31

Abby's legendary pizza. I love it. My guilty pleasure. Sometimes I feel embarrassed because I tried not to have it every week, but there's times where we don't know where to go. And I'm like, let's go to Abby's. But for sure, the main second option is always Lisa Saccheria. My friend Monsera owns it, her and her husband. So we love going there. So if it's not there, it's Abby's.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

Favorite basketball team or player?

SPEAKER_07 2:52

Kobe Bryant. Ever since he passed away, unfortunately, it's the same thing. I don't really have a favorite team anymore. But of course, always like having the Blazers do good. When they do good, it's fun. So I guess I would say the Blazers.

SPEAKER_01 3:04

Okay. I want to talk about your new position you accepted. Can you walk me through that? Hello. Jervis? Jervis.

SPEAKER_07 3:11

Yeah, man. I gotta give a shout out to one of our teachers here in the middle school, Mr. Ruiz. Okay. Yeah. He actually reached out to me. I don't want to put any type of blame on anybody, but I had worked as a coach for the Woodburn School District. Okay. And I just didn't have a good experience. Some things that I just didn't agree with. But I also saw some really good things. Yeah. So it didn't work out. Like I said, I was grateful for the opportunity. I was a little kind of like, ah, well, I coach club, I coach basketball too. So I kind of kept away from coaching for school, right? Yeah. But Mr. Ruiz, he reached out to me and he was like, hey, did you see that Jervis has an opening? And honestly, I was like, no, I don't because I wasn't checking. Right. He, of course, gave me words of encouragement. It was time. I was like, you know what? Let me do it. Had an interview with the athletic director and the manager of the office for the athletic director. Had a really good interview. I think we all agreed. We were all on the same page about what we want, making sure we put the school first and then the sport and how do we build the program back up. They made it clear they want to help the soccer program. And yeah, we went from there. They called me a couple weeks later. They offered me the position. And now we're about a couple weeks from starting our first season together. And I'm really excited for it. It's going to be a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_01 4:26

Cool. So you develop younger kids, and now you're going to be working with kids that are a bit older.

SPEAKER_07 4:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

What are the challenges you've seen in high school compared to working with you?

SPEAKER_07 4:38

This is my first actual high school gig, but I've done the middle school and then elementary. So I've done kind of the middle, but it's the same thing. I think for me, my coaching that I've seen is kids want someone they can relate to.

SPEAKER_01 4:48

Right.

SPEAKER_07 4:49

I mean, of course it does change, but it was the little ones that their attention span and what they like is a lot different. But I mean it was the older ones, what I've seen, the success, we've only been together for a while. But it's the same thing that I recall when I was younger. Like, hey, I want to play. I'm excited to play with my friends. And for me now, is just being able to connect the DOS and being able to be like, all right, let me make it fun for you guys, but let me add what I bring to the table, which I'm huge into accountability and discipline and making sure that, like, hey, if we're gonna do something, it's gonna be 100%. It's not gonna be one foot in, one foot out.

SPEAKER_01 5:23

Exactly.

SPEAKER_07 5:24

Yeah, so I'm excited. Like I said, it's gonna be very fun. I'm very grateful for the whole Jervis School District for believing in me.

SPEAKER_01 5:31

Yeah, they're our neighbors. Yeah, like we like to support each other. Yeah, yeah. Now I saw that you did an interview with Leroy Sanchez.

SPEAKER_07 5:38

Yeah, Leroy.

SPEAKER_01 5:38

That was a really good one.

SPEAKER_07 5:39

Thank you, thank you so much. Leroy is an amazing individual. He is, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:43

He is. So when I first hit play, your intro was a bunch of like newspaper articles. Yeah. And dude, I saw so many of my old classmates. Francisco Ibanes, uh-huh, Henry Estrada, yeah, Jaime Garcia, Keith Binder, Cesar Garcia, Oscar Lopez, your brother Ricky. Yeah, yeah. Just to mention a few. Dude, it just brought back so many memories. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 6:07

Wow. And that's amazing. I'm happy to hear that. I did get a couple DMs from people that said the same thing. And that's the beauty, porque Leroy and my older brother are the same age. So my dad coached Leroy también. So all those names that you mentioned are familiar names to me too. And I always said it and I explained it to Leroy too. I love people being able to watch it and get those type of memories, porque that's the influence that they played on the next generation coming up. I was really happy. I know Leroy, like I said, amazing individual. He he was very happy not only with the interview, but Tamina when we were speaking, I know he's like, Man, you made me feel like a little bit of famous then that I mattered. And I'm like, Leroy, you do matter. You did so much for this community and you continue to do so much.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

So yeah, you brought up a bunch of championships. It was really neat to watch that and to see my fellow classmates just shout out to them.

SPEAKER_07 6:54

Yeah, it goes by quick, no?

SPEAKER_01 6:56

It does.

SPEAKER_07 6:57

I'll add a little quick little story to it. Those names that you name dropped right now. I remember I was in elementary school, and I always tell people social media wasn't as popular as it is now, so it wasn't the same. Oh, I'm gonna stream this today. So usually when the community had nothing to do, they would go support the game. So I know they still do, but like back then it just felt a lot different. Yeah. I remember in school, everybody like, oh, who's gonna be at the game? And all the teachers, the brothers, the siblings, and then we would go, and it was amazing because you would see them warm up, and these little muchachos, including myself, are name-dropping these kids. Like we knew who they were, and then you would get to play, and then you go and you watch a competitive game. Like I said, all those names that that built their own legacy here in Woodburn. Yeah, and I kind of come full circle because I always tell people is that you never know the influence you're playing on someone because a lot of those guys probably do remember me, but as like, oh, that's really good, little brother. But a lot of them probably don't. Yeah, and the thing is too, they still played an influence that subconsciously played the impact of creating coach who was Marcos.

SPEAKER_01 8:00

Yeah, it's just a reminder that you never know who's watching.

SPEAKER_07 8:04

Yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_01 8:05

Little did they know they made a big impact without them even realizing. Yeah, and look at you what you're doing now with your career. Can you about little Marcos sitting in the stands just watching those celebrities out there and he goes? Can you walk me through that?

SPEAKER_07 8:19

Yeah, I love that you asked that question. Shout out my brother Ricky. Obviously, he did so much in his youth career, and I got to witness it firsthand because my dad's training sessions were intense. I call my dad is the Mr. Miyagi, he doesn't coach anymore, but I always pick his brain. And I'm like, Dad, what do you think? And of course, with time, my dad's changed his answers a little bit, but okay. But I do recall being a little kid and just like anybody, it was always like, Man, I can't wait to go out there and represent Woodburn as well. But for me, the story was a little bit different. But I always wanted my dad to be able to put the same time and effort into my brother that he did with me. Unfortunately, my dad never did. Okay, and I think knowing that my siblings they set the standards so high for the sport that I shied away from it and I decided not to play. So I ended up uh picking up a basketball and said the passion I think was still there. Yeah, it just stayed hidden for years up until I started coaching again.

SPEAKER_01 9:19

Fast forward now that you're older, using that experience. What did you learn when that time means everything?

SPEAKER_07 9:25

And putting your time and effort into your child, but also understanding there's no right or wrong, but being able to keep a healthy balance of let's be competitive, but let's make sure you're being a kid because I've seen it and it works out fine. Like I said, I don't want to say there's one right or wrong, but I've seen it sometimes where parents are super, super strict on the kids. Yeah, and I get it too because I think I could be too. But I always make sure one day of the week, like, hey, I don't want to talk about sports. Like you be a kid, let's just do fun things, and I also try to make with my teams fun, try to find that healthy balance of how to do it.

SPEAKER_01 9:59

I love that you say that because I grew up around coaches that are just so hard on them, yeah, they just push them away from the sport. Yeah. And there have to be a good balance on your dad first. Yeah, then your coach.

SPEAKER_07 10:14

Yeah, a hundred percent. And I love that you mentioned that too, because I've seen it as well. Don't get me wrong, I make my mistakes because it's a learning process for me too. Right. But there's times where I feel like when I first started, I had a great support system. Obviously, my wife, one of my assistant coaches, I remember when I would get maybe a little too frustrated and I would put maybe some unrealistic expectations for my son at his age. Okay. And I remember they had to kind of be like, hey, and the whole team is playing bad, but you're taking it out on him. So you just need to take a step back. And thankfully, Tamien, at the time, you probably don't want to hear it. Yeah, but you take back and you're kind of like, hey, like like what you mentioned right now, Gilbert, that is so true, 100%. The kid has to come first. They have to understand, okay, I'm your dad, but when we're playing, I'm gonna do the best that I can, but I'm never gonna over push it on you. Because at the end of the day, I always tell him and let me know, like, we'll push as hard as you want, but that goal that you have is never gonna be my goal. My goal is to help you get there, but I'm not gonna be like, hey, you need to be because that's what I want for you. Like no. So thankfully me who loves soccer so much.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

No sinfada. That's so cool. So this weekend, it's a big weekend for you guys. Yeah, big weekend. So, what does it mean for you to be able to coach at the Fiesta Mexicana here in Woodburn in front of your hometown?

SPEAKER_07 11:36

It means a lot for me. When I think about Fiesta Mexicana, I might be biased, but for me, the Fiesta Mexicana tournament is the best tournament Oregon has to offer. Yeah, a mixture of football, este music, rides, good, good people, but most importantly, great food. It's an amazing place. I know we were talking a little bit off camera. For me, this tournament is very special. Thankfully, I've had the opportunity to coach these muchachos for about three to four years. Okay. And we've made it to the finals 17 times. And we've had won 10 championships, we've lost seven finals. And unfortunately, we've never won a Woodburn tournament. So we always come up short, and we're hoping that elusive championship in our hometown we're finally able to do it. So I'm hoping if we win or lose the outcome at the end of the day, it is what it is because we're continuing to develop. But of course, it would be nice to see if we can bring that actual title. Yeah. For the first time. I know it'd mean a lot for the kids, they've been working hard at it. So you get play on Friday. Yes. Friday, two games on Saturday, and then a Sunday morning game. And depending on how the bracket works out, if we do move on to the final, it would be like I think one 145 around there. So yeah. So I'm excited. I'm hoping it's a good turnaround. Like I said, tomorrow we get started. Awesome.

SPEAKER_01 12:50

Okay, we'll be there supporting you guys. So I saw that you were on the podcast Salem. Yeah, Podcast Salem, yeah. Yeah, they did a really good job, guys. Yeah, shout out Podcast Salem. So I was able to listen to it, and something that actually caught my attention when you mentioned something about what brand is known about state championships. Yeah, yeah. Like soccer town. It's a big soccer town. But when it comes to sending kids to a four-year college, like are we not prepping them with academics for four-year?

SPEAKER_07 13:23

Yeah, I don't recall if I had mentioned it on the actual podcast, but I have a friend who uh went to a four-year college and he did amazing and has a great career thanks to his degree that he got. Every age group continues to bring in amazing talent, but we don't hear those backstories of hey, they made it big or they they went to a four-year college, as you mentioned.

SPEAKER_08 13:43

Right.

SPEAKER_07 13:44

And I remember I had asked my friend, and I was kind of like, hey, you played college soccer all four years. Obviously, you had a great time. And I remember I asked him, I was like, hey, uh, when you were a senior, how much seniors were on your team? I believe he said 11. And I was like, Hey, how much kids do you believe could have played college? Me expecting him to be like, no, only me. Like I was the only one. And no, you said all 11 of them. He's like, unfortunately, that he was kind of the only one eligible due to grades. That's the thing, too, to answer your question, Gilbert. I don't know how to answer that because it has to be a group of people, from the parents to the kids to a strong school district that encourages it. I know what the standard is for the OISA. Okay, it's pretty low. Is it? Yeah, it's a 2.0 based off what I understand, is what it is. And I and I get it that sometimes there's some circumstances that we can't control. Yeah. But you'd be surprised sometimes when you hold kids to a higher standard how much they're able to accomplish. And kids are smart. I always use this example. You have a kid and you send him to go clean his room. Yeah, I highly doubt he's gonna get every little dust as there and mop and everything. I'm sure it's gonna look nice, but not as clean as it could be. But I'm better than if you'd be like, hey, Mijo, I want you to clean your room. This is what I need you to do, they're going to do it. And the thing is, I feel like it takes the whole group. It has to be the school district, the coaches, the players, but I mean the parents. And I understand too, like I said, the school district, I mean, sometimes in a tough situation, because sometimes parents would be like, oh no, Paponte trabajar or something. Yeah. And it's tough because I mean being able to balance both can be very difficult at times. For me, this is how I do it. And like I said, there's no right, there's no wrong. But for me, with my team, the soccer team that I've had for about four years, yeah. Thankfully, myself, along with our coaching staff, are always on the same page of how do we make an impact on these kids' life and make it clear that the sport is always gonna come second. But what we do is that we always tell the parents, and again, it is always being appreciated with the parents, but they need to buy in. And for me, what I've seen too is that we do grade checks. Like we'll do it. Like I said, not required, but you go out of your way and be like, hey, can you tell me the grades? Can you tell me when these kids get in trouble? Can you please tell me? And of course, I understand there's some people that might be like, hey, that's none of your business. But being able to see it the other way, that sometimes these coaches can make an influence on these kids to really help them stay in the like a straight and narrow path. And also kind of be like, hey, if I do all my work, I'm gonna get good grades. If I get all my good grades, I'm eligible to play. If I do what I need to do, all of a sudden, hey, there's opportunities for you to go elsewhere. And that's the thing too, that we're in I've been installing it on them since they were second graders. So I consistently do logs to make sure they're doing their homework. And now that they're starting middle school at I mean, nothing's going to change. Now I know the behavior is going to start creeping up. So thankfully, the parents that we have is that we always whenever their kids are acting up, they'll have a private conversation and ask. Of course, you always go based off what the parents want to do and say, yeah, and just hold the kids a little bit accountable and being able to be like, hey, what's going on? Talk to me. And then going from there. And I think for me, we found a lot of success in that. And like I said, not only me, but the amazing coaches that we have, Damian on our team, there's three of us there, so we're all on the same page. School has to come first at all times.

SPEAKER_01 17:34

Yeah, I love how you're a big advocate for academics.

SPEAKER_07 17:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:38

You know the word student athlete? Yes.

SPEAKER_07 17:40

Student student comes first.

SPEAKER_01 17:41

Come first.

SPEAKER_07 17:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:42

I talked to my niece, she's a wrestler, and I was like, it doesn't matter you're a four-time state champion, but if you don't have a proper GPA, like college won't want you. Yeah. Because they want student athletes. Yeah. I love how you're a big advocate for school.

SPEAKER_07 18:00

Yeah. And then for me, for that one, real quick, to give you a little bit more. I graduated with a 1.8. E but I was with one. I wasn't doing my homework. I knew the bare minimum that I had to do. And I remember, and it happens too much. I understand people have goals, but I hate it when you graduate or you're in your senior year, and they make it seem like you need to know what you're gonna do for the rest of your life. And for me, of course, I lied to myself and say, Oh, I'm gonna do this, and realistically, but it is because I didn't have the self-discipline, I didn't have the needs that I felt like, hey, I can achieve what I really set my goal to. Thankfully, things worked out for me. But at that age, you asked me at age 17, 18, it was a scared little kid that had no options. And at the end of the day, it just like any school, they keep coming. So when you're done and be like, oh, thank you, here comes the next badge. So I've always done it, like I always told myself, when I'm going to get into coaching, it's always gonna be school because I want these kids to understand, like you mentioned, talent won't carry alone. Every kid wants to be good. You have to understand that I always go back to it. If kids want to dream big and say, I'm gonna be professional, yes, let them dream as big as you can, but also understand that the sport is a resource to be able to get you to a good career. Yep. And so for me, like I said, it's just I always put it like, what do I wish somebody would have told me when I was younger to make a bigger impact? And for me, it's always getting into these kids. I always say this as they're hard headed. You have to say, and people, my friends will laugh at me sometimes and be like, Don't you ever get tired of telling them? I was like, no, because if I have to tell someone a hundred times, but that one time they listened and that changes their life, then that's the biggest win as a coach that you do.

SPEAKER_01 19:47

I love that, dude. I love that quote. So I like how you said too how you're becoming the person you wish you had growing up. Yeah. I think volume. Yeah. Because having just a coach being there for you. The reason I get tear eye is because my wrestling coach changed my life. And little did he know, like he may be the type of person I am today. And now these kids that are your coaching, they're looking at you. Yeah. What does that mean to you?

SPEAKER_07 20:34

It means a lot. Going back to it, Damian Gilbert, we it makes me happy because there's a lot of great people in this community. For me, I felt like I didn't have anybody, but it wasn't because no one was there for me. Like you mentioned, growing up in Woodburn, it's really, really hard. It's interesting how some people, and I don't want to say it because I don't ever want to downplay people's problems, but there's times where people's problems are pretty small compared to some other people. And for me, growing up in high school, in a situation where I failed in every way possible. And as a young athlete, when you're so competitive, you have this mindset that nope, this is the goal, this is what it's going to be when it doesn't happen. No one teaches you how to be able to handle your emotions. And unfortunately, I love my parents, but at that time, if you look up what a broken home was, is what I was growing up with. I had situations too where like sometimes I get teary-eyed too, because I had to deal with struggles that are pretty personal, that I wish I had someone to tell me, like, hey, you're going to be okay, or hey, yeah, potential, don't quit on yourself. And for me, like, I don't blame anybody because at the end of the day, I felt like I didn't know how to ask for help. But deep inside, the child in me was screaming for help, being like, hey, I need your help. I just didn't know how to ask for it. And growing up in the high school career, feeling like a failure, being at home, hating being at home, hating what was happening with my family, and then feeling like a failure at home, looking at your grades, nothing but F makes you feel pretty low. And for me, it comes back full circle that even though I didn't have it, and I'm sure there was people that were amazing. It's just for me, I just didn't know how to connect with them. That I look back at it now, I hated the way I was when I was younger because I didn't know any better. But looking back as an adult. I'm grateful to God because I feel like I need to learn that to have the passion that I have now. So that now I've ran into kids that hear their life story and I get emotional too because I can relate. I can be empathetic with that kid to be like, hey, I know it's hard, though. Don't give up. Keep playing the sport, keep doing it to keep them out of trouble. And it's just a shame. Sometimes I feel like kids have a lot of emotions. And sometimes adults will be like, yeah, you're a kid. What problems do you have? But in all reality, we probably can't relate to, but it means a lot to them. It does. And sometimes in sports, you're able to keep that kid engaged. And for me, it goes back to the sport being the resource. If this kid can be like, Man, I put my heart and efforts into that sport and look what I accomplished. Imagine that when they get a career, when they go in a job and they put that same effort and energy, I'm always grateful to God for those lessons because it allows me to share that with the kids and be able to relate to them as well.

SPEAKER_01 23:22

And going back to Leroy, he says something on the interview. Soccer sometimes is even a therapy for these kids. And um you also talk about how a coach can become like an older brother or even a father figure.

SPEAKER_07 23:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:38

Can you talk about that?

SPEAKER_07 23:39

Yeah, and I agree a hundred percent. I feel like it goes with coaches, educators, anybody that works in a school district. It is a privilege to work with kids. For me, it's always like how do we utilize that resource to the best of our ability to make a positive impact in the kids? And like Coach Lever had mentioned about that, yes, sometimes it is that therapy for the kids. Yeah. I've had it a man where you love that sport so much that's kind of your only piece that you have. And sometimes what happens is that is no one's to blame. But when you play varsity sports, they're looking for the best players. And sometimes some kids have the talent, they just can't perform when it actually matters. And unfortunately, those kids get cut. So those kids that have that passion and that dream all of a sudden becomes, oh well, the only thing that I have a passion love for rejected me, that's where those kids can kind of get left in dust. And for me, I'm grateful, which is interesting because I'm very strict with my kids. And I always start with the older ones. I set a standard and I always let them know we're not friends and we're never gonna be friends. However, I'm like, I hope you guys naturally see that I care about my kids. And if I can be a coach, and I don't ever have to hear it, but if I can have a coach and be like, man, my coach was tough on me, but he cared about me, he really made me believe that I could achieve something, then they pass it on to the next generation. So to kind of answer your question, it goes back to it. It's an amazing feeling, even though sometimes you don't hear it, sometimes you do hear it. And when you hear it, oh man, it does feel amazing. Like I said, I've never done coaching to get recognition, but there's times where I've gotten a message from a parent or a former player of mine, and they say, How can you not get teary eyed hearing those messages? And it is amazing.

SPEAKER_01 25:21

That note, I want to show you a little clip. These are my middle school boys.

SPEAKER_06 25:49

Thank you for push for leaving us and supporting us. Of your hard work and patience, and the time you take off, and how you make us push ourselves to become better, to reach higher levels and making them better. This was my first ever club, and you were the best coach for you. And this month you made us win our first tournament. And I hope you win our next tournament. Thank you, Coach Marco, for everything you've done.

SPEAKER_02 26:28

You're the reason why I practice more often, and I do my best in the games. Hi, Coach.

SPEAKER_00 26:37

Coach, I wanted to say that I'm super grateful for you taking time out of your thing to come practice and our games and putting us to our list. And also, I'm super grateful for helping me through this past month. Thank you for everything, Coach.

SPEAKER_06 26:52

I am grateful for coach Mark once because you didn't call it a hand really pushing me to my life to try to get better. And that's why I'm grateful for dear coach.

SPEAKER_05 27:01

I am appreciative on how you take the time out of your day and make it to train us and be at our games. You have helped me improve my whole TV on how you come. Your coaching is so good that we have to win our first tournament. You are an amazing coach. Thank you for everything, coaching.

SPEAKER_09 27:31

I want to thank you, coach, for always being there for me and my team. Thank you for always pushing us towards being there for us when our loss. And thank you for everything you've done for this team.

SPEAKER_04 27:46

Dear coach, I want to take a moment and tell you how much I appreciate everything you do for me and the team. Thanks for your time, patience, and credit, and dedication. You have always worked harder and believe in myself even when I doubt what I can do. You have taught me so much more than skills and taught me about discipline, teamwork, and never giving up. Thank you for believing in me, challenging me, and helping me become a better athlete and person. I truly appreciate everything you do for me.

SPEAKER_03 28:18

Your coach more good. This is my first ever seasoned.

SPEAKER_04 28:22

Such a great kid.

SPEAKER_03 28:26

You are and I've had different coaches throughout school sports and stuff, but you are the most disciplined and hard-working coach. And your story really showed what you explain to us, right? It really resonated with like a couple things in my life and how when we're to go extreme and take sports or to have someone believe in you, right? And after times, I don't feel like I believe in myself. I don't I don't feel like I have my own proper like opportunity. I don't feel like myself, I don't feel like I have that confidence. And thank you for taking that chance on me and letting me still have an opportunity, right? For all I know, I could have had way less than I could have been sitting on a bank because like I just thought I wasn't playing good enough. But it turns out you decided to give a chance on me, and I'm forever grateful for that. I'm forever going to take that opportunity and continue to work hard, continue to up my confidence, and continue to be a better person. Thank you because I could not have asked for a better martin.

SPEAKER_01 29:38

Man, no, thank you so much.

SPEAKER_07 29:39

Bro, how does that feel, dude? Amazing. It kind of, like I said, it's a privilege to be able to work with those kids. And it kind of goes back to it too, is the impact that you make on the kids. So I thank you for that. I appreciate it. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 29:52

Yeah, shout out to all the parents. Yeah, awesome.

SPEAKER_07 29:54

Yeah, yeah, and now for nothing over it. Even in my coaching career, I I get so much support here from a lot of people, and I'm always grateful. But I also get a lot of criticism from people. And regardless of what their opinions are of me, it's the influence you make on these kids. Right. And I mean, like I said, it's the relatability. I'm a huge believer, it's showing vulnerability, showing strength. I told them about my upbringings and my failures and my family struggles, and I was emotional the whole time. These kids have little problems like that that matter to them. So if I can be some small piece of them being able, like, man, I believe in myself. Man, it is that was amazing.

SPEAKER_01 30:35

Thank you so much. Yeah, really neat. Again, thank you for the parrot just sent you down. Thank you. So, Josiah, he's like my barway nephew.

SPEAKER_07 30:45

Oh, yeah? Yeah. Oh man, he's such a great kid. I love that. All of them are, but Josiah is such a great kid. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:50

So we had uh get together over the weekend, and then he didn't know I was going to sit down with you. Yeah. And then I was like, hey, do you play this weekend? Or he's like, Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And he's so proud of making the team. Yeah, yeah. I was like, tell me about your coach. He's like, he's awesome. Yeah. I was like, I like playing for him. Yeah. But yeah, I just saw as such a good kid.

SPEAKER_07 31:11

He's a good kid. All of them too. Like I said, Giver, thank you. That means a lot to me. But it's funny, the first practice I always come across maybe as a jerk, but it's because I have to set that standard first and kind of be like, hey, we're gonna have a good season. You're gonna see that I care, but there's rules, expectations, and discipline that has to be there. Kids are amazing, but at the moment they get too comfortable sometimes, and you have to make sure they respect you as a coach. I mean my nephew plays on that team, and he goes like, all the kids, not that they don't like you, but they're scared of you. And they're like, oh man, it's gonna be a rough season. And I'll be like, Oh, well, I feel like naturally they'll see how much I care for them. And that makes me happy. And Gilbert, like I said, seeing you get emotional too. I look back at my life, and like I said, there's times where I needed someone like that in my life, and I wish somebody would have been there for me. And there's times where, like I said, I get emotional just because for me, the sport meant so much, and getting declined every single time as a kid makes you feel worthless. And like I said, I'm getting emotional right now because it's the truth. I always say, like, the sport is beautiful and it'll make you feel like a million bucks, but it'll also make you feel worthless if you don't have someone there. And for me, I had big dreams, I got cut, and the coaches moved on. And like I said, there's no problem with that either. But también, like I said, these kids, I always tell them like this life goes by way too quick. And if you can go out there and really believe in yourself, you'd be amazed how much confidence. Little backstory, I remember for me, my sport was basketball and going into freshman year. So much confidence. Uh like I told you, my sibling set such a high standard at soccer that I stepped away and I picked up a basketball. I didn't know how to play. And I wanted to learn, I was eager to learn. And for me, every single time I dribble, I didn't know the rules. I remember before Kobe, Alan Iverson was my favorite. And then slowly but surely I started picking up a basketball, being creative and teaching myself how to play. Every time I went to an AU tryout, I got cut every single time. And by the time middle school, I got pretty good being self-developed. I still remember I told the boys that going into freshman year, I had this confidence to me. And the people around me that knew me, they're like, man, he's pretty good. I went into it, and this is where it goes back to the confidence. I know David had mentioned about that. I remember we were playing, I'm excited, I'm ready to play. I always played with a chip on my shoulder because I was like, man, I was for me as a player, it helped me to feel like, hey, I was a reject. I always got cut. I remember when I was elementary, I used to get bullied because my parents weren't financially stable enough to buy me the Jordans. So I was wearing nothing but shack shoes and Walmart. The kid that was poor and didn't know how to play wasn't a good combination. But that didn't matter no more once I got to middle school, high school season starts. So I'm excited. I I'm gonna make varsity junior sophomore year, big goals. And the first game comes, and uh I obviously, like anybody, you're expecting to be a part of the starting lineup. And I'm not. I'm okay. I'm like the first quarter comes and I'm still not subbed in. And the second quarter came in, it's halftime. I'm still not subbed in. Third quarter comes around, I'm like, okay, this is strange. I'm still not in. And then the game ended. I remember for me, that broke my confidence because that kid that got bullied came out. I felt worthless again. So that whole season, I wasn't playing for fun anymore. I was playing to prove a point. And instead of playing for fun, I kept trying to, oh, but this is what the coaches want to see. And then I would mess up. And then all of a sudden, since I lost my confidence, the smallest things bug me. Oh no, my shorts are way too tight. This jersey, I don't like how it feels. And then started making excuses. And slowly but surely I ended up quitting it. And like I said, just like a bunch of kids that I've seen in this community, the potential never went away. It's just a way to have someone to be like, no, hey, you're gonna hit rock bottom, but how do we respond? How do we go up together and how do I help you get that confidence back? And fortunately, like I said, the fact that I didn't have that, I'm grateful I didn't have it because I could repeat my life a hundred times. I would fail a hundred times for these kids to have that confidence. And not just them, but like all the kids that I coach. It's how passionate I am about the kids in this community and the outside communities too.

SPEAKER_01 35:30

So man, you're an amazing coach, dude. Uh Woodburn, Jervis, very grateful to have a person like you.

SPEAKER_07 35:37

It kind of comes full circle too. It's the um, if you don't mind me giving a small shout-out. Yeah, I do. It's the my shoolos basketball club, the same kid who got rejected. I created my own AU basketball team. For me, it's always been like soccer does a really great job of having an A and B team. If there's enough, they'll make a C team. They keep the kids engaged, which I think is amazing. It keeps the kids playing and it's like that everywhere. There's other clubs that will have 17 straight to each bracket, which is amazing because the kids want to play, right? And they go, I felt like there was a huge area of opportunity for kids who like playing basketball too, but weren't good enough to be on the A team. And then, like, hey, how can we make a B team and get kids that maybe, like I said, were like me. I was a late bloomer. I developed in middle school compared to like third or fourth grade. Yeah. And thankfully, like I said, my son loves playing soccer. But once it gets a little cold, he likes playing basketball too. And his friends, same with me, started with the interest. We're like, oh well, I like basketball. I don't know how to play it. I'm like, perfect. If you want to learn, we're here to teach you. I got one of my best friends, his name's Irving, and so great with kids. The last two years have been able to teach these kids. And I always tell them, like, it's not about the wins and losses, because it's about how do we develop you, how do we help you and be better? Because I've also coached middle school basketball where these kids enter seventh grade and they don't know how to full court press, they don't know how to zone, they don't know how to run plays. And by the time you get to like middle school, like what I was, it's a little late because you already have a bunch of kids that know this as muscle memory. My friend Irving was like, this is kind of you healing your inner child. And it kind of goes back to it too. Like at the end of the day, it's for the community of Woodburn. Like the more kids we have playing, the better. Yeah. So, like, thankfully, we get support from a lot of people that give us donations, the churches that let us borrow the gins, the parents and the kids that continue to play. Like I said, they have so much fun. And uh it always brings me joy. I don't do basketball as often, but uh, when we do it around winter time, it always part of me brings back that joy because it goes back to, man, these are things that I wish I had. And like I said, I don't blame anyone ever because it wasn't good when I first started playing. It always brings me back that pride and joy to be able to provide that second option, be like, yeah, we're the B team and that's fine. But like, how do we learn so that as they get older, there's more kids willing to put on that uniform for the high school and ultimately help out the high school too, because at that point, more kids play, the more you get developed. It's just really fun.

SPEAKER_01 38:12

This episode is brought to you by Anytime Fitness of Woodburn. They are now offering personal training. So if you go in, use the code WoodburnPOLCAS, you'll get 50% off your enrollment fee. Uh you can go into their location at 2247 Country Club Road or give them a call at 503-984-0423. Tell me about your YouTube channel.

SPEAKER_07 38:42

Yeah, the YouTube channel, oh man, I'm so proud of it. Along with my Instagram page too. But the YouTube page is something that I love doing. Oh, yeah. Right here. As I mentioned earlier in our conversation, I failed a lot. What can I teach? What can I teach kids? I never played varsity in any sport. So my insecurities when I first started coaching, yeah, was kind of like, oh man, what am I gonna teach these kids? So I held back a lot, but with time, you find the passion, you figure it out. And I think now I found the fact that I'm relatable. I learned from where I messed up. I found the connection where I always say it like as Kendrick Lamar said it, you can't fake influence. You cannot. With time, I started getting more comfortable with being like, hey, I know what I bring as a coach. It's not gonna be the player background, but then I started seeing there's a lot of professional coaches that never played the sport, too, you know. So with time came on, I have an amazing support system. I have to give a shout out to my wife. She would always tell me, Hey, we had our Instagram page for our soccer team. But she was like, Hey, you should do one for yourself. And I was like, Yeah, and then the insecurities again, you know, I knew the insecurity, I just would be like, ah, nah, nah, nah, I don't want to do it. But I knew why I didn't want to do it. And she's like, No, you should try out really think do you get that type of a good response? And I remember at that same time at podcast Salem had given us a donation, and Damian Alex, Ace Cooks Media, Tamien was shooting a video, and I saw that they were active with their social media accounts, and I had told them, like, you know, advice. They just told me, like, hey, put yourself out there. They gave me great advice that I think I needed to hear at that time. Okay. That it kind of had you mentioned too, you never know the influence of people are making on you. Them three, along with other people in my life, gave me that first push to take that first step forward. And that first step forward is scary.

SPEAKER_08 40:30

And finally I did.

SPEAKER_07 40:31

And shortly after, I started seeing that the Instagram page was growing. And I had always told my wife about wanting to capture these memories for these kids and being able to highlight the community that obviously that you love, that I love. And I go back to my older sibling and Libra and those guys that you mentioned. There was a lady named Loreto that would always record every game, and she used to give copies to everybody. And those memories, along with other people that I would talk about, I love sports, people would tell me, and they're just memories. Oh, you have any pictures, videos? Oh, I think I have a couple, but that's it. And I told my wife, I was like, Man, this life passes way too fast. It does. And I was like, just spitballing ideas. It started with a podcast idea, but then I was like, I kind of want to vlog. And she's like, What do you mean? She's like, Yeah, like kind of day-to-day. She's like, Oh, I like that. And she started giving me ideas, and then we went from there and we started being like, Hey, well, how do we do it? And again, it goes back to the insecurities that I had. Yeah, I had episodes lined up for two years that I held on to because I was too scared. Ideally, looking at it now, I was scared of nothing. And but in my mind, I was like, Oh, you know, who's gonna want to watch? And so I remember Alex, the photographer, he had told me he was like, Hey, if you make something and 10 people watch it, that's 10 people who are interested in your product. So that's huge. And I was like, Yeah, you're right. You know, instead of focusing on like, oh, how much people I'm just gonna start putting it out there. And thankfully, my wife who edits she bullies me because she will not let me edit. I mean, you saw it right now when you ask me for the mic, I didn't know how to fix it. But for me, I try to edit, and for me, it looks cool. She's like, Oh, she's like, You don't you never do anything? And I'm like, Oh, for help, you just don't want it. But she loves editing, even though sometimes she does get a little spicy with it. But yeah, we finally decided to put it out there. It's funny because I mentioned it in the podcast Salem along the ways of being like, Hey, how is the vlog gonna look? Because keep in mind these episodes were from two years ago. We had the content and some episodes created, but we just had a bunch of memory cards for things. Okay, and we were kind of like, hey, how do we start putting things together? How is this going to look? How much episodes? What are we going to what our topics are going to be? And I remember one time, and sometimes it happens when you're just driving me, you started thinking about things, and I was like, you know why there's so much people that have great memories, and so much people that have done great things in this community. I was like, how can I do kind of similar what you were doing? How can I put it part of my series to be able to highlight people and coaches that do so much for the people in this community? And I kind of told my wife, I was like, wait, so what? So you don't want to do the YouTube channel? You want to do a podcast? Like, no, no, no, no. It sounds weird, but I want to still do the YouTube channel, but one-offs every season, kind of stop the vlogging and be like, hey, we're gonna present and just have a full-on conversation and get coaches that I see are doing a lot of things and have a sit-down, kind of like what we're doing. The advice that I give the people that come on my channel, I'm like, hey, regardless if people like you or not, if they're able to hear the interview and let's say they only like two minutes and they take it away, those two minutes are huge because you don't know that impact that can last. Oh man, I didn't know Coach went through those struggles. I go through that too. And it just be able to connect people in would have been a lot stronger. So thankfully, we lined up things and being like, all right, thankfully, the whole YouTube coach was Marco, I'm very grateful to see the 229 subscribers. We continue to grow. And I feel like I'm so grateful for this community for the support that we continue to get. A huge, huge shout out from my wife for doing such an amazing job. And she's a huge believer in me. She saw something in me when I didn't even see it. It's a community too, because not only for the kids to be able to see it, but on my boys to be able to look back and being able to be like, God willing, we get there. Being able to be in high school or God willing on, you know, kids and be like, oh, look, this was me when I was young. Life does go by that quick. That's how we started the channel. And like I said, obviously Leroy's was a great interview. It's amazing. We go from we have some sisters on. There at the tea time with the girls who are doing such an amazing job of recording and vlogging with us when we can because we're trying to set something up for the Instagram page. So they're there. Obviously, the boys and my older boys are starting to get into the vlogging now. I want them to get excited. And then everybody who's open to coming on the channel to talk about it, to put into simple words. This was my love letter to the community that I love. I always take time for this right here. And multiple episodes where it highlights other people's what they've done with their teams and with the hopes to continue to grow and hopefully inspire people. I go back to my failures. Hopefully, people see my platform. And thankfully in YouTube, I know we've reached tens of thousands of views. Instagram, we're reaching half a million views. Wow. That's someone who ideally I go back, didn't want to take that first step because I was scared of taking it. When I see these kids, and hopefully they get inspired to be like, hey, not only does he look like me, he's from what brand. Yeah, those boys I play sports too, and hopefully encourages them to continue to go out there and hopefully maybe one day someone does a coaching with someone else and you know kind of inspires someone.

SPEAKER_01 45:30

This podcast, I was sitting on the idea for over a year or two. Yeah. Yep. I had all my equipment, but it was so hard to hit record.

SPEAKER_07 45:40

No, it it is, and you know, and I appreciate that, Gilbert, too. And like I said, I watch your content and I love it too because Damian, you're doing the same thing in regards to but in the form of a podcast that you love this community. And that's the thing, too, that you've said it. And I know we've mentioned it that Woodburn is just so unique. And yes, I know anybody can say that. I could say this is unique, but you could replicate that somewhere else and be like, hey, my town's unique. And if other communities can relate to it, we're ultimately reaching the goal of what we're doing. It's back to, like I mentioned, the love letter to the community that we love so much that sometimes it could be tough, sometimes it could be hard, but we also love it so much.

SPEAKER_01 46:17

We're so connected, like this town is so connected. Yeah, everybody knows everybody. I was talking to my brother about like, hey, it would be cool if your players did a video, and I was like, Oh, but I it's two days away. This is like on Tuesday. Yeah. He made one call, he was able to get yeah, he got a good amount of the players.

SPEAKER_07 46:35

And I love that he did that. Like he said, thank you honestly so much for that.

SPEAKER_01 46:39

Yeah. And then what's your uh social media handle? I know you're on YouTube, Instagram, yeah, coaching with Marco on both of them. Okay, no space.

SPEAKER_07 46:47

So yeah, right here. It's a coaching with Marco. Cool. Yeah, and thank you to everybody that subscribes and follows the account. Uh every view, every positive, and even every negative comment, like it means a lot too because it's ultimately reaching the goal of keeping the engagement.

SPEAKER_01 47:03

Question for you if you can go back in time and talk to your younger self, what advice will you tell your younger self?

SPEAKER_07 47:12

It's gonna be a little bit of a different approach on that one. Two things is find God at an earlier age. I think for me, you went through a phase in high school where I was like, you know, I don't believe. Why is it just when it's bad? It keeps getting more. And that's just obviously the young age, not knowing patience. I love going to church. I go to church every week. And for me, I find so much peace being there. It allows me to kind of gather my thoughts. If I can go back and tell myself that with a combination of be patient. I don't think other than that, I would give myself too much advice because I go back to it. Is that I think me having to go through those struggles ultimately made me who I am. 50 Cent says in a song, Joy wouldn't feel so good if it wasn't for pain. And I feel like that's very true because again, we go back to this full circle moment. I would never trade in my experience for that video that you showed me of those kids or any kids that I have positively impacted. I would rather have those kids live out their dream because I feel like if I lived out my dreams, I don't think I'd be the person I am today. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 48:21

I love that dude. Yeah. Wrapping up what's your final message for people listening?

SPEAKER_07 48:28

From final message, being able to never be scared to fail and always bet on yourself. It was the sport. You're always so hesitant, and you never know what you could reach if one you're not confident and you don't take that risk. Give a quick shout-out. I love blood in, blood out. Life's a risk. It is. I have that tied on me. It's true. It is. You have to take risks and you have to believe in yourself and not be scared to fail because we're going to fail in this life. Like, I feel like sometimes us as adults and even kids, we get to a point where we're so scared to fail that we just don't try. And that's the thing, too. I wish kids, if they can get the message to continue to really put yourself out there and give it your best shot. And if you fail, that's fine. How do you recover and continue to go while also being the best version of yourself that you can?

SPEAKER_01 49:16

I love it, dude.

SPEAKER_08 49:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 49:17

I'm excited to watch your career blossom. Yeah. And that we'll be supporting you. I'm excited to watch at Jarvis High School. Keep doing what you're doing. You're making a big difference. Just watching these kids, how much you mean to them. Yeah. It just fills my heart. Thank you for all the impact you're making in our communities.

SPEAKER_07 49:35

Yeah. One more thing I do want to say is that thank you, Damian Gilbert, for creating this platform. It makes me happy to be able to hear what your coach meant to you growing up. And ultimately, that's the belief that we do want on these kids. And if you want, I know you had mentioned, but if I can give one more message to the kids, specifically to the kids, and I'll look into the camera when I say this, is that you have unlimited potential. And I hope you do understand that you do have unlimited potential. Believe in yourself and achieve your dreams. However, you always have to understand that you have to put school first. It has to be first. You have to put yourself in a successful situation to succeed. And at the end of the day, no matter how good you get, if there's one thing you could be in this world, please be kind. Take time. Sports brings a lot of amazing things, but it also brings challenges. And sometimes those emotions are very difficult to maintain. Sometimes people see the ugly side when you're a little too competitive. Learn how to be a little bit more compassionate and understanding towards one another. You don't know how much a smile can mean to someone. And if you are in a situation where you're a young athlete and don't know how to process emotions or process how to have a handle a bad performance, or you're just feeling negative, please never be shy to hesitate to reach out to the people that you love, family members, parents, anybody that you feel comfortable with and tell them how you feel. I'm a big believer that showing vulnerability, showing strength. And at the end of the day, you always have to protect yourself physically and mentally. So you want to make sure that you're putting yourself out there by ultimately, like I said, protecting yourself at all times. So please make sure to spread the message, be kind to everybody. And you never know the impact you're making on people. And your actions speak very loud, and you never know. There could be little kids that watch you that you don't even know that you're inspiring. And ask yourself all the time, what impact do I want to make? And hopefully everybody and seeing it a lot. But the way you handle yourself while you're playing and the way you handle yourself outside of the sport matters a lot because you're ultimately impacting the next generation. Wow. Thank you, brother. Yeah. Appreciate for stopping by. I was a huge honor being here. Not only professionally the way you have everything set up, the way you handled the interview, but thank you for even thinking of me for being on your podcast. For more to come. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 52:00

Well, that's the wrap for today's episode. Thank you for listening to the Woodburn Podcast. If you enjoyed it, share it with a neighbor and make sure to follow us on Instagram and YouTube at Woodburn Podcast. Until next time, stay safe and watch out for those muffles.