Masters in Coaching Podcast- Episode LIII

Tim Cates talks with St. John Bosco HS football coach Jason Negro about the success of his program, recruiting in 2023, 7v7 football, and how he continues to win year after year in the best HS football league in America. Coach Negro is also a graduate from Concordia University Irvine and their Masters in Coaching and Athletics Administration Program.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
He is the head coach at oneof the most powerful high school football programs
in the United States. How ishe built this program up, where is
he looking to take it and howis he looking to help other coaches.
We talk with Saint John Bosco footballcoach Jason Negro next on episode fifty three

(00:20):
of the Masters in Coaching Podcast.Let's go well, welcome into episode fifty
three. That's right, episode fiftythree already of the Masters in Coaching Podcast.
And if you go way back whento August of twenty twenty, this
gentleman was our first guest for episodeone and now he is back for episode

(00:40):
fifty three. Twenty years is ahead coach, seven years at Tribucial Hills
High School, the last thirteen yearsat Saint John Bosco, where he is
really built the Brays program into anational powerhouse. This past season, the
Brays with the twenty twenty two highSchool Football National champions with coach Negro at
the Helm at Saint John Bosco.Three national championships, four CIS State championships,
multiple CIF Southern Section Championships, multipleleague championships, and what is the

(01:03):
toughest high school football league in America? The Trinity League. Individually, as
a head coach, he's been recognizedas the High School Fotball Coach of America,
the Year multiple winner, the MaxPreps National Coach or You the Year
Award winner, the USA Today Coachof the Year, the CIF Southern Section
Coach of the Year, the calHigh Sports Coach of the Year, and
Coach of the Decade. He isJason grow from Saint John Bosco coach.

(01:23):
Did I miss anything? Wow?Tim, Thanks for that introduction. Was
pretty nice to hear that. Allthe accomplishments that I've had, and it
just shows you that I've been surroundedwith some really good people. But thank
you very much. I'm humbled tobe a part of your program. It's
been a long time since August twentytwenty. A lot has happened as we
talked about prior to us coming on, but man, just blessed to have

(01:47):
this opportunity. Thank you for includingme in this podcast. Absolutely we got
a lot to get you. Asyou mentioned coach last time we chatted.
When we kicked this podcast off withiHeart and A five seventy and Concordia University's
Masters and Coaching Athletics administration program.It was August, it was summer twenty
twenty, or right in the middleof COVID. Nobody had any idea what
was going to happen with anything,let alone high school athletics, high school

(02:08):
football. And here we are.You've truged through a spring season, back
to fall football, a national championshiplast spring. Really the last two and
a half years, has it seemedlike a blur or has it been a
long period of time for you andwhat you had to go through. It's
really been a long period of timeWhen you think about August of twenty twenty.

(02:30):
You know, we actually went ona shutdown back in March of twenty
twenty, and then I'm gonna gothrough that long period of time and really
not understanding what was going to happen. I mean, it was new territory
for all of us to have tokind of navigate. It was a challenge.
It was a challenge for our school, challenge for our football program as
a whole, in our team,our coaching staff, and you know,
all of us individually. You know, just take away, you know the

(02:51):
work side of things and look atthe personal I had two teenage daughters that
were in high school at the timeand struggling to try to figure out what
was going on. But you know, I think we did a really good
job of kind of working our waythrough that and getting to a point to
where, you know, we putthe kids and they're well being in the
forefront, and I think that's whywe were able to come out in such
a positive way on the other end. And I'm really proud of what my

(03:14):
program was able to accomplish, notonly during that period of time, but
also what we've been able to accomplishsince then. And my kids, you
know, I've come out with it. We got kids going to college and
doing the things that they wanted todo, and they're thriving in that environment
as well. And our program isas strong as ever. And I could
not be more proud of what wewere able to accomplish back through that pandemic

(03:34):
and that period of time and whatwe have continued to be able to accomplish
here. We really didn't have anybreaking of our stride in terms of the
trajectory of our program and what we'retrying to accomplish. And man, I'm
just very fortunate to be in theposition that I'm in here at Saint John
Boscoe. Here we are, coach, and you're coming off a national championship
season, a great run for theBraves, and you've got to get ready

(03:58):
now for fall twenty and here weare in late February. You're surely going
through offseason conditioning and getting ready forspring football. But for you as a
coach, is it is it fun? Every year kind of look back at
what you did and then kind ofsee what's unknown coming up in the falls?
Every years different. You got differentwaves of kids going through, Kids
mature throughout their high school process,they leave for graduation. You got kids

(04:20):
are transferring, transfer out. Isthis kind of a fun period for you
as you get ready for fall.I think it's a combination of both.
You know, it's a little bitfun, but it's also anxiety field as
well. You know, like yousaid, you have kids coming in,
kids going out, you graduate abunch of kids. One thing about high
school football, just like I guessmost levels of football, you know,

(04:41):
no two years are the same.You never have the same exact team.
It's not like you can you know, build you know self or your program
around a quarterback that's going to bewith you for ten twelve years. You
don't like they're able to do atthe NFL level or you know, even
at the college level. It's it'sso much fluidity now in terms of kids
coming in and out, you know, bringing up kids through your program and
all of the pitfalls that come alongwith that. And we are a twelve

(05:05):
month program here at BOSCO, sowe start in January and our goal and
anticipation is to end in December,and we finished last December on December tenth
or eleventh, I think the datewas. And you go on Christmas break,
and when you come back from Christmasbreak, it's ready to get started
for the new season. So there'sa very short window there that you can
actually really appreciate it and you canactually celebrate that type of accomplishment that you

(05:28):
were able to have, you know. But there's a lot of stuff that
overlaps as well. So you know, I have all of the celebratory things
that happened from the twenty twenty twoseason, but then I'm also trying to
get the twenty three class ready togo and get ready for the twenty three
season. So there's a lot ofoverlap. There's celebrations that come in,
but I'm also collecting uniforms and tryingto design rings and plan banquets and do
all those types of things. Takecollege trips from my staff to get better

(05:51):
as a group and as a program. So there's a lot of celebratory things,
and there's a lot of overlap thatcomes in in terms of the prepper
for the next season. And again, you know, that's kind of why
as a head coach you have towear many hats and do a bunch of
different things. But we've been ableto put a systematic approach to this.
I've got an organized, you know, plan set forth that this is my

(06:14):
twenty first season that I'm going intoas a head coach, So I can't
say that I've mastered it, butI at least come to a close,
uh, you know, level ofmasteries so that way I can prepare and
hopefully get our kids ready for thefall. You do have your masters,
which we're gonna get into in justa little bit. But talk a little
bit about the system, coach,because for those who are watching other high
school football coaches, there coaches thatare watching and listening to what you have

(06:36):
to say because you've done it atthe highest level in high school football.
You've done it for so many years, year in and year out. Talk
a little bit about that system,because you mentioned every year's different players come
in, players come and they leavein a program, they graduate out.
The transfer portal in college and highschool has gotten out of control. But
what about your system that you maintainthat that constant over the years. I

(07:00):
think the most important thing that youhave to remember is this. This is
a system. It is a youknow, a philosophy, it's a mission
that's put in place, and Ithink the biggest thing that you need to
understand or coaches need to understand outthere is we all have different levels of
opportunity and ability to compete within ourown levels, and I'm one to you

(07:21):
know, one of the things thatI will talk about is the fact that
you know, here at Saint JohnBosco, we have a platform that's pretty
unique and it's not like every highschool in the country has an opportunity to
win a national championship. It's becauseof the environment that we're in and I
understand that. But the principles likeyou talk about, or the things that
you put in place in terms ofdeveloping a program can work at any level,

(07:44):
whether it's you know, girl youknow girls softball, or it's you
know, high school boys baseball,or it's lacrosse or whatever. I just
think that if you, as ahead coach, can put a system in
place and have a philosophy you knowabout you know, trying to develop young
men. In my case, it'ssomething and that can translate to all different
levels and all different you know,styles of programs. So I think that's

(08:05):
the most important thing. You haveto be able to install a philosophy,
put together a game plan, andthen go out there and execute it.
And you have to also when thething is finished, you have to assess
on what you were able to accomplishor the things that you weren't able to
accomplish, and go ask some questionsas to why, and to continue to
evolve as a coach. And Ithink that's one of the strengths that I

(08:26):
have had as a head coach,is my ability to evolve over the years
to the different changing landscapes of highschool football, because it certainly wasn't anything
like it is now back twenty yearsago when I first started. So there's
a lot of elements that go intothat. But I think that as you
go through it. If you're ableto you know, be a part of
the evolving process and implement, youknow, a philosophy and a mission that

(08:50):
you believe in, and you're ableto go out there and execute it,
man, it can happen. AndI think that there's a lot of coaches
out there that can learn, youknow, from that, and again,
surround yourself with some talented people.Go learn from some people, you know,
And that's one of the reasons whyI'm going to continue not only with
my education, but my ability tolearn as a coach, because I want
to ultimately, you know, reachthat level of greatness that we're looking for

(09:13):
each and every year. I'm gladyou said that, Coach, because folks
that we talked to on the podcastand the great coaches throughout the history of
sports, from John Wooden to Coachk always talk about evolving and always learning.
Don't be set in your ways andjust think, all right, I've
gotten to here and this is howit's going to be the rest of the
way, and going out and learning. You talked about it. You and
your staff go out and you seeother programs, You go to the collegiate

(09:35):
level and learn from coaches how importantis that for you you'd talked a little
bit about it, but for alsofor your staff to continue to evolve into
to show them that it's never anopportunity to stop learning. We put a
high, you know, emphasis ongoing out there and trying to get better.
It's a mandate that I have inmy program. I know, my
two coordinators for sure, they haveto take multiple trips, you know,

(09:56):
during the off season. We setthem up. We actually just set one
up where our guys are going togo out and spend a little bit of
time at the University of Tennessee inKnoxville and try to learn from what they're
doing. Josh Hypel as a coachthat obviously comes out and recruits our players,
but is opened up and the invitationfor us to go spend some time.
You know, they've got a newcoaching staff up at Stanford. We're

(10:16):
gonna go spend some time up atStanford because that's you know, another program
what kind of aligns with what wedo offensively and defensively. And then our
third trip is going to be upto Oregon because what coach Lanning does and
coach Tossela Polly on the defensive sideof the ball. You know, it
really allows us to go learn aboutwhat they're doing at the collegiate level,
and it's kind of twofold. Numberone, it's going to allow us to

(10:37):
become better coaches here at BOSCO andever instruct our players in terms of allowing
us to try to win more ballgames. But it's also in number two,
going to help us develop our playersand get them ready for the collegiate
level. And I think that's,you know, some of the motivation that
we have behind it. I thinkyou constantly have to evolve. You know,
I was listening to a thing theother day, you know, on

(11:00):
Kirby Smart at the University of Georgia, and he's won back to back national
champions and you would think that theeasy thing to do is to become complacent,
say, man, I've accomplished thisat the highest level. I've done
it back to back in multiple years, and now all of a sudden,
I've arrived and everybody's gonna have tocome, you know, learning from me.
However, you know, he spokeabout going out and not being complacent

(11:22):
and trying to evolve, trying toget better, trying to go out there
and learn from maybe it's at theNFL level or even other collegiate programs that
there's so many great coaches out therebut not necessarily have the platform Georgia as
to be in the SEC. Youknow, you might have a guy that's
at a Division school school, it'ssuper knowledgeable and you can go learn from
that's cutting edge, might bring somethingto your program. And I think that's

(11:46):
important for all coaches to understand.And it's not just in the game of
football, it's in the game ofathletics as a whole. And I think
if people are willing to, youknow, accept the fact that they don't
know everything and they want to goout there and learn, that's only going
to heighten their ability to perform betteras a head coach and to develop,
you know, the young people thatthey're working with day in and day out.

(12:07):
The coach. We've taught you onthe radio many times, but I've
never heard your backstory. I've neverheard you know how you got into coaching.
I know you went to Saint JohnBosco and the road has led you
back there, But what got youinto coaching? Who poured into you when
you were a young man and thena young adult and wanted to become a
coach. That's a great question,you know, because you know, I'm

(12:31):
not. I don't have a veryimpressive backstory. I was just basically a
hard worker. I grew up herein the city of Bellflower. I was
a public school kid, and myparents, you know, at the at
the end of the eighth grade,wanted to try to maybe you know,
heighten my athletic and academic you know, a profile a little bit, I
guess you could say. And wewent and take a look at the open
house here at Bosco, and mydad said, that's where you're gonna go.

(12:52):
He liked the all male environment,he liked the emphasis on academics as
well as you know, being afaith based institute and what we were going
to try to do from an athleticside of things. So I did that.
When I graduated high school, Iwas a multiple sport athlete, played
football and baseball. I certainly wasn'tvery talented, you know, but I
enjoyed my high school experience. Andwhen I graduated high school and started I

(13:15):
played a couple of years of collegebaseball down at sant Ana College and decided,
okay, well, my athletic careerwas only going to take me so
far. I started coaching at theyouth level, just Bellflower Junior All American
Football. I did it for fiveyears with a buddy of mine, and
I fell in love with the factthat I was able to make a difference
and an impact on young people's lives. And that's where I fell in love

(13:37):
with the profession of coaching. AndI decided to make that my collegiate dream,
to go through and get my degreein college and come back and try
to coach at the high school level. And a lot of people say,
man, is this something that youwant to try to parlay to get to
the next level and coach college ormaybe even into the NFL. And I
can give it a resounding answer tothat and say, no, I'm where

(14:00):
I want to be. I think, you know, you have to in
life take a look at the timesand the opportunities at which you have to
make an impact on people's lives,and I think this platform gives me that.
And so I was just a hardworker, you know, when I
was going through the youth program,and then I guess five years after that,
Kiki Mendoza was the head coach hereat Bosco gave me the opportunity to

(14:22):
join his staff. I was herefor three years and went out to Tribuca
Hills and coach for the late BillCrow for two years. And then there
was a change in leadership there atthe school and they wanted to make a
change in the football program and hiredme as the head coach and I was
only the third head coach in historyat that time at Tributa Hills. Spent
seven years there, had a greatrun, and then sat Sjohn Bosco,

(14:43):
my loved alma mater, m callingand the winner of two thousand and nine,
and I got the job in Januarytwenty ten, and I've been here
and I hope to be here fora long period of time. And as
long as our administration continues to supportmy mission and what I'm trying to do
within he's an education and developing theseguys and using my classroom or my platform

(15:05):
that I have here in our athleticdepartment to get these kids to reach their
dreams and go to college, thenI'm gonna be here for a long period
of time. And I just lovethe community that we have here. I
love having the ability to work withhigh school level kids and it keeps me
young and keeps me energetic, andI don't feel that I go to work
every day, and I think it'sa phenomenal profession and more people need to

(15:26):
get involved. Jason Negro is ourguest here on the Masters and Coaching podcast
on iHeart Radio wherever you download thispodcast or watch on YouTube. We appreciate
episode fifty three here of the Mastersand Coaching podcasts. No coach, I've
told pet shows I was gonna betalking to you, so he gave me
some questions. And other dads thatare and kind of in my circle.
I got a daughter, but they'vegot sons and they're like, oh,

(15:48):
ask coach this, ask coach this. So I got some couple of questions
from from fans out there, fromhigh school football junkies as well that wanted
to kind of pick your brain.And the one question, like three or
four keb asking need to ask youwas about seven on seven football. Where
do you come out on that atthe high school level? Is it beneficial

(16:08):
for the high school football player toget better one? In recruiting? Two?
Is it take away from is theretoo much emphasis put on it rather
than what happens with the pads onwhere do you come out on that,
coach, Well, I definitely thinkthat there's been a big emphasis lately,
at least over the last probably fifteenyears, that seven on seven has kind

(16:30):
of burst upon the scene, especiallyhere in California where we have the ability
to play from January all the waythrough you know, late April, early
May, and I definitely think thatit has a place. And if you
take a look at just the ideaof it where kids are participating in an
activity, you have to say it'sa home run because ultimately that's what sports

(16:52):
is. Get kids into a structuredenvironment, allow them to go out there
and compete and do those things.Now, if you try to take a
look at the seven on seven youknow world, and how that meshes with
the high school world, I thinkit's about a matter of perspective, you
know. So as a coach,for me, I like to allow my
kids to go out there and tocompete and have some fun and do some
things like that. I do thinkthat there are goods or positives, and

(17:17):
there are also negatives that are surroundedwith this whole circuit and how it goes.
I think sometimes people put too muchof premium on that and think that,
Okay, well this is real football, and how does that translate to
when you put the pads on,you know, and it really doesn't,
you know, in terms of fromthe team concept. I know, if
you take a look at Saint JohnBosco as a whole, you know,
when we go out there and competein seven on seven tournaments and then we

(17:38):
go out there and have to playin you know, real football, there's
a drastic difference between the two.So I'll give you a real short example.
So last summer, we went tothe Edison Tournament and got to the
championship game against Mission Vieto High School, and they took it like it was
the Super Bowl, and they beatus pretty handily in seven on seven.

(17:59):
Their kids are hyped and going allcrazy and this and that. Well,
fast forward in November when we're playingin the CIA of Southern Section semifinals.
We beat them forty one to six, and I don't even think it was
that close. So real football toseven on seven, I think it definitely
has a place. You've got togive a lot of credit to those coaches
that go out there and work withkids on the weekends, trying to get
them better if you look at itfrom a skill standpoint. Yeah, there's

(18:22):
some things that the skill players cango out there and they can work on,
but sometimes they get into bad habitsbecause it's not you know, you
don't have a pass rest or you'renot you're kind of constrained to certain coverages
and it doesn't allow you sometimes toplay your full assembly of talent. For
example, if you're a running back, you know you're not going to play

(18:44):
a whole lot of seven on seven, Or if you're actually in the box
linebacker, your skill set doesn't translateto the seven on seven game. You're
gonna play corners at the backer spot. Well, if you're gonna do that
with us in real game, we'regonna run the ball right down at you
and you're gonna have a hard timestopping it. So there are goods and
bads. But I gotta give creditto the people that are out there trying
to develop young kids. I thinkthe recruiting helps a little bit, you

(19:07):
know, because all of the guysthat recruit, or excuse me, that
are following the recruits on the tacklefootball side, are also out there.
So for example, take Greg Biggins. You know, Adam gourney. Those
guys that are really big into thisrecruitment game, they're at the seven on
seven matches of games, and they'realso at the tackle football game. So
at the end of the day,I think it's a huge positive. I

(19:27):
just think you have to take it, you know, within a certain perspective
and understand that they are two completelydifferent entities. But at the end of
the day, these kids are outthere playing, they're competing. They're not
running the streets and they're they're tryingto be in some sort of you know,
organized athletic competition, and I'm allfor that. Love it coach.

(19:48):
The other question that brought up acouple of times, especially with dads who
who've got sons that are going throughthe high school football process. With the
freshman or sophomore, does a kidget recruited does he have to go to
a powerhouse like a Bosco a modernday Jay Sarah? Is that is that
a must? I mean? Orbecause there's they're thinking out there, especially
now that oh, I'm not goingto be seen. I'm at a school

(20:11):
that you know, we're going fourand six, We're not playing on Valley
Sports on Friday Night, We're noton on the prep zone. I'm not
going to get eyeballs on me.Do kids have to go to a powerhouse
high school or can they still getrecruited at their their local high school.
Well, that's another great question,and I'm glad you asked it, because
I think my initial answer immediately isgoing to be no. You know,

(20:33):
they don't need to come to SaintJohn Bosco. I mean, we can
only have so many players on ourteam, so many players in the program,
and I realized that our school isa destination. And I'm not trying
to tell people that we don't wantto have everybody in the southern California area
come take a look at our school, because that would be wrong as well,
because I do want to try toattract players to come here. I

(20:56):
do think that the platform which wehave at Bosco is the greatest not only
in the state but the country.I mean, that is pretty unique.
So if you're an elite type player, you know, or if you're a
player that just wants to have anopportunity to experience some of the things that
we're able to provide here at Bosco, then absolutely, But in terms of
the recruitment, you don't need tocome to a Bosco or a Modern Day

(21:17):
or a Trinity League school necessarily toget recruited. There's kids getting recruited all
over the place within the state andreally good football players. And I think
that if your family is in aposition that is going to make you go
to your local public school or thelocal private school, or maybe the location
where you live is just too hardto get to one of our schools,

(21:37):
then just go be the best footballplayer that you possibly can be. I
think one of the things though,that separates my program or our programs from
the rest is the ability for usto develop kids. I think is you
know, at the height, andI think by some of the things we've
already talked about today in terms ofwhat we are doing as a staff to
try to better ourselves, I don'tknow if every program out there is going

(22:03):
through those necessary things. And thisis something that I talk to the CIF
Southern Section about because I'm on theFootball Advisory Committee. You know, we
spend a lot of time trying tocreate competitive equity and put playoff divisions together.
We got these teams that are inthis group, and these teams that
are in this group, and they'retrying to, you know, artificially manufacture
some of these things. Well,I don't think that's the that's the right

(22:25):
approach. What we need to doin our profession is to make people better.
We need to elevate programs rather thantrying to class them into areas to
where, Okay, you just happento be this successful, so we're going
to place you here. Well,how about we have a goal of making
this program better so they can playat a level higher. And I think

(22:45):
that until we do that, oruntil we make a conscious effort as a
coaching profession or as an association tomake programs better, and we continue to
try to artificially manufacture competitive equity,you're going to see programs like ours just
is to the top and create sucha big gap to where all the elite
players want to come to our program. And I'm certainly not going to apologize

(23:07):
for it, because I'm very proudof what we've been able to accomplish.
But you know, that's that's agreat question that parents are going to have
to take a look at. Youknow, it's like what type of program
do I want? Do I wantto program like Bosco that in the off
season lifting five days a week andspending an hour and a half out there
and strength and conditioning, working onlinear speed and lateral movements and based movement
training. Or do I want togo to my local high school where the

(23:30):
guy is like, oh, well, it's a free lift today, We're
done at two thirty three o'clock andwe're gonna go home and enjoy our week.
Well, that's a tough thing fora parent. You need to evaluate
that. And if you want tobe in a program like ours, then
by all means, take a lookat it. But if you want to
be a recruitable athlete, you betterput yourself in a position to where you're

(23:51):
going to be able to go outthere and get recruited. And certainly BOSCO
and you know programs like mine,you know have We're a destination when college
fly in to the state of California. We're pretty much one of the first
stops when you land in lax.But just talk a little bit about the
relationship that you do have with thecollege coaches and the success at BOSCO obviously
leads to the recruitment and that opensa lot of doors and you become familiar

(24:15):
and friendly with a lot of thesecoaches and on on a usual week at
Bosco during this football season, isit is it odd to see a coach
from one of the big powerhouses powerfive teams in the country on your campus
And how how much has that grownover the years as far as recruitment in
your relationship with these these coaches,well, it's it's absolutely a madhouse here

(24:40):
during the recruiting periods when those windowsare open. You know, Saint John
Bosco is never short of having acollege coach, you know, come through
our doors take a look at ourstudent athletes, you know. So we
take a lot of pride in that, and we we set up our program
to where we're going to put ourkids, like like I said on a
stage, to go out there toat the highest level. And you know,

(25:02):
not only from an athletics standpoint,but the academics here at Bosco allow
us to be, you know,a school to where every collegiate program in
the country is going to come throughhere, whether you're a Stanford the IVY
League, you know, a Michigan, Ohio State or whatever, or even
our local you know, powified programsare going to come through here. So
I think the biggest thing that wedo is uh continue to work you know

(25:26):
with those colleges, develop those relationships, and I think we have a pretty
strong one. Obviously, when youhave a collection of talent like we have,
you're gonna get a lot more peoplethat are gonna want to come to
your school, you know. Andwhen the head coaches have an opportunity to
come during the December signing period orthe January to February signing period, you
know, we have a lot ofcoaches that come through here. They spend

(25:47):
a lot of time talking about ourathletes, are talking about what we're doing
as as a football program, youknow, in order to develop our kids
to get them to be collegiate ready. And I'm going to continue to do
that, and you know, I'mgonna you know, work on my staff
as well to build those relationships becauseit becomes a game of trust as well.
College coaches reach out to us andask about an athlete, and you

(26:11):
know, we advocate for them andtry to get them to be you know,
recruited or try to get them togo to those particular universities. And
when those kids go there, ifthey're successful, if they behave well,
they're academically solid and they're a trustedathlete, They're going to come back for
the next kid. And I thinkthat's one of the greatest strengths that we
have here at Bosco is those repeatcustomers, those colleges that keep coming through

(26:34):
because you know that the kids thathave left our program went to their program
succeeded. Well, let's go backand get that next Bosco Brave. So
that's where I think that the relationshipis built. And I work really really
hard on developing those relationships with thosecollege coaches, and I think it's a
two way street. Now every kidis a Division one athlete, right,

(26:56):
you know, moving forward, andwe're being recruited by Division one schools or
Power five schools, how important isit for you coach to have those relationships
with D two, D three,Naia's, Juco's to get players who again
aren't the five stars or the fourstars, but are really good football players
and can plate that next level.Well, it's an absolutely great point that
you're making. And I think wherewe have our strength here at Bosco and

(27:18):
where our wheelhouse is is that Nonpowerfive guy. Because for example, if
you take a look at you know, the Yuanga brothers, you know DJ
and Matteo. I didn't have todo a whole lot those were those are
five star guys. You know DJwent to Clemson, you know Matteo's going
to Oregon. You know those kids. I didn't have to do a whole
lot to get those kids recruited.Where I think we make a living in

(27:41):
the why we have such strength withinour program is the relationship that we have
with those mid major programs, thosegroup of five schools, the Division twos,
the Division three's, the Naias,the Jucos like you're talking about,
and establishing those relationships because the reasonwhy that's important is because you know,
those schools don't have the recruiting budgets. I mean, Kirby Smart was flying

(28:03):
around in a helicopter, you know, dropping in and out of schools.
Well, schools in the Midwest thatmight be a Division two don't have the
recruiting budget to be able to dothat well. In order for us to
be able to you know, promoteour athletes or put them on you know
display for those schools, you haveto develop a relationship and I think that's
we have a lot of strength inthat. So I have a coach that's

(28:26):
here on campus that's dedicated toward thatnext level of player and allow them to
be able to go out there andto highlight our players or put them in
a position create profiles that these schoolscan take a look at our at our
players and those high academic kids,those those next level so to speak,
athletic kids, to allow them togo and have those opportunities as well,

(28:51):
because there's so many colleges across thecountry that offer scholarships and you may not
necessarily be a Division one power fiveguy, and Bosco has made a huge
living, you know, kind ofin that band of athlete that goes to
that next level or the high academickids that go to the IVY League.
It's something we take a lot ofpride in and and I'm glad you asked

(29:12):
that, because it's not all aboutthose five stars. You know. We
take great time and effort and energyinto getting our you know, lower level
kids. I guess you could say, without being too disrespectful to them,
a placement into college. And I'mgoing to continue to do that. And
I think that's ultimately because that's whereI lived, you knows, as a

(29:33):
high school student. I wasn't aPower five guy. You know, so
I understand kind of the direction thatthat young man has to go in.
It's interesting here you talk about thatI got. My middle daughter is a
senior and going through the recruiting processand talking to D two and D three
schools, but her hopes are Done and she's talked to one coach there
and you have an assistant coach.We left the program she was talking to
and now she's kind of trying tofigure out what to do. So it's

(29:56):
the recruiting process as a whole issomething we can get. You can spend
days talking about. It's it's amazingwhere it's gone to at all the levels.
But in our final mentor coach ConcordiaUniversity, Irvine, the Masters and
Coaching Athletics Administration program. Well,we spoke in August to twenty twenty.
You were going through that program.What's the latest? Have you You finished
it? Right? Yeah? Well, you know I got into it in

(30:18):
the fall of twenty nineteen. Isaid, well, I'm gonna go ahead
and get this thing started. AndI actually lucked out because COVID hit and
I didn't have a whole lot todo but to focus on this program.
I was able to complete it infifteen months. Super happy that I was
able to do that, and itwas just basically just something that I wanted
to be able to accomplish. Itwas a personal goal of mine to further

(30:40):
my education, to try to becomea little bit better in my particular profession,
which is coaching and athletic administration andworking with young people and trying to
allow them to have the best resourcespossible. And they deserve to have a
coach that's skilled and understands the importanceof not only athletics but also academics.
And I could not be more proudto be in a lum of the Concordia

(31:03):
program and what that program is meantto me has only further, you know,
my abilities to become the best coachthat I possibly can be. Well,
coach, We appreciate the time,happy offseason to you. I know
there's never really any rest for youas you get ready for twenty twenty three
fall in the season upcoming, butappreciate the time. Thank you so much
for kind of going down that coachingpath with us, and for those listening

(31:26):
and watching, hopefully they're able togain some of your wisdom and take that
moving forward with them. So again, thank you so much and we'll ak
forward to talking again, no problem, Tim, And just so everybody knows,
I mean, we have a lotof visitors that come through Saint John
Bosco. So if you're a programthat wants to come through and learn a
little bit about what we do froma football standpoint, we have full access

(31:48):
to my coordinators. We'll share everythingthat we do. We didn't create or
invent anything in the game of football, you know. But in terms of
program development, if any young coachout there that's heading up a program,
you know, you're more than welcometo communicate contact me. I'd be happy
to help you out. So we'rean open kind of open door program here.
Love to try to help out youngcoaches and allow them to further advance

(32:12):
their careers and allow them to improvetheir programs. So just let if anybody
contacts you, Tim, let themknow that if they want to spend some
time and learn. I don't necessarilybelieve that we haven't completely mastered, but
we're getting closer and we're going tocontinue to try to strive for excellence and
be as great as we possibly canbe. Coach or the best. Thank
you so much for your time today. All right, man, thank you

(32:34):
very much and appreciate everything that youdo for high school athletics. Well,
there he goes Jason Negro, headfootball coaches Saint John Bosco here in Southern
California, the national champions last fall. The Braves program one of the best
in all of the United States everysingle year. Great to hear his thoughts
on the state of high school footballseven on seven football recruiting in high school

(32:57):
football here in twenty twenty three,and take advantage of that opportunity, he
said, All coaches are welcome tocome learn from him and his staff and
help get your program to that nextlevel. Well, appreciate coach, and
appreciate you for watching and listening tothe Masters in Coaching podcast. Remember Concordia
University, Irvine's Masters in Coaching andAthletics Administration program, multiple start times throughout

(33:17):
the year are available. Check itout at SEUI dot eed u slash coaching.
Find out if it's a right fitfor you. Find out for you
first students about the one thousand dollarsscholarship CUI dot edu slash coaching. Thanks
to Coach, Thanks to you untilnext time. Episode fifty three. The
Masters in Coaching podcast is in thebooks. Tim Kate saying so long, everybody