2021 is a year to be better.
Hi everybody, I'm Scotty Grange now.
We can all agree that 2020 found
a way to challenge each of us in
different ways and the new year
means new opportunity to be great.
And that's the mission.
With our new interview series.
Be better will go around
the state to top coaches,
players and mainly leaders in
our communities to learn what's
helped them succeed and how
they've risen from failure to.
It's all about learning from
our friends and taking little
steps to be Better Together.
Here's our first sit down
with Lutheran Heads,
High school head boys
basketball coach Bill Brandsma.
You are the first one.
I'm really excited,
so thanks for not being a part of.
The pressure is on,
so thanks for having me right.
We will be talking about
basketball but not that much,
but I'm wondering this whole
covid offseason has been crazy.
You've had such a long offseason last
year for a lot of teams was cut early.
How has this transition band
wearing masks on the core?
The season that you guys didn't
think was going to happen?
Got pushed back,
then pushed forward again?
How is that entire experience
been for you as a head
coach? You know it's been?
It's been really, really hard.
It's been, I think toughest on the kids.
They need each other.
They need to be out being active,
running together, having fun together,
and so to not have that for them
has been really, really tough.
You know, and they really haven't because
of Covid had any other outlet as well,
so we've really done as much as we can.
Even following all the guidelines.
All the things that we need to do to
just try to get the kids together.
And you know, obviously socially distance,
but just keep him active,
get him, get him out there house
and keeping positivity around
the program have been a challenge
for you this offseason. You
know there there's pieces that I
think just positivity in general,
and I know we're talking about leadership
to just just trying to keep the kids
motivated and focused on what they,
what they can still have because
so much of the focus for them is
what's been taken away from him.
And so we we often like to talk about that.
So we're trying to get them to focus
on what they do have available to them.
To, you know, there's still
given the ability to do things,
they just have to be more creative and how
they do that with your coaching
philosophy and how that goes
in terms of leadership.
When guys are coming through your program,
you've been here six years,
so you've seen full classes
come and go here in Lutheran.
What's the biggest thing you're hoping
that they leave the program with?
Leave your program with once
it's all said and done, yeah,
you know I go back to that.
I've really been blessed to have
good mentors in my life throughout
throughout my coaching experience,
I come back to the idea of,
you know, I don't.
I don't like players to measure what
it only by what they accomplish here,
but by who they become because
of our program and then what
they accomplished afterwards.
And so to me success even
being here six years.
I don't think I've seen the full success
of hopefully what I've been able to
bring to these players to this program.
You know that's going to come 1015 years,
20 years from now when they,
when they may be reached back out.
I think the greatest compliment
that you get is having a player
reach back out after leaving your
program and talking about talking
about the impact that that what
by being part of our program,
what they were able to do and
the way the way they focus or
approach life because of something
they learned as being part of.
What kind of examples you
have from stuff like that in the past. Yeah,
you know, there's things that we. I think
there's these coach isms of her
lack of better term than we
like to throw out the players.
You know I like to share
with kids you know who?
How you do anything is how you do everything.
You know you've been blessed with
the opportunity step in and give
everything you have to that moment
to that to that opportunity.
A senior in program Tommy mentioned
to me that you have a leadership class
and this is where really I was like.
OK, he's gotta be the first one for this.
For this music is fantastic.
What's that class all about? Well, first,
I'm humbled that Tommy would suggest that
and say that that means we said a lot of
bad things about you too.
We discussed those before as well,
but you know, to be able to carry that
over between the court in the classroom.
You know, we talked.
We talked so much in the classroom.
My whole goal it.
Although it's a leadership class,
I believe that we just
have to think different.
And I used the quote and I it's actually
very much a part of our program this year,
especially with the covid season.
As I say, to accomplish different,
you have to do different and to do
different you have to think different.
We have to think differently about how we do
anything or our theme even for this season.
And it's going to be on our on our
sweatshirts and stuff that each kid will get.
Is called metamorphoses,
the Greek root word of transformed,
and it really means from the inside out.
And so for these players I want them
to understand, and we talk about,
you know, having this?
What's it been like in the midst of this?
It's getting them to think differently.
It's not what's been taken from both
the opportunity they still have,
and so they get to come to practice
and be part of you know what's
going to be in a shortened season,
but they're still going to compete together.
Go out, have their senior year,
and so you know we can't sit back
and be victims to our circumstances
and what's going on around us.
We're going to be victors over it,
and we just hit that a lot.
And so.
You know, for us,
whether it's our approach in practice,
we have to think different than
everybody else does.
We have to think about you,
know what's going to benefit us as a team?
Not as me as an individual.
It's the act of a
lot of little things, right?
Creating creating big thing
changes kind of thing that sounds
like exactly, you know, John John
Wooden said that.
And that was actually,
I think, two years ago,
little things make big things happen.
You know, it's it's the
process over the outcome.
It's all those little nuances again,
that we like to say as a coach,
but it really boils down.
That's life stuff,
and I think that's where.
You know, if kids really grasp
that and they they approach,
you know everything,
not just on the court,
but I off the court as well.
With that mindset,
that's that's my hope is they
won't remember everything I say,
but they'll remember that
their mindset began to change.
Being part of the program and so
who they are as a dad who they
are as a husband who they are as
a as a leader in their community,
will.
They can maybe pinpoint back too
because they were given an opportunity.
They were challenged to think
different and therefore they went and
accomplished different fantastic.
I was just
going to say it all comes comes back to
metamorphose or Team Motto this year.
Yeah, I'm just thinking differently.
Being different, and I think that's really,
really spectacular.
Yeah, with with your class specifically.
What is it that you're trying to teach them?
And when you have, you know what it's
every day or every other day class.
Like you said, what is really the game
plan for you and teaching a leadership
class? What I what I tried to get kids to
understand is not everybody's like you and
so if you try to treat everybody like you,
then you're going to be very frustrated
because and incidents can happen in the
hallway and four different people are
going to react four different ways, none.
Not being necessarily bad,
that's only bad because that's the way you
perceived it to be was bad in your eyes
when somebody else thought totally different.
So how can I get kids to understand
each other that they do think different?
They are a bit different.
I want to motivate them to
get to where they want to be.
But that approach is going to look very
different from from different people.
So you know, I break it down.
I had a mentor share with me one time.
The most simple definition of leadership,
but it.
But it's so transformational.
It's really just taking people
from here to there.
And I try to teach the kids understand
you're going to have people that
help you understand where here is,
where are you.
And then you may have somebody else that
helps you understand where you're going,
where there is.
And then there may be a third
person that helps you understand
what if that's where I'm going.
Here's how you're going to get there.
Sometimes it's the same person
that's able to really do that,
depending on what you're trying to
accomplish and who you have in your life,
influencing you.
And so you know that's why I get a
lot of kids say they're not leaders
when realistically all of them are,
because it's some level you're
helping a friend.
You're helping a sibling, you're helping.
Coworker, wherever it is,
get from here to there,
wherever that is in their life,
and because you're having an
impact on all those pieces,
you're not allowing the person that you're
interacting with to stay where they are.
That's leadership,
and so they begin to identify.
I don't.
I don't need to have every
characteristic dial,
then I don't need to read 21
indispensable qualities of a leader and
have all those master to be a leader.
No, get better every day.
Don't don't be OK with where you're at.
You know.
Being comfortable, push yourself,
work to develop in those things.
But be confident in the fact
that you what you're saying,
how you're doing it.
You're going to need somebody.
To a different spot,
and hopefully that spot is
what's better for the person you
personally as a leader and
as a teacher here at school.
What are you trying to improve upon? You
know, I think for me is is always learning.
Knowledge is power.
You know I don't always do a great job of it.
I've definitely tried to read a lot more.
There's so much content out
there and an I say, you know,
I say in my leadership class
when people pursue knowledge
like most people pursue money,
there comes a time in their life
when they don't have to worry
about money because knowledge gives
you the ability to do it faster.
Better think different and
accomplish different.
And so I think it's always,
you know, for me, it's it's kind
of constantly finding new ideas,
new ways to approach it,
and new things to share with them.
To close things out, coach in your
years of leading young men and women.
If you had to choose,
and in your own life and leading yourself.
If there's one quote one life
philosophy kind of thing that you
say you could rely on the most.
Or choose the most that is touched
you the most or anything like that.
What do you think it would be?
Yeah, it's it's. It's a great question there.
There's a number of that.
Come through, you know one that one that
really stands out to me every every moment.
And this was a mentor from of mine down in
Tulsa at every moment in life of choice
and every choice as prices and benefits.
You know every day you get to
choose how you step onto the court.
You get to choose how you get out of
bed and approach the day you get to
choose a step into the classroom.
You're going to choose how you interact
with your parents and your peers and choose
the effort which you're going to bring.
But it's your choice an when you
decide that I'm in control of my life,
then then you begin to make choices that
help you get to where you want to be
an not allow you to stay where you are.
And so I think that one for me
is every every day.
What am I choosing in this moment?
And it is it going to create the
outcome that ultimately I want
and ensure I fail at that often?
So also with the kids they
will make wrong choices,
but those also began to then shape
their future choices and hopefully if
their lessons then they'll begin to do.
Do things that lead him in the
direction again 2 to accomplish more
than they thought were possible.
The right choices
to lead you from here to there.
Yeah, exactly awesome coaches fans.
My thank you so much that I'm really.
Thanks for having me.