The ROAR Podcast: Brandon Crone

# ROAR Podcast: Brandon Crone
**Guest:** Brandon Crone
**Date:** 2026-01-14
**YouTube URL:** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1CdMeBL35M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1CdMeBL35M)
**Source:** YouTube auto-generated captions (no speaker diarization)

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(0:07) Brandon, thanks so much for taking the time to join us today. >> Yeah, appreciate it. Happy to be here. So, I'm excited for this conversation because you've had such an amazing path in sports and where that path has taken you now is really interesting in how our paths have crossed because it has taken you into youth sports and my son who is seven is playing basketball now, plays baseball in the ecosystem that you lead in Caramel here in Indiana, which is an amazing ecosystem for youth sports. But if we take that all the way back, can you give us a little bit of your background and how you started in sports? Yeah. So, depending on how far back we want to go, obviously was really big in basketball. Had an older brother, loved basketball. We were what they used to call Boys and Girls Club Brats because that's where we spent all of our time. And both parents worked, right?

(0:51) So, you're in gyms. And you grew up in Indiana, which basketball was a thing. My goal was always like I wanted to play college basketball. I wanted to play overseas cuz even back then I was like, I don't know if I can get to the NBA. Was trying to be realistic with that. And then wanted to coach. And so that was just always my trajectory and what I wanted to do. I remember writing it down all the time and this was my goal and fortunate enough to get a scholarship to go to Butler. Played four years there, had some really good years, a lot of success there and then played three years overseas. Got to see Germany, Sweden, France, Hungary, Poland. So spent a lot of time in those places and and then like I said, I always wanted to be a college coach. So that was why I ended up retiring was like I didn't want to be 35, 36 year old trying to come back into college coaching. I knew how hard that was going to be when you had managers and other players that go straight into it. Got an opportunity to get into coaching and so I I took it hung up the shoes and yeah, so I coached 11 years in college basketball and then after we lost our job over COVID, not over CO but we got fired from Evansville as a coach. They went another direction.

(1:59) I decided, okay, I need to pivot and go another direction and here I am in youth sports, >> which is a really interesting path. I think it informs a lot of what you do today. You also grew up you went grew up in Frankfurt, right? >> Yeah, Frankfurt Hot Dog. Yeah. I don't know how many people know that mascot. That's a pretty good one. >> Which those are listeners that aren't from Indiana, don't have a deep knowledge of Indiana high school sports or high school basketball, it is an incredible mascot. And there are some incredible mascots across the state of Indiana and I think what nine of the 10 largest high school gyms in the world are in the state of Indiana was fortunate enough grew up in a tiny town but played in Cooko and at Loganport and in my central multi south those places but never got to play in at Newcastle like >> and then Quase Arena in Frankfurt's pretty famous its own the movie Blue Chips for those that are sports fans was filmed there the so actually where the hot dogs but even in Case Arena. They're still a thing. It says home of the dolphins. It was their mascot. So I was a sixth grader when they came in. Shaq and them came into town and Bob Knight and yeah, they filmed that movie right there which was really cool just to be a part of that and have that history in Frankfurt. And yeah, Quina is a special place. A lot of people make trips just like you said to Newcastle and uh and they'll go to Frankfurt just to watch a game in that place.

(3:17) >> There are some amazing places to see basketball games in the state. That is for sure. You have such a basketball background. You've been a player, captain, operations league, a coach, all kinds of different roles in basketball. When you look back on that, think about what you're doing today. How do you describe your basketball identity today? Does it still inform what you do? >> That's a great I think just sports in general is what you so the discipline it took to to get to where I got at the highest level and and then just the commitment that it took to stay with it.

(3:47) And so I think those are things that I definitely stay with me. I think for me there was a loyalty too and that's that I gained from that in terms of AU. You were always being recruited, right? So there's a recruitment of AU basketball of teams trying to take you. There was then you got commit to Butler and there's people that were still trying to take you there and I think there's really a loyalty aspect that kind of came. So I just think sports in general which is why I love you sports and just what we're teaching and what these kids are getting out of it. Yeah. So I think I carry aspects of that. basketball as a whole, give or I spend so much of my life in it and I'm coaching my son in it and I love it but man I love just to go watch him in soccer or go play football or so it's almost one of those things you spend so long in basketball that's now I don't I follow some college sports but not die hard in terms of that so I think there's elements that I've taken from basketball that's still with me >> the loyalty thing is a really interesting thing you bring up we started before we started recording we talked about college basketball's so much different than when you play or 101 15 years ago and that loyalty aspect in many ways is going out the window. I don't want to make it that start.

(4:50) Obviously it people want to get paid which makes sense but also that shifts and moves a lot of those things. We talked about historic gyms in college. You couldn't have played at a more historic gym at Butler and Butler's really been a throughine in your life for more than two decades now. What about that place is so special to you and kept pulling you back? >> Yeah. No, that's for me it was home. My my dad lived in Indianapolis my whole life and so you knew what Hinkle was. I got to play in it as a high schooler to play in that gym. You just there was something special about that. I love the small school aspect of knowing everybody. I'm a people person so I love knowing people by names and you just knew everybody and it and I think you hear this a lot and can't be cliche or not but honestly what pulled me back was the people at Butler. There's just such a genuine connection with the teachers, the faculty, the employees, the it's funny. I go back today and there's still three of the custodians that are in Hinkle and we are name by-name basis like I say hey to them they reach out there's just such a genuine connection with the people. So it was just that's what's going to draw you back every time right is that feeling of it and then walking into and just that that feeling you get from where you spent some of your formidable years as a becoming a man so to speak from high school to college. So it just there's just such a great feeling at that place.

(6:07) >> There is even I didn't play there. I grew up in Indiana. Obviously played high school basketball in Indiana. My wife is not from Indiana. My kids didn't know much about that. We went to a game at Butler and you can see they're like there's something different about this place. And then be able to tell them the history and obviously talking about the movie Hoosiers and those things, but also Butler does a great job of kids can go down on the court after the game and shoot around. It's such a family environment. I think that's a really cool thing about the university as a whole.

(6:37) >> Yeah. No, for sure. I don't I don't know of another place that allows the kids to go on the court. Even from traveling and coaching all the places I've went, I've never seen it. And you're talking about a place that teams went to national titles, sweet 16, NCAs, like there's a lot of people that go to these games and it be easy to rope off the court and but it's just it's been part of it and no one wants to stop it. like the kid kids love it and I think that's what just makes that place special is they're going to do the right things on that and I guess there's an accessibility to it too, right? Just you there is an accessibility going there and feeling like you're a part of it and you definitely do. I think they do a great job of that. I was at the beginning final fours and championship games. I was at the game fortunately where I thought that I was sitting in a place where I saw it. I thought that shot was going in. I really did think it was going in and I it would have been a very interesting change to the landscape of college basketball if Gordon Hayward would have hit that shot.

(7:34) >> Oh, there's no doubt. I can imagine the statue too and just the movies they was going to be a new 2.0 and it's funny. I won't go too far but I was actually playing in Sweden had just gotten hurt. It was over that Easter weekend and I basically said, "Hey, you guys are flying me home like Butler's in the final four indie like I'm going home." And and there was some back and forth cuz they're like it's Easter weekend. It's whatever the ticket price was and I was like I don't care like I am going home and yes I was basically right on the baseline about 10 rows back. I thought it was in I thought his first shot was in on the baseline. I mean that honestly would have been and obviously the half court but we all know that was I think the what did the ESPN thing of centimeter off or whatever just crazy but you're right I think it changed the trajectory of Butler in general though right being the Big East now and and what that the notoriety that brought shows you what sports can do too right at that stage. Absolutely. And I think that like you said, it's changed the trajectory. But have they done an amazing job keeping on that trajectory and being seen as being a program at that level for so long? You've mentioned how you've been in different spots inside of basketball from a player and so on. How's your perspective on the game changer or sports in general as you move from a player to a coach or part of the staff when you saw that behind the scenes and the operations component?

(8:48) Then you just see how much is goes on. You know how much how many other people affect what goes on even from the same of our academic coordinators, right? Or things setting the schedules up. You just see how many different hands are involved in just putting this product on the floor. You do get a realization of the business side of it, right? I don't think I had knowledge when you're playing at the high school and then you go to college level of the kind of the business part of it, but that's changed now, too. It was hard not to know the business part of it with NIL and what's reported and I just wasn't aware of that at the time. I just man I'm putting my shoes off. Let's go. We're trying to win games. This is a sport. And then you just that's what's opened your eyes into that and the TV deals and the TV money and the buy games and the just all this stuff that you you just don't even the everyday people, right? You just turn on the game and watch. Yeah, they're just playing. So I think that's what changed is just seeing that knowing that there's still a people aspect on it all though, right? You're still recruiting kids.

(9:42) you're still having relationships that looks different now. It's changed now in terms of salary cap they need to probably put on, but so that part is definitely a little different, but I think the business side of it is what you really see behind the scenes. >> I'm still getting used to using the phrase salary cap as it's related to college sports. I'm sure that is a weird transition for you as someone who played college sports in a time where the scholarship was what you got for which is still no small thing but is it a weird thing to see? >> Yeah, it's it's extremely weird and it's part part of the part where I've done which we can get but the all good dogs portion of it that I got but it's extremely weird. I remember even being on the ops and the assistant coaching.

(10:23) We would like I talk to players and I would show them like your cost of attendance, your scholarship, like how much it cost to travel, your room, like what you're getting, which was well over a million dollars a player a year. Like when you start taking into effect like just all the other stuff that goes in and now you get all that plus you're getting this salary cap money which and it is it's different, right? because I'm a I was a player. Of course, I'd love to get highest bidder and paid and stuff, but that wasn't my era. And then there was a there was a chance I remember sophomore year like we struggled at Butler. Like I had gotten hurt my freshman year. Sophomore year we had lost some seniors that had come from a sweet 16 team. There was a poor a point where I was like, man, do I look somewhere else? I had been recruited at all these other places. And I think again to me that's where the loyalty aspect came in. And that's what I love so much about Butler when you think it through even recently. Kamar Baldwin's Keela Martins, Tyler Weidman's guys that like they were really good freshman, sophomore and like fans got to see them play all four years, see them grow, see the success and that that trickle down even from the past like I think any school and that's you don't see that now and I think that's what's the challenging part of the fans is like you're connecting with a new team every year and that's not where college was.

(11:34) Now that you connect with Pacers have longer players that I think that's what's lost in the college world. you watch these freshman turn into seniors and just the growth of that within your program and seeing that was cool. That was a cool aspect of college and now it's a highest bidder type feel. And that's not everywhere. Purdue's doing a heck of a job. They've got guys that have came through and stayed and but there's very few programs that are able to do that right now. And I think that's where the disconnect is. >> But you're right. And I was going to mention I went to undergrad at Purdue and it's even more stark for me as a college basketball fan and being a Purdue fan. We do are fortunate to have people that stick around. But I think that's painter style to recruit those people that will stick around that may not be the upper echelon players that are going to be looked at from a do Kansas types of programs. But they're going to stick around and get that continuity for Floyders. And it's even interesting if you look at IU from a football perspective. Noah, they haven't had people stick around for longer. But if you look at the age of their roster, >> yeah, >> in guys that are been around and been experienced, that's what's really interesting to me because yes, we have a lot of guys moving around, but what Signetti has done at IU is brought in experienced players that are older that understand how to be in those moments.

(12:51) And I think there's something to that >> for sure. I think even if you take it my basketball background of the older teams won a lot in the tournament like you you want to know why you had upsets back in the day or it's harder now because those older guys are transferring and going to these other schools the bigger schools the bigger names but that's why you had the upsets at that you know at the NCA tournament because these teams the butlers back in the day the UIC whatever these teams were they had experienced five six guys that had been there all four years the continuity of that. So yeah, I think experience definitely wins and now it's easier for these kids to buy it, right?

(13:30) So to speak, >> it is well that you can buy it. We talked so much about college sports. You had the opportunity to play professionally and go to Europe and play professionally before you transition into coaching. How did that international experience shape not only your understanding of basketball, but your experience from a life perspective? Like you and I talked before we started recording. I had the opportunity to live in London for a long time and living in Europe was one of the best times in my life and most informative times in my life. But how did it shape not only basketball understanding but overall experience in life? Man, it's a great question because I just I don't think I've ever really sat back and thought about it because I the one thing I do remember I went to France to start and that was my first contract go over there and I'm coming from Butler where again wasn't the Duke at the time but you're still good to take care of traveling you're doing that stuff and then it's boom all right you're in France you're alone all right go figure this thing out I still remember they gave me keys to the car that I had never drove a stick in the very first car practice they're like hey here you go and I'm like oh boy and they're like yeah just practice in the parking Uh, coach will follow you home. Good luck. Okay. So, for me, like it obviously turned me even more into him. Hey, I got to figure this thing out. I got to figure life out. And I already knew how to cook a little. But you're just you're learning how to live on your own. I think the camaraderie from the teammates and just learning how to lean on people, learning just new cultures. Such an appreciation of we're not doing it the only right way or I just have an appreciation just food, but just how people live. I love I'm trying to get the the European way over here where they just go on holiday for a week and a half like you >> but summer they spent the whole suburbs >> summer's off going to a store and they're just side on the door like holiday wait so we don't what happens >> be back later >> yeah so it just kind of showed you different you there different ways to live it showed you an appreciation where you come from too I remember even in Poland very small town very poor town it was on the Baltic Sea very very cool but like just opened open your eyes to these other places that are just so different.

(15:25) So, I think it's just an overall gratitude too of just where I've come from, what I have, what all that just is part of it, man. I could probably sit down and probably need to journal about that to be honest. You don't just sit there and think about, man, I three and a half years over there and living in Europe and I think I saw over 15 countries and I did a blog back in the day. It's funny, I'll still run into some Butler fans and they're like, I remember following your blog. You loved the food, didn't you? did it. >> What else I do? What else would I do over there?

(15:54) >> Where in France were you? >> Town was called Maloose. And it's very funny because when I first went there country Frankfurt kid, I was like I'm playing in Mole House. Like where are you going? And I show them on a map and they're like Maloo. I was like how was I supposed to know that? So French France was hard though. People say there's that thing say New York or I love New York. Like I've never had an issue with New York. Love that city. So I'm going over there. Okay. It's going to be like New York. This is They're fun, man. They They're a little bit hard on Americans sometimes, >> especially in Paris, the places to me, New York, Paris, and Tokyo are three cities that there's something about them that you can't really put your finger on, but they're such interesting cities.

(16:37) And I think living in the UK, I didn't have any friends. And so, I would get on a Euro Star and I'd go to Paris for the weekend. And I certainly had some of that. But I think after doing it for a year or two, you take your lumps and you learn those things. And you're right, the culture, learning about different things and how people approach different things. And sports, sports is very different in that sense. I got the opportunity to see a lot of football games in in France, but also EPL games in the UK. So, it was a really fun experience in that sense. But you also said you played in Sweden and you played other places. What was that experience like moving around in that sense?

(17:11) >> Yeah, it was the first year again was challenging. That's where I moved around a little more than others. But again, I think just I'm a people person. So I just loved connecting to this new city. Sweden was Satellius. It was right outside of Stockholm. And you go there and what was nice about Sweden is everybody speaks English. That that is pretty basic. So you didn't feel outcast right away. Like everybody could communicate which is good. French was France was different. That was harder to communicate. Poland where it was harder to communicate at just because not everybody spoke it. But again, just learning the cultures at each place, too. And just some of the little things.

(17:45) But I remember even in Sweden, my first Christmas over there. Had a teammate. He was 18. Family had lived in America. Dad was from California. And they're like, "Hey, just come spend Christmas with us." And go over there and they have the smorgish board, right? And and you're learning their culture. You're watching cartoons all day and they're eating all day. So just to even experience like how people do the major holidays different. And just learning that was just such a joy. Like I I just enjoyed it so much. I hate there's part of me that was like, man, maybe I should have played another two, three years just cuz I loved it so much when you look back. So yeah, I really cherish those years over there.

(18:22) >> It's everyone that I had, friends of mine that played in Europe and or overseas in general, all say the same thing. They enjoyed the experience so much. We're really glad they got to keep their playing career going. They had the understanding that they weren't going to play forever, but wanted to keep doing it. And I think it's amazing to be able to go and do those things to keep that playing career going experience and do other things on someone else's time and get paid to do that and learn and see all those really great things. But you transition in some ways from the playing of the basketball component there coaching but also what you had done at you mentioned all good dogs butler perspective. Can you tell us a little bit about that and what you did what your role was there?

(19:00) >> Yeah, technically I'm still executive director of all good dogs nonprofit NIL for Butler. So basically how that came about and again I think it's important right networking people that's literally what came I got a call from the president of it at the time and was like hey I remember you running butler basketball camps you actually hired me as an employee there you ran that camp great loved it is this something you'd be interested so they we were still figuring it out a little bit it was just year one they just finished year one at all good dogs it was when the collectives in general were like everybody's just trying okay what do we group. So they had put some stuff together and they're like, "Hey, with your operational background, with obviously your knowledge of Butler, your love for the team, all this stuff, we think you'd be great to help. Like we we don't totally know what we're doing still. We're figuring out on the fly."

(19:49) So it was just an opportunity I was able to kind of take that, but also keep my main role, which is athletic director of Caramel Dad's Club. So that was important, too. I was able to do that. my connection with Butler and the and basically the donors already that I had from the operation days played a huge role in in trying to figure it out. Yeah. The best thing about All Good Dogs was is is nonprofit side of the collective. So, what we were trying to do is really do some service in Indianapolis, right? Not just give these kids a check for being a Butler basketball player or women's player. We were, hey, how do we go help Riley's Children's Hospital, the Children's Museum, the all these other, well, I'm forgetting the V, the blood drive. Just trying to put that stuff into where you benefited a nonprofit, but we covered the the cost of it. That's phased out.

(20:36) So, with the Congress, the House settlement of being able to pay up to 22 million revenue share. We just aren't needed. So, that's going away. And in the nonprofit side's kind of went away. It's more of a business transaction. And so that's why we're phasing that out. >> And it's such an interesting thing because we have so many listeners that are in and around that space and it's shifting and changing so much. It's impossible to really keep up with it on a day-to-day basis. But as someone who was in that space, tangentially touched that space one, how do you feel about it right now knowing your background and as a player? And how do you feel about its ability to evolve?

(21:18) >> Yeah, that's that's a great question. And I it was a tough sill at first for me personally. Again, we talked about a little bit like I I played. Of course, I'd love to get paid, but also I just always felt there's a duty to wearing something across your chest. You're getting a scholarship. You're getting an education. Like the Butler scholarship has taken me way farther in different aspects and than ever this NIL check would have. But then the other side of it is, hey, this is real. This is a business. Like people are getting it. So, how do we maximize that side too? So there was like a little inner pull at first, but because my thing too is hey when I was at Bullet, we went and did homeless shelters like we went and did like what we these are things that were expected like you're at where you're at to go help. But I did love that we how we were doing it, how we were trying to affect the community. I remember one Saturday we had I think six or seven of the guys and they they were literally planting trees across Indianapolis and one of the houses has a Butler flag and they came out and so appreciative. So like for me there was a side of hey we're doing good with this too. As far as the evolve piece now is it's got to come back down. I just think these numbers and what's going on just it's just crazy to me. I don't totally understand it at times. But I think they're trying to make steps to it but also it's one of those things it's out of the bag. How do you regress? What are those steps you put in place? I think they're trying to with the having to turn the contracts in. I think transparency is the biggest thing too because >> a lot of times in this space you're talking to people and kids and numbers were being thrown out but there was no way to even know okay is that number real is that really what they're getting and there was places that were throwing the numbers out kid come and they never even touched that number they never even gave them that number so they're just I think that's more important too the transparency for the kids that are making the decisions of hey is this real what is real I do think and I can't speak to other places I don't know we were trying to get there of the education piece of this too. Hey, you're getting this check, but how is it going to impact your taxes? How's it going to impact here in five years when you're not playing overseas, you're not in the NBA, and you go to a job and that check is way different than what you just got for a whole week of work or like the realization of hey, this isn't reality, so to speak, in the real world when you do have to get a job. So, trying to understand all those things. I don't know what the right answer is. I don't totally know where it evolves to. I was in it because I did love the service side. I do love the business side. I love talking to the people side. So, it's all things made sense, but I guess I'm more invested in kind of the youports right now, what I'm doing more so than the ass.

(23:52) >> And I think that if we knew how it was going to evolve, neither of us would really be sitting here, you know, with something else. And knowing I think that it's really hard to understand how it will, but I know I think you're right. the service component of that going away is a little bit of a bummer because I think tying that to it is interesting. I think it's great that student athletes can get paid, but like you said, I think the transparency on both sides, on all sides, is really important. And I think there's an opportunity too for these student athletes to learn those things of, hey, here is how you market yourself branding, but also here's how you save for your taxes. Here is how you plan from a financial perspective. there's a marketing aspect of that to be able to show them how to move things forward. I just hope college basketball stays in the form that it is because it's such a been an important part of my life. It's obviously been a very important part of your life. So hopefully it can level itself out and keep enjoying for all of us. But you mentioned the youth sports part and you have your kids and you're coaching your kids. You've obviously been a leader at many different levels.

(24:52) How did becoming a parent change the way you coach or the way you be? >> That's a great question. I I think just having being cognizant of your actions all the time. You I I'm always very aware of those as a dad and how I'm leading him, how I'm leading my daughter. What do they want to say about how I am? How are they talking to other people about their dad? So, I I think that's the parent side of that is is that and then also, man, I just I want to pour everything into them. It's like I there's some aspects of, you know, I think I said it earlier, but I did what I wanted to do. Like I wanted to be a college basketball player. I wanted to coach college. I wanted to play overseas. So, in some regards, man, I'm so grateful. Like, I've done so much of what I wanted to do. So, I want to help them get, hey, what do you guys want to do? Is it basketball? Great. I'll help you. Is it art? Great. Let's go do it.

(25:38) All set. I'm not drawing the picture with you. So, I just want to be such a support for them, someone they can always lean on. And I think on the sports side, that's just what I'm trying to be. And I want to be that for all. I've been coaching these teams. I love being it for other kids. I love having fun with them. I don't love the parents in the stands that are yelling at a ref that in a fourth grade basketball game. It's like, well, there there's a reason he's fourth grade basketball and there's a reason you're not refing. It's got me focused on those things, too, of how other parents are parenting and are they showing the right examples. I just love it. Obviously, it changed my world. I know he's a dad for you. It probably changed your world. And I just think you just care and I don't know how to say this right. You just care less about yourself and man, what am I doing for them? And how can I pour into them?

(26:19) >> I think you said it exactly in the right way. You do it goes away. what your own notions of things and how you do them is very different because you want them to succeed and you want to see them things done the right way for them. When you talk about Carmel Bask, we've been an enormous beneficiary of that with the youth sports and my son playing you sports here in Carmel, Indiana. What is the overall role look like for you? What are you responsible for on a day-to-day basis inside this enormous youth sports organization? >> Yeah, it's great. Enormous is a word. We have over 15,000 participants every year in 13 different sports. It'd be not to regret history, but like I had no idea about Caramel Dad's Club, just being honest. When I came, I was looking for a different path. We were like, "Hey, Caramel schools are great." Obviously, I knew Indianapolis. Well, let's go figure it out. And so, I remember I came to my first interview and it was for an assistant athletic director and the president was like, "Hey, you're way overqualified for this. just being honest with you. Yeah. Blah blah blah, but come back for a second interview.

(27:18) Let's see what we can do. So I was like, so I was already kind of like, okay, yeah, this probably isn't the thing. Come back second. The day I came for the second interview, the athletic director had been here for 14 years, took a job in Florida and it was like, hey, this is a much different interview now. So it's funny how all that comes in and just the right timing of it. And and again, I spoke to networking a little bit earlier, but like that president talked about three or four people around the butler around different. So, my network really helped me get this job. So, I think that's always important to people of treating people the right way and keeping your network as strong as you can. But anyway, to answer your question about that, day-to-day is obviously scheduling. So, right now, winter sport is cheerleading, basketball, both our travel side, our rec side. So, we have about over 3,600 kids right now in the program. We use 14 different facilities for our basketball. So, obviously refing, scheduling of that, the building, the practice stuff. Little family sports center is my main role too. Contracting that out with external events versus internal events, the calendar of that, keeping parents in line, right? I said the code of conduct and all those things. We've got a So, I'm a problem solver. It's similar. This role is very similar to the operations at Butler. You're just a different hat every day. What's the next program opening? And we sent the marketing email out. Do we have a flyer for this? What's our football equipment at? So, it's just it's endless. that obviously has cycles and that kind of all come together. But yeah, it's it's much bigger than I knew what I took the job, what I was getting into. It's also super cool to have a an organization like this has been at 1959 and just has continued to grow and continue and it's again it's a service aspect. I've always loved that. We have 4,200 volunteers a year that are coaching their kids or commissioning or helping the concession stand or so I think it just again speaks to the community of Caramel, right? We don't exist without the community of Caramel and what they've done for us and what they continue to volunteer in the time and it's just really cool to have that community thing. And I think you talk to kids now, I've talked to people now that, oh you're a dad, I remember playing, I had the best coach or hopefully hopefully they don't tell me the bad ones, but so it's yeah, it's just many different hats. We've got about seven I think it's seven full-time employees for 15,000 families a year.

(29:31) So, it's it is a big job. We're getting the uniforms in. And that's probably the biggest is making sure we get jerseys and uniforms for that first game. We haven't missed it yet. That's we're knocking on wood, so we'll keep doing that. >> It's a welloiled machine. It runs really well. And you know, youth sports can be and anyone that has kids knows that they're all over the place. things are always happening >> and you sports can be the same way but it runs like a well old machine. We play baseball in the spring and in the fall and basketball now it's always run so well and I think that it's it does make it much easier to want to play sports for the kids because it's run so well because it operates so well.

(30:10) And for the parents themselves, it works really well overall for parents. And you mentioned the community itself being very involved in promot club. Overall, the sports each of the individual sports. You've mentioned the parents a couple times. I was going to ask, what do you think is the most unique part of working in youth sports? To me, it would seem to be the parents and dealing with the parents, but you may have a different view doing it dayto-day. No, honestly, I think in anything though, right, there's that 1%, right? There's that that 1% of just parents that like, yeah, I don't want to deal with or their name comes across the I'm like, okay, I know what this is or the email there.

(30:50) There's always that 1%. I 99% of the people I mean, I we had a situation last week at one of our schools. They we had sent all the communication, hey, this building, you guys have to open at 8:00 a.m. We had a remake because we had a snowstorm. I had to reschedule 66 games. So, finding space for 66 games on top of what we already have is a challenge. So, then we get it all done, send it out. Well, they don't open. I'm getting call after call at 8 a.m. in the morning. Hey, school's not opening. School's not opening. I'm trying to figure it out.

(31:20) Get in touch with the head custodian. He's like, Brandon, you guys never sit this. We don't have any of this blah blah. And I'm like, so now I'm sending him text of the emails. And literally the quote was, "I don't read email." Well, I'm so dad's supposed to call 15 schools individually every Saturday when what? And the only reason I tell you that story is I talked to both coaches that were involved and I'm like apologizing. Hey, I'm so sorry. Look, I understand 80. Both of them were the nicest guys could be like, you don't know an apology. So, I think parents could get a bad rap, but man, there's so many good, too. So, I just I think that can get forgotten because you only see the 1% or you only deal. And that's probably more of a speech I'm telling myself right now. frustrated with the the 1% and there's so many good. So I would say that is hard. The other side from my seat is facilities though in general, right? We have over 200 acres that we maintain. We have an unbelievable facility supervisor. But when you're and then we not only our own when you're dealing with 14 schools, you're dealing with the Leto, you're dealing with these other fields or the high school, you're dealing with Murray Field at Caramel High School, like there's big in so many facilities and just knowing that having a great feel for those weather is a huge deal for me with spring and fall. So always dealing with that and counter. So, I think parents is a big part of this, but then facilities and just calendaring in general when you're dealing with so many kids is such a vital role of being organized and knowing where everything is.

(32:46) >> I'm sure it is. There's an enormous amount of logistics that goes into moving all of those pieces around. As you look forward and spin this forward, again, a lot of our listeners are people that work in sports or are looking to work in sports. If you were someone that was in graduate school or looking to get into the youth sport space, what would you tell them to do? What would you tell them is the most important thing to get into that space? >> Yeah, it's funny. I've been asked that a couple times in just different ways. And I I've always said no job is too small.

(33:17) That's the first one. Like you no matter where you're at and you've got to put in 100%. You can't like no job is too small for you. So what I mean by that too just to put it in perspective right we had no we lost her last week we had picture weekend we've got we're in all these different places I don't have a supervisor end up filling someone in for 4 hours I came in Saturday for 2 hours I'm emptying the trash can I'm emptying this stuff around because the building is insane and so until our other supervisor can get there and there's just you have where no matter what you do work extremely hard at it and don't be too big for anything and then the second piece is I feel like everywhere I've gotten it it's because of someone else who's helped me. My network, no matter where that is, Ed Schilling coached with him. He recruited me in college, was nice all through the thing.

(34:03) So, he hires me because he knows me. The a job I got at Nova South Eastern was because of a coach at Butler that called that. I wouldn't I'm not getting that job by myself. I'm not sending my resume and getting the job. So, I just look everywhere I've went, it's because someone else has helped me. So, I think you have to keep your network strong. I think you have to continue to communicate to people, follow up with people. And lastly is just be dependable. So many people are just not dependable. And no matter what that is, relate to stuff or just not accountable or just so I think if you got those three things, you're going to be able to keep getting grow in whatever you want to do and it may not be right away, right? That's the other thing. I mean that things that don't happen right away, but just stick to it. Do the other things really well and I think you're you'll have an opportunity. The other thing is these are great jobs. People don't leave them.

(34:51) I look at I think all three of our middle schools at Caramel, the ads are I want to say close to 20 years, all three of them. So, they're good jobs. So, it that is a hard thing is there's there's not a ton of them and there's a lot of people that want them. So, you got to stay patient at times, too, I think. >> Yeah. This stuff's great advice, not only for you sports, but across sports in general. And to build on that, we'll get you out of here on this, but what excites you most about youth sports right now and where it's at? Oh, that that's a good question too because you always I actually like how you asked that question because everyone always asks challenges or problems or so the excitement is I do think there's a level of that's turning the corner even since I got here of pouring into the kids and just giving them opportunities to play like they don't have to go on these this travel route and go spend thousands of dollars everywhere. Like I think that for a long time that's been the trajectory. I see some come pulling back and saying, you know what, community sports with my friends in a cool facility or good enough facility with an opportunity to play is actually pretty good. So, I I think that's what's really exciting even for us. I think it's an opportunity for the Daz club to continue to keep our recside really strong. We have travel opportunities which I think are really good and strong too but like focusing and remembering hey not everyone's gonna be the next Cooper flag like you said or thing but like sports teaches you so much and just to have a place as a third grader to be disciplined to show up once a week practice to hear a different voice to be challenged and coached and I think that's the side that really excites me and I want to see more of it right I'm coaching my son in travel but I'm okay if he goes wreck next year that that like he's playing a sport. He's getting an opportunity to just be better, learn so many different things, and I think that's the excitement. And I think there's growth here at Caramel, which is crazy as that sounds. But I do think we're a growth mindset organization. Alto is a prime example of that. The building came in line in 2022.

(36:50) So I think we're going on about four years. But that was just an opportunity to give kids a place to play and with our numbers and to keep them close so they're not driving everywhere and and they can still focus on their school and do these other things. So I think that's my excitement. I've enjoyed being here. I've been enjoying learning under the kind of the umbrella of the dad's club and all it's offered. >> Well, it's you sports is the basis of all sports. You know, it starts somewhere. all those things that we watch on television whether it's a college level professional level it starts at the youth level and we appreciate not only the time today to go through all these things but all the work that you do for this community from my perspective but also building you sports so Brandon thank you so much for the time today >> no thank you bra appreciate the kind words I do think we you don't always hear it a lot I do know we have a team that's working extremely hard and we are passionate we love giving the opportunity to the kids so I do appreciate the kind words of that >> thank you so much