Latest / The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast / BONUS: USTFCCCA 2023 LIVE: Jim Sprecher-Univ of Lynchburg

Transcript

BONUS: USTFCCCA 2023 LIVE: Jim Sprecher-Univ of Lynchburg · The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast

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  Hey gang, you know we like our bonus material.
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  So from today all the way through USTF CCA, in celebration
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  of our live podcast recording at the convention, we're going to
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  play you last year's clips, each one individual from today all
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  the way up until Monday, December 16th when we go live on
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  YouTube at 6:00 Eastern Time. Join us if you're at the
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  convention, sit down. We're going to be talking about
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  your feelings, actions, thoughts about the way the NCAA is
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  changing and we're going to make some predictions for next year.
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  And every guest that sits down with us.
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  Will you get a a exclusive free gift?
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  So join us December 16th, 6:00 PM Eastern Time for the Gill
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  Live Connections podcast on YouTube and at the USTFCCCA
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  convention. Here is bonus material.
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  So we're just going to keep the train rolling.
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  This one might get off the rails here.
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  Let's start with please introduce yourself Sir.
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  Jim Stracker from that university.
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  And you got to speak up a little bit, act like you're not on the
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  track and, you know, yelling out score by 1 splits and 4 by 4
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  splits and things like that. Speak up a little bit for all,
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  right? I'll do.
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  That all right what are? You doing here?
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  What I mean by that is you have come to a lot of things, right?
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  How many years have you gone to USTFCCA?
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  Convention haven't whenever they started I've been.
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  So you've been to when they're very small and now they're very
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  large. Like we're having problems
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  finding places to host these USTS CCA staff.
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  It's just an amazing job of creating value that so many
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  coaches are coming. So with this many years in a
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  row, what are you looking for? What are you doing here?
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  Is there a? Speaker that.
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  You really want to are you speaking this year?
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  But you know, I got to watch you and and you do an amazing job.
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  What? Are you here for?
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  What value are you getting out of the convention?
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  I think actually the value that I'm getting.
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  It's a real strength of yours. A lot of young coaches, even
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  already today I've had a couple of high school.
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  Coaches looking. To try to get into college
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  coaching. So I think it's time to start
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  paying it. Forward and.
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  We were talking about we were out in our profession because
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  back then our islands spent the time with us.
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  That's right. So that's a great question.
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  That's a question I get quite often.
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  What what? What advice would you give to a
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  high school coach that says I want to coach college because
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  it's amazing, I want to be in the college level?
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  What advice would you need? Well, definitely reach out.
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  You know, we don't know who they are.
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  A lot of times they just contact us and then it's again as much
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  as anything. So you know and so you know.
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  You have to turn over a lot of stones.
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  Opportunity. But don't give up.
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  I think we talked one time I I got into the profession, as Agai
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  said, not 100 handwritten letters.
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  And to to have a little bit of tenacity and pushing merits.
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  You know what I I love one of the many, many goals that we
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  have with the podcast. One of them is to bust myths or
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  like the myth Busters, right? And I do love working towards
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  busting the myth that a high school coach can't coach on the
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  college level for all these different reasons, right?
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  They don't have to recruit. They don't know how to run a
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  college. You know AP and LS that you know
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  budget and things. Like that?
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  And then I get these amazing coaches like yourself on the
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  podcast, and it's like, Oh yeah, I started coaching high school
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  first. Like we had Chris Johnson, now
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  women's coach, head coach at Nebris Arkansas, and he started
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  as a high school coach. And it's like, oh, wait a
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  minute, if all you guys started out as high school coaches, why
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  can't we have high school coaches move up to the next?
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  Yeah, no doubt. And it used to be, you know,
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  college coaching the. Best high.
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  School coaches. Became.
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  Yeah, coaches. And.
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  I've said this whole career that the best coaching in this
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  country happens because that's the grassroots.
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  They're taking. They're getting the athletes out
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  there. And.
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  And so, you know, I've always been a firm believer, but if I
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  want to hire somebody who has less and.
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  Still. Successful because given the
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  right resources. I mean they.
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  Can just. Yeah.
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  It's a little sneak peek in January as we kick off our fifth
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  season on the podcast, by the way, which is just bonkers to
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  say out loud. We're going.
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  To start. The year with a special Baylor 4
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  by 4 series. So we're going to do 4 Baylor
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  coaches in a row, 4 Baylor alums in a row.
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  So we kicked it off. The first one will be Michael
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  Ford, then we go Jeremy Warner and then we go David Hodge and
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  then we anchor with Clyde her and it was awesome to hear Clyde
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  story and you guys will get to hear at the end of January.
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  About where? He started how he started and
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  was a high school. Coach that's.
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  Right. Yeah, that's exactly right.
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  OK, Someone out there, Jim, is thinking about coming to this
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  convention. They just can't hold the trigger
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  for many reasons. Right.
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  Maybe it's, you know, it's expensive to come to Denver next
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  year at the corner Orlando. It's expensive to the hotel
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  being away from friends and family during the, you know,
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  kind of holiday time period. What convince them to come next
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  year? Someone who's never been.
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  But I'll tell you that Sam seems in.
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  His committee, his. Staff, they put on a first class
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  program for us and yeah, it might cost a little bit of
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  money, but the amount of resources they put into this
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  banquets all the. Different meals technical.
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  Symposiums. And just for professional
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  development, just the opportunity to have fellowship
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  as well. Cost.
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  Yeah, that's why I come every year is that I look forward to.
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  It's always one of the highlights of my it's.
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  My Super Bowl baby. How many on average new people
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  do you think you walk away? No.
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  After a week like this. Yeah, easy.
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  And you've been now a dozen and you've been coming a long time.
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  A newbie is going to walk away with 20304050.
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  Heck, if you're open to it, you you easily meet 100 people that
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  actually really care about what you're doing as a coach when
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  you're high school junior college.
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  Incidentally, NAIA, it doesn't matter.
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  This is really I really do consider like my my Super Bowl
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  man, I love this week. It's I gear up for every sick
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  year. Yeah, we're all here for one
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  reason. That's it.
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  And we want to do what? We can.
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  To make the sport better and so I think you're just going to be
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  around a lot of hot. Winded people.
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  And so if you have passion, it's just, it's just still.
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  So it's, yeah, it's it's something that I just just feels
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  grateful that I started on the beginning of it.
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  Let's continue with that and. We appreciate.
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  To get everything you do. Really drop?
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  The balance. Between 8:00 this.
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  Is why coaching? Is more.
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  Than just being a coach. That's right.
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  People first, it's people who choose to be a coach, not coach.
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  Couple of fun things. I've got 100 random questions.
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  Remember this from last year, One through 100.
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  You can't pick the same number, whatever that was last year.
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  OK, number. Four my #4.
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  That's my favorite. All right, good alright topic is
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  annoying much? Do you subscribe to YouTube
• 7:31
  Premium? And why in the heck will they
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  just not stop asking me? I'm not subscribing the YouTube
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  Premium. Well, you know me too well.
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  You said that I was like, Oh yeah, who am I asking?
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  Yeah. He does not subscribe to the
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  YouTube agreement. We just got him to not print out
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  emails and ask someone else to respond.
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  I'm very proud. When you e-mail me, it means the
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  world to. Me.
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  All right, because you're a Guilt Connections podcast alone.
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  Thank you for being on the show. We get to flip the script.
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  You get to ask me one question unprepared here live.
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  I want to join you on Saturday. You have in your football get
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  together food menu games and. Everything.
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  That looks like a lot of. Fun.
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  You know, I'm a college football fan first, last, like I don't
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  watch NFL, baseball, hockey, all this kind of stuff.
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  And my wife is really love her to death bombed onto that.
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  So I have 13 events a year roughly, you know, and we have
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  an absolute blast and Troy's going to a ball game.
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  So you know, we can't beat that. Me and Sean Wilburn are gonna
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  get the the boxing squared. I did that with cream St.
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  Thompson last year. He played UTSA and it's the most
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  scared I've ever done. I was like cream, you know,
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  we're playing. I mean he was like I was like,
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  did he use the box because he is into is into Jim.
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  What we're doing this year only for people who sit down here in
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  the hot seat to say thank you small to the more appreciation
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  to get the custom guilt connections podcast Christmas
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  work. There we go.
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  For when's? Going to.
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  Put this on for one of like your 5 Christmas trees.
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  I know you have more than one. I know you're more than one.
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  Thank you so much.