Latest / The Standard / Team USA Paralympic Guide Runner, DOD Warrior Games Coach — What Running for Someone Else Built in Him | Ep. 76

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Team USA Paralympic Guide Runner, DOD Warrior Games Coach — What Running for Someone Else Built in Him | Ep. 76 · The Standard

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: All right, we are good to go.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome, team, to the standard podcast where we raise the bar, rebuild the culture, and call out the lies or misconceptions that nobody else will.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: This isn't motivation, this is a movement.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Thomas Rowell, alongside my co-host and co-founder, Aaron Sarles, co-founder of Blueprint Blue Shift, and today we're sitting down with Javon Hutchinson, a USA to check this out team, a USA track and field indoor bronze medalist, professional sprinter, and Hampton University alum who has completed who has competed at the highest levels of American track and field.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Javon is a specialist in the 400 meters, 800 meters, competing in sprinting and mid-distance events.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: At Hampton University, he was a four-time MEAC conference champion, multiple-time school record holder, dean's list honoree, and a part of the team that won their first conference championship back in 2003.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: He qualified individually for the NCAA championships and made the semifinal round in 2014 USA Outdoor Championships Damn.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: In 2015, Javon competed his first USA TF indoor championship and earned a bronze medal in the 600-meter dash.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: Putting him on the national stage is one of the best in the country in his event.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: But here's what makes Javon's story worth telling is it it's not just about the medals and the records, it's what he built to get there.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: The discipline, the identity, and the standard he held for himself long before anyone anyone else was paying attention.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: We're diving into the truth behind what it really takes to build identity, discipline, and legacy in sports and in life.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get into it.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Javon, Aaron and I are super stoked to have you here.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to join us.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for having me.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate it.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, of course.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Javon, let's start at the beginning.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: You grew up in Lake Worth, Florida, held school records at Park Vista before you ever stepped onto a college track, competed at Hampton, earned a USA TF Indoor Bronze Medal, and made the semifinals at the USA Outdoor Championships.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: What does raising the standard mean to someone who has been building towards this standard long before high school?
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: I say the standard is about defining what it is you want to do in life.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: It's not like just one definition.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's a moving target.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: So it's not perfection, but it's how you show up when nobody's watching.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: So every single day before, you know, any any of those accolades, and I'll make one correction.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: We were the first team to win at Hampton in 10 years.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_01: So I wasn't there in 2003.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: I was still in, I think, middle school.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: But we we we were the first team to win 10 years later in 2013.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: But it's during those times back in 2003 when I was in middle school, when I was in high school, and still showing up even when I didn't have all the medals, right?
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: So I didn't, I wasn't the national champion or anything like that in Florida, for example.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: We had some really good guys down there, so some guys who ended up making the Olympic team shortly after.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: We had some people who were faster than me on the team at the time.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: But one thing that was that I always continue to do is I showed up.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: I was doing the push-ups in my room at home.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: I was going doing the extra practices at home, running around the neighborhood, playing various sports.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: And again, just showing up when nobody else was there, putting in the time, putting in the reps, so that eventually over time, it would pay off and allow me to, you know, be the person that you see in front of you here today.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: And payoff it did.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think is the biggest lie or misconception that the culture of the track world tells young sprinters about what it takes to compete at the national level?
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: And what did you discover the truth, what the truth actually was?
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: In track and field specifically, I mean, this I think this applies to all sports, is that your performance reflects your identity.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't think that it's always said out loud, but it's always, it's, it's shown in various different ways.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: Like they act like that's what the reality is.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, we've quickly find out, even in spaces that I work now, that that's not the case, right?
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_01: Like we're not who we are based on our job, based on our sport that we play, specifically, you know, even with track and field.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of times I even work with athletes with life after sports right now in various different capacities.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: And what you find is even athletes at the highest level, no matter what sport it is that they play, sometimes if they don't have other things going on outside of that, that can result in things like depression and you know, a long stint of figuring out what's next for me.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: It's just like somebody retiring from a job after that they work for 30 years.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: And when you ask them who they are, what they do, they start to identify that by what they, who they they start to identify who they are by what they do.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: And when they take that away, it's hard to really get a grasp for what that is.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: So don't let one sport or one time or one mark or one thing that you're doing define who you are every single day because that's just one thing you're good at.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_01: And you might be good at a lot of different things, and that's okay.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: No question.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: That's a huge issue that we uh deal with.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: And you're right, it's not just track and field.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: All sports where their identity is wrapped up in their sport or their position.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: And eventually we all know that the phone stops ringing, the ball stops bouncing, and then what?
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: And that's when you know the real crisis sets in.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: The 400 meters is one of the most demanding events in all of track and field.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: It requires speed, endurance, pain tolerance, and mental toughness that doesn't show up on a stat sheet.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: What does that event demand of a competitor that most people on the outside never see?
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's just it's a different mindset.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: It demands a different mindset that allows you to show up every single day, even when it hurts.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: The workouts for the 400 aren't like the sprints, and it's no shade to any other event.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: But I mean, there's a few things, track and field compared to any sport is definitely gruesome, right?
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: Especially those guys that are doing, you know, like the heptathlon and the cathlon and you know, things like that.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: But the 400 is different because it's one of those races where you're going almost full speed the entire time.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't matter how fast or slow you run, you're probably gonna be hurt at the end of the race.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: And that that's one thing.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: Like in the hundred, it's like, okay, you ran, if you ran slow, you ran slow.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: You gotta, you know, come to grips with that.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: The 200, same thing, but that 400 is a different beast, different animal.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: And the training it requires at top speed, you know, oftentimes, the endurance that it requires is again that mindset of being willing to show up every single day, whatever your coach, whatever workout they have for you, being able to compartmentalize that and say, okay, I'm doing this for a reason.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: It was a it was a quote that I've had some amazing coaches in my years.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but one quote that coach uh Joaquin Cruz, he was the actually the 800 Olympic champion the last time the Olympics was in LA from Brazil.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: And he, I've had the pleasure to work with him over the last four years.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: And we're at, I think we were at one of the beaches in San Diego or one of the strips, with working with one of the athletes, and he said, What made you give me this workout today?
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: And his response was, you told me that you want to run a specific time.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: So based on the time that you want to run, the results it is that you want on the track, that's why I'm giving you the workout.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: This isn't me punishing you, this isn't me trying to hurt you.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: If this is the time that you want to run, this is an accolade that you want to get, here's what it's gonna take to get there.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I think once we can accept that as an athlete or as anybody pursuing anything, if somebody has the answer to the thing that you want, I have to now go in and put 100% in of my time, energy, and effort if that's really the thing I'm trying to accomplish.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: No question.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: No question.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: By chance, do you know Cadivus Robinson?
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: I don't.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: Or not not off the top of my head.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: He was a uh guy that I knew out in Los Angeles and he was part of the Santa Monica Trap Club, and he's now the um he's director of track and field at TCU.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Such a great guy.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: Such a great guy.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: I think he actually competed in the 800 in the Olympics.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the things that we talked about, because listen, Javon, this is about you.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure certainly not going to try and put myself in the same category, but I ran track in college as well, 100, 200, 4x1, and 4x4, occasionally, the 4x4.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I used to talk smack to like a lot of the 800 guys, and but the the 400 was an equalizer, right?
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: Because you got the guys running the one and the two, and then the guys run the 800, and they're like, all right, let's meet at the 400 and see if it has bragging rights.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: And that would just break everybody off.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: Because the 800 guys, they have to pace themselves to a certain degree, right?
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: And then, but a 400 is just you go.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's like, let's go.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: And then for the 100-200 meters guys, you know, once they get to 300, they're like, oh my god, what's going on here?
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's just yeah, I mean, it's a great equalizer.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: I love the 400 for that reason.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: So on that one, I'm gonna turn it over to Aaron segment to you.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna talk about identity and standard.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron, take it away.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_02: Perfect.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_02: So I want to get to know more about just your identity and who you are.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_02: So you chose Hampton University.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_02: What do you think Hampton built in you beyond all your athletic results?
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_02: Like, what did you take away from your time in college?
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: I'll say, I'll say one of our models is a standard of excellence.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: And when I went there, it allowed me to find that identity in myself, even more so than you know, growing up and being around my friends and family.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: But man of God, I'm a coach, I'm a mentor, a son, a friend.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: And I had a coach that really drilled that into us when we got there.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: Like his thing outside of track and field, his thing outside of all the times and everything that we had was there, especially my freshman year was you're coming in here as boys, I want you to leave as men, right?
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: And it's instilling in us proper, what was the word I'm looking for?
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: Morals, right?
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: And how we show up to track meets and even the things that we would wear to the airport.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: So hey, this is a business trip, right?
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: You're going in there, don't, don't show up in sweats, don't come in with the mindset that we're showing up to accomplish a task, right?
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: And not that you can't have fun after, but even even for that, hey, wait till we make it to that championship.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: If your goal is making it to conference, if your goal's making it to nationals, get to that point and then you can celebrate, then you can have fun because you haven't done anything yet.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: And that that was always his mentality.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I love that that poured over into you know all of us that came in.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm still great friends and brothers with all of my guys and even on the ladies that came in during those years because it was a shared experience, but really grew up a lot during those years.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_02: That's awesome.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_02: I love that coach, you know, setting the standard for you guys, which is so needed.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_02: And the other thing that's outstanding about you, not only were you the most valuable freshman, most improved, most valuable runner, and most outstanding.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_02: You also were on the teens list.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_02: So I think for the young listeners out there, you know, most people at the at your level focus entirely on sports.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_02: So, how did you maintain that standard in the classroom and in your character competing at that high level?
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: So I had no choice.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: That that's the interesting thing about no tourist kids.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_02: Good grades are part of it.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: It's part of it's part of the requirements because as an SCA athlete, I again have a unique story.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: Not only was I, I came in, I didn't have a full scholarship my freshman year, I actually got a full scholarship after the first semester because I did really well for that cross-country season.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: I contribute, was able to contribute to the team.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_01: So the coach bumped my scholarship up to a full scholarship.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I was also in the five-year MBA program there.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: So to be in the program that I was in to maintain my scholarship and to stay at the school, I had to make sure that I was keeping my grades up.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: And that was actually one thing that was a struggle the first semester.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: And it wasn't necessarily that the workload was too hard or anything.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: It was a different environment.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: So I got there in one of the classes that I was entered in, I didn't know how to access the class because it was online and another class, it was a language barrier.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: So I wasn't, you know, at the end of the semester, I didn't have the best GPA and I didn't have all of my credits.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: But I was able to get that full scholarship.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_01: But in order to maintain that full scholarship after that first year, I had to really get in the books.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: I had to make sure that's when the Dings list and all the other stuff started to come because I had to do that if I wanted to stay in school.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_01: And the reality is, I'm not saying I had to, there's athletes that, you know, we came across who were phenomenal, phenomenal talents from other universities that were even in our conference.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: And one or two years later, we heard, hey, why don't we see this guy at the conference meet?
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_01: Why don't we see this guy at nationals because they had the time.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_01: And it was because they didn't do their schoolwork.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: They sat in the room and played video games all day.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: And it was happy for us in one sense, hey, I don't have to race that guy.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_01: But also I want to race that guy.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_01: And that guy became, you know, those different people became our friends throughout the conference.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: But because they weren't able to put, again, like our coach was telling us, put business first, they didn't weren't able to reap the benefits.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: So I seen examples of what it looked like to not take school seriously.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I never wanted, I didn't want to drop out of school.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't want to be the person, hey, take this opportunity for granted.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: So I leaned into all of the amazing personnel that was there at Hampton.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like we had some great teachers, great professors, great people in the financial department.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_01: And between all of them, I'm going to study hall.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: We had mandatory study hall for some time.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_01: When we go to track meets, we're sitting inside of the hotel rooms.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: Coach would make sure we have an hour to do our school work.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: We're bringing our books.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: And our suitcases are, we have our clothes.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_01: You don't need that many clothes for a track meet, right?
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: But the rest of the suitcase is textbooks and classwork.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_01: This is when we still use real books.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know what they use now.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_02: But I like textbook.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_02: I'm with you.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_01: So so that that was the environment when I showed up.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I had people around me that were also taking their studies seriously.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_01: So everybody in the NBA program, we had a couple athletes, like from myself, a couple other track athletes, uh, volleyball, some other ones.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_01: But outside of that, everybody else is there for school.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_01: So when I come back from a track meet, I still have my same group of friends.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_01: We still we're still in the text message chain.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: And we're sitting down in the library, we're sitting down in somebody's room later on to somebody's house, and we're studying.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: And anything that I might have missed, they're sending it over.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: We're sitting there, they're they're explaining stuff to me.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm making sure that I'm putting myself in the space where I'm able to get the information that I need to get the grades and ultimately be able to graduate.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_02: That's so awesome.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_02: Such sound advice.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um that one's gone out to all the young kids who think grades aren't important.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_02: It's like they they are.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_02: And it is a reflection of your character too, of like what you require of yourself.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_02: And to your point, you don't want to be the guy that now can't compete because of grades.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_02: And so I think what's one truth you wish every young track athlete, parent, or coach understood about what it actually takes to compete at the national level that most people aren't saying out loud.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: One truth that one truth people aren't saying out loud.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_01: That's a good one.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: I'll say wait, ask the question one more time.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: That's a good one.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_02: It is a good question.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_02: It's a really good one.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_02: It's I like when you get this one's like, where what's the truth?
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_02: If you could sit down with a young parent or a young athlete coach or parent, what does it really take to compete at the national level in track and field?
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_02: Like, what do these young men and women need to hear that you don't hear out there in the world?
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: You got to be teachable and coachable.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: And that's in any area, but specifically with track and field, with competing at the highest level, you got to be teachable and coachable.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't matter what program, what system you're in, you can be a phenomenal athlete, a phenomenal talent.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, go somewhere where you can trust the process, right?
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: Go to a coach that you believe in, they have results or they believe in you, they're willing to spend some time and resources on your development as well.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_01: But when you get there, you have to trust that process because if you're half in and half out, then it's not gonna work.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_01: But it's not because the system doesn't work, it's because you didn't work the system.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_01: And if a coach has a training plan for you and you decide, yeah, I don't want to do that, then maybe you show up to the weight room only once or twice a week.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe you're not doing your core work, maybe you're not doing the full warm-up or, you know, those things.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's not that you can't still be a good athlete.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: It's not that, you know, some things aren't gonna go well for you, but getting to that highest level is gonna be a lot harder, if not nearly impossible.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: And that's in any area of life, right?
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: If you want to succeed, if you want that coach to invest more time in you to continue to invest in your scholarships and whatever that looks like at this level for you, you gotta be teachable and coachable because after that first year, maybe you're the athlete that comes in and you have a phenomenal success because you were already running really fast or jumping really far.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: That's great.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: But maybe you're the athlete that doesn't have that result that first year.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't mean the coaching was bad.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: It takes time for that coaching to work.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: And that's at any level.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: You got to come in, you got to follow the plan, follow the process.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: And then maybe that second year, maybe that third year, based on what that coach is preparing you for and what they need at that time, that's when the results will start to show.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: Now, if you've been there two, three years and you're not seeing results, obviously take take some inventory and you know, figure out what's working, what's not working.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: But a lot of times people are half in and half out because they only half trust the process.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're not going through the process, you can't expect that process to give you results.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, that was profound.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm glad I repeated the question twice.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_02: Because no, I think that's where most athletes, you just described it, fail because they don't trust the process.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_02: They're not all in, they're not listening, they're not coachable, and to kind of surrender and allow that coach to really do his job.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_02: So with that, I'm gonna toss it back over to Thomas.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks, Aaron.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: Javon, before we get into this next series, you've been you competed at this highest level, you high school, college, Olympics, etc.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: I bet you can think of five athletes that had more talent that they know what knew what to do with, but they were just uncoachable and they just washed themselves out of a out of a position.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know, this is one of the things, you know, that and this is kind of pulling back the curtain a little bit.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: And that is, you know, something that Aaron and I have is a path to the pros.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: We even have an Olympic edition, and I know we're gonna talk to you this, talk to you about this after the podcast.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: We'd love to have you on.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you've already booked for it, but you know, one of the things that we hear a lot is, you know, from parents and athletes, they say, what does it take to make it to the Olympics?
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: What does it take to make it to the NFL, the NBA?
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: And we say there is no one path, right?
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: Every athlete has a different journey, but you've got to embrace the process.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: You've there you've got to embrace the suck.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: And you've got there's no shortcuts, there's no cutting corners, you're just gonna have to put in the work.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: And like, you know, one of the things we remind these athletes is like if you're gonna go to one of these power five schools or power four schools, you got to remember that the guys in front of you, they're all Americans as well.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: So you're gonna have to, and the big, the big aha moment or the light bulb moment, and I want to ask you this, is like when we tell the athletes, you know, when the coach stops barking at you, when the coach stops coaching you, it means he's already lost faith and confidence in you.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: When they're riding you, it means they see your potential and they're pushing you to the next level.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: Has that ever happened to you where you had a coach or mentor that just rode you and you finally that aha moment, you're like, he wants he or she wants the best for me?
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, my coaches, they they were on my butt the entire time, but it was also because I was asking those questions and I was showing up.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, I showed some promise along the way, but I also made sure that I was continuously engaging and asking questions about how to get better.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_01: And even if there was a moment where maybe I wasn't feeling it or, you know, something along those lines, I still had coaches that always poured into me.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_01: I still have notes and sticky notes and uh letters.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: That coaches would write it from retract me, hey, hey, this is what you can do.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_01: You're this guy, you're able to do this.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, all those positive affirmations and ways that showed that they believed in some in me.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: And for me, that was really big because even in those moments where you might have a brief flash of not believing in yourself, having those people around you that believe in you can continue to uplift you.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: And again, a lot of that comes from me having to continue to pursue that myself.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: And they can see that.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: Like they can really see somebody who's in it and wants to get to that next level, and versus someone who's just out there to be on the team, to get a jersey, to, you know, just be a part of the crowd.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_01: And the coaches are gonna, they're gonna treat that differently.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: And we used to have end-of-the-year meetings, right?
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: And based on what your goal was for the year, depended on how much time, energy, and effort those coaches are going to put into that development, right?
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: If you're saying, hey, my goal is I'm here, I'm on the team, and I want to make the conference championship, that's great, right?
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: And they're gonna put the amount of time for you to get to the conference, or if your goal is to win the conference, it's gonna be a little bit more time.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: If your goal is to make it to national championship, that's gonna be a lot more time, energy, and effort that it's gonna require in your workouts and how you show up and your eating habits, and they're gonna care a little bit more because they're you're showing that you care.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: Javon, as a fan and as an outsider here, I'm looking at all your accomplishments, I'm looking at all your accolades, and to me, you're a superhero.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: You were a cave.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: And the average the average fan is gonna look at you and think, yeah, but we've got to remember that Javon is human.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_00: You've had injuries, you've battled the injuries, but probably more importantly, the imposter syndrome.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: Has that ever set in?
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: And what did it feel like when you were there with everything you've accomplished?
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: You you cut out for a second.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: Can you repeat that?
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: Just you we have to remember that Javan is also a human.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: You you've dealt with injuries, but also something that has crept in with every athlete or every professional is the imposter syndrome.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: When did that, if it's ever set in, and what did it feel like when you were there, and how did you get out of it?
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_01: There's been brief moments of it.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_01: My my thing has always just been never letting my brain sit in.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_01: Love it.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_01: Love it, whatever that is.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_01: And it's gonna happen.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_01: There's gonna be times where you show up and maybe feel like you're not the fastest because you're not the fastest on the sheet.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_01: But my I never showed up to track meets.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_01: And my friends will tell you, tell you this.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I probably had a flash of it years later running on the professional side.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_01: But like in college, I didn't care who I was running up against.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't care what their PR was, I didn't care any of that stuff.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_01: Half the time, I'm not even checking who's in my heat.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_01: And my teammates would know, hey, you're racing against whoever that name is at that time, and they run this time.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know who that is.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't follow track that closely to even care.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_01: And that allowed me to show up with the level of you're you're still gonna have to run that time today.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't matter what your personal best is.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_01: And that's one thing I'll tell athletes.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't matter what somebody else's personal best is.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_01: If they don't run it that day, it doesn't matter.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's who shows up the best on that day, whether it's a conference championship, whether it's just a race throughout the season, whatever, whatever it is, it's all about who's the best.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_01: They don't go back and say, oh, well, this was the year that this time won because this athlete didn't compete.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_01: If you were the champion that year, you were the champion.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_01: And so you just got to go in there with that mentality.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_01: There, again, there were times after I remember after I graduated, I showed up to, what was it?
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_01: It was my first year showing up to pin relays at post-collegiate.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_01: And it was a few of my friends that ran for various different universities.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_01: They all were on that team that year.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm sitting there watching, I said, okay, I should, I want to be on this relay.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like I want personally, that was one of my things.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_01: I want to be on this relay.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_01: This is an amazing experience getting to wear, you know, the red, white, and blue.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_01: But I wasn't selected, but I knew I was just as fast as some of those guys.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I was able to be on the infield with them.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_01: We actually, it was funny, we took a picture together, and it was because they were my friends.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it was one of them was Bryson Spritland.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_01: And he pulled me over.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_01: He said, he said, yo, come get in a picture with us.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, no, like y'all, y'all literally just won.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_01: Y'all did your thing.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_01: I'm in my regular clothes, and I take a picture with them.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_01: Fast forward one year later, I still didn't get picked to be on the team, but I was, I showed up because I was gonna run with one of the track clubs at Penn Relays that year.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I remember getting a call while I was at my friend's house, and it was it was Bryson.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_01: He said, Hey, are you at Penn Relays?
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_01: We need another guy for the relay.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, Yeah, I'm out here.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_01: Do you have your spikes?
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I have my spikes.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_01: And he said, All right, cool.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_01: The coach is about to call you.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_01: Click, hung up the phone.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_01: A couple seconds later, the the relay coach gives me a call.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_01: He gives him my number, he gives me a call, and he said, Hey, you were recommended to be on the relay.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_01: Are you in shape right now?
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I'm in shape.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_01: I've been training.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_01: What are we talking about?
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_01: And he said, Well, who's your coach?
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_01: Coach Maurice Pierce over at Hampson University at the time.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_01: He said, Oh, I know Coach Pierce.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_01: Hangs up the phone, he calls my coach and to confirm that I'm actually in shape because they have a they have a good rapport.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_01: He calls him back.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_01: All right, you're all good.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_01: You're you're you're set for this hotel.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we have a team meeting and uh later later today than a uh warm-up of practice batons tomorrow.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, cool.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: Can you make it over to the hotel?
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, okay, perfect.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_01: Because I was like 20 minutes away.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_01: All of this happened.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_01: I end up at the facility with them.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_01: I get the uniform.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_01: Me, it was B Bryce.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_01: Who else was on that relay?
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not gonna name all names.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_01: Like I don't remember exactly in this moment who was on the relay.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: But we were on the B team, essentially.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: They had the red team and the blue team.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_01: We were on the essentially what they thought was the B team that wasn't supposed to win.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_01: We're doing our handoffs.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_01: We know, we know that they expected the other team to win, but also we're getting paid, like based on what place you come in.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: And we just knew we were going in there.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, look, we're gonna go out there.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_01: We're getting we're getting first place.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_01: And lo and behold, we come through.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_01: By the time I get the baton, I think I had, yeah, I handed it off to Bryson.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_01: Then the anchor leg came through.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_01: We won the race.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_01: Nice.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_01: And after that, I ended up being on, that was just one of the relays I was able to be on for a few years.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_01: And that led to 2019, I was actually able to be on the world relay team uh in the four by four and a couple, a couple other unique experiences, but just again, go to show that you got to believe in yourself.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_01: That first and second year, I wasn't on any, you know, US relay or team or anything like that.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_01: But because I kept training, I kept putting myself out there and just stayed in shape.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_01: My thing was I'm at the time I was in grad school, and I said, when else would I have the opportunity to continue running, see how fast I can go, see what opportunities I can get, right?
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_01: It's an amazing sport.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_01: I love the opportunities that it provides.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_01: And if there's any time to do it, it's these two years.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I was able to, you know, be able to make that and continue to make different teams and just have it opportunity to travel the world and do something that I love to do.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: This next phase is if you knew then what you know now.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_00: We're talking about experience.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_00: For the young sprinter right now in high school, maybe running their first sub-50, 400, and they're starting to believe this could be something real.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: What do they need to understand about what the next level actually demands?
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's more than just being fast.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, yeah, you have to be fast, but start to understand the other, like get the right people around you.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_01: I'll say get the right people around you, whether it's your coach, your parents, whether they're whether or not they've competed at a higher level, like somebody who understands the other side of the sport, because just like anything else, it's still a business, right?
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_01: So if you want to get started in it, there are some things that you have to do to make sure that you can be successful at that level.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_01: Because, yeah, you can run run a really fast time, but let's say you do get a contract, let's say you do get some of these other things that you know people are striving for.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_01: If you don't have the right person, we we all know about people in every industry, in music and business, and track and field who've had success, but didn't have the best contracts, didn't have the best managers, didn't have the best people around them.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_01: I say just start to understand that for yourself, what that looks like, have conversations, do some research for yourself as much as you can.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_01: Do I know with track and field a lot of it's behind, you know, these invisible walls that nobody knows.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_01: But do your best to do your due diligence to be ready for that next level.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_01: And also, again, it's not the end-all be-all, right?
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh there's a 1% of the population that's gonna make it to that highest level, to, you know, one of 1% that's gonna make it to the Olympics.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_01: And even outside of that, though, there's a one of one percent of who are gonna have the Nike, the Puma, the Under Armour, the all the different contracts uh to be able to even sustain you through that time.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_01: But understand you're still more than that as an athlete.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_01: You're still, or you're more than an athlete.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_01: So whatever your other passions are, find ways to still pursue those.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why I think school is so important for those that do go the college collegiate route.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, whether you do or not, but if you do go the collegiate route, when you get out, it's not 100% in on track.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it is to a level, but it's what are you still doing during that other free time outside of recovery, outside of training, take an hour to whether it's read, whether it's to learn something new, start a business, whatever that is, take the time to invest in yourself because we're not gonna be able to run forever, right?
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_01: But there's things you you've seen some amazing athletes like like Sonya Richards and those who after they, Sonya Richards, Ross, or there's some other athletes who go on, what was it?
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_01: Also Vogel, right?
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_01: They go after the sport and they're able to be on television, right?
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_01: They're able to do commentary.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_01: If that's your gift, go ahead, take the time and share your gift.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_01: I know we have a lot going on with TikTok and social media, Twitch and Instagram and all of those different aspects.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_01: Not to say everybody has to be that, but whatever your gift is, maybe if you're a doctor, if you want to be a lawyer, take the time to put energy and effort into it.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_01: So whenever that time comes, that track is no longer the top priority for you.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_01: You don't feel like, again, you lost that identity and you're starting completely over.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think you kind of touched on this next question, but let's dig in a little deeper.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_00: How about the college athlete who has the talent but is struggling with the grind, the daily training, the sacrifice, the moments where nobody's watching and you still have to choose to do the work.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_00: What do you say to that athlete?
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_01: Outside of what I already said, again, have conversations with your coaches.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_01: There you go.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_01: If they have mental health professionals that are that are on site or sports, sports psychologists, have those conversations.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_01: Put yourself, don't, don't keep it to yourself.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_01: If you're doing it by yourself, no mat you're not gonna be successful.
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_01: You can't be an athlete by yourself.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_01: Being an elite athlete takes a team.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_01: And if you stop, don't even think of your coach as somebody who's giving you orders.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_01: They're part of your team that's getting to success.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_01: Like this is your first business, essentially.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_01: You pick who your coach is, just like you pick what school you're going to, right?
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_01: So you have your coach, you have your, hopefully, your school has some physical therapist or things available.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe you're still on your parents' insurance so you can go get some other work done that's still covered for a few years.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe you have some NIL money or something coming through.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_01: Find the team that's gonna help you be successful.
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_01: If you have good friends around, good family members, parents, have those conversations with them because they're gonna be the ones, like I said earlier, that continue to speak life into you in those moments that you might not be motivated to keep going.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_01: And find a reason why.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_01: At the end of the day, why are you doing it?
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_01: And keep going as long as that reason is still valid.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_00: Love it.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: All right, John, let's take off the athlete hat, put on a coach's hat.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_00: From a coach's perspective, what do coaches and parents working with elite young track athletes, what did they need, what did they most need to understand about developing the whole athlete and not just focusing on the clock?
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we so it's it's hilarious.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_01: We actually had we had a track camp over at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center for Paratrock and Field.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_01: We had some at some up-and-coming athletes come in, and one of the sessions towards the end was it was a mental health talk with one of our sports psychologists.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_01: And the this is the exact question that we were kind of going through is well, the way she phrased it was what percentage of winning at any level of track and field or sport is mental.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, as you went around the room, everybody gave different answers, but the none of the answers were zero.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_01: And whether you think it's 5%, 10%, 80, 20, 70, 30, 50, 50, whatever percent that is, it's not zero.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_01: And a lot of athletes don't take the time to invest in that mental side.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_01: So for the parents, you're the, especially early on, you're the one that is pouring into their mental side, into their mentality and how they think about the sport and what they believe success is.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_01: So I say to those mentors, to those parents, to those coaches, speak life into those athletes.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_01: Give them that, not not saying we have to be all, you know, cheery, cheery, rah-rah, and everybody's gonna be successful, but just give them those good concepts of how to think about themselves, how to think about the sport and what winning, what really winning really is, who they're becoming through that process.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like I talked about, my coach did.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_01: And again, ask them why are they chasing it in the first place?
• 37:21
  SPEAKER_01: Are they chasing it because you're making them chase it?
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_01: Is that, or is that really something that they're wanting to do?
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, that simple question, asking that, allowing them to answer that and sit with that can really help even you understand as the person that's pouring into them.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_01: If they're chasing this because they just want a scholarship, then again, like we talked about earlier, the level of hard work, dedication, and time that they're gonna put into it is only gonna go so high.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_01: That's it.
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_01: If they're if their goal is, I just want to be part of a team, but they happen to be good, let them be good, right?
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_01: And be part of that team.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_01: But also if they decide to take it serious at some point, let that be their decision, not your decision because you feel if I had that talent, that's what I would do with it.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_01: Because, like we talked about earlier, that's not gonna, that's probably not gonna be their only talent.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_01: I get most 90% of the track athletes, or any sport, but 90% of track athletes, when you look at them on their biggest stage, they're doing so many other things, whether they can dance, whether they can sing, whether they write books, whether they're actors or actresses, or they have their own businesses, or they're they got this degree, that degree.
• 38:40
  SPEAKER_01: There's so many other things to elite-level athletes.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's never one thing.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_01: So if you happen to have an athlete who has the potential to get there, allow them the chance to love the sport and to fall in love with the things that that sport can provide for them, if that's the route that they want to go.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_00: So perfect, so perfect.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_00: With that one, I'm gonna turn it over to Aaron, which is segment five, rapid fire round.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron, it's all yours.
• 39:09
  unknown: Cool.
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron, give me half a second.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_00: Let me plug my phone in.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 39:13
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you, Thomas.
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, so rapid fire.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna start a sentence and you're gonna finish it.
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_02: It's super quick.
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_02: So discipline equals.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_01: Discipline equals.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_01: I'm horrible at rapid fire.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_01: Discipline equals success.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_02: Character equals.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_01: Character equals the person that you really are.
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_02: Integrity equals.
• 39:47
  SPEAKER_01: Integrity equals who you are when no one's looking.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_02: Accountability equals.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_01: Accountability equals the little things.
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_02: And legacy equals.
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_01: Legacy equals.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_01: What are people gonna say about you when you're not around?
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_02: There you go.
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_02: That's awesome.
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_02: What is one thing you'd never compromise on?
• 40:25
  SPEAKER_01: One thing I never compromise on, I say my faith, just always believing in God, making sure that I put him first in everything that I do, and just making that a central part of my not only my training and my everyday, but just my life in general.
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_02: And if you could put a message on the billboard for the next generation of athletes, whether it's sprinters or track athletes, what would your message to the next generation of athletes be?
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_01: Be yourself.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_01: I say be yourself.
• 40:59
  SPEAKER_01: Whatever that looks like, like your blueprint is in anybody else's blueprint.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_01: You can take bits and pieces from people that have been successful and even people that haven't been successful about what's gonna work for you.
• 41:11
  SPEAKER_01: But I think there's enough examples out there, you know, we can go on and on about people that have been able to win at different levels, different stages, but their success doesn't look like the person before them.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_01: And find out who you are, learn who you are, and then be authentically that.
• 41:31
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_02: That is so good.
• 41:34
  SPEAKER_02: Be yourself.
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_02: With that, I'm gonna kick it back to Thomas.
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks, Aaron.
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_00: Javon, as we wrap up, we'd like to turn over the floor to our guests.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_00: Is there something we didn't touch on today that you feel young athletes, coaches, or parents need to hear about competing at the highest level and building something that matters well beyond the sport?
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_03: Hmm.
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_03: Something we didn't touch on.
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_01: I say it's never the destination.
• 42:06
  SPEAKER_01: It's always just the preparation that you're doing to get where it is that you want to go.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_01: Even in my last four years as being a guide athlete on the Paralympic side, just getting to work with some amazing individuals who, you know, you would never guess outside, you know, from outside in, you know, walk around looking at athletes who are visually impaired, right?
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_01: So like get the opportunity to guide them around a trap.
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_01: And if you see a person walking with their cane, right?
• 42:39
  SPEAKER_01: Or with the seeing guide dog, a guide dog, then that, you seeing them on the street, you would never be like, hey, that's a track and field athlete if you didn't know that places like the Paralympics existed, right?
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_01: And so being in that space and seeing athletes with various disabilities, whether it's, you know, one leg, no legs, wheelchair athletes, visually impaired athletes, whatever that is, don't minimize what someone else can do based on your perception of them.
• 43:11
  SPEAKER_01: And that kind of goes with what I said earlier and be yourself.
• 43:15
  SPEAKER_01: You can be whoever you are.
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_01: You can be that best athlete.
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_01: You can be your best self no matter what other people think about you.
• 43:23
  SPEAKER_01: So that plays on both sides.
• 43:24
  SPEAKER_01: Don't judge other people based on how you see how you see them, and don't let someone else put their judgment of how they see you on yourself.
• 43:33
  SPEAKER_01: Because I show up every single day to training and I see people do what most people in society would consider amazing or impossible.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_01: And to them, it's just another day.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_01: It's just another day of going to run and jump.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_01: They just need certain accessibility features to be able to do that same thing.
• 43:54
  SPEAKER_01: But I guarantee you, many of them are in much better shape than most of the people in society.
• 43:59
  SPEAKER_01: But If they would let those people from the outside determine who they were going to be, then they probably wouldn't definitely wouldn't be in the same position that they're in right now.
• 44:09
  SPEAKER_01: So control that narrative.
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_00: You control your own perception.
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_00: Final two questions.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_00: You talk about like a hidden talent or a secret talent.
• 44:17
  SPEAKER_00: Share with the world what is Yavon's hidden talent or secret talent?
• 44:22
  SPEAKER_01: Hidden or secret talents.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_01: I just like making sure other people are successful.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_01: That's I'm the cheerleader, the motivator, the hype man.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like back to the athlete thing, there's so many things that I can do and I love to do.
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_01: And anything that I put my mind to, I'm gonna do it to the best of my ability.
• 44:41
  SPEAKER_01: I love to swim.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_01: I was on the swim team in high school.
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_01: I love to sing.
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_01: I love to just, there's so many things that I love to do.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_01: But at the same time, I think my biggest, one of my best traits is putting other people front and center and allowing their light to shine.
• 44:58
  SPEAKER_01: And that's think that's what allows me to be a guide runner, is I'm not the person that's finishing first in that race.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_01: I have to put myself in a position where I know if I've if I cross the finish line before my athlete, then we're actually disqualified.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_01: The race is over, right?
• 45:15
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm going around, I'm running at their pace.
• 45:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I might be faster and stronger, which is one of the things that is a requirement, right?
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm going at their pace.
• 45:25
  SPEAKER_01: I'm making sure that I'm motivating them and putting them in position to run as fast as they possibly can and allowing them to be able to cross that finish line.
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_01: So I really take that.
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_01: I've done that in many different areas of life, not just running as a guide runner, but just putting other people in position to really win, whether it's, hey, okay, I was talking to you and oh, wait, what's that business you have over there?
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, you guys should really link up and get this started.
• 45:53
  SPEAKER_01: Do you mind if I share your number?
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_01: You mind if I share your contact?
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_01: And just putting people in position, that connector, right?
• 45:58
  SPEAKER_01: Putting people in position to win.
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_00: All right, final question.
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_00: If you had an opportunity to put together Javon's dream team for the 400 meter, what leg would you run?
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_00: And who would be the other three sprinters?
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_00: Any era, any country, anything?
• 46:17
  SPEAKER_00: What would be your dream team?
• 46:19
  SPEAKER_00: We're talking about the four by four?
• 46:21
  SPEAKER_00: Four by four.
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_01: Oh there's so many new athletes too, just that just ran crazy.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_01: I say my dream four by four, just is based on growing up.
• 46:39
  SPEAKER_01: That's a good one.
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_01: Sean Merritt.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 46:47
  SPEAKER_01: Gotta have.
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_01: That's a good one.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_01: What leg would I even run on this relay?
• 46:55
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 46:56
  SPEAKER_01: I would I would have I'll probably go third.
• 46:58
  SPEAKER_01: I'll probably go third.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_01: I'll put oh Wade Vernon, I'm putting him first.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_01: There you go.
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_01: The way he ran that, yeah, that he gotta go first.
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_01: Got the world record.
• 47:11
  SPEAKER_01: I'll put you same boat second.
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_01: I'll put I'll put you same boat second to me, and I'll have Lashaw uh closing that out.
• 47:20
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
• 47:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, you got so many great ones, right?
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_00: Old school Michael Johnson, Jeremy Warner, Quincy Hall.
• 47:27
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's just so many great ones.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_01: There's so many different ways you can go with that.
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I love it.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_00: Javon, thank you so much.
• 47:37
  SPEAKER_00: Where can people get a hold of you?
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_00: Whether it's a website or whether it's a social media handles or your account.
• 47:44
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna say uh justinvision.com, J-U-S T, the letter N, V-I-S-I-O-N.com, uh, for coaching or any type of events, I will say you can contact, connect with me via social media at Javon Jamal on pretty much, yeah, all social media, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, J-V-O-N-J-A-A-M-A-L.
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_01: But also, if you type my name in, I'm pretty sure all of that will come up.
• 48:15
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, feel free to reach out, whether it's for a speaking engagement, a keynote.
• 48:20
  SPEAKER_01: I'd love to do different guide writing tutorials and show people what you know, the power of the tether and trust and build building those types of connections, whether it's with an organization or individuals.
• 48:33
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, any any of those platforms would work.
• 48:36
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_00: I love it, Javon.
• 48:38
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for showing us what it looks like to build a standard before the results arrive and hold it when the competition gets hard.
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_00: Stephen, this conversation here, you do two things for us.
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_00: One, share this episode with someone who needs to hear it, a young sprinter trying to understand what the national stage actually demands.
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_00: A college athlete choosing between comfort and commitment, a coach or parent who wants to develop the whole athlete, not just the clock or the times.
• 49:02
  SPEAKER_00: And two, follow Javon and support his career.
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_00: He gave you his social media handles.
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_00: We'll have it in the show notes.
• 49:08
  SPEAKER_00: This story is still, his story is still being written, and you want to be there when the next chapter is written.
• 49:14
  SPEAKER_00: And teens, if this if you're an athlete parent or coach, you're ready to raise the standard, check out Aaron and myself at blueprintbluechip.com.com.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_00: We help athletes build identity, discipline, and legacy that goes well beyond the game.
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_00: And if this as episode has resonated with you, leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
• 49:33
  SPEAKER_00: It helps us reach more athletes, parents, and leaders who need to hear the message Javon just shared.
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_00: This is a standard podcast, and this movement only grows when we raise a standard together.
• 49:44
  SPEAKER_00: Talent fades, but truth endures.
• 49:46
  SPEAKER_00: Let's raise the bar, rebuild the culture, and become the standard.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron, thank you guys so much.
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_00: You guys have a great rest of your day.
• 49:52
  SPEAKER_00: Team, we'll see you next time.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_00: Take care.