Latest / The Bubble Lounge (Highland Park & University Park Texas) / Coach Randy Allen - On and Off the Field with Highland Park Football

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Coach Randy Allen - On and Off the Field with Highland Park Football · The Bubble Lounge (Highland Park & University Park Texas)

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the BubLounge.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: We're still in the heat of summer, but in a few short weeks Highland Park will embark on their 101st football season and I knew you all would want to know the scoop of what we could expect and what to look forward to to the upcoming season.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: I didn't mess around.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: I went straight to the top of the football chain and I invited Coach Randy Allen to come join me today to talk about the season.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Coach Allen needs to introduction this community, or around the country for that matter.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: However, he has a very impressive list of accolades.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: Coach Allen was the Tom Landry Coach of the Year 2009, a Texas Sports Hall of Fame nominee for 2024, and the number one winningness active high school football coach in Texas.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: Andy's been the head coach of Highland Park for 25 years.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: In this interview, we cover the history of Highland Park football over the past 100 years, why Coach Allen wears a fedora, what it was like to see Matthew Stafford play and win in the Super Bowl and what it's like to be a Highland Park football player.
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: You're going to love this episode and we'll be right back after this short break.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: We know how crucial your children's education is to you.
• 1:19
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• 1:24
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• 2:08
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• 2:17
  Speaker 1: As summer wraps up in a new school year approaches, it's time for the most anticipated event of the season Back to school shopping.
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: And what better place to spruce up your child's wardrobe than Kid Biz and the Biz, your local neighborhood store in Inwood Village.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: Born out of a vision to bring fashion-forward designer clothes to kids and teens, kid Biz is not just a store.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: It's a local style haven run by the dynamic duo, janet and Jay Finegold, who have years of experience in the fashion industry.
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: They're not just in the business of clothes, they're in the business of fun, trendy and personalized fashion.
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: So if you're looking for that perfect first day of school outfit, then Kid Biz and the Biz are your go-to destinations in Inwood Village.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: And don't forget Backpacks, john Hart.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: Backpacks are all the rage in Highland Park and Kid Biz has a great selection of sizes and colors in stock.
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: And here's a special deal.
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: Kid Biz is offering free monogramming on all in-store backpacks through Sunday, august 13th.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: Isn't that a deal to add some unique flair to your child's school gear?
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: So, parents, don't wait Shop local and make back-to-school shopping a breeze with Kid Biz.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: Visit KidBizUSAcom that's K-I-D-B-I-Z-USAcom to learn more.
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: Coach Allen, I am so excited to have you here today.
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: Thank you for joining me on the Bubble Lounge podcast.
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: Thank you, Martha, for having me.
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: I'm really excited to talk to the moms of Highland Park.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: Absolutely Well.
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: The big news is this summer is that we have a new sound system at Highlander Stadium and I was there on one of the first times that they cranked it up and it's pretty impressive.
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: It is, it's very loud, in which for some of the fans right next to the press box it may be too loud, but I think everybody's going to be really happy with the sound system.
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: And you know last year when we introduced Matthew Stafford at halftime and it didn't work.
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: I think that was when we had some very generous people in Highland Park who helped us purchase this great sound system.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: Well, absolutely.
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: I was a videographer for the Highland Bells and I was right there on the 50 yard line for the whole thing.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: So I was extremely close and I could not hear a word.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: And you're absolutely right, I could literally see people writing checks, right there on the spot.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: So anyways, you know everything happens for a reason, so I'm super excited for everyone to hear it.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: It's really impressive.
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: Thank you.
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: Well, so let's start with this.
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: You recently had a former player, matthew Stafford, again play in the Super Bowl not only playing it, but winning it, and you were right there with your wife.
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: What was it like seeing a former player play in the Super Bowl?
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: It was.
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: We felt like it was a once in a lifetime experience.
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: So we went to see Matthew play San Francisco the week before, and so it was a great setting.
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: So far, stadium's a beautiful stadium and I didn't want to bother Matthew so, but we did see his mother and several of the former players as we walked into the stadium, and so that was exciting.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: And then the next week my son called the Joneses and asked if they could get tickets, and they so he surprised me with tickets to the Super Bowl.
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: So my son and his two sons, we flew to California and spent the night and then got up and went to the Super Bowl the next day.
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: And then what a great game.
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: Matthew threw the touchdown winning pass at the very end.
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: And just a story year, because Matthew got traded from Detroit to Los, the LA Rams, for the sole purpose of winning the Super Bowl and they were hosting it.
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: And so what a storybook year for Matthew, and he's a great representative of Highland Park Football and I'm very proud of all the things that Matthew Stafford's done.
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: Well, I saw all the pictures on social media of you and your wife and the stands and watching you just like, so happy and just so proud.
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: I love seeing that.
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: Well, and I didn't want to bother Matthew so I didn't tell him that I was coming to the game and I didn't want to bother him after the game.
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: We did go to post game party by the Rams and I was looking for Matthew but he had his own party so I didn't get to see him after the game.
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: But he came to Dallas to see his mother and we got to be together at that time and you know it's just great.
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: I mean we spent three years in my office, you know, going over football, and we became really good friends and so to see him going to be a great father and a good husband and a great player is really exciting.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's got to just make you so proud.
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: Well, you have obviously an extremely impressive resume and background and accolades.
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: Of all the accolades you have, what is which one means the most to you?
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: I think the Tom Landry Award probably means the most, simply because of the kind of person Tom Landry was and how he represented football in the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas area and really nationwide.
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: But Coach Landry was big in the fellowship Christian athletes and he used his influence as the head football coach of the Cowboys to make impact on young people and I know people were very.
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: All coaches are very proud of Coach Landry and we kind of model some of the things we do after his example.
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: Absolutely.
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: I feel like that all your values are extremely similar to his.
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: And I remember, again tying in with being the videographer for the Bells.
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: I was at all the Pepperelle, the very first Pepperelle of the season last year.
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: You threw your fedora out into the audience and the crowd went crazy they loved it, and so what part of wearing the fedora ties in with Tom Landry Well, there's a good story behind this.
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: It may take me a while to tell it, but we were playing Lancaster when Matthew was, I guess, a sophomore.
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: We had eight players of discipline for problems they'd had in the summer and we were defeated by Lancaster in the first game of the season.
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: And the year before I had won a fedora the whole season because Coach Landry had passed away and I wanted to honor him.
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: So the second season after his passing I wasn't going to wear it, I wore a baseball cap, and so we got beat by Lancaster in that first game.
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: And so at the Booster Club meeting the next Monday night I got up and of course all the parents had their reasons why we got beat.
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: You know it was wet, or you know we slept on a field goal attempt or whatever the reasons were.
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: And after they got through giving me all their reasons, I had a box behind me and that box was a fedora.
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: So I opened that box and I said the reason we didn't win is because I didn't wear my fedora.
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: So I put it on and we won about 13 games in a row after that.
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: So I just decided to wear it every game.
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: We just kept it ever since.
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: Well, one of my favorite signs during the playoffs was one of the bells had a sign that said fear the fedora and it just it stuck with me.
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: I thought it was so funny and I loved it and I love that you've carried on that tradition Well one of the great things that happens each year is that before the last home game regular season home game we get together and at gym and all the seniors wear a fedora and I sit in the middle of them and we take a picture.
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: And that's a real thrill for me to get my picture made with our seniors.
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: I love that.
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: I mean HP is so.
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: We love our traditions and that's very meaningful.
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: I love it.
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: Well, last year Highland Park celebrated 100 years of football.
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: Can you walk us through the history?
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: How did it start and how it's evolved?
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: We started playing football in 1923 and over a hundred years we've won.
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: We've averaged winning over eight games a season.
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: We're the winningest football program in the history of Texas High School football and the you know it's tradition is something you, if you have it when you are coaching football, you want to do everything you can to protect it.
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: And we still have the, the goals from the 1957 football team that was the captains were a dope Walker, so we put those right above the drinking fountain so that our players will see all those goals and it's a very traditions, a very big part of our football program, and so we're really proud of.
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: The hundred years was such a special time because we could honor some really outstanding players.
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: When Matthew had one day that he could come back to be honored at halftime.
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: He played on Thursday night, he practiced on Friday morning, then he got in the plane and flew with his wife and kids to love feel, made it to the stadium about six o'clock and we had a reception for all the players that he had played with in the Clement Center and then he walked over to the stadium at halftime and and went out on a field with his family to receive the plaque and the frame jersey.
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: But when Matthew left there were a bunch of young kids out there in the street, grassmere, warning his autograph and he stayed as long as they wanted to stay to sign their whatever.
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: If they wanted him to sign, he signed their autograph.
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: And that's really been Matthew.
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: The whole time I've known him is that he was really kind to young men or young people that that want to get his autograph.
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: He stays late and he does things the right way well that literally I just got goosebumps when you said that, because I love when somebody that big will will hang out with the kids visit.
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: So important like they're just like cherishing these people and they're wanting to get involved with football and that right there, just like gave them that hope that this guy is just absolutely amazing and he just gave me some attention and signed my jersey or whatever it was and it's so important to do that and I love that he takes the time to do that we honored two other former Scots that were great players.
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: David Richards, who was a, played in NFL for 11 years, was an all-american in college, and Jack Collins, who played on the state championship team.
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: So there were three great Scots that were that were honored at halftime to make that 100-year special well, that's so wonderful.
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: Well, I have an incoming freshman and I've just been thinking about this a lot that you're getting these guys at kind of a awkward time.
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: They're coming from middle school which no one will ever tell you is a good time in their life.
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: It's a very awkward time coming into high school a lot going on with them.
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: How do you instill the values of the program in this group of guys?
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: well, I have a football camp.
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: I have one starting Monday, but in that football camp we talk about our six-core values and we want we tell, we ask them who can stand up and give me the six-core values because we want them taught seventh grade through twelfth grade.
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: We want them to know what those values are and what they mean.
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: And then we show highlight films of former great players or great teams that we've had, because we want them to start dreaming just like those guys did.
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: In 2005, 2016, 2017, 2018.
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: We won the state championship and so we we really think tradition is a huge part of what we do and we want those young boys to know that we couldn't do it without them, so we got to have them, and that they they can be something special if they set their mind to it and they play the game and they keep improving and they do the things that we ask them to do.
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: We have four great freshman coaches that we put with our freshmen and we have two varsity coaches that also go with them and part of practice, so they're getting the same thing that our high school seniors are getting at just a little bit simpler level so tell me what are the six-core values?
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: Martha, I have to do.
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: My hand signals commitment, enthusiasm, mental and physical toughness, integrity, teamwork and tradition those are six core values and the hand signals just help.
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: It makes it easier to remember when you have hand signals with those values.
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: And then we talked to them about what?
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: What does commitment mean?
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: My word is my bond.
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: If I tell you something, I'm going to keep my word.
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: And then we talked to him about enthusiasm.
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: You know nothing greats that accomplish without enthusiasm.
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: And just when you come to practice, play your very best, a hundred percent effort, do things exactly right.
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: And then we talked to him about mental and physical toughness.
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: When we go and get stuff, the scouts get going.
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: Scouts find a way.
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: And then we talk about integrity.
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: You know, tell the truth, be honest.
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: And then, when we talk about teamwork, you got to put the team first.
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: And then the last one is tradition.
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: If we've done it once, we can do it again well, that's so great.
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: Those are all amazing.
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: But I want to talk to you about Scotty's find a way, because that is such a catchphrase that we all say like we're watching the game maybe sometimes we're a little bit down, we going to have time, and you can hear people around us say you know what?
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: Scotty's find a way, tell me about that our boys are great about believe, believing that they're going to find a way to win a game if they're favored, or if they're not favored and back.
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: I guess the game that exemplifies this more than any any game was in 2017, when we beat Manville in the state championship game and we were behind at half time and they had a great football team and John Steven was quarterback and Kate Sausted was he might have a career day catching a ball and Finn Corwin was making great plays and we came and scored the winning touchdown with about 58 seconds to go and we thought we had the game one, and yet Manville came back because they were so talented and James Herring and Hudson Clark made the tackle on the one yard line on the last play of the game.
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: But it was a game that we weren't favored to win.
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: It was a game that we were behind most of the game until the last 58 seconds.
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: It was a game that where our guys had to have the perseverance and the confidence and the belief to keep coming back time and time again or we would have lost that game, and so I think having seen our football team come from behind and win close games is why that statement is so important.
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: Well, I think the reason that one stands out to me so much is because, along with many others, is it just is something that we can apply in life is never give up, even when you feel like you're down, you're behind, whatever it is.
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: Just keep persevering and like push through.
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: You will find a way to make it happen if you really want it bad enough.
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: That's right, and our players are raised to believe that.
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: They're raised to think that way in their heart and on the sidelines, when we're behind you, should be able to hear that from our players.
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: They they've got to believe that too.
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: Well, you can definitely tell in the stands.
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: It's so fun to be on the other side and be in the stands and watch that and feel a little bit nervous when we going to have time and then to see you guys come back afterwards.
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: It's really, it's a great feeling.
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: Coach Allen, you've been involved with football for a really long time, specifically with Highland Park for about 25 years.
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: Tell me how you've seen the game change.
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: Well, to be honest, martha, we're still running the same type of offense that we ran 25 years ago.
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: We were under center when I first came but and now we're all shotgun but we're four wide outs most of the time.
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: So offensively we're very similar.
• 18:07
  Speaker 2: If you were to look back at those films, probably in early 2000s, you would see a very similar offense.
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: I think what's changed is tempo and on offense A lot of teams are speeding up the game by going fast tempo and that affects your defense as well.
• 18:26
  Speaker 2: But defensively we went from a four down lineman defense to a three down lineman defense about the third year I was here and we've had changeover and coaches, but we've maintained those building blocks so that our players from the seventh grade on are running the same offense, same defense here in the same terminology, and continuity in football is so important.
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: It gives our boys such an advantage.
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: When they've run the offense, before they've run the defense, they kind of pick out the position they want to play and they can tell you if you ask them what position you play.
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: They know because that's they've seen those guys play on Friday nights and they kind of dream about playing a certain position.
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: The thing about football.
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: That's probably changed is, of course, the kids are getting stronger and faster and bigger, but the NIL and the transfer portal has kind of filtered down to the high school and it's not a positive change in my thought.
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: I always raised that if you went to high, you know, if I was in junior high, I was going to go to Highland Park and I was a Scott and I wanted to be a Scott and so you had loyalty to school and you didn't move just because things got tough, or you didn't move because maybe I couldn't start when I was sophomore.
• 19:49
  Speaker 2: You just stuck it out and waited your turn because you were loyal to the school and loyal to your teammates.
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: And I think because of the NIL that's name, likeness, image and players now getting money for college football there's more emphasis on the individual and some players are more selfish, especially if they're really talented, and so it's harder to build a team where everybody's in it for the team and not themselves, and so those are the biggest changes that I see.
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: I don't know how much you know.
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: I mean I think the game is safer and we're going to talk about that later, but I think there have been a lot of changes in equipment that have made the game safer.
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: There's been a lot of changes in rules to make the game safer.
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: Targeting is a rule change that really has changed how you tackle.
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: We have to get a certification every year as a football coach to learn how to tackle.
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: We're tackling more with our shoulder rather than with our head.
• 20:57
  Speaker 2: I think that's caused fewer injuries and I think it's made the game a better game.
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: So those are just some areas that I think are right off the top of my head.
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: Well, I think that's interesting what you said about the portal, because we interviewed the head coach of SMU not too long ago and we talked about the portal then and I didn't realize it had trickled down to a high school level.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: But what you're saying is the individual versus the team, and what I really like about your program is the fact that we don't have names on the jerseys, because it's all about the team and not the individual, and I like that.
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: We've always stuck with that, even though it's confusing to me as a mom watching who's doing what.
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: I always have to look at the roster to figure out who's?
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: Doing what, but I think it's really amazing and a great tradition that you've stuck with that.
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: Well, there was a game in which one of our players said after the game we're playing for the what?
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: The name on the front of the jersey, not the name on the back of the jersey.
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: So our players really believe in the team concept and really, when you're we go into some games and if you were to just look at the other end of the stadium where the opponents are warming up and you looked at our team, you wouldn't think that we could win.
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: But our guys, because they play together as a team, can beat teams with a greater talent because they play together and they believe in each other.
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: They work really hard.
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: That's something that a lot of people don't know about our boys, but they work extremely hard.
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: I just left them in there some of the work out.
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: They work out from two to four, four days a week and they were lifting weights in the weight room and they're committed to be up at this field house from two to four in 110 degree temperature, four days a week.
• 22:52
  Speaker 2: So once they sacrifice and they're there with their teammates and they make that sacrifice, they're hard to beat Because they believe in each other.
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: They've seen that the other guy's going to fight and he's going to be there for them, and they've sacrificed and worked so hard.
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: That's what makes our football team hard to beat.
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: Absolutely Well.
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: What do you think?
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: What gets them to that position?
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: Because it's hard to motivate kids these days.
• 23:20
  Speaker 2: Well, we're big on setting goals, and here's the other thing about our guys they're great leaders.
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: We elect a player committee to start in the spring, which usually is 12 players.
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: So we put all the seniors' names on a ballot and our juniors and seniors get to vote on 12 guys who, having gone through offseason together, they want to elect 12 players to represent all the things that we are preaching, like 100% effort to do things exactly right, et cetera, and so they elect those 12 guys and then those 12 guys get to talk to the team after one practice on a character trait, and then, after all, 12 of those boys get to talk about a character trait.
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: Then we elect four captains.
• 24:08
  Speaker 2: So we put all those player committee names on a ballot, the juniors and seniors vote on four captains, and then those four captains are responsible for getting their teammates up there in the summer to work out.
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: In two weeks we're going to have a running camp where the captains get the teams up there, their teammates up to the school, and we work out for a couple hours.
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: But leadership is such a big part of what we do and our boys are great leaders and I've coached in other schools where the players didn't respect each other enough to be quiet for a team meeting.
• 24:44
  Speaker 2: But if you come to one of our team meetings, our players are respectful to the leadership and they can listen and they have their own meeting.
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: They have their own team meeting when the coaches leave on Thursday afternoon getting ready for the Friday night game.
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: Well, I agree with you.
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: We had the captains on last season right before the first game and I mean just their dynamics were amazing.
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: You could just tell that they were so cohesive and respected each other and, just like, respected the entire team, and we love talking with them and we're going to have the captains on again this year.
• 25:16
  Speaker 2: That would be great.
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: Well, let's get back to safety for a minute, because I hear a lot of parents talking about their concerns.
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: Maybe they don't want to have their kids play football because they're concerned about safety and concussions and things like that.
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: But things have evolved over the years and things have gotten a bit safer.
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: Well, they've gotten a whole lot safer.
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: Our trainers and our coaches are so much aware we have to take a course.
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: The UIL requires all our coaches to take course and safety.
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: I just got through my first day at CPR certification.
• 25:53
  Speaker 2: So we're all taking safety classes so that we're on the lookout for signs of danger, signs that our players have a concussion or they're having heat problems or whatever it is.
• 26:06
  Speaker 2: But our helmets are so much better and, like I said, we're teaching tackling differently and we're penalizing players for putting their head in there and hitting an unprotected player so that we're discouraging that kind of contact.
• 26:23
  Speaker 2: And shoulder pads are getting better.
• 26:27
  Speaker 2: I mean all the equipment's getting better.
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: Rule changes Now we can't block below the waist except within between the tackle box.
• 26:36
  Speaker 2: It used to be you could block below the waist anywhere on the field, but that's decreased the number of knee injuries and so the rules are changing.
• 26:46
  Speaker 2: The equipment is getting safer.
• 26:48
  Speaker 2: You can see the NFL also enacting certain rules and it all trickles down to us.
• 26:56
  Speaker 2: A lot of injuries occur on a kickoff.
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: There's a lot of talk that they're going to take the kickoff out of football or they're going to do something different about kickoffs.
• 27:04
  Speaker 2: But we in practice, we're always aware of not over matching a player, In other words, not putting a player against somebody a lot bigger and stronger, so there's a chance for injury.
• 27:18
  Speaker 2: We try to stay off the ground because we're playing man-to-man defense.
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: I don't want somebody getting hit and breaking a collarbone, and so our trainers are on the field with us and so they're very aware of when a player gets injured boy, they're right there with them and we think we have three of the best trainers in Texas with our players and we're really proud of our safety record, and we're, you know we try to keep our kids safe all year.
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: Well, I think we've come a long way from the leather helmets from back in the day.
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: Well, that sounds like great improvements.
• 27:55
  Speaker 2: Oh, the other thing we've done is we hydrate them, we give them things for not getting cramps and yet if you watch the first game of the season, we seem to have a lot of cramps.
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: But we do a lot of things to try to prevent cramps, but during practice we have at least three breaks where they can get water.
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: Well, I've heard that.
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: I remember at the beginning of the season last year being told that and I noticed that and the captain's talked about it, and so I know that you're very much on top of it.
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: So, again, you've been involved with football for quite a while, especially with Highland Park.
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: Tell me how things have changed in regards to parents, because I feel, like modern day parents, we really like to get involved with things.
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: Sometimes that can be a good thing.
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: Sometimes maybe not Well, a couple of couple ideas.
• 28:42
  Speaker 2: Number one we have a parent meeting in preseason and I talked to our parents about how we're going to operate and how important they are to what we do.
• 28:51
  Speaker 2: And there's a four, there's a four-way test that we use.
• 28:55
  Speaker 2: You got to have players that believe in players, players that believe in coaches, coaches that believe in players and coaches that believe in coaches.
• 29:02
  Speaker 2: But then I tell them there's six at Highland Park.
• 29:04
  Speaker 2: You got to have parents that believe in coaches.
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: You got to have parents that believe in kids, the players.
• 29:09
  Speaker 2: And what I tell them is I can't coach your son unless you have confidence that I can do it, or that I'm going to give him information and I'm going to build a character in him.
• 29:20
  Speaker 2: And you got to trust me and that trust allows me to coach your son and not worry about repercussions from a parent meeting or something.
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: And I tell them the story that when I was at sophomore in high school at Adelaide Cooper, our football coach was Meryl Green and Meryl wanted to teach toughness and so I was running back and he put the first team offense, the varsity offense, against the JV team.
• 29:49
  Speaker 2: Well, I was a sophomore so most of my teammates were on that JV team.
• 29:52
  Speaker 2: He said 46F, which was the play.
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: I carried the ball off tackle.
• 29:57
  Speaker 2: So I ran up in there and my sophomore buddies hit me really hard and so I was dragging my leg back to the huddle and he said 46F again.
• 30:07
  Speaker 2: I thought surely he saw that I'm dragging my leg so he'll get me out of this drill.
• 30:11
  Speaker 2: But no, he called my net play.
• 30:13
  Speaker 2: So I ran it again and they hit me even harder that time.
• 30:16
  Speaker 2: Now I'm crying, dragging that leg.
• 30:17
  Speaker 2: I'm thinking surely Coach Green is going to get me out of this drill.
• 30:20
  Speaker 2: And he said 46F, 46f, 46f, 46f.
• 30:25
  Speaker 2: And I was thinking, man, I can't wait to get home and tell my parents what this coach did to me.
• 30:30
  Speaker 2: So after dinner we were sitting around in a living room.
• 30:34
  Speaker 2: I said, dad, you won't believe what happened today, what happened.
• 30:36
  Speaker 2: So I said, well, coach Green made me carry the ball and my leg was hurt.
• 30:41
  Speaker 2: And he made me carry it again and again, and again and again.
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: And he looked at me and he said Randy, don't you realize what he's trying to do?
• 30:48
  Speaker 2: And I said no, sir.
• 30:49
  Speaker 2: He said he's trying to make a football player out of you.
• 30:51
  Speaker 2: And I thought, well, there's no reason to come home and complain to my dad.
• 30:56
  Speaker 2: I better do what that coach wants me to do, because I'm not going to get any sympathy from my dad.
• 31:01
  Speaker 2: Because my dad believed in Coach Green and he knew he was doing what was best for me.
• 31:04
  Speaker 2: Coach Green wound up hiring me for my first coaching job when I graduated from SMU.
• 31:09
  Speaker 2: He recommended me for my first head coaching job at Ballinger.
• 31:13
  Speaker 2: He's a mentor and a great friend now.
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: There you go.
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: Parents, Listen to that.
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: We need to trust the process and trust the professionals.
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: Well, last season was our first time to be in 6A in a while and it ended up going very well.
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: There was a lot of talk about maybe things wouldn't go as they had in the past, but it ended up going very well.
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: What do you see is going to happen this season?
• 31:41
  Speaker 2: We graduated a strong senior class last year and we had a good spring training and we've got some young men that are developing and will play their best football their senior year and I really look for us to be very good football team this year.
• 31:57
  Speaker 2: We only have two starters back on defense I mean offense and three on defense, which is the fewest number of starters back on any of the teams in our district.
• 32:08
  Speaker 2: But our program is built on juniors who are willing to sit and wait their turn to be seniors and then they mature between their junior and senior year and then they play better than we ever dreamed they would.
• 32:23
  Speaker 2: So I just have confidence that our guys are working hard and they're going to give it everything they've got.
• 32:29
  Speaker 2: They want to have a successful year.
• 32:31
  Speaker 2: They know the baton of the tradition has been handed to those seniors and they're not going to let us down.
• 32:37
  Speaker 2: They're going to play their hearts out and they're going to be the best football team they can be.
• 32:42
  Speaker 2: And we've got a good schedule.
• 32:44
  Speaker 2: We've got a tough schedule.
• 32:45
  Speaker 2: Louisville, I think, was 13-1 last year, or 13-2 maybe.
• 32:50
  Speaker 2: They went two, three, four rounds in the playoffs and we were only one of the two teams to beat them.
• 32:56
  Speaker 2: They're the second game to be our first home game.
• 32:58
  Speaker 2: Marcus has a new coach, so they'll have a good football team and in a district like Highlands and Jesuit it'll be the teams to beat.
• 33:05
  Speaker 2: And Berkner is getting better and in the playoffs we played Arlington Bowie last year, which wound up being a pretty tough game, but then we played Geyer, who was the number one team in the state, and we played with them.
• 33:18
  Speaker 2: We turned the ball over three times and they beat us, but we can play with them and we need our guys to know what we've got to do to get past that second round.
• 33:29
  Speaker 2: So we're excited about the opportunity to get back, fight for a district championship and then go as far as we can in the playoffs.
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: Well, I have to tell you I'm on the countdown.
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: I literally can't wait for the first home game.
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: Well, coach Allen, thank you so much for taking the time to joining me today.
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: I'm so excited about the upcoming season.
• 33:47
  Speaker 2: Thank you, martha.
• 33:48
  Speaker 2: It's been a real pleasure to be here.
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: That's been another episode of the Boba Lounge.
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: I'm Martha Jackson and we'll catch you next time.