This weekend, we hosted our 5th Utopia Open. I watched kids compete, parents cheer, and coaches guide. I also watched frustration, tears, and moments that didn't go the way people hoped. And I was reminded: competition teaches us more than technique and game plans. It teaches us how to show up when things don't go our way. Drew and I spend a lot of time curating these matches. We want them to be competitive. We want them to push our student-athletes. We want them to be challenging, because that's where growth happens. But with competition comes adversity. Calls get missed. Matches feel unfair. Emotions run high. And that's not a flaw in the process. That's part of the lesson. The Reality of Competition Refs are human. Coaches are human. We miss things. A call doesn't go the way you think it should. A match feels one-sided. Your kid loses, and it doesn't feel fair. I get it. I see the frustration. I see parents questioning calls. I see kids crying after tough losses. And here's what I want you to know: we see it too. We care. We want every match to be fair, every call to be right, every kid to have their best moment. But competition isn't perfect. It can't be. Because the people running it, coaching through it, and the student athletes competing in it are all human. The Life Lesson Here's the truth: life doesn't always go your way either. You'll work hard and not get the promotion. You'll do everything right and still face setbacks. You'll show up with integrity and still encounter unfairness. That's not pessimism. That's reality. And if we only teach kids how to succeed when everything goes perfectly, we're not preparing them for life. We're setting them up to crumble the first time things don't go their way. Competition teaches resilience. It teaches you how to lose with grace. How to handle frustration without falling apart. How to keep showing up even when the outcome isn't what you hoped for. That's the lesson. Not the medal. Not the win. The ability to face adversity and choose to keep going.

"What will they say?" This reflection comes from a sermon I heard at church this morning. "What will they say about you when you leave this earth?" I often think about this and how I approach the human experience, from both spectrums. I've hurt people on my journey and still think about the times I shoulda, coulda, woulda done better. What I think about most is how do I counteract some of my early mistakes with good? What would my wife, children, close associates say on the inevitable day when I am no longer there to defend my actions? In my wiser years this is my guiding compass. I can't change the past, but I can learn from it. Not only can I do better, I can coach those who I see are facing similar circumstances by offering them a choice. The choice to make the same mistakes or take the wisdom and do better than I did. This week, a teenage student athlete pulled me aside during class to share his struggles with following his own path versus doing what his father wants. In that moment, I got to offer him my perspective while respecting his father at the same time. It isn't just philosophical, it's practical. With each high five, each time I listen without distraction, each time I message someone close just to let them know I am thinking of them, builds what I hope fills churches one day. "Coach Vern, Vernon, My husband, My daddy, My mentor, My friend was patient, always striving to do better than yesterday. He was a man who wanted to heal hearts and grow minds. He was a man who was relentless in the pursuit of community. His convictions revolved around kindness through the help of others, sometimes to his own detriment. He is and always will be a light and an example of, no matter the circumstances you can become undeniable." Accomplished this week - STORM team met over the weekend - 10 members in our SKOOL Community! Thank You! - Published a LinkedIn article about how parental entitlement impacts our kids. Click here! - Reviewed 6 chapters of the Powerful Parenting Playbook - Trained over at Neutral Ground HQ with some awesome teammates - Represented Utopia Martial Arts at Grafton High School career day - gave teens permission to not have it figured out yet and honored their potential instead of lecturing about my path

At Utopia, our word of the month is humility. I could play it safe and define it each week, hand out generic examples, and check the box. But that’s not leadership. Leadership is lived. So this week I modeled humility in a way my students didn’t expect. I told them the truth: “I’m scared. I’m nervous. I’m anxious about my upcoming Quintet.”Their eyes went wide. Jaws dropped. What? Coach Vern scared? That was the lesson. Humility isn’t pretending you have no fear. Humility is admitting you’re human. And courage isn’t the absence of fear it’s choosing to step forward with the fear. As the Stoics remind us: “The obstacle is the way.” Here’s how I framed it for them: - Fear is natural. - Courage is action in spite of fear. - Humility is being honest about both. Until the day of competition, I’ll keep preparing. I’ll keep showing up on the mats. And I’ll face the obstacle head-on. Not because I have no fear — but because I refuse to let fear make my decisions for me. Wins from the Week: - Modeled humility to my students through real vulnerability - Tested 5 student athletes for advanced class and all passed - Locked in an EOS check-in system and finished Day 1 post - Spent time with family while still moving Coach V3 forward Challenges: - Still refining our first lead magnet (Playbook Pages may not be the final form) - Balancing the 9–5 / 5–9 grind continues to test energy management To-Dos for the Week Ahead: - Update Scorecard daily with real numbers - Draft brand one-pager (Mission/Vision/Values pulled cleanly) - Explore alternative lead magnet ideas - Post Day 2–Day 4 community content consistently Random Thoughts / Ideas: - Humility might be the gateway value for everything else we teach parents and coaches - Modeling vulnerability to students hits harder than lecturing them about character - Coach V3 is moving from “concept” to “system” consistency is the multiplier If you find these reflections valuable, stick around. This space isn’t just about parenting or coaching, it’s about building the kind of leaders our kids deserve.

We made it to another Friday! With "irons in many fires" I've been able to accomplish a lot. One of my strong suits is "communication". When people use to ask me how are ya, I would say good, or even worse busy. Truth is "busy" means running in the hampster wheel, using a lot of energy but not progressing. As the weekend approach here are a few of my personal micro goals, you can copy if you'd like. Work on myself physically: ruck walking, working out Work on myself mentally: reading, journaling, studying, note taking Working on my relationships: 1 on 1 time, family time Working on me professionally: Personal Brand work, book editing work, Skool classroom work Working on myself spirtually: church, philosphy, connecting myself with something bigger than myself Micro-goals make it easier long term to accomplish these goals can be as short as 5-10 minutes, but I usually chunk my time block within 30 minute intervals. What is everyone doing on this extended weekend!?

Did yall practice gratitude today? What are you thankful for, big or small?