More Than The Scoreboard | Leadership, Culture & Accountability

Episode 97 – Norberto Garrido. Norberto is a former USC football standout and NFL offensive lineman who spent five seasons playing professionally with the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals. In this deeply personal episode of the Life Beyond Athletics series, Norberto opens up about the challenges he faced both during and after his football career, including depression, struggles with self-worth, and the difficult transition from professional athletics into everyday life. He shares his experiences with mental health, the pressure of living up to expectations, and the struggle to discover his identity beyond the game. Norberto also discusses how his relationship with God transformed his life, the importance of faith, mentorship, and surrounding yourself with the right people, and how his own experiences have shaped his more than two decades of work mentoring and supporting at-risk youth. This conversation is a powerful reminder that we never truly know what someone else is going through, that strength is often found in vulnerability, and that our greatest purpose may have nothing to do with what we accomplished on the field, but everything to do with the lives we impact long after the game is over.

Click to Book your Episode Episode 96 – Tanner Field. Tanner is the Athletic Coordinator at The Woodlands Christian Academy and the founder of B3rd Athletics and B3rd Ministries. In this episode, Tanner shares why he believes athletics is one of the greatest classrooms we have for developing young people—not simply as athletes, but as future husbands, wives, parents, leaders, and people of faith. He discusses the importance of helping athletes understand that their identity is bigger than their performance, why coaches must be intentional about developing the person in front of them, and how faith, humility, communication, hard work, and serving others can become part of the daily pursuit of excellence. Tanner also explains the meaning behind “B3rd”—putting God first, others second, and yourself third—and how a system that began inside his own basketball program has grown into a ministry designed to serve coaches and athletes far beyond his own school. This conversation is ultimately about recognizing the incredible influence coaches have and using sports intentionally to prepare young people not only for their next game, but for the person they are becoming long after the game ends.

Click to Book your Episode Episode 95 – Matt Eyde. Matt is a former University of Iowa quarterback who transferred to Iowa after beginning his college career at Michigan State and today helps lead his family’s real estate development business. In this episode of the Life Beyond Athletics series, Matt shares how the adversity, competition, disappointment, and pressure he experienced as a college athlete ultimately prepared him for leadership, business, fatherhood, and life. He reflects on learning to get back up after failure, surrounding yourself with the right people, speaking up when something isn’t right, and turning setbacks into lessons rather than allowing them to define you. Matt also discusses what he looks for when building a team—people who take ownership, solve problems, and are willing to step into difficult situations—as well as how the example set by his father continues to influence the way he approaches business and raising his own children. Ultimately, Matt’s story is a reminder that the greatest value of athletics isn’t always found in what happens on the field, but in the resilience, relationships, self-awareness, and character you carry with you long after your playing days are over.

Click to Book your Episode Episode 94 – Jon Koontz. Jon is a former TCU defensive end who went from walking onto one of the top football programs in the country to earning a scholarship, becoming a starter, and eventually being named a team captain. Today, he serves as President and COO of an independent supermarket company with 34 stores across five states, applying many of the same lessons in leadership, discipline, accountability, and culture that shaped him as an athlete. Jon shares the mindset it took to enter TCU as a walk-on, spend his first years without seeing the field, and continue working until he earned his place within the program. He reflects on playing for legendary head coach Gary Patterson and how TCU's emphasis on toughness, consistency, responsibility, and simply “doing your 1/11th” taught him that successful organizations are built when everyone understands their role and is accountable for doing it well. He also discusses how being elected captain prepared him to lead in the business world, why clear standards must come before accountability, and the importance of communication, consistency, mentorship, and surrounding yourself with people who want to grow. Ultimately, Jon’s story is a reminder that athletics can prepare us for far more than competition—it can teach us to earn our opportunities, lead people who depend on us, remain committed when the results don't come immediately, and carry those lessons into life long after the game ends.

Click to Book your Episode Episode 93 – Mike Pollak. Mike is a former Arizona State standout and NFL offensive lineman who has turned his playing experience into a mission to help develop the next generation of athletes and coaches. Mike shares how athletics shaped his mindset around perseverance, failure, leadership, and gratitude—and why learning to get back up after being knocked down has carried into every part of his life as a husband, father, and business leader. He discusses why athletics has become increasingly transactional, what transformational coaches can do differently, and why the strongest programs create cultures where players feel ownership and responsibility for one another. Mike reflects on lessons learned from leaders throughout his career, including the importance of relationships, serving others, and understanding that the impact of a coach extends far beyond wins, championships, and trophies. Mike also shares his work as Director of Training for Tip of the Spear and how the organization is helping coaches teach safer, more effective football through better body mechanics and contact technique. Ultimately, his message is about what athletics can give us long after the game ends: the perseverance to keep moving forward, the willingness to learn from failure, and the responsibility to use what we've been given to impact the next generation.