Made4More - Motivate.Inspire.Encourage
Hi everyone, and welcome to the Made4More podcast!
I’m your host, Mario, and I’m excited to walk with you on this journey of leadership and personal development.
My mission in life is simple: to leave people better than I found them—whether it’s through a conversation, a message, or this podcast. At Made4More, we’re passionate about helping every person take ownership of their life and growth.
Life looks different for all of us, but one thing remains true: we can all make the choice to grow and move forward, no matter where we are. Growth starts with us—because as every great leader knows, we can’t pour from an empty cup.
If you’d like to learn more about our coaching, speaking engagements, podcast episodes, or upcoming classes, visit us at www.made4moreconsulting.com.
And remember: you are made for more. We exist for more. We’re here to offer more. So don’t ever give up, because every single one of us is made4more.
Made4More - Motivate.Inspire.Encourage
185 - Teaching Life Through Dance W/Kelly & Lindy Pt. 2
This is the inspiring continuation, with Kelly Maybry and Lindy Hanson, the dynamic coaching duo behind the Glenn High School Guardians Dance Team in Leander, Texas.
In Part 2, the conversation shifts from personal stories to the leadership, teamwork, and trust that fuel their program. Kelly and Lindy open up about:
- Why Lindy chose not to pursue the head coaching role and how the two built a true partnership.
- How they lead as one united front — navigating growth, vision, and communication.
- Lessons on handling conflict, empowering young women, and teaching character before choreography.
- The creation of the Angels JV team and the Guard program, showing how leadership can grow in unexpected ways.
- How they teach their dancers ownership, voice, and teamwork — blending dance, discipline, and development into one culture.
From stories of resilience through COVID and rezoning challenges to fun moments about their first jobs, favorite meals, and inside jokes, this episode perfectly captures how authentic leadership and culture transform not just a team, but a community.
Tune in for a powerful and uplifting conversation on vision, growth, and what it means to lead together.
To donate to the Glenn Gaurdians click HERE.
Check out our coaching and development at www.made4moreconsulting.com
Hey everyone, welcome back to the Made for More podcast. This is a podcast where we discuss leadership and personal development. We want to make sure that we're growing as individuals so that we can motivate, inspire, and encourage those around us. And especially those that we lead. If we are leaders of any kind of organization, any kind of team, we need to make sure that we understand how important it is that we cannot pour an Indica. That is why this development and growth are vital to our lives. And that's what we do on this podcast. And they are the coaches at Legland Guardians here in Leander Texas as a dance scene. And this is what we're going to pick up with R2. Um, I just find these ladies very encouraging and very inspiring and influential at young ladies' lives and young men. And this in this episode they're gonna get into more of the tactical, strategic way that they coach. And we get to know them a little bit better, and we kick off with Lindy answering a question that I asked her about why she did not apply or why she did apply for the job or why she didn't apply for the job as the previous coach left, and here we go. Enjoy the podcast. Alright, so Lindy, you were saying you had the opportunity to apply.
SPEAKER_01:I um yeah, so uh the timeline of Kelly and Lindy where the the couple kind of became a thing. Uh when Katie had decided that she was gonna go ahead and move back to Dallas to be closer with her family and everything, there was this moment of opportunity where it was like, oh, well, like, will Lindy want to apply to be the head director? And that that was a very um passionate 100% no. I was not interested in doing that. Um so Katie and I had only worked together for one year. And so she had already told me in advance that she wasn't wanting to return next year so that she could actually be closer with family. And when the head director position started opening up, and then Kelly told me she was like, I want to apply for it. I remembered when I was driving in my car and I heard the message, I flipped out and I was like, God, this is the answer prayer that the guardians and not we didn't have them at the time, but Angel Soon would need that we were gonna need Kelly, and I knew I was gonna need Kelly. So um it's been a super just great thing that God has provided for our program, for me, for everyone here at Glenn. Um so it's been super, super fun to watch Kelly grow into the head director role, and then we've actually been working together. So now this is our fourth year together. I've been here for five, but Kelly and I have been going strong for four.
SPEAKER_00:That's awesome. So, real quick, is there anything that we need to know why you didn't want to take that position, or is that a uh Um I don't feel like my first year, I I had learned a lot from Kitty.
SPEAKER_01:I don't feel like I had become qualified, and I don't feel like I was mature enough to handle that quite yet. There was a lot of things happening at Glenn that I think were very unique, and um, once I kind of shared a couple of things that happened to me that first year, I was really glad I decided not to take that head director position. There were some things I wasn't prepared to handle. I um hadn't been equipped, I hadn't been trained on how to handle certain parent situations, student situations. And um Katie taught me a lot, but there are certain things I I was just not prepared to do. So um I wasn't really it's a lot of work to be the head director, Kelly can tell you. Uh I do and Kelly has done a great job of helping me feel I'm not just the assistant to her, but I'm the assistant to the dance program, and that I'm assisting all of these kids. And so um my role is a little bit different than what people would normally say is an assistant. I'm more of we're we're we're partners and we're we're co-teachers and we do everything together. Um and it it's very much, I feel like it's both of our programs. It's not Kelly's program and then Lindy's here to kind of supervise if need be, you know?
SPEAKER_02:So important, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and so um I've really loved my role and how Kelly has helped to kind of distinguish what that's supposed to look like. Um and to, yeah, I I don't want to be the head director. I'm going to be honest. I'm very content with where I'm at. I feel very at peace. Yeah, no, I'm cool with our dynamic right now. I am A-OK with it.
SPEAKER_00:So um how does so if we move away from dance for a second, leadership-wise, how do you both you're both different individuals, obviously. How do you both learn best? Are you hands-on, you want a leader to walk with you through, tell you, and then you do it with them? Or do you you want somebody to go, hey, here's a goal, here's what I need done, and you go, I'll figure this out on my own. How do you guys enjoy being led and how coachable are you? And how do you learn?
SPEAKER_01:I I I think yes to both of them. I think I prefer to work with somebody that I can easily ask questions. I don't have a hesitation of like, there's this part of the process of us handling a major event that I don't know how it would do. I don't really want to do that alone. I don't like to do things alone. I I would rather have somebody to do it with me. Um so I think there's several things of different events that we've had to set up where we've had to get a guideline. But Kelly's very creative in figuring out the logistics and the very small my tooth uh my my tooth, my news, my news details. Minute minute, whatever that word is, okay? Um and she really helps guide that along. And so I think to and to I prefer learning in both ways. Yeah, no, that's great. That's great.
SPEAKER_02:For me, learning, I and I've changed. I think I was one way when I was younger where I liked a model, like show me and let me copy and then let me do. And now that I'm older, I like for you to give me examples of what you want. I want you to create this event, I want it to serve this many people, and then let me do it my own way. Because I have a lot more confidence in my work now. Um, I like to see other people's examples. I think that's one of the reasons why I like those motivational movies, because I like to see what worked for other people and then make it work for me. Um when we think about how I how I teach, like how I mentor Lindy, I know that she doesn't want to move into this role, but it's still I still teach her as though she will, because I think the partnership and the buy-in is so important. Like you you mentioned, you're the assistant to this program. If I'm not here, I want you to be able, I don't want it to miss a beat. And I think um, you know, w we do that really well. Yeah, that's good.
SPEAKER_00:No, that's a really good answer. And I think leadership in itself is when either one of you are out of the room or both of you are out of the room, the way these girls respond is a reflection of how you have uh taught them, yeah, raised them pretty much, because you've raised quite a bit of our daughters, so the both of you. Um that's good. Okay. I was just curious because again, I think there's people in our lives that coach us or teach us, but they don't maybe don't see themselves as a coach. And I think when people do see themselves as a coach or a mentor, it lends more of the coaching, the trainable things to whoever's being trained, and you go, that's my yeah, it may not be my responsibility, but I'm taking it as ownership because I want them to be better. I want them to be better off in life, regardless of what I'm teaching them. So okay. Real fun, I guess a fun question. What are some jobs outside of here that you had that most people may not know?
SPEAKER_02:Oh. Do you want to go? I was a stylist for Stitch Fix. Oh, wow. Yeah. Okay. It was a part-time job I did um through COVID. And I love, I mean, y'all might not know, but we I love style and accessories. Uh-huh. Um, and it's funny because the reason I got that job was I said one of my jobs as a director is to pick costumes that everyone feels confident in and looks good in on a lot of different body styles. Um, so that's that's a side job. Also, my very first job ever, I uh was the soft serve ice cream girl at Dairy Queen. I can still do a perfect little curly cue on the top of a cut. I love that. I didn't know that. That's cool.
SPEAKER_03:Which one is fun?
SPEAKER_02:Uh the one over by North Cross Mall on Burnett Road. Yeah. Okay. The OG Dairy Queen.
SPEAKER_00:It is an OG.
SPEAKER_01:Mm-hmm. Um my very first job, actually, I guess it was my second job, was I worked at a place called Party Couture. It's no longer in business. Um this is funny. Um so I was a balloon specialist. I created very elaborate balloon. That's true. And it's very funny if if you know about my finger situation that happened last year. Um but the essentially was it was a boutique party city. So the front was like little knitn knickknacks, cute little gifts that women just love, you know? Like the napkins that say live, laugh, love, okay? And stuff like that. You would get your mom for Christmas. Right. And then the back was all of your typical party supply themed stuff for plates, cups, napkins, all that. Um, and then our big thing was balloons. My gosh, I've blown up so many balloons in my time. So yeah. Are we still doing them for our breakfast now? We are. Well, I'm not. Okay. I have But you're guiding, you're teaching, you're mentoring. I tell other people what to do, but I don't do it anymore because of the situation, you know.
SPEAKER_00:But I will say that the style, I mean, there was a I was in here for breakfast one Friday and you said, hey, we're not revealing the the uh, I guess the attire fit. And I had to leave town, and so my wife took a picture down, and she's like, You will not believe what they're wearing.
SPEAKER_01:What day was it?
SPEAKER_00:It was the ones with the I think the the the overalls. Oh yes. Oh yeah, Tennessee. The checkers. Almost like Tennessee volunteers.
SPEAKER_01:I was told I looked like a I didn't tell you this, I looked like a Whataburger worker. Oh, that's exciting.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, we hung out at Whataburger.
SPEAKER_01:Um I thought we looked really cute. And you know what? I would have rocked that at Whataburger.
SPEAKER_02:Absolutely. I like Whataburger. We're looking for fundraising sponsors of Whataburger, hit us up.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, if you know, let's go.
SPEAKER_01:Get us a patty milk or a number 13 box combo, whatever you want.
SPEAKER_00:So again, since we're on the fun thing, what what's something that you go your all-time favorite meal? If this was your last meal, what would you do?
SPEAKER_02:Oh, that's oh you asked her the wrong question. No, the philosophy.
SPEAKER_01:Mario, I I don't have a proper philosophy, okay? This is I have a philosophy that every meal might be the last meal. So it should be a good meal, you know. I don't think like sometimes you'll just get like the chicken and it's just gonna be open. No, there's no salad money. What if something happens and this is it? This is it. Like, I I love eating a good steak, you know? It's like it's like I do like finer things in life. I will spend way more on my meals than a normal person. Like, I'll add the extra sides, the dressings. Like, oh, mac and cheese, the side is five dollars. Give it to me. Okay, so I'm not, I don't, I don't know.
SPEAKER_02:It's why it's so fun to go out to eat with her because with your other girlfriends, you're like, I'm gonna take the wedge salad, no dressing, just gonna eat the lettuce. We are not a wedge salad. I'm like, I need protein.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that's a waste of steak.
SPEAKER_02:Okay. I don't know. I I love macaroni and cheese homemade. Um, that's a delicacy that I don't eat often. And I'll never pass up my husband's ribeye. He's no better. I don't even buy steak anymore when we go out. Yeah. Because Mr. Maybury can make a ribeye like no one else. So probably that. Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So steak. You guys are awesome. I love that. I love it. I think our our girls get tired of steak. Um I'm yeah, that's a big that's a big thing.
SPEAKER_02:How nice that you can get tired of steak. Wow, right.
SPEAKER_00:We always we all I'm telling you, raise them right, raise them right. Okay. Well, um, I'm trying to think of some fun questions before we get into like the next part of this. Um, but yeah, any any um who's someone that maybe you've have you ever met somebody famous that you were just like awestruck?
unknown:Famous.
SPEAKER_00:Mentor that you met?
SPEAKER_02:I haven't met anyone who is awestruck. Maybe I have two fun funny uh memories. When I was a Rangerat, um I grew up, my mom loved country music, and she loved there's a singer named Janie Frickie. Okay, and she sang these songs, and we performed at the um George W. Bush uh inauguration event, and Janie Frickie was singing. And I was in my little Ranger Rat uniform, and I was so excited, and I went up to her. I understand this now, but I didn't understand it back then. But I went to her and said, Can I get your autograph? I'm so excited to meet you. My mom loves you, and she goes and turned and walked away. I know. And that was like, Oh, because it was like, my mom loves you. Like, why did I not say now that I am 50? I get it, I get it. Raining, I apologize. Um, but my other one is I I got to dance with George W. Bush. That's so cool. Yeah. That's and that was very exciting. I'm sure he remembers it. That is that's George remembers it? I'm sure. He was like, Yeah, I saw Kelly.
SPEAKER_01:Well, at the time. You would have been Killing Mo. You would have been Kelly Moore, right? Yeah, that is Kelly Moore. Look at her getting those kicks out there. Yeah, she's so funny. That's good.
SPEAKER_00:Those are those are good memories.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that I I can't think of a famous person I've personally met. I've seen a lot of them. Yeah. Like I was like I've seen Zach Gaffron in person. I've seen what's that movie, Monty Python?
SPEAKER_03:Oh my god. Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:John Cleese, right? He sat this close to me at a sushi restaurant in Las Vegas. I was my parents took me to Las Vegas when I was in seventh grade. We weren't doing anything crazy. We were just there to eat dinner and then we left, which was crazy. But John Cleese was, and I was, and I just looked at him, I was like, hmm, you look like you have famous vibes. And everyone, I I didn't say that to him, but it was like everyone in the restaurant was like, and I'm just sitting there, I'm like, I have no idea who you are. I've never seen Monty Python. I was in seventh grade, you know? Um, and then that's but no, I've never I didn't talk to John Cleese. No. I mean, he didn't ask me any questions. That was his that was his fault.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's his fault.
SPEAKER_01:It's his he missed that opportunity to ask seventh grade Lindy.
SPEAKER_00:Who's uh who's on your playlist right now? Who are you playing right now on your playlist?
SPEAKER_01:I love Laney. Chris Stableton. Uh Chris Stableton.
SPEAKER_02:I I love Spencer Sutherland. Nobody knows who he is. I play a lot of country because we don't dance to it. I I I know that's crazy, but I like to zone out when I'm you know in the car. And if if it's something I've danced to ever and I've been doing this for 21 years, I can't, I have to skip it on the radio. It's PTSD. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:You remember all the practices with everything.
SPEAKER_00:I'll play like we're driving, and I have mine on shuffle, and I had like Brooks and Donnell come on, and my daughter's like, please change that song. I'm like, she and she remembers being a middle school or here. That's so funny. Why? She's like, just please change it. And then I'll go, I think I saw you dance to this. She's like, please change it. Please change it. Yeah. Yeah. So um I was recently doing a wedding in Colorado and I never heard the song Easton Corbin. Have you ever heard of him? Uh-uh. Okay, country singer. Easton Corbin, uh, the the groom was walking out to it, so I text him after I said, Man, I gotta know who this guy is. So Easton Corbin, if you haven't listened to him, I will an amazing uh I grew up on I guess like Alan Jackson. Yes, my wife can't stand who I like. I love Dwight Yoakum. Okay, okay, but I do because he's old school, plays the best villain in um Panic Room, if you've ever watched Panic Room. Anyways, uh, but and Post Malone, of all things, I think. Oh yeah, are you he's good. Love Post Malone. Fun fact my mom's like on his uh fan page, like pre not president, but she's up there. Get out. She has all his collectible things. I'm like, mom. Okay, that's cool.
SPEAKER_01:Does she have the collectible Canes cups? Yeah, she has all of them. That's cool.
SPEAKER_00:She has the Budwise or Bud Light or Bud, the cans, all her all those things. That's great. They go to Canes just for those for those cups. They went for them. Oh my goodness, hunter to two. She has all kinds of stuff.
SPEAKER_01:So that's hilarious.
SPEAKER_00:Anyways, okay, so now on to let's get I think it's fun to break that up so people can get to know you a little bit. Um so uh if you weren't last one, if you weren't a teacher or a dance, if you can't be a teacher or a coach, what would you be? You don't know.
SPEAKER_02:Um I'm thinking I I would crush it as a personal shopper for rich people. I say that because you got I I have I wouldn't be able to do it. I'm not a discount girl. I can't go, I need to be. I'm a teacher. Um, but I'm not that's not where I'm skilled, right? Okay, so I but you you got a big gala to go to. I'm your girl. I could represent as a personal shopper. I love it.
SPEAKER_00:Boller on a budget.
SPEAKER_02:Boller on a budget, spending other people's money.
SPEAKER_00:So on that note, are you like an event? Can you crush it in an event, like an event planning?
SPEAKER_02:Oh yeah. I mean, have you seen our show? Oh my gosh, yes. Unlimited funds. Yes. Unlimited funds, right.
SPEAKER_01:Mine is the opposite, and it goes against my dad's philosophy for me, but I would go work at Trader Joe's. Oh okay. Because I love the people at Trader Joe's. Their whole thing is to make you feel good and great, and they're like, how's your day going? And they're like, they're passing by and you're they're picking up that cheddar cheese, and they're like, this cheddar cheese is so good. You're gonna love eating this later.
SPEAKER_02:I'm like, hey, as a I when I'm personal shopping, I will come to your Trader Joe's house. Exactly. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01:I love it.
SPEAKER_00:It'll be so find out. What is your uh go-to drink as far as uh coffee?
SPEAKER_02:I don't even know what's my go-to drink.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, Kelly has no idea what she orders, okay? But she's about to find out every time she's like, we need coffee, and she's like, Lindy, can you order it for me? I'm like, yes, I will. Um she Kelly likes to get a hot latte, typically with sugar-free, hazelnut sugar-free vanilla, but lots of pumps of it. So like three to four. Okay. Um, she doesn't want the real sugar, but she wants the sweetness of the sugar. Um, always hot, never iced. That's important, Mario, okay?
SPEAKER_03:Um we got it.
SPEAKER_01:For me, I go through my seasons. I just came back from Japan. I just came back months ago, I did. Um, but I was on a matcha kick. Uh, but I kind of disrespect the matcha because you have to put a lot of sugar to make it good.
SPEAKER_02:Do you like matcha? No way. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I can't, it's like it's like drinking grass cuttings.
SPEAKER_02:I can't get behind it, but it's got a huge following with the young people.
SPEAKER_00:Might as well just get the weed eater.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, you're not wrong, Mario. That's why you have to disrespect the matcha, all right? That's what people on the internet told me. They're like, you know what? Put as much sugar in you want it as you can because you want to enjoy it and you want to try it when you go to Japan. And I had and I but you had real matcha. I had real matcha. Like everywhere I went, it was like they did the whole ceremony with the whisk. I'm sure they bowed to it and whatever, you know.
SPEAKER_03:I can't do that.
SPEAKER_01:I didn't know it was a thing. It was a total oh man, every single place. But I will say, after I drink matcha, I don't have that that crash, I don't feel as jittery, I don't feel I don't feel like I have the brain fog and whatnot. I feel so much more alert. Interesting. If I drink a cup of matcha rather than a cup of coffee. Um, but if I'm gonna drink coffee, I'm gonna have a honey iced latte.
SPEAKER_00:Honey lice.
SPEAKER_01:Honey lice. No, I don't want lice in my latte, okay? Hold the lice, add more ice, please, okay?
SPEAKER_00:I'm telling you, this happened yesterday. We went to I don't drink coffee, never have.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, good for you.
SPEAKER_00:I drive up to Starbucks and I already tell we went to Sonic and I told my daughters, hey, we're gonna grab a drink. And of course, Allie.
SPEAKER_03:Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_00:She's like, I don't want Sonic. Like, what do you want to Starbucks? So we go to Starbucks, and I already said it ahead of her. Training her right. I said, I am not gonna order because I don't understand this freaking lingo. Oh, no, that's my headset Monday. She's in the backseat, she texts me, and I read it, and the guy says, huh? And she starts laughing, and so does my wife, and I'm like, Shut up. Okay, I'm not gonna order this ever again.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, wait, did she prank you?
SPEAKER_00:No, it wasn't. Did she not say you want the pinkity drinkity? You know? But it was something, all this foam, and and I was like, the guy's like, and so my wife had to, anyways, the whole coffee thing. I'm just like, my my dad just had, I think, black coffee or folgers and just milk, and I'm like, well, I guess that's not a thing anymore.
SPEAKER_02:So no, you know, we have our espresso machine in our office, and if the viewers are lucky, we'll show it to you later. Oh, yeah, yeah. We have the uh we have a grinder, we grind our own beans here at Glen High School. We have a frother, we make our own foam, we take it very seriously.
SPEAKER_00:So, yeah, maybe we'll all learn something here in a second.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, you totally will. We'll teach you.
SPEAKER_00:So let's get back to the the show. Um you don't apply for the job.
SPEAKER_01:I don't apply for the job.
SPEAKER_00:And Kelly, you come in ready to take this job over. Yes. They he knows he's gonna give it to you. So what do we need to fill in the gap there? How does how does all this come to fruition?
SPEAKER_02:I think what people don't understand when I was hired, and I'm trying to think of the the right words to say this, the program, Glenn High School, when we're talking about just dance alone, started in 2016 with just freshmen and sophomores. So the very first year that it had a full high school of freshmen, sophomores, junior, seniors was 2020. Oh that's when our dance team really should have been comparable in size to all the other high schools because we had a full school, but we were still very small, and then COVID shut us down. Then 2021 is a rebuild year, and if m if you look up above us, you can see all of those composite uh pictures have the awards that we've won above them. There's one that is blank, that is 2020. So right there we come apart. 2021 comes and we're still not all back in person, and so the program still doesn't grow. People don't try out for a team where they don't know if you can perform. Yeah. So it was 2022 when we're really starting to get the wheels going, and that's when I get hired. And they said we need to build a team, and specifically a team that is diverse in the fact that our school is very diverse, it's different than other parts of Leander. So our team needs to look different, we need to model the student body. And can we attract students of all of the different uh cultures and and backgrounds to want to join the team? And I had a vision for that. And I was hired to do just that, to build a program and to give places, uh people, uh, students, dancers a place to go to do this art. So I come on board and immediately start putting some things into place to build that. And I think there was a disconnect with what the district needed, what our school wanted, and what the current dancer and their families expected.
SPEAKER_00:That's a that could be a headache. It's hard.
SPEAKER_02:When you have a team that is used to being very small, and they like it small, but then your job is to grow it, there is a disconnect. And so navigating that was difficult in the beginning. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:For for both of you, I mean, how do you how did you feel?
SPEAKER_01:It was a a a very different ballgame because since I was still there, it almost had been better if you had two new people. But since I was there and I I I I I liked the work that we were doing and I believed the in the work that we were doing, I didn't want to leave, you know? Um, because there was a lot of work to do and I wanted to be a part of it. Um, but since I had kids who had been with me for the first year, then we had this switch over, and then Kelly and I had this new awesome fun dynamic. They weren't prepared for that. And so that was a challenge all on its own because a lot of the kids said I had changed, I had morphed into this different person, but really I I just got better at my job and I got more efficient, we got better at all the different things that we needed to do to make guardians and eventually make angels become what it is today. Um and so, like Kelly just said, district to our school to our kids, none of them saw the same alignment of the vision of what it needed to be. But the vision it needed to go, what Kelly was just saying, it had to go that way. There was no other option. Um, or else we would still be small. We wouldn't have angels, we wouldn't have um the numbers that we have today with the dancers that are in our dance department. So um I and I think now we have very few of those challenges challenges now.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, yeah. And all of that goes back to communicating what the vision is and being very clear on this is where we're going. I think it's hard. We have auditions in December, and then I'm hired in May. Now, if all of that had happened at the same time and those families and those students knew what the new program was going to look like before they auditioned, it would have been a smoother rollout. Yeah. But you know, life happens and and you you go with it. I think um one of the first things I did when I came on with Lindy was we decided who we were going to be. Yeah. Because, you know, we we belong to one another, yeah. And we're gonna stand in front of these students and we need to be united. So, what do you need from the job? What do I need, and what do they need? And we yeah, we put all that into place and it gave her more of a voice in front of the dancers, yeah. Um, more ownership of different things that you do. And so when she comes on, whereas used to, it would be the head director, and she's just standing in the background kind of enforcing what head director says. Now a lot of it's coming from her. Yeah. And they weren't ready for that. And that was that was different. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:There's so many leadership lessons though from what you said, the expectations from different people. I mean, number one, that's a leadership lesson in itself, but then the communication's a huge that's huge. Uh, if you don't have that, if there's a breakdown in the chain, some something's gonna go awry. Right. And then that for Lindy, for you, thinking through you're under the supervision of someone else, a new leader comes on, that's a whole new leadership lesson as well. Right. To go, I gotta pivot. And then I have girls who are following me that are probably gonna come to me and voice things. Yes. And that it happens anywhere, anywhere you work. Hey, we got a new boss. Well, is he or she this or she? You gotta build cohesiveness because if not, there's a break in the chain and then there's no trust. Yeah. So can you speak on any of that?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I can. Um, Kelly and I were very quick that I I I don't want to say witness, but we had to have kind of like this co um co-conversation that we had to always have with kids. Like there were not gonna be times that it was necessary for kids to talk to me alone, you know? Because I think sometimes your dance teacher, depending on your setting, is also your counselor. And I'm not trained in that. I'm trained to teach you dance, I'm not trained to help you with your mental psyche, I'm not trained to help you on something that you are trying to navigate on your own that I should send you to the counselors. And so anytime kids for some reason felt like I was a soft place to fall, they got a very big culture shock. When I was like, I'm gonna stop you right there and we're gonna go grab Kelly. Because would you be willing to say this in front of me with Kelly next to me? And typically conversations were shut down. Because so once I stopped giving, if I if I didn't give them an ear to it and then they weren't willing to say it in front of Kelly, a lot of the things that I think I want to say made our team a little bit soft, where our team has now grown a lot to be harder and stronger, that has helped bridge that gap. And so um, anytime there's that chance where it's like, I'm not really sure about this, I don't want to give you the wrong answer. Because it's better if somebody's gonna ask you a question to say, I don't have the answer to that right now, let me get back to you, or let's hold that thought, let's go grab Kelly and let's have this conversation together. Yeah. Because then that makes us look like a united front. Like I'm not gonna, because Kelly and I don't keep secrets from each other. No, we tell each other every single thing. We're together, our I our office is so tiny. It's a very, very small house. It's like a bathroom. It's not a possible way for me to not keep anything from Kelly.
SPEAKER_02:So um And the same is true on the other end. I don't have personal conversations about students without her, right? Just because whatever they tell me, I'm going to tell her. And it's better to get it from the dancer. So we do those one-on-one conferences at the end of every six or the first six weeks, we have every dancer sign up for a time to come talk to us because it's so important that they feel comfortable. Yeah. And they do have, I think, a healthy, I don't like to use the word fear, but it's like respect, a healthy fear of not wanting to disappoint, yeah, wanting to impress. Um, but you have to also bring that wall down to know I do want you to have that healthy dynamic. But we are, we do want to know what you're struggling with and how to support you. We don't counsel you, but we we do hear. And and as you know, because Allie's come to us, I I don't know if I could say her name or not, but um, she will come to us and say, I'm struggling with this, and we we're there to help and support. But the days of coming into the office and laying on the floor crying because of a breakup, that doesn't happen. We're not the space to hear that. We're not the space for that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And I think that's I think that's all again, it's so interesting being a dad, but I think that's what I would prefer because I want my daughter to go, I got this. It's I have people like my parents for that, but my coaches are gonna push me to go beyond this. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Um Yeah, go go talk to mom, go talk to dad, go talk to you know, that that's that's good. If you haven't had the conversation with your parents first, I don't know if you should talk to us about it quite yet. Right. And that's the whole purpose is that you want to make sure that your kids feel comfortable talking to their mom and dad. Yeah, that we are not replacing their mom and dad, even though people say we're mom and dad, you need to go talk to your real biological or your guardians that are living in the same house as you. Your real ones, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And I think in all that, again, all this leadership stuff is really good because uh Kelly, you were saying something earlier about not keeping something from each other and being you know a united front. And uh, Jamie and I yesterday were talking on a podcast about um when again we were talking about David and Saul in the Bible. And Saul, I don't think, was afraid that David would I think Saul was afraid that David would succeed without his armor, so he put his armor on David, and David was like, I can't do that. I'm my own person. So my leadership lesson was with Saul to go, when leaders micromanage and control, yeah, your team feels that and they go, hold on, I need I have my own talents. I need your support and your encouragement. And what we were talking about yesterday was that's who you guys are, and I th and I believe that when you have a culture where if you coddle a lot and you micromanage and control a lot, your team goes, whether it's adults or kids, they go, I know what they're gonna say. They're gonna tell us this, and they're gonna but if you have somebody who empowers you and makes you think different, they know I trust them, they care for me, and I come talk to them. And I'll think it's like you said, it's not fear, it's that you empower them, but it's you're adults when you walk in here. Even though you're young ladies, you're you're an adult, we're gonna we're gonna treat you like a a leader or yeah, so I think that's I think everything that you guys just mentioned, starting both of you starting here, building what you have, and we'll get we'll get into that, but that's a lot of leadership lesson just in itself.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Having the two of you have to come together and to create what's our foundation together. I mean, I love that you guys discuss that so that you are a united front rather than hey, you can't say this when I'm not around or and it's trust, obviously.
SPEAKER_02:Oh yeah. I will say, jumping on the trust, I trust her implicitly, like with everything. I don't have any hesitation. I don't feel like she's trying to sabotage me or that she wants to get my job. I don't feel like she's saying one thing to parents and saying another thing to me. I've never once had that thought. And I know that some some other coaches might feel that way. Um especially when you have someone who wants your job someday. That can be that I I could get to where that might be um a lack of trust, but I don't ever feel that way about her. And I know I'm gonna speak for her. She didn't feel that way about me.
SPEAKER_01:Because we I trust Kelly. We I'll give her my right arm.
SPEAKER_02:And I would give you also my left one, not my right one. Well, which one's your better one? Well Well, I'm giving you my better one too. I should give me your better one. Okay, fine. I'll give you my right one. Thank you. Okay.
SPEAKER_01:So all right, and then we're gonna be balanced. Okay, good. Because then then you have my right and I'll have your right, so it's fine. Okay, you're all right. Okay, great. Perfect.
SPEAKER_00:On that note, who I mean, the dynamics of leadership. Speaking on that, um, are you a person that can embrace conflict? Are you someone who goes, No? Are you someone who steps into that?
SPEAKER_01:It depends on the day.
SPEAKER_00:You guys are obviously laughing, so I I hear you guys talking. That's why I'm like, I I've worked with my best friend where I go, bro, you can't do that. And he's like, Well, why? Well, let's go to the back and we're gonna have this conversation in front of our team because I can't, I I gotta tell you, this is the way we're leading together. But there's still moments, even in a marriage, where you gotta have a united front, but doesn't mean that you go, it doesn't that we're gonna we're not gonna always see eye to eye, but we have to have a conversation. But my wife is definitely not like me in confrontation. So I'm curious how you guys deal with that together.
SPEAKER_02:So, well, let's talk confrontation with each other or confrontation with other people.
SPEAKER_00:With each other.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, okay. We're head on.
SPEAKER_00:It's very aggressive.
SPEAKER_02:We're head on. Wait, and it rarely happens, ironically. Yeah. I will say that we um I I mentioned that we pray together, and I do think that that helps uh two things. We pray in the morning, and then she has a philosophy which I adopt, and you don't let your head hit the pillow at night with things left unsaid. Because you don't want to carry it into the next day. Right. And so with those two things, it really helps us. I think in our whole entire three years together, we've had two times that we've that we've we and it usually starts like this. We're about to have one right now.
SPEAKER_03:We're about to have one right now. You ready?
SPEAKER_02:Hold on, bubble up. No, uh okay, Lindy. I'd I'm I've got to tell you, I was not happy about XYZ. And she'll be like, Well, Kelly, thank you for sharing that. I was also not happy with G H I or whatever. And then and then we have our and like well, blah blah blah, well, blah blah blah. It's usually quick and short, and then it's like, okay. Right. But we don't we don't hold on to it. And we also never in front of the team. Yeah. Ever. Never. And we don't neither one of us are passive aggressive, we're just aggressive. And so there's no innuendo, there's no hints, right? There's no, oh, is she upset with me? It's very, oh she's upset. She's upset with me. I understand me.
SPEAKER_01:And and I read the room and I figure it out, and that's when I catch the vibe.
SPEAKER_02:And then and with me, the the this last time, I very, very much read the room. It was a very short read, but I got it.
SPEAKER_01:She got it. But that's what happens. I think uh Kelly and I have even talked about like we're Habri before we were Habri, we were Fabri. Yeah. Um, but we're like, we're married, you know? Yeah. Like we are together more with one another than we are with our own husbands, you know? And so if we are not completely transparent and honest, and we're like, buddy, I didn't like when you said that. And I'm like, well, I'm sorry they made a I didn't mean to say that to you. That's not what I meant. And then you give that explanation, but it's quick and it's fast, and then you don't know. No grudge. Yeah, no grudge because there's no there's no time for that.
SPEAKER_02:We're we're building something here, we don't have time.
SPEAKER_00:But that's what I'm saying, even in the in the corporate world or in the world where I go coach people, this is what's needed because you do spend time with your co-workers or your employees. Yeah, and I think the days of old where I stay behind my desk and shut my door and I'm your boss, they have to be I think it has to be over.
SPEAKER_02:It's gone.
SPEAKER_00:Because culture is we're doing this together. Yeah. And like you said earlier, if you share the vision and the why of where we're going constantly, as a student I can get behind you. As a as a partner, I can get behind you. Yeah, and we can both push forward. But either way, I don't think that that can't happen behind a closed door, and it can't happen me going it's it's I'm gonna tell you it's my way or the highway. That I think that has to be gone. Yeah. Um and I think that's what most leaders fight because they don't do this, they don't want to have a conversation. So that's good. Okay, so um back to this. You you you get the job, you guys. So I I know all this is coming because we're the 10 years as the guardians. So based on when you got the job, COVID happened. I mean, I completely forgot about that. Yeah. It had to be a freaking challenge.
SPEAKER_02:It was such a challenge. Oh yeah. It was such a for everyone, for uh all fine arts. I can't imagine athletic programs too. Um but you you you struggle through it and you try to find ways. And I I mean I think back would have what we were doing. I mean, I don't think that community knows that after every single class, we had to sanitize the entire floor. Yeah, yeah. We had to spray everything down with this so specific disinfect it, mop it, I mean, teach with the mask on. I and I don't, you know, it's crazy to think about now.
SPEAKER_01:It is crazy. I remembered um before I was the assistant, I would come back and I actually choreographed all of the Guardian Modern dances before I was even here. And I remember I came to in this room. I was I was like 19 years old, and I walked in and I was trying to put the girls in the forum, and then I was like, where who's this girl? Where is she? Oh, she's on the laptop in the back. She's not actually here, she's on the screen. I'm like, but is she really learning it? Right. There's no chance, you know? And so it was a whole new challenge with dance because it was like the whole point and the beauty of dance is being in the same room together. Yeah. It's like, I'm not gonna dance in my room, like maybe on my own to my own tunes, but like training in my room.
SPEAKER_02:I saw the forehead of dancers, and I'm like, I can't, your forehead looks great, honey, but I need to see your turnout, right? Yeah, I need to see your turnout. But yeah, we made it through COVID, and then Glenn specifically after that, it was just, I feel like every year we've been hit by something. I I feel like we finally get Habri established, and we have our first audition. And so 2022 to 23 is our first year together. 23 to 24, we're we're rezoning, right? We're talking about the rezone. Oh my gosh. That's the mother.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Okay. And we start our angel program, which is fabulous. Was one of and that I brought that on. I'm super excited that that I can claim that. Um, so we we build these numbers up and we're busting at the seam, so we're super excited, and then boom, they rezone us. Yeah. Okay. Well, that means for those of you watching, they took a big pot part of our population because we were kind of overflowing, and they pushed it to two other high schools. So then our numbers drop again. Okay, but that's fine. We we know we're we'll rebuild that, and then we get the surplus list, right? And so now we're because of the public education funding. Um, and if you don't follow that, I highly suggest that you start looking at that. But because of cuts in funding from the state, they then have to decide who's not going to keep their job. And guess what? We have two directors here based on our numbers. Well, they just rezoned us and our numbers drop. So now we're rebuilding numbers again. Yeah. And I build programs, like I'm bringing them in, but then you're shipping them off to other places. And I I just feel like we've been in this constant journey of we need to establish Glenn is. We need we need a year where we get to just be Glenn and not have something coming at us. But in these days and age of where we're at, we just haven't had that yet.
SPEAKER_00:But to have the success that you guys had or have and had in years past that I've seen with what you've been given, I mean, it speaks for itself, right? Yeah. Well, because there's no excuse.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, you know, and maybe you look at the awards up on the wall, it they're just growing and growing and growing. Um, and and that is because we acknowledge the hardships, yeah. We acknowledge what is difficult, and then we overcome.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:We it's it's not an excuse, it's just an explanation and a reason to fight harder, and that's what we do. Right on.
SPEAKER_00:So tell us a little bit about the angels.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, the angels, that's our J V program.
SPEAKER_00:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:So um it's a at Glenn High School to be on the varsity dance, it's a double-blocked meaning you have us every single day, Monday through Friday. Angels is a single-blocked option. So it is J V, a training ground to move up. So if you're a freshman or a young dancer or sophomore, and you want to become a guardian someday, you can do an angel for a year of learning and then move up. But it's also an option some dancers qualify for varsity, but they don't want to double block themselves. They want to be able to do another program at school. Or maybe they have to, they they can't do the time commitment outside of school. Yeah. And so JV, the Angels, is a performance opportunity for them.
SPEAKER_03:I love that.
SPEAKER_02:And and they're they're incredible. I mean, our Angels won the grand championship at Vista Ridge last year as J V in the J V category. Yeah, they're really good.
SPEAKER_00:That's so great. So um you you build the angel program, um, you got guardians going. Yes. What uh man, I had something for you. Um so when let's say I'm gonna my daughter's gonna come in as a freshman, what do you guys look for, or what do you guys talk about at the youngest level coming in? What do you guys look for? What do you expect? Um just curious.
SPEAKER_02:Well, uh what I say at every parent meeting, and I we really do mean it, is that we are not looking for just a good dancer. We're building a team. So I can tell you what I'm looking for dance-wise. It's what every dance team is looking for: solid technique. We need flexibility, we need you to be able to learn and retain routines, we need you to commit to the attendance guidelines in the handbook. Um, but beyond that, you gotta be coachable. Yeah, you've got to be collaborative, you've got to be of good character because we are the guardians of the core values of Glenn High School, and that has to mean something. And we look for that the minute they walk in the room. Yeah. That's not something you turn on in December for auditions, right? You have to be that as you walk in. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:You want to add? Yeah. I mean, I think the biggest thing, and I I heard it all the time when I was growing up and I was auditioning, but it was like your audition starts when you walk in the room. Where do you put your bag? How do you stand while you're stretching? Where do you plan on existing in the space? Are you hiding in the corner? Are you too shy? We we want bold, confident dancers because Kelly and I are bold and confident, all right? That's those are you don't hide in this room. Yeah, you don't hide in this room. We're not gray here. We're we're black or white, you know? We are very, very clear on who we are. And so um, we want to train dancers to also be that, but we also want dancers to know that they can walk in that room and feel that way too.
SPEAKER_03:I love that.
SPEAKER_01:Um, and so I mean, that is a huge thing. I mean, if a dancer walks in late to auditions, guess what? They don't audition. If you if you just you that was your first impression, why did you walk in late to the audition clinic, you know? Um they don't audition.
SPEAKER_02:And they don't audition, and that's part of our rubric.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And I I think there are things that you can teach, and there are things that you can't. And I you can always try. And that's say I won't try, but I can teach good technique and I can teach routines, and I can perfect, I can teach you how to stretch. All of those things I come to me as you are and we can fix. I can't fix your character. That has to be a personal choice for sure.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. That's one of the four C's I think that we talked about character number one, actually. So on that, each year, do you have a different phrase that you guys go by? Like make your mark? Yeah, make your mark. Yes.
SPEAKER_02:We have a theme every year. Okay.
SPEAKER_00:You guys kind of come up that with that together. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02:Yes.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. And so I I love that again, it's it's not just dance. We talk about character, uh about you know the way that they who they are, not just what they can do. Um do you ever run into, which I'm sure you do, but do you ever run into uh what we're seeing more and more in I would say where I see it more and more is in the male-driven sport where it's all about an individual. Like, let me be the guy who talks about myself over the team, I'm not getting the ball, I'm not. It's all this talk. And I know females get NIL, but I think they should, but uh I mean in the I think they should, as in if the guys get it, the girls should get it. I don't know about NIL in college, whatever. That's a different conversation. But what I'm saying is I see more of the male-driven athlete going, This is about me, not about my team. Like, um there's certain wide receivers that I've watched in the NFL that I don't get the ball, so I'm gonna throw a fit and it became the camera's on them and not on the team. Right, right. I know what you're talking about. But I'm wondering how do you I mean, do you see that where maybe a dancer comes in and you said it's about team, which I love because there is no individual. And when it when someone makes it about themselves, it's very evident really quick. So I'm just curious, do you guys deal with that or how do you maybe coach that out?
SPEAKER_02:Or in the dance world, I think it's more not so much individual as much as it's featured dancers. We have a lot of dancers who, why am I not in the front row? Why am I always in the back? Why am I not getting the elite parts and that type of thing? And you jump in here because I don't want to just speak first all the time. No, it's yeah. Um, but we have I believe in systems-based, right? Like you you have a goal and then you create a system to help you achieve that goal. And so we have a lot of systems that we design as a cohort as Hambray that I feel like have handled that problem before it's a problem. And so one of those is we they girls know, the dancers know, that year one through all of football season, it is seniority based on placement. And as you stay on the team, one day you will be moved up to the front. But we feel like seniors are in that right, they have more expension experience on yard lines. There are a lot of things that could go wrong in a game. Seniors can handle that, they know what to do. And as a rookie, all we want you to worry about is your performance. And you can just follow your upperclassmen. Yeah. That's awesome. They understand that. Now, contest season is different, it's performance-based. Yeah. They try out for spots. We do put them where they're going to do their absolute best work. For sure. That being said, we also do ensembles. And so we do our our big team pieces, which they I try out for, but then their ensembles, they're featured in a dance that is a small group that they're doing their best work, and we give them choice on which ones they want. And now they don't always get their choice, but we try to put them where on a style, so hip hop, contemporary, or jazz, one of them that they are going to connect with. And they get featured there. And so that that system and understanding that system and knowing I will have my time in the sun, in the spotlight, has taken away a lot of the what what we were getting when we first started.
SPEAKER_01:Do you want to? Yeah. Um, I I I talk to the girls all about this all the time of like the legacy that you leave behind is so important. And there is this natural, beautiful, I don't want to say hierarchy, but this pathway of how you go about dance that is very similar in most drill teams, like Kelly said, seniors and juniors and sophomores. And one day as a sophomore, you will be a senior. If you work hard and you decide to stay with drill team, you will be a senior one day in the front row. And so it kind of helps lighten the load. And so we don't have as many dancers that are asking, why am I not in the front? Because they know one day they will be that senior. That's right. Um, our little captain Emma Mitchell. I don't know if I'm allowed to talk about kids, but Emma is like Yeah, we can talk about Emma. I would I would adopt Emma, okay? She's amazing, she's so great. But she um she had her eye on the prize, she wanted to be captain, and so she knew that she had to take every single role that was it within Guardians in every capacity. So, back row on the end, she's lived there. As she started to move up, she's gotten to progress, and but she never complained. She never one time said, like, I hate my spot, I'm so upset, I'm talented, I'm more talented than other people. She's not said that one time. She wanted to make sure that she got to live in every single spot so that she could tell that story to other girls and other dancers one day and say, guys, I've lived in your in your shoes. I know what it felt like to be in the background to feel like nobody was watching me. But guess what? Your spot is important because without you, there would not be a block, you know?
SPEAKER_02:Absolutely. And nobody's hidden, right? Right, nobody's hidden. Um, but you just inspired me. We had a pep rally that we just had a fantastic performance at. And um one of our coworkers who runs The Color Guard said I he could not find a single girl out there that was not performing. He was like, they were all the facials, they were performing 110%, every single one of them. And um, I talked to one of our newings and who was in the back, and he got a great picture of her. And I showed, I said, look at this picture that Mr. So-and-so gave got for of you. And she was like, you know what? I was just performing like I was in the front.
SPEAKER_04:That's right.
SPEAKER_02:I was just performing like I was in the front. And they have adopted that. That little newing class led by their sergeant, has been like, we're gonna perform like we are front row in every place that we're at. I mean, it's it's 2025. We finally got there, right?
SPEAKER_01:Okay, we struggled with that. We had dancers that that I I will say are if we had a J V at the time, and tell me if I shouldn't say it. No, you can say it. But we had dancers that were on our on our varsity team because we only had the varsity. So any dancer that was qualified could be on varsity. But then once you add on that JV, it kind of helps make that gap a little bit more um, it closes, yeah, yeah, yeah. And it makes it much more like these are varsity level dancers that are full-body dancers, and these are angels that are high performers, they're fun to watch, they have the few things that they need to work on that are gonna help them get to that next level. Um, but we had dancers that year that were just our varsity that if we had that JV would have been on there that were wondering why they were not in the front. Um, and that was a challenge and hard to navigate because they wanna they wanted to move up, but at the same time, it was hard because where's the push? They've gotten to the spot where they've needed needed to be. That's what they've dreamed of, and there's not that ladder to climb. Right. Um anyway, I don't know what I was going with that. And no, we just don't have that anymore. You know, now that we have that easy leverage to continue on into the ladder to grow up, if you're wanting to get into the next level, you can.
SPEAKER_02:And and the conversation becomes if we were to hear it, which we haven't, I'm very proud of that. But the question is, why am I not on the front row? Okay, what senior would you like to swap with? What senior do you think Yeah. And and the bet our senior class, not one of them. Yeah. Because they're the hardest workers in the room. For sure. Which also you don't normally get, right? Normally seniors are they've got what do they call it, senioritis, and they not not in here. Because it's their year. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:That's good. I mean, I love that because you that's and I didn't think through that because again, you have those individuals that will dance an individual performance, and that's one way of doing it. But I love that when they do dance and we go to these uh performances, how their team shows up for them while they're dancing. That's one of the things that I absolutely love. Um again, I thought I was gonna have boys, but having two daughters, I've had to learn that man, that they bring it, they bring more energy sometimes than the guys do, and I I love that. So I I think I've I've seen this because um our University of Texas, our quarterback and our our coach, I just love that they're under the pressure and under the gun constantly. Yeah. But the way they respond of it's not me. I y'all put the pressure on me, but I'm just gonna be who I am. And the coach saying this is a team sport, yep, but not an individual sport. That's right. And we you see that, and when I think when those individuals try to get to the front of the line, the entitlement comes in and they weed themselves out because the team goes, We don't allow that. Yeah, absolutely. Um and I think one of the I think it was a defensive player, just I just saw in Texas they had a tough game this week.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:I don't want to go on to that on this tangent, but he said, one of the reporters said uh Sark said uh uh special teams and defense. He said, excuse me. He goes, special teams and defense. He goes, No, it's offense, defense, and special teams. And he goes, that's not what Sark said. He goes, Well, that's what he meant, because we're a team. We're not we're not one individual. Right. And that's I love that you guys teach girls that again because I think these young women need to go in the world and go, I can just I can do just as much as anybody else. Absolutely, yeah. With that mindset, going into Habry, why don't you explain to those people that don't know what Habry is what it is really quick?
SPEAKER_02:It's a it's our combination of our names, Maybry and Hanson. So you take the H, add the A Bry, and you have Haybry. And it became a very quick and easy way of facilitating decisions were made by both of us. Yeah, info was coming right both of us instead of Maybry and Hanson. I love it.
SPEAKER_01:It made it much more simple. It was like they'd be like, hey Hayry, I have a question. That's right. And it meant that either of us could answer, and they all understood, like, okay, we need to get both of them to understand the information. So it helped clear that line.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, but as funny as that is, and it may seem funny. Again, it shows we're in this together. Intentionality. Yes, exactly. When you have that culture from the very beginning, you're gonna have that. So going into this year, we got 10 years. Um what does that stand for? What does 10 years stand for for Glenn High School and the Guardians? This is 10 years.
SPEAKER_02:That's such a hard question. We're writing our show right now and we're really excited about it.
SPEAKER_00:But what part of the week away. That's okay.
SPEAKER_02:No, I I could part of the challenge is talking about what the 10 years have stood for for us. And like speaking of the dance team, um I do feel like we've struggled with who we are up until recent years. I think we had this great name. Katie Reeves, the director, created the Guardians and the the tagline Guardians of the Core Values. And I love that she did that. But I don't think we really owned that until now. Yeah. So for me, and I don't know if how my community would feel about me saying that, saying this, I feel like we have not sucked the marrow out of these 10 years. We've existed and we've survived. Yeah. My question is, what are the next 10 years? That's what I'm invested in. Because okay, we're here now. People know who we are. Yeah. What are we doing? Right? What are the next 10 years gonna stand for? What about you?
SPEAKER_01:What do you think? Um, I mean, it it it is so hard because it's like we've had a lot of just different things that have happened in our 10 years that are unique to other high schools in their time that they've existed with the COVID, with the surplus, with the rezoning that have just constantly been a punch into the throat, you know? Um, and so it I I am interested to see where these next 10 years take us because I'm ready for it. And I I want to see where it goes because I'm ready for Glenn to be on the map. Kylie and I always say, like, we want to put our girls on the map. We want, we want people to be able to hear the guardian name, the angel name, and be like, oh, the guardians are here. Oh, the angels are here. And that's what we kind of want to instill into the next 10 years. But um, it's it's it's crazy that we haven't had, I feel like, as much to say for the 10 years, which I hate saying that, but we need some more.
SPEAKER_00:But but I also think that you guys uh had to adapt to things that were outside your control. Oh yeah. Just like any leader, right? But uh shutdown of the entire country. Yeah, not too many people could say that, right? Right. And then having to I mean, uh in a company, it takes at least three to five years to build a foundation. Yeah, you guys are just there together. Yeah. So that's why I'm I'm going, man, it what you've done now based on the what you time you've been given. For sure. I'm going, man, I think the sky's the limit. But you also, like you said, you can't get comfortable where you're at.
unknown:Right.
SPEAKER_00:And what got you here won't get you there. That's right.
SPEAKER_02:We got to build on it. Yeah. That's good.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. Okay. Where so um tell tell us for again those I have listeners and you have people that are gonna watch this. I have listeners that don't know what this is or who they are, but who are the guy guardians? And and they're not just dancers, but who are they really?
SPEAKER_01:Who are the guardians? Well, they are the varsity dance team over here at Glenn High School. And like Kelly just said, the tagline is that they are the guardians of the core values. We have several different core values that are kind of instilled that from since day one. Um, I can't remember all of them, which is super embarrassing because you think I would know them all.
SPEAKER_03:That's okay.
SPEAKER_01:Um but the job is that they are protectors over the school spirit, and so going to football games, going to basketball games, they are the ones that are there to rally um the student body, the athletes that are out on the floor or on the field, um, and they're there to ignite kind of the student body spirits and whatnot. Um because I I I think the concept is very fun because I feel like sometimes you just get a dance team out of high school and they just go dance. And we are so much more than that. You know, we go to support our our football players no matter what, no matter what the result might be at the end of the night. We are there to m make Glenn High School better. And because no matter what, we're a family, and that we are there to inspire them.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I would say who are the guardians. The best way to answer that is to compare to your stereotypical dance team that your listeners might think of. Um, we are a dance team, but we are so much more than that. We use dance as a way to represent our school. And the guardians guard what is good. Okay, so they they guard we we are family. And I and I don't mean that and just say, oh, we're a family, like a sorority. No, I mean we're a family. Like, think of your family reunion. Are you excited to see every single member of your family for an entire weekend? Sometimes no, but your family, yeah, you're all gonna wear the matching t-shirt and you're gonna enjoy that hug from Aunt Susie, okay? Um, and so our dancers know we're here and we're committed to the vision of what this dance team is today, tomorrow, for our tenure here. Yeah, and we're gonna get along and we're gonna support each other and we're gonna be kind to each other in and outside of the dance gym. The same time, we're gonna be that way for our staff, for our our other students. Um, they they act with integrity. They know that they wear the uniform, yes, on a Friday night, but everybody knows who they are. And it matters how they act if they want to remain and grow in this program. So I'm I'm proud of that. I think that we we do a good job to stay consistent with it and and make sure that we are picking the right people and we hold them accountable. And yes, we all make mistakes. Our guardians are not perfect, but they strive.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And I'm saying from again on the outside for me, hearing guardians before my daughter was ever a high school student, that name has come with pride, but also has made itself more aware in our communities where I'm going, okay, I'm glad that my daughter's here. I'm glad and we'll get into why, but again, I love that what you're striving for is what you guys are getting. Yeah. But it's it's a it's an it's the hard work that goes behind that no one else sees. Yeah. Making sure that everybody's on the same page, making sure that they do the right thing, and it's not just Fridays, it's the way you carry yourself and what you've learned. Yeah. So that's good. Um, all right. And you uh the guards.
SPEAKER_02:Oh yeah. Oh my gosh, we love the guards. So um I'm jumping in here again. Interrupt me. I talk a lot. Do it. Um, other dance teams have honor guards, and they it's funny, they call them honor guards, and we were trying to come up with a name for them, but we were like, it's gonna have to be guards, we're the guardians.
SPEAKER_03:Right.
SPEAKER_02:But it is an opportunity where we have four young men who audition for that role. They are kind of the muscle behind the scenes. So the need was we need people to help do the heavy lifting where our girls were loading these ice chests and these huge props and moving these stage before they go perform, and that's just not great. Right. Um, but what started the guard program was I was doing the rise up series where we'd have speakers come in and talk to the team about life lessons. And I had a mom of a boy saying, How can how can boys come here with these messages? And we don't open it to the student body. Right. So then it was like, oh wow, you know, we we have interests here, but what do you do if you're not a dancer? We have two roles on our team that is for non-dancers. So we have a manager, if you want to apply to be a manager that is kind of um uh like mini assistant. They help with uh costume control, health needs, they do the music sometimes for shows. They have different jobs like that, and then the guards do the heavy lifting. The guards don't know it yet, but they're also performing at contests. They have a very small cameo role in our production. They're gonna be so excited to find that out on this podcast. Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:That's great. I I just was curious because I see them, and uh that's that's awesome that they do.
SPEAKER_02:Um interestingly enough, they only have to be here for a day first period. They're here at every practice at 7 o'clock in the morning. They don't need to get at 8:15.
SPEAKER_01:They get here at 7 a.m. Every day. Every day.
SPEAKER_02:And we're like, boys, y'all don't have to get they're like, no, we the team's here, we need to be here.
SPEAKER_01:Right. And they'll text us and be like, I'm so sorry, coaches, we're gonna be late and be like, okay, but you didn't have to be here for another hour, but I'm so glad you're here.
SPEAKER_00:That says a lot about them and about you getting away. Yeah, good.
SPEAKER_02:And they do guard games. So we were trying to uh you coach, our team right now is full of women. It doesn't have to be. Boys could try out, but it just happens to be full of women. And what we've noticed with girls throughout my 21 years is they dancers sometimes choose this sport because it's not there's no contact, right? It's not like basketball where you're going head to head with somebody. Yeah. Uh you compete against a rubric, so it's a little bit safe. But sometimes our girls get uncomfortable putting themselves in a competitive environment, right? We would take them to officer camp and we'd be like, girls, go up to the front so you can see. And they're like kind of hanging in the back because they don't want to be rude. Well, okay, that's not being rude, right? That's that's being competitive. You gotta understand the venue of competitiveness when it's healthy, when it's okay. So guard games. We're like boys, these girls need a little bit of a lesson on some some good contact. And they so every three weeks they get to do a guard game. And the the funniest one was last one where they did all of those obstacles.
SPEAKER_01:It was like military. Military training. It was awesome. Yes.
SPEAKER_02:And they take it to heart. Like they will plan it for three weeks. And they'll come to us and say, Okay, what do you think? You think 500 points is enough? I don't know. I mean, we don't want we want it to be fair. And we need these materials and we need a whistle. And we need all these things. It's awesome. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:It's good. Again, I love the the the vision that is bought in, even from the guards to the girls and then to the faculty to the parents. Uh, but it comes from culture and it comes from just continuing to build that vision behind it. So um a little bit more on the strategic level for both of you guys, practically speaking, how do you teach leadership to these young ladies? What are some of the things that you guys do to teach leadership to these young ladies?
SPEAKER_01:Um I feel like we do a good job of teaching them that to be a leader, you can't be a leader without having a voice. Um and that kind of goes into different capacity of your life. We have officers that will physically be in front of the team and they will speak to them and teach them moves to counts, but there's so much more to that, you know? Um having a voice that's within your your classrooms and being able to advocate for yourself. Um, hearing, hearing your voice, because that is the most powerful thing that you have, um, because your words can hurt or they can help. And we always want our girls' words to help. And so um we kind of it's it's interesting because you get to hear as the girls grow up and they go from sophomores to seniors, you hear their voice so much more. Yeah. And so you hear our officers, officers' voices a lot. You also hear our seniors a lot, because our seniors, it's so important that if our senior class is united, that they know how important it is that practice runs smoothly, because the officers are not in the line. So since they're in front, you have to have those seniors that are within the line that are training those girls to the left and right of them. And with them and having their voices loud and clear and rallying the troops and saying, girls, let's get it together, let's run to our spots, let's be fast. That's empowering to them because then they feel like they have a buy-in, they have ownership of it. Um and we're kind of in a nice, fun, sweet spot with our newings where they've been newings and they're no longer new newings. They're now new seasoned girls that are on our team. And so we're starting to tell them that we want to hear your voices more. We want to start hearing you encouraging your teammates. Um, if they start to talk, we need to say, girls, hey, we need to be quiet, we need to listen to instruction. But um the most important thing because if for we have some kiddos that are kind of quiet. So how are our quiet kids supposed to become leaders? You know? Yeah. I mean, they can lead by example, but we also want them to know how to use their voice.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, that's good.
SPEAKER_02:And I think, man, asking the question, it's hard because I have to go back and like, oh, how am I teaching that? I mean, I'm obviously teaching it because I've got great leaders, but how? And I think leadership is um the phrase caught, not taught. Like you can go and read all these books, but if you don't have someone modeling it for you, um, and it can't just be us, we are excellent women leaders, but it can't just be your directors. You've got to have it within your team. And so we have a lot of, again, systems where everybody has a leadership role. And you can go through and look at all the ranks, all of the things that they're supposed to be doing, whether that's officer, social officer, sergeant, all of those ranks are things that you audition for. But then going to the seniors at senior retreat, I I read them a chapter from this book. I think it's called Extreme Ownership. It's a story of Navy SEAL training.
SPEAKER_00:That's that that's what made me quit my job to do what I'm doing now.
SPEAKER_02:Okay. I read the book every summer. I love it.
SPEAKER_00:I'm a brand ambassador for his own. No way! Oh my god. There's a shirt underneath that I'm wearing right now that says Okay, we're taking a picture of that. No factor.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, well, I read this the I read specifically the chapter of the boat race.
SPEAKER_00:Nobody teams, only bad leaders.
SPEAKER_02:That's right. And I tell my seniors, man your boat. And when you're out there in that block, the two girls in front of you, the two girls behind you, and the two girls beside you, you're in charge of them. Yeah. And how you perform is based on how you're manning that boat. And you'll hear us say it in practice seniors, man your boat, man your boat. And it gives them voice. It gives them, okay, I need to double, I need to check in with these people. And and they do that. And so then again, like you mentioned, within the line, we don't have to worry about communicating things. Our seniors are on it before we have to say a word.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Then, in addition to that, we have line moms. So in the high kick line, wherever a vet is, and this is anyone, so if you've been on the team for a year, you're taking care of the newings, and that's what we call our rookies because they have new angel wings. Um, they're taking care of the rookies beside them. They have that voice. Then when you're talking about the newings, they have a sergeant who is their voice, who they can go to if they're having issues. And and all of that is leadership. And I think the most important thing is when you're when you're new to the team, you're leading yourself. And we we forget about that. Like you have to treat yourself. I I tell my girls all the time if you want to rise up and be an officer, you do that number one by taking care of yourself. Because if you can take care of you, you can take care of other people. Yeah. So are you going through your checklist? Are you just assuming everything's in your bag? If you're leading people, you're gonna make sure they go through their checklist. So you do that. Yeah, and I think all of those different things working together, it it takes away that they take away, okay, this is what a leader does. And then we have these workshops, we have speakers like you who come in and give a different perspective. So a lot of words to explain that.
SPEAKER_00:Wow, that's great. And honestly, those my my people that are listening to this, the reason I started this was because of Jocko Willink, and then meeting him and then becoming a brand ambassador for his company. Um that's awesome.
SPEAKER_02:I want to meet him.
SPEAKER_00:All of that is that's crazy. He has a he has a team, uh, so the guy that co-rogue at Leif, he lives in Dripping Springs, um, and they have an office here, uh, crazy. Um, but but Jocko's from California. He uh he's the reason that I that book is one of the reasons that I quit my last job, uh started this, but then um just followed him, started a podcast behazor of him. So episode 180, this is 184. But not knowing this, I'm telling you, Allie did not like growing up in that era of me. But here's what's so get ready for her senior routine. Yeah, get ready for her. Discipline, discipline is what I taught. Discipline equals freedom. If you're disciplined with this, you'll get freedom there. And so I taught her she money when he was she was young. And so something that mo hopefully she doesn't get embarrassed about me sharing this, but what most people don't understand is like sh I'll wake up at five, five fifteen to go run. She's already up. She has a routine.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Sunday, like, so since they didn't go to school yesterday, today, she I have never me and my my wife have never had to do her laundry. We've never had to she vacuums her room. Every Sunday it's her room's vacuumed, her laundry's done, her bed's made, her restrooms clean. And this isn't coming from me. This is uh caught not taught. I I have to go if I'm gonna be teaching discipline and extreme ownership and these characteristics that I want to live by, I can't I can't make it your job, or her youth pastor's job anyway. It's as a parent that you have to. And unfortunately, kids that don't have that, they look to us. But again, it's more important about our that's that's really why our leadership's important in our lives. But bringing up Jocko, that's that's the reason I why I'm here where I'm at is because of him. So and he knows that he signed a book, but I anytime you tell Jocko I'm here because of you, he'll say, No, it's because you took ownership of your life. I just gave you the tools to get here. So I love that you read that book. That changed my life. I love it.
SPEAKER_01:It's a great book. Oh, it's such a good book.
SPEAKER_00:I love that that just that take on leadership because it's not just you guys, it and it's not just the captains, it's the people everybody has to lead themselves.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:That's really, really good. Um what would you share with young ladies, dancers or not dancers? Um maybe encompassing who you are, what you've been through, what would you share with young ladies right now? Or maybe even women that have never had this anything maybe spoken into their lives, something that you would go, man, I need to share this with you. That's a heavy question.
SPEAKER_01:That is a heavy question.
SPEAKER_02:I would say I don't know if this is what you're wanting from me, but I I have two things that I would say to anyone listening, but especially a female, is you need to know who you are and what you stand for, what those values are and never deviate from it. Stay true. Because you can be happy with anything that life brings you if you've been true to yourself. And then the second thing is something that I do, my mom taught me this, I'm gonna get my shot. My mom used to say this no matter what you're doing, what job you're doing, what task you've been assigned, do it as though you're doing it for the Lord. If you're sweeping a floor, you're not sweeping it just to get rid of the dirt. You're sweeping it as though Jesus is gonna walk on it. If you have um, I come in and I coach this team, and sometimes I'm motivated to do it, and sometimes I'm not. But I think every day I'm doing this job for the Lord who gave it to me. And then that makes me stay a little longer. That makes me read one more email, that makes me take time to listen to the kid who's talking to me telling me the same story a third time. Um but those two things combine. Know who you are and be stand for something. You know, for me it's it's my Christian values. Um and then two, do everything as though you're doing it for the Lord.
SPEAKER_00:That's good. That's really good. And can I speak on that really quick? Yeah. I just think that when you speak about values and if they're grounded in your relationship with God, whatever that is, if you're a company and you have values, let's if you take it that way too. Those are the that's the compass. We just finished a a a course that for eight weeks with some individuals that I I led on about this is if you don't know your values, then you're just getting in the car and driving. Those core values, especially if they're my Christian core values, I see that through the lens of going, I'm going on this route that I put in the GPS and they have to line up. And if they don't, I can't do that. But even if I do take a detour and make a wrong decision, guess what? I know where they're guiding me back to, and I'm not just getting in the car and just driving anywhere. Absolutely. It's that whole thing of if you don't stand for something, you're gonna fall for anything. Right, yeah. And and I think that that's that is so that's so on point. And um yeah, and I think that identity is in there. The I think girls specifically raising too, I want them to find their identity in who they are, not in what they do. Yeah, but but what they do is gonna benefit from who they are. So I hope that makes sense.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, absolutely. And the world will tell them who the world thinks they should be. Yeah. And guess what? That changes all the time. Um, so you have to know who you are and not be influenced by outside. And and going to mistakes, you know, you might take a wrong turn. Life is full of mistakes. You're going to make them. But your values hold you, they bring you home.
SPEAKER_00:I love that. Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_01:Um, I think this has actually been something I've been like reflecting on in the past week or so. Um, but if I was a girl in high school and I was dealing with all the high school girl things or whatever, or wherever you're at in life, um, I just started reading this book from my pastor Sean Johnson called Kiss the Fire. And he talks about just the different things of when you're going through a fire, how can you kiss it and walk away whistling? I'm I'm halfway through it, so I haven't gotten to the end. But he said something in there that has like changed my life, and it it was your pain is the prerequisite to your purpose.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And I don't know why that like really helped me because I it in my life I I've been so blessed by what Jesus has provided me with a great family. Like, I didn't make rads, whatever I did, and it was so much fun. I made some great girlfriends, and then I went to college, I got a great job. Um, but great partner, great partner, great Kelly. Love this girl. Um, but I I feel like I have struggled with like going through hard things and falling to God too whenever those things are going on. And that a lot of people's testimonies, they're not pretty or sexy or cute because they have some really nasty things in them. And those are the stories that will resonate with you and know that you can relate back to whatever that might be, whatever the hardship that you had gone through. And so, like he said, the pain is the prerequisite to your purpose and knowing your calling and knowing your vision and what has Jesus called you to. Um, and I think that's a hard concept to grasp when you're in high school because your world is so shiny and pretty and you get to wear the uniform. But then there are things that are gonna be so tough. And it's the way that you find Jesus quickly in them and how you run to him faster than anything else that you could possibly do. Don't run to a girlfriend, don't run to your mom, but run to Jesus first. Because, like my mom says, Jesus is your best girlfriend. And so if you can find Jesus faster to know why it might be that Jesus is putting you in that situation, your life is going to, I wouldn't say be easier, but you're gonna have a better understanding of what God is showing you.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and I think your your eyes are and your mind are searching for the purpose rather than being so and again you you go through things and you yet and we are gonna struggle with crap, I'm in a tough spot.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:But but with that purpose being him, you're gonna go, there is a deeper meaning. I have to find that, rather than woe is me. Which again, we're gonna have those times, but I think through what you said, and and I think that's why most people steer away from leadership and from sharing their story or wanting to. I think that what we we think that there's this button where you're just gonna press the button and you're in front of everybody teaching everybody no, there's pain that brought that person to share their story, whether it was divorce, whether it's bad decisions, whether it's the loss of a family member or best friend.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Um yeah, because I it's what I told, I think I told our girls here was and I tell my daughters, you know, I would not be a believer my best friend didn't die.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:I just I wouldn't wish that on anybody. I would not wish that on anyone. But there was some kind of purpose behind it that I didn't understand. Yeah. And now to be on this side of it, and we see students losing other friends, and I'm like, I can tell you I've been there and it's not gonna be easy, but you have to step into that. And so um that's you guys, those are solid answers. I love that. I love that. Maybe I can get these uh sound clips so that we can share those. Um favorite part of being a coach?
SPEAKER_01:My favorite part? I you go, Kelly.
SPEAKER_00:I mean, we can go to the most challenging part. No, I mean that's the one I love it.
SPEAKER_01:That's so much.
SPEAKER_02:I'm so glad I didn't read that one. Don't read that one. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Um, the relationships, I I know that's like a a shop answer, but I really do love that. I've been teaching long enough now that I have girls that I coached and now I got to go to their wedding, I see them have their babies, I get I've created this friendship, relationship, coach, mentorship that has lasted the years. Um, not just with my dancers, I'm friends with the parents, yeah, you know, definitely that forms a community that lasts, and I I love following that over time. The relationship with my coworkers. Um, I've got coworkers that I've been working with through all of the years at different campuses. Um I think my favorite thing about that is the relationship, but I'm gonna say this. I get to go to work and and do something that really matters. Not that math doesn't matter, okay, geometry. Um, because you know, we have Google now. So Kelly still has a bone to pick with geometry, so I get to do something that these dancers will tell their kids about.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Right? They're gonna show yearbooks with what we did together.
SPEAKER_01:And I love that. Um, I think my favorite part of being a coach, the I have two things. But my first thing is that uh after a halftime performance and the girls walk off that field and then they come find Kelly or myself, and they're like, How did it look? Did it look good? Yeah, and they get so giddy, they're like, they want that like that immediately. Because they don't know they weren't there, they didn't get to see it, they got to experience how they did, they know how they did it, but they're like, okay, but how did we do it? And and I I love the pride that they get from it where they they want to have done a good job. They want to know that they have just impressed their student body, their fan, their family. I almost said their fans, it's obviously their fans. Um, did they impress people and show off that their best work that they've worked hours on for that two minutes of fame? Did did everything come together the way that they wanted it to? Um, and then the second part that I love about because just because it's a part of my testimony, is watching the progression of dancers who struggle and how much harder they have to work to be able to become the guardians or angels that they were meant to be. I love watching them go from point A to point B and all the way to Z and seeing where God has created them to be. Um, because I I know how hard I had to work, and I know there are dancers, and several names come to my mind of they've just had to work harder than anybody else. And I'm so impressed by who they've become, and I know that their hard work that they're doing in our dance gym is incredible, and it's gonna help them go throughout their entire life of knowing that they have to work that hard.
SPEAKER_02:So it's neat to be in the audition and we're just in the back and we're just praying, like we're we're looking, we don't even want to watch them. We're like, oh God, please, please pull it together. Oh, watching them, and then you you wait for those numbers to come across, and it's like this they did it, they did it, they did it, yeah, you know, but again, you guys having a hand in all that.
SPEAKER_00:I uh I go back to saying and I keep saying on this side of it, we get to hear what our daughter's growing, what they're and again, some of her best friends come from the dance uh community, and then ones that have had to move because of rezoning, they still see each other, and I'm like, Yeah, that friendship is it's vital. Yeah, but then uh just key things that she's learning that she applies to her tool belt to keep going. So for sure. Um I love that. I love that. And um, some challenging parts of being uh again, I can only imagine. I mean, challenging parts of being a teacher coach, whatnot.
SPEAKER_01:I was gonna say that my my most rewarding one that I just talked about is watching them grow. That's also the most challenging part because when you are putting dancers that are all supposed to be at the same, I don't want to say level, but they have different backgrounds. They have either trained that we on our varsity time varsity team, we have dancers who have trained in studio for years. But we also on that same demographic, we have dancers who just started taking dance with Kelly and I.
SPEAKER_03:Oh wow.
SPEAKER_01:And so girls have progressed a lot from a freshman to a sophomore to make our varsity team, but being able to make those dancers look like one so that our top dancers look like they're being challenged, but then our our lowest uh dancers that they feel beautiful and confident and that they can do those skills well and not feel ashamed. That's great. Um that that is a hard part, but that's also drill team. Yeah. And that's the the art of it. And being able to do it flawlessly, put them in a beautiful costume so that they can go out on that contest floor or football field and they feel like they've done a job well done.
SPEAKER_00:So Yeah, that's great.
SPEAKER_02:You're gonna see my g strategic side now, because I agree with all of everything, but the first thing that popped into my mind was funding.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:It it becomes very difficult to do the job here that you can do at other parts of the district or even other districts that have a different um funding levels than we do. Yeah. So at our campus specifically, we have dancers that um they they can't they can't finance the bill of what it would take to run this program. And so we just did the math for our booster club to compete with our guardians and our angels, it costs a little over$40,000 for a competitive year. And that includes entry fees, transportation, costumes for all the different things. And that comes to about$700 a dancer when you look at divide that. That's a lot. Yeah. And so we our district does provide some funding for those things, which is great. And I'm so proud to be from Leander. I can't say enough great things about what they provide for us, but it's still not enough to bridge any gap. And so we have to fundraise and we have to ask for sponsorships, and that becomes harder every year, especially during economic times. So when I'm looking at it from the strategic mind of being the head director, I need to build numbers, build numbers, build numbers to keep you and to field a team of Varsine and JV. But at the same time, I have to be able to afford to send them to contest, to put on a show, to compare to all the other schools in the district. So we create this passion and love for dance in these students that may not be able to afford to continue, and that's just not okay. So we provide scholarships. Leander does a great fine art scholarship to help families out. Um we we do we take care of them the best we can, but that is always a big challenge for me.
SPEAKER_00:So uh is it a challenge? And I I'm not even a challenge, I'm thinking that the two of you though, to me, this makes like you're taking on the brunt of that. I could see how support from Lindy and then you being able to lead forward on certain times, or you being going, hey, I'm gonna take care of this.
SPEAKER_02:Can you help with this all the time?
SPEAKER_00:Does every school have two directors? They do at this time.
SPEAKER_02:Okay. And I say that at this time because that's under review. Everything, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. Okay.
SPEAKER_02:Thank goodness. I don't know how I would do this job without a helper. Yeah. A partner. She's not my assistant, she's the assistant to the program. But you just think about when we travel. How we're going on our out-of-state trip next year. How does one director take a full team, a varsity team, right, out of state by yourself? Right. You have to have a partner who's trained. So we're gonna do everything we can to build up those numbers.
SPEAKER_03:I love it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:If we're wearing the same costume and everything, don't judge. Don't judge. Black tank, black leggings. Don't worry, we have much elsewhere. We'll add some rhinestones. We'll add some rhinestones.
SPEAKER_00:I love it. I love those answers. Um, so as we're winding down, uh what what is there, is there anything that you need to share that you want to share that we haven't shared about the guardians, about um this being 10 years, about um, yeah, anything.
SPEAKER_02:Um I I don't know. I get a lot of questions on how our team is is very it's a fun team, okay? We have a lot of fun together.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And we post a lot of videos and we do a lot of social media stuff. And I get a lot of questions from other directors like, how do you get your team so motivated? Because we we work hard. We work so hard. Um, and so I I do kind of want to just share that, you know, a huge part of motivation comes from they know their purpose and guardians of the core values, they belong here, they they understand it. They all have a choice on how to participate in this program. So they have the autonomy to do anything within Guardians or Angels that they want to do, as long as it contributes to the purpose. Yeah. And then I think the other thing is they grow here. And that's a big part. Like you can do the other things, you can, you know, talk about your purpose and give free choice. But if they're not growing here, you don't retain them.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And I think that one thing that Lindy does so fabulously is she, I call her my technician a lot, but she pushes technique.
SPEAKER_03:Keep going, keep going. Let's not do that. Sorry. Cut that out. This is a serious moment.
SPEAKER_02:But you do a great, such a fabulous job of really honing in on that at practice. I think um I look at big picture things. Are we are we performing? Are we smiling? Or is this crowd engaging? Are we giving it energy? Um, how are we gonna get there? How are we gonna pay for it? You know, do the parents know what time to pick up and all of that? Right. But she is constantly on the proper technical stuff. There and you don't get to practice and not get feedback. That's the other thing. They are hungry for feedback now. All of that goes in how we keep them motivated. We're doing these one-on-ones. Yes, and we did one-on-ones our first year. The answers were not anything like what we're getting now. The first year was very much I don't like it when you give me feedback. I don't like to be critiqued, I don't like to get that in public. Yeah. Do you know how hard it is to run a practice and not critique your dancer in front of the team? Right. That would be like doing a football practice and not letting your boys know they've messed up until you get a private moment. Girls, it doesn't work like that. But now we have these one-on-ones, and the girls are like one of our questions is how do you feel seen and supported in this team? Feedback. I love it when you give me a critique. Means you're looking at me. Just that mindset. Which is awesome. Yeah. And they don't get through a practice without feedback from one of us. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:It's definitely me, guys. I'm sorry. I'm not gonna let you leave this room. I love that about you. And not not get the feedback. It's so powerful, Bindy. And you gotta, I mean, it's it's so important that you want to grow because why are you here if you don't want to grow? That's right. And a lot of our dancers, we would love for them to go and dance after high school, um, go to any kind of college team and continue performing. But some of them, this is it. Yeah. And while you're here, you're gonna be the best guardian you can possibly be. And I'm not going to be shy about telling you what you might need to fix. Um, because you always say it very respectfully. I I try my best, okay? Sometimes I get passionate. Um my God, bless their hearts. Um, but it's it's so much fun. I I I know if I was in high school, I would have loved to have been a guardian. Um, I think the dynamic is fun. I think our routines that we do are fun. Um, we costume them well. I think they look super beautiful in all of their uniforms. Um, I I do want to say my my final thought is that from the time that I got here to now, there is a huge shift in the energy that is in this room. And I I don't really like to use the word energy. I mean it's the Holy Spirit that's in here and it's just his presence because we invite him in because we cannot do this without him. You know, there's no chance that I can go about my day without being completely um overwhelmed with his presence. And so I hope that our dancers that walk in this gym feel something different than walking into their math classes, their science classes, their history classes, that they feel like there's a part of a family and there's a light here that they cannot tell. And if there's dancers that don't really know Jesus, I hope that they get to experience a little bit of him in this room. Yes. Um that's the most important thing to us because it's hard being public school educators. It's um even more challenging of how to show off who Jesus is without being able to get to say his name in front of them. We're not allowed to preach, you know, and we will honor that because we want to respect every kid of what those kids are believing, but we want to also know that silently you you can you can feel something. Oh, yeah, you know, and that's the biggest thing for Kelly and I is that they walk out of here a better human than when they started, yeah, and they hear the gospel in some capacity from the time that they're they're in here to the time that they leave.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and most of that comes when the way you treat people and the way you talk to people and the way you again. I I personally believe that teenagers want structure and want boundaries. Now they may fight parents for that, but it's going, How much do you care for me? Yeah and they oh yeah, when you guys do that, that's why when you said structure and growth, I'm going in any organization, if there's not structure and growth, real good leaders will leave because they'll go, I'm gonna go somewhere else. Because I'm I need structure and growth. For sure. Um and I think it comes in the form of feedback. And I think um I know that again, my daughter's a stronger individual because of y'all two, and I I either reap the benefit of that or sometimes I'm going, man, they I'm glad she's growing up to be a young woman the way she is, because she gets me and her mom, but then she gets y'all, and I love what she's learning. And it's not just dance, it's who you are as an individual. So um on my end, I want to say I appreciate both of you uh so much from the community aspect, yeah, but then as parent, as a parent. So the way you show love to our girls is amazing because it's what you teach them and how what's caught, not taught. So um again, I appreciate that so much. Um any final thoughts? Anything else?
SPEAKER_02:Thank you. Yeah, just hey, come to our performance, man. We we'd love to see and how show our girls off. Yeah, well, we're a lot of fun. Follow us on our TikTok. We're a good time.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:We're trying. What can I say?
SPEAKER_00:So Friday we're at Georgetown?
SPEAKER_02:Yes, we're at Georgetown, and then we're back, and then we're back home. Okay.
SPEAKER_00:And then the first performance, like uh as a whole, as a team, like as far as outside of Friday night, that's next year, right?
SPEAKER_02:Yes. So we will be well, we actually have a holiday show we just added to your calendar. Yeah. Like last week. On a Wednesday night. I think it's December 17th. It's the week before we get off holiday break, and we'll be doing a little um performance in our gym, and that will be guardians, angels, dance classes. Um, it'll be a fun time. And then after that, we'll do some basketball games, and then we've got our huge show in April, the third weekend of April. Would love to see it. It's the make your mark um theme. That's awesome. It's gonna be super cool.
SPEAKER_00:So, okay, I thought of one last question.
SPEAKER_02:Okay. Oh, good.
SPEAKER_00:I I'm a firm believer that balance doesn't exist. It's prioritize, but you gotta prioritize your life. Balance, something's gonna fall, something's gonna break, something's gonna be dropped. Because if you try to balance this with this, you're always trying to lift things up. So I'm always talking about prioritizing. How how is this in your personal life? Like, how do you prioritize a personal life? Do you shut the phone off after after Friday? Do you are you you're as a youth pastor, it was always on. I'm always on the go, but I know I didn't always do well. Uh my girls got the second best sometimes of me because somebody else was in need. And I hate that. That's again, that's just something I think we need to teach people in the non I mean in the nonprofit world is man, your family needs to come first. Oh yeah. So I failed in that and now I'm doing this and I'm I'm trying to prioritize my life better. What about in y'all's life? How do you is it a constant prioritizing? Is it a constant thought? I have to keep this up here. I mean, I'll let you go first, young.
SPEAKER_01:Like prioritize like your husband, your your personal life, your Oh, um, I mean, my my drive, because I don't I don't live in Leander, I live off of uh over by the domain and everything. So it's a little bit of a drive to get out there. Um and that 30 minutes is like Me like like just meditating with God and talking with Him and reflecting on my day. Um, when I get home, I love to cook. Um, there's some I I love to turn on some music, and I love that at the end of when I'm done cooking, like my husband will be there and we'll be able to enjoy a meal together. Um and then it's just we don't have phones. We get to sit with each other, we get to talk about each other's days. Um, and my important thing is that I I do want to tell him about my school day. You know, I do want to tell him what happened because there's a lot of funny things that happen at work. Um and so there are. Oh my gosh, bless us. We have some exciting things that happen.
SPEAKER_00:I can't imagine with y'all too. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:No, we have some, we it's it's every day is an adventure. Every day is an adventure. And so Hunter loves to hear those stories, but um, going home and that kind of I I know there's like a TikTok trend where it's like my nine to five and then my five to nine. My five to nine is spending time with him and getting to hear about our days and to just be together.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Um, and being intentional and purposeful and knowing because I don't spend as much time with him as compared to Kelly. So I want to stoke up every single second that I get with him. Um and then I don't plan anything on Sundays. That's my Sabbath. I go to church, and then we get to go home and we get to just sit and be together. That's great.
SPEAKER_03:That's good. Okay.
SPEAKER_02:Um so um I I don't know. I guess I would prioritize. I don't turn it off. Um I kind of divide my day into three parts, and I try to do something in the morning, something in the afternoon, and something in the evening. And that will that most of the time my workday I can leave here. And I'll tell Bobby about it because he likes to hear about it. But I don't I try not to work at home if I don't have to, but sometimes I have to, and that's okay. Um but I I'm constantly thinking about the job, if I'm really being honest. You know, whether that's thinking about music I can use or thinking about planning something. And so um, I've gotten better about making on my notes app. I used to keep note cards by where I sit on the couch or by my bed, and when I would think about something, I'd write it down because then I don't have to think about it anymore. I don't have to remember it, right? I just put it there and I can pick it up tomorrow and go. And so now my notes app is that for me on my phone. Nice. Um, but this job is kind of it's part of me. It's not a just a job to me. So it it kind of lives and breathes with me. Yeah. I just right now I have to make time for husband, I have to make time for children, and now I have a glam b glam baby. Glam baby. Um and so I just make sure that when I am with those people, I am a hundred percent there. So a text might come through, it will wait. An email, I won't check. But again, I divide my day and I'm like, this time of day, I'm going to check those emails and respond. And it can wait till then. And because I know I have that time to check, I don't worry.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I love that. And it's a shameless plug for what made for more does now is a course called On Purpose, Living a Prioritized Life. And what we did over the past eight weeks, we just launched our first course and we walked with about 17 people, and it was just that. People, there's a myth of balance. Just I love what you said because if I would have known this as a youth pastor, I did a lot of good things, but the worst, and I and I tell people, if I know some people say I would never go back, I I truly would go back to be there for my daughters when I wasn't, and I was doing some good, but I wasn't there when they needed me because I was with somebody else's son or daughter, which is fine. But I think what I try to tell people is yeah, I I love my job, yeah, but I also love my family. So when I'm with them, there's priority that goes that phone may go off, and if it's an emergency, they'll keep calling me. And I'll take it. But if they text me and I'm not around, cool. But it also makes me take ownership of and be disciplined in scheduling, telling people what's important to me, because I may teach them something by going, hey, this is really important to me, but can we schedule this later? Because here's what I have a daddy-daughter date, or I have this, and they go, Tell me more about that. And I'm like, Well, we live off of prioritized and execute, but if you're prioritizing your life, then nothing's a surprise. Yes, things are gonna happen in our lives, but if you prioritize, then that means there's this cadence of things happening there. You go, I'm doing this on purpose, not by accident. So, anyways, that's a shameless plug for our uh I love that for our course. Um, but anyways, I want to tell you guys again, I appreciate both of you greatly, not just because you coached my daughters, but because you brought the guardian culture to the school, to the way we do things around here. Um, and again, I I s again just super thankful for both of you. Um and I think it's okay to talk about this because you guys you you live this out, but personal story, my daughter's struggling with uh an injury, and when we both talked, not not just the both of y'all, but me and my wife, you guys and my daughter on the phone, one of the most important things was us all praying. And that is solid. Again, that's something that I value. So again, I appreciate you as a dad, as a parent. Yeah. Um, so super thankful for y'all. So uh hey guys, I I appreciate everyone listening. If you have any um if they'd like to give to the organization, can they go to the our booster hub has a donation link on it now?
SPEAKER_02:So if you go to GHS Guardians.com, go to the booster page, it'll take you there.
SPEAKER_00:And I'll link that in the in the greatest. That'd be awesome. Um I know this may either be two podcasts or one long one. We appreciate you guys listening. Um but uh again, wherever you're at, remember that you're always being watched and you're a leader, whether it's for young individuals, young women, young men, uh, you're always an influence. So again, I appreciate both of you. Um and as always, everyone listening, remember we exist for more, we're here, all for more. Don't ever give up. Every single one of us are made for more. We'll talk to you guys later. Well, guys, that's the end of the interview with Lindy Hansen and Kelly Mapry. Two amazing individuals that lead, regardless of their circumstances. They're leading young ladies and young men uh the Glenn Guardian Dance Team and uh Leander. So if you ever want to reach out and shoot uh them an encouraging note, you can email them at the email below in the podcast notes. I ask that you don't make it weird. Um if you're a former dancer and you're listening to this, I appreciate you listening. I I ask that maybe you if you're coaching, congrats and keep going. If you're still dancing, keep going. But I would ask that you reach back out and tell these ladies they're doing an amazing job, encourage them. Um but more importantly, this entire podcast is based off of helping others get better. And I would remind us that we're being watched, just like I said at the end of the podcast, that we are an influence to the world around us, even if it's just one person. But do those things, do the things that you do, lead the people that you do to the best of your ability, leaving it all out there. But remember your growth, remember your personal development, remember that you cannot pour from empty cups, so make sure you're growing. And I hope to m to launch into the next set of podcasts with some growth uh with one of my buddies, and we'll be talking about and we're gonna we'll be taking a book and we'll be uh going through a book um that's uh to be determined right now. But I hope you join us and uh we thank you for listening to the podcast. I know I said it before, but here we go. Remember you exist for more, you're here to offer more. Don't ever give up. Every single one of us are made for more. Later.
