Becoming a Better Man, Matthew McConaughey, Coaching 1st-Round Picks with Brent McDonald

My guest is Brent McDonald. He is the Principal at Summer Creek High School in Houston, Texas, and former Head Baseball Coach at Cypress Falls High School. He & wife, Angie, have two kids, BreAnna, 17 & Dominick, 15.

"Coach Mac," or "Mac," as his number is saved in my phone, is someone I've always respected & admired. For over 25 years, he's been a real-life influencer—not one of these social media wannabe "influencers."

As a former baseball coach at Cy-Falls High School, he had a big influence and impact on my life. Therefore, he'll always be on my Wall of Gratitude, which I discuss in the Intro.

Coach Mac was the Varsity Assistant Baseball Coach when I was at Cy-Falls. In 1999, the year after I graduated, he became Head Coach. His stories from those days are incredible—he coached two first-round draft picks in the same year (2002) and took many Cy-Falls teams deep into the state playoffs.

In 2007, in an effort to impact more kids' lives, Mac accepted a position as Assistant Principal at Cy-Falls. Timing of the career change suited he & Angie as they'd just started a family. His new administrative job meant getting home earlier to spend time with them.

In this episode, we spend considerable time talking baseball and Coach McDonald’s coaching career at Cy-Falls. We recall the incident in 1998 involving Kyle Rutherford, our quarterback & star pitcher. Rutherford was benched in our final playoff game because of something he'd allegedly written in the yearbook about our Head Football Coach & Athletic Director. A lawsuit followed that was mentioned by Bob Ley on ESPN's Sportscenter.

Coach also discusses how kids are quick to transfer schools now when they don’t play Varsity as a sophomore. He says kids manipulate their mailing addresses in order to enroll in another school.

Also, since I'm a new parent, we discuss the most valuable thing you can give to your children: time. Mac says time is the biggest gift he’s given his kids. That resonates with me big-time. You cannot buy kids things that would replace your presence in their life. Toward that end—we discuss investing strategy (for college, equity buildup & a long retirement).

It was an honor to have Coach McDonald on the podcast. Hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!