Michael Eck, author of Strike Season, joins Joe to tell the remarkable true story of a high school football team that suddenly found itself without coaches in the middle of a championship season.
When a teachers’ strike pulled the coaching staff off the field, Michael and his teammates faced the possibility of losing not only their season, but also college scholarships and opportunities to play at the next level. So they made an audacious decision: they would coach themselves.
For five weeks, a group of 16- and 17-year-olds ran their own practices, called their own plays, managed their own discipline, and somehow went 5–0 while allowing just one touchdown.
Michael shares what that experience taught him about leadership, trust, adversity, and responsibility—including the complicated example of Coach Walker, who stood with the teachers’ union while refusing to abandon his players.
It’s a story about what happens when the plan falls apart, no one is coming to rescue you, and you have to figure out how to lead before you feel ready.
Watch the full episode on Youtube!
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