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

“Ego reminds me what I’ve done. Humility reminds me how much more there is to learn.” Accomplished this week - Competed against high-level opponents at the quintet, had strong moments and tough lessons. Even after coming this far, I’m reminded there’s always more to learn. - Stepped into leadership by picking the lineup and being the spearhead in the second wave, while watching my team show up for each other despite losses, fatigue, and the grind of competition. - Felt the power of community with one of our largest fan turnouts! Families, parents, and teammates showing up just to cheer us on. - Hosted a Girl Scout self-defense seminar, blending fun with serious skills. One parent told me, “Thank you for putting this together. Girls shouldnt live in fear,, but need to be prepared.” That’s exactly why we do what we do. - Proud of the effort I poured into preparing for competition while staying safe and healthy. What I need to accomplish this week - Shift focus from competing to building: represent at Grafton High School, lead STORM team invites and our weekend meeting. - Host a birthday party that doubles as an opportunity to welcome potential future members into the Utopia family. - Document more of the day-to-day journey of Coach Vern — showing both the grind and the gratitude. Closing thought:Humility keeps us coachable, teamwork keeps us accountable, and community keeps us grounded. What’s one way you can practice humilitin your own life this week? Drop it below ⬇️

One of the habits I’ve leaned on for years is visualization — not just looking back, but also looking forward. This week I’ve been future pacing next Saturday’s Quintet, visualizing what it will feel like the Sunday after. I see myself sore but healthy, no injuries. I feel the pride of representing our academy not just in competition, but in character adapting when things don’t go to plan, fighting with resilience, and carrying humility whether the scoreboard favors me or not. That’s the version I’m training toward right now. Wins from the Week: - Laila back in school and settling into routine 🙌 - Knocked out a bunch of operational tasks behind the scenes for Coach V3 - Training ramped up and on track leading into competition week - Quality time with friends at Tosa Fest, good balance outside the grind Challenges: - Balancing heavy operations work with training load - Keeping mental focus tight with Quintet looming (not letting anxious energy scatter me) - Still refining the first lead magnet direction for Coach V3 To-Dos for the Week Ahead: - Finalize taper plan + recovery leading into Saturday - Stay consistent with Scorecard + EOS check-ins - Close remaining operational loops before Quintet (no loose ends) - Be fully present at home with family while energy is on the mats Random Thoughts/Ideas: - Humility was last's months word of the month at the academy, it ties perfectly into this next week. Competing with humility means telling my athletes, “Yes, Coach Vern gets scared too. And still steps forward.” - Visualization isn’t just a habit, it’s a weapon. Future pacing helps me control what I can and face what I can’t with resilience. - Sometimes the best training is outside the gym. Dinners, festivals, and moments where you’re simply human with your people. If you find these reflections valuable, stick around. This isn’t just about coaching or competing, it’s about showing up as the next version of yourself, week after week.

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

One of my powerful personal development habits, is journaling. Within this community I can give value not just in tools, but give you real time access to my current thoughts, ideas, struggles within this space. I'll call it Sunday Reflections. It is a way to look back, look forward, and plan for the week ahead The following is the way I structure my daily journal. Wins Issues/Challenges To-Dos Random Thoughts/Ideas Wins From the Week: Launched Skool Edited the rough draft of chapter 2 Produced Social Media Content resulting in 15 new followers across platforms Spend some quality time with my wife over the weekend Issues/Challenges During the last week of summer camp it was chaotic and felt low energy towards the end along with my daughters school ramping up Still have no idea what I am doing on this platform yet, but have learned some paths forward To Dos Map out "paths" within the classroom setting in skool Edit Chapter 3 of the Powerful Parenting Playbook Utopia Martial Arts Rocks and weekly commitments Record weekly jiu jitsu content for social media platforms Random Thoughts/Ideas Incorporating feedback from my last workshop into some of my online content Focus on competitive jiu jitsu in preparation for the Quintet September 13th. If you find this post valuable, feel free to stay awhile. It's FREE