In this episode I interview long-time Boulder City high school teacher and coach, Bill Strachan. Born and raised in Boulder City, Bill played tennis, basketball and baseball for the Eagles until graduating in 1978. After college, Bill returned to campus to teach and coach, which he's been doing since 1984! Bill recounts a Boulder City that sounds an awful lot like the one we live in today, only just a little closer-knit. It makes me wonder, if we as a town, haven't grown much in the last 40 years, why do we feel farther apart than ever? I'm Don Rodriguez and most weekday mornings you can find me at our local Starbucks for 20-30 minutes before work. Feel free to say hi if you spot me, let's start getting close again! Thank you for listening! I hope you enjoy this episode as much as loved having this wonderful conversation with Bill Strachan.

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Today would be Michael Manteris' 20th Birthday and I'm changing lanes to bring you a very special interview with Michael's mom, Jessica Aldrich, seven years after his passing. In 2016 Michael Manteris, an 11-year-old student at Garrett Jr. High, was diagnosed with Lukemia. It was a story that brought our community together like nothing I had seen before. Michael was healthy, funny, charming, athletic and loved by everyone who knew him. He had a smile that could light up the entire town and there wasn't a person in Boulder City who didn't know of his illness and wasn't actively praying for him. For five months, from Halloween to Easter, we followed Michael's battle with cancer through the social media posts his mother posted from Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. On March 30th 2017, Michael lost that battle. I have the honor of sitting down with Jessica for a courageous and emotional conversation about Michael and the last months of his life from the time he checked out of school to his passing and the aftermath. This may be a difficult podcast to listen to, I apologize. I want to thank Jessica for her tremendous courage in sharing such a deeply personal story with our community. Please continue to keep the Manteris and Aldrich families in your prayers, there is still much healing underway. God bless you all!

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In this episode I have the honor of interviewing Lexi Lagan, two-time U.S. Olympic shooter, Pan American silver medalist (10mm Women's Air Pistol) and Boulder City native. Lexi discusses her journey from BCHS to the U.S. Olympic team and we deep dive into her unique, detached mental game. Lexi is Boulder City's first Olympian and the first Olympic shooter from the University of Utah. I love this podcast because, while the other episodes focus on training and perseverance, this one spotlights the critical mental game. Lexi demonstrates that you can be ultra-competitive without sacrificing your ethics, morals or personal mental health.

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Coach John Balistere returned to Boulder City after college and jumped right into his passion, high school basketball. Over the last three decades Coach Balistere has developed a consistently-winning Boys Basketball program at BCHS, churning out multiple titles, collegiate athletes and state all-stars. The state title has eluded his head coaching tenure, but that hasn't reduced his enthusiasm in the slightest! Coach Balistere leads his program with an intense dedication to discipline and effort. And his vast network of NCAA, USA and International basketball resources continuously exposes his staff and our athletes to high-level coaching and playing experiences. Coach Balistere is among the top-tier basketball coaches in Southern Nevada, on any level, and is highly regarded and sought after among college and professional programs across the country! And yet, he chooses to share his talents and experiences with our kids right here in his hometown of Boulder City, Nevada. It is no wonder why our Boys Basketball Program is "hated for all the right reasons" all over the state!

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Coach Kevin Ruth has spent the last 27 years educating and coaching Boulder City Eagles. He's coached football, wrestling and flag football with multiple wrestling state champs and 2X state runners-up in flag football. In fact, building on his state championship and collegiate wrestling experience, he was key in rebuilding the BCHS wrestling program over two decades ago. Coach Ruth is the epitome of toughness and integrity and so it comes as no surprise that his teams have taken on those same characteristics. He's another high-quality teacher/coach combo that BCHS seems to have in spades. Coach Ruth's superpower is his innate ability to let you know he cares about you while he's coaching you. He's that favorite uncle that you never wanted to disappoint. In my opinion, he toes the line between high school fun and high school competition better than anyone I've interviewed to date. He's highly competitive but that quality always gives way to his commitment to fun and fairness, no matter how high the stakes are.

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James Cracolici moved to Boulder City just a few years ago and immediately immersed himself into our youth sports community, bringing a lifetime of baseball and football experience, having played on both the high school and college levels. In 2023, Coach Cracolici took it upon himself to resurrect the Boulder City youth football program and they fielded 9 teams in their first season! James and I have a candid conversation about a variety of topics from youth sports to the Boulder City 4th of July parade! I look forward to covering the future student-athletes that Caoch Crack and his staff are training!

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Coach Denny Crine started playing baseball and pitching at a young age in Henderson, NV. He also comes from local baseball royalty: his father is former Eagles baseball coach, Tommy Crine, for whom the Foothill High School baseball field is named. In college he was drafted by the Chicago White Sox and went on to play minor league baseball with Michael Jordan and John Kruk. After leaving baseball he went back to college where he got his teaching degree and went into high school coaching. Sitting down with Coach Crine, you get the sense that there is nothing he doesn't know and understand about the game, yet, he is a constant student of the game continually updating his training and teaching methods. Heading into his second season as the Eagles head coach, you get the feeling that Coach Crine is going to be leading this program for the next several years - and that's perfectly fine by me!

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The truth is, I'm not sure how many State Championships Coach Huxford has because she's too modest to admit; there may be more. Same for Coach of the Year Awards, which I believe she has 7! And make no mistake, the impression you get as you sit across from Rachelle Huxford is Champion! She's measured in all her answers, constantly introspective and a complete strategist on the court. If you want your kids to learn how to win at sports AND AT LIFE, get them into one of her programs before she closes out her Hall of Fame career!

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