What happens when a national championship coach leaves Los Angeles and decides to build something in a small rural town?

Coach Michael Teagardin—known to most as Coach T—is MCSA’s Director of Track & Field and Cross Country. He’s a former AAU National Coach of the Year, who helped lead the Southern California Comets to four national titles in five years. And now he’s choosing to invest that experience into the kids of Mendocino County.

In this episode, we talk about what it really means to develop athletes—not just for sport, but for life. From speed and agility training to building belief in kids who don’t yet see themselves as athletes, Coach T brings both vision and humility to everything he does.

We talk about:

• His move from SoCal to Ukiah—and why it wasn’t just a change of pace

• The challenges and beauty of building a program in a small town

• The difference between a skill-based sport and a performance-based one

• Why multi-sport development matters more than ever

• How grit is modeled—not taught

• And what he wants kids to carry with them long after they leave the track

Coach T helped launch our first-ever MCSA cross country and track & field seasons, expanding the Academy’s mission beyond soccer. And as you’ll hear in this conversation—he’s not just building runners. He’s building resilient, grounded, next-generation leaders.

If you’re a coach, a parent, or a young athlete—you’ll get something from this.

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What does it really mean to try out for a Select Team?

At MCSA, it’s not just about soccer—or flag football, or track, or wrestling. It’s about commitment. Culture. Grit.

This episode is required listening for all families going through our Select Team tryout process, and for anyone considering applying for a scholarship. But even if you're already part of the MCSA family, this episode lays bare what we stand for and where we’re going.

We break down our player-first development philosophy—from grassroots to select—and how that same mindset is being carried into our new programs in cross country, track & field, flag football, wrestling, and sports performance. We talk about what our families invest, what our staff sacrifices, and how we’re navigating the unique challenges of pay-to-play in a country where youth sports are too often transactional, expensive, and exclusionary.

We also talk about the real grit we see every day—from kids who’ve lost a parent, to families facing serious hardship, to players who return day after day because this club has become their platform for growth and belonging.

We’ve awarded over $60,000 in scholarships this past year, and we’re proud of that. But we’re also a small, nonprofit organization—and one of our major contributors recently reduced their support by 80%. That shift, combined with the growing demand for access and equity, is forcing us to adapt fast, think long-term, and hold the line on our values.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Why Select Team tryouts are about more than talent

• How our player-first pathway works across all ages and sports

• What our fees include—and how they compare to other clubs

• Why we require listening, effort, and ownership from families

• What it means to grow through adversity, not avoid it

• How we’re building a platform for kids to lead, not just play

We also preview what’s coming in our next episode: a conversation with Coach Michael Teagardin—former National Coach of the Year and MCSA’s Director of Track & Field and Cross Country. We’ll go deep on standards, athlete development, and what it really means to lead a high-integrity sports program in today’s world.

So if you’re wondering what MCSA is really about—this is it. It’s not about a roster. It’s about a way of life. We’re not just preparing kids to play—we’re preparing them to lead. Let’s build something that lasts.

We’ll see you on the field.

This episode wasn’t planned.

We had a whole outline ready to go—a deep dive into what it means to be “built on grit.” But then last weekend unfolded, and it became clear: this was the story. The chaos, the leadership, the quiet moments that said everything.

Three days. Three games. Two cities.
Friday night: a U14 season finale.
Saturday morning: a shot at the league lead.
Sunday afternoon: all hell breaks loose—red cards, injuries, and a sideline full of tension.

But that’s where the story turns.

When the coach gets ejected for sideline behavior (not his own), there’s no one left to manage the game. And what happens next? A group of teenage girls step into leadership like they’ve been waiting for this moment.

They organize.
They sub.
They compete.
And they draw 3–3 in a game they were supposed to lose.

In the background is Ella, one of the team’s captains for the day, and the coach’s daughter. At 11, she lost a State Cup Final in the closing seconds. Now at 14, she’s back in the final—but thinks her dad won’t be able to coach it. What she says after the whistle is raw, beautiful, and unforgettable.

This may be the last run they have together.

This episode is about that moment—about what happens when you trust your players to lead themselves. About what it means to coach with no timeouts. To stand in the corner of the field and believe. And what it really looks like when a group of girls, backed by years of work, rises.

There’s leadership here.
There’s heartbreak.

There’s grit—before we ever defined it.

Listen to Episode 9 — “It’s Up to You Now”
Only on The Line Ends Here.

#BuiltOnGrit #TheLineEndsHere #PlayerFirst #EaglesRise

They didn’t just come up through the game—they came back to lead.

In this episode, we sit down with Joe Muñoz, Felipe Chavez, and Hector Toscano—three coaches who helped shape what Mendocino County Sports Academy is today. From their own battles with doubt and identity to the joy of mentoring the next generation, this is a raw and powerful conversation about what real leadership looks like.

Joe helped build the foundation. Felipe and Hector returned to their community to carry the torch. Now they’re coaching, mentoring, and helping build The Nest—a new facility and home for youth across our region.

We talk about:

• What shaped them as players and men

• The mindset shift from “just soccer” to legacy

• What kids today are missing—and what they still have

• The importance of failing forward

• What The Nest really means

• And the legacy they hope to leave behind

This isn’t theory. It’s happening now.

If you care about youth sports, community-building, mentorship, or just becoming someone worth following—this one hits deep.

🎧 Listen. Follow. Share it with a coach, teammate, or parent who still believes in showing up.

Because this isn’t the end of the story.
It’s the part where it starts to spread.

Over the past six episodes, we’ve told the story of how Mendocino County Sports Academy came to be—what sparked it, what shaped it, and what it could become.

We’ve talked about values. We’ve laid out the vision.
And last time, we named the collapse—the slow unraveling of the systems and stories we once trusted.

But collapse is just the surface.
This episode goes deeper.

Coach Shane Huff returns to name what’s really going on underneath the noise:
Disconnection. From movement. From nature. From each other. From meaning.

This conversation is about the quiet weight kids are carrying, what systems aren’t doing, and why The Nest isn’t just a facility—it’s a cultural response.

Because we’re not building this for attention. We’re building it because we can’t afford not to.

Take 30 minutes.
Listen.
Then share it with someone who gets it. The rebuild is already in motion.
And we’re just getting started.

The Nest isn’t just a facility. It’s a response to something deeper.

This episode names what many feel but few are willing to say out loud:

The systems we grew up with—education, healthcare, economy, even youth sports—are quietly collapsing. Not with explosions, but with exhaustion. Not with drama, but with disconnection.

We explore what it means to live in the space between what’s ending and what hasn’t yet begun.
And we ask: What do we build, now that we see it clearly?

This isn’t just philosophy. It’s personal.

Right in the middle of recording, a real-time text comes in—mental health funding for local schools pulled. One more thread quietly cut. That moment becomes part of the story.

If you’ve been waiting for someone to name what’s really going on—this is the one to listen to.

Because before we rebuild, we have to name what’s broken.

The line ends here. The story doesn’t.

Why our youth sports movement needs a home—and what we’re building next.

Over the first four episodes, we told the story behind this project—how it began, the people who shaped it, and the values that define it: resilience, family, creativity, and courage.

We talked about building culture. We talked about protecting it. And we made it clear: this is bigger than a game.

Now, in Episode 5, we shift.

We talk about the next chapter: The Nest. Not just a facility. A home. A foundation for everything we’ve built—and everything still to come.

We lay out the urgent need for a permanent space for kids and families.

We share the vision for a place that integrates sport, education, wellness, and community.

And we invite landowners, partners, and listeners to be part of something lasting.

Because this moment isn’t just about adding fields.

It’s about creating a blueprint for how communities rebuild themselves from the ground up—starting with the kids.

Where we go from here?

Next episode, we stop being polite. We name the real problem behind all of this—and set the stage for the work ahead.

This is more than a podcast.

This is how we begin again.

What makes a club different? It’s not a logo. It’s not a trophy.

It’s the way we move. The way we train. The way we treat people.

In this episode, Ian shares what he felt the first time he stepped onto an MCSA field—and how that feeling became a system. We dive into pod training, player-first development, and why our style of play reflects the grit and values that built this community.

This is where we show—not just what we believe—but how we live it.

#BuiltOnGrit #TheLineEndsHere