[0:00] I’m Kevin, and I’m Steph, and during our marriage, we’ve dealt with an electrocution, a brain tumor, brain surgery, then doctors telling us the children were not

[0:08] in our future, followed by miscarriage, and then Kevin’s cancer diagnosis. However, today we live a life completely healed, completely restored with three healthy children who doctors said were not possible. And we’re here to tell stories that inspire, give hope, and brighten your day. Welcome to Tell Us a Good Story.

[0:27] Okay, friends, before we get to this episode, just a friendly reminder to please hit the subscribe button on YouTube and Apple Podcasts or give us a review. Five stars, please. In our world, this is super, super important because it will help with the algorithm to make it easier for people to find us. And thank you for sharing our posts across your social media. That really helps with engagement and with us getting guests. Yes. So, hey, if you want us to keep working our way up to talking to Chip and Joanna, please share us with your friends but regardless thank you for listening to tell us a good story, all right steph here we go episode 251 251 continuation yes so we’re gonna see if this works we’re gonna see if this works we’re gonna see if it works see if we have enough stories to get through another episode here all right so here’s what you have been wanting to talk about and what i’ve been wanting to talk about uh-huh youth wrestling oh you guys oh my gosh okay so So we have a six-year-old son, Tate, who is the most rambunctious son, boy that I know. He is unbelievable. He’s such a dude. Can I share the story of him getting in trouble at school? You guys. Okay. I love my son. I love him. He has my heart. He is so strong. He’s so strong.

[1:47] Does not know his strength. He’s a bulldozer. He is a bulldozer. Yes, he is a brute for six years old. He has the kindness heart, but he’s in this phase right now where he’s not listening. His listening skills are at a low right now, and it’s driving us crazy. We discipline. We do all the things. And last week, I was like, we finally got through. He was amazing. We even got notes at home. How amazing our son was. Which was nice. I’m like, this is it. We finally got through. But then this weekend’s been rough. I’m like, dang it. Fell off the wagon. It did. I’ll give you context of our son. All he wants to do is wrestle daddy. All he wants to do. And there’s so many times I’m like, dude, don’t hurt me, please. Right? Like he’s wanting to jump on me. From the top rope? Pretty much. Yeah. Where he’s on the countertop and he’s at lunch. Don’t leave any folding chairs around the house. It’s when he’s jumping on me, like with his knees or something. Yes. It’s like, oh, dude, do not break a rib here when my stomach’s exposed. Well, this morning, Kevin was on a meeting, and I had the kids. We were out here playing Uno. All of a sudden, Tate tackles me, and I’m thinking, and I’ll wrestle with Tate. And Kevin’s like, are you going to let him win? No, I will not. I will not let him win. This time, Tate comes after me, puts me in a hold.

[3:06] He got me. he’s six years old and he got me and i’m laughing so hard like oh dear god this kid’s got me and i yeah and he pinned me and he’s like pin and i’m like oh you did.

[3:22] But i mean he’s just so flippin strong he’s so strong okay so again we’re dealing with listening we expect him to listen the first time yes sorry that’s that’s the bar that we have set is we expect him to listen the first time, not five or six times of repeating ourselves. Okay. So we are just dealing with behavioral stuff and he’s so flipping strong. Okay. So this one day I’m working and I get a phone call from the school at 2.30 in the afternoon. And I’m like, okay, is somebody in trouble or is somebody sick? Initially I’m thinking, okay, somebody’s sick. Well then I answer it and it’s the school principal. Principal. Not good y’all. And she goes. Wait a second, wait a second. Not even the assistant principal? No, no, no. Just the head principal. Oh, you went to the head of school. Yeah. Yes. Real quick. Oh, that’s rough. Mr. Mason, I’ve got your son Tate here with me in the office. I’m going to let him tell you what he did. Is there something good? Did he call you a picture? He walked across the street? He got 100% of that.

[4:29] Get this guy turned around or he’s like oh gosh i’m dealing with one of those, well i started off at him was i go this can’t be good uh you know i said her name and she’s like well you know what i’m going to let your son here tell you what he did and then i’m i’m gonna have him hand the phone back to me and then i’m gonna share you share with you what kind of where we’re gonna go from here i’m like oh okay so take it’s on and he’s telling me what happened all this and And so basically what happened was they’re on the playground. He is competitive. I don’t know where he gets this. And they were playing keep away from Tate. And he was playing with bigger kids. I don’t know if they’re older kids or just bigger kids. All right. He can’t get the soccer ball away from him. Okay. So he gets upset because he’s in the middle the whole time and he can’t get this ball. So he decides whoever caught that ball next, he basically turns the game into smear the happy guy. Okay. Oh, he’s going to tackle. So, he runs over, tackles the kid who had the ball, knocked the kid down. The kid hit the blacktop and hit his face on the blacktop and lost two teeth. No.

[5:41] So. Oh, that’s my biggest fear. That’s my biggest fear. Awful, awful. So, did he get the ball from him? Did that work? Oh. He did. So. Okay. Well, there you go. The kid is bleeding. Oh, no. They send the kid to the nurse’s office. they send our kid to the principal’s office. Absolutely. So the principal confirmed that this child was in first grade and they were two baby teeth. Oh, they were baby teeth. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.

[6:11] She could confirm one of the two was wiggly and ready to come out. The second one, she could not confirm that it was ready to come out yet. And to be honest, the kid that he knocked out was one of his closest friends. That’s true i mean in the class yeah always talks about this kid like so he’s my best so he was upset that he hurt him that helps when you know him so he was legitimately upset that he actually hurt his friend okay and he didn’t realize he just creamed this kid yeah trying to get the ball so i’m like embarrassed i am oh yeah upset i am lots of feelings okay and so i said can i send you an email you forward it to his parents us apologizing so we sent the principal an email she forwarded on and then the parent reached back out to us and was very kind about it so nice come to find out his mother what do you think his mother does for a profession for a living she’s a dentist she’s an attorney that’s a probation officer shoot oh shoot, They’re the worst. They’re the worst. They really are.

[7:27] Adam here is actually an attorney. So we’re mortified. Oh, die. Nervous. Nervous. Intentional infliction of emotional distress, I think, is the technical term for what you’re being sued for. His mom handled it really well. She was so kind. She was so nice about it. She ended up texting me and just saying how sweet Tate is. Because Tate had also written the little boy an apology card and saying how sorry he was. So she was like, Tate is so sweet. We know he wasn’t being vindictive or mean. Yes. So she handled it so kindly. The little boy handled it so… The little boy’s apologizing to Tate. And Tate’s like, why are you apologizing? I knocked out your first two teeth. And I die. Like, he was, they were both so sweet about the situation. So, but it was a good teaching moment for Tate. Yes, it was. But I’m on the phone with my buddy, Dr. John Stauffer. And he, I was just telling how aggressive Tate is. He’s like, listen, this is a good thing, Kevin. He’s like, here’s the thing. He’s like, your kid’s aggressive. Take it as a win. He’s like, you know what? Tate probably did that kid a favor. Those teeth needed to come out anyway. Make room for the other ones to come in. That kid should be thanking Tate. He took care of those teeth for him. The tooth fairy was coming that night. Times two. Bless.

[8:53] So this is our son. This is who we’re dealing with.

[8:57] All right, friends. We want to hear from you. Every fifth episode has been us telling our own stories. But now we want to share some of your stories. That’s right, you guys. If you have a fun story you would like to share, please send it to us. You can email us, DM us, or even leave us a voicemail. And I will share our contact information, including a phone number in the show notes. If you call us, just leave us a voicemail and I will transcribe it and read it on one of our upcoming episodes. And don’t worry if you’re not a master storyteller. That’s okay. Yes. We want to share your stories and then you will hear us comment on them. I promise you, this will be so much fun. Oh my gosh, you guys, so much fun. You guys, thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story.

[9:38] Here’s how this started he got into wrestling thanks to katie thanks to sis and no we’re so mad at you so bad listen we are not wrestling people no we have prayed against not having tate in wrestling and our daughter l and wrestling because it is awful as a parent it is the freaking worse absolutely awful i can’t imagine like if your kid was in ufc or in boxing and it’d be even worse it is it is awful seeing your child get put in a headlock or half nelson and you can’t do anything can’t breathe there’s squirming and you can’t do anything no you watch in wrestling you cannot hide like if you’re bad yeah you’re still wrestling it’s not like you can hide on the bench right like if you’re bad at basketball you’re you’re just gonna be on the bench you just don’t play whereas this no no you’re wrestling and you just pray that it’s somebody at close to your skill level yeah right because if you’re bad you’re getting you’re tapping out you’re getting and it’s really quick it is awful to watch to be that parent it is absolutely awful so here’s what happened two years ago or three years ago we had coach tom ryan on tell us good story he is the head wrestling coach for the high state university he’s won national championships before as a coach studs yes and he was part of iowa he was part of iowa as a as a wrestler when he was in college.

[11:02] And so katie’s listening to this conversation her son is in the car and he’s like you know what that sounds fun i want to do that i want to wrestle so you sign him up for wrestling and he does amazing he does great and then tate sees your son winning ribbons and plaques and stuff and he’s like dad i want to do this well tate is uber aggressive mike and i were both like Like, yes. When Tate’s, yeah, true. Yes. Okay, so before we get into the wrestling, here’s another story. The flag football this year. We signed up for flag football.

[11:36] And we have to- Flag. I want everyone to hear the word flag. We have to explain to Tate multiple times this is not tackle football. So the first practice you went to- Yeah, so the first practice I went to, I introduced myself to this other mama. We’re talking. And all of a sudden, I hear, Tate, it’s not tackle football. How many times do I have to tell you this? And I was like son of a gun. He’s just tackling all the kids out there. Everyone’s getting tackled. He’s linebacker headhunting. Loving it. He’s six years old. Aiden Hutchinson taking him out. He’s playing against older kids. He’s maybe the smallest one out there. He was. And so there were multiple times during the game where the rest would be like Or the coaches would stop the game. Hey, you actually have to go for a flag.

[12:21] It’s easier when they’re on the ground. The flag’s right there. The flag is motionless when I tackle them. So he got warned multiple times by his coaches, by the refs, by his parents as well, that you have to go for the flag. Okay. So again, that’s this kid. So we tried to talk him out, Katie, multiple times this year of wanting to wrestle. We wanted to get him involved with basketball, gymnastics, ice hockey, anything besides wrestling. Okay. Yeah. Because last year he got into wrestling and so did Elle, our middle child. Yeah. With a point where like Elle wanted to do it. We kind of just threw Tate in just to get some energy out of him.

[13:07] Steph and I, we signed the kids up for wrestling. like Elle went to the practices and then she was going to compete in the tournaments against other girls. Tate, we’re like, you know what? I don’t think he’s ready for it yet. Let’s just have them involved in the practices. Okay. After he sees your son winning ribbons and stuff, he’s like, dad, when can I go to a tournament? And so Steph and I were like, you know what? We were planning on him competing. So we didn’t even buy him. We didn’t buy him shoes. We were going to spend 60 bucks or whatever on some wrestling shoes. He was like, no, we’re just going to socks. So in wrestling, if you’re in socks, you’re on basically ice skates. Oh, yeah. When you’re wrestling. Okay. So we didn’t buy him any shoes the whole entire season. Yeah. And Sis felt sorry. So she gave us Alex’s old shoes. But within the first match, maybe even the first practice, he was like, my feet hurt. We’re like, you’re getting socks. Okay. So he goes into it last year and he was demolishing kids. Yeah, he did fantastic. And coaches were coming up. Are you sure he hasn’t wrestled before? And we’re like, I promise you, just against his sisters and then in practice, that’s it.

[14:13] So we were hoping we were done with this. Elle, thankfully, did not go out. Thank you, Jesus. Adam, have you ever been to a youth wrestling tournament before? No, I’ve never been there. My son’s good friend wrestles, so he goes every now and then.

[14:29] That’s the closest I’ve gotten. We had not been to one until last year. And it brings out the crazies. I’ve seen videos of the, of the parents screaming within eight feet from the, I thought basketball fans were the worst. No, no, no. Wrestling parents hands down are the worst. Okay. So we go to that first tournament last year stuff and we have two kids or no, Elle was just competing. Yeah. And I’m calm until she starts wrestling and then you see your daughter out there wrestling and like getting headlock and half Nelson, all this stuff. Adam by the third match. I’m yelling at this teenage referee. Hey, there’s three seconds. That was a quick three seconds.

[15:11] Do you know enough to argue I wouldn’t know enough, And I didn’t, there was no reason for me to be yelling at a teenager. And this kid looks at me like, I’m 15, you’re 45. Why are you yelling at me? Like it brought the crazy out of me, right? So by the end of the year, Adam, I couldn’t watch Elle anymore. So I had to excuse myself in the tournament. I couldn’t, I couldn’t watch the matches anymore. It was too hard for me to watch. And it felt like I was getting an ulcer when I was watching these kids wrestle. It is that intense. it’s so intense so fast forward to this year you and i talked a long time about whether to allow allow to wrestle and we’re like you know what he wants to do it so bad it’s not about us but he’s gonna have to abide by our rules you have to give full effort at all times yeah right we’re not messing around here okay so we bite the bullet and we get him shoes he has some wrestling shoes this year, which actually were hand-me-downs from L. We’re going to do hand-me-downs. We bought L wrestling shoes last year, and then he’s wearing those this year. Hello, Kitty. I love that. We bit the bullet and gave him hand-me-downs. We did it. And he is so much better with shoes. It’s amazing. It makes a big difference.

[16:33] We go to the first tournament. Again, Steph and I are dreading this. We’re sick. I am praying all day. God, help my emotions. Help me to not lose it. Just like, please help me. And so we’re going through. I’m like, you know what, Steph? Let’s do this. I’m going to stay in the stands. And I’m going to video from afar. You go down with Tate onto the mat. Okay? And you even had a book. I even brought a book. You brought a book to try and stay calm? Yes. I was reading. And then that first tournament, I brought my laptop. And I was going to work. And that was a dumb move. Because I’m just, I’m sick to my stomach the whole time, right? I’d go in the hallway and I’m still sick. I can’t, and I can’t focus. Right. I did my best to read. So Steph goes down on the mat. Okay. I stay in the stands and I record it and I don’t say a word. Nope. But Adam Tate, what is it Steph? 10 seconds. 10, 10, 10 seconds. He pins the kid. Oh wow. Next match. 20 seconds, pins the kid. Third match, 45 seconds, whatever, pins the kid. And so my mom’s like, I was here for over three hours, and I saw Tate wrestle a minute and a minute and a second.

[17:43] Yep. So, but before he gets on there, I mean, he is ready to go. Steph and I are sick. Oh, so sick. And so Steph comes up after the second match, and you’re like, I almost got to fight down there with a mom. Stop. I was there. How did I not see that? Because, so we are, I’m sitting there, I’m, you know, kneeling down. I’m holding Tate, waiting for him to go up. He goes, wrestles this cop’s son. Okay. Okay. So he pins him, honestly, maybe 20, 30 seconds. I forget which one it was. I don’t think it was that. And it was really quick. Shakes the kid’s hand. And all of a sudden she’s saying, no, no, no, no, no. We’re not doing that basically kind of trash talked from my position my son and mama bear came out came out and i said the crazy came out i was like i am a very like let’s all get along we love each other this is for fun but then when you attack my son nope game over and i was like don’t say anything don’t say anything and i turn around and i said ma’am he didn’t mean anything Like he’s just wrestling.

[18:56] Like he’s very aggressive And she’s like no no no no I’m not talking to you, I’m talking to the man because the man behind me, who was on the coaching staff, which he should have never said this, but he said, next time we need better competition. That was too easy. And that’s what she heard. And it was her son’s first year. And that’s heartbreaking. And I looked at her and I said, ma’am, I said, I totally understand. I said, my son was where your son was last year. Yeah. Just keep going. like he should have never said that but your son did a good job and the meantime tate went over to the kid like tapped his shoulder he’s like you did a good job keep going like he was so sweet about it and the woman was like what do you say buddy and he’s like thanks like it was a very sweet moment but not when you thank your son’s being initially oh mama bear i was like okay so i’m the one staying calm up in the stands and then steph comes back and tells me she almost going to fight with another mom. And I’m like, what are we doing? Why are we here? What are we doing?

[20:04] Friends, we have been asked to speak at a few events recently in regards to sharing some of our story, and it has been an absolute honor. We have a lot of personal stories to share that will hopefully inspire, encourage, and maybe even make you laugh. So if you’re hosting some type of event or need a guest speaker, we’re here to help. That’s right. Just go to kevinandsteph.com and click on the contact button. Like Steph said, let us know if we can be of help in any way, whether it’s our personal testimony of healing and hope or me just telling some jokes. Oh God, please, you guys, please don’t ask him to do that. But seriously, just go to kevinandsteph.com to contact us. And as always, thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story.

[20:45] So then by the, I think the second tournament I was in the stands until the last match, I’m like, okay, I got to get down there to record this because there are people in the way walking in the way couldn’t see all that stuff okay so fast forward adam to the end okay now he is wrestling in this big tournament there’s 28 schools in columbus so basically all the big schools here in columbus except for the columbus city schools yeah okay dublin’s all the old and tangy’s elementary wrestling yes yes i had no idea gahanna all they all feed into the new albany watkins memorial everybody feeds into this so 28 schools so tate goes into this tournament 12 and 0 and he’s got 12 pins i believe and nine of them are under a minute he has just dominated dominated i mean dominated and a few of them were in 10 seconds where another kid lines up and i’m like his body language this doesn’t look good and then Tate just plows him over, pins him, done. I missed a couple of them because I hadn’t got down from the stands in time. And I’m like…

[21:50] Like, it’s over? So he goes in with the one seed to the big tournament. So he goes in the one seed. Well, we’re there, and we always split off. Like, I go get the seeds. Kevin stays with Tate, warms him up. Warms him up, all of that. Kevin’s texting me. He’s like, there’s 28 teams there. And I’m like, what? And I’m already sick to my stomach. And then he’s like, Tate, we just found out Tate’s ranked first. I’m like, what? And I’m like, oh, my gosh. Oh, my heart’s pounding. I’m sweating. The age, 56 pound. How many weight classes do they have in age six? I don’t know. I have no idea. I don’t know that it’s by age, is it? That’s a good point. I don’t know. I don’t know that it is. It may not because Tate was… Weight. Yeah. Look younger than these kids he’s wrestling. That’s true. It could have just been weight. Now that you say that. So, Steph and I are on pins and needles because we’re like, okay, he’s going to be going against the best of the best here in Columbus. Again, we’ve been praying the whole morning and it’s just… God help us get through this. And I’m also super excited though, to see how good he’s going to do. Yeah. So the first match, Tate gets a face. Here’s this kid in a Team USA singlet. And I’m like dying.

[23:02] Is this kid been in some camps? Yeah, like, who is this kid? Yeah, shake head, headgear. He had the knee pads. I mean, this kid was, he head to toe wrestling gear. Yes, he did. He looked the part. Very scary. Like Dolph Lundgren from Russia. So he is, it’s funny you say that because I’m going to get to that in a few minutes. So Tate’s the one seed. This kid’s the eight seed. Okay. So they go. Tate cannot pin him. He’s struggling to pin him. This kid is very tough. Yeah. But Tate is like just not throwing him around, but he is, he can’t pin him. Yeah. All right. This kid’s very, very tough. So Tate ends up winning though. It gets to the third round. Yep. Look at the score. Tate gets a technical fall, which is once it’s like 15 points. So Tate wins 19 to four. Okay. So couldn’t pin the kid, but he was just demolishing him on points. Okay.

[23:52] So this kid’s crying. crying frustrated upset he yeah this kid is tough so stephanie look at each other like oh my gosh that just happened if that’s the worst kid here yeah oh my gosh like we’re in for a challenge this isn’t good yeah so we stay there i’m watching and all of a sudden like okay here’s the two seed this kid’s from bishop watterson let’s watch him he goes out there katie this kid looks like he is a future olympian yeah he is very technical he’s putting his opponent in this pretzel yeah and he gets him takes his head shoves it into the mat yes spins around gets his head half nelson and you’re just like oh my gosh he is just destroying this kid bam pin yeah and you’re like you can tell like this is like oh that kid knows things yeah absolutely completely different look completely to feel like oh my gosh he has been coached since he’s been in a crib it looks like okay so steph and i immediately i’m like kind of sick yeah because i know, technically he is probably gonna meet this kid in the future yep.

[24:57] Get to the next match and again we’re like okay this could be even tougher so get out there this kid’s pretty tall and just immediately gets really low in his stance and take it’s low and i’m like okay we’re gonna see who’s gonna win tate just i mean they’re both going at it tate picked him up twice and like slammed him on the mat wins in the second round 19 to 1 he didn’t pin him but tate got a bloody lip yeah they had to stop the match in the second round tate’s bleeding and he comes over and he’s he’s not phased he’s not phased at all they come over katie wipe him down and he’s just like ready and the other kids well i’ve got blood on my arm right yeah the kids like the kids complaining the kids he’s not covered in blood but he has blood all over him and tate’s just like what let’s go he’s like let’s go let’s go so he lines back up again like let’s go and then ends it like immediately yeah and then this kid’s upset and taste just he’s bleeding him the karate he’s bleeding and he doesn’t care like i was shocked like he was not phased he was not phased at all so then we got in the hallway and taste like i need a second so he like walked down the hallway for a second came back all right i’m good now and his lip was still bleeding some then i watched this two seed he puts his kid in a pretzel he did another pretzel that’s another pretzel and It looked like he was just playing with this kid. And then the second round, he pinned him.

[26:20] Done. All right. So now, him and Tate are in the championship. All right. They both won their matches. They’re in the championship. And Steph and I are sick. We’re sick. I’m sick. I’m nervous. I’m like, he’s going to have to fight to get through a round. This kid is unbelievable. I mean, I’m like, Steph, this is like Rocky IV when Rocky is facing the Russian. This is a massive discrepancy here. I mean, and Steph is, I’m serious. Like, Steph is shaking. Yes, it’s so true. Our friend Jay Luby stands with us, and he’s like, listen, guys. And he starts quoting scripture at Steph.

[26:58] Steph, Romans 8, 28. In all things, God is working for our good. For those who love him and have called him. He’s like, listen, win or lose. Watch and take. He is a warrior. You guys are training a warrior out here, and this is part of the learning process. He’s like, if he gets whipped out there, he’s going to learn something. It’s going to be for good. And I think you’re like, but I’m concerned he’s going to get hurt and stuff. And he’s like, don’t worry. Don’t worry. Tate is going to be fine. If he takes a whipping, it’s okay. He’s going to learn from this. And I’m not saying anything. I’m not speaking this. But in my mind, I’m nervous because I just saw what this kid did. This kid literally looks like he’s a future Team USA wrestler. He looks like the Russian. I mean, honestly, he looks like the Russian. The blonde hair, the buzz cut. Yes. Steph, did you know that Tell Us A Good Story has a YouTube channel? Wait, seriously? So apparently you don’t watch it. Absolutely not. That’s what I thought. But it’s because you know I don’t like to watch myself. That’s true. That is true. But friends, we have a YouTube channel. We would love for you to check out. So if you would like to see video clips of us with prior guests or some entire episodes or videos of my wife here scaring guests with her excitement. Oh, that too. You can see all of that by going to YouTube and searching Tell Us a Good Story. And don’t forget to hit the subscribe button. Yes. But as always, you guys, thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story.

[28:21] So we’re nervous. Uh-huh. So they go through the Constellation Rounds loser’s bracket. And so we were waiting for a while. Yeah, we were. And Tate’s just watching like dinosaurs on my phone. Right? Like he doesn’t have a care in the world. That’s the best part about it. And then, oh my gosh, he doesn’t get worked up. Yeah, he doesn’t get worked up. So we go out in the hallway and I warm up with him like, listen, hey, buddy, here’s what I saw. This kid, when you shoot for his legs, he steps back. He’s going to grab your head and try to shove it in the mat. Okay? That’s what I see him do. Okay, what you got to do, buddy? When he steps back, you got to keep going. You got to keep going. You have to get a leg. Do not let him grab your head. You’ve got to get a leg. He’s like okay daddy it’s like okay i got i got it so steph is shaking yeah and i am shaking now i’m so anxious uh-huh just i i know because i’m like okay and i’m like and i and tate we’re gonna see how tough you are buddy okay this kid is gonna be the best wrestler you’ve seen all year let’s see how good you are all right let’s see how tough you are you’re gonna have to fight give me your all max effort yes, So, we get down on the floor, and Adam, they line up, and do you remember John Simon, the former Ohio State football player? Yeah, he played pro for a while. He won a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots. He’s this kid’s wrestling coach. Oh, wow.

[29:39] This dude, folks, is 6’4″, 250, I would say. He still looks like he could play. Yeah. He’s massive. He had a long career. Yes. And so, I’m looking, I’m like, oh, I remember this guy. So, he’s this kid’s wrestling coach.

[29:51] So they line up and i’m like all right stuff here we go and i’m right beside stuff well and you know tate when he lines up he’s so excited he’s ready he is focused oh he can’t wait to shake the hand.

[30:02] That’s the thing that’s the thing he loves about wrestling he can go full go yeah like in the van on the way there hey buddy you can go full go like really i don’t have to no no full effort and so i think that’s one thing he loves about wrestling he can go hard yeah and not worry about hurting somebody yeah because it’s it’s controlled and it’s there’s referees but with the other kid like tate he’s like he’s once keep holding it’s like shake his hand shake his hand and the referee’s like not ready and then you look the other kid and the again this kid he knows what he is doing like he’s like no like we’re not ready to shake hands like you could just kind of tell like not cocky as like a six-year-old however old he is but yeah he was confident he was confident yes absolutely so adam they start tate shoots for the kid’s legs he steps back tate shoots again steps back tate goes the kid grabs him tate gets an underhook in his arm flips him on his back well he takes the destruction that’s good flips this kid on his back and then gets him in half nelson and pins him 12 seconds oh wow oh okay how’d the kid take it not good i was gonna say That much confidence usually is not. Adam, it was, and I’m going to play you the recording here because we get in a car, and I’m like, Steph, that was like the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team when they beat the Russians.

[31:24] Because the Russians were so dominant. They were so good. All the way leading up. Yeah, these other Russian kids. The betting line for that.

[31:33] I’m wrestling another Russian guy. Yes, this kid is from Douglasville right now. He’s another Russian.

[31:43] So the Russians were so dominant in hockey, they never practiced pulling the goalie. So when they were losing to the United States Olympic hockey team, they never pulled the goalie in the last minute. This kid, you can tell, has never been put on his back. Because when I watched it, he’s grabbing Tate’s hand, trying to get it off his head like the half Nelson. Instead of flipping over on his stomach and getting off his shoulders and getting off his back. This kid had never been put on his back before. He did not know what to do. So we are freaking losing our minds. Losing your crap. All right. So let me share this with you. We’re in the car. And again, I am so reserved until this happens. And you can hear the shock in my voice. Well, it’s interesting because when we heard this recording, we didn’t know what we were saying. We’re driving home. And I said, Steph, can you, hey, pull up, pull up what I recorded in the match. I’m curious what you and I said. Because you guys normally don’t say anything. Correct. Yeah, you are normally silent. So this is the championship match here, okay? Okay. Get up, Chuck. All right, do that. Oh, God. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Oh.

[33:09] Music. Oh, man. Y’all just made me goosebumps watching. So this lady who was at the scores table said, y’all just gave me goosebumps watching you. But I’ll play this again because I am legitimately shocked. Steph is not saying any words. She’s just screaming. You are not saying one word at all. You are literally just screaming the whole entire time. But you know what’s funny about that? In my mind, thinking back, I swear I was coaching him the whole time. I swore I was coaching him. You’re not saying anything. And then I listened to him. I’m just screaming nonsense. I’m screaming nothing at him. This was a 12-second bit. And then my voice, I think, cracks at the end. It’s just, okay, listen. Oh, God. You’re a guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Yeah. Ha ha ha ha ha.

[33:12] Oh, my gosh.

[34:19] Don’t you find incredibly polished athletes at a super young age is almost slightly creepy. You should see some of these kids, the quads, like six years old, the definition in their biceps, they have like hair color that matches their uniforms and it’s like either a mullet or it’s a shame yeah it’s insane and like sis said like team usa unis yeah that’s true what is happening so i i still can’t believe what i saw like you could hear i was that legitimately shocked and so i’m hugging steph steph’s crying the gahanna coach comes over gives you a hug steph i give him the biggest hug we go up in the stands i give jay his coach is the gahanna coach yeah okay and it was so sweet the coach picks tate up yes like throws him in the air and stuff like, simba yeah like simba and he just shares him with the crowd what’s the youngest division is that youngest division six years old kindergarten oh yeah yeah yeah so i go in the stands and i give jay the biggest hug and then afterwards jay was like you know what i don’t think i’ve ever seen you this happy before i’m like i’m legitimately shocked and then he pauses he’s like you know what i haven’t seen you this happy since the last time i saw you talk about stuff um otherwise i don’t think i’ve ever seen you this jay’s like i am too i bet on the other kid actually.

[35:48] I’m out 150 bucks i asked so his daughter was there as well uh alexa i’m like alexa be honest on a scale of one to ten with ten being i am absolutely shocked how surprised with you and she’s like 10 immediately like we were so surprised i think everybody it was like did Did that kid have a Cobra Kai moment in the parking lot where the coach lived? No, he broke down immediately. Oh, really? Oh, he broke down. And then afterwards, he was with his mom and he’s furious. Like he was so mad.

[36:14] Couldn’t believe it. I don’t think he’s ever been beat before. Yeah. He’s that good. Man. It was the craziest thing. So I post that video that you just heard on social media. I get a text message from Coach Larry Blackstone. And he just says, is Tate adopted?

[36:31] There’s a comedian. And that was it. It’s our response. Hey, that’s funny. I think he probably gets the strength by his mom. And then no response. Like, ha ha. That was it. It could have been a legitimate question. What’s so funny about that? No, seriously, is he adopted? So then… Some of the posts on Facebook was hilarious. And so this is from, I don’t know if you know this person, Holly Pond Strunk. Yes! Come back home, Holly. She says, I love this. Way to go, little guy. Stephanie, I was a maniac when my son wrestled and didn’t realize it until I heard a video of myself screaming, break his arm. Oh, wow. That’s nice. So what limb would Jesus break?

[37:22] I asked i said i said what age was this when you were yelling and she responded my son was eight, and holly if you and me here she’s the sweetest human you’ll have ever when she’s not wishing injury upon children she’s really sweet she said i didn’t know wrestling i was trying to tell him to break his arm down like the coaches taught him but when your kid is out there on that mat it brings out the worst in you and so she heard herself yelling break his arm.

[37:51] Then another person this is lisa squires she said i’m so surprised especially hearing steph she’s usually so quiet then what was the other comment here, This is from Justin Hutchinson’s wife said, Angie Hutchinson said, immediately I can hear Steph’s voice anytime. Like as soon as you put it on, I knew that was Steph’s voice in the background. So very funny. But one of the craziest moments, Steph, as a parent. As a parent. That I can recall. All right, friends, we want to hear from you. Every fifth episode has been us telling our own stories. But now we want to share some of your stories. That’s right, you guys. If you have a fun story you would like to share, please send it to us. You can email us, DM us, or even leave us a voicemail. And I will share our contact information, including a phone number in the show notes. If you call us, just leave us a voicemail and I will transcribe it and read it on one of our upcoming episodes. And don’t worry if you’re not a master storyteller. That’s okay. We want to share your stories and then you will hear us comment on them. I promise you, this will be so much fun. Oh my gosh, you guys, so much fun. You guys, thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story.

[39:05] So what I want to talk about next to finalize this conversation stuff, the people coming up next that we’ve talked to. And by the way, listeners, just a reminder, we’re going to be reading your stories going forward. So please send us an email. You can leave us a voicemail. I will share in the show notes the phone number to reach out to. Just leave us a quick voicemail, share us a good story, and we will transcribe it and read it in our next episode. So, Steph, let’s talk about the people coming up next that we get to talk to. Are you ready for this? Yes. We are talking to Don Yeager.

[39:39] You guys. This is the next episode. Don Yeager. Unbelievable. I don’t think I can overstate this. I don’t think I would oversell it. This man was a journalist for Sports Illustrated for like 25 years. His mentor in life, John Wooden, the legendary basketball coach, John Wooden. He would fly out to Los Angeles every other month and spend a day with John Wooden. And so I can’t give all the stories away. No, just stop talking. It is amazing. And then he wrote the last book about John Wooden when he was 99. Wow. Then, I’m just going to tease this. Then Walter Payton reached out to him and said, I need you to go ahead and write that autobiography about me. And Don was like, oh, okay, yeah, let’s get down the calendar. And he’s like, no, no, no. I need you to come right now. He’s like, oh, okay. So Walter Payton, back in the 90s, knew he was sick. Knew he was sick, I was going to say, yeah. He had cancer. And so Don moved in with Walter and his family and spent the last 10 weeks of his life with Walter Payton.

[40:43] And lived with him and wrote this book. And the story he tells about Walter Payton’s daughter is mind-blowing. What a gift it is unbelievable beautiful gift the stories that he shares yeah it is like this guy is a master storyteller it was unbelievable stuff how good this guy was yeah he was amazing it’s one of those things where you you get off the car like i can’t believe we just had that conversation is unbelievable so don yeager then we talked to the what they call the christian avril levine grace graver she was amazing her voice is amazing she’s a young artist in nashville yeah she’s very spunky very fun high energy so she was fun then we talked to tani atawumi this young man incredible story yeah okay he’s now 14 oh at the age of eight his parents migrated here from Nigeria. Okay. His dad and family was threatened by a terrorist group in Nigeria. Oh. And multiple times to the point where they had to escape. They came to the United States and met a pastor in New York City who set them up with a homeless shelter.

[41:56] They’re in a homeless shelter in New York City, and they put Tawny and his brother in the local school there. The local school has a chess team. Well, Tawny becomes interested in chess and wants to be part of the group, but they have a $300 membership to be able to play chess in this club. Well, his parents and him are living in a homeless shelter.

[42:18] So his mom lets the school know listen we can’t afford the membership fee and so the coach decides you know what we’re going to waive it and we’re going to allow your son to be part of our chess team so he becomes part of chess at the age of seven within one year he wins the state of new york chess tournament and becomes the champion while his family is in the homeless shelter wow in manhattan so then that’s nuts long story short there’s so much to it he becomes the youngest master chess player in the united states wow and he’s the 20th youngest in united states history so he’s now 14 and he’s a few hundred points away from becoming a grandmaster chess player amazing so we talked to this young kid what this past week yep and he is his family story is incredible. Oh, I can’t wait to hear that. And he’s very, very humble. He’s very humble. So then we have people that are scheduled. We haven’t recorded yet, but the one’s Bob Goff. He is a legendary author in the Christian world. He always wears a Boston Red Sox hat. You’ll recognize him when you see him. He’s amazing. He’s a former attorney. He’s a New York Times bestselling author, all of this. And then another person we’ll be talking to is Pastor Joby Martin, who is the pastor of the fastest-growing church in the United States. He’s down in Jacksonville, Florida. Every week, they have at his church 26,000 people.

[43:46] 26 000 people attend across multiple sites but the one that i attended with it’s where john stopper attends it has like 6 000 people there every weekend incredible so he said yes to us and he is so funny he is so good and then we have other people that are in the works but we haven’t scheduled yet not yet so it’s wild it’s amazing that people get to talk to and super exciting. Steph, you look like you’re about ready to fall asleep. No, I’m so excited. So excited. It’s going to be amazing. I’m just, we’re going to try all this, like 251 or 256. Wait, what are we on? What are we on? 251. So let us know what you guys think about it. So we’ll see if Kevin was right, if I was right. I’m honestly hoping I was wrong and you guys enjoy these, but we’ll see how it goes. Yes. Send us your stories. Yes, please. I want to hear your stories, you guys. Friends, we want to encourage you to please follow us wherever you listen to this, whether it’s on the Apple Podcast app, iHeartRadio, Spotify, or one of the other platforms. You guys, it’s completely free. And while you’re there, feel free to give us a rating or a nice review. Thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story.