My phone rang and I picked up, despite the number not being in my phone.
“Hello?” I said
“Jason Hewlett, this is the new high school basketball Coach at your son’s school, do you have a minute?”
“Yes sir, is everything ok?” I asked.
“All is well. I heard you’re the only person who can do something for us that is a pretty challenging ask, to be frank, but I believe you’ll be up to the task,” he said.
I figured he was going to ask me to come and speak to the players to pump them up before the game.
I was wrong. I don’t think he actually knows what I do for a living. LOL
Instead, he had been told about what I pulled off to save my career during 2020 when we all switched our lives to VIRTUAL events and broadcasting presentations to the world from our homes.
The new head Coach laid out to me his vision of what he wanted the school to have for every boys Varsity basketball game this year: A LIVE, multi-camera, streaming broadcast, run by parents and students, that would be professional quality, no less!
In years past the broadcast of games had been farmed out to professionals under the former coach’s regime, and a majority of the fundraising for the team went to paying for this bulky expense.
The new Coach said this would not fly under his leadership, and he needed us to step up, figure it out, and make it work.
I was surprised he’d call me, and also knew I could figure it out eventually, as long as I contacted the right people who would know how to connect such dots.
I called the experts, went to Google and YouTube, watched videos, and sorted through my gear from the pandemic.
Many Amazon purchases later, tutorials, fails, and challenging misses in between, along with a few grand out of pocket, and we had our full set up to test out.
The first broadcast went better than expected, streaming on both Facebook and YouTube to an audience that was floored with the quality of the cameras (run by students), and announcers who are incredibly entertaining parents (Tyson Brooks and Brock Kassing).
I taught a group of willing dads, and a couple of student athletes, how to plug it all in, sign online, safeguard the expensive equipment, adjust the camera brightness, get mics checked, switch the camera shots in realtime, and told them: “Guys, due to my job as a traveling speaker, I will not be here every game, so I need you to take this on. Here’s how you do it, I know you can run it better than me.”
And they have.
They’ve figured out new tricks, made it a quick and easier setup, discovered the Instant Replay feature, and are successfully streaming every home game for our high school basketball team.
The surprise came to the Coach when we, as a family and company, donated all of the equipment to the school and his program. He was stunned and grateful. I mentioned how we were embarrassed to not send the same amount of money in as sponsors this year as we had in the past, but hoped what we gave would suffice, along with the equipment donation.
My question is: What affluent school doesn’t have a media class or equipment? Yep, that’s our school, even though we have everything else.
As a family we felt it important for the school to own the equipment for future use, care for it, and teach youth to operate it from now on.
This was thousands of dollars of equipment that kept our family eating during the pandemic, and now it is in their hands. Where it should be.
(If you want to subscribe to the games and channel, here it is)
The Promise to be helpful and take on the task when asked, even if we don’t know how to do it, is the point.
Leadership drove this entire experience.
- The Coach showed me his vision, expectation, passion for why it matters, believed in me, and charged yours truly to make it happen.
- Technical wizards who are friends of mine, and YouTube nerds, led me to the right connections with the equipment I already owned, and what to purchase to make it ideal.
- I then taught willing parents and students to take it from there, and they have upped the game.
Leadership – Communication – Willingness to Learn – The Love of Serving and Following Through – Giving
These are attributes of People who LIVE and LOVE The Promise.
The new Coach has transformed the lives and program at our school, because of his leadership and expectations for greatness.
I went to the game yesterday and picked up the beautiful new team brochure the Coach empowered others to make. It is world-class.
And then I turned it over, only to see him give something back to me I wasn’t expecting – the back cover for promotions of my business.
I guess he knows what I do for a living! LOL. He even included my Dad’s company, Cardio Miracle, a major sponsor for the year, on the inside cover opposite mine. Amazing.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
It was the Coach.
He sent me a wonderful text about how great and respectful my son is, and what a good leader he is.
Thank you, Coach.
What is Your Leadership Promise?
Enjoy SUBSCRIBING to my NEW YouTube Channel when you’re ready to improve upon Your Leadership Promise!
~ Jason Hewlett
Husband, Father, Writer, Mentor, Hiker
- Speaker Hall of Fame * Award-Winning Entertainer * Mentor
- World’s Only Keynote Speaker utilizing entertainment, musical impressions, and comedy to teach The Promise
- Author of “The Promise To The One”
2024 brings a New Year and a New Partner!
Thank you to Cardio Miracle for being the first sponsor of The Weekly Promise Blog.
If you’re unfamiliar with this amazing product, please check out their web site. Maybe you have any family or friends with heart disease, diabetes, lacking in energy, suffering from brain fog, and other health challenges, please tell them about Cardio Miracle.
It has helped me greatly for years, but especially when I had my major knee injury in 2022, the surgeons and doctors were stunned by my quicker than usual recovery, here’s a video testimonial.
2 Responses
This is an incredible story, Jason. You never cease to amaze and inspire me with your great and giving heart!
Love you, Brother. I feel the same of you. Thank you!