BE A BALLER -"Building a lifelong legacy"

Gary Hicks Sr., Young Men Growing Mentor Program Cleveland, Ohio Empowering Young Men to Maturity

• Coach Tim Brown, Uncommon Life • Season 5 • Episode 1

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https://www.youngmengrowing.org/event-details/black-male-teen-summit-2025

The Young Men Growing Mentor Program is hosting a leadership summit on April 19th at Cuyahoga Community College. Gary Hicks Sr. is transforming lives one young man at a time. As founder and CEO of Young Men Growing, his mission pulses with urgent purpose: to shift how young men see themselves from "just kids" to "growing men" with responsibilities and purpose. 

What happens when a rebellious young man is given the tough love, guidance, and mentorship needed to transform his life? Gary Hicks, founder and CEO of Young Men Growing, takes us on his powerful journey from resistance to revelation.

Gary shares how being uprooted from Cleveland to Tennessee to live with his father changed the trajectory of his life. Though he fought against it initially—getting expelled from school and kicked off basketball teams—this foundation of hard work and accountability became the bedrock of his approach to mentoring young men today. "My father would hire me every morning and fire me at the end of the day," Gary recalls, a lesson in responsibility that shaped his character.

Basketball became Gary's lifeline, providing structure and opportunity when he needed it most. But the real transformation came during college when a simple question about God's existence led to a profound spiritual awakening that redefined his purpose. Today, Gary channels these experiences into Young Men Growing, focusing on five critical areas: leadership development, financial literacy, education, social-emotional learning, and community engagement.

The conversation delves into one of Gary's most powerful principles: "Maturity does not begin with age, but with the acceptance of responsibility." Through this lens, he guides young men to embrace their circumstances and take ownership of their lives, regardless of their youth. His approach addresses modern challenges like technology dependence and the struggle with stillness, while emphasizing the critical role of male leadership in families and communities.

Most moving is Gary's reflection on his personal legacy—loving God and family above all else. "I care to see a young man smile, I care to see a woman who, when they have a good man, they smile and carry themselves different," he shares, revealing how true mentorship creates ripple effects across generations.

Want to support this important work? Join the Young Men Growing connect at youngmengrowing.org to learn how you can help build the next generation of leaders.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to Be A Baller where we're building a lifelong legacy for our families, communities and the world. Your host, coach Tim Brown, is excited for you to join him on this journey. On each episode, we'll be talking about how to be intentional about building a lasting legacy. We'll be exploring what it means to leave a mark that goes beyond just our lives but has a positive impact on those around us and even generations to come. So if you're looking for inspiration, guidance and practical tips on how to build a lasting legacy that makes a difference, then you're in the right place. So grab your earbuds, get comfortable and let's dive in. It's time to be a baller.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to Be A Baller podcast where we explore what it means to build a lifelong legacy that impacts your family, community and the world. I'm your host, coach Tim Brown, and today we have an incredible guest who's dedicated his life to empowering young men to become leaders and young men of good character. Please welcome Gary Hicks, senior intervention, specialist, mentor and CEO and founder of Young Men Growing. Gary, thanks for joining the show.

Speaker 3:

Hey man, thank you for having me. Man, I'm excited. Man, I couldn't even sleep last night. Man, I was ready for this. I'm excited. Hey, listen to all your podcasts, listen to all your sessions in your podcast, man. Listen the brothers you had on here, man, I'm excited. I really feel privileged. Man, thank you for this opportunity.

Speaker 2:

Oh no, this is my pleasure, my pleasure. Yeah, before we get deep into this, I want you to talk about your annual Young Men Gathering, your leadership conference, in April. Can you talk about the vision of that and the impact? Is this a third year, fourth year of the conference?

Speaker 3:

It's actually going to be. Actually it's our second year of doing it. It's our second time doing it, and the vision is man. One of our pillars is community engagement, and so my organization is selection-based. You have to go through an application process and we choose, once a year, a new group of guys or adding to who we already have in our organization, and so part of our program, our curriculum, is teaching these guys how to reach out to the community, and so we understand as an organization that we're not going to be able to take everybody in, but this is our part to show the community like we care about you. We see you and we hear you, and so we want to provide you with information that we give to our guys on a regular basis, and so we try to open up our arms and try to do our best to give Everybody who attends from the community outside of the Cuyahoga County to come in and hear about this, this work that we're doing for our young brothers.

Speaker 1:

And so I'm sorry, no go ahead. No and.

Speaker 3:

I was just going to say man, it's really a passion of ours to really I wish we could take everybody in, man, but if we could, just if we have some young brothers in the seat who hear something impactful and then they start going on their journey. Man, we're doing our part. So yeah, that's the mindset behind it this year's theme uh, can you talk?

Speaker 3:

about this year's theme, I got excited. Yeah, um, only your journey builds your future. Really, basically, what we're saying is being intentional about who you're gonna be as a man. Um, intentionality is something big that we are really harping on our boys to really buy into. And intentionality means like you have a plan, you have a strategic approach of how you're going to become the man that you see yourself, that you want to be.

Speaker 3:

And I tell people, man like Superman ain't coming. So you got to put the work in. And whoever you envision yourself you want to be rich, you want to be powerful, you want to be respected. When you walk into a room, you want your presence to open up a door for you. So when you start talking, people are prepared to receive what you say. Then you've got to start doing the work, and the work is serious. It's a process that we talk about and so, on your journey, build your future. It's that in mind, trying to get the guys to understand that you have to be purposeful about who you're going to be, and you've got to put that work in.

Speaker 2:

Put that work in. I hear that a lot now.

Speaker 1:

Put that work in You've got to put that work in.

Speaker 2:

You're getting around that you know you talk about growing up. I know you were born in Cleveland but you were raised in Tennessee, in Knoxville, with your dad.

Speaker 3:

Can you talk about that experience, man? You know what All these years, man, I'm 46 and and I always tell people, man, as an educator I felt like I didn't choose education. Education chose me, and when I was in the fourth grade, my father lived in Tennessee and I live with my mom and my grandmother. My grandmother passed away at the beginning of the stages of my fourth grade year in school, and so my mom and my dad made a decision and my father came in and picked me up out of Cleveland and took me to Tennessee to live with him, and it was probably like three years ago.

Speaker 3:

Tim, where I looked at my dad and my father is a brick mason. My father owns his own business, so he laid brick man and that's what he did. He's a, he's a master builder and one day he was teaching my son how to hold a trial correctly. He did it in so much detail. I step back and I'm like that's where I get it from. I get the education to teach and like every time I try to do something, I try to take my own experience and try to get the next guy to do it better than I could, and so that's right. Here is my son. Actually, the photo that you see is my son and young man growing is based off my father. My father would take all my friends and because he had his own business, he would have us working on that clay, red dirt, building those scalpels, making that mud, carrying those 12 center blocks, man and setting up stuff. And my father had a saint man. My father would hire me every morning and fire me at the end of the day, and so every everything of who I am and how I move and how I interact with people is really sparked from my father.

Speaker 3:

So I hated it. I hated the fact that my dad came and got me. I hated the fact that I wasn't with my family, because I live with my mom and my aunt and them, and they catered to me like women. You know what I'm saying. I was the only baby boy in the family at the time and, to be honest with you no disrespect to anybody in my family I'm still the only man in my family and so you got to understand I was getting catered to. But when I moved with my father, I didn't get catered to, I got chastised and I was like no boy, you're going to be a man and I'm going to show you how to be a man. I'm going to show you how to work with these hands. Are you going to work with these hands or are you going to go to school? And I was like, nah, man, I can't be out here in no 100-degree weather. I'm going to school pops.

Speaker 2:

I'm going to school. I understand. Back in the day you were quite an athlete. Can you describe? You talk about the impact of sports coaches in your life and the life lessons you learned from them?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, man, I've had quite a few of them. One that really two guys that stood out to me was Bill Brown and Brian Houston. They had two different personalities but they loved the game so much and for me, basketball saved my life, meaning that I was. I was talented at it enough where people, even when I made mistakes, they still spend time with me and try to get me to understand that I got it. I got it, figured this out, and I tell people I'm not ashamed of it, man, I got expelled from middle school because I was so rebellious, because my father came and got me. I just wanted to figure out a way how to get back to Cleveland.

Speaker 3:

I got expelled from middle school. My eighth grade year, ninth, 10th, 11th grade, I got kicked off my basketball team every year for fighting, just not complying. And then, going into my junior senior year, something just finally clicked and I just tried to show that I cared a little bit more, and so basketball saved me, it helped me, and so academically I wasn't that guy On the court. I was that guy, but academically I wasn't that guy. So I was forced to go Juco route, like a lot of us, and so going through that Juco route, I really had to do some internal searching, and so basketball gave me that time to kind of work on some things I needed to work on, and so when the opportunity came for me to go to my four-year school man which is a whole I was telling you that story. That's where it was a pivotal moment in my life. It allowed me to make some decisions that created and created who I am today.

Speaker 2:

You know during that time college and that experience can you talk about the role that faith played in your life and how you came to the Lord?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so you know how they say like you know you could take somebody from somewhere, but they're going to still have the same. They're going to have the same behaviors and same characters, right? And so all the bad habits that I learned in Tennessee, trying to rebel and trying to get my father to send me back to my mom. When I finally had the opportunity to come back home my freshman year after college, I come back home and so not ashamed to say it now, man, I got into some law trouble because I was doing some stuff that I shouldn't have been doing. I think I could get away because I'm an athlete and so.

Speaker 3:

So I was never a believer too much. I went to I grew up in the South, so you know it's Bible, bible Belt, you know what I'm saying. And I went to Amy's Zion and I used to go to sleep and snore in the back of the pews and I was an acolyte and I had the white Catholic kind of thing on and I was an acolyte and I had the white catholic kind of thing on.

Speaker 3:

I carried the lamp and I was standing on the left or the right side of the pastor while he was preaching. I would fall asleep up there and my father would go off on me. I used to, I used to, um, I used to, when I didn't acolyte and I was sitting in the back, I would sneak and go to the candy store across the street, never come back until it was time to come back and I made a vow, vow. I said man, when I get grown I ain't never going to church. Man bump this stuff. And so you know God is funny. He got his plan. And so when I end up choosing a school that I wanted to go to, which was California University of Pennsylvania and that was all by God's design my future wife and my wife is the person who led me to Christ.

Speaker 3:

We started off on one conversation. I said if God is such this great God, why is all this evil in the world and why I got to go through the things I'm going to, and why am I struggling so much? And at that point I was in a state of depression because life was just not working out for me in my favor. I had my knees start going bad on me and I just couldn't play like I wanted to. And so I really came to Christ, really just asked him to fix me so I can go back and do what I wanted to do. And I asked her that one question.

Speaker 3:

I went to church. That one time you can't tell me nothing, tim. I was at, I was banged head, I was like I went to church, whatever. And then I gave my life to Christ my junior year in college, when I turned 19, and he just flipped me all the way around and so a lot of this stuff right here, this young man growing, we believe, is really coming from the center of who I am as a person. I'm really trying to get the young man to understand, like basketball or any sports, you play is a wonderful thing, but it can't be your end and goal identity. Play is a wonderful thing, but it can't be your end and goal identity. You have to understand that you were created for more than just dribbling a basketball, throwing a football, throwing a baseball, running track. You have a higher purpose. And so when we talk about, we believe, it's not so much that I need to believe in you, it's so much that you need to believe in yourself to the point where I believe in you.

Speaker 3:

You know what I mean, and so that's where we come from. With that, that's good.

Speaker 2:

You know what I mean, and so that's where we come from with that. That's good you know. With over 20 years of experience in education, youth development and athletics, you build a reputation as a passionate advocate for young men. Can you share with the audience what sparked your passion for working with this particular age group?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, me working in. I started off in high school. I worked at a high school and when I worked at the high school, I worked at a high school and and when I worked at the high school I was a head basketball coach, had a really good run and so, but my guys were getting in so much trouble, man, like you know, like I had one guy almost stab a guy to death. I had another guy who had to be locked up and all this other stuff. But every time they would get in trouble him, they would be like and I'm just a kid and I'm like scratching my head okay, you are making grown man decisions, right, and I'm like man. No, I mean, you're a young man, and that's where the name young man, growing come from, because that's the baseline of what we talk about. We try to change this mindset of thinking. Because you are 13, 14, 14, 15 years, you are a kid and the world don't look at you like no kid and they look at you like grown man and they'll throw you on that ground, lock you up, separate you from your family. And so the first thing we talk about is changing this mentality of like you are not a kid, you are wrong. You are growing into a grown man, and so you've got to move a certain way. And so that's where my passion comes from.

Speaker 3:

And then, going back to my biblical upbringing and understanding the scriptures man, the most important character in the Bible, the person in the Bible, is the man, and so God starts everything off with the man. If you look in the scriptures, he said man, I'm calling all men to the mountain so I can pour into you, and then, when you, when I pour into you, you go back to the family so that you can sustain them. And so, you know, we tell them in one of our, one of the things that we have, we have a statement of dedication, and the one thing we talk about is you are, we are created to be protected, we are created to be providers. That's what you're called to do, that's your calling. Like, it's nothing else. It's not about you, it's about you serving others.

Speaker 3:

And so we try to get our young men to understand man, like, if you understand, more will come to you if you serve. And so that's why it's important to me, and my passion comes off of this, because I understand the calling that God has on every young man in this world, and that's the problem that we're seeing in our society. Man guys are forgetting their calling, and so that's why we have a high rate of young men and young women growing up without their biological father in the home. How is it that over 70 percent of our young people are growing up without their biological father?

Speaker 3:

in the home. You feel what I'm saying like that, that it's not an earth thing, but it's just. It's just a high concern on me, and so when I talk to my young now I'm tapping into what I do like you know what I'm saying like that's.

Speaker 3:

And so, going back to why we talk about the summit and the things that we do, I'm trying to get these young men and our single moms and our dads to like you got to understand me. These young men got a calling on them. You can't keep calling, you can't keep protecting them. They got to fall on their face. That's the way I learn. You know what I'm saying. That's the way all of us guys who buy into that concept, like I'm going to step up and be a man, because, man, I know how that concrete feel.

Speaker 2:

Right, Right, that's good. That's good. You know you emphasize in young men growing. You emphasize leadership development, financial literacy, education, social, emotional learning and community engagement. Can you elaborate on why these areas are critical for young man success?

Speaker 3:

yeah, leadership is part of being a man like you can't run away from it, like whether you got kids, the family, not if I'm in a marketplace, the one thing we start talking about is also being competitive in the marketplace. You know, I'm saying the marketplace could be your choice of sport, corporate america, entrepreneurship, vocational work, like that's Like you can't run from leadership if you're a man Like I love what Jason Wilson said man like he's another guy that's an advocate out of Detroit and I follow him a lot. He talks about man. We are seeing men who are more, who are supposed to be lying, who are grazing in the grass instead of holding their head up high saying choose me, I want to go, I want to be that leader.

Speaker 3:

And the other component of the social emotional is like me being an education and being an intervention. The one thing I say is like if I'm not settled in my body and if I'm not, if I don't understand who I am, it's impossible for me to perform the best outside of me. The one thing I learned, tim, is like and God has shown me this is like I want to be present, whether in good times or bad times, because when I'm present I'm more valuable to everyone around me, and so, whether I'm having fun or I'm doing something that's hard. I want to be, I want to be present, I want to be there. And so when we talk about that social emotional, we look at so many young brothers, more young brothers, I think it's six out of 10, almost seven out of 10 are committing suicide. Now, you know what I'm saying. That was unheard of. It's unheard of because the lack of male leadership to remind them, like man, I tell my young man is it fair? No, but it's what's required of you. Like that's the difference of leadership.

Speaker 3:

It's not fair sometimes that I got to sacrifice something that I want to do, but it's required of me. You know what I'm saying. It's required of me. Like, every time I don't want to Like, sometimes I just want to go off and do my own thing, but I got my son next to me. It's what's required of me every time. Like me and my wife get into it, I sometimes in my mind I won't escape, but it's like, no, but what's what's required of me? Every time I talk to somebody and they deny and saying there's no such thing as god or this, I gotta like learn how to stick it. Stick in that and say let me talk through this, let me figure this out, this what's required of me, and so, um, it's just. It's just what I understand, like, as that's what's required of us is to step up and be there for the people around us. And so the leadership, the social, emotional, the community engagement, like I said, we're called to serve, right.

Speaker 3:

And then the last part is financial literacy. I tell my guys this, tim, it's like, do these three things and you'll be a powerful brother. Number two put an anchor in your spirituality. And number three, financial literacy Understand how money works. If you do those three things, you're going to listen, you're going to control your narrative in this world. You know what I'm saying and so, in short, because I could be long with it, you know what I'm saying, you know what I mean, that's where it comes from, that's real.

Speaker 2:

One of your favorite quotes is, and I love this maturity does not begin with age, but with the acceptance of responsibility. How do you see this principle playing out in your work with young men growing and that?

Speaker 3:

quote came to me, man, when I was at my lowest point. Tim and I came across that and I'm like, I read that maturity does not begin with age, and so we see a lot of brothers older, they look older than 40, 50s and they still have like the 20s man. I mean, you know, you play sports, you know how it is. I go to the gym now do 45, 50. I'm still trying to make it to the league. I'm still trying to make it to the league. I'm still trying to do this. You know what I mean. Or, dude, you got six baby mamas and you still talking about you can't find the right one. And like you know what I'm saying, Like you know what I mean, it's just so many immature things, decisions that we're making. And so for me, when I see that I'm trying to get our young men to understand like, yeah, the situation at home may not be the best.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, life ain't working out how it's supposed to work out for you. But understand, maturity comes with you accepting what's ever in front of you. Accept it right. If you accept that, right there, you are maturing and you're going in the route you're going to, basically supposed to go to. So it's about them understanding, like we talk about understanding, like I look at maturity like a mirror right, and I feel like when brothers don't accept maturity, they're standing on sand sinking. It's not a solid ground, but that moment in my life where I said, man, you know what, I'm not perfect, I haven't done everything right, but I'm going to start today of trying to change my life, that's when that first step on the solid ground began and you can start building what it is you're trying to build. But if you keep denying the responsibility that's called to you, you're not really standing on solid ground. So it begins with maturity. That's what it begins with.

Speaker 2:

It's good you know as a, as a mentor, what advice would you give to our audience about building meaningful relationships with young people and empowering them to take ownership of their lives?

Speaker 3:

First thing, you got to remember that you was their age at one point in time. You got to remember that. You got to accept that. You know what I'm saying and you have to understand that you can't live vicariously through them. Right, you had your turn, so now it's their turn. So you have to create, you have to have, you have to be patient Right, you have to. Let's go back. You have to be well yourself, so let's deal with that. First, you know what I'm saying. You got to be well.

Speaker 3:

So, if we're talking about, you want to, you want to pour into young man and you want to be there for him, make sure that you're right, make sure that your, your, your social, emotional is balanced so that when it's your time, you'll be patient, you'll listen to him and I and I say this all the time you will give them the grace that they deserve Um and that and and so then, when you give them that grace they deserve, then you're going to let them know that you hear them and that you see them, and so then, when they do make mistakes, you're going to remind them, like I'm not perfect, they're not perfect, so let's walk this thing out together.

Speaker 3:

And then I tell people, man, like I tell people about marriage. Like you know, you got to get the manual. There's some books out here. You got to. You got to educate yourself on the things that are impacting our young people so that you can use the language that're using, words that demonstrate to them that you hear them and you care about them. Then they're going to open up their heart and they're going to give you time and they're going to give you respect to say, okay, I'm going to listen to what you're saying, you know what I'm saying, so that's what I would say to the audiences those things right there.

Speaker 2:

That's a good word, great word for mentors. You know you've been working in this space for decades. You've seen hundreds of young men that you work with. What are some? You know times of change, actually, you know we've got the cell phone and all the social media. What are some for this generation? What are some common themes or areas where they struggle the most, and how would you help us in addressing those challenges?

Speaker 3:

You said it right the cell phone technology. You know just. You know we tell young men all the time, people all the time like you got this device, you can make money on it. You know what I'm saying. You could do so many things. You can just go to it and get all the information.

Speaker 3:

Before we had to go to the library, we had to come across somebody. But you know, the key thing to this is Tim. You got to be in the right headspace, you got to be mentally mature to deal with it, right. So you got to get them to understand and the parents to understand, just because they had a cell phone. And if they're not mentally mature, it's going to kick their butt. And so the one thing we try to do is try to get them to buy into the fact that you got to separate yourself and create friction between you and the cell phone, right? Um, that's one of the things. The other thing is we, we try to get them to understand. Like you know, reading is key man. Like we try to get these guys like you gotta, you gotta discipline yourself to read a book.

Speaker 3:

You know I'm saying you know the same. You know, if you want to keep something from a black young man. Put it in a book. You know what I'm saying. Put it in a book, and so those are the things that you know, that I've learned, and you know the same things you deal with. It's nothing different than what you're dealing with, it's just. I think it's just understanding the language and trying to understand them. I think the, I think the content and the wisdom is still going to be passed down from generation, but it's just the packaging of how you deliver it to them. You know what I'm saying. The same things I'm saying now.

Speaker 3:

You've probably said umpteen times right, you know what I'm saying, but it's just how we deliver it to the young people. Them cell phones is a monster, and so that's one of the biggest things and also the one thing I've learned also, tim, is that they don't like the citizens, they don't like quiet. They don't like. They don't like that stillness and quietness because the cell phone technology is always readily available. So we really try to work with our young men in that social, emotional space is to sit down and be still and listen to their bodies. One of the things about mental health is like you got to learn how to sit down and hear yourself, and hear what your body and mind is saying, and that's a very important space, and so that's the one thing that we really try to harbor with our young men is, like you got to learn how to sit.

Speaker 2:

Still, what our young men is like you gotta learn how to sit. Still, it's good. One thing that I've realized in this, that I heard said this way real change happens when the people who need it lead it. Real change happens when the people who need it lead it. You think about the change in this country has got to be led by young people. You know they have to lead it. You know you and I trying to figure out the phones and what all that, I don't know, I'm not really that interested, but but, but. But you have some, some young people who are sharing their experience right now. Right now, think about you, an athlete. You know we're looking up to that guy who's about two years older than us. You know we can't wait to be like him.

Speaker 2:

You know right right, watching everything he does. And that's what these young people, and that's what you're building a generation of young people that are those positive peers, so to speak, those near peers, who are leading them in that direction. You know, as we come around the corner, this is a legacy podcast. As you look back over your life and the things you've accomplished thus far, what legacy is Gary Hicks? A senior building. What is your legacy? What are you building?

Speaker 3:

See, it's simple man, God, with all my heart, mind, body and soul, and that I'm called to love my son, wife and my daughter, and that's my legacy. It's nothing else. No more, none less. To leave a picture of, not a perfect man, but a man who will cry when you ask him the right question, a man who will get on his knees and ask God, I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. I don't know, I don't know.

Speaker 3:

But I know I love you and I love my family, and my legacy is that I care for people. I care, I simply care. I care to see a young man smile and I care to see a woman who, when they have a good man, they smile, they carry themselves different. I care when I see my son walking in peace and grace and walking with confidence in the room because he sees dad do it. I care about my daughter, you know, sacrificing certain things so that she can find a man who's going to resemble her dad and one of the proudest moments for me is that I never have brought too much disappointment to my mother's footstep.

Speaker 3:

She will never say that when she talks about her son, her baby she lights up. That's my legacy and my father knows that. I tell him I love you, pops. I wouldn't be the man I am without you.

Speaker 2:

That's it. Wow, that's powerful. That's a drop the mic moment there. That's good stuff. That's great stuff. One more time, can you tell y'all how they can get involved in Young Men Growing and how they can contact you? Would you mind sharing that for the audience?

Speaker 3:

Absolutely so. You can just simply go to youngmangrownorg. There you click on a link and you can see our story. We try really hard to make sure our website tells a story. Also, when you click on it, you will see the summit pop up. The summit is Saturday, april the 19th. Doors open up at 9.30. Registration Free continental breakfast. We will provide lunch, we have dynamic speakers, giveaways and we will have breakout sessions talking about everything that we're talking about here, and it will be at Cuyahoga Community College, at the Eastern Campus and Harvard area, harvard Park area. Yeah, and if you want to reach out to us, you can reach out to us at youngmangrown, at Gmail.

Speaker 2:

You know, one thing that I saw in there that was really intriguing to me is the parent sessions. How long do you have a parent session? As we wrap this up, what's the goal of those parent sessions? A lot of times we point at a young man and we have a lot of mothers. Just being honest, what's the goal of those parent sessions?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, man, me being in education man like you can have the perfect classroom, you can have really good, solid classroom management, you can have your young people engaged and they're learning and growing.

Speaker 3:

But the buck stop when they go home and if they don't have that same type of atmosphere at home, if they're not seeing a mom or dad or grandmama reading, they don't see that they're having quiet time. They don't see, you know, spiritual growth being modeled. They don't see, they don't hear conversation of real world issues going on and talking it out. They don't see. They don't hear a conversation of real world issues going on and talking it out. They don't see the patience and grace that they need to carry themselves with, even the way they dress, the way they walk and how they introduce themselves. They don't see those things. It's like they're only getting half the picture and typically they're going to it's going to be hard for them to make that decision. And so, going back to our parents, we really try to buy into our parents and get them like if I get my parents to buy in, the young man ain't got no choice.

Speaker 2:

But, dr Hicks, I want to thank you for being on the show and appreciate your passion, your true passion for a young man. I can feel it through the screen. I'm sure everybody's listening and feel and understand your passion and now they know your why All of us have to have a why. Listening and feel and understand your passion and now they know your why All of us have to have a why. Now they know why you do what you do. So I want to thank you for standing the gap for so many young men and just empowering those young men and families and being that model for them. This is Coach Tim Brown. I want to thank our audience for listening to Be A Baller podcast. Be sure to subscribe and share this episode with others and, as always, continue to build a lifelong legacy. Be a baller. Thanks, gary, for joining us. Appreciate you.

Speaker 1:

Thanks as well. If you've enjoyed this episode, please share it with family and friends. The Be a Baller podcast is available on all major podcast platforms. This podcast was created by Coach Tim Brown and recorded and edited by the video production class of Worthington Christian high school. Be sure to come back next week as we continue to discuss on how to build a lifelong legacy. Until then, don't forget to be a baller.