BE A BALLER -"Building a lifelong legacy"

BAB Podcast Fatherhood Series Frank Stretar Building a Legacy: Fatherhood Across Generations

• Coach Tim Brown, Uncommon Life • Season 5

Share episode

Send us a comment about the Be a Baller Podcast Episode. Thanks for support.

Coach Frank Stretar after raising eight children who've gone on to have families of their own, Frank's impact now touches the lives of 24 grandchildren—and countless young men in Cleveland without father figures. Coach Frank Stretar knows firsthand what it take to build a legacy of fatherhood that spans generations.

Frank takes us on a journey from his Catholic upbringing through decades of youth ministry with FCA, Young Life, and church leadership, before founding Leader Within, a nonprofit equipping young people with essential leadership skills. Along the way, we discover how a single piece of advice changed his approach to fatherhood: "If you're not doing ministry at home, you have no business doing it elsewhere."

The conversation dives deep into the real challenges of parenting that don't end when children leave home. Frank shares heart-wrenching stories of supporting his daughter after she became a young widow with four children, and helping his son through a painful divorce. Through it all, his unwavering faith provides the foundation for healing and growth across generations.

Perhaps most powerful is Frank's reflection on what he'd tell his younger self: "Smile more." Looking back at old photographs, he noticed he wasn't smiling enough—carrying burdens too heavily instead of finding joy in the journey. It's this kind of hard-earned wisdom that makes Frank's story so valuable for fathers at any stage of the journey.

For men balancing career ambitions with family responsibilities, Frank offers practical guidance: "Take more vacations with your family. Make them see they're valued more than your career." And like Caleb in the Bible who remained strong into old age, Frank demonstrates what it means to finish well—physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally equipped for the challenges ahead.

Ready to rethink what it means to build a legacy that outlasts you? Listen now and discover why the most important leadership you'll ever provide begins at home.

Support the show

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 talk about how to build a lifelong legacy. In this special fatherhood series, we're sitting down with men who have not only raised families but have built legacies that echo through generations. Today, we're honored to welcome Coach Frank Streeter, a good friend from the great city of Cleveland, ohio, you know, home of the Browns. Yes, sir, he'll be the 2026 World Champions. Finally, coach Streeter has lived his life and work. His life and work is a masterclass in leadership, service and faith.

Speaker 2:

Being in Independence Ohio, frank brings a truly unique perspective, shaped by decades of non-profit leadership, youth ministry organizations like FCA, young Life and Youth for Christ church leadership, and over 30 years of coaching and education. But here's where this fatherhood piece comes in Alongside, with his wife of 45 years, frank has raised eight children, watched their families grow to include 24 grandchildren and built leading with Finn, a Cleveland-based nonprofit that equips you for leadership skills through camps, mentorship and community outreach. And Frank still has time to coach at Glenville High School. And Frank still has time to coach at Glenville High School. Since 2018, 2008, frank has served as a leadership teacher at the Ginn Academy, where he continues to influence Young Lives Daily. He's a proud Baldwin Wallace alumni and also a member of the 1978 National Championship football team. All right, frank. What position did you play, coach?

Speaker 2:

I played wide receiver out there oh man, how many touchdowns did you catch in the championship game?

Speaker 3:

I didn't catch any in the championship game, but I tell you it was an honor to play for the late Lee Trestle. He was a tremendous mentor. Amen.

Speaker 2:

Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Frank has also been a key part of Cleveland's Fellowship of Christian Athletes since his roots at Glenville High School in the 90s. Today we'll talk about what it means to lead a family, mentor a generation and build a legacy that lasts. Get ready for a powerful, in-depth conversation on fatherhood, faith and what it truly means to be a Baller. Welcome to the show, frank Coach Streeter.

Speaker 2:

Thank you for having me, Tim. It's a real honor, and I've followed your career for a long time as well. Yeah, and I'm excited about this. Can you step right in? Can you share a bit about your early life and what influenced your approach to fatherhood?

Speaker 3:

Sure, I grew up in the city of Cleveland, went to Catholic school in the elementary school days, but then my junior high days my parents moved to Fairview Park, ohio, and so went to Fairview through high school, grew up a Catholic, was very steeped in Catholicism and the Catholic school was an altar boy, so I learned a lot of my early faith just through the tradition of the church. And then when I went to Fairview High School, kind of got away from the church a little bit. And then my parents, mom and dad my dad's a World War II vet fought in the Battle of Tarawa out in the South Pacific. I have five siblings, two sisters and three brothers. They raised us, you know, the best that they can you know. And then, after graduating high school, went on to Baldwin Wallace College. Now it's university, but back then it was a college. Well, I see it.

Speaker 2:

You and your wife have raised eight children and now have 24 grandchildren. What values have you passed down across generations?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I think the most important value is relationships. You know, our kids when we get together. We have a week every June we call Street Week, and they all come together. You'll appreciate this, tim. We have our own ticket agent for the Guardians and our group sales. Just my family, including all the grandkids and in-laws, is 41 tickets we're getting for the game this year. We are an official group ticket sales group of the Cleveland Guardians. Anyway, relationships, it's just steeped in that in our family and in my children with each other and with us. The other one that's probably most significant in terms of relationship, though, is their relationship with Christ. You know, as the children get older, we look more like brothers and sisters in Christ. You know God doesn't have any grandkids, so we're all his children. We just happen to be a little older and more seasoned maybe than the younger ones, but my kids are in their 40s and 30s now, so they've been getting along a little bit in life, and so they're knowing, they're feeling it now as they're raising their kids.

Speaker 2:

Speaking about faith, how has your faith impacted your role as a father and a leader?

Speaker 3:

Yeah Well, tim, when you and I were on staff together with FCA, I was listening to Chuck Swindoll one day and I remember him saying if you're not doing ministry at home, you have no business being out there doing ministry. And that hit me so hard that I came back home and I told my wife. I said, listen, we're going to start doing Monday morning breakfast Bible study with the kids and we started that tradition at. I'd get the kids up at six in the morning, my wife would make pancakes or eggs or whatever and we would get them all around the table and we would do, we would open up and we spent about 45 minutes in God's word and I knew that if I couldn't be genuine in front of them, really help them kind of see how significant God is in your life, I had no real business being out there trying to tell coaches and athletes and others about him as well.

Speaker 2:

It's good stuff there. Can you speak about the spiritual legacy you aim to leave for your children and grandchildren? It's that spiritual legacy.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, great question. You know I'm very big on Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and actually it was at FCA that introduced me to it, and he talks about leaving a legacy and I really wanted to have my children come through understanding how important your spiritual life is. So I have begun now taking my grandkids to FCA camp. I'm in a whole other generation of children going to camp.

Speaker 3:

So I take the group of kids not only my grandkids but other kids that I teach right now and coach up to an FCA leadership camp, because if there's a legacy I want to leave, it's one of leadership leading yourself, leading others, and doing that really with spirituality as its basis, so a faith in Christ, a deep, abiding relationship in him, being a Christ follower, being a disciple of his, leading yourself first, and then, with what you've learned, be able then to lead others.

Speaker 2:

That's good. You know, I know you're big on leadership. You teach leadership. You talk a lot about leadership. What led you to start the organization Leader Within? What was the vision behind that?

Speaker 3:

That's a great question. So, tim, after I left FCA, I went on staff with Young Life for a minute and started seminary, and Young Life had their training had allowed you to go or was part of it was seminary training. Life had their training had allowed you to go or was part of it was seminary training. And so, after a couple of years with Young Life and doing some seminary work, I went into the church and actually worked at a church for four years as an associate pastor of leadership development and I realized that, you know, really, leadership in the church is called discipleship. It's really what we're doing is we're trying to help individuals see who they are, where they are, what they can't become in terms of their relationship with christ, and then, from there, allowing their lives to be a, a light to the, to those who they're in, they're around, who they influence, and so, um, and after the four years in the church, I realized that, you know, I'm really more of a parachurch guy.

Speaker 3:

I'm a guy that likes to be out there, the church work that I was doing, though it was good, seemed to be too confined to that area. It wasn't really reaching it, and it's nothing against the church, but it was just something in my heart that said God pushing me to do something else, and so, 19, in 2008, I was sitting down and was reading the word, and it was in Ephesians, chapter one, but it was the message, which not a lot of people are fans of or some people.

Speaker 3:

Some people like it a lot, but for some reason I was in the message and it talked about.

Speaker 3:

It used the words there know who he is, where he is and what you can become in him. And I thought that's really what I want to do. I want to help people understand where they are in life, because you and I, tim, we're in the senior years of our lives, we're in what's the wisdom time of life for us, but there's young people that are just starting out, that have no idea where they are in life, especially in adolescence, the most explosive growth time in your life and so to help them establish a foundation or something solid to stand on there, to know where they are and then who they are, A lot of us we think we are doing our, we're doing a job, or when asked who are you, you tell them what you do rather than who you are. And just to help people understand that you're a child of God, that you have some tremendous value and then what you can become, well, the sky's the limit when you have a relationship with Christ then what you can't become?

Speaker 2:

well, the sky's the limit when you have a relationship with Christ. Amen. Well said, well said. You know in your experience how does fatherhood prepare someone for leadership in other areas of life? You talked about being at the home. You know, how does fatherhood prepare you for other areas of life and leadership?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, well, I mean, I learned now, especially being back in the school building and back in the classroom. You know how important it is that as I built my relationship with my kids and the father image that I was, how important it was for me to carry that on to some of these young men that I have that don't have fathers, and so to really step in with coach gian and coach chinchard and be that father image to them. You know, maybe more of a grandfather, to be honest with you now, but yeah, with the gray hair, but but really to be that kind of stabling force, that rock that you can go to, that questions that you can ask and really be able to get some honest answers from. That's what my fatherhood time, when I was raising my children, have helped me. Now step back and help some of these young men that don't have fathers or role models.

Speaker 3:

You know, one of the great things I ever learned in young life, tim, was the word every young teenager needs a responsible adult in their lives, and you and I have witnessed this a lot, especially in urban settings. There's times where these kids don't have a responsible adult in their life, but who is going to stand in the gap with those kids, responsible adult in their life. But who is going to stand in the gap with those kids? And so that's one of the things that I've tried to do, and be at Ginn Academy at Glenville, football.

Speaker 2:

As you look back over that experience at Ginn Academy and football, can you share a powerful moment from your time mentoring at Ginn Academy or?

Speaker 3:

through FCA. Yeah, I think it goes right back to the beginning, tim, we, when we did fca I think you might have been at that camp when I was up in erie, pennsylvania. Oh yeah, oh yeah. And we, we had a young man there, uh, lee jackson's his name and lee was. I convinced lee to come because there were going to be college coaches and he was going to get a scholarship. And when he got up there he said I did not know, this was a God camp and it was just an incredible week of explosive spiritual awareness and conversion and seeing kids come to know Christ, and Lee was one of those guys that came to know Christ. Come to know Christ, and Lee was one of those guys that came to know Christ, and Oscar Rohn was the chaplain at that time.

Speaker 3:

He was a dear brother and Lee really embraced it. I mean immediately. And you know we've seen a lot of kids come to know Christ at a camp, but then you don't really know what happens after that. Fortunately we'll hear from one or two.

Speaker 3:

But really in our careers as ministers. You don't really get to see many people that come to know Christ, but Lee was one of those guys that stuck with us 1997. And now Lee, after he left us he went to Southern Mississippi State and then he went and did work with Joe White. You remember Joe?

Speaker 2:

White with the Canna Cook ministry. Down in Missouri.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, down in Missouri, and that's where we got really tied into a discipleship mentoring position. Now you would be so happy to see him, tim, down in Dallas, texas, running a sports ministry that he founded that he's doing himself. We still keep in contact, we still help each other with camps here and there in the summertime and it's just been a thrill to see him grow in that way and be a solid believer and leading others in Christ.

Speaker 2:

It's a great story. I remember in Christ. It's a great story. I remember those days in Erie. It wasn't nothing like it.

Speaker 3:

Nothing like it.

Speaker 2:

Youngstown would come, we would bring kids from Columbus, toledo would come. It was so much fun we saw those breakthroughs. We saw those breakthroughs.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, we sure did. It was awesome, it was awesome.

Speaker 2:

So, as you look at your fatherhood days now, what can you tell the audience about parenting adult children?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, boy, what a great question that was. You know it doesn't get easier. Really, there's some heartbreak that goes on. My oldest daughter, 2018, lost her husband she was a mother of four and my son-in-law, Adam, died of a heart attack at 39 years old and left her with four children the oldest, nine and the youngest, a year and a half. With four children, the oldest, nine and the youngest a year, and a half.

Speaker 3:

And you know it breaks my heart to this day, still as a father, you know, trying to come alongside those kids and be the not just a grandfather but be like a father for them and help introduce them to Christ and know that God is the father of the fatherless. You see some heartbreaks with my oldest son, who went through a divorce, a very painful divorce, and two children involved in that, and those are really difficult things to see. But each time through all those circumstances, tim, I've had to direct them back to the one that makes all the difference and I would either provide some scripture for them, I'd help find Christian counselors, I would, you know, do all that I know to do to help them stay focused on the one thing that I know will make a difference and that's in Jesus Christ.

Speaker 2:

Amen, that's powerful. It is so dope. You know we think it gets easier. You know the kids are out the house, they're on their own. You know they got it figured out. We've done our part Right. We're always going to be parents, you know.

Speaker 3:

That's right, and we want to be. No, we do always going to be parents.

Speaker 2:

you know, and we want to be. We want to. No, we do, that's right. As dads, we want to tell men all the time you want to create an environment where your children want to come home. Yeah, Amen when they want to come home. You know, you don't want that kind of environment where they say well, I'm glad I'm out the house.

Speaker 3:

You know I ain't never going back there. You and to that point too, to that point too, tim, they do become like brothers and sisters now, you know, because they're maturing in their faith. I have a son that's a worship pastor down in St Louis Missouri, and then we share some deep spiritual things together. You know, with our children now that they are developing in their faith as moms and dads and Christian, you know, brothers and sisters.

Speaker 2:

You know, why is it so important for men, especially fathers, to be present in youth ministry and education. Why is that so important for boys and girls to see men, especially fathers, you know, in those spaces.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I think it's because the way God has designed it, you know, he really did design the male to take a leadership role, not that females don't I mean man.

Speaker 3:

We've seen some tremendous young men and women grow up with single family homes with just a mom there. That are tremendous individuals. But in God's order, the way that he would establish it, he wanted to use men as a Godhead figure in that family, as an authority figure that would help them see the love of God in their flesh and blood in their young days, to know what it means to be protected and to be cared for, to provide and protect you know your children, to love your wife, for them to see that you really love your wife, that she's not just you know somebody out there that's helping you get along, but it's someone that you truly care for and that you want to be with the rest of your life. So it helps them develop an understanding of what they should be looking for in a spouse as well. So the role is immense and it goes on forever. It never stops.

Speaker 2:

That's why I wanted to have you on the show because, well, I remember I was a young parent during the FCA camp days and we had real young children and I watch you and all those kids. I'm like it's something else, but it was a blessing. But you can't be what you can't see.

Speaker 3:

That's right.

Speaker 2:

When I'm ministering, I always have my wife with me. My children always came with us because I wanted. First, I wanted them to see when dad wasn't around. That's what dad was doing.

Speaker 3:

But, also.

Speaker 2:

I wanted others to see that. So I want this. I like this family thing. You know, I like this. I want that for me later on in life.

Speaker 3:

Right and plus Tim. They didn't pay us very much in FCA so that was our vacation. I mean, we were working, but the kids thought it was vacation.

Speaker 2:

They thought it was fun. That's good stuff. As you look back, what would you tell your younger self at the beginning of your parenting and leadership journey? What would you tell your young friend?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, you know, it's real simple too. I'd tell him to smile more.

Speaker 2:

Oh, that's good, it's good.

Speaker 3:

All these kids you can imagine. And I look at past pictures because now you know everything's on your phone. My father-in-law says you know, we're not going to have pictures pictures anymore, because everybody's got them on their phone. Nobody prints them out, right. But anyway, when I look way back at the days when I had pictures, I wasn't smiling, that's good and it was just so. It was like I was carrying the load too heavy and I just wish I could have smiled more. I wish I could have and I did enjoy my kids. Don't get me wrong, but when I look at that it gave me a little snapshot of the burden I was carrying and I wasn't letting the Lord carry it as much as I was carrying it myself. So smile more, enjoy life, don't take yourself serious, and you know. And kids, let kids be kids.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's it. But look at you now with those 24 grandchildren. Boy, I'm looking at that smile on your face now. I don't see the intense football coach anymore.

Speaker 3:

No, we're coaching them over to finish line to get to the Lord.

Speaker 2:

That's all it is, that's right as we kind of come around the corner. This has been great. Everything I thought it would be, and even more when you think about this. What has been your proudest moment as a father?

Speaker 3:

Well, I've had so many, you know, especially with my kids. There's a couple of, because I just have too many not to pick out one. The first one I could think of was my one son Frank asked me if I would do his marriage ceremony. One son Frank asked me if I would do his marriage ceremony and that was pretty, pretty significant. You know, to have your child ask you to be the minister when they got married. And then my youngest son, Sam, didn't know this but he married a Southern Belle and in the South, Tim, it's pretty tradition for the son to ask his dad to be his best man.

Speaker 3:

And I remember being down there, you know, when we knew they were going to get married, and I said, Sam, I don't remember you telling me who your best man is, and he just kind of leaned over and he looked at me. He goes, Dad, I want you to be my best man, and so those are precious memories that you have. But, brother, I could go on for hours about my girls and sports that we've had for hours in sports, that we've had some of the joy that they brought me just seeing them compete with high character, you know, with intensity, playing with all that they got all that god gave them. You know, uh, my boys and and all my kids now children that they've had. It's just been tremendous pride that my wife Betsy and I get with just looking back on our lives. And I'll be honest, we look back and we go. We don't know how we did it and it's like that poem you know footprints in the sand, you know the Lord was carrying us through. We don't remember a lot of it, Right, right.

Speaker 2:

You know, frank, what advice would you share with fathers in balancing career, faith and family responsibilities?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, that's another great one, tim, because so many I think so many men get caught up in the driven by a goal, you know, to get to a certain place. You know, and the old adage of what you know, you, you, you got your ladder and you got to the top and you found out it's leaning against the wrong wall, you know, those are things that I think people try to to climb the ladder of success and they find out, you know, it wasn't as the the, the uh process was more enjoyable than actually achieving the goal. So I would say, keep that in mind. I would say, live moment by moment.

Speaker 3:

I would say get up early and take your time with God first, because that's going to last forever. You'll never stop doing that. When we're in his presence, we're going to still be enjoying him and really stay balanced with your time. Take more vacations, take time away from that job, get that family together. Go three to four times a year on a vacation with your family, even if it's just a fourday weekend. It doesn't have to be very expensive, but to create that time and make them see that they're valued more than your career is valued, just goes, can go for a really long in your relationships.

Speaker 2:

Well, while you're on the road dropping all this wisdom, I got to get a little more out of you. How do you, how do you make you know over the decades you've been involved in this ministry work and service and leadership for five decades how do you stay grounded and energized and you still get that same energy, seems like back when she had back in Erie. You know how do you stay grounded and energized after decades of service and leadership case of service and leadership.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, you know, I do think, tim, it was back to those FCA days when they did a seminar for us with the Stephen Covey and I realized that I got to take care of the physical man as much as the spiritual man, the intellectual man, the social, emotional man. And I've got to and and I want to be, I want to be strong at the end. Remember, caleb, when he was talking to Joshua. He said we went and we saw that land. Give me those other 10. They came back and they gave a bad report. But he said listen, I'm as strong now as I was back then.

Speaker 2:

Give me that land, promise that land to me. Isn't that?

Speaker 3:

great.

Speaker 2:

And that's what I want for my life.

Speaker 3:

And the way to do it is by abiding in those principles that keep you fit physically, that keep you and it's tough, you know, brother, it is tough getting old, but you've got to fight those battles and you've got to make sure that you're fighting the right battles to make sure that you keep yourself good, strong, sound, spiritually, mentally, physically and emotional.

Speaker 2:

Amen, Me and my wife. We are just saying that we are aging gracefully.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Our heart is aging gracefully. Yeah, through the power of the Lord.

Speaker 1:

That's what God wants us to do.

Speaker 2:

That's right and he's looking for those Caleb's, you know.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, that's right, I want to be one of them. Yeah, so do I.

Speaker 2:

I'm with you, like every day you get up, you're fighting for them. Boys at that Ginn Academy. Yeah, you're fighting for them. You're fighting for them. So, to wrap up, you know this is a legacy podcast. What does the word legacy mean to you and what is the legacy of fatherhood that Frank Streeter is building, is built and is built, and continue to build?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, my legacy to me really is the. I created a mission statement years ago that said you know, to love God with all my heart, all my mind, all my soul, and to love my neighbor as myself. And in doing that I wanted to leave a legacy behind me that would show people, that people would respond like a Tim Brown would say you know what I, I, I Frank Streeter loved his wife. I could tell that that was his best friend and he imparted those things in his children that they are now going to impart to other generations. They are now going to impart to other generations. And the thing that was most important about him was his love for God. He truly loved God and I tell you, brother, if they could say that about me.

Speaker 2:

I'm resting in peace very well. Well, audience, what an incredible conversation with Coach Frank Street, a man who's not just raised a family but has raised up leaders one life at a time. It still reminds us that true fatherhood is about consistency, sacrifice and vision, and it's a legacy that's not measured in titles, but it's about lives that's been transformed. And, coach, I want to thank you for all you've done for those boys at Glenville High School. Just all over it, putting in there, and every place you've been you left your mark. You know you left your mark and I'm just so excited to be, to know you and to watch you, and every time I see you I just get so excited about that. Being friends. We're still here. You know devil can't get rid of us.

Speaker 2:

We're still here we're still looking forward to these young men and thank you for going to the next generation. And, as you said before, it starts at home.

Speaker 2:

It starts with your bride, naturally loving your bride, your children and those 24 grandchildren. What a blessing that is of legacy. So, coach, I want to thank you for being on the show and I appreciate your time today and, as always, I want to thank the audience for listening and doing this Fatherhood Series we try to. Our goal in this Fatherhood Series is to recognize men, those unsung heroes, you know, those men who are not perfect men but have done the best that they can. You know and the Bible says this, or I heard this before the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I think back. You talked about Coach Trestle's dad, lee Trestle. You talked about your dad being a war veteran A war veteran. Now, looking at your children, your grandchildren, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. That apple that you're creating is the apple of love. Not just love, but the love of God.

Speaker 1:

The love of.

Speaker 2:

God, a love of God, a love of God. So I want to thank you for that, and then just continue to be the man. Continue to be that, caleb, keep on fighting.

Speaker 1:

Thanks brother.

Speaker 3:

Appreciate you, tim.

Speaker 1:

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.