Joe Sagar is the Head Women’s Soccer coach at Lawrence University. Lawrence University is a NCAA DIII institution located in Appleton, Wisconsin. They are a part of the Midwest Conference along with schools like Knox College, Cornell College, and Monmouth College. 

Coach Sagar came over from England to play at McKendree University in Illinois. As a goalkeeper he had a stellar playing career both in the Scottish Premier League, Welsch Premier League and in college. He has coached his career at the NCAA DIII level for both the Men’s and Women’s teams at Augustana and now at the helm of the Lawrence university women’s program.  His love of the game as well as his passion for helping student athletes drives his coaching career.

In this interview Joe talks to us about how he defines leadership, what it means to be a leader and gives us examples of leadership on and off the field. Joe also shares with us his own recruiting story and gives some recruiting tips for athletes looking to play at the college level. Lastly, Joe shares with us his favorite pregame meals. This is an interview you do not want to miss! Enjoy! 

Coach:

Joe Sagar: Head Women’s Soccer coach at Lawrence University

Topic 2: Recruiting Tips:

Coach Sagar’s first tip is to make sure you do your research on the school you are interested in so when you speak to the coach you have some things lined up to talk about. He  encourages athletes to showcase their personality to the coaches during the recruitment process. He also reminds athletes to not start asking about scholarships right away at the beginning of the recruitment process. 

Topic 8: Qualities of a Bad Leader:

Sagar says that leaders are people who provoke reactions out of people. He says the good leaders are the ones who provoke good reactions out of people and the bad leaders provoke bad reactions. He says that the best coaches do not criticize their team publicly when they do not play to the best of their ability. Sagar also says if a coach is just coaching to win they are missing out on the best parts of coaching, getting to know these young players. 

Coach Sagar's approach to coaching and leadership has brought him so much success in and out of soccer. Thank you Coach Sagar for sharing your perspective and insight! Check out our other blog posts for more coach insider perspectives. 

Full Transcript:

Jess Gregory  
Alright, everybody. I am here with coach Joe Sager over at Lawrence University. He is the head women's soccer coach over there. How are we doing today, Joe?

Joe Sagar
Hi, Jessica. I'm doing very well. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to come on and speak to you and all the exact soccer players out there today. Pretty excited to do the call.

Jess Gregory
Yeah, absolutely. I'm glad you could sit down with me. I know things are kind of crazy. So it's nice when we can have some sort of human interaction with people via video.

Joe Sagar
any excuse to get on there and talk to a screen and we've been told for years not to do too much screen time. And now it's all good when there's a pandemic, so maybe maybe we're wrong after all, you know?

Jess Gregory
Yeah, exactly. All right. Well, I want to learn a little bit about you know, a little bit about you and kind of your, your thoughts on recruiting and such. So can you share a recruiting story with us, whether it's your own or a player that you remember?

Joe Sagar
So yeah, I will talk about a warm play into in particular, that We spent a lot of time with him was very excited about the university that we're at where I used to work. And you know that all recruits have their have their own journeys and our own stories. But you know, this was one who was a young lady who was kind of following in his father's footsteps was coming back to the university and that all of our brothers and sisters have gone to big state schools and she wanted to go to this school and kind of, you know, relive her dad's days. And one of the things that coach that's really important is finding what is special to each individual recruits and, and being able to tap into that, that that story in that journey. And to be a part of that is, you know, really special, you know, and all the coaches will tell you that recruiting has its ups and downs and you'll remember your ups a lot more than you remember your downs. But when you get to be a part of seeing someone from being a ninth grader who was coming to games as a little real little little recruit, because she was pumped about the university and then finally To the committee in and then making her debut and then obviously she's going to graduate in the summer of 2021 kind of the full vision of that journey. That's what's special about college athletics and a number of coaches get to share that journey and with with players and that one always brings a smile to my face.

Jess Gregory
Yeah, absolutely. Well, it's funny that you you mentioned them as a freshman in high school because a lot of times people don't think about that as part of the journey but you see them grow up from when they're like 14 years old, up into a, you know, a woman who's 22 years old by the time they graduate. So it's kind of crazy to be a part of that and and special has mentioned.

Joe Sagar
Yeah, you know, the good thing about coaching and in college athletics is you get to be a part of people's lives. You know, they become a part of your life they you know, they know about the good things and downsides and your lives and you get to see them grow and develop and unfortunately, sometimes you there when they need a shoulder and you also had to put an arm around them and say good job and so yeah, definitely the the The real people side of coaching is what makes the whole thing special.

Jess Gregory
Yeah, absolutely. Um, Now with that being said, I mean, it's definitely a relationship building. As far as recruiting goes, you're not just one off seeing someone on the field and then signing them up, you know what I mean? So, can you kind of give our listeners, you know, some recruiting tips and what they can do to kind of build that relationship with coaches? Yeah,

Joe Sagar
the first thing is, is do some research on all of the things that seem really, really obvious when you're trying to make a good impression on someone, but sometimes can slip through the cracks because maybe people are a little bit too excited about reaching out to that coach, but find out what the culture is name, find out where the university is located. What major Do you want to study and do some research on that program, maybe look at how they did last year in the year before so when you speak to the coach, you've got a little bit of a base understanding of where their team is at and where their program is heading. As the coach you know, This is a thing of like be being be direct with some questions be original don't don't ask the general you know, what's your coach style and what time like formation? Do you want to play? There's so much more about a relationship, no surface level questions. And one of the things that, you know, coaches like he is they want to know that person behind the soccer player. And that's his insight that, you know, people tend to forget that the coaches have people too and they want to know what type of personality they bring into the program that they've dedicated a lot of that time and and soul to, and they want to know, that people that people genuinely care, but also people generally want to be at that program. You know, do not start the email conversation with what type of scholarship Can you give me? And as a division three coach, I probably don't have to deal with that question as much as as my peers at the NCAA Division Two division one level, but I would imagine That is not a way to foster a good positive first impression with a coach. The scholarship question and discussion will come, be patient. But don't rush in and ask that straightaway. Because I think you're going to push more coaches away, then go, here's all the money. Here's the money take it. I think that's an unlikely response from most coaches.

Jess Gregory
Yeah, absolutely. Well, I think as a coach, you want to learn about the player, as you said, and kind of know if it's a good fit before you even start talking about what we can, can offer on that direction. And I think the players have a lot of power there too, to know, what do they want out of the program? What do they want out of their coaches and their teammates? So leaving that question towards the end is a very good tip there for them for sure. Now, you've mentioned that you're a division three. Can you talk a little bit about contacting rules I know they're very different from division one and two. So give these guys a little bit of an idea of when making contact Can you comment, contact them back? Things Such as that.

Joe Sagar
So not to get obviously too specific but for the players that are out there, I would say you know, kind of what we didn't top tips on, you reach out to the coach, don't you worry about the rules. Let the coach worry about that that professional coaches who have you know, the division one to division three and everything in between, let them know the rules. Obviously, I would say make sure in the email heading you let them know your graduation class. So you know if it's Susie snowflake, high school graduation of 2021 interested in your in your program. So the coach that knows if you are a if you are a someone who they want to reach out to you they know your high school graduation, they know they're not going to get themselves in any trouble and they'll read the email and reply to you. So as a player, if you do those simple things, you're probably going to be okay. With regards to Division Three, we can have a look Trying to communication at any time throughout the year, we don't have a dead period. So if you for anyone interested out there who wants to be a Viking, please feel free to email me and I will respond to you. Shameless plug that Jessica. I love it. But one of the things is one is the coaches will let you know. And if you don't get a response from a coach, it might be because they're super, super busy. They may be at camps, they may be on the road. So feel free. Don't be afraid of following up one or two, three times. If it goes beyond 4567 times, maybe there's a subtle hint there that the coaches is implying to you. So there has to be a fit on both sides. But yeah, definitely, I would say to the to the young men and women listening out there. If you're interested in a program, be confident enough to send an email or some coaches have their cell phone numbers on there and feel free to reach out as well.

Jess Gregory
Yeah, absolutely. I love it when coaches explain this because I've talked to players as a coach myself and let them know you can contact Coaches at any time that shouldn't stop you from reaching out. But it does help to know when they can get back to you. Because I've definitely heard freshmen and sophomores say like, well, I've reached out to, you know, a division one coach, I haven't heard back and they're upset by that they think that that means it's a no, that's not necessarily true. They just can't respond to you. So I think it helps players to know when they can get a response back and to just stay, you know, stay proactive and stay aggressive and keep reaching out

Joe Sagar
100%. And obviously, right now, with the COVID-19 pandemic that's going on. This is an unprecedented time in the history of our world, but also the history of college recruitment. So there's going to be some changes, and these changes are happening so fast at the moment, there's updates coming out from all the governing bodies. So I would say all of these freshmen, sophomores and juniors and seniors, you've all most of you have iPhones in your pocket. So feel free to Google and see when these things are happening, because that The landscape is changing. And I think we're gonna have a very virtual recruitment process for the next 18 months, probably Yeah.

Jess Gregory
Yeah, absolutely. Now that kind of leads me to my next question for you, then, if and when things kind of open back up, how do you foresee that changing kind of the recruitment? Where are you going to go look for kids? If you've even had a chance to think about that?

Joe Sagar
It's going to be very interesting. Because it all depends on you know, usually I'm very fortunate that I'm supported by the university to travel out of states a lot. So we go to the west coast, we go down south, and everywhere in the Midwest a little bit. So, but it's going to be interesting where we're allowed to go and so the shots that is right now, I don't know. But we will, we will probably we're going to have to utilize probably a little bit more trust in this recruitment cycle and particularly with trust in high school coaches and club coaches even more than we already do. So college coaches, lean on those, those coaches an awful lot We're gonna have to trust the film probably a little bit more and probably take some more risks on a player that, you know, maybe we only see on film rather than when we did so we'd like to go and see them in a game or a training session or something like that. So I'm that both college coaches are going to have to be a little bit more flexible and take more risks and, and be more trusting. But also, I think for players as well, I mean, it's likely potentially that your campus that you might be looking at might not be open for a visit. So you may have to only do that, that the virtual tour, the coach might have to FaceTime you and take you around and things like that when you go you know what, I like what I see on the internet and what I've seen and you know what, that's the place I'm going to go where two years ago most people would go and visit their school and walk around in person so I think it's an exciting time because yeah, we don't know how it's going to go and let's let's be positive and then go glass half full that this might make even more opportunities for people to play college soccer or whatever sport it is that they're they're looking to go into But I, you know, for me as a coach, we're gonna just try and go with the flow and be as flexible as we can be and make the best of a situation that is very, very tough on a lot of people.

Jess Gregory
Yeah, absolutely. I think there's a lot of silver lining in there as well. I mean, this could be a great opportunity for kids that couldn't afford to travel other places, or maybe they couldn't afford to be a part of those big huge clubs that get to travel nationally. And now they can put something together and get it out there to as many coaches as possible and hope that that relationship building really kind of helps them on that side. So it could be a great positive for a lot of athletes that maybe weren't getting seen before. Who knows.

Joe Sagar
And I would agree with that. And I would say even for myself personally, before this pandemic before this shut down, I was a telephone and text and in person type recruiter, I have the more FaceTime and zoom meetings with parents and potential student athletes, and I'll be honest, I don't think I'll go back to a phone call. Yeah, I love the connection you can make through a screen and I was probably a little old school for that. And so definitely, for me personally, a plus has come out of this where you can connect a lot more successfully with people than you probably could do an old fashioned phone call. So don't be afraid now of asking the coach, hey, you want to jump on Skype, you want to jump on zoom on FaceTime coaching? Maybe for coaches were a little scared of that. And I know probably I was one of those. And now I'm all in. I'm all in. I am a resident expert on zoom now, which I never thought I'd say until three weeks ago.

Jess Gregory
Right? Exactly. I think it's great for students to because I know a lot of them. They only want to text and they don't want to talk on the phone at all. So now having to put yourself out there on video. That's gonna be a very big change for them as well, but I think it'll be helpful for them going forward. I think so as well. Yeah, for sure. Um, alright, let's kind of switch gears a little bit and let's talk about leadership. So I know that's A big thing when I was looking for players was trying to find those leaders that could come on to the court as a volleyball coach and be able to kind of step in and help their their teammates. So can you kind of talk to me a little bit about leadership and tell me how you define a leader.

Joe Sagar
You know, I leadership is very special because everyone has got their own twist and take on what it really takes to be a leader. But if I was being asked to define it, I would say it is somebody who has the ability to see things in other people that that that person might not see themselves has the ability to inspire, to be selfless to maybe do things when nobody else is looking. You know, we always talk about if you see the the empty cans of Coca Cola on the ground, you walk past it with no one's looking at it, you pick it up and put it in the recycling bin because you're a good conscientious member of the human race. So I would say you know when we're looking at when we're evaluating projects, is obviously, the first thing we look for is, you know, the tactical and the tactical side of you know, can they play college sport, fill in the blank, whatever that may be. One of the things you know, it goes that we mentioned earlier about, we're inviting you to be a member of the group that program that scene, whatever word you want to use for that. And we want people who are going to bring something to the table. Whether that means you have you know, you are respectful, we have the idea to go above and beyond. We want people who when they come to their campus visits with their mom and dad, do they do they show a level of kindness to that parents? You know, I always say to my players, if you're rude to your mom, who's fed you and clothe you and house Jeff for all and giving you and got you to this point where you can make this fantastic decision to go to a great university. probably going to be a pain for me, because I'm just going to be a soccer coach. Okay. I'm not going to compare to your mother or father or grandparents or whoever it is. You Who's raised you and got you to this point? So we look at that we judge and we assess and we see how you interact. You know, when I give you an I will talk about Phil malea when I watch film, obviously everyone puts their goals or their crosses and things like that. I look to see as dear teammates all runs here. And if you school like or if you're if you're a winger and you cross the ball to someone, and they school, do you run over and celebrate with that person? Are you involved in the team first mentality, you know, a lot of plays in that clubs in that high schools, that the real deal and they try to they use in that set up to get them to their goal of being a collegiate athlete. When you get to college, it's a team mentality. We were working together to win conferences and trying to compete for the national tournament, all those things. So we want you we look at that to see Do you do put yourself before the team are in the team up behind the team and sometimes helping push that team along to a better place, so just want to start There, you know, we use film to do this virtually to judge like, Are they a team player? Are they liked on that team? Are they? Do they? Do they like the people having that moment of success? Or is it all about them? So there's also little intricacies that we look for because the college coaches, this is their profession and their livelihood, what they're trying to build something special with, with the women or men that they bring in. They don't want you to be the stick in the mud, because you're, you're self centered. That's not something that any college coach and I would imagine if you asked any coach in the country would they do they want someone who is really really good, but they're absolutely terrible or someone who tries really hard, it's got a positive attitude, but most of us will take the person with the attitude and they get better mentality for for the sake of the overall success of the program.

Jess Gregory
Yeah, absolutely. Um, now you did mention that you can kind of tell if someone's a leader, do you have any other kind of tells if you are talking to someone or watching That, that shows that they really stand above and can can lead their their teammates.

Joe Sagar
I always like, you know, when people were on the team do they do they complement a player doing something well? Do they do the? Do they say unlucky? Do they do they do they do they provide feedback either in a correct manner. And, you know, sometimes a leader has to hold that peers accountable. So that doesn't mean you have to yell and scream if someone screws up because we all screw up at some time. But sometimes a leader has to rally the troops and say, hey, let's go. So that's definitely something on a soccer related field that if, if someone is self confident enough in themselves to provide peer to peer feedback at it as a 15 1617 year old chances are by the time they've developed even more as a collegiate athlete, and they'd 1920 they're going to be in a very good spot for our program. Do they show initiative? Do they? You know, I have a young lady Michael. program who sets up weekly zoom calls with the team off our own back, you know, and I was like, wow, that's that's real, you know, that was really, really nice as a coach, kind of a proud, hashtag proud coach moment that they would go in on their own to keep that that friends and that teammates connected during this crazy time. So just tiny little things like that, that that show that you have some initiative, you have some self confidence and self belief in yourself because you have to believe in yourself as a leader because people are going to try and drag you down and regardless of what type of leadership position you're in, you know, everyone's got advice. That's why it's free. Everyone gives it away. And I think sometimes as a leader, we you have to be resilient enough to be able to be like, No, I'm gonna do this because I have to sell the courage to believe that this is the right way to go.

Jess Gregory
Absolutely. Now, can you give some examples of either people personally or maybe some other examples of what makes someone a good leader and then We can kind of go into what, you know, can you can you see a bad leader? And what are they think so,

Joe Sagar
you know, I, the good leaders that I've been around as a as a player and as a coach obviously working with administrators and in different offices that are the people that look to end power, or that people who are around them, you know, being elite doesn't mean that you have to do everything yourself and often the best leaders know like they they look to hire people or they look to recruit people that are better at something than they are. You know, I think about my coaching staff in particular, like my assistants bring things to the table that simply I do not. And that makes that makes poses a whole better. You know, so when I think of you know, you know, hiring practices and things like that, like the people who have the best companies, the best sports teams, the best franchises, whatever they may be, they look to empower, they look to encourage they look to develop that people, but they also want them to feel comfortable stepping out and, and challenging them when need be. And, you know, it's and that's, you know, so that you know, I, you know you think of the coaching wheels that the coaches that I've had the success you think of people who own the American football that Nick Saban's, you know, you think in the professional soccer, you know, the Pep Guardiola was in and things like that they've, they've got people around them, who are the best at what they do, and probably bring it as an added dimension to those organizations that just one person in today's society, there's too much for one person to do. You know, that you know, so as a leader, they often have an idea. They often have a dream and unrelentless drive to achieve that goal. But the people who I've been around have been the ones who have surrounded themselves with people who can make them That dream happened and that empowered them to work towards their strengths.

Jess Gregory
Yeah, absolutely. I've also kind of noticed too, if we're talking about college athletics that the the best leaders whether, you know, it's the head coach that wins that prestigious Coach of the Year Award, but then they bring everyone else with them, you know what I mean? They're like, Oh, but my assistant over here and the strength coach helped here and our players did this. I feel like that makes the best leaders to they're not leaving everyone else behind. When they get the accolades. They're bringing everyone with them because they know it was a team effort

Joe Sagar
And that's, you know, and I will even before you even get to the accolades I talked about, we, you know, obviously you're the people listening to this and wanting to be recruited to campus and to recruit people to campus. It takes the admissions counselor, it takes the financial aid officer, it takes the professor who will sit with you for an hour and talk biology or physics or history or whatever it is that that person is interested in. It's the the current students who let you stay in the dorms with them. It's the cafeteria people Who are putting out you know, good food? And so it really, you know, the the, the grounds keepers, you know, keeping the campus clean. You're right. This is a collective. And, you know from from, you know, when when every time we alarm somebody as at Lawrence university, I reached out to the admissions counselor and say, Hey, good job, thank you. Because it does, it takes so many people to to get you from one one point in your life to another point in your life. And it's not just their head coach where we're not as awesome as some of us think we are. And we need reminding them that sometimes that often our assistance and their athletic trainers and the strength coaches are probably done more towards the success than at least at least I see my case anyway. Just I don't want to speak for everybody.

Jess Gregory
Right. Exactly. Now, I guess On the flip side, just to kind of throw it out there like it's if you think of a bad leader, what are some of those qualities that you're like, Alright, they're leading people, but you Maybe not in the best way.

Joe Sagar
I always talk about people who read is provoke reactions in other people. Okay. And the good leaders provoke good reactions and the bad leaders provoke bad reactions, which probably seems really obvious. But, you know, how do they do that? They belittle people, when the success is it's their success and not the team success. And if something goes wrong, it's not their fault because it's somebody else's job. The best leaders and you've seen this in probably more so in elite college athletics and in professional sports, the best coaches when their teams don't perform well. You won't hear those coaches criticize them publicly, that you won't hear them blame the point guard or the field goal kicker in football or in soccer did the person had the misfortune of missing a penalty kick, they take the bad stuff and then and then the opposite. You see the good ones give give the praise out So, you know, if you're a leader who is in it for yourself, you know, and, you know, I think, you know, examples of coaching, if you're just coaching to win, then you missing out on such an important part of being a part of these young person's lives and being a positive agent of change and helping develop them and helping them grow. That's where the we're the real winning is when senior, you know, from players that you've been talking to a 1516 coming through, finalizing their research projects and graduating and getting into graduate school. That's, that's the win. You know, the winning on the soccer field, that's going to be a byproduct of all the other stuff. But you know, and that's the thing that when I talked to my student athletes, when we're recruiting them, I want them to study abroad. I want them to be in a sorority if they choose to do so. I want them to be involved in other things on campus. And of course, we want them absolutely focused on winning on the soccer field. And that's a major part of things. If if there's a code And you're just locking them down and you just keep making them do one thing and you're not interested in where they go to graduate school. That's a sign of it of a bad leader in in job seekers opinion. We So, so I would say the worst leaders are in it for themselves and they want their workers to glorify them. The best leaders are selfless and trying to try to move people up in life and help them grow and develop and go on to be successful.

Jess Gregory
Yeah, absolutely. Um, now let's talk a little bit more about you then and we can kind of figure out how you are as a leader but can you talk about your coaching background for us and how you got started? Um, and you know, how you ended up over here at Lawrence? Yeah, so,

Joe Sagar
my my coaching journey started at I my first ever head coaching position was an under elevens girls team in Reno, Nevada, where I was doing my master's degree and I you know, and I don't have a lot of athletes do this, but I had graduate had been a full ride scholarship athlete and graduated and moved on to my country. And I fell out of love with the game. I didn't want to play it, I'd had enough of being around it and I was really I was really burnt out. And then after about six months, I got the itch and wanted to get back into it and me and a friend of mine got asked to coach this year 11th team and it was a blast. It was an utter blast. We looking back on us coaching we were probably not great. Definitely made some mistakes and things that you know, if I did now I would be like, Oh goodness, that was a little bit of a cringe worthy moment. Well fell in love with trying to make these young ladies better, they love the game, they love to compete. Kind of from there, I actually made my next coaching job I I was asked to become an assistant coach Augustana College in Illinois where I was an assistant for the men in the women's programs and and responsible for that goalkeepers and I was there for four years and had some great great successes, you know, I got the opportunity to coach in the national tournament one year we were we were competitive. But really, really, really enjoyed it and made some great memories and worked with some excellent coaches. And then, you know, to two years ago, last week was my anniversary here at Lawrence and just have loved the challenge of being a head coach. We'll try to figure it out trying to do things better. I the recruiting process is a challenge that provides daily ups and downs and something which I just love to get. I love the game of soccer, and I'm blessed that I am allowed to call myself a professional coach and work with young people every day. So that's, you know, and then I've been here a couple of years now 2020 with my second recruiting class, in the process and really try to get the program to be recognized regionally and be competitive in our conference because I think with our academic profile and where we're at with this It is gonna be an exciting journey to be on and I'm loving it. I really am. Like I said I, at some point, someone's going to figure out that I love this so much and have probably asked him to do it for free. So hopefully hopefully we don't figure that out too soon.

Jess Gregory
Yeah, we'll keep that on the downlow. We don't want to give that away

Joe Sagar
Edit that out Jessica just case maybe.

Jess Gregory
Now, are you able to like go back and help out with the DVDs again? Is that something that might interest you if you just help those little guys out?

Joe Sagar
Yeah, so actually, myself and men's coach here were recently asked to be get to get involved with one of the local soccer clubs. She's got some really exciting things coming on. So we were supposed to be started right now with their academy stuff, but obviously, with the pandemic that's been put on hold, so we will and that's one of the things that you know, we when you coach the college level and things like that you sometimes when you get frustrated with teenagers and young adults going back I can be with six and seven and eight year olds and remembering that that was where everybody fell in love with the game can be a real refreshment and something which I enjoy to do from time to time.

Jess Gregory
Yeah, absolutely. I love watching the little like five and six year olds play soccer too, because they all just like flock to the ball. Yes, yes. trying to do. They don't do it. So funny. Um, all right. Now let's talk about college coaches. So if you could coach against any college coach, active or retired? Who would it be?

Joe Sagar
Such a tough question, because there's some because I have some wonderful, wonderful relationships with people who we have to sometimes remind ourselves that this is a competitive game. And sometimes I think our players are like us. You guys are really friendly, you know? Yeah. You know, I made the person who gave them my start in coaching is a guy called Scott me here. I was Going to college means I was also privileged enough to be his best man his recent wedding and we're very very close and off the field and families are close and you know, I'm involved in these little boys lives and I we we compete against each other when we coach but I because we're so close it's again I go back to a privilege of coaching to be able to do this with people who you can call friends. And some people you're close enough to call family is an honor and it likes it. It's to be a college coaches that I think it's the best job in the world and to be able to do against people who, who you love and care for and I'm not gonna get too sappy, but it really is, you know, you know, I mean, maybe at some point, I think, you know, historically you'd have to go for someone like Anson Darcy if you could outsmart them for the biggest the greatest probably of all time, but I don't think I'm ready for my career to go on against somebody as good as historical. We'll figure it out. So I'll keep it low key.

Jess Gregory
Okay, sounds good. All right now I have one more kind of fun random question. What is your go to pregame meal?

Joe Sagar
You know, my wife's gonna hear this and shouts at me because when before game, I get so caught up with things that sometimes I forget to eat and then I'm in there and I have so I keep my backpack is packed full of Clif Bars because usually about 15 minutes into the game I realized that not at all the game bought I was in when I remember. I love it breakfast, like I love eggs, egg on toast, probably a little bit of bacon and some fruit as well. I don't think you can beat that. But I got my players gonna shout at me because I do everything I tell them not to do. Because I get so excited for gaming being being out on the field as a coach is second only to plain, you know, you know one of the takeaways I take, I try to preach my praises all I played careers of and at some point and you will miss that moment of going in with your teammates and competing for something. So yeah, I get a little caught up with that stuff. So unfortunately a peanut butter Clif Bar probably get a lot more of those after talking, before we go out the locker room, and but if I'm organized, and I go for a good breakfast,

Jess Gregory
nice. Now do your players ever request something specific? I know when I coached I had players that they always wanted to go to Panera. So I don't know if your players have a specific place that they're like, this is our team meal we have to eat here, maybe on the road or before you head out.

Joe Sagar
We have and I'm trying to think of the name. When we're in the Chicago area. There is a hot dog and pizza. You might know this just because you're in those cities. Yeah, I mean every time We got I've got women out here. That's the pizza place that's pretty popular.

Jess Gregory
Are you talking about Portillo's

Unknown Speaker
Portillo's. Thank you. Yeah, my goodness, my play is conceived to track those down. We're in the Chicagoland area like little bloodhounds so that that's a popular one. And the second era it seems to crop up where everyone loves a good Panera. Yeah, I try to remind my players that they get fed a significantly higher caliber of food than what I got fed when I was a college athlete. And yeah, I'm not sure my budget can keep up with their taste sometimes, but we do our best to keep them fed and watered to a high level. And

Jess Gregory
yeah, absolutely. That's awesome. All right, Joe. Well, I really appreciate you sitting down with me today and kind of talking shop. I think we gave some great information for the kids once we put that out there for them. And I'm looking forward to getting back out onto the field soon. We'll see. You know what happens there?

Joe Sagar
100% I think all of us have enjoyed some time safe at home with our families and then stay Come with our friends. But we all need we all need some competition and some some some real stuff outside here soon so hopefully sooner rather than later.

Jess Gregory
Absolutely. Well, you stay safe out there until we do get back out. And if we don't see on the field soon, maybe we'll sit down and have another chat.

Joe Sagar
That sounds great. Thanks for having me on Jessica. It's been a real pleasure.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai