BYU Coaches Offer Nuggets Of Inspiration On Their Morning Bike Rides
Aug 3, 2020, 4:05 PM
Safeties coach Preston Hadley throws to his players while warming up before the Blue-White game at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, April 7, 2018. (Laura Seitz, Deseret News)
(Laura Seitz, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah – Not all heroes wear capes. Some instead ride bikes into work. That’s BYU football assistants Preston Hadley and Jernaro Gilford who are giving us the content we didn’t know we needed but we are here for during this COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week, BYU began football-related activities as a team and every day since coaches Hadley and Gilford have been giving inspirational thoughts while on their bike commute.
Who had binge-watching the bike commutes of BYU football coaches on their 2020 bingo card?
Maybe we can call up some folks here at KSL-TV to get these guys some sort of a TV series. With so much divisiveness and negativity on social media these days, it’s good to see some light-hearted fun from a pair of guys making the most of a difficult situation right now.
Day 1 Lessss Go!@jernarogilford #ByuFootball pic.twitter.com/8wcPiuC8Ka
— Preston A Hadley (@CoachPHadley) July 27, 2020
BYU football begins fall camp on Tuesday and it’s still unclear who BYU will play this season or if the Cougars will have a schedule at all. Regardless, Hadley and Gilford started making “lifestyle changes” by riding the Provo River Trail every day at 6:30 am, preparing for a season that nobody knows how it will look.
Day 2 @jernarogilford pic.twitter.com/dzmMtGdSPT
— Preston A Hadley (@CoachPHadley) July 28, 2020
Both Hadley and Gilford are former BYU football players who have a deep connection to the school and have been some of the top recruiters on this current staff. During their bike commutes, they give messages of optimism and inspiration. Along with some tidbits on the BYU football team and always wanting “the smoke” from any opponent that faces the Cougars in 2020.
One of the best videos was on day 3. Hadley said, “…We had a little adversity at the end of the day yesterday. Someone is trying to sabotage us and leaving nails in the street. I got a flat tire! My road bike is out of commission. It don’t stop, I got a mountain bike! Life lessons … a little nail is not going to stop this movement. Sometimes in life, adversity hits and we’re built for it. We’re built a little different around here. We gotta find a way. That’s what we preach and that’s what we try to live out here.”
That’s the type of motivation we all need during these crazy times. No nail can derail greatness.
Day 3 @jernarogilford pic.twitter.com/xCdXdlZuNQ
— Preston A Hadley (@CoachPHadley) July 29, 2020
This duo really needs a TV show.
Day 4 @jernarogilford pic.twitter.com/vaWTnQeKe9
— Preston A Hadley (@CoachPHadley) July 30, 2020
Feeling like you’re regressing at life right now? Coach Hadley is here to cheer you up.
“Sometimes we all fall victim to what we call rocking horse syndrome,” said Hadley on his Day 5 video. “You see a rocking horse it moves, but it doesn’t progress. Sometimes we’re working, but we aren’t progressing. It’s the art of deliberate practice. Practicing with the intent to get better. How you gauge if you got better. Did you make the same mistakes twice?”
Day 5 @jernarogilford pic.twitter.com/r9cqiAs7LX
— Preston A Hadley (@CoachPHadley) July 31, 2020
With fall camp starting up, the inspiration can only go up from here. We’ll be watching when that happens.
Day 6 @jernarogilford pic.twitter.com/fcXvFZb2wq
— Preston A Hadley (@CoachPHadley) August 3, 2020
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
