Southern Football TV on ESPN2

One of my dreams has always been to be on ESPN2. On Saturday, October 16, Southern Football TV aired on ESPN2. What a grand moment. If you want to see the Athens show, go to http://www.secsportsreport.com/seceast/southern-football-tv-visits-athens-ga.shtml

If you would like to see the Auburn show, go to http://www.secfootballtv.com/

Go After Your Dream by Coach J

A Message from Coach J

Fortunately, I get to meet a lot of young people when I'm out in public. My message to them is always the same. "Go after your dream." Do what you love, follow your heart and pursue a career path that gets you excited in the morning.

The next question that follows is what should I do? Start with volunteering or get any job in the chosen field. If you want to be a writer, start writing stories about your favorite teams and publish them on some place like Bleacher Report. Fans and writers will give you feedback which will increase your writing skills.

If you want to be a coach, start working with a high school program as a volunteer. Turn off the tv and start spending time with people working in your dream job. You have to pay some dues in whatever you pursue so the sooner you get started, the better off you will be.

When you first launch out, the criticism can be tough because the dream is so close to your heart. But as time goes on, you learn to welcome it, because usually some criticism is good because it helps you refine your dream into a reality.

Whatever you choose, there will be resistance. If you love it, you will pursue it regardless of the obstacles. As people punch holes in your dream, it forces you to make the dream real. Making it real means connecting a revenue stream to your chosen field.

Great ideas are a dime a dozen. If you know your dream, you have opened the first door. But there are many doors on this journey. What seperates the winners from the losers is the execution of a sound strategy. Next time, we will talk about strategy...

If you want me to coach you to your dream job, call me at 770-844-9377. I don't want anybody to miss out on their dream, so I use a sliding scale based on your income.

Jay Holgate is an SEC Football writer and motivational speaker/coach. Check out Jay's bio at Football Speakers.

Urban Meyer Snatched the Momentum Back to His Florida Gator Team

ATLANTA, GA- Urban Meyer’s back! It doesn’t surprise me one bit that Urban Meyer struck out at a Orlando Sentinel beat reporter. Meyer’s response was predictable. It was most likely calculated, and now that the dust is settling, it looks like Urban got the momentum back for his team.


Urban Meyer has been taking a beating in the press for several months. It started with the whipping by Alabama for the SEC Championship. No reason under the sun that the Gators should have been beaten 32-13. I saw it coming when Carlos Dunlap got pulled for a DUI the week of the big game. Coach Meyer didn’t see it coming because he was still on the Undefeated National Championship train. The huge loss took its toll on Meyer’s body and his pride.


The loss to Alabama was followed up with a resignation said to be spending more time with his family. Then a quick return without consulting his family and what could best be termed as emotional turmoil for a period of time. Meyer did the “staycation thing”, but he was getting ripped by journalists for his inconsistent behaviors.


Then came the Tebow evaluations. For over a month, every football analyst in the country had rated Tim Tebow and the consensus is that he wasn’t fully developed as a passing quarterback at Florida. No doubt, he can run on third and five all day long and get the yardage needed. He is a great leader and motivator.


But at the end of the day, he may not have what it takes to play quarterback in the NFL, and that points directly to Meyer. Tebow is the most teachable athlete in America. Why wasn’t Tebow taught better mechanics?
When beat writer Jeremy Fowler wrote his story which included the differences in quarterbacks, that gave Meyer his chance to draw a line in the sand and fire some shells into the enemy’s camp. The fact that it was videotaped was probably not anticipated.


There is one thing I know for sure about Coach Meyer. Urban Meyer cares most about winning. Winning games, winning recruits and winning messages. He is a momentum guy and who is constantly manipulating circumstances to get better results from his players. And he has had a lot of success with it.


By going after Fowler, Meyer put a big circle around the Swamp and let it be known to all the beat writers that if you write anything negative about the players, you will lose access. Every beat writer in Florida will take a big breath before quoting another Florida player. It basically guarantees positive headlines in Florida newspapers for recruits for awhile. Mission accomplished.


In the process, the Florida players felt like their coach was sticking up for them which served as a high energy team building exercise. Don’t forget, Meyer has his psychology degree, and everything is based on motivating his team. Once again, the Gators came together because of their head coach.


The event pulled the attention away from Tebow’s throwing motion, comparisons with Brantley, and stopped the bleeding on Gator football public relations. Sports writers across the country have commented on the episode but Meyer doesn’t care what they think. In the end, he’s fighting for his players and nobody can fault him for that.



Jay Holgate is an SEC Football writer and motivational speaker. Jay Talks SEC Football year round to companies, sports events and churches.

Holgate Speaks to No Longer Bound in Atlanta

SEC sports writer and motivational speaker Jay Holgate was a guest speaker for No Longer Bound in North Atlanta last week. The event was held on campus in the dining hall which became a SEC decorated facility with pre-game music and a promotional video highlighting Holgate’s journey following SEC football.


The theme of the night was a Champions Club Meeting, and the men were treated to a steak dinner by the parent organization. There was a sign at the door with big letters indicating Champions Club Meeting and each man had to walk across a winners line taped to the floor.


The success of No Longer Bound has been phenomenal and is ten times better than the national average for recovery centers. The focus at No Longer Bound is not just a man’s sobriety but making him into a disciple of Jesus Christ. The organization is funded primarily by citizens donating their cars, trucks, boats and RV’s. There is a major advertising effort on the radio to encourage people to give away older vehicles to the charity. Donations are accepted year around.


The non-profit organization also has a community closet, a greenhouse and printing services which all help pay the expenses of a full time men’s ministry dedicated to the rehabilitation of alcohol and drug addicts. For more information about No Longer Bound or to make a donation, call Mike Harden at 770-886-7873.


Jay Holgate is an SEC sports writer and motivational speaker based in Atlanta, Georgia. As a credentialed member of the SEC, he reports exclusively on SEC football and basketball. His column is published in over 200 on-line newspapers in the Southeast and he can be heard weekly on sports radio stations across the South.

No matter the size of the organization, Jay’s encouraging and message about hope, focus, goals, and perseverance is both motivating and inspiring. For more information about Jay’s speaking engagements, call Todd Greene at FootballSpeakers.com at 1-866-977-6787.

SEC Recruiting-How I Got Involved with #1 Running Back in America

I wrote the story about Marcus Lattimore, making my points that recruits should stay in-state if given the choice. The closer to home, the more parents can be involved. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/330742-marcus-lattimore-big-decision-auburn-or-south-carolina.

I had never written about a recruit before, but something pushed me to single him out. I knew what he would do for his home state if he chose the Gamecocks. I also knew Auburn’s rich history of putting running backs in the NFL.

I wrote a story, talked about it on a couple of sports radio programs, and uploaded my interviews to YouTube. My story and videos got a lot of traffic and comments, both positive and negative.

One night, the phone rang. “This is Marcus Lattimore’s step father. Can I talk to you about your article?”

Marcus is the top running back recruit in the country. Every major college wanted him, and coaches were calling around the clock. The family had issued a freeze for the media, but the coaches were still calling.

Even the teams that had been eliminated were still calling Marcus, his Mom, his step dad, and his sister.

I found myself in the late hours of the night talking to a father, not as a sports writer, but as a father. He said he had seen my videos and he felt he could trust me, and that I would shoot him straight.

I knew both schools well. The next few hours, two fathers discussed all the positives and negatives of two great schools—Auburn and South Carolina.

My article had resonated with the step-father. My videos touched him and Marcus. A lot hung in the balance. Marcus’ decision would greatly impact two coach's careers.

Steve Spurrier would have been criticized for losing an in-state star. For Gene Chizik, signing Marcus could move his class to No. 1 in the country.

Over the next few days, both coaches came and went for their last home visits. The father would again call me and talk about the experience. Sometimes we talked football, other times we just talked.

On Sunday, he invited me to come down and spend Monday with the family, the same day Marcus would be announcing his school of choice. I knew having some time with a big recruit would be memorable.

When I arrived in Duncan, South Carolina, I knew two fan bases were dying to know which path Marcus would take. I found a house full of trophies and memories of a loving family.

Two hours before the announcement, Marcus was cool and calm. He played a game on Playstation.

I asked if he was playing South Carolina vs Auburn and and the winner would be his choice. He just laughed. A great, humble guy, but a competitor who has big dreams. I knew he had a great future.

We joined hands in the middle of the living room for prayer. I prayed for this family and Marcus, and that every step forward would be successful. We went to the church, which was half full two hours before the announcement.

So people ask me, why did Marcus go to South Carolina? Marcus told me every time he went to Columbia, he really enjoyed his time there. It just felt right.

Secondly, Steve Spurrier and staff worked very hard to have a relationship with his entire family. The entire family had to be in agreement on this one.

And finally, Stephen Davis told Marcus that he loved playing at Auburn, but his only regret was his family and friends didn’t get to share it with him in person.

His reasons confirmed why I wrote the story.

Until next time, I will see you on the ball field.

Jay Holgate is a sports writer and motivational speaker talking about SEC football. Jay is listed with www.FootballSpeakers.com

Here is my link to the Marcus Lattimore announcement taped from my camera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY_Meczd-18