Mastering the Game: 'Doing Your 1-11' with Jaiden Woodbey

Stepping onto campus as a first-year student athlete, Jaiden Woodbey was determined to defy the odds. His journey through competitive football and rigorous academia, culminating in three degrees over five action-packed years, paints a compelling portrait of discipline and ambition. We're thrilled to welcome Jaiden Woodbey in our latest episode, where we peel back the gridiron to reveal the steadfast resilience and time management wizardry required to juggle higher education with the high stakes of collegiate sports. Throughout our conversation, Jaiden's personal anecdotes serve as a playbook for anyone striving to tackle their goals head-on, regardless of the field they're playing on.

 We dissect the parallels between the strategy of football and the tactics of effective leadership, highlighting how teamwork, focus, and an unwavering commitment to one's role are just as crucial in the corporate arena as they are on the playing field. Jaiden exemplifies the kind of leadership that's born in the locker room and refined in the boardroom, providing a masterclass for transitioning athletes and aspiring leaders alike.

The episode closes with a rallying call to the dreamers, the determined, and the dedicated: chart your own course, break through boundaries, and build a legacy that echoes long after the stadium lights dim. Join us as we celebrate a story that's not simply about sports; it's about the relentless pursuit of excellence.

Transcript

Speaker 2: 0:16

Hello and welcome to the Leaderbrew podcast. I am Dr Rick Arawood and I am your host for today, and I always begin my sessions with saying that I'm so excited to have our next guest on. But, truthfully, I am so excited to have our next guest on, and that would be Jaden Woodbay. Jaden earned three degrees in five years across two schools, amid a global pandemic. And then there was this thing called football, which we can talk a bit more about as well, and I had the pleasure of teaching Jaden while he was pursuing his master's in sports administration at BC in the Woods College of Advancing Studies. So it is my absolute pleasure to reconnect with you. The idea of the Leaderbrew podcast is for faculty to have some catch-up conversations with former students and see what that transition has been like from the classroom to the real world. So it's just going to be a fantastic conversation. So welcome. And I see you are in sunny California because the sun is shining and you have shorts on. Meanwhile, I have sweaters and jackets in New Hampshire, so welcome.

Speaker 1: 1:37

Man, appreciate you for having me, Appreciate you for having me. For sure you know it's nice and sunny over here.

Speaker 2: 1:45

Nice and sunny. So let's go back to the classroom and tell me about your experiences in the classroom and what that was like, not only being a student, but also an athlete.

Speaker 1: 2:00

So I think that one of the common misconceptions of student athletes is that you know like they have a lot of free time, but it's a very rigorous schedule. You know like when our coach our coach used to put up like all of the hours that we would put in every day and it would be similar to a 14-hour work day. You know like we would wake up practice is at six, so we have to be there around like 5, 25, 30 to eat breakfast and to warm up and stuff and get ready. You know, if you have treatment, if you have an injury, you got to get there a little early, so then you have time to actually go to. You know practice and perform so from like six to maybe seven, eight, 30, we're usually training. After that we'll have some type of treatment or something that we have to attend to after and then usually we'll have a mandatory lunch that we have to attend and then usually we'll have classes or studying and then maybe sometime throughout the rest of the day we'll have another practice and then we'll have another mandatory snack or a mandatory meal or mandatory meetings that we have to go to, and then on top of that we still have more schoolwork and sometimes we have late classes. So a day can really be from, you know, 5.30 in the morning to like 6.30, 7.00 at night, just depending on how your schedule is. So it was definitely tough, but it wasn't. It wasn't, it was doable, let's put it that way. It was definitely doable, especially, you know, my first.

Speaker 1: 3:41

My first three years I was at Florida State. That's where I got my undergrad in international affairs. I was working like a maniac, had probably 18 to 19 hours of class or like however the units work. I think it's like 19 units or 18 units or hours, whichever one of them, but you usually do 12 max and I did 18 to 19 because I wanted to graduate early. So I did that for like my first two and a half three years. Then I got my degree and then I came to BC and then I pretty much did the same thing. I completed the two-year master's course in one year and then I pretty much did that twice to get two degrees. So it was a lot of work, but it was also worth it. I feel like it was definitely worth it and since I was already so used to putting so much on my schedule and doing so much in a day. It really wasn't that hard of a transition for me to do it for my master's classes as well.

Speaker 2: 4:45

And in terms of student athletes, you may recall I would always say if I start to tell or make an analogy to sports, someone should always stop me, because not my world and I would fumble the ball. That's a good one, actually. I should try and use that expression because I've heard that one before. But what I found very impressive about the students who are on scholarships or within teams of various universities, I admire that work ethic, I admire that physical stamina. As you would reference, many of the Woods College classes are in the evening hours and it's hard enough just for faculty to sort of keep themselves motivated and going. It's got to be even more challenging from the student perspective. But my experiences with my student athletes was always so incredibly positive.

Speaker 2: 5:46

Honestly, I don't think I and this is an interesting that I'm just now thinking this I don't think I have ever had a student athlete send me an email to say I'm going to be out because I'm sick or I can't make it because I'm just sort of thinking that out loud right now. So one more reason to admire people who take on this track. I mean, here you're talking to a faculty person who doesn't exercise Right, so I admire you already just for doing that. That's fantastic. So you know, as you were thinking about what's next, talk to us about what was going through your mind as you were making that transition from you could do it from your undergrad to the masters or from the masters to sort of the real world. What was going on in your head Because I think that's the essence of this podcast is to help people that may have been, say, student athletes or non-student athletes. How do you make that leap? What can you take with you?

Speaker 1: 7:03

So my whole college career was definitely it was interesting. You know I had a lot of ups and downs, I went through a lot of adversity, but the like, the five years that I was in college it definitely molded me into the young man that I am today. So this is from my perspective, because my perspective is a little bit different. So I always, in my mind, knew I was going to be a professional athlete. So when I went to Florida State I was under the impression, you know, I was going to do three years and then, you know, go to the NFL. But I got injured. I had like a multi-legged knee injury. That pretty much set me back a little bit in terms of me graduate, not graduating, but me going to the NFL at you know, such a young age. But you know, one thing that was always stressed to me was, you know, you always need to have a backup plan or always have you know another thing going on the side of football. So I always made sure, you know, that I was doing all of the. You know the lunches and the meeting, all of the people that came for, you know, career day and stuff and you know, grab their cars, did some interviews, did some, some internships, things of that nature. So I always did those things and made sure that, you know, I had something else to hold on to, such as a tray and things of that nature. So I did that and then that's why I ended up transferring to BC. You know, I just had a a pretty much needed to going to a new environment. You know, I've been through so much at Florida State mentally, physically, emotionally that I just wanted a fresh start, a new start. So I ended up going to Boston and I ended up doing the same thing. You know, I stayed another year. Then I spoke with my coach. He told me that it was best for me to come back another year.

Speaker 1: 9:05

Things didn't necessarily work out in the football aspect of us having a good season and it hurt me to my detriment, and I didn't get drafted. However, I still am in the NFL, which was the ultimate goal. So I'm still here. So that's the blessing end of it. But the transitions and everything that came along with it you know there's a lot of ups and downs and a lot of things that I didn't necessarily see coming. I didn't necessarily see me not getting drafted and all that means is that there's a certain amount of slots that NFL teams have to call your name and pick you to go to their team and then, after those slots are all allotted, they have a free agency period, which is about two hours after the draft, and then they can pick people from them too. So then I got picked during that time. But you know, I'm still, I still, you know, achieve my goal and everything.

Speaker 1: 10:08

But the transition is one thing, to talk about it and then, when you're actually in it, it does a little different, you know, but I definitely feel like I was prepared and I definitely feel like, you know, I had to write mindset and I had to write just everything in order to handle whatever was thrown at me. You know, I was still and like I mentioned, you know having those things on the side outside of football. You know, I have my life insurance license, I'm licensed in seven states and I have my real estate license and I'm licensed in Massachusetts and I'm gonna get my license out here in California and then whatever NFL team I end up on this year, I'm more than likely get my life insurance and real estate license for that state too.

Speaker 2: 10:53

You know that sounds really fantastic because I think you hit also at a key point where you know when you're in it it's a little bit more challenging. So, shall we say, you know, uncertainty, anxiety, all of those things come along messing up motivation. But you know, when you've had a little bit of time to reflect on it, it sounds like you know you got into that really good position where you're at now. I mean how fantastic you've got. You know, more options.

Speaker 2: 11:25

I think oftentimes, particularly with sports, athletes, celebrities, et cetera, you know we only hear about, oh, this is it, they've made it to the top, but we don't know about those transition stories so much. And I think one of the other things is, as you were talking about it, I could hear in your voice this, just this immense comfort with that transition. You, even as you were talking, you were smiling, and you know how many of us could really smile when we're having those transitions. That's usually not the time we're smiling, but you know, from a reflective perspective, it seems like that's one of the things that I get from this, and I also love your strategy of not putting all your eggs in one basket, so to speak.

Speaker 2: 12:16

You know, and so where did you get that idea from? How did you come about this notion of? I mean, it's one thing, I guess, to have a particular goal, a very specific goal, and this is what I'm going to do in life. But sometimes, as you say, life happens, Sometimes we go in different directions. So how did you sort of know to have alternate plans as well?

Speaker 1: 12:42

So I definitely heard it from both of my parents and I definitely heard it from all of the people that came and spoke with us too Like the thing about football and the thing about professional sports is one you won't be able to play it forever. Like your body's going to give up at some point. You won't be able to run as fast, jump as high, hit as hard. At some point you know it's going to start to deteriorate. So you want to be able to have something that's going to sustain you.

Speaker 1: 13:07

And then also, too, it's like you could have a 20 year career. Like, if I have a, let's say, I have a 10 to 15 year NFL career, I will still be in my 30s. So it's like you're still going to be extremely young, but this area in this thing that you pretty much devoted your life to, for your whole life, is over, you know. And then it's like you still have all of this life ahead, and I think one of the things that a lot of people don't understand, like one of the one of the the the good examples of this, is of Tom Brady right, tom Brady, the greatest quarterback of all time, and he retired at 42 years old. I that's still very young, 42 years old, is still young and he played football.

Speaker 2: 13:56

He played football right.

Speaker 1: 13:58

Yeah, Just checking just double checking, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 14:02

But you play football for about like 23 years. Sure, you know, he's still in his 40s, early 40s. So it was like you still have a lot of life ahead after that. You're still young. So it's like people, a lot of people, they come back and they and they tell us about these things, and then it's like you have a lot of influence as an athlete, no matter what sports are in. So with that influence, you're able to, you know, go into rooms that you might not have necessarily been able to go in Because you might not have had all of the correct credentials.

Speaker 1: 14:32

However you're, you're an athlete. So it was like if you're able to use that to your advantage, then you can be able to propel yourself in whatever area and aspect that you want to be in. You know, and that's what a lot of smart athletes I feel like do you know? It's like once you're, once you're in, you know a certain, a certain level, you start to you know like, let's say, you want to do a business, or you want to get into modeling, or you want to get into some of these other things. It's like once you start to branch out into those things, it's like you're already so immersed Once you're done playing the sport, it's like you already have the knowledge, the experience and the connections and the people in order to, you know, be able to make the transition a little bit easier.

Speaker 1: 15:17

But you know, like the transition is always going to be the transition, it's always going to be hard and it's always going to be difficult, especially since it's something that you've done your whole life. But that's what. That's pretty much what everybody has told me. So definitely it got instilled in me at a young age and I'm able to implement it.

Speaker 2: 15:37

That's fantastic. You know, as I'm just sort of making notes as you're talking, I have a question I would have just sort of test out. I've never asked this question before Again, you know, not your sports professor here. Is the art of football like life and leadership? The tackling that we've got to do, the, I think, this offense defense, whatever that means in football terms Is it? Is it sort of like football? Is it like life and leadership?

Speaker 1: 16:10

Yes, and the. The best way I can explain it is that and football is a team sport right, you're as strong as your weakest link and Oftentimes that's really out of your control. The best thing that you can do in football is your job. So one thing that we always say is do your 111, and all that means is that there's 11 people on your side of the ball and You're that one person. So as long as you do your 111, then you're good. You know, make sure that you do your 111 first and then you worry about everybody else.

Speaker 1: 16:48

And I think that that relates to life as well, because there's there's a lot of things that are out of your control. You know you can do all of the things that you need to do and you know life is still gonna life. You know you still might not win. You still, you know you, you might Catch the ball. Right, you might catch the ball. You might score touchdown. However, the offense alignment he got a penalty on the play. You did your job and scored, but now the touchdown gets negated because there was a penalty from another player on your side of the ball.

Speaker 1: 17:24

You know and you can relate that to life and stuff as well, it's like you can do all of the things that you need to do in order to get this job or in order to, you know, get this promotion, but the company goes bankrupt and now you're out of a job. It's like you did everything that you're supposed to do, but somebody else didn't hold their end of the bargain up and it's like there's really nothing that you can do in your power To change it, because it's out of your control. So I do think that there's a lot of life lessons in Football, a lot when it comes to, like, injuries, when it comes to losses, when it comes to training. Like it's just I, I, just I can relate a lot of stuff to to football.

Speaker 2: 18:05

I see a book in the making, because now you know, coming from the my sort of leadership lens, I see it as well that there's a lot of similarities in terms of leadership, and I'll just I took a few minutes before our Meeting today to just scan the internet for Jaden Woodbay and I think what was really interesting is I just picked out a few things in articles that describe you strong work, ethic, discipline, instinctual, great personality, change of direction skills, good balance, good zone instincts, active and unity, solid family background, very willing to stick his nose in it.

Speaker 2: 18:46

So now as I'm reading that just so the listeners know I was referring to football skills, but I'm reading it from the leadership lens and I'm thinking to myself Now there's some leadership qualities that I don't think we always really talk about, but they are so applicable. I mean I could just pull out Good zone instincts Wow, there's one for leadership. I mean you, you've got to have that ability. You know, active and community Change of direction skills. I mean those, those just scream Strategic leader to me, and so that's that's where I was coming up with that question that I asked earlier.

Speaker 1: 19:29

Yeah, yeah, for sure, yeah, no, I I can Definitely say that those go hand in hand. They go hand in hand and in life and in football. And, like, I feel like one of the bit, one of the best things about being a leader is, in order for you to lead, you have to be able to serve. So, in order for me to get a group of people to actually believe in what I'm saying and do as I do, I have to be able to show that I'm willing to learn from them and willing to help them and willing to be eye to eye with them. And that's one thing that I definitely did in football and I think that's part of the reason why I was a two-year captain at Boston College was because of that I was able to actually connect with my teammates and help them out and be there for them, not only on the field but off the field. I was always trying to do stuff to bring people together, because I always know that if you have a good chemistry like no matter what you'll be able to get through whatever situation. Like even I have a perfect example. This is football terms. I don't know if you'll be able to get it, but I'm gonna try and put it in layman's terms. Oh, you're good.

Speaker 1: 20:58

One of my old teammates. Me and him were pretty much like brothers. We argued like brothers, we made up like brothers, we did everything. We even lived across the street from each other, but we were playing. I think we were playing Virginia Tech, and it was a certain play that me and him both knew were coming, and he already knew what I was gonna do, which prompted him to do something else. And we ended up making a good play. And I ended up making a good play because I knew like all right, I know that he knows I'm gonna do this, so he's gonna have my back just in case something bad happens.

Speaker 1: 21:41

And I ended up making a play. But you saw that he was there to make sure that I was good and it's like that's chemistry. We never talked about it. We never did anything. All we did was look at each other and shook our head and did what we had to do. So I feel like that can tie into something work related as well. If you have a team and you guys have a strategy and you might not be there, they might be like all right, I know exactly what Jayden wants. I know he's not here, but I think that he would like this. And then it's like once I see the project, I'm like oh yeah, it's perfect. It's like things of that nature. That's why I feel like it definitely connects. That's fantastic.

Speaker 2: 22:21

I absolutely agree with you and I see a book that we can co-author in the future. So anyone listening know you cannot take our idea. So I saw you on TikTok. I mean I enjoy my TikTok and I'm scrolling through and there you pop up and you're in your car and you're having some different food. Tell me this is. I absolutely caught my attention, but tell me about what's going on there.

Speaker 1: 22:53

Oh man, I just I mean, I love the cooking is definitely something that I do, you know, like my pastime and I love food as well. So I follow a lot of people that do food reviews. So I was just like, man, you know I can do a couple and I pretty much did it. I did a little bit. You know I'm training this stuff right now so I can't go too crazy on the foods. So you know I managed to do a little bit. But yeah, no, it's pretty fun, it's pretty cool. I like eating, I like reviewing. I reviewed to my, you know, to my girlfriend and to my parents and to my brother. So I was like, might as well, you know, reviewed to the world.

Speaker 2: 23:36

Well, this is the beauty of these sort of things, right, and I think, quite frankly, that's TikTok, but it does connect us. Tell us about what's next for Chayton, what is next for you in life?

Speaker 1: 23:52

So I mean right now, you know, I'm pursuing my football career. Still, I'm selling life insurance as well, so I've managed to be able to do both of those things and that's pretty much it. That's pretty much where my focus and where my mind and stuff is at as of right now. I'll definitely venture into other things as well once I get my football stuff back on track, but that's pretty much it as of right now.

Speaker 2: 24:21

So be pretty much open, entrepreneurial type mindset yeah Right, just whatever comes along, I'll tackle it.

Speaker 1: 24:29

Oh, that's another football one.

Speaker 2: 24:31

I got that in there. This is like three for me. I'm totally amazed. So on our podcast, we like to ask this question and that is what would you tell the seven year old who is just starting to think about life and what I'm gonna do with it? What would you tell that seven year old?

Speaker 1: 24:56

I would tell that seven year old one to dream for the stars. You could really do whatever you want. And then they might not understand it at the moment, but I feel like the more that they think on it they will. But don't let somebody else's limitations limit you. Just because somebody else can't do it doesn't mean that you can't. And that would be like the biggest thing of advice, the biggest advice I can give anybody, because it's like, at the end of the day, those are other people's thoughts and limitations and beliefs and they're not yours. You don't have to adopt them. And that would be. Those would be the two things.

Speaker 2: 25:38

That's fantastic. Do you think in your early years you sort of knew that you adopted it, or is it something that you had to kind of ultimately work your way and get to?

Speaker 1: 25:52

I feel like I definitely knew that. However, the higher up you try to go, the more people you have to actually try to bring you down. You know, and it sounds cliche, but if you actually have people that tell you like, oh, that might be a little too much, or I don't know if that's possible, or you know you just got to relax, like that's too much, you're gonna drive yourself crazy. You know like things, things that those things of that nature you know like and you hear that so much. You hear that so much. But if you have, you know, a solid support system and that's one thing I feel like everybody should have and I'm blessed to have had it it's a strong support system to help navigate you and to help get rid of that BS. You know, like when I told my professors, or when I told my academic advisors at Florida State that I was trying to graduate in Two and a half years.

Speaker 1: 26:49

I wanted to graduate in two and a half. I have one more class that I needed to take, but I would have to come out of pocket and I didn't want to do that. I wanted to disease my scholarship. So I did that. But, um, but when I, when I Told them that I wanted to graduate in two and a half. You know they had some Concern and you know they were worried if I was actually gonna be able to do it. And you know my dad pretty much told him, like, don't put your beliefs on him. He believes that he can do it. Now give him the opportunity to actually do it, because you don't know if he can. And I like, if you don't give him the opportunity, you'll never know if you'll be able to. And they gave me the opportunity and I did it.

Speaker 2: 27:33

So well, that's amazing. And three, three degrees in five years yeah, how impressive a football career. You know life insurance, real estate. Look, all I can say is I, I remember you. I remember Some other student athletes, football players in particular In my classes. I can't wait to catch up with them as well, and I just know that you're gonna continue to do really inspiring and awesome things and make a difference. I mean, there's just you know, there's just no question. I knew that actually, honestly, the first day I met you in class. So it has been an honor, a pleasure to catch up with you today. Can't wait to hear student reactions to this podcast, and so thank you all very much and a very big shout out to Boston College, northeastern University, swinburne University and, of course, our audio engineer, jared Samarovski. Thank you and have a great day.

Speaker 1: 29:04

You.