Interview with Jason Rogers and Jared Garren
Jason Rogers is an owner of Destine Performance, is a former collegiate and professional athlete. After ending his football career in 2007, he began his coaching career at William Chrisman High School. Since then, he has coached at Park Hill South and most recently Lee’s Summit North as an Offensive Coordinator. Among the many accolades Jason has amassed, he is most proud of his ability to help young athletes reach their potential through speed & agility and strength training. Jason has trained all levels of athletes ranging from little league to professionals.
Jared Garren is the owner of Caring Mobility Transportation which is a non-emergency transit company with wheelchair vans. He played baseball and football growing up. He moved into more academics in high school as he thought he was going to law school. He attended Missouri Southern and then he ended up leaving college to pursue music full time. He has a daughter named Myla who is 13 years old and plays softball.
They both created the Destine Performance facility in Missouri in 2020. It’s a female oriented facility open for all athletes.
Below I have written most of what we talked about but you can listen to the full podcast HERE.
Q: How has being girl dads shaped your facility’s goals?
A: Jared - I think it’s about 99.9% of why we do what we do here. We love to see girls have big dreams and putting in the work to achieve those dreams. We love having other girls just like them see their success and wonder what they’re doing, where they’re going and who they’re working with. Having this big passion project and something that’s tied into our families is a big part of not only why we do it but why it’s successful.
Q: Have you ever seen any of your athletes face injuries or setbacks? How did they handle those?
A: Jason - What we’ve come to find out with young athletes is there are 2 ways they get injured. It may be not having the physical tools that they need. It might be the way that they stretch, how they prepare for their games, not enough strength and conditioning and plyometrics. A lot of our athletes when they get injured they find the best way to get through it. They find a way to rehab to get back into their sport. With the direction we’re headed, we’re hoping not to see too many injuries. We approach all of our lifting and speed and agility to prevent injuries . That is a big thing we like to focus on.
Jared - To add to that, Myla has had issues in the past. When she was coming up younger, she’s broken both wrists and had surgery on one of them due to growth plate issues. A really big issue is she deals with, a genetic issue, with hyper mobility. She has to ability to bend her joints in ways that most people can’t and the problem with that is her knee caps like to dislocate. It’s happened several times, usually on the field when she’s doing something particular or she does a sharp change of direction. Strengthening certain muscles and training with Jason has helped reduced the amount of injury she has to deal with. It makes her more confident to know that her body is more prepared for those situations and she doesn’t have to play hesitant. It’s been really big to see her grow in spite of injury.
Q: How have you seen athletes transition out of sports? What were some ways they have handled that transition?
A: Jason - You’re kind of programed to get through your sport and then once you know that the journey is over, there are no professional opportunities. It’s like you should go into the work force, find something you can do decently, and live life. I hope young athletes get from this that you don’t have to go the conventional way. I’ve been in social work for almost 14 years and that’s great and I’ve gained a lot of important relationships. You can do this. You can open a gym or a facility that’s focused on a certain sport or athletics in general. A lot of athletes, they’re just done which breaks my heart. We created this in hopes that athletes can go a different route. You can take the skill that you spent all your life on and do something similar with it.
Jared - Here at Destine we have 4 former division 1 softball players. The cool thing is to see where their lives have taken them since going from full time in the sport to being in instruction. They’ve gotten a chance to learn from coaches and they have a lot of knowledge to pass on to the next generation of kids. I think it allows them to fill that hole at least a little bit. I think you can agree there’s nothing like stepping on the field in the middle of a competition. But I think to be able to continue that vicariously through their kids in instruction and to know they had a small part with what they’re doing, whether it be school or travel ball, is cool to see for us. It’s nice to see them give back their time back to our community and our girls and pass on those things that they’ve picked up on over the years.
Q: What kind of mental performance training do you incorporate to your facility?
A: Jason - We have multiple people that come in and do lessons that are very competitive and tough on all of the athletes that come through the door. I think a huge part of how we develop the mental side of the game is what we do in the weight room. It’s competitive and very tough and a lot of character is built in this room. As athletes, we know that the stronger and more explosive we are the more confidence we have.
Jared - The little lessons that are taught in between the lines. You may not be doing a rep but somebody else is. To be able to cheer that person on, have their back, be positive, give that energy that you’ve got to them to make them better. They’ll do the same thing for you when you go. We’re here as a group and it’s a team sport and it’s an individual competition at the same time. We teach these girls to lift each other up and build confidence in themselves. Be their biggest cheerleaders outside of coaches and parents and families. It’s okay to do those things and if anything that’s what’s going to push all of you to be better. We do have a trainer in house that does boxing instruction. Different things like that helps breed a level of confidence in these girls. If we can do anything to help breed confidence within them with how strong they are, how much drive they have and that there is no dream too big for them is huge. It’s cool to see these girls come out of here dripping in sweat but a huge smile on their face.
Q: Do you have anything else to add?
A: Having a home for former athletes is huge. That was one of the big holes we saw in our area was that we saw plenty of places for boys and baseball facilities. There weren’t too many places specifically for softball. We are trying to give girls the tools that will cross supply for the rest of their life. They can go to college to get a good degree, get a good job and still be leaders, be confident in themselves, and not be afraid to stand up and point out what’s wrong, to give them a voice. Once An Athlete gives former athletes that voice. It’s inspiring to hear those stories.
If you have any more questions for Jason and Jared, please leave comments below or contact me. If you or someone you know is struggling, please call the Suicide Hotline. It’s toll free and available 24/7 at 800-273-8255.
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