Q&A With Musician and Former Highland Rugby Player Jon Schmidt
Can you tell us about an experience you had with the Highland Rugby team?
The most amazing thing was in the first week, the first practice, my friend said, “Just so you know, Larry, on purpose tries to weed people out, so the first practice he tries to freak people out a little bit.” I remember it was muddy…there was a little bit of snow left on the March field and we all lined up for separaters — which is a football term where two guys basically come at each other full speed for tackling drills, and I had always done those with pads my whole life, so to see these being done without pads was just kind of amazing to me. And I think, easily, about half of the kids that were there for that practice left and didn’t come back the next practice.
Tell us about an experience with Coach where he has mentored you and what the team stands for.
Just humor. The whole idea of “don’t take yourself too seriously,” that was such a hallmark of Larry. They really could have brought that out in the movie and it would have been a comedy. It would have changed that show to a comedy because he was always, I would say, not more than five minutes would pass without him telling some sort of joke or putting a humorous twist on things. I never once heard him rip into a player or talk to him like a kid, like in a condescending manner. Not once. Always very respectful and just talked to you like he respected you — like he treated like what you could become, not the dorky teenager that you were.
Tell us about the principles Coach taught you.
There was a lot of emphasis on your character, not just your sports ability, but who who you were inside. A lot of emphasis on that from day one.
Tell us about the trip to Hawaii.
One of the things that I will never forget about Larry was when we were sitting on a beach in Hawaii — we were there for a tournament — we were just sitting there, it was me and another player and Larry on the beach. The other player was trying to challenge Larry a little bit, see if he could stump him a little bit with some of his questions. He said, “There are so many guys that just party and have a lot of fun in high school and don’t worry about living the standards of the church and then they repent and go on a mission and everything’s great.” And he says, “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t just do that.” And Larry’s answer was so great. You know, the seminary teacher in him was – he was a master teacher. He took out the stick, drew in the sand and I think he referred to Doctrine and Covenants 50 where it says he that continues in God receives light and that light grows brighter — or receives more light — and that light grows brighter and brighter till the perfect day. And he said, “Okay, let’s take two 16-year-olds and the one lives the commandments and he’s going to grow this much light in the next four, five years by the time he’s ready to get married. Then you take the 16-year-old that doesn’t care about light and he has this much light at the same point four years later.” Then he asks him, “Which one would you rather be?” You know, “Which one’s going to attract you a better wife? Which one’s going to give you more advantages in your future life: to be in this situation or that situation?” It was just the perfect answer, and given with humor I’m sure, but you know, it was great. It was one that actually stuck with me and I’ve actually given that lesson now to probably hundreds of people when I’ve been teaching throughout the years.
Tell us the story about when you guys went to Nationals.
The year we went to the National Championships, I had committed to play — to accompany — for my father’s choir and we had been rehearsing for months. I think we were using some sort of synthesizer that night and there really was no way for anyone to take my place. It was just one of those deals where I had this commitment to my dad. We came to find out that the National Championship would be played the same weekend as the choir concert and Larry never once made me feel guilty or feel pressure or anything like that. In fact, he supported my commitment to my dad and told me how he admired it and it was heartfelt. And he tried every way to bend over backwards to help me to be able to participate in the National Championships and the plan was that if we made it to the finals then I would have to hurry to the airport and catch the last flight out that day and make it back for my dad’s concert. And we did get to the finals and I had to miss that last game and Larry personally drove me to the airport and the whole way it was nothing but support and admiration that I felt for him for keeping that commitment to my dad. And I know that he felt that it was not an ideal situation for the team to have somebody step in last minute to take my place in the back line because it kind of fouls up the rhythm when you’re not used to the person next to you. They ended up losing. But I think the whole team learned that Larry puts sports second and puts people first. If there was an issue in their life that superseded sports, he had no problem making that number one. That’s something that will always live with me and something that I will always admire Larry Gelwix for. I think that in my own life, it’s made me put my family first in my career. A music career can so easily wipe out your family things, but I’m so glad that I think that right from the start as I tried to structure my career, I was able to avoid things right from the get-go that probably would’ve gotten in the way of me being a father and those types of things. Larry was just a great example that way.
How did playing for Highland and playing for Coach get you on your mission? And where did you serve?
Just having Larry’s influence, his example – there was never a question that the Gospel was number one priority in his life. You felt his testimony whenever you’re around him. It was just a great reinforcement to my testimony that was young at the time, just to hear – just to be with him. I’m sure that it influenced me not only to go on a mission but to value things that are most important. It’s hard to keep a perspective on those things – especially when you’re a teenager – but Larry Gelwix just seemed to always have perspective. That’s his gift – he just always has perspective.
Has what you’ve learned helped you to be a better father?
I think one thing that makes a good father is somebody that keeps their priorities in place. It’s so easy, when you get into your career, it’s so easy to get off balance. But to see an example of somebody who kept their priorities straight was amazing. Saying people are more important than a game – that’s pretty cool from a coach.
Here’s why I respect Larry Gelwix: he has integrity. He would back up what he said and you knew that he never said one thing and did another. He was not duplicit at all. I admire him so much because he taught everybody about hard work. Those practices were very, very demanding and he expected and got the best out of those kids. I’ll never forget when he said at the beginning of the season, “If you do exactly what I say, we won’t lose.” One of the things he wanted was you running your two miles every night after practice. He wanted you giving your full effort. And just the way he would get it out of you… I admire Larry Gelwix because he didn’t talk down, he respected the kids that he worked with and somehow he did it all with amazing humor. I really respect the way he did it all with a sense of humor.
I think Larry Gelwix has really helped me as a teacher. I’ve been teaching a lot in my church callings and I will often use things that I heard Larry Gelwix teach. And I will often remember, I will often think to myself, “You know, Larry Gelwix could say this with a sense of humor, so I feel totally comfortable saying it with a sense of humor.” I think it’s allowed me to reach a lot of youth that I probably would have never been able to reach had I never known Larry Gelwix.
.
JON SCHMIDT IN CONCERT
Jon Schmidt | patrick April 9, 2009
