🏈 “The greatest athletes aren’t the most talented. They’re the ones who keep showing up when it’s hard.”
In this powerful episode of The Good Hustle, John Henry sits down with his friend and Central PA legend Dave Heckard, former D1 football player, Penn State wrestler, and championship coach, for a conversation about life, loss, legacy, and the relentless pursuit of showing up.
From taking hits at Villanova to building Mechanicsburg’s winning culture, Dave has lived the highs of college athletics and the heartbreak of walking away from coaching to care for his father battling dementia. He opens up about grief, identity, and finding purpose when the playbook no longer makes sense.
We also get into:
✔ What’s really wrong with youth sports today
✔ Why “showing up” beats talent every time
✔ The home run that humbled him at 12
✔ How Mechanicsburg built a 10-0 season from grit, not hype
✔ The rise of girls’ wrestling and Alexis Pancoast’s bright future
📣 This one’s for the parents, the athletes, the coaches, and anyone out there wrestling with the hard stuff.
🎧 Listen if you’ve ever doubted your path, hit a wall, or wondered if the grind is worth it.
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📲 Follow Coach Heckard:
🔗 Facebook
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🙌 Special Thanks To:
A Plus Mortgage Solutions
Deer Valley Land Transfer
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🎧 Listen to The Good Hustle Podcast:
✔ Spotify ➝ The Good Hustle Podcast
✔ Apple Podcasts ➝ The Good Hustle Podcast
👕 Grab Some Merch ➝ Link
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