What happens when the defensive coordinator at the University of Utah and one of BYU’s most accomplished soccer alums meet? They record a podcast.
Morgan Scalley joined Ashley Hatch on “The Ditto Podcast,” which Hatch hosts with her mental performance coach, Dr. Matt Moore.
It might have seemed like an unlikely pairing, but the result led to an hour-long conversation on topics ranging from faith to leadership.
Here are four takeaways from Scalley’s appearance on the podcast.
What Morgan Scalley said about faith
The first topic of the podcast centered on faith. Scalley, Hatch and Moore are all members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Scalley, who served a mission for the church in Munich, Germany, said he is “very strong in my faith.”
He shared that he recently gave a religious fireside and centered his remarks on the 10 things he wanted his daughter to know before she goes to college this year.
One of those things was to “seek him, not perfection,” referring to Jesus Christ.
“In seeking perfection, it’s easy to get lost in what are people looking for instead of just, if I truly seek Christ and how he lived life, how he loved, how he healed, and you know, he lived with and amongst the sinners and loved them, and he didn’t care who you were,” Scalley said. “He just wanted you to become better and as long as you get to know what that life is like, you know, perfection doesn’t matter.”
Scalley noted his love of the late Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He shared multiple quotes from Elder Maxwell, who performed Scalley’s wedding.
Quoting Elder Maxwell’s book, “All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience,” Scalley said, “If it’s fair, it is not a true trial.”
He added, “You may need that sense of unfairness to really go through what you need to become better, to become what God wants you to become.”
Hatch then said she believes that Jesus Christ “is a perfect example of that” because “everything that he went through was not fair.”
When experiencing a situation that feels unfair, Hatch feels that the world tells her to “stand up for yourself,” she said, but Hatch thinks another approach is needed.
“Sometimes it’s like, ‘No, I just need to swallow my pride and sit there and humble myself and be as kind and loving and patient with myself, with others, whatever the situation may be, and I oftentimes don’t think I could do that if I didn’t have an example like the Savior in my life because that’s how he lived his life. And he didn’t have any reservations to just extend love to everyone, even though they treated him terribly,” she said.
Leadership and adopting a growth mindset
Scalley credited Tim Kight, who was a leadership consultant to Urban Meyer, for his leadership philosophy.
A huge focus of Kight’s message was on having a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset, which has become a big part of the Utah football program, Scalley said.
“This is plastered on every single wall in each of our position rooms. The growth mindset is simply, ‘Building a skill takes time and effort. I will invest the time and be tenaciously persistent. I understand that discomfort is part of the process. But if I avoid discomfort, I prevent learning. I will make mistakes and they will teach me. I want feedback and coaching’ and this is what has happened to me,” he said.
Scalley acknowledged his own mistakes, such as his racism scandal in 2020, and how important it has been for him to maintain a growth mindset following his mistakes.
“I have made mistakes — some bigger than others — but, man, have I made mistakes, and if I don’t allow those mistakes to teach me, to teach me how to become more loving, more giving, more empathetic, better in a skill or whatever that is, then I have not allowed the experience to benefit me, whatever that experience is supposed to be,” he said.
Transferrable life skills from sports
Near the end of the episode, Scalley turned the tables on Hatch, asking her what transferrable life skills she had gained from playing soccer.
Hatch listed consistency, especially when it comes to the little things, and how she treats people.
“I’ve learned so much through the game of soccer that has really helped me in life and I know that’s going to help me continue on whenever I decide to finish playing,” she said.
Scalley noticed the soft skills football had taught him when he was filling out his application to enroll in the University of Utah’s business master’s program.
One of the questions asked Scalley about his business experience, which he didn’t have.
“I started writing down, ‘I perform my job in front of millions of people. I perform my job under pressure. I work with people from different backgrounds, different parts of the country, different parts of the world. The value of leadership, the importance of discipline, showing up on time, giving feedback, receiving feedback, and the more I wrote, the more I’m like, ‘Heck yeah,’” he said.
Hatch chimed in to say Scalley was overqualified for the program.
“Those transferable skillsets, I mean, there’s a reason why you get these headhunters out there looking for people and the first place they go is athletics,” Scalley said.
Morgan Scalley on the Utes’ 2025 season hopes
With new players and coaches having joined the Utes, Moore asked Scalley about his hope and optimism for the upcoming season.
Scalley said he was “very excited” for Utah’s 2025 season after a “fantastic” spring.
“I love the energy coming from the other side of the ball. Devon Dampier at quarterback is going to be dynamic. The offensive line is incredible. I’m excited. This is a good group of young men,” he said. “Obviously, to have a great season you have to have things bounce your way at times and staying healthy is part of that, but yeah, love what we have coming back and excited for another season.”
