#201: Coaching America's Best - Army West Point Head Coach Joe Alberici and Naval Academy Head Coach Joe Amplo

For one day, the rivalry shifts from the battlefield to the lacrosse field. Green Berets. Navy SEALs. America's most elite special operations forces compete with the same intensity, discipline, and commitment to excellence that defines their military careers. But when the final whistle blows, the score becomes secondary to the brotherhood. Live from the 2nd Annual Stars and Stripes Classic https://greenberetfoundation.org/stars-and-stripes-classic/, Fran Racioppi https://www.linkedin.com/in/francisracioppijr/sat down with Army Head Coach Joe Alberici https://goarmywestpoint.com/staff-directory/joe-alberici/187 and Navy Head Coach Joe Amplo https://navysports.com/staff-directory/joe-amplo/489 just hours before the teams took the field. While the rivalry between Army and Navy is one of the greatest traditions in sports, both coaches know the game has always represented something much bigger than winning. Every practice, every workout, and every lesson on the lacrosse field is preparing young men and women to lead under pressure, overcome adversity, and serve their country with honor. Our conversation examines how service academy athletics develops leaders ready to fight and win our nation’s wars. Coach Alberici and Coach Amplo explain why competition, accountability, and resilience are not just traits of great athletes - they are the same qualities required to lead in combat. As kickoff approaches, the focus shifts from strategy to mindset. Compete relentlessly. Trust your training. Focus on the next play. Because whether it's on the lacrosse field, on a Special Forces ODA or SEAL platoon, success is built on discipline, accountability, and teammates who refuse to let each other fail. Army and Navy compete to make each other better because one day these young men and women will stand together in defense of America. Highlights: 0:00 Introduction2:02 Welcome to the Stars & Stripes Classic2:39 Preparing for the Game5:34 Playing at USMA & USN14:01 Ownership & Accountability17:03 Pregame Message Quotes: “The excitement and desire to be a part of this again from the community was incredible.”“My number one job is to keep you from yourself.”“I have such a love, respect, and aberration for a young person just to be looking at these academies.”“Both of our institutions uncover the best version of the human being that’s inside.”“They have to be good humans who contribute to society because even their military service is going to end at some point.”“You’re always looking to mentor.”“Great leaders hold themselves to the higher standard as consistent as they possibly can.”“The best leaders hold each other and others to that standard consistently.” “Each day we tell a young man we’re trying to build you a masterpiece.”“Before you hold others accountable, you got to hold yourself accountable.”“Go back to the basics.”“Let’s just make sure we’re getting onto the next play.” The Jedburgh Podcast is brought to you by OneBrief https://www.onebrief.com/; enabling military leaders to make innovative, informed and deliberate decisions faster than ever before. Superhuman command wins wars. Follow the Jedburgh Podcast https://www.instagram.com/jedburghpodcast/ and the Green Beret Foundation https://www.instagram.com/greenberetfoundation/ on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform https://pod.link/1558608802, read on our website https://greenberetfoundation.org/the-jedburgh-podcast/, and watch the full video version on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@jedburghpodcast as we show why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:02Fran Racioppi?

  For one day, the rivalry shifts from the battlefield to the lacrosse field. Green Berets, Navy SEALs, America's most elite special operations forces competing with the same intensity, discipline, and commitment to excellence that defines their military careers. But when the final whistle blows, the score becomes secondary to the brotherhood. Live from the second annual Stars and Stripes Classic, I sat down with Army Head Coach Joe Alberici and Navy Head Coach Joe Amplo just hours before the teams took to the field. While the rivalry between Army and Navy is one of the greatest traditions in sports, both coaches know the game has always represented something much bigger than winning. Every practice, every workout, and every lesson on the lacrosse field is preparing

• 0:46Fran Racioppi?

  young men and women to lead under pressure, overcome adversity, and serve their country with honor. We examine how Service Academy Athletics develop leaders ready to fight and win our nation's wars. Coach Albarichi and Coach Amplo explain why competition, accountability, and resilience are not just traits of great athletes, they're the same qualities required to lead in combat. As kickoff approaches, the focus shifts from strategy to mindset. Compete relentlessly. Trust your training. Focus on the next play. Because whether it's on the lacrosse field, on a special forces ODA, or a SEAL platoon, success is built on discipline, accountability, and teammates who refuse to let others fail.

• 1:29Fran Racioppi?

  Army and Navy compete to make each other better because one day, these young men and women will stand together in defense of America. The Jedberg Podcast is brought to you by OneBrave, enabling military leaders to make innovative, informed, and deliberate decisions faster than ever before. Superhuman command wins wars. Follow the Jedberg Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform, read on our website, and watch the full video version on YouTube as we show you why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge. Coach Amplo, Coach Albarichi, welcome to the Jedberg Podcast.

• 2:06Speaker 01

  Great to be with you.

• 2:07Fran Racioppi?

  This is year two of the Stars and Stripes Classic. Labor Day weekend, this time we left Gillette last year. Coach Amplo's team took down Our team by two goals, hard fought game, all around hard fought game. I think there were some guys in ice baths and cryo chambers for probably weeks after. But we had to start looking forward and I know that from the Green Beret side, everybody said we're on to the next year. And they put a lot of work going into this year, but I wanted to spend a minute just talking about from each of your perspectives. What you've seen in the team thus far and how you prepared to come into tonight.

• 2:44Speaker 02

  Well, certainly the excitement from last year's event, I think everybody left that experience. Overwhelmed and blown away from a positive standpoint, how successful we thought it was. Winning or losing was just the experience of being together. And the excitement and the desire to be a part of this again from the community was incredible, you know. So just selecting the roster was a challenge because there were so many more individuals that were curious and excited to try and be a part of the team. You know, our team this year, I think is a little bit younger. We try, we realized that quickly in the game that youth is probably the biggest skill set that we that we try and acquire in the player acquisition phase of things.

• 3:23Fran Racioppi?

  Which is not something you guys are used to having to deal with in your regular job.

• 3:27Speaker 01

  We'd rather not have youth than a college team.

• 3:28Fran Racioppi?

  We're getting 18 year olds, one way or another, yeah.

• 3:31Speaker 01

  Uh, listen, it was a fantastic experience for all involved, uh, me included. You know, really loved it, loved getting to know our guys and, you know, some true American heroes. And so it was real privileged to work with them, you know, immediately with all that the Green Beret uh, foundation had done for it and the PLL. Word got out on the street and I know our talent pool widened and, uh, you know, I think Charlie picked a great team and, you know, was excited to be working with them and you could see right away, you know, that these guys had been hard at work. Because they knew what to expect and they knew the scene that it would be. So, uh, really exceptional, uh, a couple of days of practice and, and I know we're excited to just get out and get after it.

• 4:14Speaker 01

  But listen, you know, the practice piece, first thing I tell them is like, my number one job is to keep you from yourself. You know, like, uh, we want to make sure everybody gets here on Monday, uh, uh, for this game and not leave it all out on the practice field because you know, they're just so competitive and, and so hungry that, you know, they would, they would literally leave it all out on the practice field if you let them. So just kind of bringing them in together a little bit and slowing it down and trying to put together the best product we could for tonight's game.

• 4:45Fran Racioppi?

  You have the amazing opportunity, both of you at West Point for you, Coach, and Coach, you're at the Naval Academy, but you really get to work with the best of the best in so many ways, every year in and year out, you know, folks who are committed to service at a young age, I mean, 16, 17 years old, saying, I gotta call my congressman, you know, I've gotta start the testing, I've gotta get myself prepared to make a decision that is not gonna affect me for the next year or two, but for the next eight years, almost at a minute, you know, four years, eight years usually at a minimum, when you talk about the service requirements, and then ultimately, so many of the folks from each of the academies spend

• 5:26Fran Racioppi?

  their a 20-plus year career and are successful for a long period of time. But you get to work with the best. Can you just talk about that experience and talk about what you see when you look at your candidates who are coming in from great high school programs? What do you want from each of them in your respective programs?

• 5:46Speaker 01

  Yeah, I'll just start with, you know, I have such a love, respect, and admiration for a young person just to be looking at these academies, because I think back to my, myself as a 16, 17-year-old, and I just wasn't mature enough to make that kind of decision, or even to, to look at something like that. So, you know, there's just such great respect and admiration that I have for them, because they've thought about that and they're thinking about serving their country. And then, you know, when it comes down to selection time, look, we're looking for talented athletes, right? And there's plenty of those out there. And then, you know, it starts to, to whittle down a little bit when you start to put that talented athlete with a, a selfless athlete. And then,

• 6:29Speaker 01

  furthermore, it starts to get whittled down a little bit when young people who are talented, selfless, but also willing to take a steeper path, you know, and that's what both of our academies represent, is a little steeper path. But that steeper path takes you to a higher point, and they become the greatest versions of themselves when they, when they go through United States Military Academy. I'm sure Joe would say the same thing about the Naval Academy. So you know, there is a little self-selection that goes on because of all it takes to be part of it. But listen, we're competing at the Division One level, at the highest level.

• 7:08Speaker 01

  And part of our job, not the only one, but part of our job is to win games. So we need to be there, you know, and looking at the best of the best. And you know, just been very fortunate over these past 20 years to have been able to to work with those young people who are willing to make those sacrifices and still compete at the highest level.

• 7:28Speaker 02

  And I would say, you know, echo Joe's point, you know, people on the outside often say that the young men and women that choose our academies and our institutions are built different. I disagree with that wholeheartedly. I think they choose different. And I think both of our institutions, they uncover the best version of the human being that's inside that no other places on the planet can truly reveal. The level of resiliency it takes to get through our places on a daily basis, I think uncovers the best of what this country has to see and deserves, you know? And I say to every young man who sits in our office and we talk to, this place will change your life regardless of the background that you come from. It will change your life because it's going to deliver to the world the best human being that you possibly can become.

• 8:08Speaker 02

  And that's not an easy thing for a young man or a young lady to choose. I think it's it's a challenging prospectus for them. And both Joe and I, that's what we look for. We want young men who want that challenge, who want to do tough things, who want to be pushed down and fail sometimes and then try and climb up and overcome that failure and try and charge to be successful at the highest level of our sport. And then deliver to the fleet, the Marine Corps and the Army, the best version of human beings that can serve and lead our country.

• 8:36Speaker 01

  Yeah. And I'll just add on to this, just on a very personal note, Joe's daughter, Sophia, is a junior midshipman. You know, so what greater testament can you have for the academy when you send your own daughter to it? And my daughter just finished plebe summer at West Point and where she'll be an Army lacrosse player also on our women's team. So we're about the place, you know, and what it can do for young men. But we're also very much about it in the fact that, you know, we've had our own children are going through it right now.

• 9:09Fran Racioppi?

  Yeah. You gotta be proud.

• 9:11Speaker 02

  I mean, you know, Joe's and Joe and I have talked about this. Very often the past few years, you know, and like I've said this before publicly, some of my proudest moments as the Navy coach have been the conversations I've had with Joe surrounding our daughters and the choices that they've made, you know, and as he's talking there, I'm truthfully getting chills up and down my spine. And, you know, I called him just as Pleep Summer ended at Army, just to see how his daughter was doing because I think it's really cool that him and I get to go through that journey together. We want to rip each other's faces off on game day in the Army Navy game. But, you know, at the end of the day, we're about, you know, trying to develop young men and young women, obviously with our daughters, to try and help them serve this great country. And that's, that's

• 9:55Speaker 02

  what matters most. And I think that's lost in the world of college athletics nowadays, but we try and hold on to that, that purity of what our jobs are, which is pretty cool.

• 10:04Fran Racioppi?

  Yeah, because at the end of the day, you're developing young men who, yes, they got to be great athletes. Yes, they have to be great soldiers and sailors and Marines, but they have to be good humans who contribute to society because even their military service is going to end at some point. And our goal in the development of them through the military is to return them back to civilian life as a high functioning, performing member who's contributing to society.

• 10:31Speaker 01

  Couldn't agree more. And listen, you know, the core tenet to great leadership is just being a great human being. And, you know, so if you're not that, you're not signing up for these academies, for sure, in being part of it. So, you know, there's urgency to both what Joe and I have to do and, and helping to prepare these young, young men in our cases to lead this country's soldiers and sailors, you know, and, and something I know we both take very seriously. And, and you got to do that through modeling and you got to do that through high expectations and, you know, and you got to make sure that you're always looking to mentor and try and develop because they're going to take what they've learned off of the, the playing fields and they're going to apply it to the companies

• 11:13Speaker 01

  and the people that they're leading and, and, you know, really, I know we both feel the exact same way in terms of just the seriousness of what we have to do because from an impact standpoint. Just based on the hours that they spend with you, the lacrosse field just becomes their leadership laboratory. You know, it's just what it is. And there's so many important things going on at our academies, but undoubtedly what they spend the most time with is lacrosse. Just that's just the nature of it. And the people that you surround them with and the coaching staff that you surround them with just has an enormous impact on their leadership style, which is going to affect them. And, you know, both of us have so many former

• 11:56Speaker 01

  players that are in this game tonight. And, you know, they often, many of them, you know, kind of go to the tip of the spear. And, you know, they seek these high level organizations within the Army and within the Navy. So, you know, and still call back on their times in the locker room and their times on the lacrosse field. So, you know, as much of it is such a joy for the young men to be a part of, you know, the leadership lessons are impactful and lasting and will resonate for a lifetime.

• 12:27Fran Racioppi?

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• 12:59Speaker 02

  And I think being around this weekend, I think it helps remind me, and I'm sure it does for Joe, the responsibility we do have, you know, because Joe was right. It is a leadership lab that that we are trying to operate and lead on the lacrosse field. But the burden of responsibility we have to deliver them to environments like these young men, or not young men, some, some young, but these men are going to the tip of the spear and doing really challenging things for our country. We owe it to these communities and to the community as a whole to provide the level of leadership, or at least development and have them make some mistakes and learn on the job, so to speak, in our lab, so that they can then lead the right people in these elite communities.

• 13:38Fran Racioppi?

  Yeah. Each of you is very high on accountability. Our elite unit operators, Navy SEALs, Green Berets, accountability separates them from so many of their peers, even within their respective services.

• 13:53Fran Racioppi?

  You can teach it to an extent, you've got to live it to a bigger extent, it has to be emulated, but what you'll see in a SEAL platoon or a Green Beret ODA is guys who come forward time and time again and take ownership for decisions, ownership for actions. As a detachment commander, the amount of times that guys would come to me and say, hey, I messed this up. And I'd say, I didn't even know, didn't even know, but it weighs on guys. A lot of that comes back to our time in athletics. In a lot of our conversations that I've had, I've talked about my experience as a Division One Rower at Boston University and how that set those conditions for me that I carried forward. How are you instilling ownership and accountability in your teams?

• 14:35Speaker 02

  Well, first, let me just address that you're a BU Rower and, you know, so it might get a little, there might be some discomfort on this side over here. So I just want to warn you there, just be careful. But look, I look at accountability as, there's two types of accountability, there's self accountability, right? You know, and each day we tell a young man, you're trying to build your masterpiece, right? You want to live a masterpiece life. Well, it starts with building your masterpiece each day and having self accountability. And I think the best leaders that I've seen, they're able to lead left and right, and they're able to lead up and down and not be afraid to step what they may see as out of bounds in their young lives and challenge a young man and that peer accountability, which I think is the most courageous and toughest thing for a young person to find

• 15:17Speaker 02

  is that, that boldness to try and be that leader that's going to hold his teammates to the standard that you expect. So, great leaders, they hold themselves to the higher standard, as consistent as they possibly can. The best leaders, they hold each other and others to that standard consistently.

• 15:33Fran Racioppi?

  Yeah, and listen, it starts with yourself, right? Before you can hold others accountable, you got to hold yourself accountable. And in the back of all of our guys locker, there's just a little mirror, you know, and it's not really for them to comb their hair or anything along those lines. It's just, they get an opportunity to look at that mirror right before they put their helmet up after practice and take a little inventory, because it's, they're the only ones that truly know whether they gave everything they had. You know, we can-

• 16:02Speaker 01

  Break it down for them and we have some film that might provide some evidence. But when you walk off the practice field, only you know what you gave and what you had left. And that's for any experience, you know, not only on the field, in the weight room. And once you've become a young person that can hold yourself accountable for things. Now we need you to start to help others on that same journey. Because listen, there isn't a person in the world that's tough all the time, you know, it just. I'm not, none of my players are, you know, the best of the best aren't tough all the time. And that's where your teammates come in, you know, and when you start to stray a little bit or, you know, start to negotiate with yourself just a little bit. That's when you, when you need somebody to step up and say, hey, come on.

• 16:44Speaker 01

  Like live to your standard, live to our standard and, and, uh, you know, when you do that and you've got teams that are, uh, leading themselves and, and we can kind of step aside and, and let them take ownership of all of it. That's when you have the, the greatest results.

• 16:58Fran Racioppi?

  Well, we got a couple of hours before the game. You guys are going to leave here, you're going to go to your respective teams. You're going to have a message for each one of them. Coach, you brought up for a second, the rivalry, you know, and the rivalry lives, right? It lives in sports, it lives with it between the academies, it lives between the services. And we're brothers, the SEALs and the Green Berets will stand up for each other, we stand behind each other. I served as an O D A commander under a Navy SEAL SEAL task unit for two deployments as my higher headquarters. And I didn't have an O D A next to me, I had a SEAL platoon and we worked with them day in and day out. But we're going to hit that field and just like all our great rivalries do, just like you do every year in your, in the Patriot League. You're going to go against each other. What are you going to tell the teams?

• 17:39Speaker 02

  For me, it's for that, you know, they, they live a life of elite challenge and complicated, dynamic environments. And for a certain aspect, this is a complicated and dynamic environment for them because they haven't been in it in a long time. And, you know, the message I said to them yesterday at practice, and I'll say to them before the game today is just, go back to the basics, go back to the fundamentals of the game and keep it as simple as you possibly can. But try and win, you know, I mean, try and win and, and enjoy the experience of it, of the competition, of fighting against your brothers. Um, and I think we saw the spirit of that in the game last year. It was an intense environment, uh, sometimes a little bit too intense for us, but it was an intense and fun environment.

• 18:21Speaker 02

  But afterwards, that handshake line was, was pretty impactful for me to see the respect and the true love that, that they have for each other. In, in honoring what they just did on that field battle.

• 18:32Speaker 01

  You know, for me, it doesn't have much to do with playing hard. You know, these are the elite of the elite and they're incredible competitors. My message to them will be, hey, let's just make sure we're getting on to the next play, you know, and because they are so accountable to what they're doing, I just don't want anybody lingering in it and whatever the last thing was, whether it was a good one or a bad one, let's get on to the next play and they can kind of keep that focus of what the next thing is, that's going to allow them to be at their very best. And if they could be at their very best individually, that's going to enable us as a team to be at our very best. So excited for them, for this opportunity. The Green Beret Foundation, the SEAL Foundation, the PLL affords these

• 19:17Speaker 01

  men, these heroes, and I just want them to make sure that they enjoy every moment of it.

• 19:24Fran Racioppi?

  Well, I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedules to come out here and coach these teams. So we know it's a big lift for you. It's a big lift for them as players to step away from their daily duties and do this. And thanks for taking the time to sit down with me and talk about this. I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait. Last year, we did interviews through the whole game and I could see it kind of like from the end zone and hear it. And this year I said, no, no, everything's going up front and we're getting in there. We'll be on the sidelines. We'll be standing there next year tonight. And we really look forward to it. Thanks so much. I gotta be an objective journalist. I can't give my opinion on the winner.

• 19:57Speaker 02

  Thanks a lot for having me.

• 20:01Speaker 01

  Thank you. Appreciate it.

• 20:04Fran Racioppi?

  American Jedbergs went on to form the foundation of the United States Special Forces and the Special Activities Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Thanks for listening to the Jedburgh Podcast, an official program of the Green Beret Foundation. I'm your creator and host, Fran Rycho. Join us next week for a new episode on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Check us out on YouTube for full episodes, highlights, and other long and short form content. If you like what you heard, give us a like and leave a review. Follow the Jedburgh Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, X for threads. Send your comments and inquiries to Fran at jedbergpodcast.com. As former members of Special Operations Forces, the Jedburgh Media Channel and the Green Beret Foundation remain committed to supporting all generations of US Army Special Forces and their families. Thanks for joining us on this episode.

• 20:49Fran Racioppi?

  How you prepare today determines success tomorrow.

• 20:59Fran Racioppi?

  Thanks for joining us on this episode. How you prepare today determines success tomorrow.