Early in his life, former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer received foundational lessons from his father. One of them included always respecting the men and women who serve the country. As he went on to become a celebrated football coach, Meyer continued to help military personnel in any way he could. At the same time, he was also eager to learn about what it’s like to be in the military. Now retired, Meyer is getting a chance to pursue that passion.

During his May 27 appearance on The Triple Option podcast with Rob Stone, Meyer shared details about the ‘Boots Camp’ he helped organize two weeks ago to support Gold Star families and First responders.

“I see all these old men pay a lot of money to charity to run out in fantasy camps at Ohio Stadium and to fight on at Ohio State. And I think, ‘Wait a minute, I’ve always wanted to be a Navy SEAL. I’ve always wanted to be an Army Ranger and a Green Beret, and who doesn’t want to do that?’ And so, we started this camp.”

While the Folds of Honor organization has an older history, the ‘Boots’ Camp came out of Urban Meyer’s friendship with Mike ‘Boots’ Barker, a retired Navy SEAL. The two became friends at an Folds of Honor event in Immokalee, Florida. Along with fundraising for a cause close to his heart, the former Ohio State head coach also gets to experience elite military culture up close.

“It’s an invitation-only because there’s live ammo, and there are certain people not allowed to be there. I did invite [Mark] Ingram, though. He didn’t show up this year. He’s going to come next year,” Meyer further said. “But it’s a great camp. We shoot small guns, long guns, and then we do simulations, which means we shoot each other with air guns and learn hostage rescue and how to take rooms. It’s an incredible event.”

On May 14, Meyer had also shared pictures from the camp on his Instagram. “Two days of pushing limits, learning under pressure, and championing support for our military and first responder families. Thank you to everyone who came out. One of my favorite times of the year,” he wrote in the caption.

Urban Meyer’s love for military personnel comes from his family background. His father was in the Army, and his sister was in the Air Force. His mother was a German refugee who lived through the atrocities of the Hitler era.

“I grew up, Rob, in a family that we said to pledge allegiance as kids. We had flags everywhere. We loved our country,” said Meyer.

Along with the camp, Meyer also serves on the Board of Directors for the Veteran Golfers Association, an organization that uses Golf to help veterans. He also has a similar role at the Tim Tebow Foundation.

Urban Meyer’s passion reshaped his coaching

While coaching, Meyer participated in USO Entertainment Tours and witnessed the lives of military men and women. He realized they weren’t motivated by money or media fame but by a love of country and a love of brother. That’s why in 2012, when he joined OSU, Meyer built a culture called “Brotherhood of Trust.” That wasn’t all.

Be it his mantra of ‘nine strong’ or inviting military veterans to talk to his players, Meyer focused on instilling a level of toughness that his rivals could not match. The practices had the rigor and discipline that you would see from a military unit. And thanks to that, he never lost to Michigan during his time in Columbus despite them having Jim Harbaugh as their head coach for a period.

“I’m [spending] half of my moments working with the military right now,” said Meyer. “I’m on two foundation boards.”

You’d expect he’d spend his retirement mentoring other football coaches. But free from the daily grind of the game, the former Ohio State head coach is prioritizing the causes he roots for.