When audiences watch the hit Star Wars television series The Mandalorian or look ahead to the upcoming theatrical film The Mandalorian and Grogu, they might wonder if there is a connection between playing a galaxy-trotting bounty hunter with a heart of gold and handling the daily demands of youth sports. As it turns out, that intuition might not be entirely off base. Through the physical performance of Mando himself, viewers are getting a masterclass in quiet strength and protective guidance. But the crossover between the fictional universe and real-world athletics runs even deeper than on-screen osmosis.
Brendan Wayne, the actor who has served as the physical body double and performer for The Mandalorian since 2019, brings a completely different set of credentials to the field away from the soundstages. For 23 years, Wayne has balanced his thriving acting career with coaching youth sports. Currently, he serves as the head coach of the Lady Lancers soccer team at Grant High School in California. Alongside his athletic endeavors and his ongoing work in the Star Wars franchise, Wayne has also expanded his media footprint by launching a new podcast titled Hats & Helmets.
"I’ve played sports my whole life," Wayne tells Fatherly when discussing his long-running passion for athletics. "It’s one of the greatest things a kid can learn to do."
As the calendar turns from the lazy days of summer toward the structured routine of the school year, youth sports programs across the country are ramping up their schedules. Seizing the moment, we caught up with Wayne to discuss his core principles forged over more than two decades of coaching young athletes. While millions recognize him for his ability to maintain a calm, stoic presence alongside Grogu, that composure is merely acting. In the realm of youth soccer and competitive athletics, Wayne is a seasoned expert with definitive insights. His clear guidance addresses the common pitfalls faced by sports parents, the responsibilities of youth coaches, and the profound ways physical education shapes developing children.
Fail together, succeed together
Wayne’s overarching coaching philosophy steers far away from a rigid obsession with winning trophies or dominating scoreboards. Instead, he firmly believes that the foundational element of any true team is the shared experience of togetherness, encompassing both the triumphs and the heartbreaking defeats.
"I want my kids to fail together. I want them to succeed together," Wayne explains. "I want them to make mistakes in front of their friends and have to speak to it and live through it. If I can try to simplify it, my philosophy is to provide a competitive strength-building environment where we are allowed to fail to succeed."
For Wayne, competitive sports offer a unique laboratory for personal growth that is rarely replicated in standard classroom environments. This philosophy heavily influences how he builds team culture, particularly when coaching young women. He actively works to dismantle historical pressures or social stigmas surrounding female competition, seeking instead to foster an environment of camaraderie that mirrors the lifelong bonds formed in traditional sports groups.
"I’d also try to take the stigma of women competing against each other and bring them together just like I grew up with my buddies, because I always felt like there was a huge difference," Wayne notes. "And maybe I’m wrong, but my idea is to allow them to have the team atmosphere where they can have their buddies."
If you can’t stop your sideline coaching, become a ref
Nearly every parent who has ever attended a youth sporting event has witnessed or participated in sideline tension. The game unfolds in unexpected ways, emotions run high, and the urge to shout instructions—or worse, direct frustration toward an official or a coach—becomes difficult to contain. When asked how parents should handle these intense moments, Wayne does not mince words. His advice for those who struggle to keep their composure on the sidelines is remarkably blunt.
"Go home. I mean, if you can’t get it together, go home," Wayne says. "I’ve said this to some parents, and I’ve been let go or I’ve lost players. But I’ve also gained others who have sometimes come back and apologized after the moment passes."
Wayne acknowledges that parental investment comes from a place of deep care and a desire to see children thrive. However, he emphasizes that supporting a child means celebrating their individual journey rather than trying to live vicariously through their athletic achievements or imposing an adult definition of success onto a youth game. For parents who possess a deep understanding of the sport and find themselves constantly critiquing the officiating, Wayne offers a practical challenge that benefits the broader community.
"I know we all believe in our kids, and that’s good, and you should, and you should believe in them by supporting their success, not yours. Not your idea of what that success means," Wayne advises. "And if you know the game, go learn to coach it. Or the best one is go become a ref. We need refs, and we need more community."
Drawing from his own extensive experience, Wayne understands the grueling nature of officiating youth sports firsthand, yet he highlights the unique rewards that come with the role. "I’ve reffed for 13 years," he shares. "It’s terrible. People are terrible, but the highs are amazing when that kid smiles at you or whatever it is, the game when it’s going right, man, it’s great."
When the ball is in play, it’s time to cheer — not coach
Even as a veteran coach charged with directing his team’s strategy, Wayne maintains a strict boundary regarding communication during active gameplay. He firmly believes that once the whistle blows and the ball is moving, the teaching moments are largely over, leaving players to trust their instincts and training. Constant shouting from the sideline, in his view, serves primarily to distract and disorient athletes who are in the middle of high-pressure situations.
"If the ball’s in play in an area, you just let them go," Wayne explains. "If Joni’s over there and she’s trying to defend somebody and I’m yelling from the sideline, like ‘Hey, look at me,’ now I’m beat. You’ve got to let them know how much you love them. I always tell them: ‘I love watching you play. Keep it going.’"
This approach shifts the emotional tone of the sideline from one of clinical correction to unconditional support. Rather than bombarding young athletes with micromanagement disguised as motivation, Wayne keeps his vocal encouragement focused on positive reinforcement.
"It’s not saying ‘run faster,’" Wayne clarifies. "It’s not that."
Figure out why your kid might want to quit
Youth sports participation naturally fluctuates as children grow, face new social pressures, or encounter demanding academic workloads. When a child begins to show signs of losing interest or expresses a desire to walk away from a team, Wayne urges parents to look beneath the surface rather than accepting the decision at face value or reacting with immediate frustration. Understanding the root cause requires a careful inventory of the child’s entire sporting experience.
"When they start to fade away, I think you, as a parent, better take a real good inventory of why," Wayne says. "Is it the coaches?"
The quality of leadership in youth programs plays a massive role in whether children stay engaged in athletics. Wayne expresses genuine concern over how poor coaching practices can alienate impressionable participants.
"It breaks my heart to see kids who stop playing because their coaches are too unconnected," Wayne notes. "Those coaches might be too connected to themselves and their record. But are they quitting because they feel like they’re not good enough? If that’s the case, you can make it clear that you love them no matter what they do."
Multiple sports are great
Maintaining the physical conditioning required to maneuver inside heavy Mandalorian armor is no small feat; it demands discipline, versatility, and careful physical maintenance. As a professional actor and performer, Wayne understands how the human body adapts to rigorous physical demands. When applied to youth sports, this perspective leads him to strongly advocate for athletic diversification rather than early specialization.
"First, we’ve got to normalize multiple sports again," Wayne urges. "We’re seeing catastrophic injuries on a huge level because we’re running kids in the same sport year-round with coaches who don’t have any idea how to fully develop a physical body."
The push toward playing a single sport 12 months a year has become a pervasive trend in modern youth athletics, often driven by the misconception that elite success requires exclusive focus from an early age. Wayne warns against this narrow approach, pointing out the long-term physical toll it takes on developing joints, muscles, and bones.
"So, put them in multiple sports, let their whole body build," Wayne advises. "Have your kid play a lot of sports, do a lot of different exercises — not to the point where they’re degrading their bodies — but to the point where they’re building their bodies in a way that makes them flexible."
Remember, this is supposed to be fun
Despite the intense competitive environments often cultivated by overzealous adults, youth sports ultimately remain a recreational activity designed for enrichment, social connection, and physical health. When young athletes look visibly overwhelmed or frustrated on the field, Wayne emphasizes the importance of resetting expectations and reminding them of the core reason they laced up their cleats in the first place. The vast majority of participants will not pursue professional athletic careers, making the immediate enjoyment of the game the most critical metric of success.
When Wayne notices one of his players struggling under the weight of self-imposed pressure or external expectations, his intervention is often disarmingly simple and designed to instantly puncture the tension.
"Sometimes, I just yell out: ‘Hey, laugh! This is soccer! Nobody’s paying you today!’" Wayne says. "This is supposed to be fun."
Brendan Wayne can be seen in the upcoming film The Mandalorian and Grogu, and his ongoing insights into sports, culture, and entertainment can be heard on his podcast, Hats & Helmets.